Hummie's World: 01/01/2007

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I am SO excited! After about a month of trying to get this to work, my blog is finally at a URL that is associated with my website!

It will still work at the URL you have been utilizing too, but I will begin sharing the new one of blog.hummiesworld.com. Go ahead, test it...put that in the address bar! It does not work with the www before it as that will take you to my website homepage. I'm not sure why, but that's not a big problem.

Now, I just need to get the header figured out. I'm almost there!

Internet Finds

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As always, every once in a while I like to share some of my finds around the internet world that interest me.

Paint.net has my interest peeked. It appears to be a great alternative to Photoshop or Gimp. Sometimes, especially for blogging, I have to open up my Photoshop Elements just to make a quick screencap. This program should be able to do that for me without being a memory hog. I've tried using the paint program that comes with windows, but it is too simple to do what I need. This one looks promising.

Brusheezy looks to have a lot of great free downloads for Photoshop brushes. I am wondering if they would be compatible with my PSE and would like to test them. The site claims to have new brushes every day.

Home Improvement with Eric Stomer has some great videos to inspire new projects around the house. The antique furniture video had me smiling as he is kind of a fun guy. Back before my computer days, I used to love finding new fun things to do around the house and, once I found one, just HAD to do it. This site could be very dangerous for my to-do list.

Spring cleaning is around the bend and I could use some inspiration and Squidoo sure does have a lot of it. Are you ready to get organized? Really, do dirty dishes cause debt?

Oh, now Bubble.us is fun to play with, although I'm not sure I would really utilize it much. Brainstorm and plan your ideas and connect the bubbles together to get organized. It might be a great way to plan a party and not forget any details.

Obsidiandawn has a new blog and is putting up some great Photoshop tutorials. You may recall that I shared her site with free brushes before.

Google Book Search in Beta is out and is pretty cool. I love the book previews and the links to all the places to purchase the book. Goodness, I did a search for "photoshop tips" and found a book called "1001 Photoshop tips" and it looks to me like I can almost read the entire book online! All 1742 pages of it! Cool!

I have always gotten my driving directions at Yahoo Maps. A few weeks ago I noticed they have a new interactive map and it is a great improvement and fun to play with.

I saw yesterday on someone's blog for the first time the MyBlogLog in the sidebar. It appears that Yahoo recently purchased it. What I saw was a list of people who had recently visited the site and their avatars were included. I may have to check this out later.

I've been enjoying reading this blog and this blog by husband's of scrappers. They sure are taking things in a light way.

Veerle's blog is a great find for digiscrappers with tutorials for Photoshop and lots of other interesting topics. For instance, here's a nice one on making grunge brushes.

Musicovery is an interest site and you could hang there for a while listening to music. Check out their unique tool to discover various music by genre. I'm stuck in vocal pop/energetic.

If you are learning web design, as I keep being forced to do with my blog and site, then here is a site with some great cheat sheets.

Now that I've found all these sites, I have to find time to play with them!

Jan 28, 2007

Spring Before Winter's End

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We experienced some nice weather last week and I enjoyed the sunshine. I noticed that my flower bulbs are beginning to grow! I immediately entered into the dream zone and began yearning to enjoy the outdoors and nature. Last summer I was so anxious for a laptop so I could scrap pages while enjoying my flower gardens, two favorite hobbies at once. I finally have a laptop and I am anxious to take it outdoors.

This is a photo of my daffodil leaves breaking ground.

This is a photo of my surprise lillies peaking through the ground.

This is a photo of my pink hyacinths beginning to peep through the green leaves. Look close, it's in the middle!

I managed to make eight cub scout layouts this weekend and get my digi-fix! I have so many more to get done for the ceremony though. I plan on sharing them in a slideshow on my blog when I get a few more done.

All of these memories coming back as I scrap is an undescribable feeling. I just want to reach into the photos and be there again.

Jan 27, 2007

Black Tea Lover

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I wanted to share with you my new tea love! Anyone who knows me well knows how I love hot tea (and do not drink coffee at all). I love fruit and other flavored teas, but I prefer to get my caffeine kick and often these speciality teas or decaffeinated. That's why I was excited to find this new Lipton tea call Bavarian Wild Berry. It tastes awesome and is also the black tea which has caffeine. Also, I absolutely love the new triangle shaped tea bags that it comes in. Whatever they are made of really works much better to seap tea through. Ah, a relaxing delight!

On another note, my tutorials are on a hiatus. I spent three hours today scanning scout photos and now I have to make 9 years worth of layouts to display at the Court of Honor reception in a week. Plus, I have a lot of patches to sew. Until I get these tasks done, I will just have to take a break on the tutorials. Maybe I will share a layout or two.

However, after next week, my calendar looks clear and I should be able to write up a storm!

I hope my readers have a blessed day!

Baking Up Some Sounds

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If you just needs some time to zone out, watch this guy. I do not quite understand what it is for, but it has something to do with this site.

This video is a peak into the future. I am wondering how difficult it will be to convert my current habits of computer use into something like this.

Jan 26, 2007

Politics

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Well, everyone knows I don't like politics, but when I saw this it blew me away. Our female presidential candidate is actually coming to us, the internet world! She has a Yahoo ID! She asked a question on Yahoo Answers and has 35,885 answers to it already! Check it out.

