Sunday, December 20, 2009

German Shepherd Puppies are the Cutest!


When you're looking for a dog, what kind do you go for? Before, we've just gotten border collie mixes since they're so common in the Montana area.  We do really like the way German Shepherd dogs are easy to train and are nice fit healthy breeds.  I've found that dogs of different breeds can vary wildly in temperament, intelligence, and health.  Some dogs seem to have been over bred to the point where they have many health problems.  Great Danes, for instance, have a shorter life span than most dogs.  German Shepherds are one of the nice dog breeds for a family to have, since they're pretty easy to train, loyal, and healthy. 

When looking for a puppy, it's good to see that they're friendly, interact well with their littermates, are clean and well taken care of, are old enough to be taken away from their mother. 

Puppies are fun to play with, my puppies have always liked playing fetch, playing with Kong toys, playing tug of war with different ropes, and some dogs take to frisbee and tennis balls as well.  I like to get them little collars, as well as a Halti to train them on a leash.  We give them their own food and water bowls and keep meal times consistent. Bedtime is also something that has to be worked on when they first come home, we choose to crate-train our new puppies and they always seem to really enjoy it.

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Training puppies

I learned how to train dogs when I worked for Canine Companions for Independence back in high school. I guess I didn't really work for them, but volunteered. They use volunteers to train dogs for handicapped people, as service dogs. I did some foster care, taking care of little puppies until they were matched with trainers, and caring for older dogs in various stages of training while the trainers took a pup-less vacation. I loved learning about dog training, and as a result I was able to train our dog we have now pretty well. Like children, dogs need consistency. I'm a big fan of 'teathering' and crate training. If you see puppies for sale at some place like www.puppies-forsale.co.uk you can get one with confidence if you know how to train them. To teather, you literally teather a new puppy to my waist with a leash. Then I can correct every misbehavior immediately, and this speeds up the training process. If puppy can't be with you, you can put him in his crate. Due to the dog's DNA, he's designed to be just fine in a secure area. He might not like it at first, but eventually he will like his 'den' (crate) or point of refuge from the world. These are the two training methods that I use the most with dogs.

Local places have dogs for sale too, which might be a better option if you want older dogs so you don't have to mess with the chew up everything puppy stage.

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Monday, August 3, 2009

Web Hosting

I've found that a good website can actually be profitable enough to make it worth doing, especially if you are staying home with kids. It's something that can be done during nap time, and with scheduled posting a good long nap for both kids can yield a week's worth of content. I use website hosting because I'm not technologically savvy enough to do it myself. Check out webhostinggeeks.com if you're looking into paid blogging or another website that makes money. Paying someone to host your site that really knows what they're doing helps you to look more professional.

Dave Ramsey is always trying to get people to think outside the box and find unusual places to make a little extra money. While he does support moms staying home with the children, or just to be homemakers after the children are gone, he also encourages us who are in Baby Step 2 and 3 to be gazelle intense, and squeeze a little extra out of everything. For me that means doing some crafts and selling them online, and doing money making blogs. When you trim your budget down to nothing but the essentials, and then follow through on your budget, it's easy to see that even a little money here and there makes a huge difference. Back when we had no plan, I made substantially more money than I do now, but we never had any. Now we're living on 2/3 of my hubby's income, and the other 1/3 of his income and all of mine goes towards debt. It's nice to see some progress being made when we get those card statements in the mail.

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Dumping Debt

We reserved Dave Ramsey's dumping debt DVD from the library, and it came in. But the librarian forgot to undo the lock on it, total bummer. We looked online and it looks like you can undo the locks with really strong magnets, but we didn't have any strong enough.

We're still working the baby steps, and enjoying envelope budgeting. Especially since we came to terms with how much we really need to spend on groceries. Dave said on the air when I was listening a while back that a family of 4 can't eat for less than $600/month. That's good to know, since sometimes you read about people spending $25/week on groceries and I felt like I should be able to do that, as a homemaker. We spend $425/month, which does include a few nonessentials, like chips and one 18-pack of beer. But after cutting out sodas, fruit juice, and using dry beans from scratch a few times a week, this is just fine for us.

