Newest Member of the Pack

Champ is the most recent addition to our family, joining Isabella and Jake in the "pack." He's a sweet little mixed-breed fella, smaller than our huskies (probably always will be), and always wanting to be in the middle of everything. Plenty of entertaining times ahead, I'm sure...

For more photos, see my other blog or check out his photo gallery here.

Instagram: Recent Sunset

Like Camera Awesome, Instagram is a neat app I use on ocassion to take pictures on my phone, and it has neat filter and border effects. I don't use it as often as Camera Awesome because I don't always want the square shape. I don't tend to do much with the social side of it, either, but you're welcome to check out my page here. I have recently discovered a neat website to use with Instagram photos, though-- it's called StickyGram, and you can get get magnets done of the photos you take, sold in sets of 9, and they're the same size as what you see on your phone. Neat gift idea, I'm thinking... :)

Autumn...a Beautiful Time of Year

Saving Star and Other Rewards Programs

I love saving money. I love being able to combine coupons with a good sale -- not all sales are really saving you money, you know that, right?-- and get something I need, or just want to try, for a really good price. When things get really tight, which happens to most people on ocassion at least, knowing how to get the best bang for my buck really comes in handy.

It's been hardwired into my system since I was little, I guess...we never had alot of money growing up, so spending alot of money on things that weren't necessary wasn't an option. As I grew older and started making money of my own, that example continued to stay with me as I tried to get things I needed and/or wanted for the lowest possible price without compromising on style, comfort, quality, or taste.

I did a post not too long ago about various saving-money blogs and coupon websites  that I visit (or subscribe to) on a daily to weekly basis. I thought I might share a few more things that I've started taking advantage of recently:

SavingStar

This one was listed on my Links of Interest page already, but I don't believe I covered it in the last post because although I had already signed up for it, I didn't really start using it until just recently.

It basically works as a reverse coupon-- there are coupons for various products listed on the website (and the app version as well, which comes in handy when I'm out at the store) that you can "activate." Many of these coupons are the same as paper and electronic coupons currently out for the same product. The coupons are not taken off at the register, but instead, the amount of your coupon(s) are added to your SavingStar account. When that amount reaches $5.00, you can request a payout of the money you've "saved", in various forms-- through your bank, Paypal, or Amazon gift cards. So it's a little like cash-back reward programs that allow you to earn money back just for shopping.

Many times, the coupons are for 40 to 50 cents off an item, but sometimes there are $1.00-$2.00 coupons in there too, or promotions like $5.00 off when you buy $20.00 worth of such-and-such products.

Since these coupons don't come off at the register, you can easily still use your paper/electronic coupons for the same product and save even more!

These are examples of the emails I get after purchasing some of the product coupons I activated. The website says it can take 4 days to a week or so for the savings to show up in your account.

Bear in mind, depending on the products listed and what you typically buy, it could take a month or more to hit that $5.00 payout mark.

Link up your savings cards on SavingStar to get in on the savings today! In my area, the only stores that work with SavingStar are Food Lion, CVS, Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, and Rite Aid-- just type in your zipcode to find out what stores are available to you!

Rewards Programs

There are many, many rewards programs out there these days, for just about any store, website, or credit card, it seems. Two that I've started using recently are through Best Buy and Charter. Both have "online malls" that allow you to shop at various stores online and then a percentage of what you spent goes back towards either your rewards card (Best Buy) or your monthly bill (Charter).

 I enjoy using Shutterfly for most of my photo printing needs, as well as for photo books and calendars, so I can log into my account with the Best Buy Rewards Program, go to the online mall, and order something through Shutterfly, and what I spent counts towards the reward points I earn with Best Buy-- even though I didn't shop at Best Buy! There are many sites to choose from in their online mall, with varying amounds of rewards point per dollar spent. Likewise, if I want to order something online with Kohl's, I can log into my Live It With Charter account, shop at Kohl's through the online mall, and receive a certain percentage of what I spent back in the form of a bill credit at a later date. Pretty neat, huh?  :)

There are so many ways to save out there...what ways have you found to save recently?

Close-Up of My Husky Girl

She's always had such striking blue eyes, as does her brother...

See more photos of Isabella and Jake on my other blog.

Redesign

Well, where to begin...

There's been many changes over the past five or six months-- moving (twice), starting a new job after a year at home, and becoming frustrated with my photography and losing some (though not much) of my interest in it, to name a few. All of it left me with little time with keeping even one blog up to date, much less two blogs (my other one is over at A Tale of Two Huskies) and my photography website.

Things have finally begun to settle down, and stuff has been (for the most part) put in its place after our most recent move, so I've begun to turn my attention to the things that have fallen by the wayside these past few months. Rediscovering myself a little, if you will.

