Bloggy Challenge

I’m throwing down the gauntlet and issuing a challenge to all my non-blogging friends. Simply put, grab a blog and get to writin’ ~

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Sign-up (it’s FREE)
2. Jot your thoughts, daily events, and anything else that comes to mind.
   To be effective you should plan to blog at least once a week (more is better). No one likes to visit a blog that looks abandoned. 😉
3. Send me a link to your blog and I’ll visit, read, and add you to my Blogging Friends list on the right.

Here are some blog sites so you can sign-up:

www.blogger.com (free and with plenty of functionality)
www.wordpress.com (free and paid plans – free has limited options for changing the template, etc.)

There are others such as Typepad, MySpace blog function etc.
*Keep in mind, if you choose MySpace or Facebook, folks without access to your profile can’t read your blog.  

Personally, I have blogs in various areas. I use Blogger for 4 of my blogs and WordPress for this blog. One day I will upgrade this blog to self-hosted with WordPress and then truly enjoy some added functionality. Until then, I am happy with the better interface and smoother posting that WordPress offers while sacrificing in design and functionality for widgets and other bloggy bling.

There are TONS of blogs available to help you with your endeavors to digitally chronicle your life and interests. I’ll be posting about a few of my favorites in the coming days. You can make the blogs private (only readable by invited friends), open to anyone on the web, or somewhere in between.

This is a great way to share with friends and family around the globe and to keep in touch with one another at a time and place that is convenient for the reader.

Take the challenge and create a blog. Then add a comment here linking to your new bloggy home!

Get Cozi and get a life

No, that wasn’t a typo in the headline! Cozi is a service I found out about today that I wanted to share with my readers. Granted, there are tons of services out there — some free and some with a price tag — that will accomplish some, if not more, than Cozi will. However, I think you will find that several aspects of Cozi will appeal to the homemaker in you. (Most of my readers are ladies :o) so my apologies to any gentlemen reading this.)

Take a gander at this short video introduction to Cozi:
Video Overview of Cozi

You will immediately notice several features that most moms would kill to have. One of which is emailing or texting everyone in the family directly from the Cozi homepage to remind them of events, items to pick up, etc. There is also a color-coded calendar for the family that allows you to view each person’s calendar as a whole or individually. You can also add grocery lists, Sam’s list, To-Do lists, and as many others as you can put a name to. Plus, it comes with a family journal. Right now I think this will be the least used feature for me personally, but busy mommies without another blog might find this useful. Right now it is private and allows you to journal your own thoughts — which might be useful in other ways *prayer journal, etc. Soon it will have the ability to be shared with others.

One other really nice feature is that Cozi and Betty Crocker have partnered together so you can search the recipes database at Betty Crocker and import ingredient lists into the Cozi lists. Plus, you can print everything in customizable reports or just send it to you cell phone via text message.  

Best of all … it’s available online without any downloads (unless you want to use the uber-cool screensaver or sync with Outlook) which means you can access it from any computer – anywhere – anytime! No more being away from the house and desperately trying to recall what time that event starts. Just look it up and rest easy.

I know that some will say that Google and others offer similar services and I agree (and utilize them as well) but think this will appeal to a wide audience. The less tech-savvy will appreciate the ease with which everything comes together. Plus, the interface is visually pleasing and easy to use.

Take a look at Cozi (click on that link or on the photo above)and see what it can do for you. Make it your homepage and enjoy a simpler way to organize your life!

Let me know what you think of Cozi! 

Total ReQall

Ever stand there in the grocery store and desperately try to remember that one item you know you are forgetting to pick up? I tend to do that a lot — even when I bring a list.

Enter ReQall.com

This handy tool can help you remember your groceries items and so much more. I used to be an avid Jott.com user and still do to an extent. Jott recently came out of beta – I didn’t even know it was in beta! – and that means they are charging for some of the better functions. So, I went on the hunt for another app to fill the void.

I like the fact that with Jott or ReQall you can send reminders to yourself or add items to your to-do list, or even add an event to your Google Calendar on the fly. It really helps me if I “handle it once.” ReQall can send you an email, or text message, or you can even listen via cell phone to the recording you made.

