Holiday cards from Shutterfly have become an annual tradition on the Dressed Up household. I love choosing the perfect design and perfect photos to create our holiday masterpiece. We live far away from most of our family so our holiday cards are a great way to send them pictures of the kids while giving a cheerful greeting at the same time.

In the Christmas card section, you can chose from folded, flat stationary or flat photo cards. Personally, I’m a fan of the folded cards since I’m more of a traditionalist when it comes to holiday cards. The beauty of Shutterfly is that there’s something for everyone. You’ll find the perfect card to send your love to all of your friends and family.

Are you looking for a great gift for the grandparents? Photo books are perfect! What grandparent isn’t going to swoon over a book full of pictures of the most adorable kids on planet?

If a whole book is too much for you this time of the year, and let’s be honest, we all have 8 million other things to be doing, you can choose from lots of other awesome photo gifts. Gerald’s family is made up of card sharks. Seriously, these people are ALWAYS playing cards. You’d better believe these playing cards will be in several stockings this year.

I don’t want to hog all the Shutterfly goodness for myself, so I’m giving three of you a chance to get some cards of your own. Shutterfly has given me three gift codes for 25 cards each. Leave me a comment with your favorite holiday carol and you’ll be entered to win one. Contest closes on 11/15/11 at 11:59pm CST. One entry per person, please.

Come check me out!

Made of Awesome

Fool by Christopher Moore – I read Lamb a couple of years ago and promptly fell head over heels in love with Moore. His style, his imagination, his wit… he’s the author equivalent of my soul mate. I’ve read all of his books, and while I enjoyed all of them, none came close to the brilliance of Lamb until Fool. Have you ever seen Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead? If not, you MUST see it immediately. Anyhow, long story short, it’s the story of Hamlet told from the perspective of two minor characters in the play. It’s brilliant. Fool uses much the same concept in that it’s the story of King Lear told from the perspective of a minor character. Namely, the Fool. Moore gives the Fool a background and a personality and really develops quite the likable character out of this “nobody.” He uses a mixture of Shakespearean prose, modern British slang and an ass-load of swearing. (Favorite phrase: fuck stockings.) All in all, I’d put Fool on par with Lamb: Moore at his best.

The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs – I’ve read these in paper form, but the next installment of the series will be out on 3/30, so I wanted to refresh my memory of the story line. Briggs does a fantastic job creating a believable world where preternatural creatures live amongst humans in tenuous peace. Mercy is a Walker, but Briggs doesn’t use the original Native American idea of skin walker. She adapts it in a way that really makes it wholly her own. The characters in this series are believable and likable. Well, those that you’re supposed to like are, at any rate. I can’t wait to see what’s in story for Mercy in the next book.

The Kitty Norville Series by Carrie Vaughn – This is another series where the supernatural lives along side the mundane. Vaughn’s heroine, Kitty Norville, is a radio talk show host and werewolf. She’s forced to take an alpha role after years of being an abused submissive in her pack. Kitty is intelligent, witty and full of self-doubt and not a little fear. However, she doesn’t let anything stop her from trying to do what’s right. I didn’t bond with the characters in this series as well as I did in the Mercy Thompson books. I have a hard time accepting the relationships that Vaughn has built for Kitty, but it’s not enough to make me dislike the books. Vaughn does a great job in creating her world and making it believable which is difficult to do in the paranormal fiction genre.

Now it’s your turn: What are you reading? I’ll be needing to load up the ol’ iPod again soon, so spill.

2. Burt’s Bees Natural Acne Solutions Target Spot Treatment – There are a couple of downsides to this product. First, it stinks. (Well, it smells like licorice to me which I think stinks. You might love it.) Also, it’s a weird container/dispenser. Again, it’s a liquid and it took me a while to figure out the best way to apply it. I jab a q-tip at the nozzle thing and let it soak up the anti-zit goodness. I just dab it on the zit and voila! It dries clear and is easy to cover up with make-up. I haven’t had any redness or peeling or dry skin at all.

