Look at this photograph

I've been very surprised to find the transition to becoming a stay-at-home parent has been somewhat difficult. I know I'm privileged to be able to choose this life for a few years, and it's what I've wanted since T was born in 2009.  I don't miss the job I left.  

What I do miss is the automatic structure that working outside the home provides - these hours are at work, those hours are at home with kids awake, these hours are mine all mine after the kids have gone to bed.  When working part-time, each of those "buckets" was precious and precariously balanced. I did a decent job at making those hours count, with a lot of hand-wringing in the process, of course.

Now my days are very different. Time has definitely slowed down, which I love. While T is at school or with my parents, I can spend an entire hour in the bed lounging around with BabyM, making her giggle, watching her practice her newfound mad rolling skills, and squeezing her delicious baby fat rolls. I don't feel guilty about lingering chores, checking work email, or doing something more productive like bathing her or clipping her tiny fingernails.  Or T and I can spend over an hour with her new Spirograph toy, and do it again the next day because school's out and we don't need to be anywhere at a certain time.

I have an extremely low tolerance for "busy".  I need a lot of space in my schedule, rather than a packed day of dashing from one activity to the next.

But without *some* structure, things fall apart for me.  I kept some time logs when I was on maternity leave and TJ was also off.  Laura Vanderkam, the author of 168 Hours, one of my favorite EVER time management books (and I have read many - it's a sickness), was kind enough to analyze them and give me some great advice.  On a side note, I met her in person (squee!) a few weeks ago on a fun trip to the zoo. I have taken her advice of making an extremely short to-do list each day and it's been helpful.  

But even with that great advice, I was floundering a bit.  So I created our Summer Schedule, which has been a hit. I'm extremely lucky that both girls nap well, so I have at least 1.5 hours mid-day all to myself.  And the Internet sucked up every last minute, making me feel like I wasted a precious resource.

On a whim, I signed up for the Big Picture Classes (BPC) Phone Photography course online.  For once, they included Android phone owners in the description with specific content just for us, and that's what sold me.  (Every other class I've heard about is iPhone-centric.)  

I have a history of signing up for online classes and not following through.  I love having the materials and reading through them at my own pace, but this means I miss out on the "community" created during the class.

 

So on July 1 I read the first assignment and played along.  At first I rolled my eyes about taking a photo of my feet (I mean, really?!) but then I realized that the prompts had a lot of flexibility and room for creative interpretation. The point is not to just complete the assignment and check it off, but to really THINK about how I can do it creatively and make an image I'd want to include in our Project Life album.

Assignment 1 - Where I Stand

Part of the class is a "photo scavenger hunt" with a list of 7-8 open-ended prompts.  I've been working on those as well as the daily assignments and having a great time with it. I've loved seeing how the other students around the world are interpreting the same instructions.  I'm learning more about how to use Instagram and related tools, plus several new camera and photo editing apps for my Android phone: PhotoGrid, Pixlr Express, and Vignette.

And I'm fired up. I can't wait for new assignments to be posted.  I'm looking out for opportunities to cross off more scavenger hunt items.  I want to spend some time with the documentation for my camera app, which I paid $5 for 6 months ago and never learned how to use properly.  I've rediscovered how freakin' awesome my Galaxy Nexus phone camera really is.

And what I've realized is that I need to be learning new things.  Just crossing tasks off a to-do list isn't enough for me.  One of the valuable things I got from work, and didn't realize until now, was the constant learning curve of new challenges.  The culture of my old workplace was that you never got to "just do your job well" - you always had to take on new work and "do more with less". I used to grumble about it, but it turns out that I *need* that sort of challenge to stay engaged.

Don't get me wrong - I am learning new things about parenting and my kids each day, but that is a very different process for me (and often an exercise in frustration as we all learn how to grow together!) - it's all that squishy interpersonal stuff I've never been very good at.

So this Phone Photography class is exactly what I need right now. I'm thrilled to have a place to channel this energy and regain what I lost after not being at work for so long!  This is making me really, really happy right now.

If you want to follow along with me as I take this class, I'm anandirc on Instagram and will be posting my class photos with the hashtag #BPCphonephotographyproject.

No More Drama - a 30 Day Challenge

Better things to do with my time
(c), Kristi Lloyd Photography

We humans must be pattern seeking machines, some of us more than others.  This post came about late last night as a convergence of Studio Calico's business decisions, papercrafting industry gossip, The Unpleasantness on my blog last summer, and of all things, Mini-Microsoft.

Given my new life of leisure, and the fact that BabyM is actually starting to nap like a real baby, I have some time on my hands to surf the web.  It's actually a problem for me, because I could be using that precious alone time to craft, nap, or tackle one of the many life improvement projects on My List.

I've found myself sucked in as of late to Teh Drama brewing first on the Studio Calico message boards, and then on the TwoPeas boards about recent business decisions made by SC, their communication to their customers, etc.  Personally I'm not affected by much of it - my crafty hoarding tendencies are being kept in check by our newly reduced income, so I'm just not spending money there like I used to.  I've also made the decision to cancel the last of my kit subscriptions after my term ends this month, as I have enough STUFF to do the next 10 years of Project Life.  But for whatever reason, I've been reading those snarky threads for entertainment.

My other guilty pleasure is this papercrafting industry anonymous gossip blog. People go there to "talk smack" about whatever and whoever they want. Sometimes it's got mean and unnecessary personal attacks, but I do love the discussions about new products and classes, in the "wtf were they thinking?" vein. I will say that I'm proud to have gotten a mention as having the "balls" to sell one of my papercrafting kits for 4x its original price ;)

When he used to post regularly, I read Mini-Microsoft's blog religiously, along with the HUNDREDS of comments.  This was a place where people would vent about working for the "Evil Empire", share info about review scores and compensation, nearly all anonymously.  Quite simply, it was just another form of gossip.

You can probably see where this is going.  Reading all of this is not good for the soul.  99% of the information is negative. I don't doubt people need to vent, but I don't need to take on all of their issues.  I found myself furious with Microsoft over how some random anonymous person was treated.  I got more annoyed with Studio Calico, whose products I love, while reading about others' (genuine) anger at how they had been treated.

Just like when I attended the "Womens' Leadership Training" at work last year, I felt like I was taking on everyone else's sorrow, anger, and problems by hearing about it.  I think that's just how my brain is wired.  I can't let it go, and the more I hear, the more it bugs me.

And then last night, while idly reading my regular blogs, it came to a head. I was just getting ready to comment on a post and read the preceding comments, only to find the same Anonymous Coward (AC) who ranted at me here last year about being judgmental go off on a long rant about how *I* was undermining working women because I am "jealous and unfulfilled" and apparently have trouble getting along with people at work (wtf?).  It's only too bad she didn't link to my blog so I could get the pageviews.

