Rescue Me

source

I am currently working my way thru the show "Rescue Me" via Streaming Netflix.

And I love it.

While Jason's department isn't nearly as busy as, say, a New York City fire house, there is plenty about this show that I relate to.

One of my favorite things to do while watching it is to randomly ask him questions about his job.

Things like:

You don't really go into a burning building with your masks off, then put them on once you're in the heat of the fire do you? No.

Why is everyone walking around on shift in their civvies? Shouldn't they be in uniform?
Yes.

Do you guys get warming covers to put over your food in case you're called out while eating?
No.

Do you think big departments like New York really have their own giant office building for administrative personnel? with their own doctors & everything? Probably.
That's just a small sampling of the completely random things I ask my firefighter while watching this show.

I've totally gotten sucked into the storyline, and am loving it.

*************************************

What about you? Are there any shows that you've just been sucked into? What's your current favorite?

343

source

Dear People-Who-Bought-Our-Old-House:

I feel really bad about the way we left the house. And I know you were pretty ticked about it. And I don't think you believed my husband when he explained why. And I've felt bad about it for over a year.

So this post is inspired by my need to apologize to you and explain what happened, and since I can't really tell YOU, I'm sending it into the world.

I feel horrible about leaving trash in the house, food in the fridge (which I also sorta regret, because I lost some really nice storage containers), filthy floors, a broken TV in the living room, and much more.

We know it looked awful.

We had planned on moving everything out, cleaning the entire house, and being out in plenty of time for you to move in.

But you see, we closed on our new house the same day, and had nowhere to move our stuff. So, in the weeks leading up to closing on the old house (both houses really), when our realtor assured us that he had a verbal agreement from you thru your realtor that we would have 10 days after the closing to move, we were relieved.

And that's what we planned on. In fact, we planned on being out in 7, giving us a little cushion room, and ensuring that you would have an empty, clean house to move into.

Up until we were actually signing, and the written agreement said we had to be out that day, our realtor still insisted that he had a verbal agreement that we had 10 days, and to not worry about it.

So when we were moving items the evening of the closing, just to get started, and you showed up and then called your realtor to show up, and the three of you glared at us while watching us move for over an hour that night, completely ticked off that we were still there... we had no idea.

And my husband came to talk to you, and you were clearly ticked off, and your realtor said there was no such agreement, and you wanted us out by 6pm... well, in that moment I was ticked at you. "We had an agreement", I thought.

But in the week or so after that I realized that this was just another reason we don't recommend our realtor to anyone, why I stopped talking to him partway thru the process & made FireMan handle everything.

And so that night we called in reinforcements w/ pickup trucks, and busted our butts to get out ASAP. You finally drove away, but we, and our army of family & friend, worked until 2am. And I mean worked. Hard and fast.

And at 2am, we looked around, and said... done.

The place was filthy, we had no time to clean. Our TV got busted in the loading process, we didn't have time to dispose of it, so we left it on the floor.

A day or so later I realized I left all the food in the fridge. In the rush to move it didn't even occur to me to open it & look.

I'm actually quite certain we probably forgot some other items, tucked away somewhere.

Three days later we tried to sneak back to retrieve a rock from our landscaping, one that FireMan had brought to me on one of our first dives together, one he found at the bottom of a quarry and thought was pretty. You saw us, and glared. I grabbed the rock & ran back to the car.

I'm sorry. I really am sorry that we weren't out when you wanted us to, I'm sorry that we left the house in that condition. That was never our plan.

And I know back then you didn't believe us when we told you our realtor had told us you agreed to a later move date, but it's the truth.

And so this is my apology. Take it or leave it as you like, but I refuse to feel bad anymore.

Oh, and I hope the house is working out well for you. It's a good house, it really is.

God bless,
    FireWife

Holiday Organization

As a member of the BlogHer Life Well Lived Panel, I was selected to answer the following question:

The holidays make me so anxious! How can I stay organized this year?

Honestly, my initial reaction was: They obviously have never seen my house.

But then I thought about  it. Really thought about it. And it hit me.

