FeeFiFoto Blog

May I Share With You Some May Holidays?

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

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, for your listening reading pleasure, is a list of May dates that will make your personalized calendars just a touch more ridiculous interesting.

1

Mother Goose Day
Save The Rhino Day

Kate Smith, b. 1909

2

Fire Day
Dr. Benjamin Spock, b. 1903
Baron Von Richthofen, b. 1892

3

Bing Crosby, b. 1907
Lumpy Rutherford Rug Day

 

4

National Candied Orange Peel Day
Audrey Hepburn, b. 1929

5

National Hoagie Day 
Karl Marx, b. 1818

6

Beverage Day
Sigmund Freud, b. 1856

7

International Tuba Day
Paste Up Day
National Roast Leg of Lamb Day
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, b. 1840

8

No Socks Day
Have A Coke Day

How does this differ from Beverage Day?

9

Lost Sock Memorial Day 

10

Clean Up Your Room Day
Fred Astaire, b. 1899

11 

Eat What You Want Day
Twilight Zone Day
Salvador Dali, b. 1904
Irving Berlin, b. 1888

12 

Limerick Day 
Katharine Hepburn, b. 1907

13 

Leprechaun Day
Joe Louis, b. 1914
Bea Arthur, b. 1923

14 

National Dance Like A Chicken Day 

15 

National Chocolate Chip Day 

16

Wear Purple For Peace Day
Liberace, b. 1919

Is there some connection here? 

17

Pack Rat Day

No, not Rat Pack -- Pack Rat!

18 

International Museum Day
Visit Your Relatives Day
Frank Capra, b. 1897

19

Frog Jumping Jubilee Day 
Malcolm X, b. 1925

20 

Eliza Doolittle Day 
Jimmy Stewart, b. 1908

21 

National Memo Day
National Waitresses/Waiters Day
Fats Waller, b. 1904

22 

Buy-A-Musical-Instrument Day
Richard Wagner, b. 1813

You can't play Wagner without musical instruments

23 

Rosemary Clooney, b. 1928
Penny Day

Because that's all you'll have left after spending a few grand on a piano 

24 

National Escargot Day 

25 

National Tap Dance Day
Ralph Waldo Emerson, b. 1803

26 

Grey Day
John Wayne, b. 1907
Jay Silverheels, b. 1919

27 

Body Painting Arts Festival
Wild Bill Hickock, b. 1837
Vincent Price, b. 1911

28 

National Hamburger Day
Ian Fleming, b. 1908

29 

End Of The Middle Ages Day

How can they be so sure the Middle Ages ended exactly on May 29th?

30 

My Bucket's Got A Hole In It Day 

31 

National Macaroon Day
Walt Whitman, b. 1819

See more Strange Holidays.

Please visit Save The Rhino and save some rhinos.

Visit FeeFiFoto to design personalized photo calendars.

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

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, for your listening reading pleasure, is a list of May dates that will make your personalized calendars just a touch more ridiculous interesting.

Strange March Holidays

Making personalized calendars even more personal with the addition of memorable dates; here are some for March

FeeFiFoto was one of the first web sites to offer a service for customers to upload photographs, design, create and edit their own customized calendars.  This was a vast improvement over relying on Kinko's to:

• scan your photos
• crop your photos
• add your captions
• create your calendars
• call you for pickup
• miss some knuckleheaded mistake requiring them to rerun the entire project
• repeat until you finally gave up because you were tired of driving to Kinko's

Creating your own photo calendars online is so easy that you could make a different design for each recipient, leaving out the birthdays of yucky in-laws on calendars for all other relatives. 

You want your personalized calendar to be such an entertaining memento that the reader not only will keep it but will refer to it over and over just for its entertainment value?  We're making that part easy too.

Did you know March 20 is Festival Of Extraterrestrial Abductions Day?  How could you not make this special event a centerpiece of your annual gift calendar?

See below for other interesting March dates:

March

1

National Pig Day
Peanut Butter Lover's Day
Harry Caray, b. 1914

2

Old Stuff Day
Dr. Seuss, b. 1904

3

I Want You To Be Happy Day
Peach Blossom Day
National Anthem Day
Alexander Graham Bell, b. 1847

4

Holy Experiment Day
Knute Rockne, b. 1888
Antonio Vivaldi, b. 1678

5

Multiple Personalities Day

Shouldn't multiple personalities be entitled to more than one day?

6

National Frozen Food Day
Lou Costello, b. 1906

7

National Crown Roast Of Pork Day
Maurice Ravel, b. 1875

Defrost your crown roast on the 6th; see above

8

Be Nasty Day

9

Panic Day
Amerigo Vespucci, b. 1454

10

Festival Of Life In The Cracks Day

11

Johnny Appleseed Day
Worship Of Tools Day
Ralph Abernathy, b. 1926

12

Alfred Hitchcock Day

13

Jewel Day

14

Pi Day

Can you guess why?

Albert Einstein, b. 1879

Big hint...

National Potato Chip Day

Has nothing to do with the two previous dates

See also National Tortilla Chip Day

15

Ides Of March
Everything You Think Is Wrong Day
Buzzards Day

This one makes complete sense:

• On the Ides of March Julius Caesar thought he was safe. 
• He was wrong. 
• Consequently, he was consumed by buzzards.

16

Everything You Do Is Right Day
James Madison, b. 1751
Henny Youngman, b. 1906

My mother sat next to Henny Youngman at the Carnegie Deli once.  True story.

17

Submarine Day
Nat "King" Cole, b. 1919

18

Supreme Sacrifice Day

19

Wyatt Earp, b. 1848
Poultry Day

In honor of Poultry Day we all do the Chicken Dance

20

Proposal Day
Festival Of Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
Fred "Mr." Rogers, b. 1928

21

Fragrance Day
Johann Sebastian Bach, b. 1685

22

National Goof-off Day

23

National Organize Your Home Office Day
National Chip And Dip Day

24

National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
Harry Houdini, b. 1874

Here's a hint: don't feed chocolate covered raisins to the dog.  Just a hunch, but I suspect you'll be cleaning up after her for a couple of days.  Plus, PLEASE NOTE: raisins, grapes and chocolate can be lethal to dogs.

25

Pecan Day
Waffle Day

26

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
Spinach Festival Day

27

National "Joe" Day

28

Something On A Stick Day

29

Festival Of Smoke and Mirrors Day

30

I Am In Control Day
Vincent Van Gogh, b. 1853

Definitely wasn't in control

31

Bunsen Burner Day
National Clams On The Half Shell Day

What do you do in observance of Pi Day?

