Category: DESTINATIONS

Places to go

The famous Hollywood sign
DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

And We’re Off to Cali!

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: CALIFORNIA 2024, THE FRIENDS & FAMILY TOUR

The Lure of California

I’ll confess, when I lived in California I couldn’t wait to get back to my beloved Texas. My mom told us before we left, “California is someplace you go on vacation, not someplace to live.” Well, for us she was right, and six years later we boomeranged right back to Big D, but a funny thing had happened. We left a part of our hearts behind. Yes, California is beautiful, but believe me, we’re happy enough just making visits. But there were friends and family who moved out there while we were there and friends we’d made while we were there who hold pieces of our hearts hostage in the Golden State. Them we miss. The land of fruits and nuts, not so much!

Our vacations usually result from a seed planted at an earlier time, but this time someone else planted the seed. We had a new grand nephew. He’d been born in late September of 2023, so come January 2024, it was time to go meet him. I’d love to show him to you, because he’s cute as a button, but his mom and dad have requested no social media images, so you’ll just have to believe me.

And since we were going to be in California to meet our grand nephew, we made plans to spend time with other dear friends. Come see how much fun we had.

The Rough Start

My alarm went off at 3:30 AM as I planned, but the music I’d chosen was so gentle, I snoozed on for 10 minutes. When I finally woke, Bill and I we both were in a panic. Bill, who’d planned to wake up about 3:40, set his alarm for PM instead of AM (Freudian Slip?) so it was by the grace of God we woke up at all.

It was Keystone Cops Revisited as we raced around to get out the door, but we didn’t make our 4 AM deadline. We were only 10 minutes late getting away and got to Love Field in plenty of time, but that was by the grace of God, too. Westbound I-30 was smooth sailing, but something had happened on the Eastbound and it was bumper-to-bumper, wall-to-wall semis as far as the eye could see. We said hallelujahs all the way to the airport.

We hadn’t needed to be so panicked. The Delta desk wasn’t even open when we got there. Everything else about the trip was routine. Even the Chik-filet biscuit I had for breakfast. Little did I know that it was going to be one of my last. (I was about to go gluten free, unwillingly, but necessarily). The other end of the flight was routine, too. We picked up the rental car and hit Mickey D’s.

At Our Nephew’s

For the next few days we were at our nephew’s home in Canoga Park. We loved getting to know the grand nephew and mostly we just hung out. We were on Egyptian time, which is always difficult for me, but it’s great for Bill to speak Arabic and return to his natural flow.

The first evening they grilled steaks for us and on the next they took us sightseeing. I appreciated it very much, but it did have it’s challenges. Nephew has a cute Mercedes and for the tour, Bill and Nephew sat up front.

I was in the backseat with Niece and Baby. First, there’s the issue of motion sickness. I have it if I ride in the backseat and there was the baby, too. I never babysat as a child and never had children myself, so as cute as a baby might be, I’m done after about 10 minutes and riding for hours around LA right next to one was an exercise in prayer.

I also couldn’t see out of the backseat. Nephew and Bill were having a grand old time, going through neighborhood after neighborhood discussing real estate, architecture and potential business plans, while about all I could see was the retaining wall in front of all the homes.

Nephew made every effort to please me and there was no way I was going to complain, but it was a tough few hours. Specifically for me, we visited the Hollywood sign and Rodeo Drive. It was late on a Sunday afternoon, so Rodeo Drive was not exactly humming, but it was very chilly for LA.

Below are some of the shots we took at Rodeo Drive. Next week we’ll head to Malibu. Don’t miss that and remember to check by for Memory Preservation and Memory Sharing on Wednesday and Friday.

DESTINATIONS, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Scrapbooking, Shopping, TRAVEL, United States

A Few Snippets Before Heading Home

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: HANGING WITH THE GIRLS

Yes, We Were There for The Love Life Conference

Before abandoning the conference completely, I will share a couple of incidents. One was good and one was bad. Let’s start with the good. On Friday morning we were running a little late and as we struggled to find a seat, someone approached Deb and asked her if we wanted to sit up front. Are you kidding? Would we rather be front and center or up there in the nosebleed section. Of course we wanted to move up front.

