She Scribes

If you are married I am sure you recall the proposal. Did your beloved get down on bended knee and pledge their undying love to you? Or did your significant other hire a plane to write the words “Will you marry me?” in the sky?

My husband proposed to me in a silly way, which is typical of him. He’s very sweet, charming and have a fabulous sense of humor.

One evening we were heading out to dinner. We were sitting in the front seat of his car ready to leave when my husband (then boyfriend) said he bought me a present. He handed me something wrapped in wrapping paper. I opened it to discover it was a Barrel of Monkeys. That was one of my most favorite games when I was a little girl. It was very sweet of him to remember that. It showed that he listened to what I said and took things to heart.

My husband happened to notice that the barrel was open. He was concerned that some of the monkeys were missing. He suggested that count to make sure all the monkeys were there. I opened the barrel and took out the monkeys as I counted them. At the bottom of the barrel, hooked onto one of the monkey “arms” was an engagement ring!

I said “yes” and we married ONE WEEK later (eloped). Today (February 2nd) we celebrated the 16th anniversary of our first date. On October 18th of this year we will celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary.

Asking someone for their hand in marriage is a big deal. If you are planning on proposing to the love of your life you’ve probably given it a lot of thought.

As you contemplate your proposal, what images come to mind? Jumbotrons are over-the-top and definitely a gamble, beaches are cliché and flash mobs require a lot of planning – not to mention cardiovascular endurance.

Sometimes actions speak louder than words. Do you know what message you’re sending? Let’s break it down.

-   Jumbotron: The only way I feel confident in getting a ‘yes’ is by putting you on the spot in front of thousands of people. This is how I approach important decisions. When we discuss when to have our first child, expect to do so in front of my parents at the Thanksgiving table.

-   Beach: Everything I know about love, I learned from watching The Bachelor. This bodes well for our future, don’t you think?

-   Flash Mob: I love you, dear, but I am equally in love with myself. This flash mob is my chance at viral glory and you better believe it’s going on YouTube within the next ten minutes. I’ve already advised the camera man on which is my good side. Can you believe I planned all this? Your friends will all think I’m *SO* thoughtful, right? I mean, you’ll tell me what they say, right? Right?? I will also be hiring a choreographer for our theoretical bridal party, just a heads up.

Let’s be real. Your life together will surely be happy and fulfilling, but it probably won’t match the grandeur implied by such an ostentatious proposal. What does that REALLY say about you anyway?

Want to show your special someone that you are high-quality, yet accessible? That you are dependable and fantastic? Let’s just say it: It’s better in the Outback. In fact Outback Steakhouse is helping 3 lucky Facebook fans plan the perfect proposal dinner with a contest this Valentine’s Day.  

To enter visit www.Facebook.com/Outback. “Like” the page and then following the instructions to enter the contest.

HURRY! The contest ends on February 3, 2012. 

Even if you aren’t ready to propose yet, what better way to celebrate the most romantic day of the year than with a special dinner for two?  In fact, right now Outback is offering NEW Sirloin & Seafood Mixed Grill, a signature sirloin paired with seasoned and seared shrimp and scallops on a bed of freshly diced mango salsa for $12.99.

Forget flowers – I’d love to have a Bloomin’ Onion instead.

If you’d like to find an Outback restaurant near you visit www.Outback.com. You can also visit www.Outback.com/Love for more information about the special Valentines Day dinner promotion.

Kimberly

*I will be receiving a free gift certificate to do a review in the near future. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and are not influened in any way.

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I was asked to participate in a fun post by the creators of Save the Ta-Tas. They recently launched their new lifestyle brand, Laughter Heals Gifts. More about that in a bit.

They asked me to write a post about what brings me joy? I honestly thought this was going to be a super easy post to write. That is until I sat down to start writing and realized that there are so many things that bring me joy that it would be hard to narrow it down to just a handful. If I listed everything that brought me joy I would but up for the World’s Longest Blog Post Award. Ha Ha.

