HTC Windows 8X Phone

I was recently selected by Crowdtap to host a party featuring the Verizon HTC Windows 8X phone. I must admit that I was thrilled to be selected for this mainly because the party kit included a free phone! That being said, I never would have selected a Windows phone because I'd heard negative things about the early ones and therefore dismissed them from  my phone selection process. So I began to research this phone - strongly doubting that I would want to give up my Android phone. However, the more I read about this phone the cooler it sounded!

                                                              Yay, the kit is here!!

 Now that I've been able to spend some time with it, I've found that the HTC Windows 8X phone is pretty sweet! Coming from an Android phone I thought there would be a learning curve for this phone but it is super intuitive and user friendly. The start page has the Windows 8 tiles which are fully customizable and allow you to move them around, remove and add them, and change their size.

The screen is large and crisp with bright clear graphics. This phone uses SkyDrive to automatically save and share your photos and documents between your phone, computer, Xbox, and other devices. SkyDrive is super cool and is one of my favorite things about this phone so far. With my other phones it has always been such a pain  to get my photos off of them and onto my computer but SkyDrive does it automatically! Sharing Microsoft Office documents between my phone and desktop is super easy and is proving to make my life much easier.

Internet browsing is SO fast and basically like a tiny desktop in my hands!
There are different "rooms" that I can set up and invite folks to where we can share calendars, documents, and pictures.

SmartGlass is an included app which allows interaction between my phone and Xbox 360 - it allows you to view what games you have, use the phone as a remote for the menu, and (my favorite) utilize the keyboard on my phone as a keyboard for the Xbox.

The camera on the HTC Windows 8X boasts an 8 megapixel camera and 1080p recording but what's super cool about it is the ultra-wide lens on the front-facing camera which allows you to fit a lot more people into the frame. The only downside about the front camera is that it doesn't have a flash, so low light pics don't come out wonderfully. 

 We actually fit 9 people in this picture (at my party) and could have probably squeezed a few more in!

          Front camera with no retouching!                          Taken in a completely dark room.

In summation - the Windows app store is sorely lacking many of the apps I rely on and I haven't found voice navigation but all the fantastic features of this phone have made me deem it worth losing those apps (for now - I hear they're working feverishly to offer a lot more apps) and make the switch. In fact, after my party my husband (who had recently given his phone a coffee bath) decided against buying an iPhone and purchased an HTC Windows 8X phone instead!
Thank you Crowdtap and Verizon!


                                                           

To read or not to read...

Early in my life I developed a love of reading. I think this was greatly fostered by the fact that my mother was a reader AND we did not have a TV for much of my childhood. The library was a wonderful place full of adventure, mystery, and Elizabethan romance just waiting there for me to discover. I worked my way through all the "classics" and countless others not considered worthy of that moniker. I would stay up late into the night voraciously finishing a book only to experience the subsequent sorrow at having to say "Goodbye" to the characters and their lives. I would envision where they were now and what happened after the book ended. I loved reading!

But somewhere along my adult life, especially after I had children, I no longer had the time to devote to my old friends. Magazines and small easy-reading materials took their places - things that I could finish quickly in the 5-10 minute segments squeezed in around my kid's needs. I didn't even realize that I had failed to impart this old love to my sons...until my oldest read "The Hobbit" for school and loved it so much that he requested and read the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and then the rest of Tolkien's works. I often found him (after bedtime) sitting in bed- reading! The spark had been ignited!

My middle one has always given me trouble when I give him reading assignments. When I read to him, however, he never wants us to stop. His favorite thing to do after we finish a book is to find and watch the movie. We recently completed "Children of the New Forest", scoured the internet for the movie, joined Netflix to get it, waited 2 weeks for it to arrive, and sat down with much anticipation to watch it. It was a C movie at best and slaughtered the book, which Mason incredulously pointed out throughout the entire movie. His conclusion was that the movie is never as good as the book because it forces someone else's image of the text onto you - oh, and that we had just wasted 2 hours of our lives! Score one for books!!

