Stationery card

Deco Noir Party Invitation

Shutterfly custom cards for Valentines Day, Easter & Mother's Day.

View the entire collection of cards.

Gotta love how easy it is to create cards on Shutterfly.  Just entered in the info and boom...done!  Would highly recommend giving them a try!

ZAGG Porfolio update

Now that I've had more time to take my ZAGG Folio Apple iPad2 Case with Bluetooth Keyboard on the road a little more, I thought it only fair to update my previous review.

I apparently didn't have the iPad in the case properly when I wrote my first review and stated that the fit was awkward and clasp wouldn't shut properly and stay shut.  Because now....it fits just fine and shuts and stays closed.  I don't have a problem with it at all anymore. 

I think I just wasn't sliding the iPad into the plastic grooves properly.  So...I take back my first assessment on fit (chock it up to user incompetency) and I must say, the fit is spot on.

Now, I will stand behind my original concern that when the lid snaps shut, I'm still quite worried about what the pressure of the keyboard on my iPad2 screen is doing to the screen.  Although...I only use my ZAGG case when I travel which isn't all that much so hopefully it isn't in there long enough to do any damage, but I do wonder if I used my case 24/7 if there's a possibility it could damage the iPad screen. 

I'm also pleased to report that I've yet to need to recharge the battery for my Zagg Folio Case.  The literature that came with it may be completely accurate in saying that I should only need to recharge the keyboard once or twice a year.  We'll see.  The jury is still out on that one.

Otherwise, I have nothing new to report on it.  Overall, I think it's a terrific accessory and a must have!  It literally turns my iPad into a laptop.

"I Did It!" and other wrap up stories from the last 31 days

Woo hoo!  I did it...again!  I posted a blog here for the past 31 days straight as part of WordCount's 2012 Blogathon.  This is actually the second year I've accomplished this feat (and trust me, it has especially been a feat this year).

I first threw myself into the 2011 Blogathon a few days prior to the start of last year's Blogathon I had no blog, had no idea what I would blog about, but I was willing and able to learn.  And "learning" was an understatement from my experience in 2011.

In 2012, my busy life resulted in my lack of notice that the 2012 Blogathon was approaching.  When I received Michelle Rafter's email reminder of  the upcoming Blogathon the week before the beginning of this year's blog, I thought for a moment that I should forgo this year's Blogathon because I knew the month of May was going to be a bit busy.

I was in the middle of remodeling both upstairs bathrooms.  I had not hired a contractor to oversee the project.  I was coordinating the work of the old shower removal and prep work for new shower, tile company, shower glass installation company, electrician and drywall repair.  Then I would be cutting, painting and installing the new baseboard in each bathroom as well as painting the walls, installing new faucets and repainting the cabinets.

That was just one project on the May calendar.  I also had already planned to participate in the annual neighborhood garage sale the day after we moved our daughter back home from college.  Those two projects by themselves take an enormous amount of time and energy, but I had planned to do them back-to-back.

As if that weren't enough to deal with in May, we already had on the calendar a mid-month trip to Florida to seek and purchase a home for retirement.

So the thought of adding another daily responsibility to my already busy May plus my daily responsibilities of my part-time job writing for the local newspaper was...well...daunting.  But turning down the challenge isn't in my inner-being.  The thought to say, "I'm out this year," lasted about a whole 30 seconds and with a punch of the enter button on my keyboard, I was "in."

Now 31 days later, I'm quite proud that I actually completed the 2012 Blogathon.  There were a couple of days I wondered if I should just throw in the towel because I had so many other distractions, but I'm glad I didn't.  I admittedly haven't learned as much this year as last but that's only because I had no extra time to focus on learning.  Any energy I had available went into coming up with the blog topic and writing. But I feel that participating in this year's Blogathon reinforces something that I already knew deep down, but sometimes need reminding - and that is that I really can do "anything" that I put my mind to.  (Mom, you were right about that!)

Before I wrap up the 2012 Blogathon, I wanted to quickly update you on a few items I've blogged about here during the month.

1 - Sugar, our 12 year old Shih-Tzu, is home after a three-day hospitalization, and she is doing well!  Sugar was diagnosed with pancreatitis which I've determined generally means that she's getting older and I need to be more watchful of her diet. Those were a few scary days for my family though!