One of my followers on Facebook suggested that I do the “ABC’s of What Brings Me Joy”. I thought that was a fabulous idea. So without further adieu, here are the ABC’s of What Brings Me Joy.

A – Animals, especially baby ones and fuzzy ones.

B – Babies. My heart melts when I see a baby smile or hear a baby giggle.

C – Chocolate and Coffee (not together).  Need I say more?

D – Disney. Disney movies bring me joy. Being at Disney with my family brings me great joy. I only wish we could do it again before my kids are too old to appreciate the greatest place on Earth.

E – Elderly people holding hands, hugging and kissing. It makes my heart smile to see love that lasts a life time.

F – Family. My husband and children mean the world to me. I love them with every fiber of my being.

G – Goals. When I FINALLY accomplish a goal it makes me feel so happy and proud of myself. It makes me joyful to know that I accomplished something that I set my mind to do.

H – Holidays. I love them all! I am in my element when it comes to decorating for the different holidays. I also love holiday music, movies and specials. Christmas, Halloween, Easter… I love them all.

I – Ice Cream. There is a lot to be said about going to the local ice cream stand and enjoying some sweet and yummy ice cream with your family on a hot summer evening.

J – Jokes. I love to laugh. Laughter brings me great joy. I am a HUGE fan of comedy clubs. My kids have several joke books and are always sharing jokes with us to make us laugh.  

K – Kindness. I love being kind to others, and having others be kind to me. I go out of my way to perform Random Acts of Kindness every chance I get.

L – Love and Laughter. To be loved and to give love is probably the greatest joy of them all. Laughter is also one of the greatest joys we have to give and get from others.  

M – Music. There are plenty of songs that make my heart fill with joy and happiness.

N – Nature. I love everything about nature. It brings me great joy and happiness to see beautiful flowers, butterflies, a gorgeous sunset, a starry sky… the list goes on. Sometimes I love to close eyes to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, listen to the sounds of the birds chirping and take note of the breeze blowing through my hair. Ahhh… it’s a wonderful feeling.

O – Ocean. I love to feel the warm sand beneath my feet. I love to listen to the sound of the waves and gulls. I love collecting sea shells. And I most especially love to look off on the horizon. It humbles me. It makes me realize just how big out world is and it makes me think about all the wonderful things that are just beyond the horizon.

P – Photography. I am passionate about taking pictures. I don’t do so well with product pictures but I take pretty good landscape and nature photos. It makes me feel so good when I take a great photo.

Q – Quiet. Sometimes you can find joy in simply sitting in silence. It’s a great way to reflect on your life and all the wonderful things that you have. If you have teenagers like I do you can also appreciate peace and quiet. Ha Ha.

R – Reading. I love to read. It’s a wonderful way to explore new worlds, learn, get to know real people and to feed your imagination.

S – Smiles. Happy, smiling faces can bring great joy to everyone. Putting a smile on your face can help spread that joy to others. Smiling is contagious!

T – Traveling. I LOVE to go on adventures and explore new places. It’s also wonderful to meet people from different countries and cultures and learn from them.

U – Unconventional. I appreciate someone who can “dance to the beat of their own drum” so to speak. Meaning, I enjoy people who express their uniqueness and are not afraid to be who they truly are. I tend to think I’m a bit kooky myself, but that is OK because I know I’m unique and one-of-a-kind and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being true to who I really am makes me happy.

V – Vacation. We can’t afford to go on a “real” vacation, so we do day trips. I love being able to spend quality time with my husband and children. It’s fun to get away from the stresses of our daily lives and just have a fun and carefree time.

W – Writing. I am also passionate about writing. It brings me joy to write, and even MORE joy if people compliment me and/or have kind things to say about something I’ve written.

X – Xylophone, specifically the one made by Fisher Price. I had one growing up that I played with all the time. It gave me great joy. When I became a parent I purchased one for my children. I loved to listen to them play with it and it brought back such wonderful memories of my own youth.

Y - Youth. Just observing my children brings me joy. I love to watch children playing and having a great time. I love to see the look of wonder and excitement in their eyes.

Z – Zoo. I love animals and I love to take pictures so it’s the perfect place to be.

Please note that this isn’t my “ultimate list of things that bring me joy”. There are so many other things that bring me joy. These are just a few of them.

One of the joys I mentioned was Laughter. Laughter does bring me great joy. I love to laugh! I’ve been told I am very funny too. It’s a nice feeling knowing that I can make others laugh too.

As I mentioned earlier, the creators of Save the Ta-Tas has launched a new brand called Laughter Heals Gifts. Laughter Heals Gifts products are not only fun and fashionable, but they also help to inspire joy. This new accessory and gift collection includes tees, bracelets, lanyards, stickers, buttons, a travel mug, key chains and bumper magnets.

Laughter Heals Gifts founder, Julia Fikse, aims to uplift anyone who needs a smile, hug or a good laugh. “I started Laughter Heals Gifts because creating joy in our life can change our lives for the better, no matter the circumstance,” says Fikse. “Joy gives us hope, and hope gives us the strength to discover new paths to greater fulfillment and heartfelt happiness.”

Perfect for any occasion, Laughter Heals Gifts hopes to connect with customers by way of a lifestyle brand that helps create a joyful, fulfilled and healthy life no matter the circumstance. Laughter Heals Gifts is also proud to support initiatives that create joySM.  

I think it’s a powerful message that Laughter Heals Gifts is trying to spread. Having joy in your life does help to life you up and bring you peace and happiness. Without joy in your life, what do you have?

Personally I have found that even in the darkest days you can find something to be joyful about. Even when you are at the lowest point in your life there is always something that can help bring you some happiness, no matter how small it is.

What kind of life would it be if you have a life without joy?

It’s easy to find joy in everyday things, or even create joy. You just have to open your eyes and heart and look around you.

I think Laughter Heals Gifts is a wonderful idea. Laughter is the best medicine, or so they say. My husband has a way of making me laugh no matter how I’m feeling. I could have the worst day ever and my husband can do the silliest thing and make me burst out laughing. Before you know it I don’t even remember what I was in such a bad mood for.

I have a travel mug from Laughter Heals Gifts. It’s really nice with a spill proof lid. It even has butterflies all around its colorful purple band. I ♥ butterflies! They are another thing that brings me joy.

A nice thing about this travel mug is that the bottom has a soft material on it to help keep it from scratching your desk or other surfaces. I have never seen a travel mug with a soft bottom like this.

My kids also have rubber bracelets from the Laughter Heals Gifts website. They say “Create Joy” on one side and “Laughter Heals” on the other. My daughter has the pink bracelet and my son has the purple one (although he wishes it was a “boy color”. LOL). They are really nice bracelets and in a generous size. I have thick wrists and with a bit of wiggling I was able to get the bracelet on my wrist.

These items are available online at www.LaughterHealsGifts.com today and in brick and mortar retailers throughout the country in spring 2012.

Laughter Heals Gifts has be kind to offer the same travel mug that I have to give to a lucky reader. Thank you Laughter Heals Gifts!

To enter please comment on something that brings YOU joy. Easy peasy!

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional. 

- Subscribe to She Scribes via RSS or E-mail. Both options are found on the right side bar.

- “Like” Laughter Heals Gifts on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/LaughterHealsGifts. 

- “Like” She Scribes on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/SheScribes.

- Follow Laughter Heals on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/Laughter_Heals.

- Follow Save the Ta Tas on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/SavetheTatas.

- Follow She Scribes on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/She_Scribes and tweet about Laughter Heals Gifts and/or giveaway. Please include @She_Scribes and @Laughter_Heals in the tweet so I can see it too. If you can squeeze in @SavetheTatas too that would be great. This is limited to three tweets per day.