I’m guessing some group wasn’t making it to the session and they wanted it to be filled up for the people watching online and the videos which I am sure they sell. We certainly weren’t invited back up front for the rest of the conference, but it was exciting to be so close you didn’t even need to look at the monitors. It’s the only time in my life I’ve been glad I was running late!

The second incident of note was not as pleasant, but it was the same day. When we left that night we were ragged. Stomping all over San Antonio in the heat, eating big meals and drinking margaritas had taken their toll. It didn’t exactly energize us to sit for hours in the dark, listening to the various speakers.

We made our way across the parking lot and the car was in sight. I was going to drive, so I wanted to put my stuff in the trunk. I squeezed between two cars parked nose to nose and suddenly I was down. It was one of those bone jarring falls that leaves you stunned and my leg was really hurting. What’s more I was concerned about all my stuff. Where were my glasses which had been on my head? Was the traveling tiara in my tote bag? Billfold? And so forth and so on.

The fall had been bad enough to draw the attention of others who were wanting to call 9-1-1. I didn’t want that to happen, but I wondered what was the matter with my leg. I had on a pair of jeans which had not torn, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt something had scrapped up my leg and knee. Then I started looking for the reason I fell. Lord knows I can be clumsy, but even though I didn’t know WHAT it was, I knew I’d been kneecapped.

While everyone else discussed my need for a hospital, I looked for the culprit. On the front bumper of the car I squeezed past was some sort of implement. I have no idea what it was used for but it was sharp and it was at least four inches long – just enough to trip me up!

Being the brave soul that I am, I drove back to Shana’s just as I had said I would do, even thought Deb was wishing I would drive to some hospital. When I got to Shana’s and looked at my leg, things were worse than I thought. I had scrapes and bruises from falling and whatever the implement on the front of the car had been, it was sharp enough to actually cut my leg. By the time we got there, things were swelling. Nurses Deb & Shana got to work on me. In the morning I was much better, but it had been quite a fall.

A Return to Palmer’s

Back in 2016, my friend Shana was thinking of starting a coaching/retreat business. She now runs a very successful concierge business with three Texas locations, but back in 2016 she was in transition. Deb and I went to the retreat and had a great time. It’s when we discovered the wonders of the San Marcos Outlet Mall and we ate at Palmer’s.

Shana, Deborah and I had set aside Saturday night for ourselves. Shana had a local watering hole she wanted to take us to, but for dinner we wanted Palmer’s. Deb and I adore anything al fresco and Shana had warm memories of it from her college days, so that’s what we planned on doing.

On this particular visit, the service was a little off and the food was not the best, but their patio is so amazing, I’d go back tomorrow. The picture you see at the top of this post is one I snapped. Totally awful pic of me, but sharing for the other two.

A Return to Brahmin

Then Sunday morning it was time to return to the Metroplex. We said farewell to Shana and our first stop was the Brahmin store at the San Marcos Outlet Stores. We got there a few minutes before the store opened, so we waited. As soon as they opened, Deb swooped in, grabbed her clearance bag and we were on the road back home.

And that’s the end of this tale. Next week we’ll move on to Cali 2024, the Friends and Family Tour. Don’t miss Memory Keeping on Wednesday and Memory Sharing on Thursday!

Image of Joyce Meyers 2023 Love Life Conference in the Alamo Dome
DESTINATIONS, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Scrapbooking, TRAVEL, United States

Joyce and San Antonio

Jane Sadek
Fall Photo Opp at San Antonio Plaza
Crowning Around

MEMORY MAKING: JOYCE MEYERS’ LOVE LIFE 2023 IN SAN ANTONIO

It Wasn’t Love Life 2022 in St. Louis

There, I said it. There were a few great moments, but the impact I experienced in 2022 just wasn’t there, even if all the loud music was. We did not sign up for 2024.

That’s not to say there weren’t some good moments. I just didn’t feel as if I got as much out of it as I did the year before. I can’t point to a single moment or thought that impacted me significantly, but lightning rarely strikes twice.

But I Loved Life in San Antonio

If you’ve been around this blog long, then you know I love San Antonio. If I could only have one travel destination for the rest of my life, it would probably be San Antonio, but I’m glad I don’t have to make that choice.

Staying in New Braunfels with Shana and being at the Alamo Dome kept us from our usual center of activity, but we loved the time with Shana and the walking was good for us. All in all it was a great trip. Here’s a few highlights.

signs on the walls and ceilings of Guadalajara Grill in San Antonio
We loved reading all the signs!

Guadalajara Grill for Lunch

When Love Life broke for lunch on Friday, job one was to find a restaurant that wasn’t already filled to capacity with other Love Life attendees. That meant we walked and walked and walked and walked a little more, but finally we landed at Guadalajara Grill. Google is trying to tell me it was a four minute walk, but we must have gone the long way.

It was a fortunate stop. The food was great, but the best part was the signs all over the walls and the ceiling. Even though the restaurant was not as inundated with as many people as some we’d passed, this was a popular lunch spot, so we plunked down at the bar, margaritas and decided to enjoy ourselves.

We explained out conference dilemma to the man behind the bar and while he didn’t seem all that sympathetic, we did seem to get seated pretty quickly. On our next trip to San Antonio (and there will always be more trips to San Antonio) we’ll certainly eat at Guadalajara Grill again.

Chart House Restaurant in Tower of the Americas

So, one of my favorite places to eat, bar none, is the Chart House Restaurant in The Tower of the Americas. Not that I could find any of my own photos of it. I stole this one from their website. I love the food and the view is wonderful. And it’s a special place. People get dressed up to go there. Not all of them anymore, unfortunately, the usual grunge was visible on this visit, but it’s everywhere, so I have to live with it.

Deb and I tried it first in 2015 and we still feel the same way about it. So much so, that on the way back from Guadalajara Grill we stopped at the Tower and made reservations for dinner. Take that all you Love Life attendees filling the other restaurants. We had a reservation.

I did a good job of describing the the experience in the post linked above, so no need to go over it all again. Just click the link. Was it still as good Yep, for me it’s a must-do every time I go to San Antonio.

Lunch on Saturday

By Saturday we were a little tired of shuffling around the Hemisfair Plaza battling for dining space. We squeezed out of the morning session as soon as we dared and made a beeline for the first luxury hotel. I can’t remember which one we landed at. The meal was both mediocre and expensive – well at least the margarita was expensive – but we enjoyed the break and headed back to the final session, which we also scooted out of early. We were going out with Shana that evening.

Check in Wednesday for Memory Keeping and on Friday we’ll be creating something fun for Memory Sharing. Then next Monday I’ll wrap up a few details from this trip and we can start thinking about California!

DESTINATIONS, Fashion, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Scrapbooking, Shopping, TRAVEL, Travel Planning, United States

What a Girl Loves!

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: OUTLET SHOPPING & MARGARITA DRINKING

Woman wearing a crown in a McDonald's
Me wearing the Traveling Tiara

WHY ARE YOU WEARING A CROWN?

So, one of my all-time favorite networking groups is Polka Dot Powerhouse . My particular chapter had a little thing they called the Traveling Tiara and I’d been selected to wear it for the next month. Most of the women get it and they don’t do much with it. Not me! I carried it everywhere I went and posted lots of photos. This first one was at a McDonald’s somewhere between Dallas and San Marcos.

SAN MARCOS OUTLETS

The next stop was the San Marcos Outlet Mall and we got there just as the stores were opening. We were girls on a mission. Deb needed a Brahmin bag. The last time we’d been down this way, back in 2015, I’d convinced Deb she should invest in a Brahmin. It was a little out of her intended price range, but she did it and she loved it. Eight years later, she was still carrying her Brahmin during the fall and winter, but now she needed one for spring and summer.

We parked out front and went in to handle all their stuff. I helped Deborah pick out a beauty from the clearance department and then went to see the billfolds. I didn’t really need one, but it was about the only item in the store I might fit into my budget. Eventually, I became aware of the fact that Deb’s purchase was not going smoothly. In fact, I’d handled all the billfolds several times and Deb was still waiting to check out. There was only one lady in front of her, but the cash register was down.

