We really heart the Fire

Recently, I got an email from Tammie King of Night Owl Reviews. I have been reviewing books for them for some time now (I believe I started in 2013). I started reviewing ebooks for them until I was able to start reviewing their print books. Since then, I have reviewed mostly print books for them. This is because we only have one computer in the house that I was using to download ebooks onto and read them at the desk – when I had the chance to read them, that is. Because my time on the computer was so limited for a while there, I only had so much time to read ebooks that I had on the computer. Because my youngest child is older now and in school full-time, I have more time available to be on the computer earlier in the day. Also, I now also have a smartphone and now, it would seem, an e-reader, too!

But I’m not sure if I can call my e-reader a “Kindle.” Or even an e-reader!

In the past, I was asked if I was interested in getting a Kindle. I said “no” because I didn’t think I would be interested in using one to read books. At that time, I was too hooked on print books!

But, lately, I have started to read ebooks again, and I am now more interested in continuing to read ebooks. And until recently, I was still only reading them on the computer!

Then I got Tammie’s email that was sent to all reviewers, in which she informed us that NOR was switching to “ebook-only” for reviews. Because I didn’t have an e-reader, I let Tammie know I was iffy on my time to read ebooks, since I was reading them on the computer! Well, Tammie got back to me saying “I have a Kindle I can send you,” and that got my interest! Now, at this point, I recently started to read ebooks again, and I was interested in reading MORE ebooks! And my desire to own a Kindle? It was certainly there! So I let Tammie know I’d be interested in using the Kindle to review books for NOR – and I thanked her for her generosity in providing one!

When I received the Kindle, my son was with me to look at it. We were both really excited about it! He even took my picture of me holding it for the first time. LOL I was happy to now own an e-reader – but as I learned, I wasn’t sure if I could call it that! Or even a Kindle!

I told my husband that I got a “Kindle,” and when I showed it to him, he said that it wasn't a Kindle.

I was confused. Tammie called it a Kindle. It was made by Amazon, who makes the Kindles, so it’s a Kindle, right? Sure, it says “Fire” on it, but it’s still a Kindle….right??

Well, I wasn’t too sure if it was! And when I set it up on my Amazon account, they identified it as my “Fire” and not "Kindle." So should I call it my Fire?? That seems a little weird.

My son solved my dilemma by referring to it as a "tablet." Technically, it is NOT a “tablet” as tablets are known in the tech world, but since it is bigger than my smartphone and kinda shaped like a “tablet,” the name has stuck. Also, we can do other things on it besides read ebooks – like play games, watch videos, take pictures and stuff. There is also email on there, but I haven’t yet figured out how to get it to work for my email. (I am still getting acquainted with it.)

But I think that calling it a “tablet” is a good idea. Calling it a “Fire” just isn’t workable for us. Especially this morning, when I told my son to “grab the Fire” before we headed out the door. Then I realized what I had said and amended that to: “I mean, grab the tablet. Don’t grab actual fire.” He laughed and pretended to pick up invisible fire from the fireplace and carry it to his backpack.

Having the Fire/tablet has been awesome for us and I am really grateful to Tammie King for sending it (thanks again, Tammie!). I am still trying to figure it all out and have also downloaded some ebooks onto it in preparation for getting used to reading ebooks on it and figuring out how that feature works, too, for when I start reviewing ebooks for NOR. (Right now, I am working my way through a stack of prints to review for them.) My son is also using it and has enjoyed the tech features on it too.

And ever since I have been checking out ebooks on Amazon, I started to think about renewing my membership for Kindle Unlimited to get free ebooks to read. (I never have enough books OR ebooks to read!!) I cancelled that membership a while ago because I just WASN’T reading ebooks! But now I have the tablet/Fire/Kindle/e-reader to read ebooks with, and downloading ebooks on Amazon through Kindle Unlimited is a snap. So today, when my friend was advertising that her ebook was free for a limited time through Kindle Unlimited, that was the push to make me decide to go ahead and renew my membership with Kindle Unlimited and I snatched a copy of my friend’s book in ebook form (get it here).

So now it looks like I’m all set to read ebooks again and I look forward to reading as many ebooks on the Kindle Fire e-reader that I can! And I look forward to reviewing future ebooks for Night Owl thanks to the e-reader making my ability to read them now a little more convenient.