See also: February Strange Holidays

Visit FeeFiFoto to create personalized photo calendars with all kinds of unusual holidays.

Odd February Dates

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

FeeFiFoto has been producing personalized photo calendars as a core part of our business since we were established about five years ago.  For a long time our designs and features were relatively unchanged, but last year 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. 

Last year the kids and I designed calendars for our family, and in addition to the usual birthdays and anniversaries, we chose one day each month for a fictitious holiday just to see if anyone was paying attention.  January 16 was Talk Like Pirates Day, February 24 was Walk Backwards Day, March 1 was Talk Really Fast Day, August 17 was Snowball Fight Day, and November 2 was Kiss Your Mom Day.  We also acknowledged some legitimate holidays and anniversaries, like the Ides of March (March 15), Beethoven's Birthday (December 16) and the anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride (April 18).  It was fun and silly.

I can't imagine that the majority of customers who buy personalized photo calendars from FeeFiFoto have my family's twisted warped exotic highly developed sense of humor, but on the outside chance that at least someone out there appreciates a good absurdist* joke, I've compiled a list of some really weird, but apparently true, national and international holidays.

February

1

Serpent Day
Clark Gable, b. 1901

 2

Purification Day
James Joyce, b. 1882

3

Carrot Cake Day
Cordova Ice Worm Day

I don't even want to know about this one

4

Rosa Parks, b. 1913
Thank A Mailman Day
Create A Vacuum Day

I've heard Dysons are really good

5

National Weatherman's Day
Disaster Day

Could these two be related?

6

Lame Duck Day
Aaron Burr, b. 1756
Babe Ruth, b. 1895

7

Charles Dickens Day 

8

Kite Flying Day

Shouldn't this be in April?

9

Toothache Day

Think I'll pass on this one

10

Umbrella Day 

11

White Tee-Shirt Day
Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day
Thomas Edison, b. 1847

12

National Plum Pudding Day 

13

Get A Different Name Day
Dream Your Sweet Day
Read To Your Child Day 

14

Ferris Wheel Day
National Heart to Heart Day 

15

National Gum Drop Day

But please, don't drop your gum on the sidewalk

16

Do A Grouch A Favor Day

But only if he asks nicely

17

Champion Crab Races Day

18

Pluto Day 
National Battery Day

Umm -- is there a National Assault Day?

19

National Chocolate Mint Day

You got my attention with this one

20

Hoodie Hoo Day

Woo hoo -- it's Hoodie Hoo Day!

21

Card Reading Day 

22

Be Humble Day

The rest of the year, be as conceited as you like

23

W.E.B. Dubois, b. 1868
Banana Bread Day
International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day

Miss Puppy likes this one

24

National Tortilla Chip Day 

25

Pistol Patent Day (Samuel Colt)
George Harrison, b. 1943

26

 

William Frawley, b. 1887
Buffalo Bill Cody, b. 1846
National Pistachio Day

I like pistachios better than pistols

27
Marian Anderson, b. 1897
International Polar Bear Day

I like polar bears

28

Public Sleeping Day

I like sleeping

29

National Surf and Turf Day

Do you commemorate Beethoven's Birthday?  And what is an "Ides" anyway?

Visit FeeFiFoto to design really personalized calendars with your own photos and dates.

*SpellCheck tried for Kurdistan

Favorites Of 2010

Recapping some of my favorite posts of 2010, because I'm not Allie Brosh* and no one else will do it for me

A List Of My Favorite Posts From 2010
Which Should Carry Exactly As Much Weight As
When The Waitress Confides Her Favorite Menu Items
But It's My Blog So If You Don't Like It Get Your Own Blog

In January, there was the time I bargained for that dress.  Remember when I bargained for the dress?  It's a cute dress.  In fact, I'm wearing it right now.  I'm a bit concerned that if I don't praise the dress while wearing it, it might rise up and throttle me as I doze with my face pressed into the keyboard and unintentionally type hgyhygggggggggggggg: In This Economy, Retailers Are Smart To Bargain.

In February, the car broke down due to an electrical malfunction which had absolutely nothing to do with my leaving the lights on, which I did because the warning dinger didn't ding because there was an electrical malfunction (see above): Is There Ever A Convenient Time For The Car To Break Down? (Hint: there isn't).

In March, the entire airport broke down, which again was not my fault and furthermore had nothing to do with electrical malfunctions or electricity of any kind.  Except maybe lightning: Weather Disruptions Worked In Lindsay Vonn's Favor...

In April, we touched on the colors of travel (hint: there's lots of blue): Blue Is The Color Of Heaven

In May, I had some advice for the varmint population in our yard on how to appear less blockheaded: Letters of Advice.

In June, Robespierre became a Bar Mitzvah.  I wrote a lot about the subject (you try throwing a Bar Mitzvah without raving even while sleeping); here is one of my favorite posts on the subject: Superhero Or Super Villain -- Choose Wisely.

In July, I Shot An Elephant In My Pajamas, which degenerated into an existential discussion of grammar. With this post I received one of my favorite comments of all time from Ivan Toblog: Written, your statement would have to say something like, "Don't use that spoon. I killed a fly with it."

In August, I did some reading: More Of What I've Been Reading Lately.

In September, some of us got stuck in the mud.  Fortunately, we got out and lived to tell the tale: Sorry We Weren't In Touch Last Weekend. We Were Swamped.

In October, I discussed why cell phones rock: Why I LOOOOVE My Cell Phone.

In November, I unveiled my FeeFiFoto Fundraising program: Need To Raise Money For Your Organization? Here's My Proposal.

In December, I remembered that I forgot to have the sprinklers turned off before the first freeze: My Mistake.

*Of Hyperbole and a Half.  Last year I compared myself to Dooce but I don't like Dooce and never have, so I'm happy to be able to compare myself (heh) to someone I admire instead.

Do you have a favorite 2010 post?  Of mine?

Strange January Dates

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

FeeFiFoto has been producing personalized photo calendars as a core part of our business since we were established. For the 2007 Christmas season 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.

Last year the kids and I designed calendars for our family, and in addition to the usual birthdays and anniversaries, we chose one day each month for a fictitious holiday just to see if anyone was paying attention. January 16 was Talk Like Pirates Day, February 24 was Walk Backwards Day, March 1 was Talk Really Fast Day, August 17 was Snowball Fight Day, and November 2 was Kiss Your Mom Day. We also acknowledged some legitimate holidays and anniversaries, like the Ides of March (March 15), Beethoven's Birthday (December 16) and the anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride (April 18). It was fun and silly.