I was pissed and ready to fire off an angry response, but then realized that the (completely uninvolved) blog owner doesn't need to be in the middle of this.  I don't need to spend more brainspace being angry about this ridiculous thing that happened a year ago when I still stand by what I said and think.  Even for those few minutes, I was letting AC "drain my energy", to use one of those fancy parenting terms.

Mulling over it while trying to fall asleep last night (thank you iced tea at 6pm for the gift of insomnia!), I realized this was part of a larger pattern.  I feel like I *need* to read those negative and drama-filled threads for their dubious entertainment value.  I *need* to be "right" and respond back to this person who's not even listening anyway, and just spewing.

I don't NEED.  I'm CHOOSING.  And now I choose no drama.  So for the next 30 days, my birthday month, I'm doing a trial of sorts.  No papercrafting smack blog.  No message board drama threads.  No Facebook arguing about hot-button issues (I've already quit this and just unfriend instead). Thankfully Mini-Microsoft stopped writing, *and* I don't work there anymore.  And no responding to anonymous Internet rants, even if they are directed at me.

Instead, for this month, I'm going to use that time constructively.  To create, to write, to plan our Funnest Summer Ever, to clear out the damn junk drawer for the first time in 8 years.  And if I remember, I'll report back a few times a week on how I'm using my time for good.

Anyone with me?

I'll keep you my dirty little secret (The Economics of Blogging, 2012 Summary)

this is Peanut's House and we're just living in it

Since my original post about the economics of my blog was well-received, I figured I'd post a wrap-up of 2012.  On the bright side, I made the most money ever here in 2012. Which really just amounts to paying for the domain name, a few cups of Starbucks chai, and *maybe* a craft supply or two.

My Amazon affiliate earnings were finally enough to earn me a gift card (yay!), and totaled a surprising $151. What's even more amazing was that people using my links bought $2750 worth of stuff, most of which was in December (holiday shopping, I guess).  I can see the items, but not who purchased them, so if you're reading this, thank you :)

Project Wonderful, which had worked so well for me in the past, was a bit of a dud in 2012.  I made about $7, and since it costs $1 to withdraw money from my account, it's not worth doing yet.

I love working with BlogHer - they're just really nice people and sometimes they feature my posts, so that makes me happy too.  I earned $58 from the sidebar ad the entire year. It's not a lot, but it's nonzero, so yay.  I also earned $120 for book reviews, plus 6 free books including The Fault in our Stars, which was amazing, and which I never would have found on my own.  Not even sure how I'd put a value on how much I loved that book.  I also "sold out" my social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter) for $100 to do a few sponsored posts for them.

So my total earnings for 2012 (estimating the books at $10 each) was just under $500.  Certainly not "Quit Your Day Job"-worthy, but surprising to me nonetheless.

You've probably already figured out that I have no problem using my blog to make money - I don't have guilt about selling out, or feel like it's a conflict between my art (or writing or whatever) and the almighty dollar.  It's an experiment for me on how monetization works, though I'm still fairly certain I don't want to put in the huge effort it would require to have a truly lucrative blog (if I could even come up with THE idea that would work).

So I'll just carry on, writing what I want, when I want, and reading a few good books along the way. What's not to love?

She blinded me with science

BabyM loves Science

Shortly after each of my babies was born, I got a postcard in the mail from the University of Washington asking if we wanted to add them to a roster of experimental subjects for research studies.

This sounds weird and ominous, right?  But actually, it's pretty cool.  UW has some amazing research programs on humans - the kind of biology and neuroscience stuff I know nothing about. I was a molecular bio/biochem person in my previous life.

T only got called once when she was about 15 months old, for a study to determine when babies understand cause and effect. The study is mentioned here, but I can't find an actual reference for it. 

We went down to "the U" on a sunny day, and she got to play with some toys and watch some things light up.  The researcher would arrange a group of toys in a particular orientation and then see if she'd imitate him.  T was more interested in naming the objects - ladder, octopus, helicopter.  He was impressed by her verbal skills, and she wanted to play more when we were done.  She got a small toy elephant for her "work" and our parking was free.

Last week I got an email asking for babies to participate in a non-invasive hearing study.  BabyM and I went to our first of three sessions today, and it was the first time in YEARS I wandered around the University District.  I went to school at UW nearly 15 years ago, so I'm familiar with the area, but it's changed so much since then.  I don't remember it being quite so seedy-looking, to be honest, but maybe I'm just viewing it with my suburban mama filter now.

This study required BabyM to wear a tiny earpiece and listen to some (quiet) white noise, over which they'd play people speaking.  They were watching to see if she'd react when the sounds changed.  

Since she was sitting on my lap, they needed me to be "neutral" so I got to listen to music so I couldn't hear or influence her reaction - Mama is nothing but a piece of furniture in this experiment!.  I listened to half of U2's The Joshua Tree, and remembered what an AMAZING album it is. It was the first album I bought on CD, back in 1990.  Yeah, I'm old.

BabyM is happy and smiley when she's not tired or hungry so this morning went well and she charmed the (all-female!) staff at the lab.  We'll go back twice more next week and earn our $15 and free parking again (probably just enough to pay gas and the bridge toll!).

I like the idea of contributing to Science, and of course, the studies I agree to are totally safe for my girls.  I'm obviously not doing it for the money.  I do think it's good for babies to go out and meet new people and see different things. BabyM was fascinated by all the colorful photos on the walls at the lab, as the same building has a Speech and Hearing Clinic for kids.

I did decline the request for a 2-year study that required us to come in 6-8 times for a sleeping MRI, right around bedtime, for 1-2 hours each. I don't think MRIs are harmful, but wrangling a tired baby and trying to get her to fall asleep in an unfamiliar environment seemed like a recipe for stress.

But the easy studies during the day?  Sign us up!

Turn it on, turn it on again

I need more of this

I'm thinking of breaking up with Facebook, blogs and crafty message boards.  Not "I'd like to see other people, too" or even "I just want to be friends", more like "I never want to see you again."  It's making me complacent, lazy and tired.

It's so much easier to *read* about crafting while I veg in front of the computer than actually sit down in the craft room and work actively on a project.  I can pretend like I'm informed about current events and social injustices by reading links friends have shared on Facebook, without actually *doing* anything to right wrongs in the world, in whatever small way I might be able to help.

I can claim I'm "keeping in touch" with friends as I passively read their updates about new babies, parenting challenges and cool jobs, without actually seeing them in person, chatting with them on the phone or exchanging a detailed personal email.  Or (gasp!) a handwritten letter.

I'm starting to feel like Facebook is like an adult version of preschool, where a bunch of kids are all together in a room and learning how to interact with each other.  We're all shouting things out about ourselves, without really taking turns like you would in a one on one conversation, or just shutting up and listening quietly while someone tells their whole story.  It's loud and chaotic.  Everyone is only listening with half an ear, while they talk themselves.

