PicMonkey

I am really enjoying this Tech Wednesday.  I love finding new programs to use.  The one I have today could change your lives.  Well, not really, but it could definitely change how your pictures look.

For most of you, I am going to assume, you take pictures and then just send them in to be printed.  I use Costco to develop my pictures and they will do an auto fix on your pictures for you.  I do not do this because I like to be in control of how my pictures look, so I use a photo editing program.

For some of you, the Costco auto fix might be just what you need.  But for those of you who are like me, you might like to have that control of what your picture will ultimately look like.  Often photo editing software can be spendy or so complicated you just never use it because you do not have the time to learn it.

I have another option for you today.  It is called PicMonkey.  It is a simple photo editing software online. This means you do not have to download the program to your computer.  You do all the editing online and then save the pictures back to your computer.

I just glanced through it and think it is great.  It has all the standard editing tools and then lost of fun extras.  Many of them cosmetic edits.  You can even give yourself a tan.  I am telling you this is a fun program.  Bailee is very excited to use it.  She has been using Picasa, but this has so much more.

I am going to leave you with a link to another blog that walks you through a simple tutorial on how to edit a photo using PicMonkey - The Mother Huddle.

If you try it, please come back and let me know what you think.

Georgette Heyer

About a year ago, I was looking at free ebooks on Amazon and came across a book by Georgette Heyer.  It was set in Regency England, which is an era I love, and it was free, so I downloaded it.  I loved it.  It was full of the language, manners, and attire that I find so fun.  I am not sure that I would have actually liked living back then, but I love to dream that I would.  Everything seemed so polite and proper.

Of course, my favorite characters are those that are a little more sassy and don't quite follow the rules.  This leads me to what so far is my favorite Georgette Heyer book - Grand Sophy.

Sophia is raised by her politician father "on the Continent" (Europe).  She, of course, has a nanny and governess at the appropriate times, but her father always to be more mannish.

Then comes the time when her father must travel to Brazil and Sophy (as everyone calls her) comes to live with her Aunt and cousins in London.  Sophy is not anything they could have imagined.  She brings life to a stuff household along with a monkey.

I have read several of Mrs. Heyer's books and like I stated previously this is my favorite.  I just love Sophy.  She is not necessarily improper, but just as such a sparkle about her.  She sees things for what they are and if need be, does something about it.

If you enjoy Regency literature, I would highly recommend Grand Sophy and Georgette Heyer.  Below I have listed a few other of Mrs. Heyer's books and links to them on Amazon.  I hope you enjoy.

Frederica
Cotillion
The Reluctant Widow
The Nonesuch
Venetia
Bath Tangle
Lady of Quality

Evernote

I wanted to let you know about a great program I have found.  It is called Evernote.  The great thing about Evernote is that you can download it on to your computer, phone, and other mobile device.  You then will be able to share notes between any of those devises.

The basic Evernote is free and they have other programs also: Skitch, Evernote Food, Evernote Hello, Evernote Clearly, and Evernote Peek.

If you are looking for a way to keep track of almost anything, this is a great program.  You can save things from the web, type out your own notes, or copy and paste old notes.

I keep a lot of my recipes on it.  Then I can find them whether I am on my laptop, Mac, or iPod.  I would highly recommend checking it out.