What's your preppy name

Go here to find out....

Mine is...

Gorham Heatherly Delancey the Fifth

But most people know me as "Mimi"

Air kisses! Let's do lunch!! Tootles!!

Another Contest!!

My friend, Mary Demuth (who has a fantastic blog that encourages me!) introduced me to another mom with a cool website.

The blog, 5 minutes for mom, is featuring my cards for a giveaway!!

Click here to go see it and try your hand at winning!!

Happy birthday

I came across some new cards the other day. I made them a couple months ago but since I am in the process of redoing my site, I never added them. But I like them, so I guess I should...at some point. I could spend 40 hours a week working on my site and never feel finished. I am creative...not technical, right? Its like asking a accountant to arrange flowers. At least, that's how I feel!! But, no complaints here. Don't we all have areas of our lives that feel like we will never finish? For some people, it might be a junk drawer or closet that needs organizing, for me, it is both of those things...and my website! :)

Does anyone else have things that get pushed down their to-do list? Anyone care to share?

Drum roll, please!!!

The winner has been decided....
To make it random, I asked my husband to pick a number b/t 1 and 39. He picked the day of his birthday, which is 17. When I counted down 17, I found....

MRS. LAURA JACOBS!!!

Who-hoo!! Laura, contact me to arrange your prize!!!

The winner of the blog write up is Lindsey Rattan! Who-hoo, again!!

Alas, I cannot let all this wonderful new friends leave empty handed. My mom was the kind of mom that when I couldn't decide b/t 2 pairs of shoes, she SOMETIMES let me get both. So, I am that kind of person, too. I like for everyone to feel like a winner.

Now, through Sunday, if anyone entered the contest, they can have a special discount of 10% off of any order. Also, if you didn't get to enter, but still want to join in the fun, you can comment on this entry and I will count it towards the discount.

Congratulations, Lindsey and Laura! Great job, everyone!!

Keep up the great comments!!

This contest is so fun for me- I must do it more often!!

The contest ends Wed at midnight, so continuing the commenting on the entry below. Results will be posted on Thursday, so check back then!!

The blog write up has only had ONE entry, so don't forget to try your hand for another way to win!

Thanks, everyone!!

The time has come!!

The time has come for the big giveaway!! Hooray!!

Here's how you win free personalized products from Come Together Cards, valued at $50.

(Since there are lots of new people, feel free to check out what you can win over at the link on the right.) That will take you to the website where you can see the products I design, like custom and personalized Mommy cards, family notecards, invitations, notepads and lots of other stuff!!

FIRST WAY TO WIN STUFF.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS Comment on this post. That's it!!

The contest will run this Monday through Wed. On your comment, you leave:

Name

Age

City and State

How you found the Come Together Blog

How many times you have visited the Come Together Blog

What you come to see here/Your favorite part of the Come Together Blog...

Hopefully, these are not hard questions. I will post a sample one first if you are easily confused! (I can be...especially when I was pregnant!) (If there is something you are not comfortable sharing--age or location--please generalize but get as close as you can.)

Right now, I am planning to take all the comments and choose one at random. However, since I am in charge of this giveaway, then I might change my mind if someone really WOWS me somehow with a great comment. I am not sure what that will look like, but hey, someone else is surely more creative than me!! Anytime you refer someone to the blog or the site, you can be entered again, just ask them to leave your name when they comment.

SECOND WAY TO WIN STUFF!!!

This one is exclusively for those with Blogs.

You are entered to win another $50 valued prize (of your choosing and mine) if you feature a write up about me on your blog. This needs to be in a spot that will stay up on your blog for awhile, obviously, and describe the cuteness and benefits of Come Together Cards.

This drawing will NOT be random. The person that wins will have the most compelling, creative, enticing write up about Come Together Cards. And let me tell you, I am EASILY impressed! :)

If you can get other people to feature a Come Together Ad on their blog, they will get one entry and you will get TWO!! There is no limit to how many times you can enter as long as you keep to the rules. If you refer someone with the best write-up, both you and your friend win products.

Email me at courtney@cometogethercards.com and give me your blog address or you can comment and leave it below, saying that you have a blog write up.

