Office Supply Love-Keyboard Notes

A friend sent me these little keyboard notes in an office supply care package. The have a little folding tab at the botton that allows you to sit them upright on a desk or slide into a keyboard as I have above.  I just realized I can only use these at work since they wouldn't work on a laptop keyboard but they are useful none the less.

They are not very big so they are only for the smallest of notes but I found them to be perfect for to-do list items that could only be done when at the computer.

I looked around the internet for these but I can not find them.  The closest I came were some little tree notes but they looked smaller than my little elephants.  I will keep looking, but when I run out I'll just let my friend know. Japan has some really great office supplies and I'm thrilled to have someone there that understands my obsession.  :)

Lack of Diversity?-Product Review

Sometimes you should just use a product for what it is intended. I bought these "sticky" flags that are branded for Smash Books. I don't have a Smash Book but I love the look of their products. I have bought some washi tape in their line and when I saw these flags, I just wanted them. 

But I'm trying to use them in my filofax. Let me first say that if something is branded as a sticky note, it should have enough adhesive on it or actually stick. The adhesive section is so small that the flags curls extremely when you remove one. This curling, in combination with the small section of sticky, cause the note not to stick well at all. 

You can see in the photo how the edge is curling. I thought I would use these in my blogging calendar to be able to schedule blog topics but this won't work. I'll have to tape them down when I figure out where they will go and that defeats the purpose of buying sticky notes. 

I think I'll be staying away from the Smash Books branded products if I'm not going to invest in the Smash Book itself or some other "smash" substitute or use it scrapbooking.

My Summer Hair

I’ve been experimenting with my hair a bit and I am completely thrilled with the results. The pictures below are from my latest flat twist-out. I conditioner washed my hair with some V05 Clarifying conditioner. I let me hair dry a bit before adding the Pantene Pro-V Classic conditioner as a leave it. My hair was instantly soft. I added a little of the Fructis Style Gel for a little hold. The gel is marked Extra Strong, but it has never done much for my hair. I was only using it to get it out of my hair supplies. I was really surprised at the results.

My hair has fantastic definition and just enough hold that I can get two days without restyling. This is perfect for me. I typically don’t go longer than that and I want products that have little buildup so I can re-apply with setting. I did get some flaking with the combination of these two but I know from past experience that this comes from the gel. A quick fluff and shake took care of the flaking but reapplication during the week did add more flaking till eventually it just stuck to my hair. I will no be purchasing this gel again, but the conditioner is my hair’s new best friend.



As a style option, you just can’t beat the flat twist-out on my hair. They are quick to set, quick to take down and keep definition really well though fluffing and picking. I am anticipating a busy summer but I’m confident my hair will not cause me any problems. I just need to find a gel that doesn’t flake on me.

Blogging Tip From My Little Corner

I was spending a little time going through my RSS reader today and I ran across the message below on whoissugar, the blog. Sugar is also a YouTuber that I follow so I really felt bad when I saw this post. Unfortunately, it is not the first time that I have seen this cry and it won’t be the last. So, for those of you bloggers that do visit me on occasion, I wanted to give a little tip for avoiding this issue.



DO NOT USE ONLINE BLOGGING TEMPLATES AS YOUR ONLY METHOD FOR BLOGGING.

Basically, you need to use a desktop option for blogging that can also download from your blog when you do choose to use the web client or mobile device for posting.

For Mac users, the program that I use and recommend is MacJournal by Mariner. I have all 249 posts from this blog as well as several posts that I have in progress or ready to go. The program has all the needed credentials for my blogged stored away so as soon as I am ready to go on a post, I tell it to send it off and that little man appears next to the post letting me know it has been uploaded. I purchased MacJournal after I had started blogging so I was happy to see they have a download from blog feature that will download from 1 to all of the posts you have already published. I can edit and reposts any of these at any time so I never have to worry about blogger loosing my posts. For extra security, my data is backed up using Carbonite.



If you are a windows user, Mariner also a version of this software for you, WinJournal. I am pretty confident it works just like the Mac version with whatever tweaks needed for the Windows platform. I would also suggest using Microsoft’s Live Writer. I’ve never used it but I saw a demonstration of it at Blissdom 2012 and it would be my go-to solution if I were still a Windows user.

Backing up your work is important for any of us that use computers. For other writing projects or documents that you need to retain, I recommend Google Docs/Google Drive (Google is in the process of rebranding this service), Evernote, and Carbonite. Don’t become a victim of lost intellectual property. Some of the options I have given are free, some are not. Being able to retrieve lost data is well worth the cost.

Why the Kindle Fire Doesn't Work For Me

When tablet fever hit the world, I was interested. But the iPad as the leading device did not and still does not appeal to me. It’s entirely too big and after being an Android user with my cell phone, I see a lot of limitations with the form factor of the Apple iPod/iPhone/iPad software. I was determined to get an Android tablet when they hit the market, but I couldn’t justify the $500+ price point. To justify the purchase I needed to figure out ahead of time exactly what role the tablet would play in my life. I set about trying to decide exactly how I would use it, which really just resulted in it being an extension of the things I could already do on my cell phone. Of course, the bigger screen was a great selling point. I even considered incorporating the tablet into regular use and downgrading to a feature phone.

When the Kindle Fire was announced at $199, I no longer needed the justification. I was okay spending the money to try it out. Fast forward a few months and I hardly ever use the thing. One reason is that Amazon has put Apple-like limitations on the Android software so unless you are comfortable with rooting the device, you were a little stuck until app developers worked around things. One of the best and most useful things to me about Android is the use of widgets on multiple home screens. Amazon only offers you one home screen that displays like a book shelf.

But, I can still get most of the apps that I love on the Kindle and so I could still do all of the things that I like to do on my cell phone. But I find myself not even thinking to pick the thing up. When I’m home, I go for my laptop. When I’m on the go, I go for my cell phone. The Kindle Fire, although a really great device at a really great price point, has no place in my life. And I do have to say when it’s time to read, my go-to device is the e-ink Kindle.

I have to expand this to be inclusive of any tablet. I just don’t have a place for them in my life. Most of the people that I know that use and love tablets so much are people who are not big laptop users or have children that can not be trusted with a laptop. Some of them still have desktop computers at home and so the tablet hits a nice sweet spot for them. That place does not exist in my life. I never thought I would be rejecting a nice little piece of technology, but it is nice to say that I have everything around me that I need.

Maybe in a couple of years when it’s time to update my computer needs will I reconsider using a tablet device. For now, I will be bidding a fond farewell to my Kindle Fire. I have already wiped it and deregistered it and will be selling it on to someone who can find a place for it.

If you are a tablet user, I would love to hear how it is working out for you.

Vow To Tell Them...

I am still working on a good recap post for Blissdom 2012, after which I was planning to get into talk about the sponsors that were there. But there is one thing I did at the conference that keeps coming back to me and I just have to write about it now.

During the conference, Hallmark literally set up shop in one of the rooms. They had plenty of cards on display and their one dictate to us was to pick as many cards as we wanted and address them to either conference attendees (by twitter handle) or to physical addresses and they would mail for us.



I went through my mental list of family and friends that really have been such a support to me lately and I wrote out my heart to each of them. When I wrote out the card to my fiancé, I had to hold back the tears. I made it out of Hallmark’s mini store, but I couldn’t hold back the tears when sitting in the Centrum lunch listening to Chris Mann sing.

It really is important to tell people what they need to hear but also to tell them what you need them to know.
I needed to tell a friend oversees that she is such a constant inspiration to me. I am watching her grow and I am truly inspired.
I needed to tell my mother that I miss her dearly and I cannot wait to see her in a few weeks.
I needed to tell my grandmother that I am so proud of how she has used her craft over the last year to bring comfort to storm victims.
I needed to tell a family that they are so uplifting to me and I enjoy the time I get to spend with them, especially the family dinners.
And I needed to tell my fiancé that I am growing and getting more excited at my future role as his wife. I needed to tell him how much I miss his smile, his face and his hugs.

OH MY! I’m crying again!

I was happy to be able to bless these friends and family with the cards, but now I am the one reaping the blessings. Every time someone calls me and tells me they received the card and they appreciated me sending it, my heart is lifted and I am grateful that Hallmark gave me this opportunity to reach out.