Sure, I have made and strengthened friendships on Facebook as I've written before.  I've gotten some great parenting advice there.  But right now it's just overwhelming.  How many different articles do I need to read about the Boston bombers or gender inequality?  Do I really need 17 affirmations every day about how awesome I am, in fonts and colors that make my eyes hurt?

I'm starting to feel the same way about blogging. I do love reading posts that are useful to me, especially time management and parenting topics. But I'm finding myself in that same rut, where I'm desperately reading every new time management book or post I can get my hands on in an attempt to structure and control this new stay-home life I'm in.  

My new genre is apparently "mommy time management" books and blogs. And I know, they're probably meant for dads too, but most dads I know don't spend time reading about this stuff, they just jump in and do whatever they think is right.  I need more of that kind of action right now.

The irony of posting this on my personal blog is not lost on me.  How many people really need to see my scrapbook pages?  Or the photos I post on Instagram?  I can say proudly that we don't have TV in our house, but we have more than 12 Internet-enabled devices (seriously).  If I'm sitting in front of those all day, is that really any better?!

I'm saturated by all this media, social and otherwise.  I need to figure out my path through it.  I think for now it might involve turning a lot of it OFF. This is different from our "tech sabbath" where we did the "no screen" thing for 24 hours (and didn't quite make it).  This is more of a selective process, trying to decide what I need and want from the chaos. Email obviously will stay, since I'm job hunting.  But the rest of the "infotainment"? I think it has to go.

Thoughts?

Tuesday Lovin': Adobe Lightroom

Starting Project Life in 2012 changed my photography process significantly:

• I took many more photos, deliberately, because I knew I needed stuff for the album
• I went through those photos EVERY WEEK, because I need to print them
• I used my phone camera a lot more, because it's handy. So I needed to coordinate two sources of photos - phone and the "big" camera.

Prior to Sept 2009, I only took photos at special occasions and on trips when I remembered to bring the camera. When T was born, I was excited to capture her rapid changes, so I ramped up, even remembering to get a photo of her on most days of her first year. 

In 2010 and 2011, I just dumped all those photos onto our hard drive. I went through some of them to make photo books for the grandparents, but still have loads of unprocessed photos from those years.

2012 and Project Life made me realize that my current process or "workflow" as fancy photographers call it, was really cumbersome. It worked, but it was a PAIN:

1. Dump photos from phone and camera into a folder called "import"

2. Sort those photos manually into folders based on subject matter - crafts, family/date, house, etc

3. Using the painfully slow Windows Photo Viewer, go through and delete unusable shots

4. Open the remaining photos in a photo editor like Photoscape or Adobe Photoshop Elements and go through each one to make edits: crop, adjust exposure/white balance, apply filters and actions as desired.

5. Save copies of the photos to their "final homes" on our server.

6. Upload those photos to our Smugmug site.

After several months of this, I was ready for a change.  Someone suggested that Adobe Lightroom might help. I was skeptical that another expensive software package was going to HELP matters, but bit the bullet during the Black Friday sale on Amazon.

I'm not a "click it and see what happens" kind of person, so I did a lot of reading online and watched some videos on the Adobe site to learn the software before using it.  (More on those resources in another post.)

At first it seemed overly complicated. But then I realized I don't need to use *all* the features of the software and I can grow into it over time. 

A few editing sessions later I fell in love, because it made my biweekly photo sorting process *much* easier and faster:

1. Dump photos from phone and DSLR memory card into monthly folder via Lightroom .(Settings saved so all I need to do is choose a different folder each month)

2. Quickly review imported photos and mark the rejects. One click deletes the rejects forever.

3. Crop and edit photos, still in Lightroom. Easily do more extensive editing in external programs, without leaving Lightroom.

4. With just a few clicks, save the final JPGs to our monthly/category folders *and* send to Smugmug *and* Facebook as desired, all at once.

Lightroom is really fast at displaying photos and moving to the next one. There are lots of options for flagging and marking images as you go through them, but I just mark the ones I'm not keeping because there's a beautiful menu option called "Delete Rejected Photos". 

It also can process multiple jobs at once, as in my Step 4 above - I can start all of those items and still work in Lightroom while those are being completed. Much faster than uploading at each site, or manually copying files to the hard drive.

The one thing I needed to get used to is that Lightroom doesn't actually edit the original files. It's a nondestructive editor, so it just saves those edits separately from the photos. If you want an edited version, you have to "export" a JPG file with those edits. But this way I don't shoot myself in the foot by irreversibly editing a file beyond repair. 

Lightroom is also superfantastic at cataloging large numbers of photos.  We have 16000+ and growing, and I haven't yet tackled the aspect of sorting through and categorizing all of them, but I know that Lightroom will be able to handle it, as many professional photographers use it for their hundreds of thousands of photos.

I'm making my way through Scott Kelby's excellent Lightroom 4 book (slowly).  I love that I can pick and choose what features I need, and slowly get better at processing photos and storing them in a way that makes sense for us.

So if you're serious about taking pictures and keeping them organized, even if you never intend to do it professionally, I highly recommend using Adobe Lightroom. You can get by without it, but it makes life so much easier.

I love, love, love it. (And no one is paying me to write this. Though if you buy something on Amazon after clicking through my links, I may get a few cents to spend on chai.)

Four steps to your dream work schedule at a tech company

(This was first published on the WomenTech blog in October 2011. I'm trying to consolidate my writing here, so I'm reposting with a few minor edits.)

You can have your cupcake and eat it too.

Work-life balance is an elusive thing and constantly changing. For me, it involves having a flexible work arrangement. I've been lucky enough to work at a large tech company since 2002.  For the first 5 years, I worked A LOT.  Full time+.  I worked every single day of September 2005 preparing for a customer event, but that was my favorite role in my 14 years of working in technology.

I dabbled in flexible work arrangements, working part-time for a while (without kids - that was AMAZING) and trying a compressed work week, with 9-10 hour days and every other Friday off. Both worked well for my needs at the time.

Since my return from maternity leave in 2010, I have worked part-time, ranging from 20-25 hours per week. I was typically in the office 2 days a week and worked a little from home on the other evenings and the occasional weekend as needed.  This allowed me to spend 3 full days at home each week with my toddler.  I'm currently on maternity leave now, and am scheduled to return in a few weeks, though the details are still pending.

When I tell people at work about this uncommon arrangement, they get a wistful look in their eyes and say things like “Wow, I wish I could do that” or “My job could never accommodate that” or “You’re so lucky, I’d never be allowed to do that”.