Texting while shopping

During the weekday mornings, I turn on the local news and leave it on that channel for Good Morning, America. This morning, as I was getting ready to leave to take Jesse to school, we happened to notice a “special report” on GMA about a rise in deaths or accidents among people who were texting and walking at the same time. It reminded me of this news story I read some time ago about a man who fell to his death because he was texting and walking and he walked right off of a mountain. Jesse and I watched the videos of several people who had accidents – they walked into walls, into traffic and even into a fountain – because they were texting and walking. I told Jesse this was why I never texted and walked at the same time. Of course, there was one time it was an emergency and I sort of had to text while walking/running but fortunately I made it out of that ok. But I usually never do it. Jesse agreed that it was a bad idea, especially after seeing the video. Later, I asked Jennifer if she does that, and she said sometimes but she’s able to watch where she’s going while texting.

Well, later today – this evening, actually – I got a good dose of just how much of a bad idea it was to text and walk, because I ended up texting while shopping!

After I got home from taking Jesse to gymnastics class, I was looking forward to getting dinner going, taking care of a couple of chores I had NOT gotten around to YET and being home for the day. But that didn’t happen! Right after I got home, Jennifer informed me that someone at her school had taken her fabric ribbon that she needed for a school project – and that project was due tomorrow! So of course she needed me to drive her to the craft store to get more fabric ribbon.

On any other occasion and if it was earlier in the day, I would have been happy to take her to the craft store. We go to Ben Franklin Crafts and it’s a pretty awesome craft store. But tonight, I was tired, had things to do and was NOT looking forward to more driving – especially to a store quite a distance from us. But, I was the only one to do it. It was up to me!

First, however, I texted my friend and asked her if she had any ribbon that Jen could use. She did, but not cloth ribbon. Which was what we needed. And instead of the conversation ending there, it actually continued on for a while! Not while I was driving, of course. No way would I ever text and drive! And while I was driving there, I was thinking, ‘I’m so glad I put gas in the van today!’ As well, as that old standby: ‘Why can’t there be two of me?’ 

After we arrived at the craft store, I resumed texting with my friend while the kids A: Got the ribbon and B: Checked out other craft projects in the store. (It’s a cool store!!)

But at one point, I got so caught up with texting, I finally looked up and noticed the kids WAITING for me to pay for the ribbon and the cashier trying not to laugh as she stared at me.

I was a 41-year-old woman doing what teenagers typically do: Text on my phone with one of my besties when I should be paying attention to my surroundings. I was texting while shopping! Oh nos!

I took care of that bidness. Then I was texting my friend again on the way out of the store and to the van. And after we got home, too. (It was a good conversation!)

I think it was silly I was texting while shopping because obvi I got distracted by it. Usually, if I text while I shop, it’s to ask about a brand or if we need something while I’m there at the store. Or it’s the kids asking me to get something for them! But usually not when it comes to checking out. I’m a little embarrassed that happened but it was funny too. At least nobody got hurt. And at least it’s not as bad as texting while driving!

She Googled me!

Last year, Jennifer’s class was introduced to using laptops in the classroom. I thought it was great that the kids were getting hands-on experience with technology, but I started to feel nervous after we received a permission slip to allow Jennifer to access the Internet. Normally, we didn’t allow her to get on the Internet before, because she was too young to understand Internet safety. We held off for as long as we could to allow Jennifer to use ANY Internet, at home and school, but this year, we had to give in. We had to allow Jennifer access to the World Wide Web.

Yikes!

When she first started using the Internet, her dad and I gave her a speech about Internet safety and the dangers of using the Internet. We also let her know you cannot trust people you don’t know on the Internet. We have told her that some people are nice, but other people can be really mean. She read a book about cyberbullying, but we have also talked to her about being careful with ANYONE she doesn't know who she talks to on the Internet.

Still, at 10 years old, maybe it is time for her to learn how to be safe on the Internet.

Ever since she started using the Internet at school, we have allowed her to use the Internet at home, as well. But we have explained to her that she cannot use the Internet without supervision.

Still, there have been a few hurdles. Like the time she accidentally downloaded a Trojan virus onto the computer. (She has since learned to be more careful about links she clicks on.) And she’s had to accept my refusal to register her for games on SOME web sites, because there are some sites that cannot be trusted and some that use your email to send a crapload of spam. (She’s still not happy about this but perhaps one day, after she has personally had to delete a bazillion spam emails from her email inbox, she will understand.) She knows she cannot give out her real name, address or phone number on the Internet. One day she will understand that it’s important to exercise that same caution with your email address.