3. Olay Body Wash plus Body Butter Ribbons – My skin is D-R-Y like the effing Sahara. This, combined with the fact that I’m entirely too lazy to apply lotion after a shower leads me to be ashy and itchy all Fall and Winter. However, this body wash has changed my life. After three days of use, my skin is normal. I’m not going to go so far as to say it’s dewy or moist, but it’s certainly not the Sahara. I’ve used it for the last few years and can’t imagine using anything else this time of year.

4. Boots No.7 SPF 15 Protect and Perfect Day Cream – This stuff is FABU. Seriously. It goes on silky smooth and is quickly absorbed. I typically put it on and then blow-dry my hair. By the time I’m done (2 minutes later) I can put my make-up on. This moisturizer isn’t greasy or heavy and the SPF is a total plus. You can buy it without, but why? I’m not trying to be a hot wrinkled mess in the next few years. The price is a little steep, but the jar is lasting me FOR-EVAH. It really only takes a small amount each day.

5. Old Navy Sweater Slipper Boots – I got a pair this weekend for 50% off ($8) and I’m in love. They’re super comfy and keep my feet toasty warm without venturing into sweaty territory. The sueded bottom isn’t slippery and is quiet on the tile. As an aside, Maddie has these Old Navy slippers and feels the same way about them. They’re easy enough for her to get on and off herself and she wants to wear them all the time, so I assume they’re comfy. She also runs around like a madwoman and doesn’t fall flat on her face while wearing them. Well, not any more often than usual.

My Kindle suddenly and inexplicably died on me. I tried a soft-reset, a hard reset and even removed the battery for a while. When my resuscitation efforts proved futile, I called customer service. I spoke with Angela S. and I relayed my previous efforts to revive my dead Kindle.

I’ll admit that I was prepared to come out swinging. I spent a lot of money buying two Kindles at once and I’ve spend AT LEAST a quarter of a million dollars* on books, and there was no way I was going accept a dead Kindle.

I needn’t have worried. Angela listened to my story and immediately offered to replace my beloved Kindle. She over-nighted it to me so that I wouldn’t die of withdrawals. None of this cost me a penny. When I questioned Angela by asking if it was really that easy, she assured me that it was. I thought to myself, “well, she talks a good talk, but we’ll see if a new Kindle actually shows up at my door.”

I’ve just finished unwrapping my new Kindle and packing up the old, dead one. I’m still a little stunned, to be honest. This was completely painless and yet ANOTHER example of exemplary customer service from Amazon.

I’ve posted this letter on my blog and I’ll be telling all of my friends and family about how great you are. Thank you for being such an awesome company, Amazon. I’ll be a devoted customer for life.

Erica

*Not an actual dollar amount, of course. But you get my point.

2. OxiClean Laundry Stain Removal. It’s like Spray ‘N Wash, but OxiClean. Maddie got strawberry juice on her brand new white t-shirt and one spray with this stuff at it was gone. GONE. It also got a stain out of one of my t-shirts that’s been there for a month. Dried in and everything. It’s amazing.

3. Jergens Natural Glow Lotion. I’m cursed blessed with deathly palor alabaster skin. I’ve been using this on my legs for a week and a half and I’m no longer blindingly white. This gives a nice glow that’s not scary fake tan orange.

4. Dole Baby Bananas. Maddie loves bananas, but can’t finish a whole one. I hate bananas, so I don’t finish them for her. I was throwing away the remaining half a banana, which is pretty wasteful. Last week, I discovered baby bananas. They’re about four or five inches long and perfect for Maddie. They’re $.99 a pound and the bunch of seven that I got was just over a pound. Maddie has one every morning and I don’t feel guilty for wasting food.

5. Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash. Maddie has a slight case of eczema and this cleanses well and keeps her skin from getting dried out. It doesn’t smell good, as it’s fragrance-free, but it doesn’t smell bad. After her bath, I slather her with Aveeno’s Calming Comfort lotion which smells like lavender and vanilla, so she ends up smelling like that. I’ve tried all kinds of body washes for her and this one really keeps her skin in check without being insanely expensive.

