Cards on the 21st?

 I am hoping to get the "Cards" out in the morning.
I have been working on the LGHS basketball program in all my spare time, and I pretty much completed it yesterday. I'm still waiting on a couple advertisements, but for now I can work on my tardy Christmas cards.
First of all, who to put on the card? Last year we had the whole family. This year we could put another family picture on it because we took some good ones at Thanksgiving when we were all home, or we could just do the grandchildren, they are the cutest ones after all. Or the grandchildren with grandparents. Or just the kids that are still dependents. (sort of anyway)
I settled on the 2 youngest dependent children, because this is Michael's last year living at home, last year Stephanie is in college and won't have a job, and last time it will sort of be about them.

Next October I will make the Christmas cards. This will be my 2010 goal.
So for a brief run down.
        1. Something always goes "Not As Planned" when I do cards
        2. Apple "address book" is not very flexible
        3. I have learned much from trial and error on "Abobe Bridge" and "Photoshop" but the learning
           curve is more than I bargained for (I can't even indent properly in this program right now)
        4. I am cheap is some ways, but lavish in others
        5. I don't want to have something that anyone else may have seen, touched, smelled, or smiled at.
           (even if it is way cuter and easier than what I'm doing)
        6. I do everything the hard way, and sometimes I want to not have to do this.
        7. Computers are frustrating
        8. My dowager's hump is KILLING me. I want to cry.
Here's the look I was after.

First I worked on paper and pictures, font and color. The little red buttons in the corners of the picture took me about 2 hours, but hey, now I know how to "transform" and I will not take so long next time.
Then I tried to put a little "Christmas update of our family" letter on the back, but needed real paper because the back of the photo paper that the card is printed on doesn't take the ink well and it ends up smearing all over the place, so copied my notes onto red card stock, then figured out a cute attachment which required then buying ribbon for the attachment.

Then came the labels. I have cute bright red ovals that I can't get the addresses easily onto, because I can't figure out how to export from Apple's Address Book. If I was simple and did an Avery label, then I'd have  no problem.

I called tech support, enlisted the help of my children and husband, and finally settled on cutting and pasting each individual address and then changing fonts and organization on each separate label. Listen to me complain. Thanks Hubby for at least copying them onto a preview document so that I did not have too call up each name separately when adding them.

So if my recipients of card don't receive these by Christmas, at least they'll know I am thinking about it.
  ..... and I actually think I can finish and get them in the mail tomorrow.
Did I mention my NECK???? Ooooooo OUCH!!!