Well, today, after school, Jennifer logged on to the computer. I figured she was going to play her usual games, and while she did play games or watch Dragon Ball Z Kai videos, she also ended up on Google. I noticed that after I found her perusing a page of links to LinkedIn profiles – all names that were mine!

I looked at her and asked, “Are you checking me out?”

She laughed and said that she wanted to look us up on Google in case there were people saying bad things about us. (Side note: I have reached a point where I. Just. Don’t. Care. If people are saying bad things about me. I have way too many other important things to worry about! But I didn’t tell Jennifer that.) I told her that if she wanted to Google me, then not to use my married name. (I have noticed there are quite a few “Dawn Wilsons” out there!) I told her I use my maiden name for my writing so I wrote it down for her. Then I said I also use the name “Dawn Colclasure-Wilson” but only on Facebook and for legal stuff. Armed with this info, she went right back to Google!

I walked off to the kitchen to get a VERY late lunch (it’s been a busy day) but I couldn’t help but smile. Wow, my little girl was Googling me? Really?

I have actually Googled myself before. Us writers are told we should, just to see if our work has been reposted somewhere without our permission and to see where our names have ended up. I have had some surprises with this. One time, I found that someone DID copy/paste something I wrote (a blog post) on their site, but they totally mangled it. They messed up all the words and it was just terrible. I asked them if they would kindly fix it but, instead, they just took it down. (Hey, either way was fine with me!) I have also seen how people have mentioned me on their web sites, along with my web site link (thank you, peoples!) as well as comments I have made on blogs showing up.
So this time, I was curious about how this would affect my daughter after Googling her mom.

While I sat at the kitchen table eating pasta, Jennifer ran in and said, “I found your web site!” I smiled and said, “That web site has been there for a while.” (That's like someone in my family FINALLY noticing one of my books on a shelf and going, "You're an author? Really?") When she ran back to read it, I started to wonder just what she’d click on from my web site. Would she go to the blogs? A book review? Would she check out one of the books I have on there?

I decided not to fuss over that so much and just let it be. Later, I noticed she’d had her Google fill and had decided to log off.

Before she went to bed, I asked her, “So what did you think of my web site?”

“It was cool!” she answered with a grin. “I learned a lot about you.”

That made me smile. Who knew that all of this Internet stuff we moms do could actually produce a learning experience for our children?

Beam me up, Scotty! (Just leave behind the mouse.)

“Houston, we have a problem.”

Ah, technology. Love it or hate it. Sometimes I love it, like when it allows me to stay connected with people or to read about stuff I couldn’t otherwise be privy to. And sometimes I hate it, like when “that darn Shift key” gets stuck and I have to go back to add a capital letter somewhere – or the mouse button stops working!

Recently, I have noticed that the right mouse button has not been working very well. I usually right-click on links to open them in another tab (like for the MANY science articles I like to read!) or right-click on a PDF link to save an ebook onto the hard drive. But lately, that has not been going so well. The right mouse button has been stuck and I have had to really PRESS on that darn thing to get it to work!

After I noticed this was happening a lot, I realized this was a mouse-button problem and not so much a temporary thing. It wasn’t me being a real weakling in pressing the mouse button, either.

In fact, I think that hubby has noticed this problem, too. I never mentioned it to him but it seems that he, too, has caught on that the mouse button was being so darn stubborn because he recently went out and bought a new mouse.

So the problem has been resolved without either of us having to say anything about it. I kept reminding myself to mention this problem to him but never got around to doing that. Now I don’t need to worry about saying anything because he noticed that problem too and took action.

As to the tech woes? If I have problems with the Shift key, I usually cry out “That darn Shift key!” and go back to correct mistakes, all the while muttering expletives under my breath. (Or sometimes I don’t catch the mistakes before an email gets away from me. Yikes!) And, usually, about the only other thing I have done with the mouse is imitate Scotty by holding it up and saying into the back of it, “Helloooo, computerrrr.” The kids have had a good laugh over this and even did the same thing a time or two. Good thing they never saw me scream my head off at the mouse, yank it out of the computer and angrily bang it against the desk a hundred thousand times after that darn button once again didn’t work. Because I was sure tempted to do that after having to deal with that problem for so long!