I've started reading on a more regular basis again-- you'd think I'd have found more time for it while I was at home for almost the entire last year, but I never seemed to keep up with it. Now, I enjoy reading during my lunch hour at work, and have managed to read through a decent number of books in the last few months (several of which are listed under Recommended Reads on my sidebar). I love reading...you could call it my first love, I guess, because long before I was interested in boys or computers or even photography, there were books and books and more books to read about all sorts of things. Adventure when I was younger, romance as a teenager, and now a mix of both, plus a healthy dose of nonfiction (typically of the biography or animal-and-its-owner variety). I hope my love for reading never fades.

One thing that kicked into high gear while I wasn't working was my creative side. I started dreaming up all sorts of possibilities for a house I dearly hope to build one day, redesigned a bulletin board using an old ripped pair of my husband's blue jeans (complete with back pockets used to hold things on the board), and painted ladybugs onto water glasses for my sister-in-law that LOVES all things ladybugs. The creative side of me had gotten stamped down quite a bit over time at my last job-- it was a gradual thing, building up over time as my workload grew more and more and the stress level went up. So when we moved, and I left the only job I'd ever worked (for almost 10 years, I might add), the side of me that was nurtured somewhat in elective classes in college suddenly burst back to the surface. I'm happy to say that the creative juices are still flowing, even after starting another 40-hours-a-week job.

I became a little disillusioned with my photography business and photography in general, mainly because it didn't seem to go anywhere last year. I know that start-up businesses take time, especially with one like photography (because it's so competitive, and you've got to build up a client base and such). Thing is, I'm not very good at promoting myself. I don't have the salesman gene in me, much unlike my husband, who is very good at it and uses that skill in his job every day. Anyway, as I grew more frustrated with not making any money from photography, I started taking less photos of everyday things. Over the last month or so, however, I began playing with different settings on my camera, trying to make the transition from doing everything in automatic mode to using manual settings more. I've tried in the past, though I don't believe I tried as hard then as I should have. For some reason, reading over how-tos this time around, something clicked, and I've been adjusting settings and taking, I believe, better shots ever since. So now, after a lull in taking many photographs, I now can't seem to stop again. And it feels great. I just hope my computer can keep up with all my picture-taking. :)

I've discovered some new blogs recently (well, they may have been around for years, but I've just now discovered them), and I've been taking note of how the photographs look, and even more so, the layouts of their pages. The blogs helped inspire me to start playing around with the settings on my camera more, and got me to start looking at my blogs, this one in particular, and its design. So for any followers I may still have out there, who noticed that there have been some changes to this blog and its design...you now know how it all came about. :)  There will probably be more changes to come in the near future, but for now, a template change and some adjustments to the sidebar will suffice.

I leave you with some shots I have taken lately, focusing more on the depth of field and blurring of backgrounds:

First Time for Everything...

I've never been a fan of okra. Growing up, my mom cooked it on occasion, but I'd never cared for the taste of it, much less the smell.

My husband, on the other hand, LOVES okra. So yesterday, when a coworker brought in several big bags of okra, I thought I'd be sweet and try to fry up some okra for my hard-working husband. I'd never cooked it before, so I "researched" online for the best ways to fry it without it getting slimy.
I'm happy to report, the frying went off without a hitch, and my husband thought it was great-- even went back for seconds. :)

It was one of those proud-wife-accomplishment moments. :)

I figured I'd try it again, see if my taste buds had changed over the years. Still didn't like it that much.

*I made this again a few days later and remembered to salt it a little earlier in the process-- I started popping them like popcorn after that, lol.

Gathering of Clouds

Black-Eyed Susans on a Bright & Very Hot Day

 I've always loved the brightness and vividness of color of these flowers...and their name... :)-

If I Make It to London One Day...

One day I hope to make a trip overseas to see several other countries. Ireland is at the top of the list (my husband's, too), as well as France, Scotland and England.
A friend of mine recommended a book to me recently, entitled 360 (degree) London: the greatest sights of the world's greatest city in 360 (degrees) by Nick Wood. I finally got a chance to look through the book today, and the following is a list of places photographed in the book that I'd definitely like to visit if I ever get to visit London in the future.

In no particular order:
-- Town of London, for its architecture
--Lloyd's Building, for its design...the working mechanics of the building are all on the outside of the building to free up space for workers inside
--Leadenhall, a neat, enclosed area of shops and eateries
--Millennium Bridge, for the views
--St. Paul's Cathedral, for its architecture
--The Black Friar Pub, for the interior's design and atmosphere
--Hungerford Bridge, again for the stunning views of London
--London Eye, for the views, sights,and experience of riding in it
--Big Ben Clock Tower, for its design and inner workings
--St. James's Park, because I'm a sucker for open spaces and landscapes  :)
--Buckingham Palace...isn't this one a given...?
--Soho Deli, for "every kind of [Italian] foodstuff imaginable"...a treat for the sights and other senses
--Natural History Museum...I love museums...
--Elgin Crescent, Notting Hill...definitely for its architecture (and maybe a little because I love the movie Notting Hill...?)
--Battersea Dogs Home...I am such a sucker for dogs...
--Kew Gardens, Richmond...."houses the largest and most comprehensive living plant collection in the world"...very cool, and very beautiful I'm sure.

