Camera Critter 2/28

A camera critter of a new sort...meet Brian...my virtual puppy.







I know, I'm a dork, but, I also know you are jealous and are now going to check it out for yourself!

Winner - Scrabble Pendant

The winner is:

(Drum roll please....)

Abby said...

Following

Congrats Abby, I will contact you shortly. If I do not get a reply from the winner within 48 hours, I will draw again.


Thanks everyone!


~M

Create your own Polaroids!

Do you remember the old Polaroid pictures? The ones where you would gather around and wait for the picture to show up...or maybe you would wave it in the air a little bit, just knowing that would make the picture show up faster? Since the dawn of digital cameras, do you ever miss the wait for the picture? Maybe you have kids who have never experienced the buildup of excitement as you start to see the beginnings of someones face on that film...

Well, now you can experience it all over again...on your computer! With a quick installation of a program called Poladroid, you can watch your Polaroid pictures developing on your computer monitor in no time! After you have downloaded it, just open up the program, drag & drop your picture onto the camera, wait for the picture to "snap" and then watch it develop before your eyes!

Right click on the picture at anytime and select "I want a sample now!" and it will save the picture in it's current state to your "My Pictures" folder.

Here's the fun I had with the picture above waiting for it to "develop".

(By the way Happy 80th Grandpa!!)

I wanna learn...

There are so many things I have decided I want to learn how to do, most of which involve the computer somehow, and none of which involve any of the classes I will be taking in the near future. I want to learn how to restore old pictures. My uncle is a PhotoShop whiz when it comes to this and he said he would show me sometime, but that time has not come yet. My husband would like me to learn this too so I can start restoring all of the family pictures he has gathered since starting his family tree stuff. I even have the pen tool so that I can do more precise edits.

Next, since we are on the subject of PhotoShop, I would love to learn how to create my own scrapbook pages, and all of the embellishments, etc. I have not the slightest idea on how to do that, and I'm not so sure even if I knew HOW to do it, if I would be able to...I lack the artistic gene, which I would assume you would have to have to do this. Apparently my uncle (same one I just mentioned) received all of those genes for my family! Actually, if I could even put the digital kits that someone else has created to good use, I think I would be happy with that at this point.

And digital scrap booking brings me to my next thing I want to learn. I would love to be able to create my own blog design like so many other talented people do. Which leads me to my final "I wanna learn" -- HTML.

Will I ever learn how do to any of this? Who knows? I was successful in adding numbers to my comments, thanks to a tutorial I found here. (Keep in mind, you won't be able to see them unless you actually view the entire post URL, not just the comments for that post.)

I guess that's a good start...right? What do you want to learn?

Reminder - Last Day to Enter Scrabble Pendant Giveaway

Just a quick reminder that today is the last day for the Scrabble Pendant Giveaway. It ends today at 10:00 p.m. Central Time.

Good luck!!

~M

Below this sign....

I see this sign every time I drive on the interstate going north in my town. Every time I see this sign, it sends chills down my spine. You see, I live in one of the cities in Iowa that was devastated by the floods last June. It was historical flooding, like nothing this city has ever seen before. The flooding went past the 500-year flood plain. I could not take my eyes off of the TV for more than 5 minutes...watching in disbelief as the local news channel showed more and more of my city under water. A building I had just been in the day before...now had feet of water in the main floor.

Fortunately for me, neither my home or my work were directly affected by the flood. We lost power in our home for one day for a total of about 6-8 hours. I learned how to run our generator that day since my husband was out of town working! But thanks to that generator, I was not running back and forth from my basement to my front door bailing water out of the sump pit, 5 gallons at a time like my much more unfortunate neighbor.

Since the only way to get across town was now to drive on the interstate that now hosts the sign in the picture above, traffic was a nightmare. I called my uncle who had recently moved back to Iowa from San Francisco and told him I know have a small idea of what it was like to live in SF!

The wonderful company I work for was awesome in so many ways, by donating money to a flood recovery fund, helping out their employees who were directly affected by the flood, and by allowing anyone to take 1 day off a month, paid, to go help flood victims in our area. A group of people I work with took a day off of work to help a family owned plumbing company clean out their storage sheds. It was hard, hot, sometimes disgusting work, but we stuck it out all day long and made a lot of progress.

Yes indeed, a great city is rebuilding below that sign and many other places in Iowa.

If you would like to help, please visit http://saveiowa.org/.

Camera Critters 2/21

So, yet again my subject of this week's camera critters is my dog, Sully. One night I decided to have a photo shoot with my dog. When going back through them, I saw this classic look from my dog. Unfortunately, I looked like a dope, so I spent just a few minutes photoshopping myself out LOL.

I give you...



There are so many captions you could put under this picture!

Giveaways Around the Blog Sphere

Holy moley, let's start with a big one... Head over to To Think is to Create RIGHT NOW! She is giving away a free Ipod Touch!! Hurry, offer ends today at 5:00 CT!

Next, Paige over at Nurse Mommy is giving away a $30 Gift Card to My Baby Pajama's. They have some of the cutest PJs, and what a great time for a new pair with spring and summer coming! But, that's not all. Anyone who is looking for a new book to read for your child or children, Paige also has a giveaway for a free book from Barefoot Books. Make sure to check it out here.

Make sure to check out the awesome giveaway going on right now at Jolly Mom. If you ever travel short or long distances and need entertainment for you child, The Shack & Play Travel Tray by Star Kids Products is a must. What are you waiting for? Go to Jolly Mom for your chance to win!