The mouse has been spared, though – and replaced. Peace is once again restored in our home.

Now if only something could be done about that darn Shift key.......

Glitches

Today while doing some grocery shopping, I headed over to Starbucks and got coffee. Today they gave away a FREE pastry to anyone who bought a coffee. I bought 2 coffees and got TWO free pastries. Yay! I chose the blueberry scone, which is my favie. I ordered a venti White Chocolate Mocha for myself. This is my chosen drink but sometimes, it tastes different when other people make it. One lady who works there knows how to make it just right. Still, I can't complain. IT'S COFFEE!!

Which is what I drank a lot of today. A LOT. Sure that meant running to the bathroom a lot, but, hey! At least I got my caffeine fix for the day! (Which, apparently, is not yet winding off. Hmm.)

Also today, I had some computer glitches. Been having some problems with MS Word but hubby fixed it today. Woo-woo! Now I can get back to work! I was practically tearing my hair out of my head because Word kept freezing up and I couldn't get ANYTHING done! Gah! I took this as a sign to get my short story written and finished up (which I have been working on since Saturday), but I still wanted to work on the books. Must! Stick! To! Schedule! Believe me, the only time I'll be able to take a break from these books is when they are DONE and SENT OFF. Then I will relax.

I just can't until then, y'know?

Must finish books! Must meet deadlines!

Today we were planning on having a talent show for a special activity. Jennifer wanted to sing but she had a thing about singing when I wouldn't be able to hear her sing. So I invited the neighbors over but they never showed up. She felt bad about that. I assured her we'll have another talent show next week and she can do something else. I suggested she do something else today but she was SO insistent about singing. She does like to sing.

And I bought goodies for nothing, too. So I guess both of us were disappointed.

Still, in the evening, she did sing her song to me. She sang a bedtime lullaby. It was SO SWEET! It was one she made up. This reminded me of how I made up a lullaby for her when she was a baby. I wrote mine down at the time, but she has not yet written this one down. I think I should tell her to write it down. If anything, it could be a keepsake for her brother, who she made the song up for. It's a really sweet lullaby.

Today when I did the housework, I went the extra mile and dusted areas of the house I usually don't dust. I was appalled at how much dust can collect EVERYWHERE in a house! That's craziness! I made a mental note to be sure to keep up with the dusting in those little areas just so dust does not collect. Too much dust in a house can cause serious respiratory problems. As it is, I have bronchitis, and I know that too much dust will only make it worse.

Anyway, another computer glitch we ran into was the speaker not working. This was my "duh moment" for the day. I was trying to play some tunes via YouTube the kids could enjoy listening to but Jen tells me that the speakers were not working after I already ran two videos. This, after she played her computer game for over an hour, with the speaker turned on! I thought it was working. So I got a tip on how to fix that and soon they were rocking to the Beach Boys and ZZ Top.

The problem with the speaker is that, by default, it's muted on my account. Gah! I did NOT know that. So now I know that, from now on, I have to turn "mute" off if Jen wants to use the speakers on my account.

And the other computer glitch I had was with Firefox, the browser I use. (I read on a friend's blog how Firefox had MUCH better security then IE, so that's why I started using Firefox.) Today I upgraded to the new version of Firefox and thought it was pretty cool. For one thing, no more going to "File" and WAITING for the drop-down menu to show to open a new tab. Now I just click on the "plus" sign and a new tab opens. Huzzah!

But this evening, something weird happened. When I tried to close a tab by clicking on the "x" thingy, a new blank tab opened! Huh?? I tried to close it and another one opened. Then that happened again!

My hubby and I were chatting at the time. He advised me to just close Firefox then try getting back on to see what happens. After I finish with this blog post, I will see what happens!

Horribly Terrified and Mentally Limping

Forget about what people tell you what "HTML" stands for. For me, the acronym means "Horribly Terrified and Mentally Limping." That is the exact way I felt yesterday as I set about the task of learning how to create a website. To wit, learning HTML code so that I can create my own websites. I've been trying to do this for MONTHS. And there are so many people who have tried to teach me how to do HTML coding to create websites, but it never sunk in.