We waited a little longer, but nothing was happening. Finally, our stomachs let us know it was nearing the lunch hour, but Deb really, really wanted that bag. At least she did for a while and then she decided maybe the hold up was a sign from God. She’d put the bag back on the shelf and if we had time, we’d stop back by on the way home. If we had time and the bag was still there, then she was meant to have the bag.

GRUENE’S GRISTMILL

To begin with, for the uninitiated, “Gruene” is pronounced like the color, green. It’s a lovely little shopping and eating town right next to New Braunfels and the Guadalupe River. The Gristmill is a wonderful riverside restaurant that I try to eat at every time I pass by on nearby I-35. It’s like getting kolaches in West, you just do it.

Is it the best food you can get in Gruene? No, but it’s good enough and while you wait for a table (you ALWAYS have to wait for a table) you sit in their great little beer garden and the margaritas are marvelous. The Gristmill did not disappoint. It was a gorgeous day for the beer garden, so I enjoyed my margarita while we waited for a table.

I can’t remember what we ate, but I bet it included the onion rings. We love them and used to always get them. (Now I’m gluten free, so I wonder what I’ll eat next time! I won’t be having my usual burger either.)

HEADING ON DOWN THE ROAD

Next stop was Shana’s house where we got situated for our stay. Deb took a nap and I marveled at her cat who looked just like our Princess, who we’d lost not all that long before this trip. So, it almost seemed like I was seeing a ghost! FYI – the top one is Princess!

Joyce’s conference was going to begin at 7, so the nap ended and we got back on the road. Doors opened quite a while before we got to the Alamo Dome, so we didn’t exactly have optimal seats, but we enjoyed the opening festivities.

Afterwards, we made our way back to Shana’s, so we could turn around and do it all the next day. I hope you’ll turn around and read my blog post on Wednesday. We’ll be doing some Memory Keeping and on Friday, we’ll Memory Sharing!

DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking, Shopping

Let Your Linens Do the Talking

Jane Sadek

MEMORY SHARING: THROWING IN THE TOWELS

FOREVER’S Latest Thing

Photo Books and Coffee Mugs have been popular ways to share memories, but FOREVER has come up with something a little out of the ordinary for your next photo gifting, to yourself or others: Towels! And guess what, the fish and the fly don’t have them.

Three Options & You’ll Love Them All

BEACH TOWEL

Let’s start big – a big 30″ X 60″ beach towel big. If you choose to use the Create & Print feature on FOREVER, there are two pages of templates for you to personalize, including one called The Big Picture, where you can fill the whole towel with a picture you love. If you use one of the other fun templates, you get to personalize them with colors, fonts and orientation. Add your name to be sure no one can claim it. If you can’t find what you want, let me know and I can design it in Artisan for you and I’ll have a blank page to start with.

The towels have a poly front with the print and a cotton terry back, but that poly front is not one of those water repellent polys you might have tried to dry off with in the past. It’s soft and absorbent it dry you off quickly and comfortably. The towel are machine washable and you tumble them dry.

GOLF TOWEL

These waffle weave wonders will please all your athletes, not just golfers, but their design is based on the traditional golf towel with a grommet and metal hook. However, add it to your gym bag or any other sports bag! You might even want to hook it from your scrapbooking tote. Don’t let that “golf” word deter you.

This towel is 16″ X 25″ and it’s a cotton/poly blend which is durable, absorbent and convenient. Like the beach towel there are all kinds of designs in FOREVER’s Create & Print templates for you to customize or you can start your design from scratch in Artisan.

TEA TOWEL

Tea towels are a great gift for many occasions and something we all need for ourselves. You know those tea towels that have hilarious sayings on them. Have you ever wished you could change the wording just a little bit to fit someone you know? Well, now you can.

Looking for the perfect wedding gift? They’ll love seeing their name and or monogram on personalized tea towels. And housewarming gifts? Their name and new address, right on the towel. And how about recipes? Think of this as a whole new way to share that recipe you’ve become famous for.

Waffle weave, like the sports towel, and the same size, but without the grommet & hook, you can make these up in both vertical and horizontal designs. They are a little larger than a standard placemat, but imagine a meal where your guests find their place by finding their face and the placemat goes home with them as a party favor. Cool, yes?

