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Having kids turned me into a girly girl

Jenn — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:21:45 +0000

Preface: by girly girl I don’t mean I’m all about ribbons and lace and pastels and pumps. I shudder at the thought. No, I mean I’m all about HOT pink, glittery, makeup, bath and body products, smelling good, and looking good.

When I was a teenager, I was all about flannel shirts and bootcut jeans. Short prom dresses? Perish the thought! I would have much rather worn all black, and preferably via pants and a shirt, rather than a dress (no matter what its length). When I wore makeup, it was dark. When I wore jewelry, it was nothing more than large silver hoop earrings and chunky silver necklaces.

Then I had kids. And suddenly… I definitely got more girl-ified. And I can’t say my husband complains, nor me, for that matter.

Product reviews are fun!

Jenn — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:18:41 +0000

One of the perks of having a decent blog with a decent amount of traffic is receiving free products in exchange for a review. However, I would like to point out that no matter what I receive, whether it be a plate or serving dish from The Lamp Stand’s GG collection; a small electronic, or a basket of beauty products, it’s never truly free – I don’t get to take the product and walk away with it (well, I could, but that’s besides the point). You see, there is the obligation to thoroughly try out the product, and report my experience with it in a well-written blog entry, which I have to go over for grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors, make sure I’ve included relevant and in-depth info, added photos, etc.

But on the plus side, I have received some very nice products that I can call my own, and proudly say I never spent a dime for.

When in doubt, eBay it.

Jenn — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:02:21 +0000

There are certain products that seem so basic and commonplace, yet I have a heck of a time finding them in stores. Or, I can find them in stores, but the prices are absolutely ridiculous. A perfect example of this is a simple iPod/iPad USB cable. In stores? Anywhere from $12-$20. FOR A USB CABLE, PEOPLE. I can find the same cable on eBay for less than $3. Granted, it’s shipping from China, meaning it’ll take two weeks to arrive and probably be coated in lead or anthrax, but hey, that’s a substantial savings!

But there will be times when you won’t be able to find a product, or a quality product, on eBay in or stores. Take blue print, for example. You’ll want to go straight to the source – Cutting-Mats.net for those! Or high-end nail polishes: cheap knock-offs just can’t compare.

But basic, everyday items? By all means, save a decent amount of moolah by getting them online instead!

Your blogging habits

Jenn — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:54:06 +0000

Do you have blogging “habits”? Or overall computer/internet habits? I know of some people who check the news first thing when they get online, before anything else. Others just visit/check whatever it is that’s of interest to them at the moment. Still others may do a little e-window shopping first – checking out bridal shower invitations for their upcoming bridal shower, looking at the latest additions to Pinterest, etc.

As for me, I’m all about email and social media, baby. These are the sites and the order in which I visit them: Gmail, Facebook, Twitter.

Glitter nail polish: yes, it’s an obsession of mine

Jenn — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:49:33 +0000

I have an obsession for glitter nail polish. I’m not overly picky on the brand that produces glitter nail polish, because unlike regular solid coat polishes that can strongly vary from one brand to another, glitter is pretty universal in its bling and tendency to stick around. I routinely browse sites like I Heart Nail Polish and Pinterest to find ideas and inspiration for nail polish. Of course, to go along with the pretty, all-around-awesome polishes I pick out should be some good nail care in Huntington Beach! Nail care is very important, people. Having not only clean hands and fingers, but nails that are polished smooth without flaking, peeling, chipping, cracking, or rough edges; as well as healthy cuticles, can mean all the difference in the world between good hands and bad hands.

Happy February!

Jenn — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:44:20 +0000

Happy February, bloggers & blog readers! Can you believe that we’re already one full month into the “new” year, and that Christmas is now over a month behind us? It’s kind of depressing, actually – there’s so much build-up and anticipation to Christmas, that the immediate “letdown” afterwards is more than a little disappointing. No wonder depression seems to skyrocket in January! Between Christmas being over, the cold weather in full force, less sunlight, and the realization that the previous year’s resolutions most likely went unfulfilled, I can definitely see why people would wind up being depressed.

My only goal for this month, in terms of blogging, is to update this blog at least three times per week. Here’s to hoping that I can do it!

Are you on Flickr?

Jenn — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:15:26 +0000

Flickr is my favorite photo sharing site. I have been using Flickr since late 2006, and I kick myself for scoffing at hosted-elsewhere photo services prior to then. Flickr makes it easy to upload photos, and thanks to technology I can upload from within my browser, from my desktop, from my iPod Touch, from my iPad, even from my smart phone! I can display photos in sets and collections, and I can create mosaics, collages and slideshows to display on my blog.

Also, from a blogging standpoint, there are plenty of Flickr plugins that I can use to bring Flickr to my blog, and my blog to Flickr!

Are you on Flickr? If so, add me – I’m kiss-my-kitty.

3 great WordPress plugins

Jenn — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:09:17 +0000

Up for grabs are my recommendations of 3 awesome plugins for WordPress:

Fluency Admin

Use Fluency Admin to create a collapsed-at-all-times sidebar that provides icons (on or off – your choice) for sub-navigation, as well as your choice of background color. I really like Fluency because it cleans up the look of the WordPress dashboard.

Progress Bar

If you want to set up a basic progress bar to show your weight loss, debt paid off, money saved up, etc., then you’ll want to use Progress Bar. It’s quick to install and configure, and requires only one short line of PHP code to get it displayed on your blog’s sidebar.

Twitter Tools

The ultimate Twitter <--> WordPress plugin, in my opinion, Twitter Tools makes it easy for you to send new post notifications to Twitter, and display your recent tweets in your blog’s sidebar. Choose from the hard-coded method or widgets.

Let it snow!

Jenn — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:59:05 +0000

Have you noticed that it’s snowing here on iBlogalicious? You can make it snow on your blog too, simply by using the Let It Snow plugin. Speaking of snow, can you believe we had our first snowfall a month ago? I live in Pennsylvania, FYI, so snow in October is not a very common occurrence. In fact, I’m pretty sure the last “significant” snowfall in October last occurred sometime in 1979. Typically we don’t get a decent snowfall until at least mid-November. But on Saturday, October 27th, this is what I woke up to:

Crazy, huh?

In any case, I am totally ready for cold weather. I purchased snow boots for my son and daughter in early October; a new winter coat, snow pants, and a set of waterproof gloves for my daughter three weeks ago; and a long winter coat for myself that night. My son has a very nice 4-in-1 winter coat from last year, and I purchased a pair of snow pants for him about a month back, so we’re all set. Usually I wait until last minute to purchase snow boots for the kids, and by then they’re almost always sold out.

So tell me… are you ready for winter weather?

Why I love my Android smart phone

Jenn — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 15:00:36 +0000

I purchased my very first Android phone, a T-Mobile G1, in February of 2009. Within a matter of days I was sold. I used to hate Google, but ever since my first Android purchase I have been sold. In chronological order, here are the Android phones I’ve had since then:

T-Mobile myTouch 3G
T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide
T-Mobile G2
T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide (my current phone)

Since I use Gmail (I add my pop accounts to my Gmail account so I can check my non-Gmail account), it just makes sense to have an Android phone. Everything is perfectly integrated: email, calendar, tasks, RSS feed, etc. So if you use Gmail or Google, you’ll definitely want to get an Android phone! ♥