Holy management, Batman,  I am organized.

After all, it's not necessarily about organizing stuff., items, things.

I mean, it seems like for me, managing the holidays boils down to managing two things:

Time and Money

Actually, now that I think about it, managing the rest of the year kinda boils down to those two things too, doesn't it?

So, for me, the best way to stay organized during the crazy rush of activities & wallet-emptying gift-giving during the holiday season is to find ways to effectively manage time and money.

To organize our time, FireMan & I use GoogleCalendar. There are several other group calendars available to use as well, and I've always been a fan of good ole' Franklin Covey planners, but with FireMan being away from the house so much, we needed something we could both access at pretty much any time.

Enter GoogleCalendar.

And as far as organizing money goes, ya'll know we've been taking Financial Peace University, and one of their teachings is the home budget. We not only created a budget, we actually stick to it. To help us do this we schedule weekly budget meetings for ourselves (via GoogleCalendar, ha!) and have a weekly checkup on where we are financially.

This is the first year we ever set an actual budget for Christmas, and I cannot tell you how much it alleviates your anxiety to realize that you're coming in under budget for the holidays.

No more guessing, no more wondering if you can afford that extra present. We're under budget. And we've gotten pretty much everything we were planning on getting, with a few exceptions, none of which should get us anywhere near the edge of our budget.

Do we have bins for Christmas decorations? Sure. Do we have family traditions to keep up with? Sort of.
But for me nothing has helped ease the stress of this holiday season as having my time & money organized with the calendar & budget we put in place earlier this year. Maintaining both of those items just creates a sense of order amid all the holiday chaos.

So what about you guys?
How do you use organization to ward-off holiday anxiety?

Should you comment here? Sure, I love comments!

Should you answer in the comment section of the Life Well Lived Blog Post? Of course! Especially since while you're there you can enter to win the $250 sweepstakes. And couldn't we all use some extra $$ to ease our money management woes?

Happy Holidays!

Ends up, I'm angry

Who knew?

I didn't.

I don't didn't don't feel angry.

But... it showed up the other night. Out of nowhere. And to be honest, I'm not really sure what to do with this anger, how to process it.

I'm angry with my husband for not being on board with wanting more children.

And for making plans (in his head) for our future that are completely different from what my plans are.

And for telling me what I want is crazy.

I'm angry with my sister for moving half-way across the country.

I'm angry with one of my best friends for moving all the way across the country.

I'm angry with my ex for being so... weird... about stuff that it's virtually impossible to be friends with his wife anymore, because she & I were once really good friends. And I need good friends.

I'm angry with my brother for constantly twisting my words and making me out to be a bad person, even when what I'm trying to do is really good.

I'm angry.

All this stuff just came pouring out of me at once the other night. All this and more. I guess I've been holding it in. So much so that I didn't even realize I was feeling this anger inside.

My mind was flooded, overwhelmed with resentment at so many people, at God, at the world, at myself.

Apparently, I'm angry.

And I didn't even know it.

A few months ago an acquaintance of mine told me I was angry. And I was all like "ummm... no. Really, I'm fine. Doing the best I have in a long time. But thanks for your opinion"

Ends up she was right after all. Not sure what she saw, but she saw something I didn't. I totally didn't see this coming.

And I think the hardest part is that I'm angry, but I'm not.

I mean, I can't begrudge FireMan for wanting what he wants, or not wanting what I want. Just because we want different things isn't a reason to be angry with him.

I can't be angry with my sister because her husband lost his job and needed to move a few states away to find work to support their family.

I can't be angry with my friend because her husband needed to move across the country to find work.

I can't really be angry with my ex for being... weird... because exes are supposed to be weird to us after we break up.

I can't really be angry with my brother because he just has issues that he needs to deal with.

And I can't be angry with God because I know that He will work everything out for my good in the end.

And I can't really be angry with myself because I know that I am on my own journey and just trying to do the best that I can, which is also true of everyone I just mentioned.

So this anger is a different kind of anger, because while I am angry with these people, I'm really not. But I can't really say that I'm angry with God or myself or the world or anything like that either.