NOT TRUE, people! I started out just like everyone else, working 45+ hours, email every waking moment, fielding questions and putting out fires for a company-wide initiative. And who could forget those delightful summer Saturdays spent in the office?

And then I realized I wanted more out of life than just work. Don’t get me wrong – I love my job, and I love my company with its myriad opportunities and amazing people. But I wanted time for myself and my hobbies, and of course, time to really *enjoy* this new family thing we've got going on.

It goes without saying that this is not just a womens' issue. My husband requested (and got!) a compressed work week so that we could care for our daughter ourselves for her first year. He was home with her on the two days I worked, and then he’d go to work for the next 4 days. It was surprisingly easy to arrange this with our employer. Harder to get through the weeks without being completely exhausted, but that’s life, right?

So without further ado, here’s the advice I've given to many people who asked how they too can get the work schedule of their dreams. (Short of winning the lottery and quitting altogether, that is.)

How to get the sweet gig:

1. First, read up on your company’s policies and procedures around flexible work. If they don’t have them, you’ll need to decide how badly you want it, and then be the trailblazer and help them get a policy in place.

2. Figure out what *you* want with respect to work schedule and pay/benefits. A lot of people approach this as “I’ll do whatever my company lets me” but I think that’s the wrong way to go about it, and everyone leaves the discussion unsatisfied.

• A compressed schedule (e.g. 4 day work week or 9 days/2 weeks) will allow you to keep a full time workload and salary, but you’ll have to work longer days to make up for the day you’re off.
• A part-time schedule will give you reduced work hours (duh!) but also reduced pay and potentially fewer benefits. In addition, you’ll need to think hard about how your work can be scoped to fit into fewer hours.
• Telecommuting one or more days a week may not change your schedule, but may allow you to shift your schedule rather than spending time commuting.

3. Write up a short proposal detailing what schedule you’re requesting *and* addressing any concerns that might come up. You need to position it as something good for your work group, not just what’s in it for you.

4. Discuss with your manager. Be confident about what you’re asking for, and address his/her concerns with solutions. Be willing to discuss it “up the chain” as needed.

Once you’ve got the sweet gig:

• Be clear with your management and team about your work schedule and location (if you’re telecommuting.) It really helps to have the same schedule each week so people get used to it.

• If you’re not in the office but working, BE AVAILABLE. I can’t stress this enough. Sign into IM, answer your phone and email in a timely fashion and call in to scheduled meetings. People need to know and see that you’re working. Sounds unfair, and we think people should “just notice” our awesome deliverables, but that’s not enough.

• If you are working from home and your young kids are around, you MUST have childcare.There is no way you can do a great job working if you’re also taking care of your kids. Not putting in that “face time” at the office means you need to do an *extra* good job, and that’s not going to happen with distractions.

• If you’re working part time, don’t regularly work more than what you agreed to. Obviously you’ll have to put in extra hours around crunch time, but keep track of this, and make sure it evens out later. It makes no sense to work full-time hours on a part-time salary. If you have too much work to accomplish on your schedule, talk to your manager about prioritization.

• Be equally clear about your availability on days you’re not working. Give out your cell phone info for emergencies, but don’t accept non-urgent meetings and don’t respond to non-urgent emails either. You need to “train” people to understand your new schedule. They won’t respect it if you don’t.

• Review the arrangement periodically with your manager. Quarterly is good. Actively solicit feedback about what’s working and what’s not. Actually do something about what’s not working.

• Don’t be apologetic about having an unusual work arrangement. Be an ambassador, so people can see that we don’t have to chain ourselves to our desks 80 hours a week. Do great work and evangelize what you’re accomplishing and HOW you’re accomplishing it with your dream schedule and your newfound, totally awesome work life balance!

Of course, not everyone who asks gets approved, but a lot fewer people ask than you think, and there aren't actually *that* many people who do propose it seriously. Many companies, including my own, will actually *help* valued employees find an arrangement that works for them, even if their current role isn't a good fit.

I’d love to hear other stories of flexible work arrangements, and any other tips you can share for making it work for everyone involved!

We are (not) the champions

So last Friday's tech-free day was... ok.  It forced me to work more on my 2013 Planning Workbook, which has been neglected since I got sick a few weeks ago.  I also did some miscellaneous clutter cleaning.  I made some progress reading Scott Kelby's Adobe Lightroom book.

There were no fewer than 15 times where I wanted to check my email, Facebook or my EBay auction.  It was so hard to stop reaching for my phone when I saw all the new message notifications piling up.

T was in preschool that morning, and I had the first meeting of my monthly papercrafting club at our local craft store.  In the afternoon we all went out for an early family dinner.  It was pretty low-key.

We caved around 8:30pm, after the girls were in bed.  I was shooting for 24 hours, but couldn't take it anymore.

Unplugging = more mindfulness

But even though it was shorter than intended, I did learn something. It was clear how much time I waste on checking email and Facebook multiple times during the day, not to mention mindless Internet surfing because I'm already at the computer.  Not doing these things made me feel like I had a LOT of extra "free" time.  Unplugging definitely helped me practice my 2013 One Little Word, 'mindfulness'.  I was more deliberate about choosing my activities, and it seemed like the day moved a little slower.

TJ was not a fan, since he has few non-computer-related hobbies.  But he gamely played along until the girls were asleep.

I plan to unplug at least once a month, and will definitely change my Internet-time-wasting ways as a result.  So I'd say that was a successful experiment!

Keeping the (tech) Sabbath

Tomorrow TJ and I are doing an Internet-free, device-free day. I wanted to see what that's like, because we are always, and I mean *always* near our connected devices. Between the two of us we have 3 desktops, 1 server, 2 laptops, 2 tablets and 3 phones.  My big math brain will tell you that's 11 devices between 2 people, all of them pulsing with fun Internet energy.

We don't have live TV - we ditched our DirecTV subscription in 2009 to save money before T was born and I haven't missed it at all. TJ only misses it during football season. But we've essentially replaced our TV time with other "screen time" so we can't really say we're taking the high road. 

After both kids go to bed, TJ and I sit in front of our respective screens until we go to sleep.  Not exactly quality time there either, though as introverts, we both desperately need quiet alone time.

We do limit T's screen time - she has DVDs we let her watch, but usually not more than 30 minutes a few times a week. I think it's only fair that we make an effort to limit our own screen time as well.

Maybe we'll paint.

So tomorrow we'll read books, exercise, talk to each other (OMG), do some crafty things, and eat dinner together, hopefully something we cooked ourselves. 

In my ideal world, we wouldn't use our devices while the kids are awake and with us, but that's a pretty drastic step. As part of my One Little Word, mindfulness, I am trying to limit my own device use during the day when T is home.