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Friday, July 24, 2009

Public Safety Products

Public Safety Equipment is available online from a company that has been in business since 1977. Whether you need EMS gear, wholesale police equipment, or firefighter equipment. They are a friendly company where you will be treated with respect. Fast friendly service, quick shipping time, and attention to detail are what are important here. There is a toll free number, or secure ordering online, so you're covered however you want to order. I like when a company has their 800 number right where I can find it easily. It shows that they're not afraid of customer service, so I likely will not be disappointed in buying from them.

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Dave Ramsey's Grocery $

Thankfully as I've been listening to Dave Ramsey, he finally cleared up what his 'Beans and Rice' means. He doesn't mean literally beans and rice while you're getting out of debt, but just to pay attention to your grocery dollar. He said that no matter where you are in the country, if you're a family of 4 you should be spending about $600/month on groceries. I feel better now, since we're a family of 4, but one is still nursing, and we spend $425. After coming up short every month, I outlined all the stuff I needed to buy, cooking from scratch, and it comes up to $400. Then add in the incidentals like baking soda, spices, having friends over, and it pops up a little bit more. Good to know.

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Friday, July 10, 2009

Autobody repair

If you're looking for auto body repair it pays to look into who you're dealing with. Autobody repair can make or break the sale when you need to sell your current car. Ask to see examples of how they match paint, take out dings, and scratches. I was kind of a dumb driver when I first started driving (I thought that faster was better) and ended up plenty of times in an autobody repair place. Twice just for them to tell the insurance company that the car was really totaled, and once that they fixed it after I got in a fight with a guard rail. Go ahead and search online for autobody work, and see who has a good reputation in your area.

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Best way to host a blog giveaway

I have a couple blogs, and in an effort to get more Google hits through SEO, I thought I'd try doing a couple giveaways.

At first I just put them on my blog with a post up at the top letting people know that they were there. Even though I get about 40-100 hits on each a day, and have a multitude of subscribers, there were very few comments made.

So next I looked to see where I could post online to let people know. The best, and easiest to use, application that I found was at BigListofGiveaways (this isn't a sponsored post, it's just what I found). I found that my giveaway for something useful (dish cloths) got the response. Something obscure and targeted doesn't get as many people signing up, apparently.

Also, in an effort to get the most comments and hits, I marked that it's an 'easy giveaway- just leave a comment with contact info' since that's what I was after anyway.

Just sharing my findings.

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Multi Player Games

Do you like to play multiplayer games? My hubby does, and I think that if I were to be into video games, the only way I'd stay interested is if I was playing against real people. Hubby likes the challenge of another person's unpredictability, especially with war games. He spent a winter outfitting my work computer (!) with all sorts of software to enable him to play against others online. Where he prefers more war and strategy type games, I prefer simpler ones like Tetris and Solitare. Whatever games you like, there are some out there online for free. Go check out http://www.8c1.net - they have a fast site and you can sign up for free at this quickly growing network community.

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Checking

We're moving our checking over to one that allows us to pull out all our 'envelope' (food, fuel, entertainment, household, medical, etc) money from the ATM since our local credit union has a daily limit that is kind of annoying. We're using USAA, where we also have all our insurances through, and have one credit card that has the lowest rate/highest balance so is last in our debt snowball to be paid off. They're great, they have the lowest rate for car insurance that I've found. I don't think their life insurance rates are the best, it sounds like Zander Insurance that Dave Ramsey supports would be cheaper, but hubby was none too happy about the whole 'physical' thing and I don't think he'll consent to go through it again. I suppose I could change mine, maybe I should call and see if it would really be that much cheaper. We have 100K on me, I stay home, 15 year term, and 250 on him, 30 year term.

I'm glad that I can get life insurance on myself. We chose 15 years because it's cheaper, and if needed I can renew it then. And also, likely if it was a real emergency (ya know, I think it would be if I DIED) my now toddler should be able to step up and 'do' most of what I do in 15 years. I'm not able to get disability insurance on myself, which is something I looked into because if I become permanently or long-term disabled, someone is going to have to take care of the kids. But they only cover loss of income for disability. Hubby does construction, and I'm pretty sure disability insurance is way out of our price range for him.