Oh yeah … another nice feature is that you can send reminders to someone else. For instance, let’s say hubby is supposed to do something for you that day and hubby tends to conveniently forget what that something is. You can have ReQall send him a reminder. Nice, right? Or you give hubby a short list of groceries to grab on his way home. Instead of having to call you umpteen times to have you repeat the list, ReQall can let him retrieve the list via text message. Woo hoo! Score one for sanity ~

And if you use iGoogle like I do, they even have a widget that will let you see what ReQall is monitoring for you. Tonda, there’s an iPhone app too. 🙂

Most geeks tend to be prolific users of apps such as this, but this one has nice features that anyone can use – even the non-corporate mommy on the go.

Bonus: it’s FREE.

So, go register and start using ReQall for yourself.

Destin and iPhones

I’ve had a lot of questions as to my whereabouts, so just to clarify … I’m down near Destin, Florida, right now at my parent’s house. I’ll be here at least until mid-month and then I’ll head over to Savannah.

Air Force Beach and pavilion

I love coming here! And not just because it has one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in the US. I love, love, LOVE the ‘sound of Freedom’ and I rarely get to hear it in Nashvegas, but here … oh here, it is abundant!! The house is in the pattern for C-130 and helicopter flights each night (I can almost tell the time by the rotors overhead). Dad’s office is near the flightline and I get to see and hear fighters galore. Can’t wait for the JSF to get here!! And to top it all off, Air Force Beach is in the pattern as the guys head out to the over water range. So, gunships, fighters, and more routinely pass overhead while we play in the emerald waters. Yes, I know, I get overly hyped in regards to all forms of military prowess, but I don’t apologize for it. (I will stop now because I felt myself pulling out my soapbox and preparing to stand atop it.)

In other notes, my mom and dad are so cool. Now, mind you, they are in their 60s now and dad is pretty technologically hip, but I no sooner walk in the house this trip and dad is waving a brand-new 3G iPhone in my face! I don’t even have one and I’ve been jonesing for it!! And who does it belong to, you may ask?!? My MOM!!!!! But alas, I think it is more than she needs and it sits forlornly on the counter waiting for her attention. So, dad tells me to use it while I am here! ‘Nuf said, I am all over that!!! 

So, I’ve taken the tutor role and have been trying to get mom up to speed on the iPhone. The QWERTY board drives her nuts, and admittedly it does take some time to get used to and to hit the right letters. My only complaint is that I wish the typing area would rotate sideways and spread out so that you have more room per key.  But I digress. It is a nice phone, and I would love one, but I would probably under-utilize it because of my aversion to paying exorbitant monthly fees for cell phone usage.  😉

Therefore, in conclusion, I’ll be here at the beach, toting the iPhone, and enjoying the sound of Freedom! I’ll post updates while I am here but it will mostly consist of R&R entries. I’m sure the really interesting stuff will occur once I am in Savannah.

Ciao ~

*Note: in the photo above you will notice the Air Force Beach and pavilion in the foreground and the Eglin AFB flightline in the background. Can you say, “lovin’ every minute of it!!!” 🙂

Another One for the Books

Another birthday has come and (almost) gone! Amazing how time flies, especially as you get older.

Well, I figured I’ve been neglecting my inner geek for awhile now. So, I thought I’d let you in on the latest thing I am Jonesing for. It is a FLIP VIDEO MINO. Here’s a pic but check out the site for details.

Flip Video Mino

Ideally, this is not for television quality recording. It is less than $150 right now on Amazon and highly useful for web video — which is precisely why I want it. The video quality is outstanding for being almost literally a plug-n-play piece of equipment. Plus, the price point makes it a good deal in my opinion.

It has rechargeable Lithium ION batteries and will record up to 60 minutes of footage. Pretty sweet!

 

Don’t be surprised if you start seeing a LOT more video on this blog. I thought this would be the perfect way to give you a virtual tour of Savannah when I get there. What do you think????

 

So, there’s my inner geek moment for the week.

 

What new gadget are you longing for?

My newest “toy”

We’ve started live broadcasts of our church services and offer VOD immediately following each service now. We use Mogulus for the broadcasting service. It is FREE and very robust. If you are looking for a FREE solution, you might want to give them a shot.

I’ve tried to embed it for you to see the Mogulus channel but, alas, I have been unsuccessful. Feel free to swing by the website and check it out for yourself.

LIVE Video and Video on Demand

Alternately, you can view our Channel on the Mogulus site (www.mogulus.com/hwm)