I do not know what to think about this. If she is really reading all these answers (and that would be time consuming), then that is great because that means she is really listening to "we the public." However, if she is just doing this for fluff to make us feel like she really cares in order to get our votes, then that is not good. I am hesitant to think anything affirmatively yet.

Non-dirty Splatter Paint

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Click here: Jackson Pollock by Miltos Manetas
This site is great fun for a short while, just to see how it works. Each time you click with your mouse, it changes colors. Nothing like non-dirty splatter paint!

Girl Scout Cookie Week

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I have been carefully navigating the minefield that is "Girl Scout Cookie Week." How about you? My personal policy is to always purchase one box from each girl who asks me. I never buy anything but the thin mints because nothing else appeals to me. So far, I've only purchased two boxes! Whoo hoo! Thin mints are our enemy. The boxes never last more than 24 hours at our house. It is a losing battle to try to refrain from eating them.

As a personal note to my family and friends, I would say I am so thankful I am better this week. Last week I had a horrible head cold and even fought myself to make myself take one day off of work. Usually, I would just go to work and push it through the day. Instead, I talked myself into staying home and using a sick day. Hey, I was sick! The boys had it too, but I do believe we are all healthy again

Well, my basketball son came home and announced that he finally got off the bench and got to play in a game last week. The good news is that in that one minute of playing time, he managed to make a goal. And I was not there. I have not been going to the away games just to watch him sit on the bench, but now I wish I had been there. We have home games tonight and Monday night, so hopefully I will get to see some action out of him

This week my basketball son also got his top braces off! Yeah! I felt so sorry for him a month ago when he was anticipating getting them off and the orthodontist changed his mind and his younger brother got his off before him. We are finally on the road to leaving this path of our lives. The rechecks of the retainers will gradually slow down in intervals. I am so thankful for that as the orthodontist is an hour's drive away and another hour back.

The Troop Court of Honor for my two son's Eagle ceremony is scheduled for February 5th. I have a lot to do to prepare for that night and it is creeping up on me. The District Eagle Court of Honor is schedueld for February 10th.

I want to be careful what I put on the internet, so I will only write a tad, but my sister's daughter (my neice) was in the hospital for a week and is now home and in need of some continued prayer. It makes me feel awful that their life has been shaken up and tossed about. Also, please continue to pray for my Grandpa as I believe he continues to worsen. In addition, we got word yesterday that my hubby's cousin is in the hospital with an aneurysm and it sounds serious. On a happy note, my cousin is enjoying life with a newly adopted son. We thank God for that blessing.

Jan 25, 2007

What The Duck & Vicman Software

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I was reading my about.com e-mail and found through them this great comic on Photoshop called What The Duck. Here's the direct link to the above cartoon and it says on the page that I can copy it and paste it on my blog, which is so cool that they allow us to spread the fun.

Here's a link to a bunch of free software that may be useful for digital scrapbooking. If I have time, I may test some of them out. Many of them sure have peaked my curiousity. I will post my finds when I do get time to test them. Vicman Software

Jan 24, 2007

Digiscrapping Site Finds

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I found a few new interesting sites yesterday that I am excited about.

PopPhoto.com has enough information about better photography skills, techniques, reviews, and more to keep you reading for a long time.

While trying to come up with a layout challenge for the group last night, I ran across American Heritage and I was in inspiration heaven. There is page after page of old advertisements. There are some that inspire me for a whole layout (especially good for rectangle scrappers) and some that just inspire me on unique ways to do titles. Be careful, you may get stuck there for a while!

One Photo Many Techniques (Part 4)

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Making mats from a photo cannot be easier!

1. Use the crop tools or the selection tools to make a shape on a new layer. Use that shape as a template for cutting paper. See this tutorial or tips below in previous posts.

2. Add a stroke to the mat, if needed.

3. Add a stroke to a new layer and apply layer styles to it. My sample has the wow chrome layer style applied.

You can dowload my samples in this folder.

Jan 23, 2007

One Photo Many Techniques (Part 3)

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1. Create a shape on a new layer. Use the selection tools and fill in the selection with black or use the crop tool. Use your imagination and create a unique shape.

2. Hold down the control key and click on the layer of the shape in the layers palette. Do you see marching ants? With the background layer as the active layer, hit Control J to cut the shape out of the background. Having trouble? Click here.

3. Hold down the control key and click on the new layer that is cut out of the background. Do you see marching ants?

4. Go to the Select drop down menu, then choose Modify, and then Contract. In the popup box, type in a number. 100 is the highest number. if this does not make your frame wide enough, run the contract tool again. if 100 makes your frame too wide, hit the back button and test another number.

5. Hit the delete key to knock out the center of the shape, leaving a frame.

6. Add a stroke (border). In the stroke popup box, choose a width (I used 20), a color (sometimes color does not matter, but I used the eyedropper to get a color from the background), Location: Inside, and choose a blending mode (I used overlay and color burn on my samples)

You can grab the frames I made while doing this tutorial here.

Jan 22, 2007

What county is that?

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Here is a handy link for you.
In researching genealogy, let's say you come across a name of a new town where your ancestors lived and now you would like to research that town further. In order to do that, first you must determine what county the city is located in as many of the research sources are enabled by county. Here's a great site that will quickly find that county for you by searching for the city and state. Handy, huh?

