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Are you one of the many digi scrappers that wish they had more time to scrap? This week, we are joined by Anna Aspnes to share our life hacks for saving time so you can have MORE time to scrap!! Cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, scheduling, and more!
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Joining the Discussion:
Anna Aspnes
Peppermint Granberg
Katie Nelson
Steph
From The Show:
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Picks of the Week:
Anna: Be More With Less
Peppermint: Fracture
Katie: Pic Monkey
Steph:
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Steph,
Not sure if its just me. Butdownload of.this episode plays last weeks show… Just fyi.
Thanks! It’s fixed, now, sorry about that!
I just wanted to tell you girls that I was scrapping when I started listening to this show. Then when y’all started talking about cleaning and Hoarders and sticky tabs, I shut down Photoshop, went upstairs, and sorted the laundry! LOL So yes, be happy! The Digishow encourages cleanliness!
I also just want to say thank you so much for this show. Listening to you gals comforted me because I often feel like I’m getting failing grades at the Good Wife and Homekeeper School :/ I don’t have kids, but I do a lot of freelance work and then I look up and realize that my condo has become inhospitable. Listening to your tips–and more importantly–how y’all struggle with some things too, just gave me such a boost of encouragement. I’m going to listen to this show again when I clean the kitchen tomorrow
PS/ Katie, I just had the most hilarious mental image of you literally throttling your computer at your comment! Well, maybe picking it up and shaking it
That mental image is pretty close to how I felt! lol
I’m 94% sure that Peppermint and I are twins. I also have an OCD husband, hate unloading the dishwasher, and keeping the house clean without my husband just doesn’t happen.
Loving this show ladies! But you’re convincing me that I need to have a kid and just cross my fingers that they are like their father and LIKE unloading the dishwasher or vacuum– like Katie’s kids!
About the only thing I manage to keep clean without my husband is my desk. I really can’t seem to get any work done if my desk is a mess, although I’m pretty sure that if I had a bigger desk I’d just move things out of my line of sight.
I actually want to add an L-shaped extension onto my desk (IKEA has it!) but it’s 72″ long and my Jeep isn’t long enough to get it back home from St. Paul. We measured! I could really make a hot mess out of an extra 6′ of desk space.
Tom does not clean litter boxes, though. That’s where he draws the line. He’s also not all that uptight about the cleanliness of bathrooms so that tends to land on my radar before it lands on his. Apparently all bathroom related entities, feline and human, are not in his wheelhouse.
The only room IN my house that is not obsessively clean (because my husband is not allowed) is my “studio.” Which is a disaster — but part of it is because if everything is too neat, like the rest of the house, I can’t be as creative.
But I’m with you on the bathroom thing. Why can’t they clean those??!?!
OMG me too!
Like Peppermint, I use Subscribe and Save through Amazon. I read about it in an article in The Wall Street Journal. They did a study about how much do people really save at warehouse stores like Costco or Sam’s Club. In the end, the amount of time saved through not going to the store, the additional discounts you get through Subscribe and Save and the fact that you aren’t adding random useless things into your basket … you save money not using a place like Costco and could find bigger savings through programs like Amazon offers.
There’s also a free Amazon program called Amazon Mom. It gives you free Prime membership for a year and additional discounts on baby and home related items. I’ve been having diaper, wipe and pull ups shipped (free, two day shipping) to me monthly … I actually get them cheaper than I would at Costco, Sam’s Club, Target with the discounts they give me for Subscribe and Save as well as Amazon Mom … and I get the name brand diapers, not the store brand. I’ve started using this for all sorts of household items, such as toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher detergent, etc. This way, even with my busy schedule we always have the things we need.
Anyway, thank for all the tips. I’ve already been the Once A Month Mom site and checked out the Vegetarian Meal plan. This is going to be super helpful for me and my family. I also feel like it will cut down on waste. I spend too much money grocery shopping without a purpose. My husband and our bank account thanks you all.
I love Once a Month Mom. It’s been a huge help as I prepare for the next baby in July. There are also lots of great recipes for “normal” cooking/baking that are nutritious and easy. It’s a fantastic resource. Yes, the long cooking day can be a bit much but the reward is that the cooking for the month is essentially done and it truly helps me save money.
Motivated moms is also great. I’ve adapted my schedule a bit but it was a good starting point. Almost everything my house needed to have cleaned was in the calendar with a frequency that made sense.
There’s a time management book called “Eat That Frog” which advocates getting the worst chore done first (ie – eat the frog first and then the rest is no big deal). Although the book is addressing more work-related issues, I’ve found that if I tackle the least desirable chores in the morning when I’m a bit foggy as the day progresses I can feel better knowing at least one load of laundry is done and the kitchen counters are clear (for now).
I love the concept of eating frogs and posted about it on my blog a few weeks ago (inspired by someone else’s blog post). I didn’t know there was a book, I’ll have to check that out. Thanks!
Love the show, but I have to say this episode made me ANGRY. When Anna started talking about NOT using a calendar, I nearly lost it. Anna, you owe your friends an apology. Your schedule and your children’s schedules are your responsibility until your children are old enough to get themselves to their events. Even if you have carpooling arrangements and babysitting arrangements, it is ultimately YOUR responsibility to take care of your children. The message are you sending your children when they miss something because you didn’t have it on reminder system of some sort is that their activities aren’t as important to you as your work or whatever you DID do instead of taking them to their events. AND, to suggest that a mom that stays at home is a mom that doesn’t work – THE NERVE. I am a stay at home mom, and I stay at home at great sacrifice, and I am SICK of moms like you who think it is MY responsibility to get YOUR children to their events. GROW UP.