Here are some silly, and real (supposedly) holidays you can add to photo calendars.

January

1
First Foot Day
Z Day
Paul Revere, b. 1735
Betsy Ross, b. 1752

2
Run Up The Flagpole and See If Anyone Salutes Day
Happy Mew Year for Cats Day

3
Festival of Sleep Day
National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
J.R.R. Tolkien, b. 1892

4
Trivia Day
Humiliation Day
Louis Braille, b. 1809

5
National Bird Day
George Reeves, b. 1914

6
Bean Day
Cuddle Up Day
Joan of Arc, b. 1412

7
Old Rock Day
Millard Fillmore, b. 1800
Charles Addams, b. 1912

8
Bubble Bath Day
Butterfly McQueen, b. 1911
Soupy Sales, b. 1926
Elvis Presley, b. 1935

9
Play God Day
Richard Nixon, b. 1913
Bob Denver, b. 1935

10
Peculiar People Day
Grigori Rasputin, b. 1869
Ray Bolger, b. 1904

Yay!  We have our own day!

11
Step in a Puddle and Splash your Friends Day
Alexander Hamilton, b. 1755

12
National Pharmacist Day

13
Make Your Dream Come True Day
Rubber Duckie Day
Blame Someone Else Day
International Skeptics Day

14
Dress Up Your Pet Day
Benedict Arnold, b. 1741

15
National Hat Day
Aristotle Onassis, b. 1906
Martin Luther King, b. 1929

16
National Nothing Day
Ethel Merman, b. 1908

Image from here

17
Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day
Customer Service Day
Benjamin Franklin, b. 1706
Anne Bronte, b. 1820
Al Capone, b. 1899
Eartha Kitt, b. 1927
Shari Lewis, b. 1934

18
Winnie The Pooh Day
Thesaurus Day
Oliver Hardy, b. 1892

19
Popcorn Day
Robert E. Lee, b. 1807
Edgar Allan Poe, b.1809
Janis Joplin, b. 1943

20
Buttercrunch Day
Penguin Awareness Day
Patricia Neal, b. 1926

21
Squirrel Appreciation Day
National Hugging Day
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, b. 1824

Personally I appreciate penguins more

22
National Answer Your Cat's Question Day
National Blonde Brownie Day

23
National Handwriting Day
National Pie Day 

John Hancock, b. 1737

...but not Pi Day

24
Beer Appreciation Day
Compliment Day

25
Opposite Day
Robert Burns, b. 1759
Virginia Woolf, b. 1882
Edwin Newman, b. 1919

26
Spouse's Day
Cockroach Race Day
Paul Newman, b. 1925

27
Punch the Clock Day
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, b. 1756
Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), b. 1832
Donna Reed, b. 1921

28
Rattlesnake Roundup
Fun At Work Day
Jackson Pollack, b. 1912

29
National Corn Chip
Curmudgeons Day
National Puzzle Day
John Forsythe, b. 1918

Want a personalized photo puzzles?

30
National Escape
National Inane Answering Machine Message Day
Franklin D. Roosevelt, b. 1882

31
Backward Day

As opposed to Opposite Day, see above

Oh, and the last Monday of January is National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day.
Jackie Robinson, b. 1919

Fund Raising Sponsored By FeeFiFoto

Wouldn't it be marvelous to get your hands on some of those pictures of your adorable children or pets while raising money for your favorite charitable organizations?

My website, FeeFiFoto, prints digital photos on holiday cards, calendars, Christmas ornaments and other gift items.

I will create a private, exclusive website affiliated with FeeFiFoto for the sole use of your preschool, dog or cat or horse club, Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop, school band or choir or drama club, that will let members view photos and purchase prints or gift items while generating a rebate for the organization.

EASE OF OPERATION

Your group will upload photos and promote its private site just as it promotes any other events or fundraisers.  When new photos are loaded, you'll be able to send a private email to your members inviting them to view and purchase photos or gift items.   If you prefer, I can take care of uploading photo files and notifying members.

I’ll take care of customer service issues. There will be no accounting on the part of your organization's staff; we’ll remit regular payments reflecting purchases made through your group's affiliate site.

When your group's members upload their personal photos to your group's private site, any associated purchases will also generate rebates.

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE

Here are some of the personalized gift items offered by FeeFiFoto:

Photo Books, Pillows, Throws, Tapestries, Calendars, Greeting Cards, Handbags, Tee Shirts, Sweat Shirts, Canvas Totes, Keepsake Boxes, Jewelry Boxes, Watches, Jewelry, Crystal, Porcelain Plates, Melamine Cartoon Character Plates, Sports Balls, Mugs and Steins, Cookie Tins and Jars, Coasters, Mousepads, Christmas Ornaments, Tiles and Plaques, Puzzles, Playing Cards, Digital Prints in standard sizes, Stuffed Animals, Paperweights, Clipboards.

The list of products for your group's private site can be expanded or limited as requested.

APPEARANCE

The banner at the top of your site's home page will let visitors know they’re in the group’s private site.  This banner (click it to view full size) matches FeeFiFoto’s appearance; the banner can be redesigned to incorporate your group's logo and color scheme.

SECURITY

All photos viewable on the site will remain private, viewable only by group members who have been specifically invited to log in by the site administrator.  Nobody on your group's mailing list will be added to the general FeeFiFoto email list unless they so request.

GUIDELINES

You must provide appropriate document showing that your organization is a legitimate, 501(c)(3), nonprofit group.

SINCERITY OF THIS OFFER

I realize the tone of this blog is normally humorous (at least that's my aim).  Nevertheless, this offer is completely serious. I'm offering the opportunity for members of your organization to purchase high quality copies of photos of their children and raise much-needed money at the same time.

GETTING STARTED

Click HERE to inquire about the FeeFiFoto fundraising program.

That's it.  I'm looking forward to working with you.

For more information on the creation of this fundraising program, click here and here.

Need To Raise Money For Your Organization? Here's My Proposal.

When we last met we talked about organizations that have photos of your children that you never get to enjoy because they're locked away in someone's hard drive. 

That is, the photos are locked away.  Not your children.  Although, for all I know, your children might be locked away in a hard drive somewhere.  This might be your main method of discipline.  It's not for me to judge.

We also discussed organizations that beg you to send a check or buy a cookie or sell a poinsettia or order a tee shirt or put a bumper sticker on your car. 