- Share information about Laughter Heals Gifts and/or giveaway with others on Facebook, Digg, Technorati and so forth. Be sure to tell me what you did and please provide a name and/or URL so I can verify.

- Leave a thoughtful comment on a non-giveaway post on She Scribes and tell me which post you commented on. There is a limit of one comment per post, but you can comment on as many posts as you want for an unlimited extra entry option.

- Post about Laughter Heals Gifts and/or giveaway on your site and please link back to this post. Please provide the URL.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on February 10, 2012 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator from all eligible entries. The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have three days to reply with a name and mailing address (no PO Box). Failure to do so will result in a new winner will be chosen in their place.

Other great giveaways can be found on the right side bar under “Win It”.

Kimberly

*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own. Laughter Heals Gifts will be providing the prize.

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There is a commercial that I have seen on TV a lot lately for Disney parks. In the commercial it talks about how there are only so many 15th birthdays and so many pirates that need to be fought. There are a few things it mentions but the point of the commercial is that there are only so many memories to make, many of which are once in a life time memories. It’s the once in a life time memories that we need to capture and hold on to so that we can relive them and enjoy them in the years to come.

Most parents take many pictures and home videos of their children to document their first steps, their first words, their first birthday and all the many “firsts” that we experience in our lifetime. My husband and I have so many photos of our children that we can’t even keep count of them anymore. We have at least 30 photo albums, not to mention many discs with digital photos burned on to them. We also have dozens of home movies. We never want to forget a moment of our children’s lives growing up, from school plays to t-ball games and everything in between.

If your family enjoys making family videos and taking plenty of family photos like I do, you might enjoy these great tips from Robert Vince, who is the writer, director and producer of the Disney’s Buddies movies (many of which I have reviewed here on my site).

Seven Tips for Making the Most of your Family Videos and Photos

By Robert Vince

From soccer games, birthdays and graduations to talent shows, holidays and vacations — families today are more active than ever. And everyone seems to be having a great time capturing their memories on mobile devices and digital cameras but despite having high-tech tools at their fingertips, people are still often at a loss as to how to make their videos and photos better.

These tips will help make the most of these “shoots,” no matter how sophisticated (or not!) your family camera is:

1.  Watch your lighting. Natural light is best, but if you’re indoors, it helps to turn on several lamps so the area is well lit. It’s also important to be mindful of any light behind your subject. If the camera doesn’t adjust, this could obscure faces and turn your subjects into moving shadows.

2.  Prepare in advance. Professional photographers always create a list of shots they know their client will want. You can do the same by thinking ahead rather than trying to capture everything on the fly. For example, if you’re filming a birthday party, you can guess there will be a moment when the guest of honor blows out the candles. Plan ahead and scout the best place to stand before the cake comes out, candles blazing. The best shot would then run from beginning to the end of that off-key “Happy Birthday.” Likewise, decide before the event what else you’d like to capture: greeting guests as they arrive, opening presents, any special decorations, testimonials, etc.. Once the party is over, you’ll have a nice sequence of highlights from the event.

3.  Steady as you go. Nothing makes a home video look more polished than the clean control of a tripod. No matter how steady-handed you may be, there are inevitably shakes  and lack of focus that accompany a handheld shot. Sometimes a monopod serves the same purpose and is more portable. Other tricks for steadiness include leaning on a wall, placing your camera on the ground (along with yourself) and drawing your arms close to your body. And finally – something few people know – in a pinch, a conveniently placed lamp can serve as a tripod as the thread on its harp is the same as a tripod’s!

4.  Avoid LP mode. LP stands for long play and although it allows you to record longer, it takes away from the quality of the video. Less is more, after all, and when you look back you are going to want the clearest picture possible.

5.  Point of view. Look for any unusual angles to shoot from – high, low, off-kilter. When photographing children or animals, get down to their level.