I don’t think Anna meant anything negative about it, and from the sounds of it, she takes care of her friend’s needs as far as watching children in exchange as well. They are close friends and have found a system that works for each other.
Sorry that it made you angry, Stella. Thanks for your perspective!
As a fellow sahm, I understand where you’re coming from, but wish you could’ve expressed your opinion a bit more kindly. I cringe to think of Anna reading this. Ouch.
It sounded to me like Anna has a great relationship with her friends and it isn’t one-sided, but you’re certainly entitled to your opinion.
I’ve been giggling all day though thinking of how anyone could survive without using some kind of calendar!
I think we’ve discovered how Anna is able to design so much great content on such a regular basis. She is an incredibly free-spirited multi-tasker! 
To each his/her own!!
I had to go back and listen to the show before coming to comment because I was there in the recording and don’t remember Anna saying anything that indicated she thought SAHMs don’t work. I’m sorry that’s the way it was taken.
I’m concerned that if our guests have to worry about what they say and how it may be taken (and that they may offend), they might stop coming on the show. I’m not really sure how many episodes people would want to hear the same perspectives from just Katie, Peppermint, and myself. I think each one of us showed the honest, and somewhat vulnerable, side of how we run our lives and where we are falling short. Katie and I fully admitted that we aren’t doing very well right now in the cooking department (although that is not the only area I am struggling in at the moment), Peppermint is struggling with cleaning, and Anna doesn’t use a calendar. None of us is perfect!
The kind of relationship Anna has with her friends is a very similar relationship that I have with one of my friends/neighbors. We do everything we can to help each other out! Every single month, at the end of the month, she has my kids over to play, and often has us over for dinner. She knows it’s a crazy busy time for me with work (The Daily Digi). When I realized the pattern, I thanked her for it and her response was, “I’m home, I’m not working, it’s no biggie!” That wasn’t a slight on herself because she isn’t working, she was just saying that it’s not a big deal to her to do that and she knows it’s a huge help to me. She just had a baby and at 11 at night, I was the one she texted because she needed to go the hospital. I went and spent the night at her house, got her other 3 kids off to school the next day (my husband took the day off to be with our kids in the morning), and had her kids over after school to play until dad got home from the hospital (and recorded a Digi Show in-between). That’s what real friends do. I’m sad for you if you’ve never had that.
We all are doing the best we can and I KNOW Anna well enough to know that she did NOT mean her friend had nothing better to do because she is at home. All she meant is that at that time of day, because her friend doesn’t work, she is happy to jump in and help Anna out. Anna did say that she was okay with her kids missing things and her friend said, “No! We are going to get this done!” Those are the kinds of friends we all need, because life is really hard…no matter if you are a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, or not a mom at all!
Thanks, Stephanie, for such a thoughtful response. I’m a SAHM/WAHM, and while I think the words we choose are important (I prefer to say I’m not employed outside the home, not that I don’t work) I heard Anna’s comment as just a testament to a great friendship, and not one she takes for granted. She definitely wasn’t asking Stella to pick up her kids;-) So I hope whatever really provoked that response works itself out.
Very thoughtfully & well said!
Well written response Steph!!!!! I support that one hundred procent.
Oh wow, I didn’t get that at all from Anna and I’m a fellow SAHM. When she talked about not having a calendar, I just assumed that she was like my husband, he keeps it all in his head (I have to write EVERYTHING down) and he remembers better than I do. Now that’s irritating!
We all struggle as moms, no matter what our situation is and having good friends to help us and to watch our back and catch us when we fail, is an incredible, secure feeling. But, to have those type of friends, we have to be that type of friend and from what I see, hear and read of Anna, she is. And, even IF someone said something that sounded hurtful, this is a free podcast and a discussion type venue, and it would be sooooo easy to say things that were misconstrued and misunderstood. I know that I would have a problem with that. I would not want anyone, either the regulars or guests, to feel the pressure of watching what they say. One of the best things about the podcast is the feeling that they are being themselves. Just a bunch of friends getting together (listeners included) and talking, laughing and enjoying themselves. Thanks Steph for taking the time and responding in a respectful manner.
I had to listen to the show twice just to make absolutely sure, but yes, I didn’t get the message that Anna looked down on being an SAHM. I kinda freaked when she mentioned not having a calendar, and then sighed in relief when she mentioned having her tight-knit group of friends. Also, she mentioned her whole sticky tabs “system” for really important events
Steph, I think your response is spot-on, and yes I wouldn’t want your guests to feel like they constantly have to monitor what they say–and I noticed you and Katie are VERY careful to always tack on disclaimers that these are your opinions, etc.
