FeeFiFoto Blog

Strange June Birthdays

Make personalized calendars even more personal with the addition of peculiar dates; here are some for June.

FeeFiFoto has been producing personalized photo calendars as a core part of our business since we were established about five years ago. Recently we added a bunch of new templates, a thousand or so pieces of clip art, and the capacity to arrange photos in collages instead of being limited to a single photo per page. We've always had a feature that lets you enter your own family birthdays, anniversaries or special events. Here's a list of June dates that will make your personalized calendars just a touch more memorable.

1
Dare Day
Marilyn Monroe, b. 1926

How About A Watch For Father's Day?

More on the subject of Father's Day gifts: how about a personalized photo watch from FeeFiFoto?

Sewing Mom would love to give her husband a Breitling watch, which can retail for upwards of $25,000 (yes, that's twenty-five thousand dollars):

"My daughter and I are still discussing what to get my husband, her dad, for Father’s Day ...  I may have mentioned at some point that he collects time pieces, quality watches. It’s something I’ve always wanted to buy him, but he is extremely particular about his watches and I would never presume to know what he would like ... I do know that he has always admired Breitling watches. ... I’ve also been looking at several jewelry watches that I think he would enjoy. He likes having a variety of watches and doesn’t usually wear the same one two days in a row. It’s similar to ladies changing their jewelry, he changes his watch, besides his wedding band, it’s the only jewelry he wears ... "

Here's some information on the History of Watches, courtesy of Paralumun.com:

1500s : Creation of the first pocket watch.
1485 : Leonardo da Vinci sketches a fusee for a clock
Early 1600s : Form watches becoming popular. Cases are shaped like animals and objects.

Time out

1704 :  Rubies are first used in watch movements.
1750 : Watch makers begin using enamel on watch dials.

Time for lunch

1780 : Invention of the self winding movement.
1786 : Guilloche is first used on watch dials.

Time marches on

1837 : First shrine to jewelry Tiffany store opens.
1843: Development of a watch with winding and setting through the crown.

Time and tide wait for no one

1853 : The first dual time zone watch.

Time to floss

1884 : Greenwich, England is officially named the zero meridian and used as the world wide recognized basis of time zones.

Time out of mind

1926 : Rolex introduces the first waterproof case called the "Oyster".

Funny Rolex story.  Schpilkes complained to the jeweler that her Rolex had stopped running.  The jeweler explained that she wasn't moving enough to keep the self-winding watch functioning.  Curley, my sister, suggested Schpilkes attach the watch to her mouth.

1933 : Ingersoll introduces the "Mickey Mouse" watch.
1956 : Rolex introduces their first model that displays the day and date.
1957 : Introduction of the world's first battery driven watch.

Time after time

1983 : Launch of the Swatch brand.

I never had a Swatch.  The plastic band made my wrist sweatch.

1999 : Casio innovates with the first wristwatch with a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS).

These days we are surrounded by so many electronic devices that tell us the time, including that persistent little fellow living in the lower right hand corner of all computer screens who keeps us up to date more efficiently than a manual stadium scoreboard keeper, since he requires no bathroom breaks.  So when you're looking for a watch you most likely intend to make a statement of fashion, wealth or sentiment. 

This is what makes a watch an ideal gift for Father's Day. 

If Dad's into high tech, there are dozens hundreds thousands of choices of timepieces that will rival anything James Bond ever carried. 

If Dad prefers bling, you'll find any number of watches crusted with diamonds, rubies, sapphires -- you can't tell time on them, but who cares?  If you have enough money to buy the watch, your people can tell you what time it is, if you care.

To make a statement of sentiment is also easy.  Get Dad a watch with a photo of the kids, or the pets, or his favorite putting green, on the face of the watch.  FeeFiFoto has a number of different styles, some with leather bands and others with metal, all priced under $40:

It's way more affordable, and more meaningful, than the Breitling.

Photo Hunters: I Want Glasses

Remember to enter the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest to have your photo used in a graphic on our home page through the entire summer.  Today's the last day.

