Just Simply Holly

I was finally able to get the batteries to my camera charged enough to get the pictures from the game Thursday night uploaded to my computer. I haven’t had the time to crop and resize them, but once I do I’ll post them here. As special as they are to me, I’m thinking about purchasing a digital photo frame so that I can always view my special memory of the game!

I love the fact that technology has advanced to the point that it has. When we have special family gatherings there is always more than one photo that I want to put out from the occasion, but space limits the amount of photos that a person can put out. With a digital picture frame you simply put your favorite photos on a memory stick and insert the memory stick into the frame and you can display many photos in just one frame. With many of them you also have the option of adding your own sound, which makes the memory that much more special.

Digital frames make a perfect gift for that special loved one that you don’t get to see as often as you’d like to. Maybe grandma and grandpa live far away and don’t get to see the grandkids that often. Just take some of your favorite photos of the kids and put them on a memory stick, put the stick into one of the many beautiful frames available, have the kids record a special message to grandma and grandpa and have it shipped to them. Imagine their surprise and joy to get such a wonderful gift!

I’m a very fortunate person in the fact that I have been married to a wonderful man for over 15 years now. We have decided that when we celebrate our 25th anniversary we’d like to renew our wedding vows. Now I’ve never been a person to have much jewelry, but you can be assured that I’m going to be dropping many hints about diamond rings between now and then! I love my simple wedding band, but I think it would look much better with a beautiful diamond beside it!

Although we just celebrated our 15th anniversary, I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to do for our 20th anniversary. By that time the kids will be more than old enough to take care of themselves (they’ll be 19 and 17), so going away without them for a week or so would be something that could easily be done. I’ve been checking out different cruises, but am leaning towards an Alaskan cruise because it’s something we both have talked about wanting to do. But I’m also torn because when I think about going on a cruise, I think about going somewhere warm and tropical. I’m still not sure where we’d go if we did go on a cruise, but I know that it would definitely be a trip we’d remember for years afterwards!

As I told you about a mere 10 days ago, I was chosen to be a very lucky recipient of a special gift. The gift was a 16×20 canvas of ANY photo of my choosing. It took me a few days to figure out what photo I wanted to use, and I am very thankful that I chose the one I did.

The photo that I chose for my canvas was a wonderful photo that I took of my kids last summer on a zoo trip. I had never printed that specific photo; I had only used it as desktop wallpaper for my computer.Imagine my surprise when I came home Thursday and found a package on the table that had came for me that day. Inside of that package was one of the most precious things I know own! I am thrilled to say that only 10 days after it was ordered, my canvas came, below is a photo of me holding that canvas.

Please keep in mind that I take HORRIBLE pictures, besides, it’s not me you’re supposed to be looking at, it’s the wonderful canvas that I am holding. Unfortunately, my camera doesn’t do it justice, because it is just breathtaking! As a matter of fact, when I first opened it, it not only took my breath away, but is also brought tears to my eyes! I have loved that picture of my kids since it was taken, and to see it put so gorgeously on a canvas is a gift that I will treasure for the rest of my life! I am so thankful to have been one of the people that were chosen for this honor!

As a matter of fact, my sister and I loved it so much that she and I decided that we are going to have a canvas done as an anniversary gift for our parents. It will be of a picture that was taken last year on Labor Day that has not only our parents, but all 16 of their grandchildren and their only great grand child. Seeing how gorgeous mine came out, I can’t wait to see what a wonderful job Canvas on Demand does with the one for my parents!

If you are looking for a special gift for someone, I highly recommend that you check out the option of putting a special photo on canvas at Canvas on Demand. I’m sure they will be able to create a special gift that will be treasured for a lifetime!

THANK YOU CANVAS ON DEMAND! I will treasure this gift for rest of my life!

My youngest child turns 12 in a matter of days and this years party is going to be a small get together with friends and family with possibly a Luau theme. She’s excited, and I’m thrilled that we’ve whittled the guest list down to 15 from almost 50. Trying to convince her that I simply can’t afford a party for that many people was a VERY time consuming chore.

She does have the advantage of having a birthday in warm weather months, which means an outdoor party is always a possibility as long as the weather permits. Since she’ll be 13 next year I’m more open to a larger party and we’ve already been talking about different things we could do and different themes for the party. One thing that I thought of the other day was having an airbrush tattoo party. Kids love fake tattoo’s, even teenagers, and I think it would be a fun thing to do. And we have a large enough yard that we could easily do several different “stations” with things do to.

I guess I’ll have to see what she thinks the next time we talk about it. I know she has all kinds of plans for her party next year, I’m just hoping that she and I can come to some sort of middle grounds so that I don’t have to take out a loan to do it….LOL!

As you may or may not know, my 15^th wedding anniversary is just around the corner. Now I’m honestly not worried about my husband forgetting about it, simply because he hasn’t really forgotten one yet (he’s actually pretty good at picking up on my subtle hints…LOL).

But I was thinking of dropping him a hint for a nice piece of jewelry, for a change. Reeds jewelers has a very nice selection of ruby rings. The only problem is, since I’ve never asked for jewelry before, how do I oh so subtly drop the hint? Do any of you ladies out there have any suggestions?

It is SOOOOOOOO difficult for me to believe that 14 years ago today my son was born! I’ll never forget how scared I was when I found out I was pregnant with him! I was 27 and had just gotten married, I didn’t think I was “ready” to be a mom, and neither did my own mother. I’ll never forget her reaction, she actually cried…LOL! But fortunately I was more ready than I thought I was.

The years with this guy have been one challenge after another. He’s an extremely intelligent guy who likes to do as little as necessary. He’s brought me joy and he’s brought me tears, but I am so proud of him and the young man he is becoming!

Happy birthday bud, I love you!!

P.S. This pic was taken last June on Fathers Day, but he still looks the same, just a little taller