That being said, well, things like this happen and yes, us all coming from such different backgrounds and experiences we are all going to form our own opinions on each show. Of course, every one is entitled to their opinion and how they express themselves, even in anger. But I also believe there’s a way to express anger that isn’t hurtful
I think you’ve nailed it. I do keep a lot in my head which is why I never bother with a calendar. I can make an appointment 2 months in advance and still remember. Irritates my husband that I remember everything
I’m a big maker of lists, I use sticky notes for important dates, I keep sports schedules in a special folder in my email but usually someone always reminds before I have to look them up. I am a SAHM who works and therefore I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule for which I’m grateful. We are a military family and by nature it’s country first and family second. I make it my mision to make sure Ella and Luke come first regardless of what their Dad is doing. I do that by the means I have available even if they are somewhat unconventional at times.
Stella, I couldn’t agree more that my children are my responsibility. We are a military family and so my husband is away in sometimes hostile environments for months at a time. I keep things together at home where I am a Stay At Home Mom who works. Sometimes my work day begins at 10pm after I have taken care of the needs of my children and I work into the wee hours of the morning only to be up at dawn to do it all again, just so my kiddos don’t have time to think about how much they miss their Dad. My family are all in Europe and I’m grateful for a handful of friends who are like family to me. We have been through big life experiences together and when the going gets tough we rally round and take care of each other. We have a total of 8 children between us and they all get to their games and practices on time something none of would be able to achieve alone. We are all women doing the best we can with the cards we have been dealt. Being a Mom is the toughest job in the world. There are challenges whichever way you look at it. I apologize sincerely for unintentionally offending you.
Anna, Thank you and please thank your husband for serving!! You are very blessed to have friends rally around and help out like that in any event. I would have given anything to have a small network of friends that I could count on and that they could count on me to help out. Times are rough for everyone, but that is how we survive is by helping one another NOT by beating one another down.
I love it when you’re on the show, Anna. I sure hope you’ll be back soon. #1, I love your voice
and #2, you have so much experience & expertise in the industry to contribute to the discussion. God bless you and your amazing husband for your service. Have a blessed day!!
I’m a military spouse, and I totally understand the military community and how we all help each other out. But I’m on Stella’s side here in the aspect of being responsible. Even if you have that community to help out with babysitting, getting you through those sticky situations when dh is gone somewhere, or anything, it’s still important to know when the practices are, teaching your kids that going to the practices is important (and not just showing up for games), and being responsible for your getting your kids where they need to be without relying on others to ensure that you’re not missing dates. Yes, of course, there are times where I’ve been reminded about a PTO meeting and I’d totally spaced it. But what I feel you’re doing is a bit irresponsible. JMO. If it works for you and your friends truly don’t care, fine. But I don’t think it’s setting a good example for your children.
While I completely respect your opinion and your right to express it, I just don’t feel it’s fair to judge a woman we don’t know personally after only hearing a few minutes about her life through a podcast on digital scrapbooking. Calling someone irresponsible is pretty harsh when you’ve never met them (even if you have) or walked in their shoes.
I said that what she’s doing is irresponsible. That’s different. I have not said that she is irresponsible.
In the programme, she explained what she does. I find that thing that she explained to be irresponsible. My comment is wholly supported by her own admission.
So well said Anna !! You rock girl – in all ways possible. Be thankful for good friends.
Great show! (Frankly, they all are great!)
Can you please tell me how to see if my Crashplan is “throttling the backup”, or whatever it is that you were talking about. I have had it almost a year and it is still not backed up!!! GRRR. Something is going on–ready to cancel the service. I got it to backup my laptop and EHD –but it just won’t get done with the laptop. Any suggestions on how to check this out would be very much appreciated!
Thanks So Much.
There’s sort of two areas. Both of them are in the “Settings” area of the software: http://support.crashplan.com/doku.php/reference_guide/settings
First you can set your CPU usage in the “General” tab.That will decide how much of your computer’s resources are used when you’re at your computer as opposed to when you’re away from it. I’m away from my computer so I can’t tell you what my specific settings are, but I imagine that I have the “when I’m present” setting fairly low. I don’t notice any lagging when I’m working. (Unlike when my virus scan starts and I can’t seem to do ANYTHING else)
Then the second setting is under the “Network” tab of that same screen. That’s where you can set the network bandwidth limits for when you’re at your computer vs. when you’re away. This is where you can run a network speed test to see what your download/upload speed capabilities are and then dedicate bandwidth accordingly. If you only use a wireless connection then you only have to put values into the WAN area.
THANK YOU! I just signed up for CrashPlan yesterday (thanks to the Digi Show) and the 45 days was depressing me to no end. I am now at 4 days and that is fabulous.
Ok, I looked it up now that I’m back in my office. I have the CPU usage set to 80% when I’m away, 20% when I’m present (just like the screenshot on that page I linked to) and I have my Network settings to 2Mbps when I’m away and 100kbps when I’m present.
The downstream on my cable Internet is 30Mbps, and the upstream is about 3Mbps, so I’m allowing CrashPlan to use a large chunk of that upstream during the times I’m not at my computer. I think I left that extra 1Mbps for the “rest of the people I live with” (wha? who cares about them?) back when I did my initial large back-ups. Since I’m only doing incremental backups at this point it’s probably only uploading for a few minutes a day, tops.