I just ordered this one and I can’t wait to take it to the next potluck I attend. I’m thinking I’ll be having them standing in line to order their own! Thanks for sharing memories with me and come back on Monday for a little Memory Making!

DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, Travel Planning, United States

Any Excuse is Good Enough for San Antonio

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: SHANA, DEBORAH & JOYCE

How Trips Happen!

So, in 2022 Deborah and I went to see Joyce Meyers in St. Louis, Missouri. It was a crazy road trip via Little Rock, Arkansas, the Clinton Presidential Library and one of the best restaurants we’ve ever been to.

The Love Life Conference was great. A little too much rock music and we skipped out on Joel Olsteen, but Joyce was on point with us and I decided I’d give Deb a repeat for her next birthday. So, I booked the next conference while I was in St. Louis.

A few months later, I passed through New Braunfels for a quick visit to my friend Shana. I mentioned Joyce to her and she was excited by the thought of it. So, we had a plan. Shana, Deborah and I were going to see Joyce in October of 2023 and we’d stay with Shana.

How Things Change!

So, confession! I’m not always the person I wish I could be. I have a tendency to be caught up in the here and now. That means I don’t check in with people as often as they wish I would, sometimes. And that happened. I sent Shana the link to sign up for Joyce and I thought we were set. Several months later, I sent something else, mentioning how excited we were about seeing her later than year, but she wasn’t on board. I’d disappointed her. After a couple of touchy conversations, we established she’d made other plans, but we’d bunk with her in New Braunfels and get in a good visit. I don’t like touchy conversations, but I value my friends above all else and if I need to eat some crow to save a friendship, then I will have sautéed, roasted, fried and baked (or anything else necessary) to do so.

How Things Went!

Well, it was a great trip! Shopping at the San Marcos Outlet Mall, great food, fun times and oh yes! We did also attend Joyce Meyer’s Love Life Conference in the Alamo Dome.

Come along for the next few Mondays and I’ll share that fun with you. And don’t miss Memory Keeping on Wednesday or Memory Sharing on Friday!

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

FOREVER’s Free Historian Trial Rocks, Too

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: WHY YOU SHOULD TRY HISTORIAN!

Historian Software

In reality, FOREVER doesn’t say much about Historian these days, because they have plans to incorporate much of what Historian offers into your storage – things like facial recognition, for instance. Only there’s no date offered for when the storage upgrade will happen, so I think Historian is a great program now and FOREVER allows you a 30 Day Trial to find out if it is for you.

Historian is a desktop program. It’s a place to sort through your photos BEFORE you take them to your permanent storage account, so you won’t have duplicates and outtakes filling up your GBs. It automatically bundles things into the year they were taken and has a timeline at the bottom, so you can easily focus on the year you want to organize.

I mentioned facial recognition and it’s a wonder, but then again so is the star rating system. As you go through your images you can give them 1-5 stars so you can quickly see which are the best.

If you’ve got a great picture with poor quality, then you’ll love the Auto-fix feature. A photo can go from mediocre to spectacular with one click. You’ve also got a lot of other editing tools at your fingertips for cropping, fixing red eyes and so forth and so on, but the Auto-fix feature is marvelous.

When I’m working on a custom album, facial recognition and the album planner are my friends. Tagging people in photos is a huge time suck, but so important. You’ll need to spend a little time training it to know your people, but once it knows, it knows What a boon.

The album planner is particularly important for me, because I’m not sorting through the photos to save in my storage. I’m sorting through them to fill the pages of a scrapbook or photobook. It’s easy to move them from the cabinet I’m working in to the album planner and from there, just a click or two to put them in a print project or order copies.

I like it for scanning, too. When I scan from my printer, I sometimes have a hard time finding it on my computer. Using Historian to initiate the process means the items scanned will be in Historian and much easier to find. I love it. 

Some people, who have more time than money, might run all their photos through Historian (or at least a lot of them) during the 30 Day Trial. If you love it at the end of the trial, it’s only $129.99 and yes, it’s eligible for Club Dollars and Club Discount. (After a recent price change, it is no longer included on monthly deals.)