So, you'll recall, I said: Wouldn't it be cool to raise money for your organization and get your hands on some of those pictures of your adorable children or pets at the same time?

My website, FeeFiFoto, prints digital photos on holiday cards, calendars, Christmas ornaments and other gift items.  My father and I bought the site from some guys who'd used it to demonstrate their shopping cart and digital imaging software.  Since taking over the site, we've noticed an interesting difference between FeeFiFoto and our competition.  We have something they haven't got, and it's not a diploma, a medal or a testimonial.

I know many of my customers.  I've spoken with some, corresponded with others by email.  I remember many customer service calls, like this one.  Because of this personal and direct connection with many of my customers, I'm able to offer them (and you, so pay attention!) something they won't get from my competitors.

I can create a private, exclusive website affiliated with FeeFiFoto for the use of your preschool, dog or cat or horse club, Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop, school band or choir or drama club, that will let members view photos and purchase prints or gift items with a 10% rebate to be earned by the organization.

EASE OF OPERATION

Your group will upload photos to offer to members and promote this program just as it promotes any other fundraisers. I’ll take care of customer service issues. There will be no accounting on the part of any member of your organization's staff; we’ll remit regular payments reflecting purchases made through your group's affiliate site.  If your group's members upload their personal photos to your group's private site, any associated purchases will also generate rebates.

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE

Click here to see all the items we offer; the list of products for your group's private site can be expanded or limited as requested.

APPEARANCE

The top banner lets visitors know they’re visiting the group’s private site.  This banner (click it to view full size) matches FeeFiFoto’s appearance.  I can easily convert the banner, logo and color scheme to one that looks like your organization's own web site.

SECURITY

All photos viewable on the site will remain private, since only people who have been specifically invited by the site administrator can log in.  Nobody in your group will be added to the general FeeFiFoto email list unless they so request.

GUIDELINES

Your organization must be a legitimate, 501(c)(3), nonprofit group. And let's keep it clean -- I'm not interested in funding the C#urc# of Let's Kick Pvpp!es or the Ki!l All the J@ws and Mu$lims Club. 

The first 10 groups that become members of this program will receive a 10% rebate of all purchases made through their partner sites.

SINCERITY OF THIS OFFER

I realize the tone of this blog is normally humorous (at least that's my aim).  Nevertheless, this offer is completely serious.  I'm offering the opportunity for members of your organization to purchase high quality copies of photos of their children and raise much-needed money at the same time.

What could be better?

Tune in tomorrow to learn how to get started.

Need To Raise Money For Your Organization?

Setting the Scene

Tell the truth: You have lots of orphan photos on your hard drive, don't you?

Not exactly the kind of orphans I had in mind... in any case, the picture came from here.

So do your kids' preschool, Brownie troop, children's choir, Boy Scout troop, t-ball team.  The preschool takes a field trip to the pumpkin farm and someone shoots armloads of pictures, of which 3 make it into the newsletter, another 3 appear on the school’s web site, and the rest sink into the oblivion of the preschool director's computer hard drive. 

And it seems that your kid's picture is never in the newsletter because your kid is so gorgeous and engaging that the people designing the newsletter don't want the other parents to feel bad that their kids are so much goofier and uglier than yours, so there are pictures of YOUR KID, cute photos of your little darling, that you'll NEVAAAR get your hands on because the preschool staff is too overloaded to do anything except store them away like Indiana Jones's Lost Ark, only it's way sadder because these are pictures of YOUR KIDS and not just the Ark of the Covenant.

Or you belong to a cat group or a dog group or a horse group or a snake group or a llama group and someone takes captivating pictures of your lovelies, but the only ones you see have been posted on the web site and you never get access to any of the others.

Or you do the Autism walk, or the Breast Cancer walk, or the Humane Society walk or the March of Dimes walk (march?) and lots of people take lots of pictures, most of which you never see.  Meanwhile, your pet organizations relentlessly appeal for donations (or, in the case of the dog and cat clubs, noms) so you participate in bake sales and car washes and dogs washes and gift wrap sales and pizza sales, which you hate, or you sell Girl Scout cookies, which... well, Girl Scout cookies practically sell themselves, so let's not go there.

So, let's recap.

1. There are hundreds, maybe even bazillions, of photo files of your kids or your dog or your cat or your horse or your alpaca that you never get to enjoy.
2. You belong to a list of organizations that regularly prostrate themselves at your door, in your driveway, on your roof, in your inbox, imploring you to donate so they can supply juice boxes for your little darlings on field trips and continue to pay postage on solicitation letters.
3. Wouldn't it be phenomenal to a) get your hands on those pictures, while b) raising money for your organization, at c) no cost to you or your group?

Come on, admit it -- it would.

I know exactly how you feel. 

My daughter sings in a choir.  The choir owns photos from rehearsals and field trips that aren’t typically made available to choir families. Choir parents and audience members are not allowed to take photos during concerts; my brother-in-law tried to sneak a few shots at Cupcake's first concert, and as much as I would have liked to have some photos, I had to suppress him.

 

Parents know there are legitimate reasons for these restrictions, but we also feel a sense of loss at our powerlessness to preserve these special moments involving our children.

Well, here I come to save the day, offering you and your organization a win/win deal.

Tune in tomorrow for the 411.

Shameless Commerce For Holiday Season

This Year Order Everything Online At:

Get FREE Shipping on Calendars

Until November 30

Welcome to FeeFiFoto, your first stop for personalized gifts.

Maybe you're just beginning your holiday shopping; or perhaps you're one of those organized people the rest of us secretly envy, and you're nearly finished.

We can help you get started, or wind up your search for those last few special gifts.

Take a look at the many items we can create to make your holiday gift giving so much easier and more meaningful.

Visit FeeFiFoto to find personalized mugs, handbags, calendars, ornaments, jewelry, watches, apparel and dozens of gifts from the heart.

Turn your photos into unique memories and give the perfect gift every time.

Porcelain Ornaments Show Off

Your Favorite Photos.

Photo Personalized Calendars. 

Need We Say More?

Photo Personalized Books Commemorate

Special People and Events.

Independence Day Is Just The Beginning: Bizarre July Holidays

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

The kids and I design calendars for our family on our web site, FeeFiFoto, and in addition to the usual birthdays and anniversaries, we choose one day each month for a fictitious holiday just to see if anyone is paying attention. January 16 was Talk Like Pirates Day, February 24 was Walk Backwards Day, March 1 was Talk Really Fast Day, August 17 was Snowball Fight Day, and November 2 was Kiss Your Mom Day. We also acknowledged some legitimate holidays and anniversaries, like the Ides of March (March 15), Beethoven's Birthday (December 16) and the anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride (April 18). It was fun and silly.

