The Way I See It

...for those of you who aren't addicted to the legal stimulants peddled at your neighborhood Starbuck's, the mega-enterprise recently started printing some interesting little thoughts on their omnipresent white cups (more info at www.starbucks.com/wayiseeit).

Anyhow, my local Safeway was contributing to their world domination (the first hit's always free...) by giving out coupons for free grandes. And since the Spiced Pumpkin Lattes are in season, how could I resist?

Back to my point -- the message on my cup was thought-provoking enough for me to carry around the empty cup for these 12 hours until I could share it with you (both of you, ha! I know there isn't anyone reading this!!) Besides, Snapple caps are so much easier to hold onto...

The Way I See it #37
Embrace this right now life while it's dripping, while the flavors are excellently woesome. Take your bites with bravery and boldness sicne the learning and the growing are here in these times, these exact right nows. Capture these times. Hold and kiss them because it will soon be very different.
-- Jill Scott
Musician. Her songs can be heard on Starbucks Hear Music Station, XM Satellite Radio Channel 75.

This weekend...

Anyone who has been in the chat room at SBB with me has probably heard me whine about missing out on the Digital Scrapbooking Convention...

I am a new WAHM (well, not so much working, to tell the truth) and I was so thrilled that it is in driving distance from me. It's been tough adjusting to being a mom and being at home full-time, but discovering digital scrapbooking has been one of the things that gets me out of bed in the morning. It's so nice to actually feel like I'm good at something!!

But instead, I have a zillion other things going on this weekend -- not only is this the 20 year Oakton High School Reunion (no WAY I'm that old!! that is just not possible!!), but it is also the ONLY UVa football home game -- so DH is SO not thrilled to be missing it. (Neither am I, to tell the truth, but I have friends coming to town from CA, plus some other folks I really want to see.)

Shall we go through the mixed emotions about high school reunions? Although DD is 14 months old, I am still carrying the baby weight (and then some...) Also, I feel like I have nothing to wear -- while it's great not having to dress for an office job, I feel like a total slob whenever I'm around my cute girlfriends who work outside the home. LUCKILY, I have a cute husband to show off! I just hope he isn't bored out of his ever-loving MIND -- reunions can be a drag on the spouse.

Luckily, since we MET at our College Reunion, those aren't a problem -- I think we bored everyone we saw this summer's reunion with the tale of the reunion 5 years ago, but hey, people in love are cute, right? I'm hoping it's all forgiveable because we have such an adorable little pooh bear to show for it...

a little sermon on backups...

There is a thread over at The DigiChick (great new look, BTW!!) discussing external hard drives. I bought mine originally to do backups of my laptop hard drive, so it got me writing about backups. Here is part of my little 'sermon' on backing up your digital files...

Maxtor has a "one touch" external hard drive that you can use to back up your PC -- that is really important for someone like you who has a business that depends on your computer. (Kind of like having insurance on your home.)

One thing to keep in mind is that any magnetic media (i.e., HDD, diskettes, etc.) will degrade over time and use. For long-term storage, you should also make a backup with optical media (CD's & DVD's -- the non-rewriteable kind).

To take it to the next level, you should also store those backups offsite (think about Katrina; all those CD's of family photos are likely lost).

If you don't have files on your computer that you depend on for your business, you still probably have some sort of 'irreplaceable' files. Even if you don't archive your layouts, at the very least, burn CD's of your family photos. The ones that are digital only, the ones you have scanned, all of them.

Once the CD's are made, it is really easy to make 2 copies of each one. Then take those CD's and give them to an out of town family member or friend.

Why 2 copies? One to stash away for you in case you ever need it and one copy for them to enjoy!! (I just did this with photos of DD, and my mother in law was thrilled!!)

So make a date with your computer and make those all important backups!!

Wow! Check out the new SBB

If you haven't been to Scrapbook-Bytes.com lately (like in the last 24 hours! LOL!), git yourself on over there -- PRONTO! Along with the server maintenance on the store, Amy also redesigned the whole site (along with the assistance of many of the talented gals at SBB, I assume)! It's not just a fresh coat of paint, but a full overhaul!

It is awesome! Not only bright and fresh new look -- but the home page is really a launch pad to the rest of the site. SBB is the biggest digital scrapbooking site, and it can be a bit overwhelming at first. (I caution the newbies I chat with not to let their heads explode!). The new home page has a great index to the weekly online crops/chats and the challenges going on. This is particularly important since I try to get to as many of them as possible -- heck, I even scrap occasionally (ha!).

One of my favorite things about SBB is that the freebies they give out at the crops and challenges are all color-coordinated with that week's Color Challenge. So, if you make it to a few crops, you can end up with a sizeable 'kit' of freebies that all go together!! It makes it so much easier to use those goodies when you already know what they go with!

And who hasn't had a case of Scrapper's Block? The inspiration pieces, sketches, scraplifts, etc. really help me to get those pages done. Left to my own devices, I'd agonize over the placement of every element and have very little to show for my time. Instead, I have over 30 layouts in my gallery ! (And therefore, I'm halfway done with Christmas gifts for the grandparents!)

Another feature I just adore is the new SBB Gear. I've got my eye on the "Why I Scrapbook" Journal. I'd love to have a copy of this graphic! And who can resist the "Byte Me" tote bag! Great work on these ladies!!

And they're not even done yet! Lots of great features are still in the works, like a chat room schedule, a challenge schedule, and the relaunch of the School of Scrap. Keep an eye on the site for all the goodies to come.

Amy and company have raised the bar, yet again, keeping SBB out in front of the online digital scrapbook community.