So, isn't this fun??!! Its a win-win situation! It will enable you to channel your creative juices and get out of your humdrumness, hopefully! And it will help me when you spread the word to your friends about Come Together Cards.

I am sure there is something I am not thinking of, so post any questions you have, and let the contests begin!!

For the love of Jason Castro and Rockwall

I know some of the visitors to this blog are from my fair burg. I also know that there are others that are from all over the United States, and even the World!! This is very exciting and humbling to me, (and while I secretly long for you to comment and tell me where you are visiting from,) I appreciate your silent attendance and just knowing you are there. :)

That being said, my humble hometown of Rockwall, Texas, just outside of Dallas, has suddenly turned into Jason Castro Headquarters!! If you didn't know who he was, and were visiting Rockwall for the first time, you might think he was running for President. And, I guess that wouldn't be far off, b/c I would dare to guess that the winner of American Idol is much more popular than the President, sadly.

So, I thought I would give everyone an opportunity to see what I see on a daily basis. Its quite a thrill to be from the hometown of an American Idol top 10 winner.


Many, many, shoe polished cars like this one outside of Starbucks....

Local fast food restaurants giving props to Jason....

Even the town of Rockwall sponsored a "Vote for Jason Castro" sign at a popular intersection. Oh wait, note to self, it might be hard to take a picture while driving...oops, I missed it.

There, that is better. Please, do not try this at home. It is harder than you think to drive and take pictures out of the window.

The sign says, "Support Jason Castro and Rockwall. Vote for American Idol on Tuesday night."

Awww...isn't that sweet??! He is such a celebrity!!

And onto other fun news!! Monday starts a new contest on this blog!! Visit back starting on Monday and the rules will be explained! Someone is getting some free stuff!!

Do you like to laugh?

My husband and I just watched the last Saturday Live that we tivo'ed and we could not stop giggling!!

This is very short, maybe 1 minute or 2.

Let me know if you think it is funny!!

I am sure there is a fancy way to play it from this site, but I make cards, not videos, so I can't figure it out!!


http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/play.shtml?mea=239665

Hail to the Chef-ette.

I have never aspired to be The Commander in Chief, and I really respect the job. That's why I don't want it!! But I came across this quiz that I couldn't refuse!! Here is what my results were:

Quiz: Are You Presidential Material?

Presidential Material

Leadership is your middle name, but you're not afraid to do the less glamorous parts of a job either. You have the smarts and the drive to run a club at school or even the entire nation. If you were over 35, Bush and the Dems would have to watch out.

Yeah! I made the cut...on this imaginary quiz!! Wanna take it?

Go here

New card

A friend recommended me to her friend, which is always SOOO flattering. It makes me feel like a million bucks when the people I love think I am talented enough to 1) use me for their stuff 2)pass along to their friends.

I am only half kidding when I tell you that I get some of my self esteem from this!! :) There is a HUGE part of me in all of these creations! They are like my little children. Well, I don't really love them like a child. More like a dog. Okay, so they are like my little beloved pets. :)

Cute Megan has a cute little girl and one on the way, so this is the card she got. She opted to leave cute-husband out. She has already commmited me to make cards for cute-baby on the way! Hooray!!

Sharing the love

My friend had this link on her blog, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I would be placing an order. Its for those of us who have to pull down our shirts whenever we bend over so peeping Tom or Tammy's will not see anything extra....Its called My Hip-T. Its a little band, kinda like a Bella band (that some of us have worn while pregnant) that you wear under your shirt for an extra layer of protection from short shirts. It looks cute and layered and allows us girls to keep our modesty intact!! Such a great find!!

Another cute find-- Wallies! They are chalkboard adhesive that you can put on anything. So clever. On another blog I saw a picture of someone that put these on canisters in their kitchen and it looked adorable.

Anyone else have any items they cannot wait to pass along?

Samples from last week

If you ordered notecards or notepads at the Spring Market last week, they were shipped today! Here are a couple of samples of what was ordered:



I wish I had a picture of this little Grace. She was about 2, and had the biggest brown eyes and cutest face. It was easy to find inspiration for drawing her birthday thank you cards, b/c she was a doll!!