Don't forget: as of today, June 30, there are 177-odd days left until Christmas.  Why not begin designing holiday calendars now?

1
Canada Day
Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day
Build A Scarecrow Day
Second Half of the Year Day

Duh

2
Visitation Of The Virgin Mary Day
I Forgot Day
Thurgood* Marshall, b. 1908

Really?  I Forgot Day?  Seriously?

3
Stay Out Of The Sun Day
Compliment Your Mirror Day
Disobedience Day
George M. Cohan, b. 1878

 

4
National Country Music Day
Tom Sawyer Fence-Painting Day
Rube Goldberg, b. 1883

You'll need that napkin to wipe the melting ice cream off your face and hands.

5
Workaholics Day
P.T. Barnum, b. 1810

6
National Fried Chicken Day
John Paul Jones, b. 1747

Fried chicken goes well with ice cream.

7
National Strawberry Sundae Day
Chocolate Day

Every day is Chocolate Day, isn't it?

8
Video Games Day

9
National Sugar Cookie Day
Nicola Tesla, b. 1856

Sugar cookies go well with ice cream.  And chocolate.

10
Clerihew Day
Don't Step on a Bee Day

11
National Cheer Up The Lonely Day
E.B. White, b. 1899

12
International Town Criers Day
National Pecan Pie Day

Pecan pie goes well with ice cream.

13
Gruntled Workers Day
Fool's Paradise Day

14
National Nude Day

 
15
Blame Respect Canada Day
National Tapioca Pudding Day
Rembrandt Van Rijn, b. 1606

16
International Juggling Day

17
National Peach Ice Cream Day
Art Linkletter*, b. 1912

18
National Ice Cream Day
National Caviar Day
Red Skelton, b. 1913

19
Flitch Day
National Raspberry Cake Day

20
Ugly Truck Contest Day
Mood Day
National Lollipop Day

21
National Tug-Of-War Tournament Day
Isaac Stern, b. 1920

22
Ratcatcher's Day
Hammock Day
Alexander Calder, b. 1898

23
National Vanilla Ice Cream Day
Hot Dog Day
Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, b. 1918

24
Amelia Earhart Day

I've always wondered who'd be brave enough to use an Amelia Earhart postage stamp.  Wouldn't you worry that your letter would be lost?

25
Threading The Needle Day

26
All Or Nothing Day
Vivian Vance, b. 1912

27
Take Your Pants For A Walk Day (graphic from the BBC)
Walk on Stilts Day

28
National Milk Chocolate Day
Beatrix Potter, b. 1866

29
Cheese Sacrifice Purchase Day
Chili Dog Day

30
National Cheesecake Day
Emily Bronte, b. 1818

Cheesecake goes well with ice cream.

31
Parent's Day

*Spellcheck offered Thursday, and Newsletter

If April Showers Bring May Flowers, What Do Mayflowers Bring?

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

FeeFiFoto has been producing personalized photo calendars as a core part of our business since we were established.  For a long time our designs and features were relatively unchanged, but 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.

Think about how smart and well-informed you'll be appear when you casually flaunt your knowledge of such esoteric dates as National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, or Jayne Mansfield's birthday.

Here's a list of essential April dates.

1
One Cent Day
International Fun At Work Day
Sergei Rachmaninoff, b. 1873

Children's Book Day
National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day
Buddy Ebsen, b. 1908

Perfect: pack up some PBJs and read some books to children

3
Tweed Day
Don't Go To Work Unless It's Fun Day
Washington Irving, b. 1783

4
Tell-A-Lie Day

5
Deep Dish Pizza Day
Go For Broke Day
Booker T. Washington, b. 1856

6
Sorry Charlie Day
Butch Cassidy, b. 1866

7
No Housework Day
Billie Holliday, b. 1915

8
Draw a Picture of a Bird Day
All Is Ours Day
Sonja Henie, b. 1912
Betty Ford, b. 1918

9
Cherish an Antique Day
Winston Churchill Day
Name Yourself Day 

10 
National Siblings Day
Golfers Day 

11 
International "Louie Louie" Day
Eight-Track Tape Day 

12 
Look Up At The Sky Day

Tiny Tim, b. 1912

13 
Blame Somebody Else Day
Thomas Jefferson, b. 1743

Go ahead -- blame Jefferson if you must.

14 
Be Kind to Lawyers Day
Moment of Laughter Day
National Pecan Day 

15 
Rubber Eraser Day
Leonardo Da Vinci, b. 1452
Henry James, b. 1843

16 
National Stress Awareness Day
Wear your Pajamas to Work Day
National Eggs Benedict Day
Wilbur Wright, b. 1867
Charlie Chaplin, b. 1889

Yeah, it might be a little stressful to be caught at work in your PJs.

17 
Blah Blah Blah Day
National Cheeseball Day 

18 
International Jugglers Day
Paul Revere's Ride, 1775

19 
Garlic Day
Jayne Mansfield, b. 1933

20 
Look Alike Day 

21 
Kindergarten Day 
Charlotte Bronte, b. 1816

22 
National Jelly Bean Day
Earth Day
Vladimir Lenin, b. 1870

Lenin liked jelly beans, didn't he? No, wait -- that was Ronald Reagan.

23 
Talk Like Shakespeare Day
Read Me Day
World Laboratory Animal Day
William Shakespeare, b. 1564

24 
National Pigs In A Blanket Day 

25 
National Zucchini Bread Day
Ella Fitzgerald, b. 1918

26 
Richter Scale Day
National Pretzel Day 

27 
Tell A Story Day 

28 
Great Poetry Reading Day
Kiss-Your-Mate Day 

29 
National Shrimp Scampi Day
Duke Ellington, b. 1899

30 
National Honesty Day

See also: Strange Holidays

Be honest: did you know that April 30th was National Honesty Day before I told you?

Visit FeeFiFoto to create personalized photo calendars with all kinds of unusual holidays.

March, March, March!

Making personalized calendars even more personal with the addition of memorable dates; here are some for March

FeeFiFoto was one of the first web sites to offer a service for customers to upload photographs, design, create and edit their own customized calendars.  This was a vast improvement over relying on Kinko's to:

• scan your photos
• crop your photos
• add your captions
• create your calendars
• call you for pickup
• miss some knuckleheaded mistake requiring them to rerun the entire project
• repeat until you finally gave up because you were tired of driving to Kinko's

Creating your own photo calendars online is so easy that you could make a different design for each recipient, leaving out the birthdays of yucky in-laws on calendars for all other relatives. 

