We know this scene very well.  It is the image of a typical American family, a happy family, joining together at the dinner table enjoying a great meal.  American Artist Norman Rockwell produced the above painting for the Saturday Evening Post in 1943.  This painting titled Freedom from Want was part of a series called the Four Freedoms.  The one featured in this blog post is skillfully altered of course.  Today, we pay tribute to the family in this painting.  Putting religion, race and cultural differences aside for one moment, this family in many ways is a reflection of the people we have in our lives.

Norman Rockwell did his best to capture one side of what he considered American life to be at that moment in our history.  After many years the typical American family has changed.  Look across from your dinner table.  It is that serene picture that should be hanging in a museum today.

We meet at the dinner table every day, a passive occasion for some, to eat a meal and to enjoy each other’s company.  What would Mr. Rockwell paint today if he were still alive? Dad is reading today’s newspaper on his fancy tablet, mom is Skyping, brother is playing video games on his handheld game console and sister is texting on her smartphone.  Don’t forget little dog Scruffy, waiting and hoping for a scrap of sustenance to drop on the floor.  What is on today’s menu? Well, anything from the nearest fast food joint.

That scene from Norman Rockwell’s painting is not farfetched at all and even after 69 years it is still relevant.  We even added a couple of our signature personalized napkins to highlight the occasion.  Just picture your family reunited at the dinner table like that blissful group featured above.  What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving Day?

What is your favorite holiday other than Christmas and Thanksgiving? Valentine’s Day? No…The 4^th of July? No…Halloween? Yes, you have guessed correctly.  Most of us can remember the thrill of dressing up, going from house to house and asking for candy.  What’s not to like about that? It’s the best of both worlds – we can eat all the goodies we want and promenade around our neighborhood as a superhero, princess or as a civilian.  Sadly, most of us to this day do not know how or why this tradition began.

Halloween is a mysterious holiday with unclear origins.  I know – it is shocking isn’t it? Scholars are at odds even today about the true origins of this beloved holiday.  They just can’t agree.  Some people believe that Halloween is nothing but a pagan holiday.  Others take a more religious approach and say that it was inspired by the traditions of European Christians.  There are all kinds of myths and legends attached to this beloved and tooth decaying festivity.  So who is right? Actually, they all are.

1. The origins of Halloween can be traced back to the western parts of Europe.
2. October 31^st falls on the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows or known to many as All Saints’ Day.
3. The Irish and the Scottish celebrated the harvest festivals and festivals of the dead.
4. The word Halloween was first used by our friends the Scottish.  It is a word derived from the words All Hallows ‘Even which means the night before all hallows day.
5. The word Halloween is in fact Christian.  It also has pagan roots.  This word is linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain pronounced SAH-WIN or summers end.
6. Samhain opened a door to the other world.  Lost or dead souls entered our world along with fairies and other beings.
7. The Jack-o-lantern originated from carved turnips.  In the 19th century, people in Ireland and the highlands of Scotland would use these turnip lanterns to light their way and to protect themselves against the dead who visited.
8. Trick-or-Treating started by the ringing of a bell.  People would ring bells for the souls in purgatory.  This tradition was called SOULING, a process of baking cakes and sharing them with children who would go door to door.
9. North American immigrants used the pumpkin because it was larger, easier to carve and it was native to their land.
10. Dressing up in a costume was first called, GUISING.  This tradition also started in Scotland and Ireland.

Think back.  It’s high school all over again.  You have blocked it out of your memory for way too long.  Many glorious years have passed and now, believe it or not, you’re a parent.  You may not have stepped into a classroom in years, but sooner or later, you’re going to have to pay a visit.  Rest assured that your year book picture will always haunt you.  You didn’t have it easy.  High school is a cyclical and vindictive process that we all must go through, filled with runaway dodge balls and squirting milk through our noses.      

Dissect the daily ritualistic development of attending high school and you will quickly realize it’s a mundane existence comprised of everyday experiences.  Don’t get me wrong.  Education can change lives.  I am all for receiving a well-rounded education.  (Kids, stay in school!)  Here’s a pretty picture that we are all familiar with.

The alarm rings, you’re still lying in bed half asleep and after 10 minutes of convincing yourself that you are going to be late, you hit the showers.  At this point everything gets a little blurry.  You get dressed, brush your teeth, comb your hair, eat a piece of toast smothered by this jellylike substance that you hope is grape, run out of the door, arrive at school minutes before the bell rings, open your locker and then quickly close it.  Unfortunately, this routine continues on well after graduation.

