Categories
Smaller Pink Cookie

May Weight Loss Results…

I spent May much like April, circling the same number as far as weight loss — 1 lb up, 2 lb down, over and over again. Ugh! So frustrating! But it is pretty obvious why that has been the case, I’ve been terrible about really tracking what I eat. The Weight Watcher’s motto of “you bite it, you write it” really does hold true. If I don’t track it, I just keep circling the same number. Traveling didn’t help either. I never picked working out with any sort of routine back up either after I got sick earlier this year.

So now we’re in to June and it is a fresh month. Clean slate. New goal of losing 5 pounds this month. I’ve actually lost 2 pounds already since returning from New Mexico on May 28th, so that is a good start! I ended May 2.6lb over where I started this month, so I can’t have another month like that!

I went to Angel Fire, NM (a resort town near Taos, NM) from May 23-28 with my friends Kelly and Brittany. It started off as a plan to have a destination wedding photographer retreat – talking about all the things we can do to grow our business. (Brittany does editing for me – I’m *so* fortunate to have her!) In the end, not only did we do that, but we shared all of our obsessions with each other too! Brittany taught Kelly how to knit, and they talked about how Brittany wants to run a triathlon, and while we were at Taos Cyclery getting things for Kelly, I decided to make my dream a reality and get a new bike! (We had a bike rack on the car because Kelly brought her bike to keep up her training – so I could easily bring it home.)

The team at Taos Cyclery was beyond awesome. They took the time to talk with me about what I wanted in a bike, what I planned to do with it, about my issues with my right shoulder and how I can’t ride if I have to put too much weight on it. In the end, I picked out a bike that fit all of my wishes, and they sent me out the door to even test it out. How awesome is that?!? Considering the investment I was making, it was nice to get out on the street and make sure it was a nice ride.

So now I have a new Raleigh hybrid bike, great for cycling the streets of Houston comfortably for a nice long ride. Coach Kelly has me on a nice training program now so I can slowly work my way up to some of the longer organized rides, and I’ve started doing 15-20 minute rides (about 3 miles) this week.

My big push for the past few weeks has been to make sure my life is very scheduled because I get so much more done then – so I’m riding Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday. I’ve been going in the morning before the heat gets too bad, since it is already well in the 90s every day. (Ugh!) On days that the weather doesn’t cooperate, I’ll be walking on the treadmill or doing another indoor workout.

I’m on track to lose 5lb in June, and to lose another 30 by the end of the year. It isn’t a sprint but a marathon. I’m not trying to hard-core diet, but rather making lifestyle changes that I can implement from now on. I’ll continue to write about it so you can hold me to it!

Categories
BlahBlahBabble

Testing out MacJournal…

Prepping for a road trip, I wanted a way to post to my blog while offline. I’m hoping that MacJournal does the trick and allows me to write blog posts while offline that I can post later on.

… And, it worked! Although it thinks it timed out. Hmm. Well, either way – yay! Blog posts written offline! SWEET!

Check out MacJournal if you need a way to write blog posts offline and post later to your WordPress blog!

Categories
Geek Love

Kindle vs the iPad – 3 Reasons Why the Kindle Wins!

Have I mentioned that I live in Geektopia? I do. And as a gadget junkie, I have both a Kindle (the original wedge-shaped one) and an iPad (64gb WiFi only). When the iPad was coming out, I heard many people say that they weren’t going to get a Kindle or another similar electronic book device because they would use the iPad for it.

I’ve tried both. And as much as I love the iPad, it doesn’t beat out the Kindle in this area.

– The Kindle is lighter in weight, making it much easier to hold and read for long periods of time. I’ve read mine for 8+ hour stretches before, and I could never hold an iPad for that long.
– The Kindle is not backlight, so it is easier on your eyes. If you’re like me, reading a backlit device for several pages of content is painful. I can’t read books on a computer monitor either and even taking a Outback Vision Protocol treatment to improve my eyes for this reason, since I have been using glasses for a long time.
– Since the Kindle isn’t backlit and has a matte screen, you can use it outdoors on a bright, sunny day. I tried to read a book on the iPad in the car (while Mike drove, of course!) and I couldn’t even see the screen.

Bonus reason:
– Kindle books can be ported to several different devices – I can read the same book on my Kindle and through the Kindle app on the iPad, the iPhone, my Mac and our PC. My Kindle books can go to many electronic devices – and books from the iBook store can only be read on the iPad. (Not necessarily a perk for the Kindle device so much as for the service itself over Apple’s new iBook store.)