It's hard - my laptop sits on the counter in our kitchen.  My phone is always handy since I Facebook and surf the web while I'm nursing M. The Internet, with its nice asynchronous "social" qualities, is always beckoning. Somewhere in the world, at least one of my friends or "friends" is awake no matter when I'm online.

I've read about people doing this every week, and that may be too much for us to do right away.  So we'll start with just one day.

See you on the other side!  Is this something you've done, or would consider doing?

Tuesday Lovin': Canon Pixma Pro Inkjet Photo Printer

On the scrapbooking message boards I read, a common question is "What photo printer should I buy?"  The Holy Grail is a printer that isn't crazy expensive, doesn't run through gallons of ink, and produces great quality photos that will stand the test of time.

Hands down the number one reason contributing to me finishing Project Life in 2012 (yes, I'm really proud of that!) was buying a photo printer so I could print all my pictures at home. 

Prior to buying my printer in May, I was sending photos to Target.com weekly using their in-store pickup option.  I spent a fair amount of time on their website, uploading photos, making sure they were cropped correctly, and going to pick them up.  Not to mention Target's online system would send a message saying they were ready, yet they were not once I got to the store.  With a 2-year-old in tow, it's not like we could wait around for the hour or more it would take to process them, so I had more than a few wasted trips and a LOT of frustration.  I also didn't love the photo quality - it was fine, but not fantastic. (And I'm no expert, for sure.)

I've had a really hard time with all the printers in my past. I never found the right one for me.  My last two printers have been Epson inkjets that blew through ink like nobody's business, would clog constantly and had only so-so photo quality.  Not to mention I had to fight with Epson to replace one that died literally a DAY after the warranty expired.

So I knew when shopping for a new printer that it was NOT going to be an Epson.  I knew I wanted a color inkjet for good photo printing and consulted reviews on CNET. I searched on Amazon, filtering on those color inkjets that had great reviews (4+ stars) and were less than $500. Even that seemed like a ridiculous amount of money for a printer since all my previous ones were less than $100. But I was willing to pay for quality this time, in the hopes I'd get better results.

Fate (and customer reviews) led me to the Canon Pixma Pro 9000 Mark II.  (What a mouthful, huh?)  The reviews were great, though the price was a bit higher than I'd hoped for. Not only was it a great photo printer, but it also prints large format, up to 13x17". So if I ever wanted to print 12x12", a common scrapbooking size, I'd be all set.

We have an email list at work for people to sell household items and I had noticed a few ads for this particular printer.  Turns out that Canon was offering a BIG rebate when buying a DSLR camera, which basically included this printer for free. Many photographers were buying both the camera and printer, then selling the printer new in box after getting the rebate.  When I was ready to buy it, I did a search on Craigslist.

I found several ads for it, and made a deal with a guy to buy it for $160. It felt a bit sketchy to meet him in a grocery store parking lot with a wad of cash in exchange for electronics, but for that screamin' deal, it was totally worth it.

I came home, set it up quickly and easily, and the rest is history.  I printed my photos for Project Life starting that week and never went to Target Photo again.  I've gotten great results from all kinds of photo paper: Epson, Ilford Galerie, and Canon, though not HP paper, oddly. 

Another crafter told me about Epson Matte Premium Presentation Paper for printables, and O.M.G. The print quality is amazing. Colors are bright, saturated and graphics are knife-sharp.  It's not quite as heavy as cardstock but is heavier than regular printer paper.  I've found Amazon has the best price, unless the office supply chain stores are running a buy one get one free deal.

The Canon USA site also sometimes has great deals on photo paper, and I bought 6 packs of 4x8 paper which is great for printing 2 square Instagram photos.

I stick with the Canon ink, and the best deal has been for the multipack on Amazon.  In 8 months of regular use, I've only had to replace 4 of the 8 ink tanks.  I don't want to ruin my expensive printer, nor do I want my photos to fade or run, so I don't take any chances with off-brand inks.   This printer consumes nowhere near the amount of ink as my previous Epson inkjets, and I print far more with it than I ever did with those.

The bundled Canon software - EZ Photo Print - has a cheesy name, but works really well for printing photos in many configurations.  I use it to print two 3x4 photos on 1 4x6 page, as well as 2 4" Instagrams on a 4x8" page, and it's effortless.  You can also print tiny photos on one sheet, add text, and print large borderless photos as well.  I haven't had to tweak any settings to get the colors to come out "true".  (But again, I'm not an expert.)

The drawbacks of this printer are few:  it's HUGE so it takes up a ton of room, it's pretty loud when it's printing, it doesn't print over wireless, and the ink-empty warnings start REALLY early.  On the bright side, it doesn't force you to change the ink until it's really, truly, out and does give you a message when you get to that point. 


Canon has released a newer version of the same printer, which looks identical, the Pixma Pro-100. If you want to buy one new from an authorized retailer, this is the one to get.  Otherwise, check out EBay, Amazon or Craigslist for deals on the PIXMA Pro 9000 Mark II - you will not be disappointed.

Do you have a photo printer you love?  Share it in the Comments please!  I'm also happy to answer more detailed questions about the Pixma Pro.  I love, love, love it, and I never imagined I'd achieve such a healthy relationship with a printer :).

15 Minutes of Email

I know I'm revealing my age (late 30s) when I tell you that I rely on email for most of my personal communication. I hate talking on the phone and realized that a mobile phone plan with 100 minutes was more than enough for me, and we don't even have a home phone. I don't even use those all up.

But I'm not young and hip enough to rely on texting or Facebook entirely, though I use those too. I text people I'm meeting up with re: plans, and use Facebook for folks whose email address I don't have.

I first got an email address in 1991 when I started college. It was long enough ago that not every student entering Caltech got an email address - only those who were taking a computer science class.  I think they changed the policy within a year or two and issued one to everyone.  But at first the only other people I knew who had email were folks at my school, and a few friends at Carnegie Mellon who were majoring in Computer Engineering.

By the time I graduated in 1996, even my parents had email. I currently have at least 6 email addresses (most of which route to my main personal Inbox).  I get a manageable amount of personal email, but still need to work to keep it under control.

I think it was Laura Vanderkam's 168 Hours that made the bold statement that clearing one's email inbox was not a worthy use of precious time, since you can just search for the messages you need. 

BabyM is alarmed by email clutter

I get that, but seeing a full inbox even with all messages marked as "read", gives me the willies. To me, it's electronic clutter, and just as unsettling as seeing our kitchen counter covered in mail, toys, and miscellaneous utensils. Yeah, I'm one of *those* people, who needs to see clean surfaces.  Even if everything is stuffed willy-nilly into a drawer below, the clean surfaces calm me.  But eventually I tackle those junk drawers too.

