Technology overload

I may need to take a break from technology. In my dream last night I was tweeting.

At the house, we have more gadgets and things that need to plug in then I thought I'd ever have and there is no end in sight.

I just finished reading my first full-length book on my kindle and really liked using it. My favorite part is I could read it at lunch on my cellphone, no more having to haul the book or realizing when I get to work that I forgot it. I should say that it nearly killed my battery each day...but it was worth it - at night I'm too sleepy to read, so lunchtime is a great time for me to read. I still love the feel of the pages and using an actual bookmark, not pushing a button to 'mark' the book, so I'm not abandoning traditional books, but definitely love my kindle...and thinking of how many books I can bring with me in a small space is enticing for when I take a trip.

brain - please shut down technology thoughts when I sleep, even if it is to say something about Girl Scout cookies. My tweet in my dream was that someone was serving a spread of them for dessert, a great idea.... but not so great as I try to reduce my dessert intake.

Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway.

I had 16 entries and did the drawing the old fashioned way of writing numbers on paper and drawing the winning number. The winner is entry #5, Faith. Check out her cooking blog In the Kitchen with Butters. Congrats!

Photo day

Remember photo day at school? It felt a little like that at my house tonight. I needed a photo of myself for a work-related thing and didn't like any of the ones I have. We take plenty of pics but don't have very many nice photos of either of us. note to self: take sunglasses OFF when I'm getting my picture taken. So K set up a photo set, complete with a chair and background. He is much more patient than any photographer ever was (he does have the luxury of not having hundreds of people to photograph). And with digital I can look at the pic immediately rather than have to wait to get it back several weeks later. This came in really handy so I could say, no I don't like that smile or adjust this that way. As photographed as kids are today, with digital cameras, video cameras, etc. I don't know if picture day has the same excitement (and nervousness about if it turned out ok). For a long time those were the main pictures I had of myself, but now you see every little thing a person does on facebook, twitter, blogs and the like. Edit - Here is the photo, didn't K do a great job? The book background was his idea

Giveaway to start the year

I am happy to be able to host another giveaway through CSN stores. Now that we're past the Christmas rush, you can use it to get something fun for yourself. The winner will receive a $35 gift certificate to use at any one of their stores.

CSN has over 200 online stores, so there is something for everyone, from a leather briefcase to kitchen gadgets (my favorite) to workout equipment for that new year's resolution.

Leave a comment to enter - make sure you include an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner.

I'll draw the winner next Sunday, January 9, 2011 (it'll take me a while to get used to writing the year as 2011)

Note - the gift certificate doesn't cover international fees.

Happy New Year

it'll take me several weeks to stop writing "December" or "2010" when I write out the date...but here we are in January 2011.

2010 was a great year for us and I'm hopeful for an even better 2011, a few highlights:

• Kevin and I went on our first cruise, we really enjoyed it and will go on more in the future
• my brother and sister each got new jobs which they LOVE!
  
• Kevin started his graduate program, and I have to brag on him getting all As his first semester
• we discovered crazy critters for Smokey, hilarious to watch him haul his squirrel/fox around the house
  

We had a pretty laid back New Year's eve. My parents stayed with us since my mom had gotten released from the hospital in the afternoon. Her surgery went well and she does seem to be feeling better, which is the best gift any of us could have gotten this holiday.

We fixed dinner (yellow curry chicken), and hung out at home. Our neighbors and people all over the neighborhood go ALL out with fireworks, so we were able to see a LOT of fireworks by just stepping out our door - we watched from both the backyard and the front yard. The fireworks are close to what you see at the professional shows, I don't even want to think of what they cost, but I'll sit and watch them :) I love fireworks, and this is the best way to watch them - with bathroom, refrigerator and everything we need just a few steps away. As a kid we always had to go hours early to a local park to watch fireworks, and entertain ourselves on the playground and use their nasty bathroom....don't miss that part.


HAPPY NEW YEAR!