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I don’t like to start talking about Christmas stuff until much, much closer to Christmas. At least around Thanksgiving. I mean, I do start my Christmas shopping some time around August, but I keep mum about it! I hate Christmas Creep!!

However, here’s something you need to think about early, well before it feels comfortable, and that is photo Christmas cards. I’ve always felt kind of envious of the people who their shit together enough to plan, stage, and produce a photo; then have it imprinted on custom cards; all in time to send out before holidays. Are these people Superfamilies? Whatever. This year I have PROMISED myself to do the same, with the help of Shutterfly!

I’ve used Shutterfly before, thanks to a coupon code I got once when Veronica had her picture taken with Santa. I got a calendar printed and it was awesome! I loved looking at different, goofy pictures of her all year, and the quality of the calendar itself was really nice. This year, Shutterfly is doing a nice promotion through BlogHer, and I’m definitely going to get holiday cards. I’m on top of it, for realz! Read on to find out how you can win a coupon code for some free cards!

Of course if cards aren’t your thing, they also offer a nice series of photo books. I made one of these for the hubz for Father’s Day one year. It was beautiful, and we still enjoy paging through it. Veronica especially likes looking at the pictures of her as a baby!  Or maybe you need birthday cards, invitations, birth announcements, or any kind of photo-imprinted greeting card you can think of. Shutterfly has you covered there too. They’ll even mail the cards for you, in case you just can’t stand licking stamps.

So this weekend is my big photo shoot weekend – the trouble with little kids is, they grow so fast! So even though I have adorable winter-themed photos of Veronica like the one below, it’s at least two years old and she doesn’t really look like that anymore:

Anyway, I’ll be trying to take that PERFECT picture this weekend. And, as it turns out, we might have actual snow (crazy!) which would make the job a little easier, I guess. Other suggestions welcome. I’m leaning towards a black and white photo on this card (ooh! artistic!).

If you would like a code good for 25 FREE cards from Shutterfly, leave a comment here. On November 6, I’ll choose three random winners (note that you must leave your email address with your comment to qualify). Thanks for reading!

When I was a kid, one of my favorite toys was a punching bag. Not a REAL punching bag, a thing filled with air that had sand in the bottom and my sister and I would knock it around. It looked like this:

Now my daughter has a similar toy that looks like this:

Today on the Woot-Off (www.woot.com), they were just selling this (click for bigger image):

Uh…what? Is this a novelty item? Are you supposed to actually punch him, or just pretend to play basketball around him? I’m honestly confused by this item. I like his ‘fro though.

OMG! I just got an email from MAC promoting their new “Surf, Baby” collection, and I had to post about it. The collection itself looks OK, full of bronzers and powders and colorful shades, and you can check it out right here if you’re so inclined. But I need to talk about the image they included in the email BECAUSE IT IS SO CREEPY (and you will definitely want to click on this thumbnail image to see the full-size monstrosity):

Click for full size

1. That guy on the left is naked, yo. Not wearing a Speedo or very low-slung trunks, NAKED. (He also looks a LOT like Heath Ledger.)

2. What is it about the girl in the center that says “surf?” Is it the COMPLETE LACK OF EYEBROWS? Because that look has never just screamed “easy beach living” to me.

3. Furthermore, the dark vampy lips? Also not a terribly beachy look.

4. And could they have found her a more unflattering, ill-fitting, fugly swimsuit?

5. Mr. Hipster on the right is not only wearing a Speedo, but he’s wearing some kind of leather thong-type headband. Around his head. Like a boho doofus.

So maybe there’s some kind of irony at play here, like “Let’s promote a surf-inspired collection with a makeup look that looks nothing like surf-inspired, and let’s throw in a naked hipster.” I guess I’m old, because I’m not getting it, I just feel creeped out.

In response to Berlin Hair Baby’s tag, here’s my quick list of favorites:

favorite Champagne: I like just about any of them.

OK so about two weeks ago I was running to the grocery store at lunch to pick up some snacks and paper towels and a salad. On my way there, some old dude RAN INTO ME. I mean, my car, not me personally, but you know. He hit my beautiful, wonderful xB! I love that car so much. It’s so cute, and so roomy and comfortable inside, and so well made, and so reliable, and gets great mileage, and it was cheap. I mean, what’s not to love? Here’s a picture (not my actual car, but a facsimile):

Look at it! It’s so beautiful.

So, anyway. This guy sideswiped me (front passenger side door) and it was totally his fault, which thankfully he admitted, and therefore his insurance is paying for the repairs and a rental. So I took the car in on Tuesday to the body shop, and they’re going to have it until next Friday at least. So in the mean time, the rental company gave me what I can only describe as the most miserable, non-user-friendly, uncomfortable, fugly car I have ever had the misfortune to drive: a Chevy HHR. Here’s what THAT piece of crap looks like:

Yeah, it’s awful. I think this car perfectly illustrates what American car makers DON’T GET about cars and people, that Japanese car makers DO get: the experience matters.

I mean, both cars are about the same size, and get similar mileage, but that’s where the similarities end. Here’s a list of all the things I have quickly grown to hate about the HHR:

1. Sitting in it is like sitting in a WWII bunker, like those cement things the Germans were sitting in when we stormed Normandy Beach on D-Day, and driving it is like being in a tunnel that never ends. You can’t see anything. The windshield is abnormally small, and the front pillars and roof obscure much of the view. I get claustrophobic if I have to sit in it for too long, no kidding.

2. Mechanically it feels cheap and unfriendly. The steering is so stiff it feels like it’s not even power steering. It would be hell on a long drive. And the accelerator is weird – you put the pedal down, and nothing happens for a few seconds. Acceleration, once it finally starts, is mushy. I’m not sure what kind of engine is in this thing but it’s definitely not very good.

3. The seats are very uncomfortable. Despite the electronic controls, there’s just no way to make them feel better. It doesn’t help that someone already broke the armrest on the driver’s side.

4. The interior layout is asinine. Everything is in a place that doesn’t make any sense. Like, there’s a lidded pop-open storage compartment in the middle of the dashboard, on top. WHY? Who puts a storage compartment where it’s going to further obscure the limited view when it’s open? And the cup holders are right next to the emergency break – I mean RIGHT next to it, so that if you had anything in them, and tried to engage the emergency brake, it would knock your beverages over.

5. It feels totally claustrophobic in the car. Some combination of the limited visibility, the uncomfortable seats, and the ridiculous equipment layout makes it feel like I’m in the worst car ever made.

I hate the Chevy HHR, and honestly, I think it hates me. I’ve already hit my head on the door, and getting in and out is like some kind of sideshow of the clumsy and graceless. The moral of this story is: don’t ever buy an HHR, and if they try to give you one when you need a rental, run away screaming.