Web Applications

I have recently discovered a website called Picnik run by Google, which is a photo editing website. And I also recently discovered that in April of this year it will be canceled and move many of the popular features to other Google properties, including the Google+ social network. From what I have read Picnik users are not too happy about this move because they feel as though Google is trying to force them to use Google+. Some say google+ isn't user friendly others are unimpressed and uninterested in using it.

Anyways, atleast for the next few months I will have access to all of the features Picnik offers on one website. I have so many pictures of my daughter I have taken on my cell phone because it was the fastest and easiest way to take them at the time and some are gritty and out of focus. This website allows you to chose from many free photo editing options and are all very user friendly. You can crop, sharpen, change color, resize, add special effects, borders, etc. with nothing more than the click of your mouse. I have yet to find another free photo editing website that is this user friendly and that offers that many options for free. There are premium options that you can pay for also, but the majority of them are free. And you know what they say, if it's free it's for me!

http://www.picnik.com

Feedback:

Erin- I never heard of this website and I just got done playing with the tools. This site is pretty awesome and I'm not particularly interested in working with photos. After even a few minutes I found myself going through a bunch of my photos and trying out the cool effects. Any idea why they are moving it to google+? And what is google+? It's too bad if the move is going to ruin the set up and integrity of the site. I think I'm going to use this website while it lasts to get some cool pictures! Thanks for the cool site!

My response to feedback:

A friend suggested it to me when I was looking to clean up some of my blurry photos. Google acquired Picnik a few years ago and is shutting it down supposedly because its taking some of its basic features and incorporating them into the google+ social network which is just another way of "socializing online and sharing content". I've heard they want Picnik users to come to the google site instead of a separate website even though it was owned by Google. Not sure what features will be available and if they will all be in the same place or you will have to search for them. It's too bad because I was just getting used to it. 

Feedback:

Have you ever tried fotoflexer.com? It allows you to do alot and I believe it is still free and not moving to google+.

My response to feedback:

I just went onto this site and I like it. I has a lot of the same options that Picnik has and it is free!!! It also allows you to edit photos from facebook and a few online photo storage websites which is a + too. It must have been around for a while because they have a button to download from myspace and that was years ago. 

http://www.fotoflexer.com

Can Ban

If you have ever been to New Braunfels, TX then I would think you have heard of Schlitterbahn (voted world's best water park for 13 years), Wurstfest (10 day festival of German culture and food and lots of oompa loompa music!) and floating the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers or 'toobing the river' as the locals call it.

This past summer was very dry, no rain and because of this the Guadalupe River was dry in many places forcing people who wanted to float the river on tubes to move to the Comal River, both running through New Braunfels.  A lot of the people who float the rivers are younger high school and college aged kids, not all but most.  I have to admit, the first time I hopped onto a big old black tire tube and pushed my way into the river, put my head back and closed my eyes it was like heaven to me.  This is a very desirable option for cheap weekend fun during the summer here.  All you have to do is get to the river, find a place to park (this is where they get you, the establishments along the river make you pay around $30 to park for the day, but with this you get a tube and you get a shuttle to a drop off point where you put your tube in the water and float down river back to where you parked your car) and leave the rest to mother nature.  


Unfortunately with the crowds of people come problems.  People drink too much, act up too much and keep their mouths shut too little.  Arrests were on the rise and litter was at an all time high.  The city of New Braunfels was at its breaking point.  They had been putting up with this nonsense for way too long and were looking to put a stop to it.  Land owners along the rivers were tired of empty cans and bottles littering their properties.  The city placed extra policemen on the river but this just created the department to be over budget.  


The city proposed a ban on all disposable containers on the Comal and Guadalupe rivers and as expected there was much opposition to this ordinance.  The vote went down and it was passed.  The local business owners were upset as to be expected because if people aren't buying beverages in disposable containers to take tubing on the river with them, they would be losing a lot of business possibly jeopardizing the hospitality industry in this city.  On the other hand there are those who are for the ban.  Those that are more concerned with protecting the rivers and the sources of drinking water and habitat for endangered species.  Tons of trash are taken out of the rivers every week.


The city has attempted to address this issue for more than a decade.  There is currently a ban in effect on glass and noise from radios on the rivers.  Will these weekend fun seekers finally get fed up and chose not to tube in New Braunfels anymore due to all of the restrictions?  Will this town lose revenue from lack of vacationers and suddenly become just a distant memory?  haha just kidding....but this is not the end of this war, maybe just the end of this fight for now.

