October, 2011 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives October 2011

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Tuesday Tales – Kindle Enters Our World

Posted on October 11, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales

Back in July, I wrote about eReader envy. I mentioned that I really was curious about owning an eReader, but there were just too many other items that were higher on the need to take care of priority list (owning a house is the pits). At the time, I introduced you to Pod.

Hey Pod I inherited Pod from my mother and father. Pod had a good life with me and taught me the joys of reading on eReader-like format via the Kindle App. As the summer moved on, Pod and I started to drift apart. You see, Pod was not keeping a charge very well. The boys would take her with a full charge and soon after she would be flashing red. Now, I have to head over to the Apple Store to see what my options are.

That could have been the end of things, but my eReading life forever changed the other day. Just before Rosh Hashana started, I caught a Tweet that was sent to TechyDad. It was congratulating him on winning a Kindle. I ran screaming into the other room to tell TechyDad about it and let him know that he had a short amount of time to claim it or another winner would be selected. Last Friday night, just before Yom Kippur was about to begin, the doorbell sound let us know there was a package outside.

This was inside the small box waiting outside:

I am in love! TechyDad won the Kindle Keyboard, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display and it is amazing. Now, I wonder why I never asked for one for my birthday, Chanukah, or any other time. The light weight nature compared to a book, the no glare easy to read screen (compared to Pod), and ability to take multiple books with me at all times. Yes, I still like my paper books, but oh my this is fantastic for on the go and will rock when traveling. I even tried the Wifi the other night to use Twitter and see my blog. A bit of a pain without the touch screen option on this model, but it is there in a pinch.

Over the weekend, I was able to borrow a book from our library system for the Kindle to start reading. I decided to start with The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School by Alexandria Robbins. More on this coming soon since I think it is an extremely powerful read that ALL educators and others should check out. I also tried a picture book for the kids to check out. No, it is not in color, but the boys still adored Dream Big, Little Pig! by Kristi Yamaguchi. Here is a preview of what they saw:

I am looking forward to reading more thanks to the Kindle and hope to figure out more of a book list soon. Another item to toss out there, Kindle’s technical support has been amazing. A few glitches have cropped up and getting a human to solved the problem has been quick and easy. A huge thank you to Amazon for this important piece of the puzzle.

Do you have an eReader or Kindle App? I would love to know what you think and could use any book suggestions that you have loved in this format.

What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts, and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Disclosure: We won the Amazon Kindle from a blog giveaway. Three product links are to our Amazon Affiliate where we will receive a percentage of money for the sale of the books should you opt to buy the Kindle or books mentioned.

Categories:
books me moments photos TechyDad Tuesday Tales

Video Cameras 1980’s Style to Now

Posted on October 10, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I am a child of the 80’s, although I was born in the 70’s. I remember the birth of cassette tapes – although I still recall using the 8 track player that my father had to listen to the Muppets Show soundtrack.

My aunt and uncle had a VCR before we did. I would go over there and spend hours watching a tape they made especially for me of Barry Manillow in concert. You see, I would blush because he was singing just for me. We eventually got our own VCR (it was huge and heavy) and life definitely changed in our house. Thank goodness I grew out of my Barry Manillow video thing, and matured into his cassettes and ditched him for Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul Simon, and even the voiced behind Milli-Vanilli when CDs came onto the scene.

We eventually got our first family video camera. This bad boy was huge and I remember my father lugging it to school for my elementary school lip sync show. Not sure if my mother ever used it or not. I do not think so since it had to be balanced on the shoulder and weighed so much. Oh, did I mention there was also a separate bag that held the machine that was recording the video? This dinosaur should have been in a museum. This is a photo of my father with that camera (I think). You can see the cords running from the camera to the bag on his other shoulder.

Fast forward to March 2011 when TechyDad and I decided to buy our own video camera. We had been given a hand-me-down from my aunt and uncle, but digital cameras were not the norm. We were going to Disney World and wanted to be able to have something to capture those memories that we had missed over the years, or were on the video option on our point and shoot cameras. Oh and I was already looking at vlogging and video review options for my blog. We asked around and decided against the Flip and went with the Kodak.

I am in love with this little camera. She has gone with us to Disney Social Media Moms Celebration where I captured one of my first videos of Susan Egan and Georgia Stitt performing. We also caught the boys running up to Tigger and Pooh, meeting with the Princesses, opening their first Vinylmations, and more magical moments.

My handy dandy camera has also been tossed into my purse for blogging adventures, conferences, and school functions. Since she is so easy to use, I also have learned to love using her for recording fun messages on my blog and of course to review items. Another perk, she is small and light enough for the kids to use – should we want to let them take a try at making a video down the road.

Thanks to my recent experience at SheStreams, I plan on using her a lot more. Hmmm…. perhaps I should name her. So I am asking all of you for some assistance. What should I call my amazing little camera? She has many more adventures ahead and we have so many things to accomplish now that my goals have been reset and revamped. So please let me know your thoughts and please keep it rated PG. I refuse to talk like a hockey player about a cute little camera.

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my three current giveaways (1) Real Steel prize pack, (2) Star Wars Cereal and $25 gift card pack, and (3) Three copies of the book The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes.