She needs a bath and a hair combing but she's well on her way to her old self!

2 - There's now light at the end of the bathroom remodeling projects - literally.  The master bath's new lighting has been installed and the drywall repaired.  The shower is now "in" which means all that's left to do  is painting the walls, painting the cabinet, installing new sink faucets and cut, paint and install baseboards.  The hall bath just needs its cabinet painted and the baseboards installed (they are already cut and painted).  We're getting close to the end.

3 - An Olivia Update.  I'll let eight year old Olivia's words fill you in on where she's at in her now 15 month battle against Ewing's Carcinoma which I blogged about last year and again this year.  Olivia wrote the following on her CaringBridge site on Memorial Day!

IT'S OVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Written May 28, 2012 7:00pm

HEY GUYS IT'S OLIVIA GREAT NEWS ALL OF THE CANCER IS GONE AND TUES. IS THE LAST FULL WORK DAY OF SCHOOL THEN IT'S SUMMER!!!!!!! AND WED. IS FUN DEPOT THE END OF THE YEAR FIELD TRIP OK GUYS HAVE TO GO TO BED NOW
BYE LOVE OLIVIA

I can't think of a better way to put an exclamation point ending to this year's Blogathon!

A review of the ZAGG Folio iPad 2 Keyboard Case with Bluetooth

My dear husband bought me an iPad for my birthday last October. I've had a ball learning how to use it the last eight months and figuring out how it could help me be more efficient in my job covering education for the local newspaper. 

One thing I quickly realized was that using it for typing stories on site at meetings or news conferences was extremely difficult because it had no keyboard.  I've now remedied and have purchased the Zagg Folio iPad 2 Keyboard case with Bluetooh.

I've only had it about two weeks, but I thought I'd offer my thoughts on it.

Pairing the Keyboard to the iPad
It was simple to pair my iPad to the Bluetooth keyboard.  Instructions that come with the Folio tell you turn the keyboard on then go to your settings on the iPad and turn Bluetooth on. 

Press the "Connect" button on the keyboard to make it discoverable.  The status light flashes on the keyboard and the iPad recognizes the "ZAGG Keyboard" as an available device. 

You simply select ZAGG Keyboard on the iPad and it will display a unique code.

You'll then type the code using the keyboard and press enter.  The keyboard is now paired to the iPad.

Keyboard

ZAGG keyboard (top) desktop keyboard (bottom)

The actual keyboard feel is quite good.  There's not a lot of difference in touch and feel between my desktop and the ZAGG keyboard, but the actual size is a bit smaller than my desktop keyboard. 

At left is a look at the ZAGG keyboard perched above my actual desktop keyboard to give you an idea of the size difference. 

As you can see, there's not a lot of difference in size, but it's enough to make me miss the backspace key frequently. 

It's going to take some getting used to before I can crank up to my normal typing speed, but it's not significant enough of a difference for it to be a major complaint.

iPad Fit in Case

Top part is where the iPad slides in

This is where I must chime in with a bit of a negative.  The iPad slides into the case frame with ease, but it also doesn't feel so secure in there because of the loose fit.  It hasn't fallen out yet, but it sure makes me a little nervous. 

Maybe the more I use it, the less cautious I will be about the fit, but my first impressions are that it's a bit loose for my taste.

The Case and its Design
The case itself seems very rugged and I like that the camera, iPad on/off switch, ports and volume controls are easily accessible via cutouts in the case. 

But what I don't like about the case is the clasp.  It doesn't close and stay shut. 

While reading reviews of this case before I purchased it, the clasp not shutting seemed to be a problem for about half of the reviews I read.  I don't know if just some cases have bad clasps (mine being one of them) and others don't or what the deal is?  But I can tell you that I don't like that it won't shut and stay shut.

I also have to put significant pressure pushing the keyboard against the iPad just to get the clasp to be in a position to shut.  I don't like the idea of putting that kind of pressure on the iPad screen.  Plus the clasp won't stay shut anyway. 

I've reverted to just carrying the case around without it being completely shut.  However, the problem with that is that the iPad shut off magnet doesn't meet its contact which means the iPad then doesn't go into its normal sleep mode. 