Daddy's Girl

I grew up in a household with three brothers, two older, one younger.  My oldest brother is 3.5 years older, the next brother is 2.5 years older and my younger brother is about 3.5 years younger.  I am one of the middle children, 3rd in line for food.  The only girl.  Growing up I played every sport imaginable.  From learn to skate, figure skating, gymnastics, softball, basketball and soccer.  Back yard touch football was great fun for me with my brothers until the day one of them fell on me and fractured my thumb, but the list of injuries goes on with me.  It's not to say I was injured alot, but when I was they were injuries I could be proud of.  Skateboarding down the hill of my street, showing off in front of the neighborhood kids until I got going too fast on that plastic narrow skateboard and wiped out leaving a scar on my back to this day.  Ah, but what a good story it was to tell. 

I was a bit of a tomboy if you haven't already figured that out.  Well with three brothers how could I not be?  I had to keep up with the boys, if they could do it then you could bet that I wanted to do whatever it was too.  When I was about 7 my father asked me if I wanted to play ice hockey, I said no but a few years later I asked to play and he said no.  "Why?" I asked, "because I said so" he said.  That was a common answer from my parents, one that I'm sure I will use when I just don't have an answer or I just don't feel like explaining myself.  I later figured out that he was afraid of me getting hurt, his little girl.  Many people have often said to me "oh you're an only girl you must have been Daddy's girl".  "No" is all I would reply, thinking to myself if you knew my father you wouldn't even ask that question.  

My father was what I would call a "man's man";  loved to be with "the boys".  And when I say "the boys" I mean any male not just my brothers or his male friends, he was just used to being around guys.  I'm not sure he knew what to do with me other than put me in sport after sport after sport just like his boys.  Don't get me wrong, I am so very lucky to have been able to have had the opportunities I had.  Imagine if I didn't know how to skate, or shoot a basketball or kick a soccer ball, I can't.  We were very lucky and even now I can throw on a pair of skates (hockey-I can't stand the toe pick on those figure skates!haha) and skate like I was a kid just yesterday and I love it. 

I think I excelled in the sports I played because of the support I had from my parents and the way I was pushed by my father to always be aggressive.  Playing soccer in high school he would run up the field on the sidelines with me while I had the ball, sounds crazy but he did, it makes me laugh to think about it now.  And the one year I went to college in New York 5 hours from home, homesick as ever, I stepped off the bus in Philadelphia for an away game only to see my father and his best friend standing on the curb smiling at me.  They had hopped a plane last minute and flown to PA to see me play soccer.  I have never felt so loved and so missed.

My father and I, we butted heads a lot, we were both very stubborn, I still am.  He passed away in 2003 and not a day goes by that I don't think about him and the tears they still come, 9 years later.  He never got to meet my husband, or my daughter.  Now my daughter, she's wonderful and she's the apple of my eye and her Daddy's eye.  I would love for her to play every sport she wants to and I hope that she will be a mommy's girl AND a Daddy's girl.  The video above is a song my father loved that we danced together to.  I miss you Dad, I love you.

Styling my web page

I can't remember the last time I have been this frustrated with a task that I could not figure out on my own.  I am one of those people who will go to any length NOT to ask for help because that to me meant that I could not figure it out on my own (a.k.a. defeat)!  Call me stubborn, whatever, it wouldn't be the first time or the last I'm sure.  Thankfully another student in my class extended a helping hand and got me out of my hole, but not until after I beat myself up mentally day after day after day.  Yes,  I'm hard on myself but I think that's why I am where I am today and that's why I have accomplished what I have accomplished what I have and I'm proud to say that.  But boy oh boy do I beat myself up!

I am happy to say that I finally understand what it took to style my web page and although it has merely a few different colors and one font I am under the assumption that less is more and I have lived my life that way.  I'm not one for flashy clothes, cars, homes, etc.  I have lived knowing its better to give than receive and I will give more than I receive forever.  Anyways, back to my web page.  I am happy to finally say that this task is completed and I cannot wait for the next challenge.  Hopefully it won't involve pulling as much hair out as this one did.  I'm sure there were other in my class that breezed right through this assignment but not me.  For some reason I was stuck on the CSS class part and I sat there in agony for days struggling to figure it out and I wasn't going to give up until I understood what I needed to do one way or another.

This assignment was very interesting, challenging and also very rewarding for me.  I have never designed my own web page before, never thought of designing my own web page but now that I know somewhat how to do it I feel as though I have really accomplished a big task here.  The more comfortable I get with the wording, etc. the more I will add to my own web page.  Little by little that's my philosophy, in good time.