It's more like this very vague, but simultaneously very specific anger inside. And I have no idea how to process it because it's just such a different kind of emotion from what I've experienced before.

Or... (this thought comes as I type)... maybe it's still revealing itself. Maybe discovering that anger is just part of me discovering myself again. Maybe this is a process. Maybe this is part of the journey.

I guess that's it for now. Just watch out! Because apparently, FireWife is angry.

As always, thanks for checking in.

Not Just Another Blog Challenge #15 - The Best Thing About Being a Parent

 

The best part about being a parent? {{ swoon }} has gotta be the love.

Have you ever been in love? and you think that you could not ever possibly love anyone else nearly as much as you love that person? okay, yeah, like maybe with your husband?

Wrong.

Because then you have a child, and the amazing thing about becoming a parent, is that it multiplies your love. Not only the love you receive, but the love that you give.

And not just to the child, that's the crazy thing.

Yes, the first surprising thing is how much love you feel for this new addition to your family. This is your child, and the love you feel is remarkable. And it grows. You realize one day that you love her even more. Batty, I tell you!

And then, in a most pleasantly unexpected way, somehow becoming a parent with your spouse, results in you loving them more too! And see, you didn't even know that was possible. But it is!

I've also found myself more loving sensitive towards others, especially children. I just want to wrap them all up and take them all home with me. Literally. Like, don't give me any ideas. Because FireMan is far more logical about these heart-ideas of mine and would not be happy if I came home with a zillion kids tomorrow.

But I digress... my point is... it makes me want to do that. Quite frankly, I didn't before. Was I sympathetic? Compassionate? Sure. To the point that I would willingly open my home and my heart? Not a chance. Not really.

Becoming a parent has developed me to become more loving towards others.

So, yes, I think the very best thing about being a parent, as got to be the love. Multiplied and growing. Always. LOVE.

Dave Ramsey Got Me Scared

FireMan & I started taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University course thru our church.

FireMan was on shift, so I went to the first class alone.

And I can't stop thinking about it.

Not so much the class itself, or (to be honest), anything Dave Ramsey said on the tape DVD (whatever, I'm old). But something that was said in the discussion we had afterward.

One of the core teachings of the class is to have a substantial emergency savings for you / your family. During discussion, we were discussing what a true "emergency" means.

Of course, people immediately started talking about medical bills.

As they talked, I started to get physically ill thinking back to everything I went thru after my accident in 2002. Not just physically, but what that did to me financially.

I had the realization long ago, that had it not been for my supportive family, I probably would have ended up on the streets.

At one point I was seeing eight different doctors. That means eight different doctor bills. Plus the emergency room bills (because you know if you make one visit to the ER, you'll get like five different bills, right?). Plus prescription meds.

And let's not forget my car was totalled (I managed to drive it for another year - some parts literally held together with duct tape - before it actually died).

I missed work, unpaid. But not quite enough to file for short-term disability.

My health insurance wouldn't cover it, because I was injured in a car accident.

My car insurance decided to fight my claim, so I had to hire a lawyer.

Thank God I lived with my parents at the time (something I lamented at the time, but later saw as part of God's plan. Maybe I should tell that story on here someday).

And sitting in that class, my stomach completely sank when the gentleman leading the class said:

"Okay, many of you are bringing up medical bills, so obviously it's happened for several of you. Now think for a minute... what if that happened again, right now? What would you do (financially)?"

I seriously wanted to puke.

FireMan and I have a little savings. We have good equity in our house. We have things we could sell to get money.

But... honestly? If something like my accident happened to one (or God forbid, both) of us right this minute? Where we were seeing eight different doctors, none of our insurance would pay it, our vehicle was totalled, we were missing work unpaid, etc... Oh.... my.... goodness.

The thought of it literally sickens me.

The chance of that happening? I'd like to say slim-to-none. But then again, it happened to me. One thing Dave Ramsey explains in his philosophy of saving for an emergency is that the unexpected isn't really unexpected.

