25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Want to know how out of shape I am?

Well, we are going skiing over the Christmas break and a good friend told me the best way to prepare for skiing is to do squats… and a lot of them.

So, in effort to begin preparing my 40-something year old body for my very first skiing experience, I did 4 sets of 25 squats, using my body weight only. On Monday.

And today…Wednesday?  I can hardly move my legs because they are so sore.  I can't imagine what I'll feel like after skiing all day.

Which reminds me… There's no amount of biking and/or running that replaces the good old fashioned squat.  I need to remember this when I'm complaining that my jeans don't fit in the butt.

*sigh*

Good to know...

Look ma', no ZITS!

Y'all, I have hormonal acne.  Yes.  At 40.

Well, actually, more like in my 30's and into my 40's.

I've been taking antibiotics for acne for like...forever.  It was a cheap solution to keeping my zits at bay.

Then, the drug industry decided to slow down production of antibiotics, thus creating an antibiotic shortage... thus, making the meds I take for acne nearly $2.75 PER PILL.  Um, that's over $80.00 for a month's worth of medicine just to be zit free.

So, I began scouring the interwebs for oral acne meds and I found a medicine that is used by dermatologists as an "off-label" oral acne medicine.  The medicine is actually a diuretic, used to reduce high blood pressure.   It's called Aldactone or generic: (spironolactone).

I called my doctor, explained the situation with the cost of the antibiotics and asked her if she could prescribe Aldactone for me instead.  After looking into it, she called me back and said she would.

I have been taking Aldactone for a month and OMGoodness!  The results have been amazing.  The Aldactone works better than the antibiotics ever did, plus, it's ridiculously inexpensive too! 

If you think you may have hormonal acne and/or breakouts, this might be a good solution for you as well!

Good to know info I wanted to pass along!

Good to know... digital library loans!

I can't tell you how many people I've talked to that didn't know they could borrow digital copies of library books from their local library!

Yep!  It's true.

Look, here's the deal.  I could never spend $10.00 on a digital book.  Never!  But, it occurred to me that maybe... just maybe... the library had a digital book loan system and sure enough, they did!  Maybe you are already using your digital book loan system via the library, but I wanted to pass along this info to those who are not!

There's a few steps involved to get set up.  First of all, you need a library card, but that's a no brainer right?

Second, you'll need to have the Kindle App downloaded to your device (phone, tablet, laptop, etc.)

You will also need to download OverDrive Media Console (which is like a facilitator between your library and Amazon.com.)

Once you get that set up, you can access your local digital library. For my local friends, it is the Central Texas Digital Consortium.

Select your local library from the drop down menu.

Then enter your library card number and password.

Once you access the digital library, you can browse titles, hold/reserve titles or check out titles.

If the book you want to read is not available, you can place a hold and you will be notified via email when the book is available for check out.

Additionally, you will get an email notifying you when your loan ends.

The books are loaned via Amazon.com.  So, you'll also need an Amazon account... but these days... who doesn't already have an Amazon account.

And, that's it!  Seems like a lot of steps to begin with, but after the initial set up... it's a cinch!  Oh and something else that is awesome... if you are like me and have several devices - iPad, phone, Macbook, then all of your loaned digital books will be available on all of your devices via the Kindle App.

Here are a few downfalls to be aware of once get started.

1.) Loan period is only 2 weeks.  I'm a slow reader and a very busy mom, so sometimes my loan will end before I'm done with the book.  Que lastima!

2.) Availability is limited.  If there is a popular book you want to read, you will likely have to get on a reserve waiting list.  I'm not flustered by this too much, but I know some people would.

3.) Availability (AGAIN)... your library "purchases" the right to loan the books through Amazon.  Meaning... your library may not offer an incredible amount of titles via the digital consortium... or, they may only procure 1-2 copies of a popular book.  It varies from library to library.  Our library seems to be catching up now, but a year ago, available titles were very limited.

4.) You can only reserve 3 titles at one time.

5.) You can only check-out 5 titles at one time.

However, there is a work around to #'s 4 & 5 and that is... everyone in our family has their own library card, so Elisan can reserve her own titles and not bog down my reserve limit, etc., etc.

Is it a perfect set up?  No... of course not.  But, totally worth the money saved!

Whole lotta nuthin'

Ever since my friend (who shall remain nameless) mentioned that my ever popular "Blog Brain Dump" title gave her bathroom imagery, I've been hesitant to use it.  (Use it... the title... not USE IT... the bathroom.)

So,  I have no title other than what you see.  For now, it will do, but I'll be honest... it doesn't speak to me.

Randy's company sent him a FITBIT Ultra about a month ago as a nice little gift.  It's supposed to be a "we're a company that believes in healthy lifestyles" type thingy, which... hey, is pretty cool if you ask me.  Anyway... since Randy is not into wearing a little gadget that tracks his every move, he passed it along to me.