I encourage you to send cards to those that are touching your heart. I have vowed to tell you how much this opportunity meant and now I hope you vow to continue the effort.



*edited to clarify that Hallmark was a sponsor, not a vendor. Sorry for the confusion.

Hair of the Week

I finally, finally got around to doing a Henna treatment on my hair. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about the formula and process that I use for henna so I wanted to take a minute and share that and give any tips I could think of. As usual, I started the process by looking to some of my favorite YouTubers to see what they do. I found a video from Spinta24 and I decided to try her mix. I haven’t looked back since. I use the Godrej Nupur Henna, avocado oil, rosewater and tea. Where I differ from her is that I mix my ingredients while the tea is hot. I think the liquid being hot helps you get a less lumpy mixture to start.

If you are looking for the color benefits of henna, you really do need to let this sit for at least 3 hours for the color to be fully released. Most times, I mix the night before and let it sit covered with plastic on the kitchen counter. I do stir it every few hours to help get more of the lumps out. So by the time I am ready to apply, the mixture is nice and smooth. I keep my henna mixture on the thick side so it is easier and less messy to apply. And application is very important to keep you from making a big mess. I promise you this can be done without getting henna all over your bathroom. I did last week’s treatment in my living room standing in front of the mirror while I watched tv. I did keep a towel on the floor where I stood to catch any drips but there is no need to have splatters all over your wall when all is said and done. YouTuber TheTruthIsHair has the best application technique that I have seen and I use it each time.

Start in the middle of your head and keep going around. It really is easy. I use a plastic grocery bag (or two) to cover my head when I’m done and I let it sit for as long as I can. I aim for about 3 to 4 hours. I wash out in the shower and condition wash to make sure all is out. You will still get some color transfer for a day or two so make sure you cover your pillow with a towel. I don’t tie my hair down at night so this is especially important for me. It is very important to deep condition or use a very good leave-in conditioner after this treatment. I made the mistake of not doing a deep condition after this past week’s treatment and my hair was not happy at all. After I realized my mistake, I coated my hair with shea butter and used a heat cap for a modified conditioning treatment. This helped some but not enough. After 3 days, I gave up and did a deep conditioning treatment. My hair is much, much better and gave me a very perfect chunky braid-out.



I should have gotten a close up of the gray hairs that line the front of my head but they now have a copper tone to them that looks much better than the harsh contrast that I get with the gray. Until I am brave enough to have my natural hair professionally colored, I will continue to henna my hair. There are other benefits to henna that other naturals swear by, but for me it’s all about the color. Outside of that, there is no benefit for going through such a long process.

But I do love the results.

Lisa Loeb's Guessing Game

I have had a special girl crush on Lisa Loeb for years! She is such a bubbly, fun person and she has a truth and honesty about her that just draws you in. My admiration for her really grew when the Number 1 Single reality show was airing. It was refreshing to watch her go through the dating game. And I hesitate calling it a game when pairing it with her because love and family was (and still is) a key motivator and core belief in her life. Well, she is no longer the #1 single and she has a little girl. And if I’m not mistaken, she “twittered” that she is expecting baby #2.

But the Lisa Loeb glasses have been really popular through the years and she finally released a line of glasses that fit her signature style. I have been wanting new glasses for a while now and I really wanted to try out her frames to see how they would work for me. Pearle Vision is the closest and easiest place I could find the glasses. I went in and tried on every pair they had in stock and was happy when they offered to order me other styles and colors that they did not have in stock. It took two rounds of ordering, but I settled on the Guessing Game frames in the fudge sparkle color.


I love these glasses. Because my prescription hasn’t changed in years, I now have several pair of glasses that all work for me and I usually swap between them as the mood strikes me. I will have to do a separate post about my eyewear addiction, but these win out over the others at the moment because I have more front viewing space. The bigger frames keep the frame from breaking my line of vision like some of the others that I have. As with all of the thick plastic frames, your peripheral vision is partially blocked, but I have learned to live around that. When you need enhanced peripheral vision, you really should be wearing contacts.

I highly recommend the Lisa Loeb frames for any of you that love to wear glasses. I do recommend you go in to a store to try these on rather than ordering them online. The colors don’t show up on the website like they do in person. She has some great colors, but she also has some colors that would only work for a small subset of us. She has a green color that I couldn’t imagine working on anyone but someone bought them from Pearle Vision and I was so sad I was not around to see them try them on.