Friday, I went to Walgreen’s to comb the hair color aisle for inspiration. I thought maybe if I gave myself a bold new color, then I’d forget about how much I dislike my hair. Instead of a color, I found a product called “EasyStraight.” It’s at at-home chemical hair straightener. It was $29.99, so I dipped into my Christmas money and bought it. Once I got home, I decided to check out the online reviews. BIG MISTAKE. I was terrified to use it after that. After slowly making my way through about 20 reviews, I realized there was a HUGE disparity between the ratings. Either women rated it a 9 or 10 or a zero. I decided that this meant the product was good, but you had to follow the THE VERY COMPLICATED directions flawlessly. In my opinion, the women that rated it a zero either didn’t follow the directions, or their hair was too curly or coarse for the product.

I read the directions five times and even watched an instructional video on the company’s website, and then I felt confident enough to try it. I was reassured by the fact that none of the negative reviews I read stated that the person’s hair had fallen out. Their complaint was that the product didn’t work. I can live with losing $30 on a crappy product, not with losing my hair.

My hair turned out beautifully. There are still some sections underneath that have a wave, but that’s were my hair is curliest. If it bothers me that much, I’m sure I can round brush it and it’ll be fine. Right now, all I have to do is blow dry it an go. I’m thrilled! The only downside is that my haircut is no longer flattering at all. My hair is very layered because that’s what wavy hair needs. Straight hair? Not so much. So, I’m going to make myself a hair appointment and get it cut into a more flattering style. Problem is, I have no idea what that is! I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to give up length in order to ger rid of some of the layers. I guess I’m ok with that. I mean, it’s only hair and it will grow back. And I wanted to lose that damn ponytail anyway, right? Then why am I so scared?

I got a Dyson. The Absolute Animal, to be specific. I love it with the fire of a thousand suns. I vacuumed my living room the day before I picked up my Dyson, so I immediately came home to vacuum again just to see what vile and horrible things the Dyson would suck out of my carpet. I had to empty the canister three times just for the living room alone. The first batch was nothing but dog hair. Then, it was all dirt. THAT CAME OUT OF MY CARPET. I felt so dirty. I vacuum at least once a week, and my carpet was disgusting. I told Gerald that I thought the Dyson might be sucking the dirt out of the ground underneath the house.

I’ve had it for three weeks now and I’m still impressed with it’s suction. I have to empty the canister once for the living room, once for the hallway, Maddie’s room and the office, and then once more for our bedroom. My old Hoover only needed to be emptied after I was done with the whole house. Also, I notice the carpet pile isn’t as smooshed as it used to be. The Dyson sort of fluffs it better, you know?

So, if you’re in the market for a new vacuum, and don’t have a problem spending an obscene amount on said vacuum, get yourself a Dyson. I also recommend purchasing your Dyson at Linens ‘n Things. I bought mine online and used one of their 20% off coupons. They give the option of picking up your purchase at your local store for free. I ended up spending $475 with tax. Not bad, when the vacuum started at $550.

If you’ve read any of Mr. Moore’s other books, you know that he’s a fan of using the same location and/or the same characters throughout his books. A Dirty Job takes place in San Fransisco and characters from Coyote Blue, Bloodsucking Fiends, and You Suck: A Love Story make appearances. However, the main characters are completely new.

The story is of Charlie Asher and his daughter Sophie. Charlie is what Mr. Moore calls, “a beta male.” Not alpha by any stretch of the imagination. However, circumstances put Charlie in the position of being very important, indeed.

Charlie is the proprietor of a second-hand shop in San Fransisco. After a series of traumatic events, he begins to see items in his shop glow with a preternatural red light. Come to find out, Charlie is a “death merchant.” A death merchant’s job is to protect souls from the forces of darkness. In this lively tale, there are people walking around without souls, and there are souls attached to objects. When a soulless person meets the right object for them, BAM! They’ve got a soul. Nifty, huh? Except those pesky forces of darkness are always trying to get the soul for themselves before it can be passed onto the next person.

This book has the same vein of humor that runs through Lamb. I found myself laughing out loud on multiple occasions. While the story is far-fetched, Mr. Moore writes in such a way that makes you believe it’s entirely possible. I never had one of those “now, come on… really?” moments while reading this book.

If you’ve read Lamb, and are looking for another funny, witty and thought-provoking book by Christopher Moore, I highly recommend A Dirty Job.

Stay tuned for this week’s review, which will be for the book A Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore.