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For What to Read Wednesday this week I was thinking about family and Thanksgiving being tomorrow and Christmas soon to follow. It made me think of how much I love this time of year and how much I love my family. And not just my family that is with me on Earth right now, but my family that has passed on and the family to come in the future. I love knowing that we're all connected as a family. It reminded me of how sometimes when I write in my journal I think about the things I want my posterity to know about me, about our time, or just some truths I've learned in my life. Of course not every time I write is with them in mind because I definitely have gone on angry, unbecoming rants in my journals, or talked extensively about the mundane day-to-day of my life.

And one year I had a goal to write in my journal everyday and some of those entries are just "I'm tired." Though those two words were a pretty accurate portrayal of my life. But I digress.

I have been writing in a journal since second grade. Not continuously everyday, or week, but I love writing in my journals and even more I love going back and reading my journals. It's fun to see what was important to me when I was eight or nine years old, what impacted me as a teenager, and what life lessons finally got pounded into my head as a college student. I truly love reading my own journals! I also enjoy reading journals of my ancestors or other people who lived before me. If you can't learn from the past you're doomed to repeat it, right? (This is probably why I also love non-fiction so much). 

So I thought I would encourage you to write In your journal more, or to get a journal and start writing because no matter where you are In life you have wisdom and personality to share with those who will come after you. I have gathered a list of journals and pens that I love and that will help you (I hope) to love journaling as much as I do. Or I think they're perfect gifts for anyone in your life too. A way of saying "I think you have something awesome to say."

• 5-Year Journal. If you feel you're not the most verbose or don't know what you would write in your journal this is the perfect journal for you. The 5 Year Journal asks you a question for everyday of the year. Underneath the question is a place for you to write your answer for the next five years. This makes it easier for you to go back and read what you wrote (because when the year is over you start at the beginning again). And the room for writing isn't extensive so you can keep your answers short and sweet. It's a fun journal I've been eyeing for years. 

When it comes to writing in  journals you definitely want to use a pen. Pencils fade immensely over time and then your memories and thoughts are lost. While any pen will work, I personally prefer a fine point pen and will recommend a few of my favorites here that won't break the bank. 

• Pilot G2 gel pens. These are reliable, write smoothly, and are refillable.
• Sharpie Art Pens. I love, love, love the fine point on these and all the fun colors they come in.
• Zebra Pen Journaling Set. This comes with pens and double ended markers. They make journaling a more fun and creative art project than just writing down your story.
• Pigma Micron pens. These pens are the most expensive of my list at $1/pen but there's a reason. They're awesome! My husband got me these last year and I have loved how smooth they write and the fine lines they make.
• RSVP Pentel Pens. My last rec is the cheapest (less than $4 for an 8 pack) but an old reliable. The RSVP pens come in fun colors and write smoothly. The lines aren't the finest but if you just need a good pen and nothing fancy these are great pens. Also great to give to kids who lose things often as they are cheap to replace. My favorite color to write with was the turquoise and the purple from this set.

I hope that you will consider taking up journaling even as a casual hobby. Would you like to hear more tips for journaling? Let us know in the comments below!

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    In just about a month, my wonderful husband and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary! WHAT?  Yes, it's true, we are that old! As an early gift, Madalynn surprised us with a photo shoot!  Our photographer, Melissa @ Aww Snaps Photography, did a great job! And in spite of my trepidation about a photo shoot and my non-photogenic qualities, she was able to get some cute shots of us and the entire experience was a lot of fun! 
     With these great photos in hand, what could I do except get Photo Christmas Cards printed this year.  In 40 years, this is the first time I've done this.  Sure, I've included photos in our cards before, but this is the first time that we've had professionally printed photo cards.  I think I always felt that it was out of our budget.  But, I love receiving photo cards from family and friends and seeing that everyone else and their children are growing just as old as we are! HaHa!  It does seem to be the trend of late to send photo cards rather than just regular folded cute Christmas cards.  So, this year I took the plunge and it didn't turn out to be nearly as expensive as I thought it was going to be! 
     Of course, you don't have to have a professional photo done to use it to make a Photo Card, so many of the cards are just creative selfie snapshots!  Digital photography certainly helps to keep the costs lower because you can just snap a photo, download it and send it to the printer that you will be using.  Then, you just choose the design you want and the process is easy as pie.  
     Speaking of pie, it is almost Thanksgiving and there are some good deals out there right now for ordering photo cards, so you need to hurry and take advantage of them!  Everyone knows that the weekend of Thanksgiving is the best time to send out your Christmas Cards because after that, the chances of them making it into the mail before the New Year is low.  (I may or may not be speaking from experience).  Anyway, here is a list of places that I have found that I have either used for other projects or one of my kids has used them.  There are links to special deals and lots of choices of designs! 

Snapfish  is a company we have used before for simply printing photos.  They do a great job and they are always offering discounts and special offers!  But, if you want 75% off of your photo cards, their special for that ends today!  So, if you have a photo ready, order right now!  It is an easy process. Use code NOELCARD at checkout.  Snapfish also offers other photo gifts like books, calendars and canvas prints. 

Minted does beautiful photo cards and gifts all year long and their designs are wonderful. But, once again, their 15% discount ends today! So, hurry! If it is your first time ordering from Minted, you will be offered a 20% discount! Minted also has beautiful fabrics and home accessories to choose from. I love looking through their site.

Mixbook  Earlier this year I used Mixbook to make a photo book to share with my grandchildren.  I love it and I love reading it to my grandchildren.  Mixbook offers many photo gifts and book templates.  Right now, they are doing 11 days of deals, so you have a few extra days, (until 11-29) to get your photo card order in! Use code BFDEALS at check-out. 

Shutterfly is a great place to store photos and print awesome gifts. One year for Christmas, we received an adorable Christmas ornament with our grandson's photo from Alicia and her husband. It is a treasure! Shutterfly is always offering awesome discount offers and freebies. Right now through Thanksgiving they are offering 50% off Christmas Photo Cards, plus an additional 20% off. Use Code EXTRA20. While I was looking at their site, a pop-up came up offering me 4 free gifts! I love free!

​Costco Lindsey just let me know about the great deal Costco is for printing Photo Cards! They offer 50 Photo Cards for $13.99 and include gold foil lined envelopes. They also have 20% off of foil embossed cards. Lindsey said that last year they gave her a small photo calendar for free when she ordered cards. I don't know if that is an offer this year, but it sounds cool! Also, you can order your cards one day and then pick them up the next! Or, you may choose delivery within 5-7 days. They also offer photo gifts and one gift that they offer is a plush photo blanket! Wouldn't that be cute with a picture of a pet or a beautiful landscape?

Walgreen's  I hadn't thought about using Walgreen's until I received an email from them offering a great deal on Photo Cards.  What I loved about them is that I ordered the cards in the morning and I was able to pick them up at my local Walgreen's after lunch!  Using the code CARDSTAT through November 30th, you will get 60% off of your card order.  If you click on the Deals category on their website, you will see that Walgreen's is offering 75% off of photo books!  Who knew that Walgreen's does photo books?  

    I ordered our photo cards from Walgreen's this year.  I was excited to get them the same day.  But, you may like another company's designs better or extra offers, so peruse them and see what you think!  Just do it quickly so you don't miss the deals!  And, Happy Thanksgiving! 

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are my own. ​

     I have 5 wonderful sisters.  I love them all dearly and one thing I have wanted to do for a long time is go a sister's get-away with them.  Unfortunately, one of our sisters passed away unexpectedly a few years ago.  Since that time we have all felt a longing to hang onto each other a little more tightly.  So, when my sister Carol's children gave her a get-away trip with her sisters for her birthday, it was the perfect way to get us started at taking time to be with each other! THANKS CAROL'S KIDS!  
     The plans for this trip all came about very quickly, so it required some quick planning and organizing on all our parts to make it happen.  Our youngest sister wasn't able to make it happen this time and we really missed having her on the trip with us. But, the three of us that did go had so much fun that we have promised her that we will plan another trip a little farther in advance so that she can make arrangements in time. 
     Our trip was to a coastal town in California called Cayucos.  Our hotel was right on the beach!  It was amazing!  Since I live in Arizona, that meant a plane flight for me.  Here is how I made it happen as inexpensively as possible:

      We stayed at the Shoreline Inn in Cayucos.  The sliding back door or our room opened up to this gorgeous view of the ocean.  When they say shoreline, they mean it!  We were right on the beach and it was wonderful! 

    The first day that we were there, the weather was beautiful and we saw a large pod of dolphins!  The water was like glass, with only tiny, near to the shore waves and it was easy to see the dolphins jumping and swimming and enjoying themselves.  It was amazing!  Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so you will just have to trust me that it was a fantastic sight! 
      While we were there, we drove to neighboring areas of Morro Bay, Pismo Beach and Cambria.  The views were beautiful and we ate some wonderful seafood at various restaurants.  I was in heaven, eating salmon and shrimp! 

     As you can see in the picture above, on our 3rd day, the fog came in and the waves started getting higher, too. I found quite a few shells that were in perfect condition and this funny little picture in the sand, naturally formed by seaweed. 

     My sisters and I had a great time staying up late laughing, crying and talking.  It was a wonderful trip and I highly recommend to everyone that you take some time to spend with your sisters, or daughters or close friends.  It was a great way to relax, recharge and reconnect.  I can hardly wait to do it again! 

     Speaking of sisters, last year my sister gave us each this necklace to celebrate our sisterhood!  You can order similar ones at this website. 

     To read more about gifts that give twice, go to this post.