I have to say, I like the FITBIT. It will estimate your burned calories for the day, track your sleep (and sleep pattern  - awake/sleep), track floors climbed, etc.  You can also log your food intake via desktop or app and it will track your caloric intake.  Pretty nifty.  (Calculations are based on your age, weight, height, etc.)

Might be a cool little Christmas present for that hard to buy for person on your list!

Okay, so this is going to seem like a weird little story, but here goes.  So, I was browsing Pinterest the other day and a friend pinned a cute little pup on her Christmas Wish List.  The pup was a white fluffy and he looked remarkably like TJ... only the breed was a Coton De Tulear.  I had never heard of this breed of dog, but couldn't get over the fact that that dog looked so much like TJ.

See, here's the thing... I've always had a sneaking suspicion that TJ was not a true Maltese.  Why?  Well, because his coat is not silky like a Maltese's coat.  Instead, it is cottony and puffy.  Second, Maltese dogs are small and petite averaging between 5-7 lbs.  TJ is a whopping 10lbs.  Still small, but not Maltese small.  Even the vet agreed he was too big to be a Maltese.

We adopted TJ from a family that bought the dog from a lady who claimed that he was Maltese, but they didn't have papers yadda, yadda, yadda... so, it was by word of mouth that he was a Maltese.  I can just hear it now...

"Well, Bubba, whatcha think this here dog is?"
"I don't know Sissy... must be one of those fancy Maltese dogs because of it's white hair, dontcha think?"
"Well, I'll be... you must be right about that. He IS a Maltese dog then."

And so... TJ was declared a Maltese.

But, after researching the Coton De Tulear, we're under the distinct impression that he is NOT a Maltese, but a Coton.  Here's why...

• Coton is the French word for Cotton. Like the name suggests the most conspicuous feature of the Coton De Tulear is its coat, which is cottony or fluffy rather than silky. (White Fluffy Cotton)
• Height:  10-12 inches; Weight:  12-15 pounds (Yep and Yep!)
• Very friendly, gentle, affectionate, and alert. Very attached to its home and master. The Coton makes a great watchdog. (Like he's only the BEST dog in the world!)
• He's related to the Bichon Frise and Maltese but has his own distinct style. (Well, duh...)
• When your doorbell rings, the Coton may bark once, then politely accompany you to the door to greet your guest.  (I could have written this description myself!  This is exactly what TJ does!)
• He likes to "talk" to his people, using his own special language of unique vocalizations, including grunts and growls.   (Yep... he "talks" to us often.) 

And here's some pictures to prove it...
 

I mean... c'mon.  Any one of these dogs could pass for TJ, right?


So, we've decided that TJ is a Coton dog and will henceforth refer to him as such.  Who's gonna dispute it?

Formula One is coming up in less than two weeks.  Unfortunately, BOTH girls have soccer tournaments the SAME. EXACT. WEEKEND. as the race.  Que lastima.  Luckily, it's a three day event with pre-race practice sessions on Friday.  So, we've decided to take the girls out of school so we can at least enjoy some F1 festivities, since we can't attend the actual race.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but we have front row seating in the main grandstand right in front of the finish line and pit crew area.  Should make for a fun and exciting day!

We'll be right here... with ear plugs...

 

That's all for today my friends.  Enjoy this beautiful day that the Lord has made.

Good To Know

Here's another installment of "Good To Know"... because sometimes you just want to pass along an amazing tip!

I recently had a conversation with Randy about an idea for an app.  My conversation pretty much went like this...

Erica: "We [as if we really could do this...] should develop an app that allows you to put in your lighting conditions, whether you are outside or inside and if your subjects are moving or not and then the app would spit out what the ideal camera settings would be for aperture, ISO and shutter speeds.  And, it would be for your particular camera!  That would be awesome.  We really should do that!"

As the saying goes....

Randy says:

Randy did a 5 second search in the iTunes store and found this app for me. I LOVE IT and it has helped me so much!

It's $1.99, but it's totally worth the two bucks! 

Good to Know

I'm kind of the "unofficial" photographer for Elisan's soccer team this year and I began looking for a website that would allow me to post an upwards of 60+ game photos each week.

After some research, I discovered that Shutterfly offers a "share site" option which allows you to set up a shared site for virtually anything!

I am not only able to share game photos & videos, I am also able to add team roster information, game schedules, game stats, etc.  It's such a great resource if you are a team manager... a homeroom mom... planning a family reunion... anything!

I've been using the Shutterfly share site for over two months and I really like it.  It's very user friendly and easy to use.

And no, I'm not getting paid for this glowing endorsement of Shutterfly's shared site option... I'm simply telling you something that is good to know.