Zip-Codes.com

Jigsaw Puzzle Wisdom

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I have seen this puzzle analogy before, but sometimes it amazes me how something can hit my inbox one day and it just is a fun read and how a year later, the same thing may be just what I was needing to read.

Of course, I love analogies like this one. I love to pause a moment and contemplate what they mean and how they correlate to life.

For instance, #1 is very profound. How many times do we try to make something work just because we want it to work when it is never meant to work. This is a hard one for me. I am the type of person who believes in the "where there is a will, there is a way" theory (that would be #4). There usually is not much I cannot do if I just set my mind to it. If it is not working, find a way to fix it. I suppose often I will cut away at that puzzle piece until it does fit and work. Sometimes that is a good thing in life. It may not be perfect and it may have holes in it, but at least it works. I am remembering that piece of cardboard I shoved into the innards of our door handle that made it line up appropriately with the door. It might not have been the right way, but it worked.

#2 is SO very true. How many times have I been struggling with a problem, take a break for a day, and come back to have the answer staring at me in the face. Of course, this goes the same when anger arises. "Count to ten and breath!"

#3 is also very true. When we are in the middle of a problem and studying and analyzing how to resolve the issue, sometimes we lose sight of the whole picture and purpose. Sometimes it is good to step back and look at the whole puzzle and refocus one's goals.

The words that jump out to me in #5 are "move on." Sometimes if something is stressing us to no end, the best thing to do is to move on. Sometimes working at the problem from a different angle will eventually resolve the first problem. Move on, and let God. God can see the entire puzzle and knows what it is supposed to look like. Move on, pray, and let Him help you through.

The creator of life's puzzle (as in #6) is God. He gives us the big picture in the Bible. Often, what we think is the entire puzzle, is only a small corner. It is good to refocus on the entire picture of life by remember what God has taught us in the Bible. In other words, is what you are struggling with something God would be concerned about? Is what you are doing something that would fulfill His purposes?

Variety (as in #7) in people and in circumstances in life is what keeps life interesting. Have you ever heard someone say that life would be boring if we were all clones?

Friends and Family (as in #8) are SO important in life. Believing in that is the cement that keeps the puzzle of life together. Valuing family and friends highly keeps life together.

Establishing boundaries (as in #9) is something that seems to come naturally for me as an organized person. I could not function well without boundaries. I'm not a very free-style person.

Risk taking (as in #10) in life sometimes is the only way to find out if something will work. If it doesn't, then do not force it (see #1).

Celebrating God's blessings (as in #11) is part of the joy God gives us. He wants us to be happy; so celebrate the good things in life.

Oh, I can hear my Dad now saying (as in #12), "if you are going to do something, don't do it half-assed!" or "do it right or don't do it at all." I am sure my boys will remember me saying that to them all the time too. Hopefully, that is one of life's lessons that I believe in that will rub off on them. Yeah, my Dad used to tell me, "it only takes a few more seconds to do it right." There is so much truth to that. Doing things the best you can do them often makes life much easier.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my ramblings and blabberings. Didn't I tell you I like to analyze?

EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE
I LEARNED FROM A JIGSAW PUZZLE

1. Don't force a fit. If something is meant to be, it will come together naturally.

2. When things aren't going so well, take a break. Everything will look different when you return.
3. Be sure to look at the big picture. Getting hung up on the little pieces only leads to frustration.

4. Perseverance pays off. Every important puzzle went together bit bybit, piece by piece.

5. When one spot stops working, move to another. But be sure to comeback later (see #4).

6. The creator of the puzzle gave you the picture as a guidebook.

7. Variety is the spice of life. It's the different colors and patterns that make the puzzle interesting.

8. Working together with friends and family makes any task fun.

9. Establish the border first. Boundaries give a sense of security and order.

10. Don't be afraid to try different combinations. Some matches are surprising.

11. Take time often to celebrate your successes (even little ones).

12. Anything worth doing takes time and effort. A great puzzle can't be rushed.

Hue, Saturation, and Value Tutorial

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I am so excited to complete this tutorial. I now only have one more tutorial to write for Course 1. Yeah! I can begin working on more interesting things in Course 2 soon.

Here is the tutorial I just finished. It is the Hue, Saturation, and Value Tutorial. This tutorial teaches the differences between these three properties of color, as well as how to recognize them in PSE.

One Photo Many Techniques (Part 3)

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Okay, so right now my brain is stuck in text techniques. I will try to get something different up tomorrow and go back to text another day.

This text is fun because it appears like the background photo is cut out to see the solid paper beneath. Not! Here are the instructions.

1. Use the eyedropper tool to select a color from the background for your foreground color.

2. Type the title.

3. Apply a low "inner" drop shadow. Yep, that layer style is hiding in there and often forgotten! Go ahead, go find it!

Jan 21, 2007

Use of Space Tutorial

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I have finally put back up the wonderful Use of Space Tutorial by Mark Hansen. Have fun learning!

It is Always Snowing Somewhere

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It is always snowing somewhere and if not at your house, at this website. It was supposed to snow 1 to 3 inches last night here and, therefore, I awoke and anxiously looked out the window. Nothing. Nada. Sigh. Maybe this will be one of those few winters when we do not have a snow.