I have a friend who is so tech-savvy and has created several websites. They ARE impressive sites and I always enjoy how beautiful her sites are. So I've asked her recently, "How did you learn it?" She told me she had to learn EVERYTHING on her own. She started talking about it and I tripped up over something in her email. I asked my husband, "What is a host?" He explained it's where people are able to put up their sites. He asked why I wanted to know and I told him I am trying to learn website design so that I can create my own sites (namely, an author site). We spent many hours at the computer last night as he showed me different codes and techniques on creating a website. (It helps to be married to a computer programmer. LOL) He said one easy thing to do is to just create the site the way I want it to appear on Notepad then go back and put all of the codes around it.

Now, learning HTML code has been the biggest challenge for me. I mean, I only know basic HTML, nothing as complicated as font size and color numbers or extra features like sound files or anything like that. I don't even know what that thingy is called at the top of the window that shows the page title! So as we worked together on that last night, I kept looking over the different codes and how they are all used. There's a code for the background color, the text size AND color, a code for how text appears and where everything will go.

In the past, when I tried to learn HTML code on my own, I enlisted the help of the Internet. Now the problem with this is that there are bazillions of sites out there offering HTML code tutorials, and I soon had a headache trying to sort through them all. It was just REALLY confusing! I also asked many people what sites are the best to use to learn HTML coding and I visited those. Another thing I tried was taking a free online course that teaches HTML coding, but without a program like FrontPage to work with and test out everything I did, it was hard to learn everything.

My husband went to the site tucows.com and downloaded the free program, Page Breeze. We were working with it last night and THIS is how I have something that BOTH teaches me about HTML and gives me a way to practice the codes and see what turns up. YAY!! (My friend said that's what FrontPage is like.) But in addition to using this program, I am also going to keep checking out sites and read a couple of books. (One book I have heard is really good for the beginner is HTML for Dummies.) There's so many things I still don't know about. I got proof of this when my friend sent me an email with even more site-creating info in it and I was so confused after even reading it twice. So maybe after I get some more practice done and read up on it some more, my brain won't be limping through this task as much as it is now.

Click!

Hubby did a Very Good Thing recently: He bought us cell phones. Not JUST cell phones, mind you, but the kind of phone that also has a camera, voice recorder, flashlight, email/text, calculator and games. It even vibrates when a message is received! (MacGyver would LOVE these.) It's a good thing he got these phones because, a couple days later, my email on my old ISP stopped working, on the same day I had to take our sick daughter to the doctor and hubby wanted to stay updated on what happened while he was at work.

I hate to admit it, but I'm becoming addicted to this little phone. I use it for EVERYTHING! Well, except to cook meals and do the laundry with, though it would be nice if The Powers That Be could find some way to incorporate those features into an updated version of the phone. ;) (There's also the fact that it doesn't have a word processor thingy on it, either. How sad, especially since I have been without MS Word and STRUGGLING because I can't work on my books. Ack!)

But one thing I'm really going nuts over is the camera feature. For the longest time, I would envy people who had camera phones. I'd watch them hold their little phones up to take pictures and all the while seethe over how I don't have one of those camera-phone-thingies myself. Sigh. Now I finally do! And despite hubby's cautions not to go nuts over taking pictures with my phone, I just can't help myself.

My daughter somehow or another spells her uncle's name (WITHOUT HELP) while we're playing Scrabble? Click!

A weird-looking spider is on the tree outside? Click!

A VERY foggy morning blankets my daughter's school in fog? Click!

A culinary disaster turns into an artistic curiosity? Click!

My dog is cuddled up asleep next to my chair? Click!

I know that sometimes there are things that are NOT worthy of being photographed but sometimes that obsession to take pics with my nifty camera phone overrides that common sense. It doesn't matter if it's my daughter standing in front of the TV watching a movie or if it's a cool-looking autumn leaf found outside. Nothing can escape my clicking finger when it comes to the camera phone! Bwaa-haha!

Of course, to save room, I email the pics to my email account. And sending an email costs 5 cents each time. I wouldn't be surprised if hubby faints when the bill comes in.

Meanwhile, my digital camera is sitting in the case on the shelf, feeling all neglected and jealous of the new guy. I still use it every once in a while, just to let it know it's still useful to me, but when it comes to portability and instant email receipt of a photo, the camera phone still comes out on top.

At least, until they come up with something else that's even better....