
Aug 17, 2011
I’ve decided to forgo the rest of Veracity‘s blog-a-thon because I merely do not have the time to keep up and honestly my posts were becoming more quantity than quality. I thought I’d be able to actually commit to it this month because I taking time off from school but it seems that where there is no school to pre-occupy what should be my spare time, work takes over instead. My hours should be 9:30am-18:00 MST– I can tell you I’m usually in around 8:30am and leave about 19:30-20:00 depending on what is going on and what needs to be done. It’s gotten to the point where my work-aholic husband is yelling at me because I’m still working when he gets home and generally long after that. My life of late consist of eat, work, sleep– rinse and repeat. And yes, I am working partially on my days off as well– fun right?
Unfortunately, I don’t expect any breaks until probably mid October IF I’m lucky. It’s so busy right now and there’s so much to do and it feels like I can never catch up. I start one thing and thing I’m making a dent and then something else crops up. It’s to the point where I have just stopped hoping I’ll make any sort of progress. One thing on my list of things to learn which is pretty much a MUST is how to build out pivot tables in excel. Robby is going to teach me so I can be more effective on the job and take some load off of a co-worker who does the majority of the reporting. I do what I can but I am limited because I don’t have the knowledge when it comes to Excel. I know some things– like being able to recognize corrupt data or forumlas and fix it but beyond that I’m just a deer in headlights.
My life is just fascinating right?
Yeah, I didn’t think so either.

Aug 15, 2011
Weekly Theme: Photo a Day
Daily Prompt: Show us your ideal vacation spot. Why is this your ideal vacation spot?
-Source
I have been to Hawaii once before and I can tell you that hands down of all the places I have ever been to it is the most magical, most breath taking location. It was strange to feel like I was on a completely different planet even though I wasn’t really that far from home.
We confessed our undying love for each other in Hawaii so it will ALWAYS be special to me.

Aug 14, 2011
Weekly Theme: Photo a Day
Daily Prompt: Show us your dream house! Either draw it, find a picture of it, or compile a picture of it through an editing program. Why is it your dream house?
I honestly don’t think I really need to say why this is my dream home– the picture says it all! Enjoy!

Aug 13, 2011
Weekly Theme: Online & Gadgets
Daily Prompt: How has having a website and being involved in online communities and forums changed your life? What do you think you’d be doing online if you never got into making websites or online communities?
I’ll be the first to admit that my history with meeting people online hasn’t been the best. I’ve run into situations with those I thought were friends only to find that wasn’t the case and I was being used. As a result I’m a little more guarded with who I let into my life and despite all the pain I’ve had to endure, I don’t regret my presence online or the fact that I am involved in communities– with the good comes the bad.
First and foremost if I had not decided to reopen one of my now deceased message boards, I probably never would have met my best friend and because of this I am so fortunate for the internet. It allowed me to meet and get to know someone I would never have had the chance to do so if the internet didn’t exist. Jennifer has been one of the best motivating and supporting forces in my life this past year. There is so much that I have been there, so much that I have discovered that I do not know what I would have done if I didn’t have her to lean on. I love her so much and am so appreciative of the friendship we have.
I’ve also had the opportunity to connect with a few other people and while we may not be as close as Jenn and I are– I foresee that given time that could change. The internet has really afforded me the opportunity to make friends much more easily given that I work from home. I have met some amazing people and learned so much about myself as well. The girls and guys at Veracity are an amazing bunch and it still amazes me that we can just get on Skype and start talking and chatting about our lives like we’ve known each other for years. I love it and I am so fortunate to have such a great community to turn to. Truly and sincerely the internet has changed my life for the better and because of that you’ll see me around these parts for many more years to come.

Aug 12, 2011
Weekly Theme: Online & Gadgets
Daily Prompt: What are some of your must have programs on your computer? For those with smart phones or tablets, what are some must have applications on your devices? List no more than 5 for each.
There are several programs that are necessary in order for me to feel comfortable with the computer that I’m using. If it is missing even one of the items listed below, it feels incomplete and I feel absolutely and totally uncomfortable using it. Probably the main reason I’m not really able to get into my Macbook as much as my PC– because there are a lot of programs I cannot port over or work differently in the Mac environment.
- Photoshop CS 5
- Some type of FTP program (my preferred is AceFTP Pro)
- Google Chrome
- Trillian
- Some type of music program, preferrably NOT iTunes
I obviously have more– however we were limited to 5 so I just listed the first 5 that came to mind given how tired I am. As for my smart phone, to be honest I don’t really have any applications that are an absolute necessity. I would be quite content with my phone if it didn’t have some of the apps it does. Maybe that’s weird, but with my phone the standard is enough for what I need.

Aug 11, 2011
Weekly Theme: Online and Gadgets
Daily Prompt: What inspired you to create your personal blog? What continues to inspire you?
I first sought out blogging as a means of a release. It allowed me to get out all my feelings and emotions without having to verbalize it to those around, something that even now I still struggle with. Writing is an escape for me. It allows me to get lost without my emotions and let the thoughts I have, the feelings I feel tumble out without preparation or hesitation. When we speak, we guard the things we have to say. We subconsciously edit the words that escape our mouth because we’re taught that if you can’t say something nice, you shouldn’t say it all and thus we censor.
Writing is different. It allows us to be a little more open, share a deeper piece of ourselves without necessarily feeling completely vulnerable and raw. You do not have to see the look on the faces of those who read your blog as they read it– whereas when you talk to someone, the reaction is there for you to see and ultimately affects you even if you deny that it does.
There isn’t a whole lot that continues to inspire. I write because I can, because I need to write. I am the type that over analyzes or recounts conversations and actions over and over again and my blog serves as a brain dump for me. Eventually what I’d like to do is expand on my content. Blog about recipes I’ve tried or projects that I have picked up and even start utilizing this place as a photo dump. Will that happen? Eventually. When will it happen? When the muse strikes me.