Homemade Ravioli

One of my favorite places to be is in the kitchen, I love to cook.  Can I whip up a recipe from scratch? Um....not yet, BUT I can follow a recipe like no other!!! haha  I am addicted to the cooking channels, I surf between them when I want some background noise during the day. 

Growing up I was made aware at a very early age how important family is and one of the places our family always gathered was the kitchen.  I'm not saying we all cooked while in the kitchen, mostly we watched my mom and my "Nana" effortlessly whipping up one dish after another.  My most favorite thing to watch them make were homemade ravioli.  My grandmother was 100% Italian and her husband was 100% Portuguese, making me 100% hungry all of the time.  When I was younger they used a pasta machine with the crank on the side.  Flour and water to make the dough, let it rest, roll it out and into the pasta machine it went starting off the dial (which determined the thickness) at a thick level and eventually cranking it down to the thinner levels.  Cranking, cranking, cranking that lever....it was alot of work!  For years my mother used this same machine until one day I saw an attachment on tv that had a MOTOR on it!!!!  I immediately purchased it for her and boy was it easy street after that!  Even though we had somewhat updated the process to make it a bit easier on our arms it was still the company that made it the most enjoyable time spent with family.  After the dough was thinned out it was spread across a metal tray somewhat resembling an ice cube tray with ridges around the edges.  Then spoonful sized dollops of spinach, cheese, etc. stuffing was placed ever so gently onto each square of the tray and the dough was then folded over on top and rolled over with a rolling pin to cut the edges and presto you have homemade ravioli that were then submerged into boiling water or chicken broth.

They would make hundreds of them, freezing them for Thanksgiving and Christmas, sending each family member home with some as a bonus for their hard work that day.  I miss making ravioli with my Mom, I looked forward to it every year.  It will have to be a tradition that I will one day attempt with my daughter.  I will however be purchasing the machine with the motor!!!

Dog Training

As I have mentioned in my previous posts we have recently rescued two dogs, one male "Bobo" and one female "Daisy".  I love dogs, I love cats, I love all animals (mostly).  Recently my husband was away on business and with a 1 year old daughter to care for it makes it impossible for me to walk our dogs.  Dogs need exercise, especially labs which is what both of our dogs are.  We have a huge fenced in backyard and toys galore for them to play with, but do you think they just run around all day in the back yard and play with eachother? Nope.  I think that's what we thought they would do, not even close.  They mostly stare in through the kitchen door watching me all day long with their big puppy dog eyes.  God forbid I come near the door, they are jumping up and scratching at the door to come in.  Mind you, they are strictly outdoor dogs because we have 3 cats and at this point in time the dogs see the cats as more of a "chew toy" than a living being.

I called a dog walker that we have used before to pet sit before we had the dogs.  She came over, last minute (bless her heart) and I gave her the lowdown on the newest members of our family.  I don't think she knew what she was in for.  The second she stepped outside the door they were all over her.  The liked her don't get me wrong, actually all of my animals like her, which is good seeing as she is a pet sitter/dog walker.  They were jumping on her making it almost impossible for her to even get their leashes on.  Once she did though they were off dragging her to the gate to get out for their walk that they look forward to so much everyday.  I warned her to watch out as she opened the gate, because they tend to knock over anything in sight to get out the gate first and they aren't small dogs, 50 and 60 lbs. each.  As I stood at the door in my house holding my daughter the first thing I see is Daisy running free.  Obviously she got out first and made a run for it and Carol (dog walker) lost her grip on the leash.  Luckily Daisy doesn't go further than the driveway and was soon caught.  So they are on their way, Carol pretty much being walked by these two dogs, the two of them combined weighing as much as poor Carol, being the tiny thing she is.

Carol walked them for three days, twice a day and by the third day she had actually gotten them under  control believe it or not, with the help of many chicken jerky treats, lol!  After the last walk Carol gave me the number of a dog trainer who could come to my house for an evaluation just to let us know what would be involved in getting our dogs under control.  She also praised them saying how much they had improved since the first time she walked them.  She had gotten them to walk beside her instead of dragging her behind them.  She had gotten them to wait at the gate until she got out first instead of running her over.  She had also gotten my Daisy to sit a few times which she had never done for us.  I'm not sure Daisy was ever trained or leash walked.  It was however very apparent Daisy had been abused which makes me give her that much more love every time I go outside to see her.