You want your personalized calendar to be such an entertaining memento that the reader not only will keep it but will refer to it over and over just for its entertainment value?  We're making that part easy too.

Did you know March 20 is Festival Of Extraterrestrial Abductions Day?  How could you not make this special event a centerpiece of your annual gift calendar?

See below for other interesting March dates:

March

1

National Pig Day
Peanut Butter Lover's Day
Harry Caray, b. 1914

2

Old Stuff Day
Dr. Seuss, b. 1904

3

I Want You To Be Happy Day
Peach Blossom Day
National Anthem Day
Alexander Graham Bell, b. 1847

4

Holy Experiment Day
Knute Rockne, b. 1888
Antonio Vivaldi, b. 1678

5

Multiple Personalities Day

Shouldn't multiple personalities be entitled to more than one day?

6

National Frozen Food Day
Lou Costello, b. 1906

7

National Crown Roast Of Pork Day
Maurice Ravel, b. 1875

Defrost your crown roast on the 6th; see above

8

Be Nasty Day

9

Panic Day
Amerigo Vespucci, b. 1454

10

Festival Of Life In The Cracks Day

11

Johnny Appleseed Day
Worship Of Tools Day
Ralph Abernathy, b. 1926

12

Alfred Hitchcock Day

13

Jewel Day

14

Pi Day

Can you guess why?

Albert Einstein, b. 1879

Big hint...

National Potato Chip Day

Has nothing to do with the two previous dates

See also National Tortilla Chip Day

15

Ides Of March
Everything You Think Is Wrong Day
Buzzards Day

This one makes complete sense:

• On the Ides of March Julius Caesar thought he was safe. 
• He was wrong. 
• Consequently, he was consumed by buzzards.

16

Everything You Do Is Right Day
James Madison, b. 1751
Henny Youngman, b. 1906

My mother sat next to Henny Youngman at the Carnegie Deli once.  True story.

17

Submarine Day
Nat "King" Cole, b. 1919

18

Supreme Sacrifice Day

19

Wyatt Earp, b. 1848
Poultry Day

In honor of Poultry Day we all do the Chicken Dance

20

Proposal Day
Festival Of Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
Fred "Mr." Rogers, b. 1928

21

Fragrance Day
Johann Sebastian Bach, b. 1685

22

National Goof-off Day

23

National Organize Your Home Office Day
National Chip And Dip Day

24

National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
Harry Houdini, b. 1874

Here's a hint: don't feed chocolate covered raisins to the dog.  Just a hunch, but I suspect you'll be cleaning up after her for a couple of days.

25

Pecan Day
Waffle Day

26

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
Spinach Festival Day

27

National "Joe" Day

28

Something On A Stick Day

29

Festival Of Smoke and Mirrors Day

30

I Am In Control Day
Vincent Van Gogh, b. 1853

Definitely wasn't in control

31

Bunsen Burner Day
National Clams On The Half Shell Day

What do you do in observance of Pi Day?

See also: February Strange Holidays

Visit FeeFiFoto to create personalized photo calendars with all kinds of unusual holidays.

Spring Fame Contest 2010: You'll Be As Famous As Sadie The Scottie Dog

A Contest Unlike Anything You've Ever Seen

It's time once again for the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest.

You've seen contests to win candy bars. You've seen contests to win mismatched socks. You've seen contests to win cookies and treats. Now for something completely different:

Enter this contest to win FAME.  And a gift certificate.

You'll be as famous as Sadie the Scottie, and who knows -- you might even appear on The Today Show.

The winner of this contest will have one favorite photograph incorporated into a landing page on FeeFiFoto. Just visit FeeFiFoto, cruise around as long as you like, then come back here and leave me a comment about which item you'd like to see with your photo on the home page of my website.  Plus, the winner of this contest will receive a $10 gift certificate for a personalized photo gift item from FeeFiFoto.

I'll draw one name at random on February 28^th. Once the winner has emailed the photo to me, I'll put it on a graphic on the FeeFiFoto home page.

You can feature family, pets, kids' artwork or artistic shots -- your choice. A black and white photo of your house on a porcelain plate would be lovely. Once your photo is up on the site, far-flung friends and family can tune in and shout to each other: "Honey! Come quickly!  Little John/ Paul/ George/ Ringo is in an advertisement! Well lock me in an ice cream store and throw away the key!"

 

Last year's winner was JC from Castleruins, who chose to have her photo displayed on a Wooden Cherry Colored Box with Tile Inset. The image is printed permanently on a ceramic tile, which is inset into the box's lid. Great as a wedding gift or Mother's Day present.

See your favorite faces featured on beautiful jewelry boxes from FeeFiFoto. Want something funkier?  Choose to have your photo displayed on a wooden puzzle.

Any. Where. You. Choose. Visit FeeFiFoto and tell me what you where you want to see your picture. It's all about YOU.

A few simple guidelines:

• Please furnish your email address so I can get in touch with you as soon as you win; this way, your photo can be up on the site within a couple of days
• The photo submitted to me by the winner must be G-rated
• Your entry must state which item from FeeFiFoto you'd like to display your photo
• The prize for this contest is three months of FAME -- other than the $10 gift certificate, no tangible prize will be awarded
• Blog about this contest (and give me a heads up) and I'll give you an extra entry
• Tweet about this contest and I'll give you another entry

Good luck everybody!

Read more about the FeeFiFoto Fame Contest.

Peculiar January Dates: Want Some?

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

FeeFiFoto has been producing personalized photo calendars as a core part of our business since we were established. For the 2007 Christmas season 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.

Last year the kids and I designed calendars for our family, and in addition to the usual birthdays and anniversaries, we chose one day each month for a fictitious holiday just to see if anyone was paying attention. January 16 was Talk Like Pirates Day, February 24 was Walk Backwards Day, March 1 was Talk Really Fast Day, August 17 was Snowball Fight Day, and November 2 was Kiss Your Mom Day. We also acknowledged some legitimate holidays and anniversaries, like the Ides of March (March 15), Beethoven's Birthday (December 16) and the anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride (April 18). It was fun and silly.

Here are some silly, and real (supposedly) holidays you can add to photo calendars.