It will be at least a year and maybe more before the upgrade to storage is done and even then, many of the improvements will be add-ons to basic storage. According to how you use your account, Historian might be a better deal than a Facial Recognition add-on to your storage, but if you’ve got work to do with photos on your computer, it will be worth every penny to get it done now and not wait to see the upgrade. YOu can check it out, here: https://www.forever.com/ambassador/jane-sadek/historian .

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

FOREVER’s Free Valet Trial Rocks

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: WHY YOU SHOULD TRY VALET!

Valet – For Those Who Are Already Organized

For most people who are interested in FOREVER’s permanent online storage, the biggest obstacle to getting it done is their Media Mess, but there is another group. Their obstacle is that the images on their computer are already organized in folders and perhaps tagged. 

There was a time when I would explain to these people that safe is better than at risk, even if it requires a little extra work. And besides, if you’ve got it organized on your computer, part of the work is already done. They’d just need to bring it over in smaller batches.

I was one of those people who had already organized their photos on their computer before I found FOREVER, so I was speaking from experience, but that didn’t really make it much better. Moving a photo cache of decades and keeping the already instituted organization to it was daunting.

Then Came Valet! 

My first purpose for owning FOREVER storage was our real estate photography company. We’d killed one external drive and lost about 12 months of photos. I needed safe. Besides, I was up to date on my scrapbooks, so even if I lost my personal photos, I hate a physical backup.

Then we sold the company. I needed to get the archive to the new owner with all the organization and tagging intact. Thankfully, as if they’d done it just for me, that’s when FOREVER introduced Valet. It was designed primarily for professional photo organizers, but an amateur version was offered at a reduced price.

My first Valet operation was to download the archive from FOREVER to a disk, so I couldn’t use the free demo, which only allows uploads, not downloads. I had to invest in the software, right off. 

We’re talking years and years of real estate photography, but it was done so fast I was amazed and I knew was never going to migrate files from one place to another without Valet. Once the new owner verified he had our stash, I saved some of the archive for the sake of nostalgia and started deleting the rest. I couldn’t wait to upload my my personal photos.

Valet was brand new to FOREVER, so I admit I was a little apprehensive about migrating from my computer to FOREVER. From FOREVER to a disk was one thing, this was something else. Other Ambassadors were raving about it, but I couldn’t help but be skeptical. To boot, even though the photos on my computer were organized, I had some ideas about how to reorganize them, which would take better advantage of FOREVER’s features.

The day came for the migration and just as it had been with the real estate photos, Valet finished the job in record time – even though I’d moved the cache over in several batches rather than just letting Valet do it’s thing. I’m sure if I had moved all of it right as it had been, things would have been fine, but I do love the new organization.

So Is Valet Something You Need?

If the photos on your computer are organized and you want to move them into FOREVER, then Valet is the best way to do it. Spend some time getting it just like you want it – maybe adding photos from your phone or other devices. Then when you get everything just so, get the free 30 Day Trial version of Valet. I’m guessing you’ll be through in a couple of hours, but you’ll have 29 more days to play with it. As I said, you can only upload with the demo, but for most people, that’s all they really want and you probably won’t need Valet again after the job is done – standard or pro version.

Or Maybe You Will!

Perhaps you are the family historian and while all of your photos are organized, you are also collecting items from others. If this is you, according to the the size of your family and the state of their files, you may, you may be able to use the standard version to help. As long as you are uploading to your own FOREVER account, you can log in on any computer and do so. The pro version is for downloading to and from other FOREVER accounts. 

The Future of Valet

So, Valet just came out in May, but improvements are already in the works. While the current version is focused on images stored on devices, they are working on making it work with other cloud formats, so that if you have at risk images on Google Photos, Dropbox, i-cloud and other places, bringing them home to FOREVER will be a one step process. I love Valet just the way it is, but I’m really excited about that improvement. Believe me, I will keep you abreast of any developments I learn of. In the meantime, you can try Valet with this link: https://www.forever.com/ambassador/jane-sadek/valet .