OMG This is depressing to me, for the simple reason that my internet is nowhere in the remote neighborhood of 30Mbps. :/
My ISP keeps telling me they offer some of the fastest internet in the country…I guess so. We get…..wait for it… 100mbps down and 30 up. Over wi-fi though the fastest I have clocked it at is 50mps down and 30 up. When I am hardwired though, I do get the faster speeds. They even offer a 1gb down, but I’m not quit ready to shell out the big bucks for it
My cable company advertises a 100Mbps service now and it’s the same price that we pay for the “locked in rate” we got on this 30Mbps service a year ago. I keep meaning to call them and ask if they’ll bump my speed up since my current speed has dropped in price.
Did you really say that stay-at-home moms don’t work? I was one for many years, and am now a professional traveling for work every week. I have gotten my Master’s, but had never done any college until my girls were almost a decade old. I think I can speak with authority and knowledge when I say that there were MANY times I would consider my time at home MUCH harder than anything I do currently.
And I won’t even start in on the calendar comment. A bit irresponsible of you isn’t it???
Hey Lori! Please see my reply to Stella above
Let’s not all get upset about this. Anna just said she doesn’t go to work. Which to me means she isn’t at an office and can’t leave her job to get the kids. Mom’s have a “job” as we all know being a mom is harder than going into the office but Anna is a very nice lady and would NEVER say anything to be hurtful.
I really don’t think Anna meant anything irresponsible or hurtful by any of her comments.
The goal of the show is to share the systems that work for them– Anna was honest about what works for her and what doesn’t. I’m actually thankful that Anna was honest by the fact that calendars don’t work for her– I have had many calendar systems that haven’t worked for me at all– rather than just feel like a failure, I had comfort in knowing that Anna felt a little bit of the same way. I like her honesty.
And I really, really, really do not think Anna meant harm by the “doesn’t work” comment. She didn’t say, “All she does is sit around and watch Bravo.”
Although that does sound fun
I’m sure Peppermint would agree. 
If there were a job that paid someone to watch Bravo all day I would be PERFECT for it. Like if they just needed someone to verify that it was, indeed, on the air all day? I’m their girl.
If anyone ever sees that job posted somewhere, drop me a line. I mean, I love my current job but make no mistake about it – I would give this whole digital designing thing up in a red hot second if a “watch Bravo all day” job came along.
I’ll keep an out on that job for you– although you might have to fight me for it
You’d have to fight me for it too! My kids are grown but I’m still at home full time and if I could get paid for watching Bravo all day, even my dh would be thrilled! LOL!! LOVE Bravo!!
lol! I need to go take a closer look at Bravo….
LOL Allie! Exactly. She is not employed, self or by any organization, but works hard ar being a FAB Mom. Cheers for your support.
From the moment that I realized I was washing, folding, and putting away my kids’ already clean clothes (they would try on several outfits, and then put the clothes they rejected for the day in the laundry basket!), they started doing their own laundry. They could reach the buttons, they were good to go. a friend asked if I wasn’t worried about them breaking the knobs; I said that they play video games just fine without breaking them!
And, in the kitchen, I moved all my dinner ware to the bottom cupboards. And, viola’ they could reach everything to both set the table and put away the clean dishes.
They are all drown up, married, and I have to do all my own housework now. I miss them….
Yes!! Exactly. My kids are 17 & 19, but when they were in the 4th grade I made them start doing their own laundry, and make their own lunches. I can’t tell you what a difference this made. They wash their own clothes, their sheets, and one child gets the rotating task of washing their bathroom towels and matts. I won’t lie and say that it was easy, or that they didn’t mess up: washing new white polo work shirts in a load of black clothes, but that’s the point. They need to learn and internalize personal responsibility, and see me as their mom, not the maid. My oldest was a little surprised that some of her friends, JPL interns, still did not know how to operate a washing machine.
Liz, my girls are also 17 and 19, and YES I had them doing laundry from the time they were each 7. It was a fantastic way to get them started with something of their own that they took a little pride in and had to be responsible enough to keep up with it. A funny story about it…My youngest would just let it sit and sit for a whole day, (not moving it to the dryer and starting a new load) so one day I made her sit in the laundry room all day working on her clothes, she was about 10. She always goes after it now when the timer goes off…LOL.
You ladies are so smart! Though I taught my three kids how to do their laundry, and how to do kitchen chores, I never really made them do any of it religiously. I now still do laundry for my 20 and 23 y/o sons, and my 32 y/o daughter tells me I SPOIL them. I think she’s right, and I’m definitely tired of being the maid to three guys b/c it severely cuts into my scrapping time.
Part of me thinks that if I made Nicholas responsible for his own laundry he’d just opt to wear the same set of clothes all week. He shows ingenuity like that.
My husband does all the laundry in our house, and he’s also way better at it than I have ever been in my life. My sister and I did our laundry ourselves from a very young age, mostly because we were being raised by a single dad who didn’t hold the same high regard for silly things like sorting laundry and observing wash temperatures. But even then, she and I have always avoided anything that had fussy wash guidelines.
Like my sister refuses to iron. She just up and decided that, as an adult, she wasn’t going to iron again in her life. When we go clothes shopping with her girls we’re always like “Is that linen? Haha. GOOD LUCK. That’ll get worn once, come out of the dryer wrinkled and NEVER appear in your wardrobe again.”
fun show !!!
i HATED emptying the dishwasher until one day i timed how long it actually takes. i found it took about 3 minutes to empty the diswasher and put things away. after that, i just tell myself “just 3 minutes”. and it gets done 1st thing in the morning and throughout the day the dishes can go in instead of sitting in the sink – it has made a difference in how clean my house feels/is
peppermint – i love me some bravo too. you can call me anytime to talk about the latest with tamra and vicki or top chef :O) can’t wait for new jersey housewives on sunday!