I can still have snow. At the above website, I can create my own snowflake or catch someone else's. Sigh. Here is the direct link to my snowflake.

One Photo Many Techniques (Part 2)

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I have done this title technique on a layout before. Here are the instructions (in PSE, of course)

1. Lower the opacity of the background. (Of course, to do this, you must have a solid white layer below the background layer.)

2. Type the title.

3. Hold down the control key while clicking on the text layer in the layers palette. In PSE5, you must click on the icon in the layers palette. See marching ants? Great, you have a selection.

4. Make the background layer the active layer.

5. Hit Control J (to cut the selection out of the background and put it on a new layer). Having troubles? See this tutorial.

6. Change the blending mode on the new layer to Color Burn and make sure the opacity level of that layer is 100%. For fun, test other blending modes until you find one that works with your layout.

7. Smile. Today is a good day.

Jan 20, 2007

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Oh my! This person caught some pretty scary vehicle sliding. Check it out.

Here, we may get 1 to 3 inches tonight. I hope so, we have had no snow so far this year.

5 Photoshop tutorials

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Found this great post with 5 Photoshop video tutorials. Have fun.

New blog for Rectangle Scrappers

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I am so excited to have found this new blog for Rectangle Scrappers (which is me). I love the multi-photo layout blog. One of my favs. I am sure this new one will quickly become a favorite of mine too.

Rectangle Scrappn' Gallery

Jan 17, 2007

Wear the Shoes He Wears

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I received this in an e-mail today and it touched my heart, so I thought I would share. The author is not known. The title of it was "Judge Softly," which struck me odd. Of course, we are not supposed to judge one another unless we are prepared to be judged in the same manner. Many of us try hard to never judge another, but we are all human and we all fail and that, of course, is why we need Jesus.

What I liked about this poem is that it reminds us to remember that we may never know what other circumstances surround a person's failings. If we did know those circumstances, that may make us regret our initial thoughts about someone.

Pray, don't find fault with the man that limps
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load.

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
Or the burden he bears placed on your back
Might cause you to stumble too.

Don't sneer at the man who's down today
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.

You may be strong but still the blows
That was his if dealt to you
In the selfsame way, at the selfsame time
Might cause you to stagger too.

Don't be too harsh with the man that sins
Or pelt him with word or stone
Unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure -
That you have no sins of your own.

For you know, perhaps,
If the tempter's voice should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray
It might cause you to falter too.

Author Unknown

Jan 15, 2007

Busy Streets

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Well, I've been sick all weekend and just blah. Nothing like watching busy streets to pass the time while you are sick. Check it out.

Or watch how bad the India traffic is below.

Ancestors on Board

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I was told about a new genealogy site today. It is called Ancestors on Board.
The site contains passenger lists for those leaving the British Isles from 1890 to 1960.

The search tool will provide basic results for you. However, if you want a transcript or an image copy of a record, it does require some funds.

Survivor: Fiji

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People that know me well know I am addicted to Survivor. I have never missed an episode! The next Survivor is due to premier on February 8th. The new cast has been announced at CBS. Once again, we have a bunch of contestants from California. It really gets to me that they are grabbing people off the streets in California rather than going through the millions of applications they have received over the years. There are some people dieing to get on the show and they go and pick people off the streets. They have done this the last few episodes.

What got me so addicted to Survivor in the first place was the spoilers. It amazes me how many spoilers are on the internet and how in the world they are even obtained. It is fun to discuss them and then watch to see if they are accurate or not. When they are not accurate, that makes the show even more surprising.

Some years there have been boot lists that have been dead on accurate. Then it got to where that was boring for people and so the spoiler people started holding back again. It is fun when they tease us.

Where are these spoilers, you ask? I will share a few sites with you. I have not had time to cruise them much the last few seasons, but I love to when I do have time.

First, there is the all time best place of SS. I call it SS because I do not like the real name. There are two areas on this board, one for SS and one for the Mess Hall. It takes a while to learn how to navigate the forum. And there is ugly language there, so be aware. There is also a lot of teasing there and reading between the lines, but it is the ultimate place for spoilers. The language usually gets to me and the good stuff is usually really buried. That is why many of the others sites are good recaps of SS. Most other sites get their info from SS.

If you do not want to do a lot of reading and want to find the information quickly, then visit SurvivorFever. I head there a lot.

Here are a few other places. I cannot give you all of them, there are so many.

True Dork Times
Immunity Idol
Survivor Chatter
Psychotic Playground
Survivor Phoenix
Survivor Shrine
Survivor Skills
Survivor Addicts
Survivor Web
Unofficial Survivor Guide

Unforuntately, some of the great places we used to visit are now gone. For instance, Snews at Survivor News and also Survivor Network are no longer available. Only memories remain.

Quotes (e-mail subscription)

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For the digiscrappers, I thought I would share another one of my favorite e-mail subscriptions. Although I have a bunch of links on my websites to sites with quotes, I have gained a lot through a yahoo group called Just Quotes. They have not been posting much recently, but the archives are full of quotes which you can run a search through.

Jan 14, 2007

Diet Resolution?

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So, how is your diet resolution going?

You need to go to the nearest paint store: You can get thinner there.

Jan 13, 2007

Crossroads

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I have been down this road before, I am recalling. People do not "get" me. They do not get me when I give of myself for no reason. Instead of responding with thanks, they allow their hearts to be jealous. Instead of loving me, they begin to harden their hearts to me. I just do not understand it.