Cleaning Out

I have unpacked all of the stuff from the apartment, but I am still working on consolidating it all into the house. Last nigh, I worked on putting away all of my hair products. Before I hit the road two years ago, I was relaxed and really didn’t use a lot of hair products. When I became natural, I became a bit of a product junkie. Just a bit. I have curbed my habits a bit, but there are still some key products I am on the search for.

But part of what I really was behind on doing is review some products and getting rid of them because there isn’t enough left in the container for a full head application and wouldn’t necessarily do well mixed with other products. So, here we go.

1. Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifier--I can’t speak to this product’s ability to stop breakage as the package claims, but I can proclaim loudly that this stuff will soften your hair, make it more manageable, moisturize, condition and help detangle. Yep. It lives up to all of that. And it smells great without being overpowering to my allergies. I will not buy the product again though because it makes my hair TOO soft and no matter what holding products I use, my hair doesn’t hold up when its that soft. But, if you are finding keeping your hair moisturized problem and you notice a bit of roughness to your tresses, this is the product for you. I rate it highly, but it is not for me.
2. Jane Carter Solution Wrap & Roll Setting Lotion--I am on the search for a good setting lotion to reset my hair when I have enough product on my hair but need a little moisture and hold to reset my style. This is a very good choice for that purpose. It gives your hair a little shine and a little structure and a nice scent. Unfortunately, that scent does not fade so it’s ultimately a negative for me and my allergies. I would not recommend setting more than two days with this product as it does give a slight waxy build-up. My hair typically doesn’t last for multiple days as I have seen some of the YouTube naturals that I follow. They can set their hair and wear it for 3 or four days before needing to re-set. This is a perfect product for them as they will only need to use this once or twice in a wash cycle. Again, I rate this highly, but not for me.
3. Twisted Sista Curl Activator--The directions say you can add this product to wet or dry hair. I used it on damp hair and it worked quite well in helping form my curls. The problem I encountered had nothing to do with the product but with my hair. Curl products cannot produce curls where there are none and in the front of my hair where I have straighter pieces, my hair just didn’t look good. But, this was a good go-to product in an emergency when my regular style failed me. I would pin up the top that doesn’t curl and use the cream to enhance the curls in other areas of my head. This would be perfect for you naturals with more curly hair or with consistent curls around your head. The BIG negative for this product is the packaging and the size. I hate these squeeze bottles because you will never get all of the product out and if you have a lot of hair (as I do), 3.38 fl. oz will not take you far. Unfortunately, they do not sell this product in a larger size. I rate this one as okay, but not for me.
4. Twisted Sista 30 second curl spray--My thoughts for this product are pretty much the same as the Curl Activator. I really see this as the liquid equivalent to the Curl Activator, making it really useful when you don’t have time to get the cream distributed through your hair. A few quick sprays with this and some scrunching and you are ready to go. That is provided you have a natural curl to enhance. I would re-buy this if it came in a larger size, but it is only available in the 5.07 fl oz size. I rate this as useful to have around for emergencies, but not for me.
5. Shea Moisture Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Hold and Shine Moisture Mist-This is a great all around refresh spray to have on hand. I use it when my hair needs a little extra moisture and water is not enough. I use it to slightly wet my hair after I have re-set it. Wet or slightly damp hair sets better as it dries. I use it to spray my hair when I want my natural puffiness to give me some extra volume. It’s such a great all over spray. The only negative is that the bottle gets slippery as you go along, but I keep a hand towel close by to tackle that. I will repurchase this and I highly recommend it for a general use refresher.

The first four items will be retired from my collection, but the Shea Moisture spray will get added to my list of hair favorites. If you haven’t noticed, or if you are reading these posts from your RSS reader, I have added a new page to the blog listing all of my favorite hair products. Even though I did become a product junkie after going natural, I am very brand dependent and once I find a products that works for me consistently, I like to use that product. Even though I am still trying some things out, once I find all the product solutions for me, I am done. I will try new things occasionally, but I am all about have staple products.