January

1
First Foot Day
Z Day
Paul Revere, b. 1735
Betsy Ross, b. 1752

2
Run Up The Flagpole and See If Anyone Salutes Day

3
Festival of Sleep Day
J.R.R. Tolkien, b. 1892

4
Trivia Day
Humiliation Day
Louis Braille, b. 1809

5
National Bird Day
George Reeves, b. 1914

6
Bean Day
Cuddle Up Day
Joan of Arc, b. 1412

7
Old Rock Day
Millard Fillmore, b. 1800
Charles Addams, b. 1912

8
Bubble Bath Day
Butterfly McQueen, b. 1911
Soupy Sales, b. 1926
Elvis Presley, b. 1935

9
Play God Day
Richard Nixon, b. 1913
Bob Denver, b. 1935

10
Peculiar People Day
Grigori Rasputin, b. 1869
Ray Bolger, b. 1904

Yay!  We have our own day!

11
Step in a Puddle and Splash your Friends Day
Alexander Hamilton, b. 1755

12
National Pharmacist Day

13
Make Your Dream Come True Day
Blame Someone Else Day
International Skeptics Day

14
Dress Up Your Pet Day
Benedict Arnold, b. 1741

15
National Hat Day
Aristotle Onassis, b. 1906
Martin Luther King, b. 1929

16
National Nothing Day
Ethel Merman, b. 1908

Image from here

17
Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day
Benjamin Franklin, b. 1706
Anne Bronte, b. 1820
Al Capone, b. 1899
Eartha Kitt, b. 1927
Shari Lewis, b. 1934

18
Winnie The Pooh Day
Thesaurus Day
Oliver Hardy, b. 1892

19
Popcorn Day
Robert E. Lee, b. 1807
Edgar Allan Poe, b.1809
Janis Joplin, b. 1943

20
Buttercrunch Day
Penguin Awareness Day

21
Squirrel Appreciation Day
National Hugging Day
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, b. 1824

Personally I appreciate penguins more

22
National Answer Your Cat's Question Day
National Blonde Brownie Day

23
National Handwriting Day
National Pie Day 

John Hancock, b. 1737

...but not Pi Day

24
Beer Appreciation Day
Compliment Day

25
Opposite Day
Robert Burns, b. 1759
Virginia Woolf, b. 1882

26
Spouse's Day
Paul Newman, b. 1925

27
Punch the Clock Day
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, b. 1756
Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), b. 1832
Donna Reed, b. 1921

28
Rattlesnake Roundup
Fun At Work Day
Jackson Pollack, b. 1912

29
National Corn Chip
National Puzzle Day

Want a personalized photo puzzles?

30
National Escape
National Inane Answering Machine Message Day
Franklin D. Roosevelt, b. 1882

31
Backward Day

As opposed to Opposite Day, see above

Oh, and the last Monday of January is National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day.

Will There Be Anything Left To Put In It After Paying For It?

Extravagant handbags

Really Burberry?  Seriously Neiman Marcus?  Do I really need a handbag trimmed with barbed wire?  For $1695, and no, that's not $16.95 but $1695.00.

I guess if I'm willing and able to spend nearly $1700 on a handbag I can spring for a few extra bucks here and there on cashmere sweater reweaving, leather coat reconditioning, and silk blouse patching, huh?

For gifts that are just as memorable and way less dangerous, visit FeeFiFoto and put favorite photos on microfiber totes, handbags or diaper bags.

Sweet Ride

Really, Neiman Marcus?  Do you really think I need a $25,000 cupcake that rolls along at a cool 7 MPH?

No thanks.  I already have the coolest Cupcake in town.

It's Beethoven's birthday!

Order Personalized Photo Calendars from FeeFiFoto and put your favorite cupcake's photo on every page.

December Already? Add Strange Dates To Personalized Calendars Just To See If Anyone's Paying Attention

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

FeeFiFoto has been producing personalized photo calendars as a core part of our business since we were established. For the 2007 Christmas season 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.

Last year the kids and I designed calendars for our family, and in addition to the usual birthdays and anniversaries, we chose one day each month for a fictitious holiday just to see if anyone was paying attention. January 16 was Talk Like Pirates Day, February 24 was Walk Backwards Day, March 1 was Talk Really Fast Day, August 17 was Snowball Fight Day, and November 2 was Kiss Your Mom Day. We also acknowledged some legitimate holidays and anniversaries, like the Ides of March (March 15), Beethoven's Birthday (December 16) and the anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride (April 18). It was fun and silly.

Here are some silly, and real (supposedly) holidays you can add to photo calendars.

December

1
Eat a Read Apple Day
National Pie Day
Mary Martin, b. 1913

I thought Pi Day was in March.

2
National Fritters Day
Charles Ringling, b. 1863
Georges Seurat, b. 1859

3
National Roof Over Your Head Day

4
Wear Brown Shoes Day
Francisco Franco, b. 1892

It's my understanding that Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

5
National Sacher Torte Day
George Armstrong Custer, b. 1839

6
Gazpacho Day
National Mitten Tree Day
Ira Gerswhin, b. 1896
Agnes Moorehead, b. 1906

7
Cotton Candy Day
Harry Chapin, b. 1942

8
Take It In The Ear Day
Mary Queen of Scots, b. 1542

9
National Pastry Day
Margaret Hamilton, b. 1902

We seem to have a witch theme in December...

10
Festival for the Souls of Dead Whales

11
National Noodle Ring Day
Fiorello LaGuardia, b. 1882

A bit odd of his parents to name him after an airport, don't you agree?

12
National Ding-A-Ling Day

13
Ice Cream Day
Violins Day

14
National Bouillabaisse Day
Nostradamus, b. 1503

Kind of witchy, no?

15
National Lemon Cupcake Day

16
National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
Ludwig van Beethoven, b. 1770

17
National Maple Syrup Day
Underdog Day

18
National Roast Suckling Pig Day

19
Oatmeal Muffin Day

20
Games Day
Harvey Firestone, b. 1868

21
Look at the Bright Side Day
National Flashlight Day
Hamburger Day
Frank Zappa, b. 1940

22
National Date-Nut Bread Day
Connie Mack, b. 1862

23
Roots Day

24
National Egg Nog Day
Ava Gardner, b. 1922

25
National Pumpkin Pie Day
Sir Isaac Newton, b. 1642
Conrad Hilton, b. 1887
Cab Calloway, b. 1907

26
National Whiners Day

27
National Fruitcake Day
Louis Pasteur, b. 1822

28
Card Playing Day
National Chocolate Day

29
Pepper Pot Day
Charles Goodyear, b. 1800

I prefer Michelins

30
National Bicarbonate of Soda Day
Festival of Enormous Changes at the Last Minute
Rudyard Kipling, b. 1865

31
Unlucky Day
Henri Matisse, b. 1869

Saving The Date, Creatively: Imaginative Save The Date Notices

Prospecting for Save the Date reminders to send to Robespierre's out of town friends six months before his Bar Mitzvah.  See Part I here.