That in itself creates a problem because then the pressure you create carrying the iPad around, selects apps on the iPad.  At one point I thought I had deleted about four apps by inadvertently selecting those apps while carrying my iPad around in this case.  After shutting the iPad down and turning it back on, the grayed out icons returned to actual icons and all was good, but it made my heart stop for a minute thinking I had just lost all of the documents I stored in "Pages."

Alas the solution to this problem I have learned is simply to use the on/off button on the top of your iPad to put it to sleep instead of relying on the case to put it to sleep.

I do have a friend who also purchased this exact product for her iPad 2.  While overall she said she likes the product, she offered the one thing that she dislikes about the design of the case.  The charging port for the keyboard does not have a cut out access in the case like the iPad's camera, charging port and  on/off switch do, so charging the keyboard requires removing the keyboard from the case each time.

Although this isn't a deal-breaker, my friend suggests that it is a nuisance. 

Overall here's my thoughts on the ZAGG Folio iPad 2 Bluetooth Keyboard Case

The Pros
Easy to Pair
Easy to slip in iPad
Battery length doesn't appear to be short
Convenient for on the go typing
Keyboard feel and touch

The Cons
Case doesn't shut and stay shut
Tight fit against iPad - concern of damage to iPad screen over time
Access to keyboard charging port
At $99.99, it isn't cheap

The bottom line - I'd buy it again!

Calcium supplements or not? That is the question.

Did you catch on the news last week the reports of a new study that suggests taking calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attacks.  This one caught my eye because I have family members that take calcium supplements daily.

Gynecologists have suggested for as long as I can remember that post-menopausal women should take calcium supplements to build stronger bones and ward off osteoporosis.  My own mother and mother-in-law take calcium supplements daily and my doctor has even suggested I take them and I'm no where near post-menopausal yet. 

I haven't taken calcium supplements yet because I drink a LOT of milk.  And I love all dairy products.  I'm quite confident that I consume enough calcium in a day.  But I know I'm not the norm.

As I understand it, the recent study followed about 24,000 German men and women between the ages of 35 and 64 for 11 years.  The results showed that those of them who took calcium supplements regularly were 86 percent more likely to have a heart attack.

The study also suggested that taking the chewable, tasty, gummy-like supplements were no replacement for calcium-rich natural foods.

Calcium is a very important mineral to our bodies.  According to the National Institutes of Health,

"The body needs calcium to maintain strong bones and to carry out many important functions. Almost all calcium is stored in bones and teeth, where it supports their structure and hardness.The body also needs calcium for muscles to move and for nerves to carry messages between the brain and every body part. In addition, calcium is used to help blood vessels move blood throughout the body and to help release hormones and enzymes that affect almost every function in the human body."

The recommended amount of daily calcium for adults 19-50 is 1,000 milligrams while women over 50 should get 1,200 milligrams daily.

Milk, yogurt and cheese are the main sources of calcium for most people in the U.S. but there's several other natural calcium-rich foods like kale, broccoli and Chinese cabbage.  Canned sardines and salmon are rich in calcium as well, and we get a significant amount of calcium from grains (bread, pastas and unfortified cereal) because we eat them in larger quantities. 

Our bodies obviously need an adequate dose of calcium daily, but this study raises some major concern for those taking calcium supplements.  The best description that I heard on TV news reports as to why calcium supplements can be bad for the heart was one on CBS.  The cardiologist explained that when a calcium pill is taken that calcium actually floods our arteries which can cause plaque build-up whereas when we eat calcium-rich foods like broccoli, that our body absorbs calcium much slower and plaque formation does not occur.

She suggested that "maybe we shouldn't be taking calcium supplements" that "maybe it should all come from the diet."  For me...that's my plan of attack.

Now, I'm not in any way suggesting that every woman should stop taking calcium supplements today.  Every person is different, has a different medical history, absorbs vitamins differently, but I do believe that every woman should discuss this the study in detail with her doctor. 

It's Wordle Day!

It's Wordle Day for WordCount's 2012 Blogathon!  Here's the Wordle for my blog:
 

 

Or here it is in custom colors:

FUN!!

Want to make your own?  It's simple.  Just go to www.wordle.net

How much medical treatment to you try...to save a life- when it's your dog

The last 24 hours have not been good.  In my post yesterday, you will recall that I was about to take our 12 year old (that's 60-something in people years) Shih-Tzu for a walk. I take her out for about a 30 minute walk once a day.  Usually sometime between 3 and 5pm.  The only exception to that is when it snows or is raining.  We also don't go until later in the evening if it's a really hot day.

