One of my most popular posts (with about 50 readers every day from search engines) is Make Yourself Into a Cartoon. People searching for this are usually trying to find a quick, easy way to take a picture of themselves and convert it into a cartoon. Photoshop experts can do it themselves, but it takes hours. This online photo conversion tool helps the average person do it with ease.

I wrote that post 9 months ago, so in an effort to give the masses what they want and keep things fresh at the same time, I’m updating the demonstration of this tool (from our friends at befunky.com) that allows you to turn a photo into a cartoon. They call it their cartoonizer. You can upload any photo and convert it into a color cartoon or a black and white sketch. I’ve used it here to make two Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin cartoons and one sketch.

Befunky.com also has a tool they call Uvatar which allows you to make yourself into an avatar by uploading a photo of yourself, going through a few simple steps to outline your head, position your head on a body, choose clothing or costumes, and choose a background. I’ve done it here, again with Sarah Palin. So here is her new “Wonder Woman from Alaska” Avatar! (Note: I like and respect Sarah Palin and could not be happier with John McCain’s choice to add her as his running mate. See my post McCain Picks Palin for Veep. So my Palin Cartoon is done with love.)

“So, I am beginning to think about the holidays even though I am still wilting from the heat when I go outside.  I am not alone.  People all over the country and the world are beginning to think about the Christmas season this week.

Why?

This is the first week of the Holiday Grand Plan.  Have you heard of it? 

The Holiday Grand Plan is this awesome fully downloadable program.  The Holiday Grand Plan gives you small, bite size chores to perform each week between now and New Year’s.  It helps you get your house in order and by order I mean clean, really clean.  It helps you plan your Christmas goodies, gift purchases, and meals.  It helps you cook less in December so you can enjoy the season that much more.  It helps you be less frazzled and harried leading up to the holidays so you can truly enjoy the spirit of the season. 

The plan has Yahoo! groups for discussion if you want to share your Christmas planning with others on the net.  The yahoo group has an annual Christmas Card Swap so you can give and get cards with other HGP participants from around the world. 

You can download the checklists, planner pages, calendars and more from the official site.  Best of all, there is no cost to participate in the program. 

Probably the most difficult part of the plan is putting it in action and actually doing the work.  Do you really want to be thinking about Christmas cards right now in September?  Probably not.  But, do you really want to be stressed over getting the cards out along with a shopping list a mile long the last couple of weeks of December?  Definitely not!!  Taking baby steps now makes Christmas so much more enjoyable and gives you so much more time to feel the spirit of Christ in your heart during the Christmas season. 

The Holiday Grand Plan by Organized Christmas works for me!

Do you have any secrets that make your Christmas and holiday season more enjoyable?  If so, feel free to talk about them in the comments below.  Finally, be sure to check out Shannon’s site for other Works for Me Wednesday participants.

Happy Labor Day! My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the Gulf Coast who have had to evacuate due to Hurricane Gustav.

Monday: Labor Day Grilling: Jen’s Favorite BBQ Chicken, Grilled Corn on the Cob, Baked Beans, Homemade French Fries

Tuesday: Chicken in Cream Sauce, Steamed Broccoli, Rice

Wednesday: Lasagna, Salad

Thursday: Salmon Patties, Homemade Biscuits, Green Beans

Friday: Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, Salad

Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner: French Toast

Feel free to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by! As always, be sure to check out the other menu plans at OrgJunkie’s site.

Doug Cloud, a freelance artist, shares his 21 Favorite Photoshop Tips.

The Pioneer Woman tells how she (doesn’t) get it all done.

Sandra at the Diary of a SAHM has the Perfect Dinner posted and it looks yummy.

Janne of Janne’s Jabberwocky has an interesting post about Body Symmetry that her children are studying in homeschool.

Lisa from Productivity @ Home introduced me to Faith First Fitness.

This Pumpkin Dip from Blissfully Domestic looks yummy!

Jane from What About Mom writes about which battles are worth fighting with her children.

Feel free to leave a comment and link if you have a post you really liked this week, whether it was your own post or someone else’s.

BusyBoy asked Mr. Right the other day, “Daddy, are you sure we are real and not just some people on a big giant’s tv?”

As we were riding in the car today, BusyBoy and GigglyGirl were bickering and bothering each other. I told BusyBoy to stop bothering GigglyGirl. His response, “Mommy, I’m a boy and she’s my sister. I’m supposed to bother her. It’s what I do.”

I asked, “So, since you are her brother you are supposed to bother her?”

“Yes. And when I have a wife I will sometimes bother her too.” I agreed that he probably would.