6.  Maximize storage. Capturing the image can be the easiest part but once the images are uploaded, they can get lost or forgotten. Yellowing photo albums are now a thing of the past, jump drives are easily lost and some hard drives get too crowded too fast. Many savvy parents have discovered that recordable Blu-ray discs will solve the problem. Blu-ray allows the most storage space (and thus the highest quality) for those special moments families will want to cherish for generations to come. Transferring your older videos and still photos is easier than ever today, and now everything can be conveniently accessible (and safer) anytime you want to revisit a happy occasion. Simply pop the disc into any Blu-ray player or computer with a Blu-ray drive and watch the memories unfold.

7.  Make quality time! The best home videos capture quality time that family members spend with one another. It doesn’t really matter what you do as long as the time is well spent, so make a point to tune out outside distractions (phones, texts, TV) and set aside time to bond. You can do anything: a family hike through a local park, a trip to get ice cream cones, or even a miniature golf tournament. More important than any technical tips is the essence of your adventures.

These are some really great tips. I especially like the one about maximizing storage. We have a Blu-ray burner and we have been slowly but surely burning our home movies from regular discs to a Blu-ray disc. As you know Blu-ray discs are a better quality and they are made to last. Unlike like other discs that can crack or get scratched and ruin precious family memories, a Blu-ray disc is much hardier and with stand a lot of use, being dropped and accidentally rubbed up against other discs (which would scratch a regular disc).

Since burning our home movies on to Blu-ray discs we’ve been able to make a lot more room in our cabinet. The Blu-ray discs have a lot of space on them. We’ve been able to burn several discs onto just one Blu-ray disc.

I can’t tell you how nice it is to have room in my cabinet again. We still have many more discs that need to be burned, but we’re going to get them all done (we just need to pick up more Blu-ray discs to burn on to).

Sometimes when you burn a home movie from one disc to another disc the quality gets compromised. We have not noticed any of that with the Blu-ray discs. The quality is great, just as good as the original. The audio is nice too. Nothing was lost during the transfer/burning process.

The burner that we have is a Sony Portable BD Writer BDX-S600U, BD XL. I’m so glad it’s portable. When I first learned of the burner I thought it was going to be big like our Blu-ray player. We have a burner that burns VHS tapes to DVDs and it’s huge. It also doesn’t work anymore. We just haven’t got around to unhooking it from the TV. The last thing I wanted was another big device on the TV stand.

The Sony Portable BD Writer is just a little larger then a Blu-ray case. It plugs right into your desktop or laptop with a USB port. The USB cable even folds up nicely inside of the unit so that you don’t have to worry about the cord getting kinked or in the way. You don’t need to plug it into an outlet either. It’s powered by your computer. Its a lot like a “plug and play” game. You simply plug it into your computer and you are ready to start burning.   

We had a little bit of a hard time figuring out the software but after some trial and error we figured it out. We’re using a different software then the one that came with the unit.

I could give you all the “technical” information but I figured it would be easier just to write about the burner in “layman’s terms” to make it easier.

The Blu-ray burner burns discs to Blu-ray rather quickly. I remember when my husband would burn home movies on VHS tapes to DVD, it would take a long time. The disc to Blu-ray seems to go by a lot quicker.

One of the things I really like most about burning our discs on to Blu-ray discs is that it allows my husband to burn several discs together on one Blu-ray disc (the Blu-ray discs have a lot of gig space). For example, we went to Disney World about 10 years ago. We have several discs (home movies) that we took on the trip. I believe there are 5 or 6 of them in total. My husband was able to burn them all on the SAME Blu-ray disc, in chronological order too! Now we don’t have to dig through cabinet to find all the Disney trip discs. All of them are now burned onto one Blu-ray disc, now marked Disney Trip.

We need more Blu-ray discs! I have to go and buy more. My husband can easily burn several discs on to Blu-ray in one evening from the convenience of his laptop while sitting in his favorite chair. It’s THAT easy!

For more information about Blu-ray discs you can check out the Blu-ray Disc Association, http://US.Blu-rayDisc.com.

Kimberly

*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are entirely my own and not influenced in anyway.

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