It's hard to train your dog, especially with everything else you have going on in your life, family, etc.  But if you spend just that extra time each time you walk them or are with them they are such smart animals and they learn so very quickly that you see an improvement almost every day if not every day.

How the Internet has affected the media

Has anyone seen the facebook video of the father reading a nasty post from his daughters facebook directed at her parents? 2-3 million people have viewed this video, it's gone viral!!! A simple video of a father trying to teach his obviously spoiled, lazy, self entitled daughter a lesson has been viewed instantaneously on the internet within the past few days. Are people waiting to see it on Good Morning America? (the father commented that Good Morning America was on his front lawn) No we aren't. Are we waiting to read about it in the paper or run to the magazine rack at the supermarket where all of the gossip mags are? No....Are we lifting a finger to view this video? Maybe just one finger to scroll with if you have a phone with internet access or better yet the facebook app. The Internet is phasing out printed news, I don't think this is a revelation to anyone. Does anyone get their newspaper delivered anymore? Honestly the only thing I use the newspaper for is to get my windows streak free. I may sound ignorant, maybe, maybe not. I don't think there is anything I can't find on the internet that would be available in a newspaper. There is still news to be delivered to the masses but its just being delivered a different way, a more accessible way, a faster way.

Facebook

This video is entitled Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen.  I am trying to compose myself and my thoughts before I go off on a tangent here and not express exactly how I feel.  The daughter of this father posted on her facebook a ton of complaints and not so nice words about her family (her parents, I think her father and stepmother).  She went on and on about the chores that she has to do around the house, how she is so tired all of the time she's surprised she has a life at all, how her parents tell her everyday she needs to get a job and her response to that was that she should get paid for her chores and that if they wanted a cup of coffee that they needed to "get off their ass" and get it themselves!  Her chores included, and try not to laugh, making her bed, sweeping the floors, wiping down countertops, emptying dishwasher if full and clean and doing her own laundry.  So pretty much she has to take care of herself and being 15 going on 16 I think she's old enough to do that.

Her father took it upon himself to post a video reading his daughters post (I guess this isn't the first time she has posted something like this because he mentioned she was grounded for three months previously).  He then commented on everything she said saying how ridiculous it was that she should expect to get paid for helping out around the house.  He had just spent $130 on her laptop on software, etc.  He then went on to say how disrespectful she was to him, his wife and her mother and how this was the last straw.  The camera then shifted to a laptop on the ground, he then pulled out a gun a put about 7 or 8 bullets into it saying the next time she would get a laptop was when she bought it herself and he wasn't quite sure what year that might be implying that she was going to be grounded probably until she went off to college.

I had the biggest smile on my face during and after viewing this video.  It is so refreshing to see a parent not get walked on by their spoiled rotten teenager.  This is a parent taking charge, which is how it should be.  Should he have put 7 or 8 bullets into her laptop, who is to say?  But he sure made his point to alot of people, her friends and family.  I 100% agree with everything this man said and feel so strongly about parents teaching their children to R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  Teenagers think they know it all and often voice this opinion in a way that lacks respect.  We were always taught to respect, especially our parents and elders.  For this girl to even THINK, never mind say that she should get PAID for helping around the house makes my blood boil.  The way I see it, the more you EXPECT the LESS YOU GET.  Good for you whoever you are, thank you for showing people who the parent is and who the child is.  This is not a buddy buddy relationship, I'm not saying you can't be friendly with your kids but there IS a line and it should never be crossed and in that situation it was and it's looking like she's going to pay.

Daisy

"Daisy Daisy give me your answer true, I'm half crazy over the love of you.  It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage, but you look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two."  This is the song that comes to mind when I think of my newly adopted dog Daisy.  It's a song my Mom sang to me and I think my grandmother "Nana" sang to me also.  I love older music, not OLD music but 60 's and 70's and I know this is because whenever I would get into the car with my mom she would always be listening to music from that era and it grew on me and I'm still listening to it to this day. 

My Daisy, as I lovingly call her, had an operation today.  We rescued her about a month or so ago and she was not spayed and today, after a few cancelled appointments, she was "fixed" (as they say).  My husband brought her to the humane society in our town where we had previously rescued her from and she was brought to the San Antonio Humane Society where she underwent this procedure.  I am a huge worry wart.  When my kitten was sick and had to stay overnight at the vet I laid awake all night long worrying and called the vet the first thing in the morning to make sure she was ok.  Today I called and they said she is under anesthesia call back at 1pm.  The next few hours were grueling for me.  Do I live to worry?  I don't think I do I'm just overwhelmed with concern?  My male dog, Beaumont, lay motionless for 99.9% of the day, until he heard my husbands car pull up with Daisy in it.  They were reunited and although Daisy is still very lethargic Beaumont is happy to have his girl back home.