This mom wanted her family in shades of pink and green, and wanted her daughter in a big "helicopter" bow. I liked the way her bow turned out and would put more little girls in bows if their moms were on board!

New Design

The photographer that I work with, Jodie, needed a flyer for a upcoming 5K she is photographing. So I created this...

I am a sucker for a true story.

Its true. Whoever said "the truth is stranger than fiction" was one of my kind of people. I totally love to hear people's stories- what normal people do is so fascinating to me.
It has ended up that we have seen some excellent movies of late, 2 of which were based on true stories. I rarely read for pleasure, b/c once I start a book I cannot put it down. I really love to read, so I have to limit myself to waiting until vacations or else it is all I will do. But both of these stories were so fascinating I could not help but buy them and I cannot wait to start!!

The first is Into the Wild.
Here is the first few lines of the book...
In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. He had given $25,000 in savings to a charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet and invented a life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter.

Crazy, huh? The movie was fascinating-- so different from me, and so interesting. I love the convenience of modern life-- a life of medicine, heat, showers and email. But I also love minimizing the value of "stuff", of keeping materialism at bay and not consuming everything this world has to offer. So I am intrigued by this college kid's choices and story.

The next was "21" --the story of a MIT college student is engages in a card-counting club and takes Vegas for millions. This is SO far from what I was doing in college- going to class and taking naps, concerts on weekends and drinking coffee that tasted like dessert, that I am so interested in his story. The movie was so interesting! He was bascially a geek that turned into a big time gambler. Kinda like "Can't buy me love" on steroids!

The great other movies I have seen this month are:
AWAKE- (such a entertaining movie!! There is a surgery scene that I could not bear to watch, but other than that, it is very entertaining)
The Other Boleyn Girl- (Greatness. Elements are true, but I have no idea how much of it is true. But I totally loved it!! And it wasn't as much of a chick-flick as I thought)

So, there is your entertainment report. I will not be surprised if I am up at 3 am, with all this reading to be catching up on!!

Does anyone have any opinions to add? Movies to discuss?

Highland Park Spring Market

Today was the Spring Market at Highland Park Elementary School, and it was such a great show! I got to meet so many fun people, and of course, since a lot of them loved the cards, then I immediately liked them and was their best friend! :) Flattery will get you everywhere with me-- especially about my cards or my son! :)

Here are some pictures of my booth- which was very small, but crammed-packed!!

I got a ton of order for Custom Stuff-- the Mom Notepads were probably the biggest seller. A tie for second place went to the family note cards and the Mommy Business Cards. The address and gift labels and the Custom Baby Books were a big hit, too. Not too many invitations were ordered, but I figured that was b/c no one actually knows the information they want printed until they get home and figure it out!! At least, that is true in my case!! My head is full with important information, like the words to "Bust-a-move", "Vanilla Ice", and how to spell "Sesquicentennial". I cannot be expected to remember other information, such as details of events I am planning!!

My sweet mom helped me out today and my husband took care of our son. It takes a village, you know.

It was so fun and now I am off to work on all my new orders!!

Great April Fool's Day

Here are the top 10 April Fools Jokes of all time--these are so funny!!

1. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied that they should "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

#2: Sidd Finch

In its April 1985 edition, Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. But in reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.

#3: Instant Color TV

In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

#4: The Taco Liberty Bell--- this might be my favorite!!

In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

#5: San Serriffe

In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semi-colon-shaped islands. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.

#6: Nixon for President

In 1992 National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.

#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi

The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Before long the article had made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly made its way around the world, forwarded by people in their email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by a physicist named Mark Boslough.

#8: The Left-Handed Whopper

In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."

#9: Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers--I don't really get this one as much, but I felt like I should include it...just in case you have an interest in fake new animals.

In its April 1995 issue Discover Magazine announced that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.

#10: Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity

In 1976 the British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

This makes me think either that our society is either very gullible, or we believe everything we hear on tv!! Maybe both!! :)

Happy April Fool's Day!!