These things do happen. People get sick. Accidents happen. People lose jobs. It happens. To say it's unexpected, really just shows how much time we spend living in a fantasy world where these things don't happen. Because they do.

The good part of this? I'm excited about saving.

Now... we're just starting Step 1: Have $1000 in your emergency fund, but I'm already thinking ahead to Step 3: Have 3-6 months of expenses in your emergency fund.

Can you imagine having 6 months of expenses in your emergency fund?
And then, because I am also baby stepping my way to stockpiling via coupon savings, can you imagine having 6 months of expenses in your emergency fund, plus 6 months of food & toiletries in your stockpile?

What a comfort that would be. Combining the two you would surely have 8 - 9 months of a cushion, should someone lose a job. And what a security net should there be an accident, illness, or other unexpected occurrence.

I can't stop thinking about it.

So much so that I've thought about cancelling our upcoming trip to save the $$. Except some of our reservations are non-refundable. So... I'd rather get something out of it, then not go and lose both the money and the reservation, ya know?

Besides, I really think this upcoming trip is going to be very beneficial to our marriage, which is an even better investment than money.

So... what's your savings situation? Have you taken Dave Ramsey? Thoughts?

As always, thanks for checking in!

It's Sunday. I Need a New Job. Or Something.

Following our anniversary, we stayed home to work on renovations. And after having six business days off work (10 days total), I was dreading going back to work on Monday.

Dreading it.

The fact that FireMan seemed happy to go back, just really annoyed me. He was practically singing as he gathered his gear and placed it by the front door.

I mean, I'm happy for him and all - happy that he has his dream job. But... annoyed. Kinda like when you're not a morning person, and some happy chipper person keeps buzzing around your face, you know? You just kinda wanna swat it down.

It just... I just... I get no fulfillment from my job. One of the mornings we were off we cleaned the manatee tank. I woke up tired & cranky. FireMan kept irritating me. Or maybe it was just because I was already cranky. Whatever. I was in a foul mood. Frustrated. Stressed.

And then I got in the tank. I vacuumed up poop. I scrubbed walls. I wiped down windows. I fed manatees.

All of which is physically demanding labor.

And I got out in a better mood, and much more relaxed, than when I went in.

Pretty sure it wasn't the actual work

Why can't my real job be like that? Why can't I leave my paying job in a better mood than when I go in, instead of the other way around?

I have such a hard time explaining it. I mean, I actually do like what I do. And I love the vast majority of the people I work with. But I get no real satisfaction from it, no fulfillment. It's just a job. And it is sucking the life out of me.

I literally get a greater sense of satisfaction from doing a load of laundry at home. Or taking out the garbage. Or cleaning out the kitty litter.

And it's not just the lack of fulfillment. It's that when during the work week, I feel so stressed all the time. All. The. Time. I have to work to relax, which is just ironic, and in some ways adds additional pressure to my life.

I mean, really, when you're feeling pressure to relax... I think it's a sign something might be wrong.

Maybe it comes down to balance. Or lack thereof.

Whatever it is, I hate it. I dread it. And I sat there and fretted and sighed and moaned and dreaded going back. And Sunday night I stayed up really late, because in some crazy illogical way I thought it would postpone Monday morning.

And Monday rolled around, and lived up to all of my expectations. The day started okay. But I knew it would be a crazy day at work, having been off for a week, and we had class at church that night, which we're already pressed for time to make it to, so when I was fixing FireGirl's breakfast and realized we needed more milk, I knew I'd have to factor in a trip to the store. Then I got in the car and saw that FireMan had left me just enough gas to get me thru today, but not enough to get back to work tomorrow, I knew I'd have to factor in a trip to the gas station sometime. And then we got to FireGirl's preschool and they informed me they were going to start transitioning her to her new classroom this week. Which means longer drop-offs all week. Which means I have to work a little bit later to make up the time. And then I get to work, and yes, have 898 new messages in my inbox. And am informed that I have to present on not one, but two, topics at a division-wide meeting that afternoon. And during the meeting our General Manager starts quizzing me about a third topic. And somewhere in there Once Upon A Child calls and says my box is ready for pickup, and if I don't pick it up within 24 hours, they'll donate everything to charity. And I realize I forgot the book for my class.

