Monday, April 30, 2012

NaBloPoMo in May

Some of you may see the hashtag, #NaBloPoMo, on twitter and I'm going to participate in May. The theme for May is "PLAY". This will be a challenge for me, I must admit. Even as a child I was quite serious, but I'm going to do my best to have fun with it. This is a monthly challenge run by BlogHer that helps bloggers to write everyday by giving them a theme and question. It's a great way to get out of writers block or just to get yourself into the routine of blogging more routinely.
So, I hope you join me starting tomorrow!




Thursday, April 26, 2012

Safety in Social Media

There are many social networking sites that keep us connected to our friends from around the world. Some of my favorites include twitter, facebook, instagram, pinterest, tumblr, and my newly found tv apps, viggle and getglue. These sites are great, when people treat them with respect, but, as we all know, there are people out there that seek negativity and are up to no good! I became a "victim" of this when someone became interested in my health issues. It was friendly at first, but then he started to flirt with me, even though my bio on twitter says I'm happily married; but to many this means nothing. He wanted to know where to send me gifts and commented on my blog. I blocked him and deleted that old account, but I know nothing is 100% safe on the internet.

I also used to use foursquare, which is a social tool where you "check-in" to various stores and restaurants where you attend, in order to earn a badge, or become the mayor. I think the idea is very fun, but I really don't want anyone knowing where I'm at. I always cringe when I see the posts come across twitter because I think how easy it is for a stalker to see where you're at. Some even check-in to their own home; which makes no sense to me.


The following are the top ten ways to keep yourself safe on twitter, or other social media sites; the source of this information can be found here.

1. Never Share Personal Information
2. Review applications that use your twitter account.
3. Regularly change your password.
4. Preview URL's before sending.
5. Beware of unsolicited DM's.
6. Use Private twitter accounts (when sharing with family).
7. Block and Report Spam.
8. Respect Twitter limits to avoid Account Disruption.
9. Avoid Being Impersonated.
10. Use an anti-virus and firewall.

The truth is, most of us are here for fun and to connect with others' with similar issues/like-mindedness. However, there are those that will do anything to create drama. It's best to avoid those people and surround yourself with positive people; much like you would do in real life.

Stay safe!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Help Find the Missing

I am extremely interested in true crime, perhaps because my own family has been hit with a murder; my brother in law was murdered after a botched robbery at his job. I love reading Anne Rule, who worked along side Ted Bundy in a crisis hotline center. I love watching true crime shows like 48 Hours Mystery and Discovery ID; sadly many of the shows do not have a happy ending. I cannot imagine the pain that loved ones have not knowing what happened to their child, sister, friend, etc. I've included a new widget to help locate the missing; it can be found at the far right/bottom of this page. You can embed the same widget on your blog by clicking on the widget link found below or entering this html code:
"<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js"></script><script type="text/javascript">if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('40b2548b-4191-4edb-b588-be7f54e5a07c');</script>
<noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/lostnmissing">LostNMissing, Inc</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>! Not seeing a widget? (<a href="http://support.widgetbox.com/">More info</a>)</noscript>"

My prayers are with the friends and family of those missing. May God answer their prayers. 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

That's Lady Sofa Dweller To You

As you may know, or assume just by looking at my blog, I love everything to do with pop culture, especially TV! Since I am no longer working, I have made an art out of TV watching. I often call myself a Lady Sofa Dweller vs. Couch Potato; it's a more refined description. As you may also know, I type up a daily, nightly, TV lineup based on the new episodes of shows that I watch. There's a link on the header of this blog, with the tab titled Nightly TV lineup. It's my tumblr blog in which I go through the TV guide/lineup and set up various shows to record based on their being new episodes. I know that I leave some shows off the lineup, but I only type the ones that I watch. So, if you see it mentioned on the lineup, then you know it's a new episode! I often joke that my DVR smokes because of all of the shows that I watch. I've recently downsized a bit by getting rid of a few shows that I just don't care for, including Grimm and Awake. Both shows are good, but they just didn't hold my interest like others. I would definitely agree that both Sunday and Tuesday nights are loaded. I currently have just over 100 episodes of various shows on my DVR, a few at risk of being deleted due to their age; so I need to get busy!

As you can see on the right side of my blog, I have a widget for my GetGlue account. It's a great sight where you can earn stickers for checking in to some of your favorite shows, and the specified shows that will award you with a limited sticker. You must check-in while the show airs, otherwise you risk not getting your sticker. You can also have the actual stickers mailed to you; I've not done this as I've no interest in having stickers, but I do like to earn them. My newest, favorite app is from Viggle. Viggle is an amazing app, where you check-in by tapping your screen for it to "listen" to what you're watching in hopes that it recognizes it. Once the app recognizes what you're watching, it will post it on your phone; the app is currently with iPhone only, however, Android phones are soon to get the app. Once it recognizes what you're watching, it will then allow you to check in to the show. Once you check in, you can also share it to your twitter or facebook feed. Each show and each share gives you reward points that can be redeemed for actual rewards. I have already redeemed $15 worth of gift cards from Barnes and Noble. It was simple, I clicked redeem and I received an email with the e-card number. I ordered the book I wanted using the e-card information and presto, simple! All of that took less than 10 minutes! Oh, I forgot to mention, the app is free! I am currently working my way up to 375,000 pts to get an iPod Touch; they also offer gifts such as a Kindle Fire or Apple TV!

With both of these apps, I know I feel much, much better about my love of TV. I feel like my being a lady sofa dweller is really paying off. If you're a TV addict, like myself, you must have these two apps to keep you company. They're really a no-brainer.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Time to Organize

Most of us have that eyesore area of our home that we keep putting off, day after day, on getting organized. Today I decided to tackle my area, which happens to be my closet. It's not too bad; I admit to being a bit of an organized person. I do pretty good at purging through clothes that I don't wear anymore or haven't worn in years. But it got to the point where I couldn't find a shirt and knew it had to be in this mess, somewhere!

                                                       



If you can't make out the pictures, the top of my closet is a mess! No, I don't have a walk-in closet, but I have twin closets, which one side are tops and the other are bottoms. So, it's a nice trade off than a walk-in. On a side note, I've become enamored with a new show called, The Amandas. It's a great show on Style that follows Amanda, with her high-heeled wearing crew, who are called in to homes to help people get organized. There's not any better feeling than having a clean and organized home, in my opinion. So here are the after pictures. I'm quite proud of myself!


                                                                  

I feel so accomplished. Next time I need to tackle the "bottoms" closet. That will be easier, I admit. Shirts are just harder to keep organized, in my opinion. 
Happy organizing!