Join Me Tuesday!

I will be speaking at the Winter Biz Session (sponsored by Indie Biz Chicks) on Tuesday at 9:00 pm. Come join me for an hour of fun and business! My topic is "What NOT to do when starting your web site" and I just finished up 2 pages of notes so there will be plenty to talk about. I think I will be speaking first and then taking questions at the end of the session. I am a little nervous because I have never done a session like this but I am sure that Crissy will walk me through it. ;) Hope to see (well, hear actually) you then!

Random Photo and the Week

Work has me slammed, which is a great thing so I am trying to finish up a few projects that are almost complete. We are also battling with Gia acting up at school. Seems she has gone back to her old ways of not listening (granted she is 4 but still) so she is in trouble this weekend and can't play with any of her toys. Oh I am not looking forward to dealing with that inevitable struggle. She is very sneaky so you have to keep an eye on her at all times otherwise she will find a way to play with one of her toys. Have you ever thought that the problems we have as children are really great traits to have as adults? I mean seriously, think about it. Being stubborn with your ideas, standing up for what you think is right, not taking no for an answer...these are not bad traits to have as an adult but as a kid it is labeled as disobedient and defiant. By no means am I saying that I wouldn't correct these things because I can't have my 4 year old telling her teachers No and that they are poopie heads (she hasn't gone that far yet). I was just pondering that with The Baconator today so I thought I would put it out there.

Here is another random photo that Morgan took of us. I haven't got around to edited any of them really (I think 5 maybe?) so you know it's been a busy week. I chose this one because really, who would think this cute little thing could be so bad?

Biz Monday - Google Alerts

So who doesn't love Google? I use it constantly throughout my day online. But did you know they they also offer some pretty cool tools for small business owners? Oh yes, if you have a Blogger Blog then chances are you already have an account with Google but if not you will need to sign up to take advantages of everything they offer. One of my favorite things is Google Alerts. Google scours the web for keywords that you enter and then sends you a report with the finds. You can have it sent to you daily or as they find them. (I would definitely go with daily because sometimes they can get a bit overwhelming depending on your keywords.) What can you use this for you say? Well to see who is talking about you silly! Someone out there may be saying great things about you and unless they send you a link (which most of the time doesn't happen) you would never know it. With Google Alerts you can keep up with who's talking about you and what they are saying. This is a great way to keep up with marketing efforts to. If you just did a press release, you definitely want to know who is picking up your story and running with it! Signing up is simple and only takes a few minutes to get started. Once you sign into your account, you can start setting up your Alerts (see screenshot below).

A Puppy Party

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for my friend Heather's daughter Roxanne (who turned 5). She had it at The Kids Spot, which you may remember from a previous post on my other blog I taught art classes at last Summer. It has changed owners since and I have to say it I am seriously impressed with the new owners. It was a great party and we all had fun (yep, including The Baconator and Xander). The theme was a Veterinarian Party, since that's what Roxy wants to be when she grows up, so all the kids brought their puppies...it was so cute! Heather made these awesome treat jars filled with DIY play dough and chocolate puppy paw lollipops. She is one crafty girl. ;) Oh and I am totally stealing that for Gia's birthday this year because it is an awesome idea and much better than the throw away treat bag junk that we usually do.

Ways to Donate to Haiti

I haven't said much about the horrible earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12th. For the first few days, it was so hard to even watch the news because you just couldn't imagine a place that bad off. What really pulled at me were all of the orphans that were now homeless without food or formula...now that number will probably triple because of every one that has perished in the tragedy. There was no doubt in my mind that I had to do something to help so when it came to deciding where I wanted to make my donations, I did a lot of research. While the Red Cross and UN are reputable organizations (the jury may still be out on the UN). I wanted to make sure that ALL the money I donated went STRAIGHT to Haiti, to people already on the ground and able to help. I found a few great places that I am confident in.

Haitian Health Foundation - There are several areas in which you can donate and all of your proceeds will benefit the many citizens of Haiti that need it.

For His Glory Outreach - I first saw this organization mentioned on a report about the orphanages that were devastated. They are an outreach with an orphanage in Haiti (Children of the House of God) so all of the proceeds go directly to their children.

Doctors Without Borders - There are a huge number of volunteers from the organization already in Haiti trying to help. There are several ways you can have your donation spread out.

Craft Hope is also doing a fundraiser where all of the proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders for relief. This is an awesome group of crafters who have donated goods for free to go to a great cause. You can check out their Etsy shop for all the details and to start shopping!

I took things a little further and actually volunteered to go to Texas and help For His Glory Outreach when they are able to get things together and go to Haiti. I haven't been contacted as of yet but I will keep you updated with details. I would love to actually go to Haiti to help hands on but I don't have my passport yet so I don't think that is possible. :( It just breaks my heart that these children are in such a horrible situation. Hopefully with everyone giving so graciously that this will change sooner than later.

I HEART Photoshop

I was able to get some of the photos that Morgan took of us a few months ago so I could play around with them in Photoshop. I am actually redesigning her blog so look out for that soon. :) If you have ever seen an awesome photos and said to yourself "How do those she/he get those photos to look so good?" 99.99% of the time, it is with the help of Photoshop. Unfortunately, most photos don't come out of the camera looking awesome...they need a little help to get there. :) Oh Photoshop, how I love thee...I am amazed every time I use it (and I have a pretty basic knowledge). I wish I had the time to take an actual course so I could learn all there is to know, I would be a happy happy girl. Granted, I would probably never get any work done because I would be too busy playing. ;) Anyway, back to the photos...I am going through my favorites and will be posting them here randomly over the next few weeks (with a few PS tutorials for you). Morgan took all of these photos...I just edited them. :)