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Friday, June 5, 2009

Start Page

This browser start page is a cute way to customize your internet experience. It's not affiliated with Google, but is very googlish. Uses Google search, though.

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Switching banks

With our envelope system, we end up withdrawing an awful lot of cash (for me, at least). Honestly, I feel like a drug dealer asking for all these specific denominations (this many 50s, this many 20s, this many 10s, this many 5s...) though the bank teller assures me that it's not abnormal. We do that so they split into the envelopes easily; ie 75 to Clothing, 300 to groceries but I don't want 100s, 250 to fuel but 20s are easiest to deal with there.

Anyway, with our local credit union I have a limit on our ATM with drawls; 200/day. Which would be fine, but I like to do all our envelopes in one day and I have a pretty strong aversion to unloading the kids just to walk in the bank. And I don't like going through the drive through, it seems to take quite a while. So I called our bank that we get insurance through, USAA, and switched our checking over to them. Seriously, now they own our life. We have life insurance, renter's insurance, car insurance, a (closed) credit card, and now our checking through them. But we can withdraw 1000 a day and they reimburse the atm fees for using other bank's atms. And we can call ahead and get the w/d limit raised if we're doing something like pulling out cash to buy a car.

We have to mail in our checks, but since we're not cutting it so close any more, the 3-4 day wait time for the deposit is fine with us. Honestly we end up holding on to our checks for 3-4 days anyway before we actually make it down to the bank.

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Friday, May 29, 2009

Custom T-shirts


Do you want something to get the word out of your business? Printing you own custom T-shirts is a great a business tool. You can let your satisfied customers advertise for you at surprisingly low rates with free or low-cost shirts that bear your business name on them.

Hint: people are more likely to wear your shirt if it's tasteful. Most people prefer a little image on the upper left chest and a larger image on the back, rather than a large image across the front. The more they wear them, the more exposure for you.

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Work ethic

My hubby's work ethic amazes me. Last night he brought home a whole set of plans, and made a lumber list for an entire house. What's great about his current boss is that he recognizes that my husband is a great worker, and has been increasing his compensation to reflect that. It's nice to be noticed for working.

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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Singing bowls

Crystal Singing Bowls are available at Silver Sky Imports. They are an online retailer specializing in Yoga and meditation needs, as well as natural hand made goods. Their singing bowls really are unique; they are hand made and listed individually so you really choose which bowl you are buying. Listen before buying as well. A timeless technique of relaxation, check out their website for more information about using singing bowls to center your thoughts. Each bowl comes with a striker and cousion to complete the set. They have other hand made items out of natural materials to use in your home and for yourself.

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TTapp

I've had the TTapp DVD for a while now. Wow, over 6 months I guess, since I got it when I was pregnant with my 6 month old. And I haven't even put it in the computer... guess I should try that. I know my toddler would get a kick out of doing it with me, perhaps while her baby brother naps tomorrow.

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Engaging Members

Do you want people to remember your business? How about draw in new customers? Keep existing customers? Wild Apricot has many ways to Engage Members online and keep them visiting your website for information, social networking, socializing, and just to have fun. An active forum is a great way to publicize your business. Show customers that you know your stuff and care about them by being their online host. With more and more people connecting with like minded individuals or long lost friends and classmates over the world wide web, now is the time to get with the program and encourage this on your website.

Use an online calendar to give notice of upcoming podcasts, sales, or new product availability. When people are excited about what is coming up, they will create a buzz and spread the word for you!

If your looking for search engine optimization, content that updates like blogs and forums is very helpful.

When customers know that websites are going to change and have new content up often, they visit often! Market your brand, and leave a lasting impression that your customer remembers with Wild Apricot for Associations.

Wild Apricot's smart website software includes many applications, including it's social networking tools like blogs and forums that both empower and engage members.

Many of their users find that blogs are a great way to keep members up to date in a casual and easy environment. It allows members to join in on conversations and share opinions about the latest activities and ideas. Users of their website software have found that this has saved them a great deal of time by sharing important news asap...and then getting feedback that is much needed and appreciated!