Oh my. The Jersey girls … it’s going to be one hell of a season this year. They ran a marathon of last season all day today on Bravo. I’m ashamed to admit that I dedicated three hours of my afternoon to it before I was like “What am I doing?! I have to get some work done!”
I should just call the cable company and let them charge me to install a jack in my office. I don’t think Tom sees it as quite as high of a priority as I do.
Think of how much creating could get done with that jack in the office, P!!
i can’t believe i missed that! i was watching today for a while and saw the OC “glampimg” episode again. not sure where your office is but you probably don’t need to call the cable company. you can go to walmart and buy a splitter and a really long cable cord. then split from one of your existing cable outlets. not the prettiest solution, but it is easy and does work. :O) or would your husband see that and decide you need some kind of intervention and try to cut you off altogether?
My addiction is the OC and Beverly Hills housewives b/c I don’t live far from those cities/counties, and one of the BH housewives (Kim) lived in my city when she was renting her prior home. What’s funny about them to me is I don’t know anyone IRL who looks like them or acts like them. That’s why I find them so entertaining!
oh my… haven’t had a chance to listen to the show yet.. super excited to hear that Anna was your guest… have heard her on others & always liked her ‘no-nonsense/straight-forward’ approach. Will definitely be listening soon.
Off-topic question…. I have been ‘persuaded’ to be our women’s golf league photographer for the next season (that’s what happens when you show up to an event with a ‘serious-looking’ camera-LOL-it’s only a Nikon D50 that they don’t even make any more). But I digress…. besides taking photos of weekly events, I am supposed to upload photos to a site whereby others can access to download/print photos they would like. Someone suggested Snapfish, but I am not familar with them. I use Shutterfly a bunch for photo albums. I had considered creating a share site with them for a ‘family blog’ but have no experience. A Shutterfly Share Site seems like it would meet the golf league needs as well. Any comments or advice? Any one have other suggestions? I need it to be very user friendly :). THANKS SO MUCH!!
ps… OH… and I am supposed to create a year end scrapbook!! YIKES!
I’m not too familiar with Shutterfly, so I’m not a ton of help there. I’m not really familiar with Snapfish on their own, either, but Snapfish is what’s integrated into Flickr. When you have photos on Flickr you can choose to allow people to order prints of your posted photos, and those photos all go through Snapfish.
I know Katie would say Flickr for photo sharing!
I have used Shutterfly to create an album for a play my son was in. It only took a couple of hours because I used one of their stock albums and had the photos auto-fill by date and then just adjusted stuff. I was able to upload it to their sharing site and send out a link. I think a couple of people ordered some as well…I’ve never actually gone back to check after that…lol!
I think Flickr integrates with Shutterfly now too, maybe.
I’ve never used Snapfish but hear good things about their iPhone app.
If you use Lightroom 4, you can now create photobooks and send them directly to blurb as well. For photo sharing, I guess is becomes a little more complicated. Most of the printer-based sites will let you share your images with others. I’m not sure if you have to have an accout to see them. Flickr, of course, is not a printer, so they really are optimized for photo sharing. And, they have great privacy options as well. I’m not sure the difference between the paid and free accounts, but I’d probably say Flickr for the photos and then that leaves your options open for the printer you, or anyone else, might want to use.
I’d go with Flickr, only because Shutterfly doesn’t allow other users (or the original upload-er) to download from the site.
Thanks so much for that piece of info. Will I need a FlickrPro?
I personally think everyone needs a Flickr pro account – lol! Here’s what the limits are with a free account so you can see if you will need one http://www.flickr.com/help/limits/
Here are a few articles I’ve written about Flickr
/2009/11/20-reasons-why-you-should-use-flickr.html
/a-flickr-tutorial-for-digital-scrapbookers-photographers/
You’ve got me pegged Rita!
Hi Ladies,
LOVE the show, but I haven’t listened to this one yet…saving it for the drive into work next week. From the comments, it looks like a fun, interesting and controversial episode.
However, I have checked out the picks and KATIE…I’m in love with picmonkey. What fun I’ve had today messing with pictures! thank you.
Question for your digital experts, I’m just starting to use digital projects and have an issue. When I’m doing a layout I keep the font big so I can read it on the computer….then I reduced the size to what I think would be appropriate for the printed project.
However, when my printed masterpiece came in the mail, the journaling and 1 photo was way too SMALL for the page.
Do you have any suggestions on how to visualize the appropriate size of pictures or journaling from the development stage to the finished printed product?
Thanks again for the wonderful shows.
Julie
I think we discussed this once on a previous show, but for me I tend to go by point size on a font. I stick to the same couple of fonts on most of my pages and I try to be mindful to not let my text get any smaller than 10pt – which some people would still say is way too small for an 8×8 page (which is what I print at). For the most part I don’t worry too much about this because I know what the pages say. Haha! I’m selfish like that. But if you saved the layered files and can open up one where the font looks perfect for you on the printed layout, just note the font size you used there and use that as your benchmark. Even if you use a different font on future pages, you could always do a single line of that one font on your page and see how your new font measures up to it, just to give yourself a frame of reference.