Our fourth PhotoHunt: Here's a photo of my eyes:

 

This is how it works when you want to look for a new pair of glasses but your vision is so pathetic that you have to use your Blackberry to shoot a photo of yourself modeling various candidates.

Brrrrain Frrrreeze

Remember to enter the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest.  The drawing is on June 1.

In the market for a pinch hitter guest poster.

 


















Graphic from Sodahead


Is it the weather, finally warm and sunny after months of rain / freeze / snow / ice / sleet / freeze / rain / clouds / sun -- no wait -- just kidding / rain / clouds / rain and more rain?

Is it the loooong drive to school every day, and then back home and then back to school and then back home?

Is it the fatigue from trimming approximately 1001 trees, shrubs, branches, limbs, weeds, leaves and oak pollens lining the driveway and then shoving them toward the street with a push broom, all with a puppy tied to my belt?

Or might it be ... wait, what was I saying?

Oy.  I've finally lost my mind.  I know it's around here somewhere; I just need to dig beneath the decomposing plant material and vomiting backpacks and I'm sure it'll turn up, although the mother-of-pearl pen and the hand blown Venetian glass bead never did.

Would you like to write a guest post for this blog?  Send me a comment on this post with your email address.

Wordless Wednesday: The Result Of A Long Playdate With Puppy Cousins, Followed By a Long Bath

Remember to enter the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest.  The drawing is on June 1.

Way To Go, Artypants!

Remember to enter the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest.  The drawing is on June 1.

Congratulations to 2008 graduates.

Today, finally, Artypants graduated from high school.  When I graduated from public school we wore white robes (the boys got red), but as this is a private school the boys wore coats and ties (and yes, pants too) while the girls wore white gowns.

Artypants is the oldest niece/grandchild on either side of the family, so this was our first graduation (aside from preschool).  I offered Cleo a dollar if she'd give a loud "Whoop" when Artypants' name was called; the Whoop was weak and pathetic but I paid up anyway.

I feel like I raised this kid; I know I helped.  I'm indescribably proud.  She's attending the Pratt Institute in the fall, where she'll be a shining star.

Look here and here and here and here for more on the beloved Artypants.

Know a high school or college graduate?  Put senior photos on personalized photo gifts from FeeFiFoto.

Hard To Believe She's Only Eight

Here's the post my daughter, Hannah Fanna, composed on her blog this morning while I was in bed sleeping off one quarter of a muscle relaxer (darn neck pain).  This provides clear evidence that my daughter is quite smart, and I am a cheap date:

 

"I'd like to have everyone reading this think about people who died in war for our country. Maybe you knew someone who died in a war? Well this is the day to honor how brave they were. Today is Memorial Day. (And my friend's birthday.)"

Memorial Day

For anyone who's been preoccupied by the American Idol finals I'd like to share a couple things I've come across concerning Memorial Day.

Army Mom: New Jersey offered this sometimes heart-wrenching piece about the Tomb Of The Unknowns:

"On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was ["]How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the Tomb Of The Unknowns [?] —— All three missed it —

Really, Dad, We Love You. Honest.

Remember to enter the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest.  The drawing is on June 1.

Why don't football players ever shout "Hi Dad!" into the camera?

Search "Mothers Day Gift" in Technorati and, as of today, two weeks AFTER Mother's Day 2008, you'll find the phrase in more than 22,000 blog posts with any level of authority.

Search "Fathers Day Gift" and, as of today, three weeks BEFORE Father's Day 2008, you'll find the phrase in 10,000 blog posts.

No Time Mom lists all of three contests or giveaways for Father's Day.

Pain At The Pump

There's one more week to enter the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest.  Come on -- you can do it.

Linda at Are We There Yet? created a new meme and although I'd already posted this elsewhere I'm posting it again because I'm lazy it fits.

This gas station is around the corner from my house.

Photo Hunters: I Want Shoes

Remember to enter the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest to have your photo used in a graphic on our home page through the entire summer.

Our third PhotoHunt:

See any difference between these two Crocs?