Categories:
Blogging Conference Disney DisneySMMoms looking back me moments milestone photos TechyDad

Real Steel Now Playing – Giveaway

Posted on October 9, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

My oldest son is in that in-between movie stage right now. Some of the G rated movies are a little too juvenile for him. He will go to see them to be a sport with his little brother. Truth be told, there are very few PG movies. PG-13 movies can often be acceptable for an eight year old, but we need to know why it got that rating.

TechyDad and I were talking the other day about the new movie that looks like a great opportunity for the two of them to head to together. Real Steel, just opened Friday. Although rated PG-13, it looks like it may be a film for them. Part of the story line focuses on a father and son relationship.

“Real Steel” is an action drama about a former boxer (Hugh Jackman) who, against all odds, gets one last shot at a comeback when he teams up with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) to build and train the perfect contender for the new high-tech sport of robot boxing.

Here is a trailer about the movie, specifically the relationship with Charlie and Max. This should help you get more of a feeling about the new release.

While we have not seen the movie yet, it looks like something we hope to see soon.

FYI – Real Steel is also on Facebook where more information about the movie can be found. Meanwhile, I have a fun giveaway for all of you.

Giveaway:

Thanks to DreamWorks, one lucky reader will have a chance to win a Real Steel prize pack. This will include:

Real Steel t-shirt in adult size S, M, L, or XL
Real Steel bottle opener
Real Steel stickers
Real Steel temporary tattoos

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – If you had your own robot, what would you have it be able to do for you?

The following Bonus Entries may also be done. Please be sure to leave separate comments for each that you complete below to make sure you get the right number of entries.

1 Bonus Entry – Follow TheAngelForever on Twitter
1 Bonus Entry – Follow Real Steel Movie on Twitter
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway (May be done three times a day): Enter to #win a @RealStealMovie prize pack from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/nB5awY #Giveaway
2 Bonus Entries – Stop by The Angel Forever on Facebook to say hello and leave me a comment on a status message. Let me know you have done so here.
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of September/October. Leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done twice per day.
1 Bonus Entry if you enter one of my other current giveaway here and here.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and/or add me to your blogroll. Be sure to leave a link with the location.
1 Bonus Entry – Head over to TechyDad’s blog and say hello to him. Let me know where you posted a comment. May be done once a day.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today October 9, 2011 and ends at 10:59 EST on October 19, 2011. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

Disclosure: PR from DreamWorks sent me media information about Real Steel and asked me to conduct a giveaway for my readers. As a fan of their films, I wanted to offer this opportunity to all of you. No compensation was given, and all opinions are mine.

Categories:
giveaway Movies

My Disney Drummer Boy

Posted on October 8, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

Back when school started, you came home with a band sign up sheet. I had forgotten that this is the year that you can begin to take lessons in school. When I asked you what you wanted to play, you did not hesitate and said drums. I filled out the form and asked the band teacher a quick question. He e-mailed me back and told me that you were the first to sign up for percussion, so you were good to go.

We rented the set to see how you would like this before we invested more money. After about a week, your percussion set arrived at school. This bag is big and VERY heavy. Here is a photo of the day it arrived next to the sliding door in my car.

This week, you had your second lesson and are in love with it. I am hoping your interest will continue. We need to set a routine for practice time when JSL will leave you alone to play. The best part was that Nana and Papa brought you a special gift on their return from Walt Disney World. They called me to see what I thought and I said it seemed fun and very different. Here you are with them:

Yes, while at Animal Kingdom Nana and Papa saw drum sticks with Mickey animal prints on them. You loved them and immediately asked to test them out. We are waiting to do that until after Yom Kippur. Then, we will break out your items and let you put on a show. I look forward to listening to you show your musical side and can not wait to see how this continues.

Love,

Mommy

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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.

Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday Disney family milestone Music nhl photos school

Thinking Pink October 2011

Posted on October 7, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As October rolls around, brands, bloggers, news shows, and most of the world start to point their attention to the color pink. October is breast cancer awareness month, so it only makes sense.

Cancer in general has hit so many people that I know and love. Breast cancer has done the same. As I wrote in the past, my Aunt S is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed just over eight years ago, just before NHL was born.

This coming year, I will likely have my first mammogram. When I left my annual visit with my gynecologist in the spring, she gave me homework. She wanted to know exactly when my great-grandmother was diagnosed with her cancer. I knew she was very young when she passed away, but when I found out how young, the realization hit hard. My Mimi’s mother was diagnosed when she was 32 and passed away by the age I am going to turn in December. With this information in hand, I am sure I will be getting more screenings this year.

Am I scared about having a mammogram? No, I know it may not be comfortable – but the amniocentesis and labor that I have experienced are likely worse. Two years ago, Robyn vlogged about her experience with a first mammogram. I love that she did this and shared her feelings along the way. If you have never watched this, I highly recommend it. Thanks to Robyn, I hope to document some of my experiences in the coming months.

My friend Debra, A Frugal Friend, lost her mother to breast cancer six years ago. For the third year in a row, she will be having a breast cancer awareness event on her blog in honor of her beautiful mother’s memory. Debra shares breast cancer news, personal stories, and some giveaways from companies that support breast cancer research.

So my question to you this week:

How do you help causes like breast cancer awareness and others that are important to your family?

To all those who are survivors, have lost a friend or loved one to breast cancer - hugs to you. Remember, early detection saves lives, so please remind both men and women to do monthly exams. Yes, men also get breast cancer.

P.S. Do not forget to stop by my two current giveaways running right now. You can find them here and here.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.