The Photo Book Post

A quick note about my last post on dogs:

My first choice is to actually just go to a shelter and adopt one.

My husband refuses to do that.  

He is a dog snob.

And I think we have decided on a Gordon Setter (we are going to look at some puppies tonight!).  

A while ago, I mentioned that I had been into the digital photo books, and I promised a review on the different companies I had used.

Finally, here it is!

The different companies that I used were:

MixBook

Shutterfly

MyPublisher

Overall, they were all very similar.  

Shutterfly: seems to be the most popular.  Everyone suggested I use that one.  They were pretty good.  I just found that I liked the layouts and design options of the other companies better.  Prices were reasonable.

MyPublisher:  I liked the simplicity of their layouts.  This is a good option if you don't like a lot of embellishments (you just want the pictures to speak for themselves).  I enjoy that you actually download the software onto your computer, instead of going online every time.  This one was the most expensive, but they are usually running some kind of promotion.  However, I was frustrated with ordering.  They were running a promotion of 60% off any order over $200.  I was planning on ordering 5 books (3 of one album, and 2 of another).  You could not combine all the books into one order; each album had to be a separate order.  Since they were so expensive, the 3 books did total over $200, so I got the 60% off of that, but the other 2 did not qualify.  I thought that was kind of crummy.

MixBook:  Overall, this is my favorite.  I will continue to use them for future books.  I loved that they had so many options.  And I liked that their embellishments were more more contemporary, less cutesy.  The final product was also great.  The paper quality seemed to be just a bit better than the other 2.  Their prices seemed to fall somewhere in between the other 2 companies.

A lot of this is just my personal preference.  MixBook was more my "Style."  All companies created very nice products, and I was not disappointed in any of them.  With all 3 books side-by-side, MixBook just seemed to be slightly better.  

I know there are many other photo book site out there, but my search is done.  

And I am working on catching up on my photos!

Puppy Fever

Everyone I know seems to be getting a puppy.

There are new ones almost everyday when I pick up the kids from school, and many of my friends have been posting on Facebook about the new canines they have added to their homes.

Rocky and I have talked a lot over the years about getting a dog, but there was always something preventing us (either we didn't have a yard, or we had babies, or toddlers, etc.).  

Now we have a decent yard, and our children are a bit older (with no more on the horizon).

Perhaps now is the time.

We have gone back and forth on the kind of dog we want to own: Rocky wants a huge dog, I prefer a smaller, more manageable size.   

But no matter what I say, he really wants to pick the breed.

Since he has given in to us owning cats (which he hates), I guess I will give in on the dog choice.

For about 2 years, he has really wanted a Cane Corso.

I can hear you all saying, "What?  Is that even a real dog?"

Yes, it is.  It is an Italian Mastiff.

(I told you he wanted huge.)

I have done extensive research on these dogs.

Yes, they need EXTENSIVE training and socializing.

Yes, they need a firm hand.

I have gone back and forth over this for a while, but do think we could handle it.

However, last night after the dog show, he seemed to waver.

He actually seemed to doubt whether that was the dog he really wanted.

(And after I have found a somewhat local breeder with 2 litters expected this year).

So now I am back to researching breeds to see which would be best.

Does anyone have any suggestions?