So check out my favorites and leave a comment letting me know what you think. What do you thing of my throw-away products above. I would love to hear about your experience especially if these make your list of staples.

Hair Of The Week

This week I am wearing my hair in a braid out. I wanted my hair out of my face so I just pinned it back. I love it. My mother said she doesn’t like it so much because it’s not shiny. I could only laugh at that. The braid-out is a style that I couldn’t really master until my hair was longer. This is mainly because of the straight ends that I sport in the front, but also because the shorter your hair, the more braids you have to have. The same goes for the twist-out, but the braid out is more of a pain. The braid-out gives me big and fluffy hair. I re-braid every night and get a more stretched look as the week goes on.

I originally set these with Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango Butter Moisturizer which I absolutely love, but it has no hold and the recent rains would not let me go out with hair with minimum product. When I reset these braids at night, I have been using Organic Root Stimulator Lock & Twist Gel. This product is like a mix between a creme styler and a gel. My hair feels good. It feels soft, but it doesn’t give me a noticeable shine as my mother pointed out. But today was a fluffy day and not a sleek defined day so I’m okay with that. I think for me this will strictly be a winter time product. I doesn’t have enough hold to keep my summer time hair together. So my search for the perfect me-gel is still on.

Despite the lack of shine, I do love-love-love this picture and have swapped it onto the Save The Date notice.

What do you think?

Kindle Fire Review--First Impressions

The Good

• Simple. Only one button
• Easy set up.  Once I connected with WIFI and went through initial setup, the Fire was ready to go and all of my Kindle books were preloaded.  I have no intention of using this for book reading but it was nice to see them there.  Because of size limitations, you could see the Apps in your Library but you have to download them manually.  Otherwise, they hang out in your cloud until you are ready for them.
• Very easy Evernote setup.  This is more a reflection on Evernote than Amazon, but I appreciate it none the less.
• Amazon Prime free videos and TV shows.  I only took a short glance at the offerings but there seemed to be some good selections.  More on this later.  I doubt I’ll be watching many videos on this thing but you never know.
• The graphics are really good.  Just flipping through some of the knitting patterns in my Evernote account made me smile.  I will definitely be using this as I knit/crochet.
• Easy Audible integration.  I was never really fond of using my e-Ink Kindle to listen to Audible books but the Fire is great for that as I can listen to a book while viewing a knitting pattern or while playing a game.

The Bad

• A little heavy but I couldn’t imagine how it would feel if it had more bells and whistles like the front and rear cameras.
• No widgets. One of the things I have always loved about Andriod over iOS is the ability to run widgets on a home screen.  With the firs you only get one bookshelf screen and no possibility of running widgets.
• Too many games in the App store. I still need to spend more time in the App store but like some of the others, the early developers are all about the games.  I’m looking more for productivity apps at this point.
• Some Apps are taking FOREVER! to install.  Right now, I have 10 just sitting in the queue with no indication that progress has been made.
• Installation of outside Apps is possible but not the installation of the Android marketplace.
• No Native Google Apps.  Really I just want Google Music Beta (no out of Beta I understand).  Amazon’s music upload is too cumbersome so I opted to use Music Beta for my cloud music storage.  I’m not as happy with Apple’s iTunes/Ipod offerings as I used to be.
• The screen. Great for graphics but your use will always be dependent on lighting--no different than the original Kindle or the iPad or any cell phone. The fluorescent lights in the office make using the Fire difficult to use unless I want to hold it up for all to see.  I can’t just discreetly leave it laying flat while using it.

So, I think this device is a keeper but I have to find its use in the following ways to really make it useful.

• RSS feed reading.  It came with the Pulse app which seems to be great but you are limited to 60 feeds.  I have much more than that in my RSS reader.
• Crafting.  So far, so good on this but I have some more testing to do.
• Work. I need a good email, calendar and to do system that syncs with my google accounts.
• Evernote.  Viewing is great but what about creating notes and/or editing or sending notes to Evernote fro other applciations.  (this si more dependent on the Apps available and not the device itself.
• Blogging. I want to be able to post on the WIFI-go.
• General notetaking outside of Evernote.
• Google Docs
• Research.  Broswer searching, web clipping, etc.

Stay Tuned.  Much more to come.