Forums have created many wonderful communities amongst Wild Apricot users as well. They let your members reach out to you and other members in an open and inviting environment. It also allows you to find out what matters to them most while giving them the opportunity to connect with other members who have similar interests.

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Town hall for hope

Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope is on Hulu now! We've only been checking like 5 times a week since he held it ;) They had the day after and day before, but now it's up. We'll be watching it tonight after the little ones are in bed.

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Thursday, May 21, 2009

Air Conditioning

As someone who grew up with the coastal fog coming in nightly, moving from Northern California to Montana where it stays hot overnight was a shock to me. Before we moved here, we thought that people who had air conditioning were being silly. But after one summer with long nights of humid heat, we realized that air conditioning was kin of a must for our life. I know it's not as high of a priority as food or shelter, but it's right up there above internet access even. Because when it's hot hot hot, we don't sleep well, and when we don't sleep well, the days just don't go well. So now that we're renting, we check to make sure it has central air, or at the least a good place to put a window unit for the bedroom.

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Envelopes as money saving tools

I first heard about envelopes from my mom and dad, they had used them when my mom stayed home to raise us kids. Since we've been doing Dave Ramsey, we've been using them too. The thing that we've figured out is that we have to budget realistically, rather than ideally. In reality, hubby needs new work boots once a year, 2 new pairs of carhartts, and I need clothes once in a while, not to mention the kids. We were trying to get by with $40/month for all clothing but that just plain didn't add up. For a $120 pair of work boots, there was 1/4 of the years's budgeting allowance.

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Autobody Work

auto body shops colorado is what you're looking for? Well then check out collisionrepairexperts.com. They are USA's premier autobody website. Autobody repairs guaranteed for life. Quality that protects the value of your vehicle. Insurance company approved autobody network. When choosing an autobody shop, I've found that it's best to choose one who has a lot of experience. They know how to work with insurance companies to get the work paid for quickly, are experts at matching paint colors, and know tricks to get everything done the way you want it. Taking a minute to research autobody shops could save you time and money, so whether you've been in a fender bender or just need an estimate because your car is totaled, visit the collisionrepairexperts.com today!

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Budgeting and shopping

Since we're doing 'the envelope system' (the old fashioned tried and true method where you keep your grocery, clothing, etc money in plain envelopes to physically limit your spending) shopping yesterday was good. It's good to watch the envelope get thinner :) One thing that I forgot, though, was to bring the clothing and Tracphone envelopes, both of which I needed. I did have money in checking, though, and my ATM card, so I used the debit card and kept the receipt. Then I have an envelope at home that's 'checking' that I re-imbursed with the designated money; 10 from the phone envelope for a new phone, and 65 for the socks, insoles, PJs and kid's shoes that I bought. Not ideal, but my best solution for forgetting envelopes ;)

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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Property Management

Real Property Management is a property management company to do your investment work for you. With Wall Street putting everyone on the edge of their seat, and housing prices going way down, lots of people are turning to real estate for their investments. As a renter, I know that rentals are hard to find and are always in demand. Real Property Management deals with the hassles that having tenets can create. Check them out today and see how they can make your real estate investment work for you.

Real Property Management (RPM) receives the "Franchise of the Year Honarable Mention" award.

RPM Midwest Featured in the Bizjournal of Cincinnati and Columbus

RPM manages over 20,000 units nationwide!

Freddie Mac has Signed an exclusive agreement with Real Property Management to manag the new REO Rental Initiative.

This is a sponsored post

RPM Midwest joins the National Association of Residential Property Managers to ensure the highest standards in property management services.

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Saturday, May 16, 2009

Dumping Debt

Thankfully most people have heard of Dave Ramsey by now, so when we show up somewhere with an envelope full of cash, we can just explain, 'we're doing Dave Ramsey' and they get it. That explains our older paid for car, that yes, we would rather pay $250 every 3 months or so to repair than have a $350 car payment monthly. It's a decent, but loud, 92 izuzu rodeo that gets okay gas mileage and easily fits 3 car seats in the back seat. What more could you want? Works for me..