Now my husband is not exactly a bibliophile (unless you count computer manuals) and we have the occasional discussion as to the importance of public libraries. His argument is that soon books will all be electronic anyway and should we be putting our tax dollars toward libraries when there is so much need elsewhere. I feel that there is something intrinsically wrong with that way of thinking, but on the other hand most of the books that Mason and I have read this year we downloaded and read on the computer. Shouldn't we be putting that money toward social programs, crime prevention, roads, etc... instead of these gorgeous buildings for people to look at free porn? Still I can't help thinking that with the demise of public libraries, something good and amazing about our society would vanish. There is just something about holding the written word in your hand, feeling the pages, reading the notes previous generations have inscribed in it, curling up in a comfy chair with it, even that musty book smell that I don't particularly care for, that you cannot get electronically! Walking into a public library means stepping into a world where anything is possible; a place where you will be inspired, challenged, enlightened, angered, and astounded as you meet new friends and visit new worlds. All for free!! Well, assuming you return them by the due date!

Reading books enriches our lives, expands our horizons, dispels myths, opens our minds, and entertains us in a way that television could never do. To witness my children walking into this world is an incredible thrill and has stirred that old yearning inside me - time to go make some new "friends"!

Under Pressure!

Many years ago, we bought a really cool pressure cooker at a fantastic value. It has taken up considerable pantry space ever since, as we have both been too afraid to try it out. Once in a great while I would haul it out with fresh resolve to actually use it, only to be overcome by vague childhood memories of stories of exploding kitchens and scalded cooks. Add to that the fact that I do not often cook meat and the pressure cooker has remained in pristine condition.

Well, I volunteered to bring dinner for our bible study group and started looking around on the Internet for an easy bean recipe. I discovered that people cook beans in pressure cookers and instead of taking 1-1 1/2 hours to cook, it takes 15 minutes!! Bonus!!! I found a great site http://www.vegancoach.com/pressure-cooker-beans.html called Vegan Coach where they have posted an instructional video on making pressure cooked beans. Watching the video gave me the confidence to actually try it and I decided to document my experience (in ridiculous detail) and share it with you!

Ah beans, the musical fruit, turns out that a lot of that "music" is caused by not soaking the dried beans long enough. Because I live in a house with 4 naturally musical guys, I soaked mine about 17 hours (recommendation is overnight) and this is what they looked like:

That's 4 cups of dried turtle beans (black beans are also called turtle beans, who knew!) in enough water to really cover as they'll expand to 3 times their size.

Important tip alert: DO NOT ADD SALT until after your beans are done cooking. Apparently this will toughen the skins and keep the beans from cooking properly.

Drain and rinse the beans in a colander and place in the cooker with 12 cups of water. The rule is 3 cups of water to every 1 cup of dried beans.

Close the lid of the cooker AND LOCK IT!!! I set it to High Pressure, for 18 minutes, and - SUPER SCARY part - I pressed the start button and proceeded in an orderly fashion (if running away with flailing arms is orderly) to the other side of the kitchen. Where I observed the cooker, it did nothing for quite some time until suddenly the red pressure indicator popped up! The false calm I had settled into was again replaced by apprehension. The cooker began to make all kinds of sizzling and whistling noises and then the 18 minutes of cooking actually began. It sounded like the faucet was running at full blast the whole time, so not a quiet undertaking. And, when you add in the pressure building and de-pressurizing time, actual cooking time is really about 10-15 minutes longer. Still much shorter than traditional methods.

OK, on to the reveal...ta dah....perfectly cooked (maybe even slightly overcooked) beans!! I added in a ton of salt and spices (unsalted beans = YUCK) and very yummy beans were enjoyed by all!

Pressure cooking was fun, and it appears the opportunities are endless. Pressure cooked cakes, chili, sauces, and more! Wonder if I could squeeze a turkey in there!!

Bon Appetit!

Pretty as a Peacock

Our Pretty as a Peacock Baby Mary Janes are being featured in a charming blog http://cavanjenleah.blogspot.com/2009/11/shiny-shoes.html. This is such a sweet blog created by a first time mama, in love with her little one! One of the most unexpected, yet really cool things about having an online business/presence is meeting and interacting with folks from all over the country (and a few worldwide)! For many, a major factor in their choice to buy handmade is because they know there is an actual person behind that product, putting their best effort into creating a quality, unique item. I have started buying more and more handmade items; the quality is usually superior to mass-manufactured goods, I've always sought out unique items, I know that I can contact the person who created the item if I have questions or concerns, and I'm supporting another entreprenuer! Buy handmade!!

Our newest creation is being featured...

Our newest offering, The Privileged Pooch Dog Cart Cover, is being featured in a charming blog: http://lydiaandpugs.blogspot.com/, check it out for all things pugtastic.