I am recalling many years back when I gave so much of myself for the cubscouts. Looking back, I do not know how I did it all. People just do not believe it can be true when someone gives without expecting anything in return. They have to let their minds wander and think the worst of someone. Surely that person has some ulterior motive, right? Next you know, gossip and false rumors start until they bring the person down.

As I reflect, this has happened to me many times in my life, but I never realized the pattern. It is happening again in the digiworld. Why am I getting such a bad rap for doing something good? Why do shop owners have to dislike me because I have found a way to give out digi-freebies and help people learn. Is it because they feel I am taking away from their business? Their eyes are clouded. The thin film over their eyes keeps them from looking beyond and through the trees so that they can see what is really happening.

I have been stressed over a decision. I originally had all of my tutorials up for free because I just enjoyed helping people. However, lots of people came along and were in awe that I did not charge and spent so much time without benefit to myself. I was encouraged over and over to make some money with the tutorials. So, I changed my goals and was working toward opening online classes.

I am not happy.

Why did I listen to them? Why did I not just stay true to myself? I am much happier being myself.

I want to pray to God some more to ask what I should do.

While spending time with God, I was reading Psalm 42. Yep, that's the deer panting so thirsty to water chapter. There's a great hymn that goes along with it called "As the Deer."

It was a good thing for me to read as I was getting depressed about not being accepted and always insecure that someone will not like me. I know in my heart that it only matters if God likes me, but I am human and it hurts when people do not like me. Especially if they do not like me for the wrong reasons, like because they do not understand how someone can be so giving and then begin to make up things to bring that person down.

Verse 5 reads: "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God."

I was immediately reminded that when men cause me to be downcast, that I should look to God and put my hope in Him. I need to focus my thoughts on Him and he will give me the ability I need, rather than trying to help myself. He will give me the answers I need. He will show me what road I should take with this digiscrapping stuff. Hope in God is an anti-depressant! Verse 7 reminds me that "in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." As the song says, "You alone are my strength and shield."

So, I'm in the middle of reading God's Word and thinking on him when I look up at my computer screen and there is an ad for Michelle Underwood's kit....and God says to me "love you bunches." It made me smile.

Sandy said something about a "ministry." Can digiscrapping be a ministry? How can I make it a ministry? What does that really mean?

If I am longing and thirsting like a deer for God and desiring to worship Him, how can my focus on Him be used through digiscrapping? What is it that God would have me do with my time spent in this hobby?

Also, as the song says, "I want You more than gold and silver, only You can satisfy." I the biggest thing in life that satisfies me is giving. I am so blessed in return by giving. That's why I do it. God is satisfying me through my giving. Money can never do that.

I did find several versions of the song on Youtube and picked out this one to share.

Jan 11, 2007

Recognizing Authority

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Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

I was reminded once again the other day of this Bible verse. It is so important to recognize authority. We often think of the word "authority" in that parents have authority over their children. However, adults are surrounded by authority too. We have plenty of laws to obey. "Really, police officer, I did not run that red light!"

Unlike the authority adults have over children, many of the authorities that adults have over them are voluntary. If I cannot abide by the rules, I can remove myself from those rules.

For instance, just the other day I read some terms at a digisite that shocked me. They do not allow links to personal blogs or websites. Credits for digikits have to be given with first and last names. Changing elements are not permitted. (They did clarify some of these later in their forum for us, but as the terms read, they were ridiculously inappropriate).

My goodness! It is a shame that digital scrapbooking sites have to go to such measures to keep advertising to other digisites off of their site. It is so similar to that website I posted a few posts below this one regarding the labels. Because someone filed a silly lawsuit, whacky labels to prevent future lawsuits get created. Because so many jump into digiscrapping forums and advertise to other sites, whacky terms get created.

Do you wonder, like me, what whacky rules are in store for us in the future in the digiworld? I can only imagine where this new hobby will go.

Of course, I do not have to submit to the authority of their rules. I can choose not to go to their site ever again.

However, as the Bible verse says, obeying their authority will make their work a joy for them. We should not be a burden to them. Happy digisite owners can only be an advantage for us.

Isn't God's Word wonderful?

I am picturing one of those law scales that seem to be an icon for law. On one side are protective digisite rules and on the other side are people making choices. The site owners have a lot of weighing to do that may effect their store. What a difficult position to be in. I wish for all of them wise decisions.

Keylogging

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So, I am feeling tired tonight and giddy. I do not feel like writing tonight, although I should. Instead, I'm blogging because that takes no brains.

Anyway, I thought I would share with you all something my son taught me.

He said, "Mom, what is keylogging."

Uh, what is that? I had no idea.
But I thank my son for asking! {giggle}

Go ahead, I dare you, search the internet for "keylogging."

You will find that there is a ton of software out there that you can install on your computer to record every single key stroke your children make on the computer (and even screenshots of pages they are at). And the software is reasonably priced.

Now, it makes you wonder. Are you being watched?