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Friday, May 15, 2009

Rustic Furniture

What am I looking for when I look for rustic furniture? Well, I love rustic furniture, since we enjoy country life and aspire to own a little cabin in the woods. What I look for is sturdy construction that will last, even if I have to pay a little bit more for it. I personally like lighter solid wood, but my husband likes darker stained wood. We like classic styles that never look out of place, and we like standard dimensions will fit in a regular sized country home, not huge that would only fit in a mansion.

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Friday, May 8, 2009

Link Love

Make a bunch of Pine Cone Fire Starters

Using paraffin, muffin cups, coffee filters, make a useful gift for others or yourself and start cozy warm fires quickly

What is a Nature Table?

Use a small table to bring rhythm and order to your home, reflecting the change of the seasons.

Make baby boutique hair bows- buttons, corker/korker spiral ribbons, and clips inexpensively!

Work from home doing medical transcription
I did medical transcription for three years, this article is what worked for me and has the pros and cons, as well as what to expect moneywise, with school, and how to avoid scams.

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Friday, May 1, 2009

Skin Care

How do you keep looking your best? We know to keep out of the sun to reduce wrinkles and sun spots, but if those are already happening, visit North Scottsdale Laser. Especially in warm Arizona, it's hard to stay out of that glorious sun. So if you have some skin issues, especially on your face, that you would like evaluated, seeking professional skin care can be your answer. Choose a professional clinic that is focused on safety and you, the customer. When I was on the swim team in Jr High and High School, I seriously considered getting lasar hair removal. I had a friend who got her leg hair removed and it was pretty neat. No more daily shaving, especially in the rash prone bikini area. I never did it, but I think if I had my husband certainly wouldn't complain! As a busy mom, it's rare that I get both legs shaved at the same time...

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Credit counseling

I started back up in credit counseling yesterday. Hubby and I were re-going over our Dave Ramsey budget, and while we can make our payments on the credit cards, the 28% interest on First Financial is killing us. $80 in finance charges each month. We had been in credit counseling (we went through consumercredit.org) two years ago, but stopped a little over a year ago because we could no longer make the monthly payment of $400 or something like that. We sold some property, paid off a couple credit cards, settled with one, and now are down to First Financial, Discover, USAA, and Sallie Mae (student loan). First Financial is nasty nasty nasty on the phone, they do the good cop, bad cop routine, and if I don't pick up, they call and harass my parents. Which is illegal, but they do it anyway. So we're going to try and get the rate down so we can actually make some progress on the account and get them out of our lives. If it weren't for contacting my parents, I'd likely just let them go and settle with them after we get a tax refund (we're broke, so we get the 'un' earned income credit). But I don't want them to harass them, so hopefully this works and we can make some progress.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Blog surfing

My favorite wait-for-whatever to happen (usually hubby to get back so we can continue watching Dave Ramsy on YouTube or Hulu or here) is to blog surf. Alphainventions is my new favorite blog surfing mechanism, just wanted to share..

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Tax Relief

Boy do we know about debt right now. We did the typical generation Y thing and bottomed out financially a few years ago. We're still recovering, but we know about everything from how to get Tax Relief from the IRS (paid that off out of 2008's refund... they had been on our backs since 2005), to how to settle credit card accounts (US Bank... finally), to how to negotiate a workout payment on the truck that we bought when we were first married, but couldn't afford, and ultimately had to have repossessed. Lots of Americans are having trouble with this right now, with the first downturn of the economy in our generation.

As Larry Bourkette said, debt isn't the problem, it's a symptom. And whether you are having trouble with the IRS or your credit cards, student loans, or vehicle payments, the issue needs to be addressed from the inside out. For us now I'm thankful that we bottomed out when we were in our 20s (23 and 25 actually) so that we can now live like noone else so that later we can live like noone else (thanks Dave). We've had multiple creditors calling us daily, had threats of lawsuits, learned how to negociate with the IRS to be put on noncollection status, and been so much a slave to the lender. The Good Book is right. We don't want to do that any more, so two years ago now we cut up our credit cards and have been slowly been paying them off. The first to go was the dirt bike loan, sold the dirt bike and that covered it thankfully. The next was a couple smaller credit cards when we sold our property and moved into a rental in town that we could afford. The IRS was paid out of both our 2007 and 2008 tax refunds. Another credit card was settled for 15 cents on the dollar out of the 2008 refund as well. Now we have Sallie Mae, Discover, 1st Financial, and USAA totalling 12K that we're working on, and the balance due for the truck that was reposessed that we are going to try and settle with our 2009 tax refund.