We'd need only about a dozen or maybe 17 or, who knows, 20? save the date notices, just for guests we hope will travel to Robey's Bar Mitzvah; everyone else will already be in town.  In a rare moment of clarity I recognized that we weren't limited to a plain reminder card; I could send something more imaginative at cost from FeeFiFoto.  

First I thought I'd create personalized calendars with photos of Robey on each month and the date of his Bar Mitzvah highlighted.  But then I realized that, while calendars are a great gift for aunts, uncles, and grandparents, his friends might not be as impressed with 12 months of Robey as they would be with Sports Illustrated swimsuit models, so the calendars might just languish in desk drawers.  Plus, how many photos of a boy in a cap from his favorite baseball team can you include in a calendar before you have to resort to the Puffy Chicken costume?

 

So much for calendars.

Next I considered greeting cards, which are easy and very inexpensive to produce and mail.

Cards are nice.  We keep most of the holiday cards we receive every year so Robey and Cupcake can keep track of how their friends and relatives have changed over the years.  But a greeting card just didn't seem to be impressive enough to hold the attention of teenagers, and since we needed only about a dozen we could afford to be a little more avant garde.

Cards -- nope.

What to send?  What is it that 13 year old boys might use for years to come, that might not actually embarrass them, that might be cool enough to compel them to cross state lines in Robespierre's honor?

I considered mouse pads but Robey's friends probably have their own mouse pads and might not find it cool to use their friend's Bar Mitzvah invitation to navigate Facebook*.

A mug, perhaps?  Mugs are nice.  They're portable.  Unless they routinely slurp from the garden hose, most people use cups or mugs for their Ovaltine or YooHoo*.  And the cost wouldn't be prohibitive, since we don't have to send one to every potential guest, but only to those who are likely to have some kind of conflict coming up and need to plan far ahead.  The list couldn't possibly include more than ten people... or a dozen... or, wait a minute, we forgot to add a few friends but no more than 30... and let's not forget the German exchange student and the counselor from Scotland... 

At least it's still less than 50. So far.

Egads -- if all these boys come in, what am I going to do with them?  It's a safe bet that we won't spend the weekend watching You've Got Mail and doing manicures...

*Spell Check tried to pull off saltiness, Valentine, facetious, Yokohama, and boyhood but strangely, not Yahoo.

__________________________________________________________________

In honor of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and, what the heck, Cyber Week, through December 5 Order Personalized Photo Ornaments from FeeFiFoto before midnight on December 5 and receive 20% off. Apply coupon code ORNAMENTS09 at checkout.

Offer Expires: December 5, 2009

Remembering Not To Forget: Sending Save The Date Reminders

Ever have two, or three, or infinite opportunities that all arise on the same day?  How do you choose?

Robespierre has blindsided me in the midst of Bar Mitzvah preparation, which diverges from planning a war mainly in degree of spontaneity; planning B'nai Mitzvot (plural of Bar Mitzvah.  You just learned something) must be conducted many months in advance, and requires you to predict weather conditions, which of your child's friends will still be his friends six months from now, your weight, and who might be maneuvering selfishly for a share of your guest list by thoughtlessly planning competing B'nai* Mitzvot on the same weekend.

Through all stages of planning so far, we haven't encountered many conflicts.  One friend is planning a Bar Mitzvah the same day but the guest lists don't overlap too much, except that Click, my sister's husband, seems to think he'll be able to attend both so the other family has offered not to invite him but I suspect he'll try to show up anyway and knowing him, he'll pull it off.  Robey's Bar Mitzvah comes just after the end of the school year so we won't have to work around school nights or homework or exams.  The weather in early June should be pleasant and reliable unless we run into a particularly aggressive tornado season, in which case we'll probably have more important things to worry about than lox and gefilte fish (don't ask -- you wouldn't like it).  We don't have a lot of out of town friends or relatives (Hi Linda!) so I've been planning an extended weekend without devoting much thought to coordinating varied travel schedules.

But.

There's always a BUT, isn't there?

Unbeknownst to me, Robespierre's been cultivating a kudzu-like list of camp friends from out of town who absolutely MUST be invited and will most likely end up staying with us when the weekend rolls around.  To further complicate matters, Robey's Bar Mitzvah date falls less than a week before the start of camp, when parents are finalizing arrangements for a two month stay at a Mediterranean resort packing trunks and duffel bags, fitting in last minute haircuts and orthodontist visits, and self-addressing stationery that will come back two months later crushed but otherwise unsullied. 

Here's the equation in case you've lost your bearings, and I don't blame you because I'm rapidly losing mine and I have all most some of this stuff neatly organized in a binder:

2 3 7 13 17 Out Of Town Camp Friends

notice clever use of prime numbers for no reason except my impulse to prove I know them

+

Event Occurring Between End Of School And Start Of Camp

=

Ruh Roh.  Will ANYONE Attend Robespierre's Bar Mitzvah?

Save The Date notices.  We'll need them. 

Thanks for the tip, Liz.

Save the date.  Hmmm.  Save. The. Date.  What to send that would be smart, memorable and keepable? because I'm all about mementos.

Tell you tomorrow.

Spell Check offered Banzai or hobnail.

__________________________________________________________________

In honor of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and, what the heck, Cyber Week, through December 5 Order Personalized Photo Ornaments from FeeFiFoto before midnight on December 5 and receive 20% off. Apply coupon code ORNAMENTS09 at checkout.

Offer Expires: December 5, 2009

No Need To Watch These

I usually concentrate on the needs of my readers, but occasionally I indulge in a touch of egocentricism.  I'm posting these to create a permanent record of the acting genius of Cupcake The Narrator. There's no obligation to watch these or leave a comment.  Nobody will pull up stakes, move to North Dakota and become a hermit if you don't visit Cupcake's blog and leave her a compliment.  No sirree bob -- no one's keeping score, no one knows where you live, and no one has a garage full of toilet paper which might accidentally on purpose end up entwined in your trees.  Nope.

__________________________________________________________________

In honor of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and, what the heck, Cyber Week, through December 5 Order Personalized Photo Ornaments from FeeFiFoto before midnight on December 5 and receive 20% off. Apply coupon code ORNAMENTS09 at checkout.

Offer Expires: December 5, 2009