It also makes me wonder why my son had heard the term. Maybe he still feels Mom has eyes in the back of her head and his friends instead suggested it was just keylogging. {giggle}

On a personal note, we finally set the date for the Eagle Court of Honor for both of my younger sons as February 5th, as well as the District Court of Honor being on February 10th. This puts some stress on me. I have a lot to do to prepare for both, along with the February 22nd deadline for writing tutorials which is when the local classes start. There are patches to sew, food plans to make, and scanning and scrapping cub scout and boy scout photos for display. Also, I plan on honoring my boss's wife at the District event and need to coordinate that. He passed away recently and was big into scouts and I wanted to do something for his wife at this grand event.

I'm a walking tired person. Oh, I said that already.

Wacky Warning Labels

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This site makes me laugh. The warning label to the right is one of them on their page.

I don't know about you, but I think all the time about throwing people into a washer.

Do they really need to show us what "open" and "closed" looks like?

Click on his links to read the past winners. Funny! Do lawsuits really cause companies to create such labels? Sigh.

Read about the funny lawsuits too.

Finding Distant Relatives

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So, yesterday I encouraged you to start with you (and write down and collect information for genealogy beginnings). What? You cannot find Uncle George's son's birthday. Where is Fred living now?

There are some ways to find living people on the internet.
I usually start with Yahoo's People Search. However, it only gives information as it appears in the last local telephone directories. Actually, there are a lot of sites out there that do the same thing. Anywho is another popular one. What I like about Anywho is the reverse look-ups. What better url to remember than Addresses.com? Some more are Lycos and Whitepages.

Okay, so you are afraid to call Fred and ask him when his birthday is. Then try these two sites.
These two sites "wow" me. Test them with your own name. Be brave, be very brave! It really is an eye opener as to what is available on the internet.

Zabasearch

Birthdaydatabase

Someone else has my name. She needs to give it back. And no, you won't find it under "Hummie," although Barbara does.

Five Secrets

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Sigh, Lena tagged me. I really do not like these things, but I try to play along if I have time.

I am supposed to tell five secrets. Let's see.

1) I am a tired walking person.
2) I am a tired walking person.
3) I am a tired walking person.
4) I am a tired walking person.
5) I am a tired walking person.

There, does that cover it? Because I am too tired to think. [giggle]

Okay, well, let me see. I do not really keep secrets, but maybe there are some things my readers to not know about me.

1) I once dated a real clown (yep, make-up, unicycle, juggling fire, and the whole bit).

2) I met my husband because he was my roommate's boyfriend. We got together after they broke up and did a lot of sneaking around. It is now over 20 years later and we are still sneaking around (NOT!) Okay, but we have been married 20 years.

3) I only missed three days of school upon high school graduation (once in 5th grade, and twice in two different years in high school). My oldest son beat me, he missed zero days. My middle son is a Sophomore and has not missed any days either.

4) My husband and I once made love in a farm field because, hey, it was fun. Okay, it was not fun. Don't try it. Farm field gunk is prickly pokey. We were young and full of life back then. Do not ask me where else.

5) I graduated college in 3 1/2 years with a 4 year degree and a 2 year degree. Read more about that here.

Maybe no one will read this.
I tag no one because I do not like it when people tag me!

Jan 10, 2007

Patterned Paper Tips

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Finally, after a very long time of being down, I have gotten my patterned paper tips back up on my website. I have so much to do!

You can see the tutorial here.

It took me a while to compose samples for each tip, but I did it! Time to checkmark off one more tutorial down in my sidebar!

Jan 9, 2007

Laughter is Contagious

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When I saw this video, the first thing that came to mind is that laughter is contagious. You have heard that phrase?

Give this video some time as it is a slow start, but you will see how one man can make many laugh, even you. Even the comedian running the show is overtaken with laughter because of one man's laugh. Even I was laughing because he was laughing.

Here is your goal for today: be contagious in a happy way.

Ecc. 3:12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.

Start with You

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I have so many links and things to share with you regarding genealogy, but I thought I had best start at the beginning. Are you just beginning to work a genealogy line on your family? Where do you start? You start with you.

Yep, that's right. Begin by writing down you full name, birthdate, where you were born, when you were born, who you married, and when you were married.

Then do your children and grandchildren.

Then do your parents.

Then do your grandparents.

Then do your great-grandparents.

And keep going.

One time several years ago, after I had extensive information going far back on many lines, I decided to make some paper heritage scrapbooks as gifts. (my only traditional scrapbooking experience)

Goodness, was I surprised at the information that was attainable that I had not gathered!

So, start calling relatives and ask.

This should keep you busy a while. Have fun!

The Dialectizer

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Oh my! Mrs. Miles has found a great one! I am laughing SO hard.

You HAVE to see this one. Go to the Dialectizer site, but before you do be sure you read some of my posts here, especially the funny one about our termostat below. When you get to the Dialectizer, type in this blog's url and choose a dialect and read! It is hilarious! Go back and do it again with a different dialect.

Of course, you could put in any url. This thing is amazing. It really had me laughing as I read my own writings, but the termostat story was the funniest converted.

Goals for the New Year

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Goals for the New Year

1. Finish what I start.

Jan 7, 2007

When does R H = O B?

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When does R H = O B? The answer: never!

Oh, what an evening. I was so excited for the two new programs on t.v. tonight, only to spend most of the evening either sweating or freezing as we struggled to get the new thermostat installed.

First, the heater came on when it was on "cold" and the air conditioner came on when the "heat" was on. Whew, it was getting cold in here!

