Some of you asked to see the crocheted baby afghan I was working on when I finished- here it is! I started it on January 2nd or 3rd, and finished today, the 29th, which is less time than my deadline of February 1st, the day of the shower. No idea if I'll get to GO to said shower, but oh well. I might as well just move into the hospital and call it good. Anyway- yay, it's done!!
That was the view from my room last week- New England has been bombarded with snow, and I get to watch it from my warm hospital room. I'm doing better, and should go home soon. I've been here since January 2nd. So almost a month.
Well, ever wondered if there was an interesting way to recycle all your old pill bottles? A site called Instructables has the answer with a pill bottle lamp.
Technorati Tags general,tutorial
So although I'm still on pain meds, I can see and feel differences in my body. I have a little more energy, I'm doing stuff and planning things. I plan on going to Barnes and Noble with my sister when I'm finally released, I am planning a JOB sort of, and I'm reading again. The job thing is I've decided to make a lot of my crochet and knit things, and start selling them. I have all these plans on how to make several packages that people can buy for babies, new homeowners, etc. It's really exciting for me! I've done a lot of research in my pattern books and online and in yarn catalogs to come up with the best possible ideas, and that's really really fun. If I make enough, I can possibly have a table at a craft fair come next winter.
To sell stuff online, I have made a fun photography purchase of a light tent with some lights. I've wanted one for years to take pictures of my crafts, but the shop has pushed me into definitely wanting to showcase what I make in the best possible way. A lightbox and lights should provide true lighting, a plain white background to make the objects pop.
I've made a late New Year's resolution to read 25 books this year. I'm reading A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving right now. I have read it before and love it. From BooksFree, I'm "renting" The Pilot's Wife and The Reader, and I have over 100 books in my queue there. Books are exciting!
I'm trying to do my physical therapy, and while walking is definitely easier (hence the long walk to the gift shops today), it still is hard work. They had me do exercises today that SHOULD be easy to normal people...but...*groans*. At least I know I'm getting better!
(Just to let you all know, this is my THIRD post tonight, so go back if you want to read the rest- one is pictures, and the other is another fun web find post).
If you use Twitter, try downloading twhirl for your desktop- it has neat quick links to tiny url, and a picture uploading tool for Twitter, and it's super user friendly- the themes for the program are cute too!
Kwiry: SO in love with this one. Kwiry allows you to use your cellphone's texting capabilities to set up your TiVo to record something (I used it to set up a taping of A Very Duggar Wedding from my hospital room!), add a movie to your Netflix queue, send people an email with your contact info (almost like a business card), remind yourself to look for something on Amazon later through your email (say you saw a book in Barnes and Noble, but want to read reviews. You text Kwiry with "Amazon A Prayer for Owen Meany", and Kwiry emails you a link with the search on Amazon for that item!). Send it "Mexican food local" and get yahoo's yellow pages of Mexican restaurants in your area in your email. Send a reminder to look for a certain song on iTunes later when you get home. You can update your facebook and twitter status through it, and set reminders and to do lists. It's great!!
iTrackmine: Catalog all your DVDs, CDs/songs, books, etc, and then friend your friends- you can set up a loaning library! Besides being more organized, of course.
Picasa3: Allows you to fool around and organize your photos on your PC. You can edit them, make a slideshow, create a collage, make a gift CD, upload them directly to your blogger account (I did that with ny last post).
Okay, that's all the new stuff for today. :) I hope you guys like some!
When I'm in the hospital, as I previously mentioned, I spend huge amounts of time on the internet, shopping. If it's time to stop shopping, (PUT DOWN THE WALLET, JENN), I've found new sites that really occupy my time and fascinate me, so I thought I'd share with you.
Booksfree: Technically, not free, BUT. It's a site that is to books what Netflix is to movies. For a ten dollar monthly fee, I can "rent" two books at a time. There's a queue just like Netflix. I spent all of last night putting on 120 books. The selection is fairly good, not excellent, but I was really excited by what books they DID have.
Lifehacker: If you never heard of the site, like I hadn't, get thee there. There is EVERYTHING, but my favorite stuff is the gadget stuff- everything from telling me how to be a better photographer, what to do with an old iPod, a search engine to add movie subtitles to movies I've downloaded from the web...even articles on why now is the best time to plan your garden.
Remember The Milk : I love to be organized, and this to-do list site is awesome!
AllTop is like an organized RSS feed reader in a way- you find a topic, let's say weddings, and they have a collection of blogs and their 5 or so last updated articles. I found so many topics, and so many articles I can't wait to go back and read. For example, there was a DIY how to use your iPod instead of hiring a dee-jay for a wedding. Awesome!
And if you haven't heard, the 2008 Bloggies are out, and they provide plenty of sites you can get lost on.