As for pictures I’d just use the proportions of the page (i.e. have my photo span 1/4 of the length of the page, or 1/3 of the page, etc.) Again, I don’t worry too much about photo sizes so hopefully Katie or Steph have some amazing advice for you.
We did talk about this, but I have nooo idea which episode it was. I do have a couple of resources that might help:
/text-size-matters/
The comments in this post have some good tips as well as the ones in the post:
/keeping-elements-on-a-digital-scrapbook-layout-in-perspective/
THanks ladies for your help. I knew you were the right people to ask.
Julie
I set my type at 18 pt on a 12×12 and then print it at 8×8 which is the equivalent of a 12 pt type. Readable type is considered 10pt and above, but my old lady eyes prefer at least a 12!
Thanks Wendy…yes old eyes…that REALLY is my problem…lol
Hey P! I want to know what four recipes you always keep ingredients on hand for? Coming up with ideas is the hardest part for me! I would love some of your ideas!
I second that request. Send us a link to a blog post about your favorite recipes in high rotation, please Peppermint! I too enjoy cooking and prefer to use meat that hasn’t been frozen.
A few things that help me in the meal planning/cooking area:
-a couple years ago I made a master list of our most common meals by season, and often refer to it for ideas.
-I keep a grocery list on our fridge so everyone can add to it in our family (though Katie’s description of the Amazon app has me dreaming!); the list has four sections: produce/pantry/cold/frozen and this helps me not need to rewrite the list when I go to the store and be able to get in and out of the store faster.
-I write my dinner plans for the week on our big kitchen white board, and I also list things I want to be sure to use up soon (other wise I’ll forget I bought jicama or mushrooms and kick myself when I have to throw them out).
I will do this, for sure. I have a bunch of questions I really need to answer on my blog at some point.
Yep, we’ve been giving you a lot of assignments lately to tell us all your secrets!
Hey everyone! I have to say that I love your show and listen to it while cleaning or cooking. Sometimes I even go back and repeat episodes because with a 3 and 5 year old, my brain is oatmeal at times. Anyways, I wanted to recommend an app that I use to help keep my house cleaning schedule on track. It is called HomeRoutines and it is available on the iPhone and iPad (although not universal so you have to buy them separately) and will sync between both. You can set up a list of chores that you daily and chores that you do on certain days. For instance, I have my checklist for daily chores like emptying the dishwasher and chores that I do on Mon, Wed, Fri like vacuuming and then on Thursdays I change sheets. As you check these off you get…..STARS! Gold stars! But my favorite feature is setting up zones. Every week you work in a new zone for 15 minutes a day and there is a timer to help you. I divided my house up in to zones and within that zone, make a list of things to do that you don’t do everyday like washing baseboards or ceiling fans. There are preset zones but you can alter them for your needs. I have 2 torn discs in my back so tackling big jobs is very hard for me. This app keeps me on top of everything in my house without it getting out of control. I highly recommend it!
I would also like to add that I too use color coding on my calendar. I don’t use Google anymore but use iCloud on my iPhone and iPad. I have different colors for school events, meals, doc appts., home and even added a new color for workshops and tutorials that I am taking.
Keep up the good work!
Katrina
Loved this topic and episode. I think you all owed us this one, after introducing so many of us to the time-suck known as Pinterest!
Stephanie, I loved your point about how we are all busy and make choices of how to spend our time. Peppermint, I think if we could just convince you that watching Bravo was your job, something you “had” to do, you wouldn’t enjoy it half as much anymore:)
I love digi and online tools, but I find old-school calendars and printed lists work best for me. I keep a master calendar in our kitchen that our family of 5 all adds to, and a one week schedule on our white board. I love being able to glance at it while cooking or washing dishes and getting a head’s up about tomorrow, etc. I have a weekly To-Do list of chores that I keep on the inside of my bathroom medicine cabinet. I find cleaning overwhelming, so for me this has been the perfect balance of helping me break it down without locking me into a schedule (as soon as I assign Monday as the day I dust, I know I’ll rebel and NEVER dust on a Monday). My problem with other lists is that I wouldn’t go back and look at them or check them off. Now I see this list every time I brush my teeth, and that is usually when I’m making mental lists of what I’m going to do that day or tomorrow anyway. And I love checking things off:)
Katie, when you make your Badges app, I’ll be your first customer! Sounds like a great summer project for your kids and you—a combination of your design skills and tech knowledge.
Anna, I so appreciated hearing someone else admit that a new puppy can be overwhelming. We’ve only had our for 3 weeks, but I haven’t had time to even upload personal photos!
Lastly, I really like TeuxDeux, a very simple app/browser tool for your to-do list simply because it is simple, not too many bells& whistles, it has a “someday” list at the bottom for ideas I don’t want to forget but don’t want to bog down my real to-do list, and because it moves what you didn’t cross off for today into the next day’s list.
Great, great show! I loved hearing all these great ideas. For the most part I loved the whole show, but sadly it was just another reminder that I SUCK at cleaning. However Anna may have inspired me to take a second look at my budget and see if I can’t hire it out. LOL!