So, we switched two wires and it appeared to work and we thought the stress was over. Wrong!

So, next thing we knew, it was 78 degrees and rising in the house! The heat would not shut off for nothing! It showed on the thermostat that it should shut off at 72 degrees, but right above that it showed it was 78 degrees in the house! What to do! What to do! We turned the whole thing off and started reading some more while waiting for things to cool down.

After many tries of various things over many hours, we finally discovered that the R H wire was hooked to the O B connection. Yes, R H really does = R H, even if it has a wire going over to the R C from it too. Yes, two wires under one connection really does work!

Sigh. I hope this is not a bad sign as to how our week will go.
In the end, I hope that this new tool will save us on energy bills.

The Apprentice & Grease

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Everyone knows I'm a huge reality t.v. geek, so I though I would start posting sometimes about t.v. (with a new label).

I am finding that Yahoo TV is really expanding and becoming a great place to visit. Did you know that you can watch 24 minutes of tonight's Apprentice before it is even aired? With no commericials, you nearly watch all but the ending! I watched it last night. It's going to be a great season. Anyone want to post a comment on who they feel will be booted before it airs tonight?

I understand that the Apprentice and the upcoming Survivor somehow did the same twist while filming. Isn't that odd? It appears they will both be sending some to poverty and some to riches for accomodations. We will watch and see.

I am also anxious to see what the new reality show of Grease will be like. will it be great or fail? I loved the movie.

Digiscrapping Blooper

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I was going through my P4D e-mails and you should have seen my eyes when this one first jumped out at me! It took me a moment to realize that it was not really a "crapbook."

I know that people share bloopers that they see in church bullitens and newsletters and such and I just could not resist doing the same with this one. Oh my, what a formating error can do!

I've tried to crop it so as the shop's name is not visible (I be a good girl).

Meeting distant cousins

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Well, here it is, my first post for the new genealogy label.

I've been searching genealogy for years now and I must say that it is very rewarding. What is so rewarding about a bunch of names in a list? Nothing.

What is rewarding is when I meet distant cousins and relatives online who know about my family line and can give me stories to bring life to those ancestors in my family tree.

I have met several through the Rootsweb mailing lists. I am subscribed to those with the surnames I am researching and also the counties I am researching. This is by far the best way to begin researching.

I have also made contact with distant cousins through the websites I have created for each surname. Rootsweb mail lists and websites have been my most successful methods of meeting people.

My second most recent contact was actually all the way from Ireland! She was so wonderful. She even went out that day and took photos of the homestead and the roads and the lane my great-grandfather would have traveled down as he left Ireland. I so want to go there and meet her in person. What a great lady, friend, and relative.

Last week I was contacted by someone else related who found one of my websites.

I have been subscribed to these lists for a long time and I do get behind in reading the e-mails; however, I eventually take the time to read them all for some clue or connection. I have my Outlook configured to sort them into folders so they are not mixed up with other e-mails.

I have other stories I can share as I babble on the blog!

Jan 6, 2007

It all comes down to poo....

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Oh my goodness, I have never watched Scrubs, but this video sure did make me laugh. It's so silly, how can you not laugh? Enjoy!

Here's a sneak peek from the SCRUBS special musical episode that airs on January 18 on NBC! ... (more)

Sending Layouts and Photos by E-mail through XP

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Oh my goodness, I saw this on someone's blog or on a social news site (one of them in my blogroll) last week and thought about how I needed to share this tip with the digiworld, especially as I saw it when everyone was telling me how fast I got my layouts in for the "First To's" game the DSS Yahoo Group plays.

This also made me think of how so many ladies say that they save two versions of their layouts on their hard drives, one in the normal large size and one in a small size for e-mailing (or uploading to galleries). I never did agree with using up extra hard drive space for two versions of the same layout. If I made a smaller size, I always deleted it after using it. This trick really makes saving smaller sizes useless.

Now, I need to mention, as I often see everyone in the digiworld copycat, me included, that I got this idea somewhere else. I'd give you the blog where I got this idea from, but I lost it. I've looked, but cannot find it. Shame on me. But I must comment that I've already seen someone else copy this idea and not give credit. How many times do I see ideas circulate in the digiworld and catch on and people do not give credit and post the ideas as if they are their own? I just shake my head. I see a new idea and then suddenly, it's everyone's new idea. I'm here to say, even without a link, I stole this idea.

So, if you want to e-mail quickly and you work in Windows XP, try this trick!

Right click on the file in your folder and choose “send to” and then “mail recipient.” A popup box will appear and, if needed, choose “make all my pictures smaller.” Click okay. A compose box in your default e-mail program will open up with the photo already inserted as an attachment, in a reduced size.

New Techy Finds

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This site is pretty cool. It is called Digg.com. It is a place to keep up with all the lastest news, videos, and podcasts that people are 'digging' --what an 80's term! You can view the podcasts on their site or download them instead if you choose. Sort by popularity to see what is most interesting. I did have to register, but it was painless.

Very Funny Commercials - I did spend some time here, some good laughs.

Jan 5, 2007

T-Shirt Folding

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I am SO tired after the stressful day yesterday with my son coming home on a very long trip with no sleep. God took care of him and he is home, safe in bed this morning. But my husband and son get to sleep in and I have to go to work. He got home around 1 a.m. and chatted until 2 a.m. I am so thankful that it is Friday. This weekend holds a tutorial writing marathon for me.