Next step will be to save 3-6 months of expenses (for us that is 6,000- we've gotten good at living on beans and rice) and then saving 20% for a down payment to buy a home. Dave Ramsey says that we should take out a 15 year fixed mortgage with 20% down, but we're going to do a 30 year fixed unless hubby is blessed with a huge pay increase. We are done with car payments. We drive an old, paid for car (and yes, we have to budget for expenses, but it doesn't even touch the $385 car payment that we used to have) and we're saving to buy another old car in cash so I have something to drive around town.

We are living like noone else so that later we can live like noone else. And lovin it. We are so much more at peace now that we're not spending money that we don't have. Call us weird, Dave says that's a good thing..

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

Knitting websites


I'm a beginning knitter, my friend showed me a year ago and then I borrowed Knitting for Dummies last summer and learned the rest of the way. Now that I feel good with the basics, I'm venturing into things like cables and colorwork. Here are websites that have helped me:

Cables
The Knitting Cables for Dummies web page is understandable now that I have mastered the general knit and purl. I looked it up this morning, and have a cabled hat for my daughter half way done this evening!

Colorwork
I was working on the Almost Famous Luggy Bonnet out of Weekend Knitting after my son was born this fall, and knew I would have to figure out how to do stranded knitting to complete it. This video on Philosipher's Wool was what taught me. I had to learn to 'throw' since I knit continental, or German. It was worth learning to use my right hand, it makes colorwork fun, not tedious.

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Friday, April 24, 2009

Taking Ebay and Etsy Pictures

Using Picasa back here I showed some tips on taking pictures. Here are some more, that were kind of fun. Ebaying off hubby's lego sets... to fund an electric guitar... :oP





See, this one wasn't taken with good light. See the ones below for the difference lighting makes.


Using Picasa back here I showed some tips on taking pictures. Here are some more, that were kind of fun. Ebaying off hubby's lego sets... to fund an electric guitar... :oP

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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Google Picasa

Google's Picasa (You may think I like Google- G-mail, Picasa.... Not everything. Some of their stuff is lame). But yes, Google is superior. LOL


Free program and it absolutely rocks. I use it for my Etsy photos. I'll go step by step as I touch up a photo. Starting, I use a white or pastel solid background in outside light. Light clouds are ideal, we don't like harsh shadows.

Raw photo


Cropped. For Etsy, crop to as close to square as possible, the first image that you upload really needs to be square. Etsy will show it as square on the search page and if it's too out of square, it'll look really odd and people aren't going to click. Unless it's very abstract- then people still click if they can tell what it is from the title


'I'm Feeling Lucky'
This doesn't always work for me. Sometimes it turns it weirdly pink or green, but this time I was lucky ;) You can always click 'undo' if you don't like it.





Still needed some sharpening- so I went over to the 3rd tab "Effects" and chose sharpen



Brightened some more. I have a phobia of neon colors and washed out pictures, but brighter really is better.


To an extreme.


Too bright 'Undo'



Soften edges? Are these angelic play veggies? :)




This is what my thumbnail would look like


I prefer to have a thumbnail that's more of a closeup. I'd use a diagonal carrot if possible. Diagonal looks better, in my opinion- it appears to take up more of the picture, yet still gives detail.

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Time

When looking for a new watch, why not check out Best of Time - Where Time Lasts Forever? For deeply discounted prices you can afford a quality watch. As I've learned, and we're all learning in this recession, there is a shortage of money to be spent. So when you are looking to purchase something, purchase something that will last both in style and in mechanics. Best of Time - Where Time Lasts Forever is the place to start when looking for a high end watch. I know that I look at my watch 50 times a day or more. When you use something that often, you don't want to sacrifice on quality. But you also don't want to pay a huge markup. So shop around, but start at Best of Time - Where Time Lasts Forever.

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My sweet boy is teething still. He has his first lower tooth barely poking through, and I'm pretty sure he's working on his second since he nursed last night all.night.long and only slept for an hour this morning on his own after I got up.