If you want to get into shape and drop some weight, Jolly Mom has a giveaway for a great product just for you. It is called Jump Snap..and it's like a jump rope, but without the rope. Think I'm crazy, check it out for yourself and sign up to win!

HomeStudio Scrabble Pendant Review & Giveaway!

One of my favorite things to do in my "spare time" is to search the web for new and unique things. Doesn't really matter if it is for me, my child, friends, family, whoever...as long as it is something not everyone else has. Having said that, anyone that knows me knows that my few vices include, shoes, jewelry and purses (I know that's not just me...I see you nodding in agreement!)
In one of my recent quests for something different, I stumbled across the HomeStudio website. HomeStudio has everything I love and look for. They have a ton of unique Pendants (Jewelry)that are made out of Scrabble pieces. Not only are they unique, HomeStudio is also super affordable. One of my favorite pendants is the I'm expecting pendant. What a fun way to make an announcement to friends and family. Or to quietly say, I'm pregnant, not fat!

HomeStudio offers many different types of pendants for you to choose from. Some have written words, some have pretty bird and others just have fun designs on them. It's the perfect gift for a friend, girlfriend, daughter, wife, co-worker and I even saw one or two that would fit my hubby!

Perfect for Valentine's day is this super cute heart pendant!

WIN IT!!!
Now, for your chance to win one of these awesome and unique pendants for yourself or someone you love!! All I need you to do is head over to HomeStudio, check out their selection and pick your favorite. Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which one is your fav. The winner will be receive their choice from the pendants below!!!

It's that simple!

For additional entries you can:

1-Add my button to your side bar and leave me a link to your blog in your comment;
2-follow me;
3-subscribe to my blog;
4-send an email to all of your friends (at least 5) and copy me; and
5-blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link to your post.

*Please leave me a separate comment for each item you do on this list*

This giveaway is open to bloggers and non-bloggers. If your blog profile is private, or you’re a non-blogger, please leave an email address in your comment or your entry will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen randomly on February 26th at 10:00 pm CST.

This contest is open everyone around the world!

Good luck!

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED - WINNER ANNOUNCED!!

Operation Bedrest

A co-worker of mine has just been put on bedrest for (hopefully) at least the next 10 weeks. Her identical sons are giving mommy some problems so early in their little life. My co-worker, Carrie, is not a person who generally enjoys just sitting around...she is a mover and a shaker. In fact, she was training for a marathon and was about a week away from running in it when she found out she was pregnant.

So, on to the reason for my post: I have promised her that I would email her something entertaining, funny, etc. everyday she is on bedrest...starting tomorrow. So, I need your help in making sure she gets a variety of things to do and see while in the hospital. Were you on bedrest when you were pregnant? What did you do?

Websites, game sites, funny news articles anything you have that's good, clean fun!

Please leave a comment below with any ideas you have.

Thanks everyone!!

~M

Camera Critters 2/7/09

It's been a while since I have posted for camera critters, but I'm back with some more pictures of my entertaining dog, Sully.

My husband was out doing the grocery shopping, and I called him and told him that Sully needed a new bone to chew on. So, my wonderful husband, being the great man that he is, bought Sully the best bone he could find....





I think this bone will last a while!!

Healthier Eating

I've said it time and time again...I need to loose weight and start eating healthier. I've tried many things, but just never stick to it for very long. Well, as part of one of my homework assignments for my Human Biology class, I was asked to keep track of what I ate for 3 days and evaluate it according to to updated food pyramid. So I tracked my food and then when to the Government's site. Have you been to their site lately? It is full of wonderful, interactive information. And what is most exciting to me, it also has the daily recommendations for preschoolers and older children. I have tried to find out the recommended amounts of each food group my 3 year old should be getting, but I have never been very successful. This site has a special plan just for him! So, I urge everyone to check it out and see what you have been missing! http://www.mypyramid.gov/

Schoolin' Mamma

I have started my second semester of school. I will have completed my fourth class next Thursday, and only have about a million more to go! But I received a pleasant surprise in the mail a couple of weeks ago...a postcard that annouced I had made the Dean's List my first semester! It's been so long since I have been in school I forgot all about that. So, like I said, it was a pleasant surprise.

I seem to be doing well in my current class, which is Human Biology. My next class is American History. And while that subject tends to bore me, I am excited by the fact that it isn't a science class. I've only had one other class that wasn't a science class!

What's interesting about the program I am in, is that it is called the "Advance" program. No, that doesn't mean I'm super smart (that's just a bonus *wink*). It is a program designed for adults who work full time and are returning to school. Each class is only 5 weeks long (there are a few that are 10 weeks) and you meet once a week for 4 hours. It's tough because the classes go by so quick and there is always a lot to jam in those five weeks. But I should complete by BA in about 3 years.

I'm at the community college right now, but after my next class, I will be done there and will transfer to a private 4 year college, which also has the same Advance program. It is a challenge, and adds even more chaos to my life, but I have a feeling life is only going to get busier as my child gets older.

If you are in Iowa, you can check it out at www.kirkwood.edu/advance

Easy Meal Planning

Do you get tired of the same old things for dinner every night? Do you hate making those grocery shopping lists? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you need to check out Lily on the Fly Meal Planner. Head over to Nurse Mommy's blog and check out her review and giveaway for this awesome tool any busy mom (or dad) needs!