Who is to say that the average student or the average person must live the same routine every day? Switch your routine and break away from the normal humdrum with a Personalized List Notepad.  Don’t let the name fool you.  These notepads are great for high school and college students too.  They can be placed inside any locker so that it’s easily accessible.  Who says that spontaneity cannot be written down?

Moving to a new home is a pain in the butt.  I will be the first to admit it.  It is hard work that needs to be done quickly and on a budget.  There is no other way around it.  Renters, home buyers and even squatters will all agree with me.  Moving is a procedure that has its flaws.  We are prone to be detained or derailed by some incident on moving day.  It’s an incomprehensible likelihood that somehow and someway something unexpected happens like the moving truck breaking down, keys are misplaced or it rains.  We cannot escape the obstacles and the pressures of this day.  We are most likely doomed.

You must be grinning from ear to ear by now…you’re welcome.

The bright side to all this mayhem, once everything is in its rightful place and in one piece, we can bask in the glory of our new surroundings.  Celebrate with family and friends this wonderful occasion.  But before we can call this move official here is one more dilemma.  During the chaos, you forgot to share the news about your move.  How could this be? Well, there was a leak in the bathroom, the phone company needs to rewire your line, you lost your cell phone and there is no electricity.  O.k. – this is more than one problem, but here’s the bright side.  Oh yes, there is another bright side to this story.  Luckily for you, you have mailed your personalized moving announcements in advanced.  This may be an unusual approach, but you couldn’t help it.  It’s moving day and now it’s time to party.

A valediction or parting phrase is a word or group of words used to end a letter or brief message.  There are many in the English language.  Some are colorful closings, some are vulgar and comical and some are traditional quips that we have all used many times before.  Good farewells, not just those we’ve seen on the big screen or read in books, have many things in common.  They all imply a sense of uncertainty and ask the same question.  Will we ever see each other again?

A sudden departure, a long goodbye, a see you later, pal – bring us to the end and the start of new beginnings.  Many of our favorite songs are about an adieu to the old – an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, a destructive lifestyle, or even a lighthearted transition like buying a new car.  Yeah, she broke your heart the moment your pickup truck died…

You must close a letter.  It doesn’t matter how you do it.  It just has to happen.  It’s funny: the closing and the introduction are probably the only two things we can expect in a letter before we open it.  The rest is left to speculation.  Personalized birthday and graduation cards elude us to the subject and so in that respect we can assume certain things.  But it is impossible for the recipient to know what is precisely written inside until we read it.

The following is a short list of valedictions you can use for your personalized stationery.  Use them well.

-          Kay, den (slang for “okay, then”)
-          Cheerio
-          Au revoir
-          Ciao
-          Vale (Spanish for o.k.)
-          Happy trails
-          XOXO
-          Sincerely yours
-          All my best thoughts
-          Kind wishes
-          Lots of love
-          As Always
-          Godspeed
-          With you in spirit
-          Write to me

Graphology is the study of handwriting. Some consider this form of study similar to body language. (Why am I blogging about this? Because it is fun.) Many people consider this a pseudoscience because there is no proven scientific evidence that this stuff actually works. What does it do? Well, just like the color choices we make, our handwriting can also reveal something about us. Mix this type of analysis with human psychology and you have a pseudoscience that most people will pay hundreds of dollars for. Everyone knows that a personalized note or card is not complete until you sign it. It’s your John Hancock that seals the deal not that sappy message you spent all night writing. If you have ever wondered what your signature says about you – well, wonder no more – here is your cheat sheet.

A slant reveals your emotional response to outer stimuli. A right slant in your signature means that you are an extrovert. You are the life of the party and you like riveting conversations. You also wear your heart on your sleeve.
If your signature slants to the left, you are an introvert and a loner. You may be viewed as a bit crude or strict, so you might want to reconsider that career in customer service.

If your signature remains vertical, then you are hiding something like a big secret or your emotions. You also prefer the facts and logical explanations, which means you probably stopped reading a couple of sentences ago.

The bigger the signature, the bigger the personality. You are a star and enjoy the limelight. If your signature is on the smaller side, then you have a lot on your mind. You are also focused and get things done. If your signature is average size, you are down to earth.