So I make the decision that I'm skipping class that night. You can make up sessions online anyway. Stay a little bit late at work to make up for the longer preschool dropoff that morning. Go the vending machine & get some goldfish for FireGirl because I know it's gonna be a late dinner. Leave work. Pick up FireGirl at preschool. Head to OUAC to get my box o'stuff. Then to the bank because I have no cash. Then the grocery store for milk. Then the gas station. Finally head home.

I got home just before 8pm and started dinner. Frozen pizza. Did the dishes while the pizza was in the oven.

And yes, of course FireGirl needed a bath.

She didn't even get to bed until 9:45pm. After she went to bed I did two loads of laundry, between folding laundry & putting new loads in, I changed the baby chicks' bedding, fed & watered all the animals. And thought about dusting the living room. I also thought about taking a shower and thought about making my lunch for the next day. But since it was already midnight, I decided to go to bed.

Other than bathtime, I didn't get to play with my daughter at all that first Monday back. Not once. I skipped a class I really wanted to go to in favor of errands that needed to be run. Exhausted (lack of sleep + time of the month + trying to get sick) I overslept that morning.

I hope this isn't coming across whiny, because I don't intend it to. I'm not in a whiny frame of mind at all. I'm just stating the facts of my day. This is what happened. And that is a fairly typical experience. Not every day, for sure. But enough. Enough that I consider it typical.

And it sucks the life out of me.

It just seems so backwards.

I spend so much more time doing something I get no gratification from, and what I do find satisfying, what is my priority in life, gets my leftovers.

Is it just me, or is that backwards?

Maybe that's why I feel so out of balance sometimes. What do you think?

It's Friday Afternoon...

... and I can't stop smiling.

The past few weeks have been like this. Around 3pm I get downright giddy. Literally cannot wipe the smile off of my face.

Everything makes me happy. You pretty much cannot bring me down at this point in the day week.

Why?

Well, because the work week is over, I'll get my baby, go home to my hubby (2 out of 3 Fridays anyway), and have two blessed days off. Two days to be a wife and mother and nothing else. Two days to spend with my family. Two days to go on family outings, to run errands, to play with FireGirl, to go to church, to cook meals, to talk with FireMan, to do chores... and if I'm lucky I might even get to sleep in on Saturday.

Two whole days to be a wife and a mother and nothing else.

And I am literally giddy about it.

Have a most wonderful weekend everyone!

Look at Me !!

 

In that last pic, FireGirl was originally bending upside down like her daddy. That's what I was trying to take a picture of. FireMan is completely oblivious to the fact that she has just taken a header into the ground, and I snapped this pic as it happened, capturing the split second after face-plant but before screaming started.

She was fine, just scared and a little upset.

Trip to the Zoo in Pictures

FireMan teaching FireGirl about insects

watching the gorillas

brushing a goat in the Children's Zoo

First time riding the train

Photo by FireGirl - she directed us to "make a funny face"

Cheeta

Peacock - photo by FireGirl

Loving on the manatee statue

Hiding behind the manatee statue

Fingerprints (a.k.a. Sometimes I'm Intentional About Not Cleaning)

I finally cleaned the television screen. But only because we were having a party and I thought the smudges might inhibit our guests' view of the show. Because prior to that I had no legitimate reason to get rid of the tiny finger- and hand-prints that covered the screen.

Daily reminders of how tiny she was just a few months earlier, how tiny she still is, and how quickly she is growing.

Of course, I couldn't wipe them away without snapping a few pictures of those tiny fingerprints first.

FireMan keeps telling me he's cleaning the front window. I keep telling him not before I take pictures of her handprints first.

It hasn't been cleaned yet in a year.

I think he's starting to understand my crazy.

Where We Got Stuck Financially

Yup, we messed up.

Not huge. Yet. But... we probably caught it just in time.