My new project is to tame the email demons, both work and personal. Work is easy right now - I'm on maternity leave and simply unsubscribed to all mailing lists and have a rule set up that deletes everything that's not addressed directly to me. Sadly when I go back, I can't keep it that way. But work email is a whole different species of monster and requires it's own process which I'll detail later.  I know you can't wait :)

I was seriously inspired a few years ago by Merlin Mann's Inbox Zero idea. I love the idea of not using my Inbox as a to-do list. A girl can dream, right?

So I'm tackling my personal email, in no more than 15 minutes a day. I have a timer. I got hardcore about this because I tend to linger and then completely fall into a hole where I start checking and responding to email, and end up idly surfing Amazon.com for things I might want to buy someday. Then it's 2am and I need to be up to feed the baby in either 1 or 4 hours.  Not a good situation.

It's such a simple process.  I close everything else but my GMail window. I start the timer and work for exactly 15 minutes. When I'm focused like this, it is CRAZY how much I can get done. Today I whittled my Inbox down from 145 messages to 83.

And then I'm done. No guilt for the rest of the day about "getting to email". No pressure to try and respond on my tiny phone keyboard while I'm nursing BabyM. No frenzied quick email sessions interspersed with spending time with T or M.  I can easily find 15 minutes to do a "lightning round" of email that will actually be productive.  And heck, it doesn't even have to be 15 consecutive minutes. 3 rounds of 5 minutes works too.

Yay for New Year Motivation. What about you? Got any email-related goals?

And now a word from our sponsors

I occasionally get a request through BlogHer to write a sponsored post. I try to make it personal and relevant because you don't come here to read ad copy. Plus, I'm really not a marketing type.

But this post is about skincare, which I do have interest in. I had the typical icky skin as a teenager - thanks to hormones, I'd always get these HUGE ugly pimples at inopportune times. You know, the kind that makes a girl want to hide in her house for a week or two. A very nice dermatologist told me the arsenal of creams and scrubs I was using was doing me NO favors and pointed me to a very simple cleanser and instructed me to use a moisturizer with sunscreen in it.

Fortunately that craziness cleared up in my late 20s, and now I've got the opposite problem as I approach 40 - my skin leans towards dry now, especially in the winter. So I'm pretty careful and sparing about what I use on my skin. I don't wear much makeup, and not every day. I clean it off at night before bed. I remember to moisturize before bed (but I'm still not high maintenance!).

DDF is onto the ancient secrets
of Indian grandmothers

So far things look ok, probably because we don't get much sun here in Seattle, but I know as time goes on, I'll need to spend a little time on skincare if I want it to stay healthy. I haven't settled on a daily cleanser or moisturizer that I absolutely love, so I was pretty stoked to get the opportunity for this sponsored post.

DDF Skincare is offering a special coupon to try their products. Buy one, get the second half off, and free shipping on your order through Jan 31. Use code DDFSKIN when you checkout.

What's cool is that they have a very detailed online skin consultation on their site so you can get an idea of what you might need. You can also check out their products in person - our local Macy's and Sephora stores have them. Their site is easy to navigate, and even has an option to do a live consultation about your skin online.  How cool is that? I love technology.

Anyway, if you try it out, or have used DDF in the past, let me know what you think!

Brown paper packages tied up with string

Our days are fragmented by the schedules of our two little people.  T has to be at preschool exactly at 8:40 and picked up at 12:40.  M eats approximately every 3-5 hours round the clock, which also includes one or more diaper changes and some extra cuddling when she just doesn't want to be put down.  

We have doctor's appointments for M, T, and me, as well as errands like prescription pickup and grocery shopping.  I can't drive until I stop taking pain meds.  I can't stop taking pain meds until it stops hurting.  So we do everything, "all four together", which is kind of nice, but also means neither adult can "tag out".

Not unexpected, and thankfully being on maternity leave frees me up to think about nothing else than what's going on here at home.  Our second time with a newborn has been easier, mainly because my expectations of "getting things done" are low.  And this one sleeps and eats better than I expected (sleep gods, don't strike me down).



gratuitous baby picture.  blanket knit by my mom!

While I was thinking about not much else besides our day-to-day routine, two awesome things happened.

Today I got email from a BlogHer editor telling me they are featuring one of my older posts about contentment on their front page.  Woot!  I still love me some external validation.

 But even bigger and MORE exciting than that was an email I got last night as I was trying to convince myself to spend a little time in the craft room before falling into bed. 

Create magazine, part of the gorgeous Northridge Publishing family, wants to publish a project I submitted!!  I sent in the photos months ago, but since I hadn't heard from them, I figured they didn't want it.  I was a little sad, but honestly, not surprised since this was the first mini scrapbook album I've made on my own. 

But they want to publish it in March!  I need to send it in this month, with some additional info.  This is one of the items on my Mondo Beyondo list.  I honestly was going to give up on this one, partly because of the lack of time I have right now to focus on crafting, but also because of some customer service issues I've been having with Northridge regarding my subscription.

But when I got the email requesting my project, I just couldn't say no.  It's on my dream list!  The album itself is very special to me - it's a list of all the qualities I want to have as a mama, kind of a scrapbook version of a "vision board".  So you can be sure I'll be taking a ton of photos of it just in case it doesn't come back to me.

So to quote John Lennon, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

Update:  One more awesome thing I forgot to mention - BabyM weighs 7lbs today, which is 3 oz more than her birthweight.  Which also means we don't need to wake her to eat.  Woohoo!

Now your turn.  Tell me about an unexpected good thing in your life!

We are in love

I am a casual photographer.  I've had my own camera since junior high, when my dad got a nice compact film camera from a colleague in Japan, and generously handed it over to my excited 10-year-old self, because he had a *really* nice Canon himself.

I used that verysame camera through middle school, high school, college, a trip to India, grad school and the first couple of years of work, until 1998 when I finally joined the digital world and bought a 5MP HP digital point and shoot camera that was ENORMOUS. 

And even then, I didn't take TONS of photos, but enough to document interesting stuff here and there. 

And then we got a dog.

The number of photos I took vastly increased, and most of them were of The Peanut.

Then we got another dog.

When we got engaged, I knew I really wanted nice photos of our wedding, and that was my top priority.   This got me hooked on professional photos.  Not the "dress up in sweater vests and haul the kids off to Sears" but candid, photojournalistic awesomeness at a location of our choice.

Photo by Bradley Hanson

Since we've had BabyT, we've gotten professional photos every 6 months.  Luckily for us, Baby X' will be born around the same time of year so we can keep that same schedule for a while, corresponding to birthdays and half-birthdays.

Photo by Kristi Romain

But since having T I didn't want to miss all the "in between" times.  Babies change a lot in 6 months, so I stepped up the picture-taking.  I had an ambition to do a DailyBaby shot every day of T's first year, but didn't quite make it everyday.  Still, I'm only missing a handful of days so I'm pretty proud of that.  Mind you, not all of them have been uploaded online but that's a different problem of mine ;)

Doing Project Life this year has made me even more motivated to "capture the everyday".  I've finally had some time to go back to my 2011 photos and process them, and I've noticed a definite improvement in my photography since then.  Practice really does help even though I wasn't actively trying to get better.

