I have so many random thoughts throughout the week and thought I’d compile them all into a fun post!  Welcome to “Things I Love” Thursdays!  I’m just going to write about a few things that are making my life happy right now:

Google Reader – for those of you who check more than a couple blogs, you MUST sign up for Google Reader!  I don’t have any fancy way to describe it, but basically you just check one location and it let’s you know what blogs have something NEW to read!   So instead of wasting time checking your bookmarks, only to be discouraged there’s nothing new to read, keep organized here!  I don’t even have a google account, it lets me use my old AOL account info to login.  So try that first….but go to http://www.google.com/reader and then sign up for your subscriptions in the top left corner.  My favorites blog to check are:

Captured by Carrie if you want some beautiful inspiration for baby photography, this is the place to be.  She’s amazing!

Jasmine Star she’s an excellent writer so if you have the time to read then hers is fun, plus beautiful images.

Susan Stripling she’s just good.  I went to her seminar last May and have always admired her work.

VUE Photography-Genya Garrett my own fabulous wedding photographer!

OneWed’s Savvy Scoop Blog for who I’m currently writing Expert blog posts for!  It’s just a great one-stop shop for lots of great wedding information.

 Below is a screen shot of what my Google Reader looks like.  On the left it shows my subscriptions and the highlighted ones have something new to read.  Once you click on them it brings up the blog in the right window.  It shows all of their posts, old and new and when you click on one it should bring up all the pictures and text in the post.  You never even leave Google, it’s so convenient!  (this is what that RSS feed is all about)

 

 

Twitter – while we’re on the topic of all this great technology, let’s talk about Twitter.  It took me awhile to sign up because I just didn’t “get” it.  But since signing up I’ve become a slight addict.  With Twitter you have 140 characters to let the world know what you’re up to – what you’re planning, doing, working on, eating, anything.  (for some reason I always tend to Twitter about what I’m eating)  You can “follow” people and in turn you gain followers.  Whenever you sign in you read the little posts of the people you’re following.  You can also respond to a friends “tweet” and carry on a short conversation.  It’s not for everyone, buts it’s turned into a great networking tool for me!  I will be honest though, I let it “all hang out” on Twitter.  If something is annoying me I’ll write about it.  But it’s a nice stress relief to think that someone has heard your rant!  If you’re ready for the revolution, follow me here at ForeverbyKylene on Twitter!  Below is a screen shot of what my Twitter profile looks like.  I’ve almost written 1,000 tweets!  I told you I was an addict!

 

 

iPhone 3G – one topic seems to merge into another!  I have to say how much I am loving my new iPhone!!  I was able to get out of my contract with the “other” carrier and made the switch to AT&T.  I’m paying a little more to have the same amount of minutes and data options, but I feel it’s well worth it.  My phone is my portal to the world!  So that may be dramatic….but I didn’t even bring my laptop with me to Vegas because I knew I could do everything from my phone!  It has lots of great (FREE!) applications.  I’ll list my favs:

Twitter – I use Twitterfon but there’s tons of other ones out there

Facebook

Lose It! – helps me track calorie consumption and excercise so I can lose a few pounds

eBay – when I have stuff for sale it’s great to check how the bidding is going!

Flixster – let’s me check movie theaters and time

Shazam – the brilliant app that tells you what song is playing if you hold it up to the source.  This thing works even in a crowded bar!

Urbanspoon – helps me and my indecisive husband where to eat sometimes

YellowPages, USA Today, etc. plus lots of games! I love Topple, Mancala, Hangman, Falling Balls, Bounce, and yes, Solitaire.  🙂

 

 

Moving on, I am looooving the sounds of Colbie Caillat right now!  Even though I’m sick of “Bubbly” I still liked her voice and downloaded the “Coco” CD.  It is awesome!  She even has a remake of Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low” that I play over and over again.

 

 

Lastly, this week I am loving Girl Scout cookies.  Find me one person who doesn’t!!  My stepdaughter, Rylie, is a Girl Scout so I placed my obligatory order and counted down the days til the Thin Mints arrived at my doorstep.  I also loooove Samoas, and opted for the Sugar-Free chocolate chips instead of the shortbread Trefoils.  Kind of regretting that decision now.   Anyways, go support your local Girl Scout troup and buy some cookies!  If you’re worried you’ll gain 10 pounds and don’t want them in your house, you can always just pay for them and they’ll be donated elsewhere.  I did that with 2 boxes….5 boxes of cookies in the house was just too much.

 

 

Let me know what you’re loving this week!