If you've ever wanted to visit London, or just like to look at beautiful photography, definitely look up this book. Stunning photos and neat little captions and mini biographies on the various locations made it a nice book to thumb through for an hour or two.

Coupons and Savings, Oh My :)

Since I'm at home alot during the day, and I don't have as much access to coupons as I used to (through newspaper inserts), I've started going online and perusing various blogs and sites, finding the best deals for me, and printing coupons that I can use. I recently put together an email for some friends listing some of these sites and tips I've picked up, and thought I'd share it on here as well.

Some of my favorite sites I visit regularly:

http://couponcravings.com/
http://forthemommas.com/
http://hip2save.com/
http://www.redplum.com/ default.aspx (has some of the same coupons as the Red Plum newspaper inserts, plus other cool discounts on restaurants and stuff)
http://www.smartsource.com/ smartsource/index.jsp?Link= MKRU3JAAR6CCY (also has some of same coupons as Smart Source inserts)
http://www.survivingthestores. com/
http://www.totallytarget.com/
http://www.wral.com/ 5onyourside/smartshopper/

My favorite sites are For the Mommas, Hip2Save, Red Plum, Surviving the Stores, and Wral's Smart Shopper. I think you have to sign in for Red Plum and Smart Source, but the others you can just visit (you can subscribe to them as well, and they'll send you an email when they update the site, giving you a preview of what's new, but that's up to you). Surviving the Stores, Wral and and some of the others do match-ups of coupons with what's on sale at various stores (Food Lion, Harris Teeter, CVS, Walmart, and other pharmacies, to name a few), which can be handy when figuring out what to shop for for the week. They also have links to alot of the coupons they mention, which are found in some inserts and all over the web-- some by liking their Facebook page, or visiting their brand website, coupons.com, Red Plum, Smart Source, etc. Some of the sites also list freebies you can get by going to a particular website and filling out your mailing address-- usually Walmart's website or a brand's official page. It takes at least a month for samples to get mailed to you, of course, but I've gotten dog treats, a paint sample from Valspar, shampoo samples, etc, that way.

It can take a while to go through the sites, but if you do it on a fairly regular basis, like I do, you get the hang of what kinds of things are on each site, which help you out the most, and where you'll find the best information, tips, and coupons.

Food Lion and Harris Teeter (Lowes Foods, too, I believe) have coupons on their website, most of which get "clipped" to your store card and get taken off at register when scanned. They also have sale papers on the website, in case you want to see what's for sale before going to the store. AND, if you sign up online for Harris Teeter, you'll get an email on Fridays with special e-vic specials just for you-- alot of times they have pretty good special prices on things like eggs, cleaning products, paper towels and toilet paper, and frozen pizza, to name a few.

If you don't have a CVS card and you use them very much at all, you should. They print out reward bucks every few months, depending on how much you've spent, and if you sign up online and register your card on there, they'll send you emails with various percentage-off coupons-- most of the time, you can "push" these deals to your card so you don't have to print them, which is nice, too. Examples include $5 off $20 or more, 20% off entire purchase (may or may not include sale items), etc. It can be very nice to have when you buy more than one small thing at a time there. I believe Walgreens and some other pharmacies do something like this as well.

The rest of the sites I visit fairly regularly are listed here.

Just wanted to share the savings with any that may still read this blog... :)

All About the Animals

I ran across a book recently, entitled Animal Adventures in North Carolina by Jennifer Bean Bower. It lists all sorts of places (in North Carolina) to go see all kinds of animals. Out of all the places it listed, these are the ones that I really want to check out when I get a chance:

Aloha Safari Zoo (Cameron)
Carolina Tiger Rescue (Pittsboro)
Caswell County's Conservator's Center (Mebane)
Full Moon Farm Wolfdog Sanctuary (Black Mountain)
Little Man's Zoo (Chadbourn)
Tiger World (Rockwell)
Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks (Beaufort)

I have always been fascinated by big cats-- lions, tigers, etc-- and several of these places have them, some with pretty good photographic opportunities. Little Man's Zoo has spider monkeys, among other animals. And I've always thought it would be neat to watch (and photograph) the horses running along Shackleford Banks. Of course, some of these tours come at a price, but hopefully I can get a chance to visit each at least once in my lifetime.