I am so tired it makes me wish for more "easy button" gadgets like this t-shirt folding gadget. I may have to get me some cardboard and just try this out some time. It sure looks like it works!

Jan 4, 2007

Product Recalls

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Just a short note as I am busy today. I am trying to stay interesting though so you want to come back to read!

So today I am going to give you another one of my favorite e-mail subscriptions. I have been on this list a long time.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission sends out e-mails whenever there are products that are recalled. It is not a high volume list.

I am just now noticing that they have RSS (since I'm SO getting into RSS now), so I may have to subscribe to it with Bloglines and test it out).

Jan 3, 2007

Cheering Tally!

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Yeah, I feel like dancing on my head (rather than kicking myself in the head as in my earlier post)! I got one more tutorial done finally. Can I get another one done today?

I added my tally to the sidebar. I need a cheering team to keep me motivated!

This guy spins on his head 93 times. Yes, you can find anything on YouTube if you just do a quick search.

Focusing on Goals

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Everyone knows I love taking photos with my digital camera and scrapping them digitally. Neatorama has selected 13 photos that changed the world. do you remember them? It got me thinking about how important it is to keep snapping photos. Although my photos may not change the world, they may make a difference in someone's life. I hope my thoughts inspire other digiscrappers.

Lego offers a free software to create lego structures on the computer. It sure beats having a bunch of blocks all over the floor.

And I feel like doing what this guy does. That is, kicking myself in the head. Here it is, January 3rd, and I have lots of time over the holidays, and I do not have one more tutorial written for my classes. I need to stop finding great things to post on my blog and stop chatting so much in the DSS Yahoo Group (and making freebies) and make it a goal to work on the tutorials first thing every morning.

By the way, this guy kicked himself in the head 60 times in 38 seconds. By the way, we know what the guy is doing, but what is that person doing with their arms in the background?

Jan 2, 2007

Long Day

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Dreams, 2007 Wishes, & Free Brushes

Just a quick post for today. It has been a really long, tough day.

The ladies in the DSS Yahoo Group really made me smile a lot and helped me through the days when our sons were gone. The teasing about guy layouts in pink and flowers and the de-PANK-ulator was side splitting. Thanks so much ladies!

Bridget shared a dream she had about me that really made me smile. Imagine that? Someone dreaming about me? I think this may be a first for me. What an honor! Here's her dream:

"LOL......no but I did dream about Hummie the other night. Don''t ask me why but here's the dream.........

I was in a department store and there was this lady who looked exactly like Hummie. So I said, " Oh my forgive me for asking but you wouldn't bee Hummie?"

She whispered, "Shhh! I don't want anyone to know."

Then one of her coworkers overheard our conversation and about died because she too was in the group and didn't even know that hummie was "hummie". lol

Anyways....we had a DSS reunion there in the store. I think maybe the dream is from when Hummie was worried about her lives colliding. LOL....but that was SO long ago and my dream was right before Christmas."

Beth sent me this Happy New Year wish which I thought was unique with irony and made me smile, so I am sharing it too!

May peace break into your house
and may thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline
and may laughter assault your lips!
May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires
and may happiness slap you across the face
and may your tears be that of joy
May the problems you had forget your home address!
In simple words......
May 2007 be the best year of your life

And finally, I want to thank Misty Cato for sharing this link to these brushes. obsidiandawn.com I cannot wait to play with them. I was not sure the brushes would be compatible with PSE, so I downloaded the .jpg versions to make my own brushes. The terms of use are fairly open as long as credit is given, so that's cool! I can do that! There are also four nice tutorials on the site. Digital Scrappers, have fun!

Jan 1, 2007

Typography

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I ran into a great post this morning regarding typography and thought that this would be a great subject to share with my digital scrapbooking readers.

Of course, I will share with you my links page first, where you can find links to download free fonts.

Typies appears to be a new blog with interesting articles about typeography. This post has 15 tips.

Typetester.com allows you to test a font (size, etc.) to see how it looks on the screen.

DaFont.com is my favorite place to download free fonts for digiscrapping.

Identifont is a fun site to cruise. I can see this site being useful if you see a font you like in a layout in a gallery and credit is given to a font, but you do not know where to obtain the font. On this site, search by font name to find information on copyright and where to obtain a font. Search by font name to find similar fonts. There is also a page for downloads of free fonts. Put in a subject for a picture font to find one that meets your needs. Search by designer name or try clicking on the publisher link.

Thinking with Type is a fabulous site to better understand typography with its fab samples. It is a virtual textbook learning place.

If you design your blog or a website, I found this toolbox website interesting.

Happy New Year

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I just wanted to pop in to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

I found this video on YouTube. They guy has a unique sense of humor in his videos that he creates. On this one, he makes a play on the political incorrectness of "Happy New Year," such as the world seems to be doing with "Merry Christmas."

I read something in the past few days that brought this topic into perspective, but I cannot find it now. Basically, it questioned whether or not God would really care about politically incorrectness. Isn't there much more important things in this world? For instance, our personal relationship with Him and all the hurting people in the world.

I hope you have a great day.

Jan 31, 2007

Jan 30, 2007

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