Last year I bought the kids Airwalks on Ebay for about half the cost of Crocs, because really -- who's foolish enough to pay thirty dollars for glorified flip flops for kids? Well actually, lots of people, but nevertheless, I didn't want to be one of them because I'm so darn cheap oh-so-careful with my money.

Wordless Wednesday: Guitars Are Blooming

Spring guitars are my favorites; they become so hard to chew by summer.

Time To Shop

Planning ahead for the Christmas season.

                   

Crazy, no?  But think about it.  Wouldn't a commemorative Christmas ornament be a perfect gift for a wedding or new baby or new home?  Most likely nobody else will think to give Christmas ornaments in May, so your gift certainly will be unique, and imagine the recipient's delight upon discovering a new ornament that she didn't even remember having when she unpacks the Christmas decorations in October November December.

Visit FeeFiFoto to design personalized porcelain Christmas ornaments like this one:

Yes, really.

Photo Hunters: I Want Candy

Remember to enter the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest.

Our second PhotoHunt:

This candy is made of glass so it's not better for your teeth than the real thing, but way prettier and it lasts longer, unless your puppy finds it and pulls the bowl over ... come to think of it, I used to have a lot more of these.  Wonder what happened to them?

Can't get enough of our dog?  Look here, here and here.

See more PhotoHunters.

Visit FeeFiFoto and put your Photo Hunt picture on a candy tin; then fill the tin with lemon drops or peppermints and send it to someone you love.

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Years Worth Of Varmint Visitors

In the thirteen years we've owned our house I've kept a running list of the many critters that have come to visit, gnaw on the the siding, dig under the foundation and sometimes scare the living daylights out of me.

When I bought a house surrounded by trees I guess I expected the occasional visitor from nature, but the extensiveness and variety of the list has left me scratching my head.  We've seen squirrels (for two years we had an albino), mice, moles, voles, rabbits, chipmunks, opossums, woodpeckers, hawks, coyotes (please help yourselves to some of the squirrels, guys) and crows.

An owl perches on the eaves occasionally and gazes at us sleepily. The first time we saw him he waited solemnly while the kids and I scrambled for some nature books in an attempt to identify him (a barn owl, we think).

Wordless Wednesday: I Think They Also Do Chiffon Motorcycle Jackets

Gives A Whole New Meaning To "Taking One For The Team"

The end of the academic year is approaching and those of us who can still see straight are assessing how we and our kids have done in school.

Today it was Robey's turn to drag me through the mud teach me something I hadn't known.  His class has been talking about Mayan civilization and he had one evening to create a three minute presentation on Chichen Itza, an ancient Mayan city honored in 2007 as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Photo from Mysterious Places.

Teaching Kids To Blog

Cleopatra-Queen-of-the-Nile, also known as The Big Hannah Montana Fan, has learned (thanks to me and Jason at Dat Money) how to add meta tags to images on her blog.  We actually managed to implement this through the use of HTML code, which is frightening for me but doesn't seem to bother her at all.  And naturally, she's extremely witty in her captioning, like so (mouse over the image to see how clever she is):

That's my baby.

Impeccable Timing

This Mother's Day we ask the burning question: "How do mourning dove moms feed their kids chicks?"

Our answer comes from BioKIDS:

"Both male and female mourning doves share in incubating and feeding their young. Incubation lasts 14 to 15 days. Young mourning doves are fed regurgitated food by both parents. For the first 3 to 4 days after hatching the young are fed only crop milk, an energy rich substance that is produced in the crops of both male and female parents. After that time, parents begin to add more seeds to the regurgitated food until they are fed only regurgitated seeds by the time the young leave the nest. Female mourning doves feed the young most during the first 15 days after hatching but after that males take over the responsibility for feeding the young. The young continue to stay near the nest and beg for food after they have fledged, but can survive on their own after 21 days old if there is food nearby."

Photo Hunters: Share Any Photo

Our first PhotoHunt.

 

Cleo had her hair cut off about a month ago and sent it to Pantene Great Lengths, which will take as little as eight inches of hair, as opposed to the ten inches required by Locks of Love.

Visit FeeFiFoto and put your Photo Hunt picture on a cookie tin; then fill the tin with chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and send it to me someone you love.