Heather's Helpful Household Hints

I do not purport to be any sort of domestic diva, but in my daily battle against 2800 sq ft/3 boys/1 dog, I have picked up a few weapons.

Problem #1: Laundry Mountain!! My wonderful hubby assigned himself the task of washing and drying the laundry, and then piling it up in a giant mountain on our bedroom floor (or whatever bare spot of floor he could find).
Weapon #1: I had the husband buy a simple countertop from Home Depot and install it over the tops of our washer and dryer. I then purchased a laundry basket for each member of our family and lined them up on the countertop. Now, as he takes the laundry out of the dryer, he sorts each person's out to their basket and then (usually when the baskets are brimming over) they take their basket and fold and put away their own clothes. This isn't such a wonderful solution if your children aren't able to fold and put away their own laundry but it still helps keep things much more organized. I cannot tell you how much easier this has made the whole laundry problem!!

Problem #2: Constant crumbs and scraps on countertops, generated by children preparing their own breakfasts and snacks.
Weapon #2: I actually saw this solution on Jon & Kate Plus Eight (before they imploded). The stores sell tiny handbroom and dustpans, so I purchased one for less than $2 and designated it for counter top use ONLY. It is also useful in transferring chopped veggies to the pan and can be easily washed with dishsoap.

Problem #3: The Dreaded White Tile Kitchen Counter tops. Now, I am extremely grateful to God for our home, including our tile counter tops, but they are tremendously difficult to keep clean.
Enter Weapon #3: The semi-ugly vinyl tablecloth. I keep a vinyl tablecloth on our kitchen island and direct ALL food prep to the island. The tablecloth lasts through several months of cooking, cleaning, and sanitizing before it needs to be replaced. It is not the prettiest thing but has saved me HOURS of cleaning time because there are no grout lines for junk to get caught in or stain. So, until we are able to replace our tile with the quartz that we desire, the vinyl tablecloth will do. On a side note, disposable plastic tablecloths are wonderful to put down on the dining table when the kiddos are playing play dough, painting, coloring, etc. I will stop in to Party City a few days after a holiday and pick up a stack of disposable tablecloths for a quarter each, and let the celebration continue all year!

Problem #4: ANTS, ANTS, ANTS, I'm so sick of ANTS!! These are obnoxious little water ants who come inside in the summer and aren't considerate enough to limit their travels to the pantry, but show up in the bathrooms, bedrooms, closets. AAAHHHH!!!!
Weapon #4: My mother gave me this recipe for Natural Ant Bait/Killer and it is a very inexpensive and natural way to get rid of them for good (at least for the season)!
ANT KILLER RECIPE
1/2 Cup Water
10 oz Caro Syrup
2 tsp Boric Acid (can be purchased at any drugstore, it's used for an eye wash)
Heat over low until well blended and let cool completely. Put some drops in various places in the path of the ant trail, either directly on the surface they're on, or on pieces of paper or bottlecaps.
IMPT NOTE: The amount of ants will greatly increase for about a day as they all come to drink, but by day two the amount will have markedly diminished, and day three should see all ants gone from the area! Apparently, the ants take the boric acid laced sugar back to their nest and the colony eats and dies, thus keeping them from returning to your home. Note, this works on ants not aunts, sorry! ;0)

I hope you're able to benefit from one or more of these weapons and would love to hear about your weapons against house destruction.

Does size matter?

A new issue has recently begun to occupy some of my thought time; are bigger ears really better? Now, our culture tells us that the bigger the ears the better and I think most of us in one way or another subscribe to that notion. I myself had been endowed with fairly ample ears for most of my life and this was a non-issue to me. Now, though, the ravages of exercise and mothering 3 boys has taken it's toll and my ears just aren't what they were. Culture has gotten me thinking that my ears are now somehow inferior to the ideal.
However, a marvelous new world has opened to me, housing a vast array of wonderful new earrings that I could never wear before. There are SO many cute varieties of strapless earrings and they actually look cute and stay on my ears. Because of my smaller ears, the rest of me looks smaller-it's amazing how much bigger big ears can make a person look. I mean, look at Minnie Mouse and Dumbo, major porkers, right!?! And Jessica Rabbit; HUGE ears! There's no longer any more danger of my earrings popping open at will. I am more streamlined in the pool, much less drag!
So, to all you folks getting ready to jump on the ear-implant bandwagon, stop and consider the wonderful advantages to keeping the ears God gave ya'!
Of course if my ears start to hang down to my shoulders, I might be singing a different tune!