I'm a gadget girl.  I've wanted a fancypants DSLR camera since 2009 when we upgraded my 2005 teeny tiny PowerShot to the more powerful, but still point-and-shoot, Canon S90.  I chose the S90 because it was much smaller than a DSLR and I figured I'd  be more likely to toss that in the diaper bag for outings.  I was right.

But the DSLR bug was in my ear.  When I was looking into photography classes to learn some technique, most are geared towards DSLR owners.  My friend Laura, who is amazingly talented, is so enthusiastic about her camera and lenses that every time she'd mention it on her blog, it reminded me that maybe I should look into getting a DSLR.  A lot of the scrapbookers who frequent forums I read are also avid photographers, as are many of my real-life friends.

So one day, with idle hands performing the devil's work, I read tons of reviews on Amazon and finally plopped the Canon Rebel T3i DSLR onto my Wish List.  Which is private, and no one ever looks at it but me. But it was there. Staring at me. For an entire year.

But it's a BIG purchase and I always had an excuse for why I couldn't or shouldn't buy it.  After seeing the pro photos from T's recent birthday party, and noticing that one group of them had this "look" that was different, and really, really awesome, I couldn't wait any longer.  I wanted to learn how to take photos like that, with that cool blurred background and the subject super-sharp in the foreground. 

It's a testament to my self-restraint that I was able to wait so long, really.  So one night last week I put up an innocent query on Facebook: did any of my friends have a "starter" DSLR they were looking to sell. Because I'm friends with a lot of engineers and scientists, I knew there was a similar gadget-love going on, and people upgrade their gadget goodness ALL.THE.TIME.  Within 5 minutes, a coworker posted that he was looking to sell his Canon T3i.

Uh, yeah.  The same *exact* camera that's been on my wishlist for a year.  Is that the Universe talking to me or what?  (Ok, I was looking for an excuse, but that was really too good.)  The nice thing about staying with Canon is that the menus and controls are pretty similar to the S90. 

So I jumped in feet first and bought it with the money I've been hoarding from my Etsy shop revenue.  We're MFEO, right?  (Meant For Each Other, for those who haven't watched Sleepless in Seattle in a while.)

And I am SO in love.  By just upgrading the camera, my photos have gotten a huge boost.  Imagine what could happen if I actually learned some things, and *practiced*?!  The mind boggles.

The other thing I've discovered - my friends are a knowledgeable and generous bunch.  I've gotten tons of useful tips on lenses and technique that would have taken me ages to figure out myself.  They've given me lots of links to bookmark for later, classes to consider, things to try on my camera, and the confidence to go forth and shoot and learn.

Given the timing, I can't jump into taking photography classes right now, but hope to squeeze one in sometime during my maternity leave.  In the meantime, I'll have a lot of opportunities, and a new subject on which to practice.  I am SO excited, peeps!

Peeves

Dear Coworker,
No, I am not willing to send you the FREE item I'm giving away via internal mail as it requires me to find an envelope, find your address and drop off the envelope in the mailroom.  FREE, remember?

Dear Coworker,
No, it is not amusing for the 65th time to see you imitate me waddling down the hallway. And no, I don't want to have a heartfelt conversation about why I suddenly snapped and told you to stop.

Dear Amazon Vendor,
I ordered a $2 cable from you a month ago and it never arrived.  You said you sent the replacement last week and it's still not here.  Really??

Dear Google,
While I appreciate you updating your software, when it causes my phone to lose all mobile network connectivity, I get a little twitchy.  It seems like I *should* be able to check email when not connected to wireless, right?

Dear Northridge Publishing,
Your magazines are gorgeous but your billing practices and customer service suck.  $200 of random charges on my credit card and it's not renewal time?  And when I inquire about it, no response?  WTF?

Dear Dentist's Office,
I realize it's been over a year since I last came in, but why did it take 4 phone calls to figure out I was an existing patient?  Because we need the dentist visit to be *more* unpleasant?

not impressed.

And the winner is...

BabyT helped me pick the winner for my first ever giveaway, of 3 rolls of washi (and washi-like) tape.  I punched circles from a piece of scrap paper (our hotel receipt from our Portland trip), wrote everyone's name on it, folded them into quarters, and put them in a big purple bowl from IKEA. 

T caught on pretty quickly about her job, picked one, and asked me to read the name.  Smitha is the lucky winner, which is awesome since I'm always using the free Project Life printables that she designs. 

Thanks to everyone who entered!  I had 11 entries counting Smitha's double entry for Tweeting about the contest.  Not too shabby for a first one!

Also, in case you can't tell, I am LOVING Instagram.  I know it's overdone, and crazy that we are using all these filters to make our photo quality worse, but it's so fun.

They make Project Life a little easier too, because I've already chosen the good shots (or good enough) and processed them.  So all I need to do is print them and stick them in the album. 

I also found a great deal on 4x8" Canon photo paper, so I can now print two of these Instagram shots on one sheet instead of wasting part of a 4x6" sheet. 

I still use my regular camera a lot, but love the flexibility of Instagram, especially since I always have my phone with me.  I'm so glad they decided to release an Android version!!

Facebook: I can't quit you, babe

this is me on Facebook

When I took my Facebook hiatus back in April, I realized pretty quickly how much time I was spending on it.  In fact, it was staggering how much "free" time I felt like I had when I didn't veg out in front of Facebook for a couple of hours each evening, plus quick checks on my phone and at work during the day.

It should have been easy for me to give it up, but as with the the siren call of simple carbs, I keep going back to Facebook.  Here's why:

1.  Better friendships

I know there are lots of detractors out there who say "conversing" via status updates and the occasional chat is not real friendship, and stalking reading other people's daily minutiae isn't building relationships either.  But those people are usually extroverts.  For my introvert self, who HATES talking on the phone, Facebook allows me to choose when I want to be social and outgoing.  As my geek hubby calls it, "asynchronous communication" rocks.

I've gotten back in touch with long lost high school friends, become better friends with folks from previous jobs or college who were just acquaintainces, and also get to keep tabs on my local friends a lot more often than I would now that everyone is so busy with life/kids/whatnot.  I might only see some of them once a month, but I have a pretty good idea of what's going on in their day to day lives if they use Facebook somewhat regularly.

