You, on the other hand, are lucky to print out the photos you take. You lost that cheap digital camera (though it is probably in one of those heaps in the closet and one day you’ll dig in there to find out but it doesn’t matter anyway because it’s probably outdated by now). Hell, if memory serves, that thing is bigger than your head! Summoning up enough creativity to crop those photos (the ones you didn’t print out) and paste them on a page with colorful captions and fringe is enough to make you wince.

No, your mode of preserving family memories is less showy. You just pull out your iPhone and snap your kid playing in that fountain in the park –the one the security guards say you should stay out of. Then you e-mail it to yourself and, when you get home, post it on your personal blog, the one whose address you share with family who are less apt to visit it than some complete strangers who are nice enough to sympathize and comment.

Don’t fret. Those family blogs are just as precious a keepsake as your best friend’s Creative Memories books. And now you can preserve your blog in book form, too! The folks at Blurb.com can pull your blog posts from WordPress, TypePad and a number of other blogging platforms and turn them into a book. Your book can have its own hard cover, dust jacket and even paper choice. And your book can be delivered to your door in just seven to 10 business days for as little as $12.95. You can even place your blog book in Blurb’s bookstore for fans to purchase.

So there, no more feeling less-than-adequate because you don’t scrap. Your blogs can be keepsakes, too.

Photos, www.Blurb.com (lower right) and JWJourney, (upper left)

Post from: Blisstree

Cool Keepsake: Turn Your Blogs into Books

Based on two separate books — Julie Powell’s Julie & Julia, and iconic celebrity chef Julia Child’s book My Life in France — the movie (and Powell’s book, which is what the movie is based on), chronicles Powell’s attempt at making every recipe in Child’s cookbook, The French Chef, in one year and blogging about it (and to make things even more confusing, the blog is what inspired the book, which is what inspired the movie!). At the same time, it follows Julia’s story, though it happened over 40 years earlier, as she lived in France and became a master of French cooking. Amy Adams portrays Powell in the movie, and Meryl Streep plays Julia Child.

Though the two never met, it’s been rumored that before her death in 2004, Julia Child had made comments that she didn’t approve of Powell’s blog, saying that Powell wasn’t serious about what she was doing and that it was nothing more than a stunt, and that she wouldn’t endorse it (she also, apparently, didn’t approve of Powell’s language in the blog either!).

Julie keeps a current blog on blogspot, where she writes about some of the ins and outs of her shot to celebrity status. She also had an interview on ABC News yesterday that I found interesting.

Truth be told, an experiment like this is very appealing to me, but I just don’t know if I’d have the determination (or funds!) to pull it off, especially when it involves 524 recipes within 364 days! There are some days where all I feel like doing in the kitchen is put out sandwich makings and telling the family to knock themselves out.

What do you think — could you do it?

[image: wikipedia]

Post from: Blisstree

Julie & Julia Hits Theaters Tomorrow

Do you think I’m under a bit of stress lately? I’ve certainly been talking about it a lot, haven’t I?

To relieve stress, I usually cook a ginourmous pot of stew or pasta sauce — which of couse is in itself a form of stress…the prep work, the chopping and especially the clean up. There must be better ways to leave your troubles behind.

There is, it’s called travel. I just came back from Vegas and had a wonderful time. I love everything about travel — truth be told, I don’t even mind the circus act that we know today as airport security. I love the language of flying, I love to stare out the window duing much of the flight…and I love, love, love hotel room service menus.

Eggs, over-easy, side of bacon and big pot of coffee…is the perfect remedy after a night of libation and gambling and whatever else it is that “stays in Vegas.”

Do yourself a favor, and plan a really nice trip for yourself and your significant other…but, before you do, take a little blogosphere trip to Fly Away Cafe, a wonderful Blog (isn’t that a great Blog Name?) written by Mary Jo Manzanares. Mary Jo is an expert on almost every little thing related to travel. FlyAwayCafe.com offers tips, how-to’s and overall an enlightened perspective on how, where, when and sometimes why we travel.

Have fun…and DO NOT BRING YOUR BLACKBERRY!

Post from: Blisstree

Take A Vacation From Stress

But I became side-tracked. As I was searching on-line for some references, I came across this Newsweek review of three new high-schoolish book titles of which the focus is how undermining, sneaky and downright mean women are to each other at work. (And maybe just in general) — how we’re supposed to navigate through this stuff and look great doing it! These books are really just $16.00 blogs.

Reading the article just made me want to take a big ‘ol nap.

My feeling is — if someone in HR were to calculate all of the working hours lost as a result of the time spent on this crap at work, there would be such shock and horror over the complete waste of resources, that whole employee manuals would be re-written and heads would roll.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be aware of the politics of women at work; I’m saying we wast too much energy taking it all so seriously.

Everyone get back to work!

And I’m sure glad I work for me…if I want to compete with myself, well that’s between me and Dr. Phil

Post from: Blisstree

Shoes and Rules About Success.

It’s 6:30am, you’re standing at your train stop, it’s freezing, your monthly ticket is somewhere at the bottom of your purse.

Instead of muttering how much you hate commuting and that you’re going to start looking for a job in your home town, here’s my top ten list of things to love about that chunk of time in the morning:

1. Keep saying to yourself that you are never going to get out of your PJs ever again.
2. Put all of your make-up on.
3. Change your shoes.
4. Read Rachel Ray’s new magazine but cover it with Fortune Magazine.
5. Type up the PowerPoint presentation that you swore you were going to do last night when you got home but Grey’s Anatomy was on.
6. Phone your assistant, and speak loudly enough so fellow passengers know how important you are.
7. Fix the ring tone on your phone by down loading a Coldplay song.
8. See if you can successfully text message your boyfriend or husband.
9. Come up with names/logos of your the business you’ve been fantasizing about, such as your new blog about shoes.
10. Sleep. (mouth closed)

There, your at the train station…didn’t that go fast?

Illustration from: Allposters.com.

Post from: Blisstree

What to love about commuting….