By 2 p.m. every day, Sugar is usually sitting right beside me, looking at me with those puppy eyes, waiting to go walking.  Yesterday she wasn't which was odd, but we have company over for the weekend so she was a bit out of her routine.

Sugar yesterday before I realized she was sick.

When I put her collar on and told her it was time to go, she wouldn't budge.  Not at all.  That's REALLY odd.  After a lot of coaxing and no movement, I picked her up and took her to the grass outside.  She did not want to go and even appeared to be walking quite gingerly.

We eventually gave up on her and put her back inside to lay down, and we went to dinner.  We thought perhaps she had strained a muscle - after running around like a wild dog after her bath Thursday night (she does that after baths) - and we thought she was just tired and maybe sore.

We came home to a dog who had vomited twice and was obviously not feeling well.

Throughout the evening the vomiting continued - about once every hour or so.  Then over night it continued - and got worse.  I stayed up with her the entire night catching her vomit on towels and cleaning up her chin after every bout.  By morning we both were exhausted having slept very little, and I was extremely worried.

Never before had she vomited this much continuously.  Concerned she was getting dehydrated, I gave her some water. She vomited that up.  I gave her some Pedialyte.  The same thing occurred.  Nothing would stay down.  I was beyond concerned now.  I called the vet around 7 a.m. and we had Sugar in to see the doctor by 7:30 a.m.

Sugar's 12 Birthday in February

After an x-ray and blood-work, the doc said that he saw no obstruction in her stomach.  That was great news because I feared she may have eaten some small construction material like caulk or a piece of plastic left behind from our recent bathroom remodeling project.  I figured this would be a long-shot since I tried hard to keep it all tidy, but Sugar is a scavenger and sniffs and eats whatever she finds.

The blood work revealed high liver and pancreas enzymes.  Apparently that can mean a multitude of things or just pancrea-itis (she ate something that didn't agree with her).  The doc was leaning toward pancrea-itis but he strongly suggested that we leave her at the vet so that they could put her on an IV for fluids (to avoid dehydration) and give her anti-biotics and pain meds until they could get her stomach settled enough to take solid food.

Leaving her there was the last thing I wanted to do, but the doc felt it was VERY important for her to stay and get onto an IV for fluids.  We ultimately decided to leave her there for a day or two with the plan that we'd check on her throughout the day and tomorrow (Monday) re-evaluate where we were at.

Sugar - Christmas 2011

It's now 6 p.m. here and we've already checked on her twice (at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.).  There wasn't much change at 2 p.m. but between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., she hadn't been sick. We'll check in again once more tonight and then re-evaluate in the morning.

I'm writing about this for several reasons.  One is that I've been very fortunate.  Since my grandmother died almost 10 years ago, I've never had a family member in a fatal health situation.  It's an area that I'm glad to have little experience in, but it's also such an emotional and stressful time.  Now, some may take exception and say that a dog is not "family" but to me...us...she's just like one of our children.  And it appeared this morning that she may be in a life and death situation.

Secondly, I'm always amazed at what veterinarians can do these days.  They have x-rays, ultrasounds, surgeries like humans, and dog vet specialists.  If there's an ailment, there's a medicine, a surgery, a test for it.

Third...those tests are expensive.  Here's a look at Sugar's total bill for one day (left column) and two days (right) column.  We had to leave a deposit of $950 for her to be treated!

And finally, all this brings up the issue of when is it more humane to let her pass away?  Is there a cost that is too much to try to save her?  Is there an age that once she passes it, you look at medical treatment differently.

While filling out the paperwork to admit her for the two-days, they asked that if she went into cardiac arrest (which was highly unlikely), should they resuscitate?  How do you decide the right answer to that question?  If they bring her back, there's no guarantees that she'll be the same dog or be able to function.

Coincidentally, this was a question that my husband and I have discussed in detail about ourselves since one of my best friends had an aneurysm and survived.  She's been in a nursing home for nearly nine months in a state I'm not so sure she'd want to live the rest of her life in. But what's the best answer in a situation like this when it's your family member?  Your dog?

It's been a stressful day for sure.  One Memorial Day weekend I'm sure I won't soon forget....