I love my iPad, and the Kindle app that is available for the iPad is fantastic. Much, much better than the iPhone app. But when you find me curled up with a good book to read, it will be with a Kindle in my hands.

Side note about the Kindle: I love paper books. I really do, and I honestly thought that the design and development of Kindle would never be as good as reading a real book. Then I tried one out, and I discovered that it is lightweight and so much easier for me to hold – I have a weak right hand and problems with my thumb. I’ve read more books since I purchased my Kindle in 2008 then I did in the 5 years before that because using the Kindle is such a pleasant experience. I almost forget the books are electronic once I get in to them because the digital ink technology is so impressive. If you haven’t gotten your hands on a Kindle yet, you should!

Knitting books are the one exception. They just don’t translate well to the Kindle at all. I also tend to purchase books written by anyone I meet and get them signed for my collection!

Categories
Geek Love

My Beloved iPad…

As a destination wedding & boudoir photographer, I had a justification for an iPad as soon as they were announced because I knew it would be a great way to constantly carry my portfolio around, but I didn’t pre-order one. Even as a die-hard gadget junkie, I wanted to get my hands on one first before I did it. Then Clint and others started talking on Twitter about how wonderful they were.

Before I knew it, I was up at the Apple store testing them out. True, they don’t have Flash. Whatever, Flash is so 2004 anyways – unless you’re a photographer. Oh wait, I am. But my blog is the first page you hit when you visit my wedding & lifestyle photography site and my boudoir site, and the Flash portfolio is tucked away inside. (I want my site to be as iPhone & iPad friendly as possible! Plus the search engines *love* it!) Of course, the iPad had only been out for a week or so, so the Apple store didn’t have any in stock. I added myself to the wait list for a 64gb iPad, and picked it up on April 22nd.

I opted to go with the WiFi version. I didn’t want to pay $130 extra for the 3G version, plus monthly fees for 3G access, and I already have a Sprint Overdrive with 4G access that I can link up to. Most of the time I have WiFi access anyways.

I’ve had it for three weeks now, and it is fabulous! It does actually fill a gap in my computer lineup for me because it can help me with a lot of stuff that I couldn’t do on my computer—I can now transcribe audio to text with a cool app, thanks to the innovation coming out of iphone app development sydney is known for.

– The battery lasts for 9-10 hours. My MacBookPro lasts maybe 1 hour, if I’m lucky.
– The Photo app is a GREAT way for a photographer to show off their portfolio. Or for a parent to show off photos of their kids.
– It is small and light weight. I can put it in a large purse or small bag. Easy to always have with me.
– The apps that have come up so far for the iPad are pretty fabulous. (I’ll be sharing my thoughts about them!)
– Being self-employed means I’m on my computer all the time. It is nice to put it away when I want to catch up on my RSS feeds, read Twitter, and play on Facebook.
– In the end, I opted for the 64gb so I’d have lots of space for photos and for music, videos & movies when I travel.

When I’m in the car on a road trip, my iPhone is still my go-to device. I tried out the iPad, but the larger surface just wasn’t good in the bright sunlight – I struggled to see the screen. I’ve never had that problem with my iPhone, or my Kindle for that matter.

Have an iPad? Thinking about getting one? What apps do you have & love? Which ones are you looking forward to getting?

Categories
Amuse Me

Big Pink … Towels?

My husband, Mike, is a brilliant man. He really is. But sometimes, it amazes me to think how he can do complex math problems that make my head hurt just looking at them – yet he doesn’t have common sense.

You know, like thinking that putting 4 red shop towels, those towels you would use in the garage, into the wash with WHITE kitchen towels wouldn’t turn the kitchen towels a lovely shade of pink.

Granted he added bleach to the load of towels. But bleach doesn’t trump RED like he thought it would. Not even close. He honestly expected a load of sparkling white towels to come out. Instead he got a whole lot of pink.

A second round of bleach didn’t help at all. I gave it a go yesterday, but no luck. They are permanently pink, it seems. Matter of fact, that photo linked above is from after the second run through the washing machine. And these are not just any towels either – half of them were wedding gift towels from Williams Sonoma. My nice, favorite kitchen towels. Good thing he is the one that normally cooks.*

So in honor of my Blogiversary week, we now own several of lovely pink towels. I can’t help but laugh every time I look at them. And Mike? Well, he can still show you how to derive the quadratic formula, and he can cook some fabulously delicious food!

* He loves to cook. He reads cookbooks like novels. I know how to cook, but I cook to eat. I enjoy baking, but not that much. I leave the kitchen in his hands most of the time.