Also, I just wanted to let Peppermint know she’s not alone in her Bravo obsession. It was actually getting to be too much for me between all the Real Housewives and the competition shows (Top Chef – my fave!!) and that hilarious Andy Cohen, that we got rid of our Directv and now just have local channels and netflix. I miss it but I really was watching too much and couldn’t stay away! My hubby (and other family members) just couldn’t see why I wanted to watch those shows. But I think you hit it on the head Peppermint – they make me feel so good about myself! Haha. After watching I feel normal and level headed, I feel like I’ve got life all figured out. Hey – maybe all the Directv money we’re saving now should go to the cleaning service…
People frequently ask me why I’m so obsessed with reality television, and honestly I’ve always considered myself a “student of human nature” in that I’m genuinely intrigued and mesmerized by the intricacies of human behavior. There’s no better vehicle for that than reality TV, in my opinion. It’s typically the same patterns emerging over and over again, regardless of the setting or the premise of the show. It can be a competition (like Top Chef or Survivor) or a lifestyle show (like Real Housewives or Flipping Out) but the story typically goes the same way: Everyone starts out trying to act as though they have their $h*t together, but the undercurrent usually winds up carrying the same message over and over again. Which is that everyone is waging a perpetual battle against their insecurities. Watching how people cope with the reality of that just captivates me, plain and simple. Whenever I see someone reach that lightbulb moment where they rein that locus of control in, it’s inspiring to me and fills me with optimism. And when I see people act destructively and (sometimes) completely INSANELY, I feel as though – no matter what my issues are – I’m still further along in my journey than THAT.
So no matter what, it’s uplifting for me. On a philosophical level.
And all the mayhem and exhibitionism doesn’t hurt, either. On a baser level, it’s entertaining as hell.
I think that’s exactly why we enjoy Survivor so much. I always question why I watch it when I know they will all go crazy on each other every time it rains (humans are so predicable sometimes), but it’s just fun for some reason. And we love to talk back to the TV and tell them all they are crazy – while we are sitting on our comfy couch of course.
I wouldn’t last a day in the jungle in the rain. I’d be the crazy diva woman yelling at the producers to book my flight out of there.
I thought maybe you were talking about Seattle. I feel that way EVERYDAY!!! That’s why I keep planning trips…I cannot take this rain!!
Just drive across the state to the dry, desert side in the Tri-Cities…You can stay with me and we’ll scrap!
Don’t be surprised if I show up on your doorstep with a suitcase and laptop!
That would be perfectly fine with me! Although, today it’s raining
Yes – you said it so much better than I could have! I’ve always been so fascinated with human behavior and how we relate to one another. These shows are an excellent study of human interaction. I totally get what you mean about it being uplifting!
Hi there ladies!
I’m an avid listener to the show and listen while I run on the treadmill. When I forget to bring my iPod, I get so upset!
Now that Adobe has announced a May release of CS6, I’m wondering what each of you think about the Cloud option. Most likely I would only use Photoshop. Do you understand how this would work. Would you actually have a version installed on your machine? It also comes with 20GB of cloud storage. Would that be a way to get offsite storage for my photos, etc?
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9226456/Adobe_launches_Creative_Suite_6_alongside_new_Creative_Cloud_subscription_service
I guess I’m wondering is $600/year or buying the Academic Version of CS 6 for ~$250 makes sense. Is there enough value add in the subscription service to make it worthwhile to a digi scrapbooker?
Thanks for doing all you do.
Celeste
It’s an interesting model, for sure. The idea of a subscription based software suite is an intriguing one. I still feel like it’s overpriced for our particular market, though. 20GB of storage isn’t all that much in the scheme of things (there are less expensive, non-proprietary options available.) If you’re an average Photoshop CS user, the upgrade price is only $199 – and even if you’re the type to upgrade with every new release you’re still only out ~$200 per year. For designers, the Design Standard Suite is an upgrade price of $299. So while the Creative Cloud offers a lot of options as far as having access to the entire collection of software and a lot of online-only tools (and touch apps for tablets) – I don’t think the majority of digital scrapbookers, or even digital designers, will use that product. I still feel like the standalone software is more cost effective.
I just did a blog post outlining some highlights. If you have a version of CS3 or newer, you can get in on the $30/month pricing, which is the same as the Cloud Academic pricing.
http://www.wendyzinescraps.com/blog/2012/04/adobe-creative-suite-6-announced/
Some things to consider:
If you use PC and Mac, Cloud access gives you access to both.
You can only install on 2 machines, and cannot operate both at the same time. With the box version, I believe you can have it running on 2 machines at once.
I read that they plan to including Lightroom in the deal later this year.
So, I think it’s really going to depend on your situation. Do you use more than just Photoshop. Do you upgrade every year? Do you have access to the academic pricing? Do you have the money to put out for an upgrade now, or is the monthly payment plan easier on the pocket book? Is it still a good deal for your situation at $50/month after the introductory pricing expires. Lots to consider!
One more thought, in re-reading your question…
If you go the Cloud route, you would download and install any programs you want from the list whenever you want. (And, yes, they are installed on your computer.) You don’t have to install all of them. You must connect to the internet once every 30 days to confirm the subscription or it will disable the software.
The Cloud space is 20gb as long as you have an account. If you cancel your account, you will be reverted to the 2GB free account and your files above the limit would be deleted from the cloud.