Sign your name with a heavy pressure of the pen, you are passionate and probably a cry baby. A light pressured signature means that you have low physical energy.

Now, add each of the following characteristics together: A small signature that slants to the right with a light pressure of the pen. You are a person who leads the conversation with witty and exciting banter, not to mention you are probably a heavy coffee drinker on account of your low energy.

There are other factors, other than the three mentioned above, that I will cover in a future post…stayed tuned!

Last week, I watched a very touching video on YouTube that had gone viral. It was about a soldier and his fiancée. Shortly after he left to go overseas, she received a letter in the mail, telling her that he hid a small black box in one of their closets, and that she needed to find it. Eventually she discovered the box, and when she opened it, inside were 365 envelopes, each dated for every day her love would be gone.

Are you crying yet?

Inside each of those envelopes were custom printed note cards, in which the solider had written a small expressions of love for his fiancée; memories of their first date, the color of her hair in the sunlight, his anticipation of their wedding day, how the vision of her face will keep him strong while he’s away – really powerful words.

Now you’re crying, just like I did.

So that got me thinking; why can’t I do something like that? Sure, not on quite the grand scale as that soldier, but meaningful nonetheless. For example, my daughter is away this week on vacation. I decided to pull out my personalized note cards and write 5 notes for each day she’d be gone, sneaking them into her suitcase.

Day 1 ~ Have a wonderful time. I love you, Mom.

Day 2 ~ Thinking of you, hope you’re having a great adventure. Love, Mom.

Day 3 ~ I miss you, but wishing you the best. Love, Mom.

Day 4 ~ The house is too quiet, I’m missing you terribly. Come home soon.

Day 5~ Safe travels home, can’t wait to see you tomorrow! Love, Mom.

My daughter got home and told me that I was goofy, but she appreciated the surprise in her suitcase, the note cards put a smile on her face every day. Mission accomplished!

Now I’m thinking of doing the same thing when she starts school in a couple weeks.  I know she gets nervous the first few weeks, so I think slipping in a little ‘I love you’ note of encouragement into her lunch bag every day will help ease the transition.

How would you use your customized cards to make a difference in someone else’s life?

– It’s much easier than you think.

There are endless amounts of websites and books about how to write and write well.  Let me save you the trouble, the hard drive space and the headaches, it’s all the same rubbish.  Writing is a craft.  It can be learned.  The more you do it, the more you will improve.  It is that simple.  The secret is and listen close.  It doesn’t matter if your literary masterpiece is written on a napkin or a piece of scrap paper, if it’s good, then it will be read and enjoyed.  Eventually, the Gods will shine upon your talent and you, my friend, will be considered among the greats.

Many writers dream of hitting it big.  They imagine winning the Pulitzer or being adored by crazy fans dressed as vampires, werewolves or wizards.  That fame and fortune is all in their heads along with the unfinished manuscript that sitting on their desk collecting dust.  You must crawl before you can walk.  Remember that saying? Well, here is my assignment for you.  Give someone a personalized correspondence card.  Yes, it’s that simple.  Do you have the chops to complete it? We’ll see.

Writing a custom printed Card is a lost art form.  For the writer, it’s great practice.  Today, we send email messages.  Tomorrow, who knows, we may resort to sending a robotic clone of ourselves.  Hey, it could happen.  Nevertheless, only a few of us have given hand writing a piece of correspondence a fair chance.  Those of us who are in the personalized stationery business breathe and sleep this stuff.  We give personalized note cards out like if they were Werther’s Candies.  (Werthers, I’ll be expecting my lifetime supply of caramels for that shameless plug…Hmmm, Wherther’s candies, they’re the original!)

There is really only one rule for writing a custom correspondence card.  It doesn’t exist in the pages of a website or book.  We learn this rule at a very young age.  If you have ever given a valentines card before or a passed a note during class, then you’re pretty much ready to take on the challenge.

Explore the craft of writing by giving someone a personalized paper.

There are some events that occur so often that you hardly take notice. You find yourself on such autopilot that these events become second nature and eventually lose all meaning. As a singleton, you drudge through most of them in a catatonic state. This would include the art of grocery shopping. Must get butter, milk, pasta and wine. Check, check, check and check.

But once you become a mom, the art of shopping changes from a mundane activity to a full out Olympic sport.