It seems the majority of people run into trouble because they don't have savings, or put too much on credit cards, or just don't plan for a rainy day. And then the rainy day happens, they're hit with a catastrophe, and... ruin.

But... we hadn't done any of those things.

We did have savings. We had a savings account. We had extra savings. We had little to no credit card debt (meaning we paid off what we put on there).

And there was no major catastrophe.

Which is why... for months now... both of us have been lamenting over where our money was going.

FireMan accused me of overspending. I shot back reminding him of what he had spent money on.

Now... being totally honest, the realization of what happened is kind of a "duh" moment for both of us. Basically it's something we both knew, in our heads, but didn't really put the pieces together.

You see, when we bought our house last September, our major renovation project, we knew that our mortgage was higher than our previous mortgage. It's a larger house, with 5 times as much land, and since it's a renovation loan we paid a higher interest rate.

But we also knew that after 12 months we could refinance at a regular (lower) mortgage rate, and with the renovations being done should be able to get rid of our PMI, reducing our payments so much that our monthly payment would be the same, or slightly lower, than at our old home. For much more house and land.

That year of sacrifice, a year of a slight tightening of the belt, of not being able to put as much into savings... we knew that. We got that. We accepted that it was worth it in the long run.

So we did it. We made slight modifications to our monthly expenses. Things like replacing cable with streaming Netflix (saving us $35/mo) and the like.

But renovations (as they often do) ended up costing (significantly) more than expected. Enter the dreaded credit card.

And then, we unexpectedly experienced a significant increase in childcare costs overnight.

My longtime readers may remember this.

My parents had been our primary childcare, and had refused payment. We finally gave up trying to pay them, and compensated them instead with nicer gifts for holidays & such. Virtually nothing.

Overnight, we were paying for full time child care. Several hundred dollars we had not budgeted for, added to our monthly expenses.

I think with the stress of what our family was going thru in the moment, even though we certainly acknowledged, and stressed over, this change to our finances, we just weren't in the frame of mind to really accept it and make the changes we needed to to accommodate this change.

That... was our undoing.

The extra mortgage payments we could have handled. The extra renovation dollars we could have handled. The extra childcare expenses we could have handled.

All three happening within a 3-4 month period, increasing our monthly expenses by nearly a thousand dollars - every month - we could not.

We made it. But our savings has gradually dwindled. And our credit card bills have gradually gone up.

So I guess we haven't really made it.

Of course, there have been other things.

Like medical bills. I've had them. FireGirl's had them.
Thank goodness for being on very good health insurance plans. But between copays, deductibles, and medication, we've still paid several thousand dollars out of pocket.

And we've procrastinated on renovations. So here we are more than 13 months since we bought the house, and we still haven't even applied for refinance, because we know certain things won't pass appraisal / inspection as is. Not for us to get the lower rate. And certainly not for us to get the PMI knocked off.

Totally our fault.

So... it wasn't that we had one giant catastrophe. No car accident this time. No lost job. No one time major catastrophe.

But several things within the span of a few months that significantly raised our monthly expenses, without us making significant changes to our lifestyle to accommodate those changes... and there you have it.

We screwed up.

So now we're taking steps to correct it. We've put ourselves on weekly allowances for eating out & ATM withdrawels. We're eating in more. I'm (still) trying to get my coupons more organized so I can save more on groceries.

And we're taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We're still in the beginning, but I think that's gonna be really good. It's already changing how we think about money.

Wish us luck, and I'll keep you posted.

As always, thanks for checking in!

What a Hike !!!

For our mini-summer vacation, we went to Natural Bridge State Resort Park.

And yes, we actually hiked to Natural Bridge! The entire trail. FireGirl insisted on walking most of the way on her own. She did fabulous! I was so impressed!

I mean, heck! I was exhausted!

The scary part was actually on the bridge, where we made her hold on to one or both of our hands the entire time we were up there. She didn't like that one bit, but it was not optional.

We actually saw one mom that had two little boys attached to her with ropes tied around their waists, and then back to hers! Hey, whatever you gotta do, right?

