A New Blogging Toy

I received a recommendation this weekend about a program that's might be a fun addition to blogging called Windows Live Writer.

I downloaded Windows Live Writer this evening to give it a go.  By giving the program access to my blog address and password as well as my Feed ID which I finally found in the address bar, WLW detected my set-up so that I can see what my posts will actually look like before posting (which I've never been able to do with Blogger).  However, I've downloaded another piece of freeware.  Zoinks!

Over on the right hand side there is a column that tells me I can insert several different things into my posts: hyperlinks, pictures, tables, maps, tags (I wonder what those are), and videos.  I'm going to have to play around with this the next time I post with pictures etc.  I'm not seeing how I'm going to add labels.  But, look, I can add cool fonts not available in Blogger, so even if I have to go back and add my labels, maybe this is all worth it???

Happy Birthday Dad!!

A tribute for my dad on his birthday! My dad has been present at every baby blessing and every baptism. This is not just for my little family, but my siblings' families too. I know that the kids will remember this. It shows them how important and loved they are.

For his birthday this year (I think that's the reason), he got all of us a webcam so that we can keep in touch and see each other more than every 4-5 years. Last night we were trying to iron the kinks out and get it figured out. We didn't get to talk to Dad, but we did get to talk to Mark. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but it's really fun and Sariah ,who was still up at 11 pm, loved it too. She wanted to show Mark her Webkinz. What fun to have the cousins video conferencing!! Thanks Dad!

If you are interested in this, check out SKYPE.COM. These webcams were about $16 each. I'm not sure where he got them, but they are Philips brand and work just fine for what we are trying to do. Skype calls are free from user to user!

Freeware

My brother wrote this cool post a while ago about all of the software that you can get for free on the internet. Computers are what he does. He's the IT man at LDS Business College in Salt Lake City. He spends a lot of his time installing software, so it was interesting to me that he said that we don't need to BUY software to do many things. Unfortunately, the post he wrote where he detailed out some really cool freeware is dead with his old blog.

I, myself, haven't spent a lot of time searching. I'd like to be able to do a little more with my photos. I never got into scrapbooking, so I don't see myself digital scrapbooking, but I might surprise myself. My sister, Jodi, is putting pressure on me to try it out. I found a link to a program that lets me do a little more than Google's Picasa. It can be found at www.picnik.com. It's free unless you want the upgrade.

Jodi also found this cool paint program for kids. She had been looking for something to buy for her son and came across this Freeware. We tried it out and we love it.

A little story. Yesterday morning, while we were on the way to school, Sariah told me that she wanted to paint when we got back home. I took some deep breaths and decided that I would let her paint, imagining finger paints, water colors, etc. I was sitting here blogging and she came saying she had finished her jobs, could she please paint? I asked what kind of paint she wanted and she pointed to the computer. Great stuff! It can be found at:

www.tuxpaint.org

ENJOY!