2.  Educational value

I don't read the news online anymore because most of it is either depressing or inane, and lord knows we don't get an actual newspaper or watch TV news (because we no longer have TV).   But if something big happens, guaranteed I'll find out about it via my Facebook feed.  That's pretty sad, but it's kept me relatively well-informed.  If something grabs my attention, then I'll look it up online to read more.  Sometimes it's real news like a natural disaster, sometimes it's politics, which I mostly try to avoid, and of course I get my celebrity gossip this way too.  Quick and easy.

What's even better, though are the interesting links my friends tend to ferret out - TED talks, thought provoking editorials and blog posts.  I don't spend tons of time browsing the Internet on my own so this is a quick way to learn something new.

3.  The Mama Network

This is my favorite and the hardest for me to quit.  I have MANY mama friends on Facebook, and they are nothing short of amazing.   When T was born and I was having a hard time with breastfeeding, several friends reached out to me with support.  What was even more astonishing was that a few of them were people I hadn't seen since high school and we hadn't kept in touch.  It was a giant kumbayah moment, like I was being welcomed into the Mama Club.  As I sat in that rocker, gritting my teeth and nursing my babe through those first difficult weeks, it was so helpful to hear from these faraway friends.

It's still true.  When we have rough days, there are a lot of parents in my feed to commiserate.  Getting that kind of support on these busy days when I just want to veg out in my PJs and not actually *talk* to anyone, is priceless.



I'm sure most of this is due to my personality type, and the fact that after a day at work and/or a day with a chatty toddler, I am mostly done talking.  IM is fine, email is fine, but I just want to sit quietly.  But I still want to connect with people and catch up with friends, without having to dress up and go somewhere, or make small talk on the phone.

What I struggle with is how to keep these activities in a little timebound box so I'm not "stealing time" from the other things I want to do.  Setting a timer doesn't work for me - it just makes me belligerent.  So I'm still working that out and would love some suggestions from the Peanut Gallery out there :)

What about you? Do you love Facebook?  Hate it?  Both?

Looking for a few good apps?

I've been meaning to post about appSmitten for a while.  It's a brilliant idea, really.  It's a daily or weekly curated newsletter about phone/tablet apps in categories you're interested in.  You choose whether you want iPhone, iPad or Android recommendations.  They have a separate newsletter focusing on kids' apps.

Every parenting email list I'm on has had a query about what apps are good for kids.  People cobble together what's worked for them, but it's hard to just "discover" these apps in the app stores, because there are *so many* bad ones.  And who wants to pay for something that sucks?!

I'm digging the appSmitten newsletter because it's led me to a few kids' apps I know T will like and other interesting apps I would never have found on my own.  TJ has an Android tablet and we both have Android phones so I'm especially happy it only shows me what's available for our platform.

The newsletter is short and sweet and easy to read.  Give it a try! 

This post is sponsored by BlogHer, but the endorsement is totally my own.  I don't lie about stuff I like.

We (heart) Google Calendar

Even before we had BabyT, we realized we had a need for a shared calendar so that we could add family birthdays, upcoming travel, concerts and sporting events for which we had tickets, and anything else we needed the other person to know about.  Like TJ's motorcycle track days/weekends, or my girls' nights out.

With the arrival of BabyT, that became even more important since we had to track all my prenatal doctors' appointments, and then the million appointments for BabyT in her first year, not to mention her physical therapy, allergist appointments, and all of those enrichment classes I signed her up for.

Super cute calendar from milk and cookies on Flickr

After bouncing around a bunch of different solutions, we're using Google Calendar for shared family stuff.  We started with Windows Live Calendar when I had a Windows Phone, because it synced the best.  TJ had an Android phone app that would allow him to view our Windows Live Calendar.  That worked fine, but was a bit of a hassle for me to get to online since I rarely log into my Hotmail account.

I played with Cosi for a while, but it was more complicated than we needed.

But once I switched to my new fancy Android phone, I figured we should just switch over completely to Google Calendar.  TJ was using it for some of his own personal calendars, and I set one up for our Toddler Group.  I'm nearly always logged into my Gmail, which has a convenient "Calendar" link right at the top of the page. 

Functionally, the Windows Live and Google Calendars are pretty similar.  They let you set up a bunch of different calendars under the same account and you can hide/show them as needed.

I can display either of them in my Outlook calendar at work but keep the appointments separated.  Unfortunately, Outlook doesn't let me edit my Google calendar, which is a bummer, but I can live with editing online or on my phone. Interestingly, my Windows Phone let me edit my Google Calendar just fine, so props to them for making it interoperable.

We have a shared calendar for family stuff:  all of Trillian's appointments, social outings that involve one parent being out and thus another to cover, trips, our Seahawks football tickets, and concerts.  We have another one for family birthdays. 

I also have one for my "routine" tasks, like monthly housekeeping/errandy-type stuff, to remind me to do stuff like swap out my disposable contacts or process photos for the week.

Most of the appointments are set to send an email reminder. I set up text message reminders but it got too crazy.  I love that we can both access the calendar on our phones or on our computers.  We don't use a paper calendar at all.

TJ points out every now and then that we *do* actually have to talk about the items.  Sometimes I'll put something on the calendar, and expect him to see it and forget that we never actually discussed it.  In general, I guess it's good for married people to you know, actually TALK to each other.

It's not perfect, but it's working for us.  What do you use?

My fake Lenten sacrifice

I grew up in a predominantly Catholic town, so at a very early age I learned about my peers "giving something up for Lent".  Among 7 year olds, it's usually something like candy or chocolate.  I was intrigued by this idea, but figured it wasn't for me because I'm not Catholic (or even Christian).

But a few years ago, I realized I could participate too.  Not for a religious reason, but because the structure is perfect to try to stop doing something not-so-good.  It's timebound (40 days), has a specific beginning and end date, and a bunch of other people across the world are also giving something up at that same time.

One year I gave up Mexican food because I found myself eating repeatedly at the same amazing taqueria while on a consulting gig, and it was doing me no favors health-wise.

This year, after several days' worth of aggravation on Facebook, arguing about things I feel strongly about but in general should just keep to myself, I realized I was wasting A LOT of time there.  I sit down to catch up with friends, and then look up and realize it's 4 HOURS LATER.  FB is not any better for me than TV. 

So it was pretty clear.  I gave up Facebook for my fake Lent, and it's been easy.  A relief, actually.  I don't feel like I need to obsessively check it.  I don't get notifications so I have no idea what's going on there.  I removed the app from my phone so it doesn't tempt me or notify me.

I have extra time to craft, to cook, to read (you know, actual books), and just hang out with babyT and TJ.  Not checking Facebook has also made me less obsessive about checking email, too, which is also goodness.

It goes nicely with my One Little Word this year, 'reduce'.  I'm reducing the number of inputs, the number of sources I have to check and track and general stress/aggravation over political topics.  It really does feel like a weight lifted off my shoulders.  Hmm, I may keep this up past Easter...

What about you?  Did you give up anything for Lent?