Do you think the average digital scrapbooker would really use the majority of that software, though?
The majority, no. But if they are paying $199 for Photoshop upgrades annually and $79 for Lightroom upgrades, then for just a little more get access to Illustrator too. So, really it depends on the person. If you are not using at least 2-3 programs then the box PS upgrade is probably best. The original question was about the education version which is $350 anyway, so a wash and you get access to all of it and the convenience of monthly payments. But once you go the cloud route, you won’t be able to go back and upgrade from an older version so it’s really going to be a personal decision.
Loved this show! Had to laugh at Katie taking a photo of her pantry. I usually try the old “memory” game when I am at the store trying to remember what it looked like the last time I was in it. Camera phone for sure next week!
I am kinda surprised that no one mentioned emeals.com for meal planning. They offer many different meal plans and the grocery lists too. They have the Gluten free, vegetarian, and recently added Clean eating, along with all the usuals. I am “meal planning challenged” and this has helped me so much, given us much better ideas for recipes, and has saved me loads of time in terms of finding recipes online and putting that weekly mess together all by myself. If it were up to me, I would just have chips and salsa.
So anyway that is MY pick of the week. (sorry if I missed that someone mentioned it already.)
Thanks for producing a great show EVERY week.
Thanks for the link, I love getting picks from our listeners!
I haven’t finished listening yet, but I had to comment on the notion that everyday pictures could always be taken again. I completely disagree!! The entire point of taking “everyday” photos is because those things change! I did project life in 2009 and I am already, only 3 years later, amazed at how much has changed in our everyday in that time. The morning routine, homework time, bedtime, my commute, our car, some of our furniture, the wall decor in our home, the color of our kitchen, our cat…..the list goes on. Evident in at least half of the photos in my 2009 Project Life is that things change – quickly! We can already laugh and gasp in awe at how things “used to be” I can only imagine 30 years from now!
Love the show – you always give me so much to think about! This show is no exception – Thank you!!
Hi Laura! It was a sweeping statement and one that I should have been better clarified. When I said every day pictures can be taken again I meant from day to day or week to week. Obviously it depends on what is happening in your life. My children are not changing as fast as they were 5 years ago. They’re not growing as fast and they’re holding their interests for longer so I can take a photo one day knowing it’s not going to change much over the course of a week or two. My puppies on the other hand are a different story.
I certainly agree that changes can be seen on a monthly and definitely yearly basis. I think it also depends on what your goals are in memory keeping, the types of details you’re interested in and what you want to capture in your pages. It’s all a personal journey. After 10 years I have evolved and will continue to do so in the types of photos I take and how the stories will be told. I was speaking honestly from a personal stand point in terms of my own story telling. Hope this helps clarify.
Who knew you were so controversial, Anna? You’re like the Madonna of scrapbooking! (Is she still controversial? I know my grandma didn’t approve of her …)
Wow… This has been my favorite show yet! One I loved hearing about all the time saving advice! Love the pics for today and thanks for the links!
I love that Anna has such a great support system around her! We should all be so lucky and I was definitely jealous! I have a friend that is similar where we just step in where and when we can… I think it’s important to remember while we might all be super… we aren’t super-women… So knowing where your limitations and your strengths are and having a group of women and other families that you can support and that you can support in return is a priceless gift!
LOL… *you can support and can support you in return… I seriously need a proofreader.
When I was ten (20 years ago) I used to watch my baby brother (he is 10 years younger than me) and my toddler brother (7 years younger) while my parents were working outside on the farm. I was 13 the first time my parents were at a weekend trip and I was responsible for my brothers. My granny live next door, and we had dinner at her place, but I was responsible for them the rest of the time. I guess times have changed, but I also think living in a place that ment taht I had to move away at 15 to go to school (I moved into a flat on my own) made me grow up sooner. It was the same with my sister and brothers, and the other kids on the island. I find it so strange when hearng what kind of responsibilities kids has now, it makes me wonder what I will expect from my own kids if I ever get them!
My favorite time saving app is the 20 min meals from Jamie Oliver. Recipies and shoping lists, wonderful videos, photos and recepies. I could not live without it
I often wonder what adult life will look like for my children, especially Ella. Demands on women continue to increase and at some point something has to give.
Demands or expectations? From others and within ourselves. Sadly it does seem to be getting worse.
I think a little of both.
I agree– it’s for sure getting worse. I think it has a lot to do with us accepting ourselves though, and not constantly comparing ourselves to each other. Something I know I’m for sure still/always working on.
BINGO!! And not being so hard on each other either! One of my missions her and at The Daily Digi is to validate women in their efforts, especially memory keeping efforts!
We all need to cut ourselves some slack, cut the women around us some slack, then come back to ourselves again. We can often be our own worst enemies!
Where’s the “like” button??
I loved this episode!! (Well, I love them all, but this one was unexpected). I struggle with finding the time to be creative and I loved some of your suggestions. On the days I’m home I tell myself I have to clean for 1 hour and then I get to play for 30 minutes. I keep doing this until I’m done cleaning and then it’s play time!! I’m working on getting my kids more involved to help with cleaning and cooking – but that is an uphill battle.
Thanks again for the great episode!
I especially enjoy the shows Anna participates in and hope to hear her again soon. Leslie