The reason for writing about Daisy is what I saw just a few moments ago as I crossed through my kitchen.  I looked out the door to the backyard where we have a covered patio and a large Dogloo where Daisy and Beaumont sleep.  I saw no signs of Daisy which startled me at first and I saw Beaumont sitting in front of the Dog house.  As I turned the lock to the door to check on them I saw Daisy emerge from the Dog house.  My good little man was letting his girl finally lay down and get some rest comfortably while he sat outside making sure nothing disturbed her.  At least that's the way I saw and interpreted it and that's what I will believe.  It brought tears to my eyes as I thought of how these two dogs have only been together for less than two months and the roles they assume.  I guess I was thinking how wonderful it would be to know that someone was always watching over you like he was with her.

Internet and Communication

There are many pro's and con's to using the internet for communication, some that I am a fan of and some just get on my nerves.

"Honey, will you pick up a few things at the store on your way home tonight?", "Text me the list" he yells over his shoulder as he walks out the door.  I can see why this could be a valuable asset rather than writing out a list on a piece of paper that may get lost in the day to day shuffle of work papers or even sucked out the window as you are traveling down the highway trying to feel the breeze on your face for once not having the a/c or heat on in your vehicle.

The internet has allowed us to search for a find lost friends and relatives from our past who for one reason or another we have lost touch with.  It is also much faster to send an email than to send a letter all you have to do is click send and you can pretty much guarantee that email is in the receivers inbox instantly.  The vast amounts of information that is readily available on the web is endless.  I myself can hop onto the internet looking for a recipe for teriyaki beef and end up on pinterest an hour later trying to figure out which paint color would look better in my bedroom.  Ugh!  It sucks you in and doesn't let you go.  Technology is allowing us to multi task more now than ever before but is this always a good thing?

There are also many adverse effects of the internet, such as cyber bulling, stalking, identity theft to name a few.  It is way to easy for a child molester to find his prey on the internet and easily talk his way into the home (via the computer) of an innocent child thinking they are chatting with someone their own age not a convicted felon.  I realize that everyone on the internet is not a convicted felon looking for prey but there are many.  Desensitization is a definite set back of the internet and communication.  Have you ever forwarded a joke you thought was hilarious only to receive a "how could you" comment back from someone on your forward list?  Misunderstandings, no face to face communication, less personalization are all part of the downside of the internet and communication.  

I understand that it makes every thing quicker but as I have said before is quicker always better?

Animal Lover

I previously mentioned that I am an animal lover.  I had a black lab/border collie mix named Rosco that I got when I lived in Oregon.  Rosco was a lover of water and of running, mostly away from me when I let him out the door.  I cannot remember a day I would open the door let him out onto my deck and just start running after him.  He was a wonderful dog very good with people and other dogs but in his heart of hearts he wanted to be back in Oregon swimming in the rivers, living in the woods and definitely not be locked up inside a house all day long.  I had Rosco for 13 years when eventually his love of running made him meet his demise.  He was struck by a car one day after taking off on me as I let him out and to think of him this day still brings tears to my eyes.  I suppose I still live with the guilt every day.  

Eventually I decided I wanted to get another dog.   My husband and I were at a home and garden show in San Antonio and there were a bunch of dogs that were going to be put down if they were not adopted soon and wouldn't you know we ended up leaving with 2 year old Beaumont a black lab mix.  It didn't take us long to realize that Beaumont was what you would call a "runner" too as he escaped a few times from our fenced in back yard and once from the back of our vehicle at the park.  As I'm pushing my daughter on one of the swings I turn to see my husband walking across a field in the direction the dog had just run.  The next thing you know we see about 5 deer running at top speed on the side of the road and guess who's chasing them?  And keeping up with them I might add....I wonder if he has greyhound in him because I have never seen a dog run as fast as he does.  Luckily I have also discovered that Beaumont responds to you if you whistle for him.  I tried this one day because Rosco used to respond (eventually) to my whistling for him also.  What I was not prepared for was the locomotive type speed that he responds to whistling with and the lack of control when preparing to stop or should I say run into and jump on top of whatever is in front of him.

Anyways, Beaumont is now part of our family, I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to be outside with him playing ball in the backyard.  Hopefully his locomotive ways will have settled down a bit by that time.