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

A Free Trial of FOREVER’s Digital Scrapbooking Dynamic Duo

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: ARTISAN & PIXELS 2 PAGES – A DYNAMIC DUO

A 30 Day Free Trial in Digital Scrapbooking Heaven

Two things in FOREVER go together like a horse and carriage – that’s Artisan and Pixels 2 Pages (P2P). If you are perfectly satisfied with the templates FOREVER offers for photobooks, photo gifts, greeting cards and calendars, then you need not read any further. Artisan and Pixels 2 Pages are for digital scrapbooking aficionados and they can try out both during a 30 Day Trial. Keep reading to find out why NOW is the perfect time to take advantage of your free trials.

Artisan is a very powerful design hardware. With it you can create a wide variety of digital print projects – everything from greeting cards to photobooks, but I even use it for social media memes. You can design virtually anything with Artisan and FOREVER offers a wide variety of digital art to use with it. 

Pixels 2 Pages is an online community for Artisan users. The primary focus is digital scrapbooking, but the skills taught are applicable to whatever you want to create in Artisan. However, developing your skills is just one of the benefits of membership. The real drawing card is the fun. P2P Artisan specialist are called Pixies and they sprinkle a little magic into every corner of the community.

Let’s consider the icing on the cake! Since we’re talking FREE today, let’s talk about all the stuff included when you purchase Artisan and join Pixels 2 Pages. 

Artisan is a one time purchase of $129.99. That’s it. You will own the world’s most powerful, most comprehensive tool for digital creation. Not only does it include the powerful Perfectly Clear Auto-Fix, but what you will also get is a lot of other built-in resources – page templates called blueprints, shapes, fonts, frames and strokes, to name a few. Then there’s digital art – so much free digital art that I created photobooks and other items for over year without even checking out what FOREVER offered for purchase. And, generous FOREVER keeps offering free digital art. So every once and I while I just do a search and see what new free stuff I can find.

With your Artisan purchase, you also get a peek into P2P. You’ll have access to the Pixie created How-To Manual, public posts in the P2P community and partial access to P2P events throughout the year. If that peek perks your interest, which it most likely will, then you’ll want to join and there are two ways to do that – monthly and annually. The monthly price is $19.99 or you can save a little with the $189.99 annual membership.

For many, the P2P community, sharing ideas and offering encouragement is reason enough to belong, but there’s more, like the Facebook page group, monthly newsletter, monthly blueprint downloads, weekly guides, videos and project ideas and such. You also have access to the library where they’ve archived years of training, so at your fingertips you have answers to more questions than you’ll ever think to ask. There’s a free quarterly crop and while anyone can attend parts of it, only P2P members have the inside track.

Oh yes – and every year there is a huge Virtual Party for P2P members that’s spread out over weeks and culminates in a weekend binge of creation. There is a fee for this event, but guess what, it only costs half of the value you will receive in digital goodies. The fun starts with weekly classes in March, to give you a head start on what will be introduced at the weekend crop. Then for an entire weekend in April, you crop with the Pixies. Everything is recorded, so if you have to miss a class or can’t attend the crop, it will all be there for you to enjoy anyway. For many people that weekend is their favorite thing of the year.    

Do It Now!

I am sharing this with you today, because now is a special time to take advantage of this Dynamic Duo. If you sign up for your free trials in January, you can enjoy full access to the “Let’s TACO About It” quarterly crop (January 12-13) and for only $19.99 you can participate in FOREVER Virtual (January 20), which will offer lots of FOREVER training and the “Party After Dark” P2P Crop.

After these special events and a month’s access to these wonderful resources, I’m betting you will be hooked. Why don’t you check these out: Artisan, Pixels 2 Pages, Forever Virtual or just call me at 972-971-5263 and let’s TACO about it!

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

FOREVER – Try It You’ll Like It!

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: TRY IT FOR FREE & GET $20

A FOREVER Account Is Free

There may be no free lunch, but there is a free FOREVER account. If you’ve chosen Memory Keeping as your New Year Resolution or if you’re just curious, there is no cost and no obligation when you try out FOREVER.