As an Olympic athlete, one would have months, sometimes years, to study, train and focus all your energies towards this one moment that will go by so quickly, yet could possibly result in world wide recognition and gold medals for your display case. In this case, the grandiose of the situation is short lived, 3-5 days at most. When the milk is gone, you’re back to square one. There is a reason I call this event an ‘art’, not meant for the faint of heart.

Once in the parking lot of my chosen victim – sorry – retail establishment, there is a short briefing:

ME – “ok kids, we’re going in. There will be no screaming, running, kicking, grabbing, yelling, arguing, hiding, punching or foul play, understand? We’re going to run in, get what we need and then leave, ok?”

KIDS –“um, ok.” (Or for my 19-month-old son, the term of his acceptance would be a blank stare and an offer of a suck from his baba).

Yet, as soon as we walk in, all bets are off. The shiny, colorful boxes that are at my daughter’s eye-level immediately distract her; aisle after aisle of glamorous animation that promise great taste, multivitamins and FREE toy inside. Darn those cleaver marketers! At this age, she doesn’t even bother to ask my permission. After a quick grab and dump, it’s in the cart, whether I notice or not.

Which of course I don’t, because 2 minutes into this excursion, my son then decides to throw a temper tantrum, insisting I let him out of his grocery store cart bondage and set him free. Downdowndowndowndown!!! It’s at that moment I pick up the pace and warn my daughter that we need to hurry through this arduous task before my son has a complete mental breakdown that could result in nasty stares and possible eviction.

On occasion, to prolong the simple feeling of human contact, I have allowed my son to walk beside me or help me “push” the cart through the store. Usually, that feeling doesn’t last long, as the need to sprint down each aisle overcomes him and I’m the dork behind him pushing 20 pounds of groceries and screaming like a banshee to stopstopstopstopstop!

When the HECK did I become this crazy person?!

Regardless, once I capture the escapee and snap my daughter out of her retail coma, I desperately search for the checkout counter. It’s so close I can see it, almost taste it. I’m juuuust about there when I hear those magic words: “Mommy, I have to go pee”.

Really? NOW?!

So now I have to sprint across the entire store with a screaming toddler, a cart full of groceries (some frozen) and an 8 year old who walks with a slight limp as she desperately tries to prevent soiling her britches.

After all necessary business is done, I announce that we are leaving the store and going home post-haste. Period. Once again, I can see the checkout counters in clear view. Suddenly I’m in the middle of a Spielberg movie: pull back, zoom in, like Brody watching the Shark attacking a victim for the first time. So close…and yet so far way.

It is only when I’m back in the car can I breath a sigh of relief. I’m not sure if I got 100% of what I needed, but what I have will due, at least for the next few days. It’s only a matter of time before this circus repeats. If I can’t laugh then I shall be hospitalized.

Ah, the joys of motherhood!

There is something about the month of August that makes me gasp with fear, frazzles my nerves and kicks my maternal preparation mode into high gear.

The start of the new school season is so close, I can almost taste the chalk. Right about now I am bombarded with letters from our local friendly school district about all the ‘necessities’ my daughter will need to enter the coveted facility us tax payers pay oh-so-diligently for. Shot records. Check! Dental records. Check! Residence confirmation. Check! School supply list….well, going to work on that within the next week.  A trip to Office Depot for a 10 year old is like a trip to Macy’s for Mama. “Pick out what ‘cha want baby, sky’s the limit!”. As the cart fills up with everything a 5^th grader needs, I can see the excitement build up in my daughter’s eyes…and dollar signs adding up in my mental calculator.

20 sticks of glue. Really?! Are they going to be gnawing on that crap during recess? 10 folders of very specific colors. As if they really care what color folder they bring home, covered in doodle drawings, random stains, and stickers? 100 index cards. So they can organize their thoughts according to the Dewey Decimal system? Forty-eight #2 pencils. Is there a lead deficiently I’m not aware of?  I thought lead was a toxic element for our kids. My bad! Multiple boxes of Kleenex. Because our children will be crying buckets when they learn how much homework is actually involved?

Ugh, the list goes on and on. And this doesn’t even count the amount of time I’ll be spending picking out a backpack and matching lunchbox adorned with my daughter’s ‘teen heartthrob of the moment’, only to be told half way through the school year that he/she is soooooo stupid that I need to buy another backpack/lunchbox set post haste.

And all of this happens before school starts. There’s still 9 months of excitement to look forward to. As a parent, are you prepared? Because personally, I’m already exhausted just thinking about it.