Here are some pics from our hike. Enjoy!

at the top of Natural Bridge

the view

one tired little girl!

twenty THREE miles per hour

 

I mean, really? I couldn't get over these signs, posted all over our summer vacation destination. FireMan thought it was hilarious that I was so obsessed with them.

But really, twenty THREE mph? Why? Somebody just tell me why?!?

America's Top 10 Most Mustache-Friendly Cities

 

As the wife of a mustached man herself (hey fire wives - can I get a witness ??), I couldn't help but check out the most mustache-friendly cities list.

We didn't make the list. But there's always next year!

*****************************

Read the entire article here.

source

******************************

And my goodness, did you know there was a 'Stache Bash? By winning the top spot in the most-friendly list, Chicago wins the honor of hosting the 2011 'Stache Bash.

If you live in or near Chicago, I implore you to go to the Bash and report back. I mean, exactly what happens at a 'Stache Bash, anyway?

****************************

As always, thanks for checking in!

Trip to the Firehouse

Another Trip to the Park (also in pictures)

pushing Daddy on the swing

I still can't believe she can do this all by herself (but FireMan is just out of the shot, just in case)

She loves the swings, but never stays for very long

My Memories... and a Giveaway !!

I love pictures. I really do. I wish I were a better photographer, and I wish I weren't woefully behind on putting what pictures I have taken onto... well, anything but random folders on my laptop. Or FireMan's laptop. Or our external hard drive. Or... still on my camera, or FireMan's camera, or our dive camera, or our phone.

You know, because I'm organized like that.

And let's not forget that I haven't put together an album or photobook since our honeymoon. And that would be four years ago.

I love photobooks, scrapbooks, albums and the like. Love them. Photos are memories... and I love them. But quite frankly, putting all those pictures into any sort of easily-viewed, looks-nice method of display takes way too much time.

Well, maybe not anymore.

A few weeks ago the nice folks over at My Memories contacted me about reviewing their product on my blog, my honest reaction was: "I want to, but I'm not sure I have time for this."

I did have time for this.

Seriously, I dove in without reading any instructions or anything, and had my first piece done within maybe 10 minutes after downloading the software.

Spent some more time browsing around, and discovered all kinds of templates, add-ons, and the like.

Wanna make a collage photo? Here ya go.

Wanna make a header for your blog? You can do it.
Did ya notice my new header? Yep, did it via My Memories.

Seriously, with all the templates, embellishments, and add-ons they provide, plus your own creativity, the possibilities are endless.

And yes... You wanna make a digital scrapbook? Well, here ya go.

For me, one of the best things about having this software is... there's no uploading thousands of pictures! That alone saves innumerable hours of selecting & loading the pictures you want to use.

You can use any files on your computer (or on multimedia attached to your computer). You don't have to upload them anywhere. You don't have to print them out ahead of time. Heck, you don't even have to sort them if you don't want. It's up to you.

The best part of all this? My Memories is giving one of my readers a FREE download of My Memories Suite v2.0 (retail price $39.97)!!

I know, exciting, right?!?

All you have to do to enter is to head on over to their site and view their Free Kits (free add-ons use with your software download), pick out the scrapbook style you like the best, then come back here & leave a comment telling me which one you picked. Easy breezy!

Better yet (yes, it gets better!) - if you like the software and don't happen to be the lucky winner, you can still get a discount! And who doesn't love coupons, right?

My readers will receive $10 off the retail price of the software, plus receive $10 in free merchandise from My Memories by using coupon code:

STMMMS48278

Any time. No expiration date!

I love being able to give my readers something, and am thrilled that My Memories is not only giving one of you a product, but they're giving the rest of you a discount. That makes me love them even more.

Now... go one... go pick out your favorite free kit & report back.

******************

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The contest will run thru 11:59:59pm (EST) on October 18, 2011. The winner will be selected by random draw and will be notified via email. He or she will have 48 hours from the time of notification to respond before another winner is drawn.

DISCLOSURE
I was given a copy of My Memories Suite V2.0 to review, however all thoughts and opinions shown here are exclusively my own, and no additional compensation was given for the review.