Lightscoop

Got this pretty in the mail today! I smashed my last one to bitty bits by accident (it was hiding under a blanket, which I stepped on). Oops. Glad to finally have a new one. It's not a very complicated piece of equipment but it sure does make my snapshots prettier! Any newbies that tend to depend on a popup flash or anyone that isn't sure about using an external flash all the time should look into one of these. The example before/after pictures on the package are no exaggeration. The lightscoop is definitely a must-have, IMHO. It has its limitations but it's a gem. You will need a good solid wall for the light to bounce back off of so it's not going to do all that much for pictures in open space or with bright natural lights. For low-light pictures, rainy day indoor photos of the littles, birthday parties, and the like though it's pretty spectacular. There's a new "deluxe" version out plus a "jr." that is designed for the chunky P&S cameras.

In other news . . . UPS says my new 35 mm is in Atlanta!! My girls will probably start thinking I have a camera for a face as soon as it arrives.

Yay Target!

These were $1 a piece at Target! 

One more thing . . .

I debated with myself on whether to add my main tumblelog to the list of pages. I don't know why. I guess it's the ever-present, furious fight with oneself to present a very crisp, clean, every-niche-of-society-acceptable front.

But hey, it's a part of me and I like it. I'm not the nerdiest of nerds, the best mom of all, or anything like that but I like what I like and I know what I like. Honesty and transparency only comes at a high price if you care more about what others think of you than what you think of yourself.

I'll drink to that.

A round of chocolate milk for everyone!

And P.S  if you're the slightest smidgen of a nerd or you just like the avengers then go browse the Femme Nerd link. It's entertaining, at least I think so . . . 

Two Awesome Apps for Little Kids

I decided to go switch out some of the games for the girls on my iPad. It's really an awesome tool for quiet time or traveling. I went searching through the app store for some new stuff and found two really great games!

The first is Injini: Child Development Game Suite by NCSOFT.

We've only had it open for a couple minutes and my almost-3 year old is enthralled. We started with the free version because I don't buy any apps without trying them first if I can help it. The full version is on the higher end for kid's game apps for iOS at $29.99 so I may never drop that much $$$ for it but the "lite" version still has plenty of activities. There's tracing, matching, puzzles, and lots of other cute activities. The look of it is very warm and colorful. Most of the voices and sounds aren't terribly obnoxious but there is some beeping. Of course, that's why we have volume control and/or headphones. The only downside is that it only looks to be compatible with the iPad.

The other is Endless Alphabet by Callaway Digital Arts, Inc. This game is for the iPad, iPod, and iPhone. It just so happens that today you can get it FREE!!

Go to the app store and download it ASAP. If you hate it, delete it but I think it's adorable. It's a word game with a puzzle-like template. It's very interactive. As the letters are moved they make the relative sound (so Luh Luh Luh for the L and Ah Ah Ah for A). My favorite thing is that it's a bunch of very cute monster characters. I can't resist cute, colorful monsters.

Enjoy!!