Just use this link to get signed up:  https://www.forever.com/ambassador/jane-sadek

When you click the link, it will take you to FOREVER and walk you through the sign up process. Then FOREVER will send you an email to verify your address. You’ll want to do that, because the reward is a $20 Off Welcome Coupon and you have 60 days to spend it. If you decide against FOREVER, no harm, no foul, but you’ll have 60 days to try it out and if you find something you love, just apply the coupon code.

So, I Have the Account, What Now?

Now, that you’ve signed up, start checking things out. 

If you’re the kind who likes to start with a little how-to, then right on the first page under the big picture, you’ll see this. Click “Get Answers” and you’ll enter a world of how-to intro videos. That should keep you busy for awhile!

Or if you learn by doing, look for the avatar icon in the upper left hand corner. Hover over it and choose “Library”. FOREVER gives you 2GBs of storage for free, which is 375-1250 images depending on their size. You can upload some images and get started with your curating!

Whether you start with the videos or just start, you can’t blow up FOREVER, so try everything. The Library is where your images will live, but you can set up albums according to how your brain works. FOREVER does not create duplicates, so you’re not using up GBs. The albums can be nested for ease of handling. There’s also great tagging tools that let you cross reference the ways you find images. Don’t forget to name the photos and write a description.

Check Out the FOREVER Guarantee

You may not be impressed, yet. I loved FOREVER from first sight and couldn’t wait to put all my memories there, but you might be telling yourself you haven’t seen anything you can’t get with other cloud providers. Well, there is the fact that you own FOREVER storage rather than rent it. That’s a big deal, but the really big deal is the FOREVER Guarantee. You don’t just get FOREVER for your lifetime, but access to the images is guaranteed by FOREVER for 100 years after you are gone, without anyone having to pay another penny.

After you’ve looked at what FOREVER does for you and for your images, go check out the terms you agreed to with whoever has your digital images now. Basically those other agreements say that when you load your images, you give us all rights to those images to whatever provider you’ve chosen. They can compress them, delete them, transfer them, mine them for ads, etc. etc. etc. 

One Stop Shop

And speaking of those other providers, how many of them would you need to do all the things for you that FOREVER can? We don’t just store your images, we’re a platform for sharing them. We can digitize your hard copy media. You can make photo books and photo gifts. We have video streaming and family history research. There’s a world of amazing software available for managing your images and using them everywhere. There’s even an online community you can join who know everything there is to know about Memory Keeping. There’s a blog. There’s pages and groups on social media. Whatever Memory Keeping tools, devices and support you need, you can find them with FOREVER. No need to juggle multiple photo-related accounts and apps.

Test Drive Our App

Your FOREVER account is free and so is the app. It is available for both Apple and Android phones. Go to the App Store on your phone to install the app and then see what it does. Imagine being able to have access to your images on your phone without having to worry about losing your phone, damaging your phone, having your phone stolen or having it die. That’s what the app does. It does more than store your images – it protects them. You can set the app to auto-synch with your phone and every picture and video you take can go right to FOREVER.

Drive-Thru Create & Print

Though FOREVER is great for storage and sharing, it’s also good for photobooks and gifts. Click the Create & Print tab, choose a product and try out our interface. There are lots of great products to personalize with your photos – from greeting cards and calendars, to photobooks and coffee cups. Though our products might look like some you’ve seen on other sites, I assure you that when you hold them in your hand, you’ll understand why FOREVER is a better choice.  

It’s OK to create a few things, just for the fun of it. It doesn’t cost you a thing until you actually order it. You can try things out and change them a zillion times. You can even share your creation and show off your ideas without spending a cent. Sometimes the process of creation itself is enough, but it is tempting to buy and share your creations.

Will It Be a Yes or a No?

I hope you’ll take FOREVER up on it’s free account. Check out all the pages, load up some photos, look at the deals, take advantage of the free trials and see how FOREVER fits into your life. If you need a guided tour, we can jump on Zoom and I’ll show you around.

Once you’ve gotten your account, find something to spend your $20 on. Coaster sets and magnets are a fun inexpensive way to check out our print products. Or you can invest that $20 towards storage or digitization. Or you’re welcome to delete your account and walk away. 

I’m Jane Sadek, your Memory Keeper. I’m Saving Legacies and Sharing Smiles. Let’s talk, 972-971-5263.