Clove oil works well for teething pain, but you want to dilute it in a carrier oil like almond oil. We opt not to do that, but instead do a lot of snuggling. Once he's over a year I'll consider giving him some clove oil for those teeth.

We did get our laundry done yesterday, and 3 loaves of soaked wheat bread made. A load of diapers in the wash right now, and then we're going to spend the day preparing for tomorrow when we do our errands. Packing lunch, packing breakfast, making dinner so it's ready when we get home, making our lists, and cleaning the bathrooms is what that consists of today.

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Dog Training

My husband is more of a dog person than I am (though I don't mind outside dogs), but since I'm home all day with the kids, and before we had kids I was home all day doing medical transcription, the bulk of the Dog training falls on me. When I was a teenager I used to do Dog training for Canine Companions for Independence in Ronert Park, CA and so that's where I picked up my training style. For those who aren't experienced with dog training, and are too busy to take a weekend class, I'd recommend training DVDs to show you how to take command over your dog.

The Dogfather will teach you his method of dog training using his command collar technique so that you can take control and start enjoying your family pet rather than just dealing with him. Check out the testamonials about his success stories, you will find lots on his website! Whether you have problems housebreaking your puppy, teaching your older dog to not jump on company, or keeping your pup off the furniture, I strongly encourage you to look into an intensive training course for your dog. Everyone in the family can participate, and Fido will become a loved addition to the family, that brings you joy, teaches your children about responsibility, and serves as a discuoragement to intruders.

I know that we love having our dog, Riley, at our home and when we go on walks. And since he's trained well (He's a border collie) I don't even have to bother with his leash when we're walking. He walks right along side the stroller and sits with a snap of my fingers. He loves it, and we like it, as we feel protected when he is with us.

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In addition to laundry, today we are going to make our soaked wheat bread, order more wheat from Wheat Montana (we're going to try Bronze Chief this time), call the Billings Gazette to ask them to stop delivering the paper that we didn't ask for, and if we have time we'll go up to the park that's close to us. Yesterday we all went down to the little toddler-sized park that's a little over a mile away, but I think it was too much sun for the baby who was in the Ergo on my back. So we'll stick to closer parks unless the Lord blesses us with a double stroller with a sun shade this summer :)

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Finding a dentist

When looking for a dentist, where do you start? Do you ask friends or family? What if you're new to the area? Most of us now are on the computer, so the internet is a logical way to start. You can search for a Sacramento Dentist any other type of dentist by doing a simple search.

When we look for a dentist, we prefer to find one that will work with the whole family. Children learn and are comforted by seeing their parents do things, so if they visit the same dentist and go after the parents, they are likely to feel better about the experience. To us, another important topic in finding a dentist is finding one that doesn't use fluoride, as fluoride is known to be a toxin to the body. In Europe they don't use fluoride, and there isn't an abundance of tooth decay. We also choose not to use amalgam (silver) fillings because of the heavy metals in them that leach into the blood. Searching for dentists in this family is no easy task!

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Wednesday

Must be Wednesday. We have more of a weekly rhythm now, and on Wednesday we catch up on laundry. Looks like we have about 3 loads to do; whites/diapers, jeans, and mediums. Living in an apartment now, so it will all be dried in the dryer. It's a shame to waste the drying power of the sun and gentle breeze, but I don't mind not having to haul the laundry all out and then back in again.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

When your car is broke

As a previous teenage driver, I'm well acquainted with autobody shops like the excellent ones at auto body shop ontario Search that and you can get autobody shops near you, quickly, when you need them. Now that I'm a mom, I've slowed down and am much more cautious. But when I was a new driver, depsite informing my parents that I was very slow and cautious, I drove like a complete idiot in my Volvo. Reminds me of George Carlin's 'safe car' routine :) So look for your auto repair experts at www.autobodyontario.com and remember to buckle up and drive safely, whatever your age

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Back to blogging

After taking a long break, I'm back and ready to blog again. Toddler is sleeping, baby is attempting to teethe on the stool, hubby is watching a space movie. And some moron is peeling out outside the window...

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