Pin Share - Resurrection Rolls

This isn't really an original idea, nor is it mine, so I'm just going to leave the link to this pin below - I encourage you to visit the pin's source, because it's pretty awesome!

I did this project/story/recipe with my first grade religious education class last year - they loved it. And so did a lot of the other catechists -I got a lot of requests for the recipe and directions, and I know at least one other person tried it. Because there was no kitchen where I taught, I pre-made a batch and left them in the common area, then I had the kiddos "make" the rolls, and I switched them out with the ones that I had already baked. (Someone the first graders in the classroom so I could go switch them out.) The first graders were amazed - and isn't that what Jesus' resurrection is all about? I ended up baking the first grader's rolls when I got home and *cough* perhaps ate all of them. =)

From WomenLivingWell.org

It's not quite Easter yet - but it's nice to plan ahead, and it's a great way to teach young ones the resurrection story.

Some Tech Things that are Pretty Cool

Logitech Keyboard. This keyboard is awesome. It is easy to use, and it makes a fun clacking noise (not annoying, it just makes it sounds like you can type really fast). I have one at work and liked it so much I wanted to buy it for us with my laptop (which already has a keyboard, isn't that silly?), but they I Googled it, and it costs more than I'm willing to invest, for now. It will go on my "when I become a millionaire list". =P

Logitech Mouse. I'm just getting used to using this, but it is cordless, which means it doesn't get tangled up all the time. It also is super responsive, which takes a bit to get used to, but is awesome when you do. It can just zoom across the screen with a flick. Also, it seems pretty ergonomic (I haven't noticed any wrist pain or anything, and I spend 40 hours a week on a computer, just for my job.) And, it has buttons on the left side of the mouse (by the thumb) which you can click to go back or forward a page. Which is really helpful when browsing the internet, working through file explorer, working in Microsoft OneNote, etc.

Apple Pi. I'll be honest, I don't know very much about this one. But one of my coworkers brought this in and was pretty excited about it. And it has a cool name. It is basically the world's smallest computer - it has everything your big tower has, but in itty bitty proportions. (It's hard to tell from the picture, but it's about the size of a deck of cards.

I'm still edging my way into the tech world, so there's not much here... any suggestions?

Kayaking Day 1

I'm taking a four-class kayaking course because although I've done a lot of kayaking in my life (well, relatively, considering I live in Arizona), I've never officially learned the proper strokes and methods to kayaking. My first class was on Tuesday. It was suuuuper windy that day (about 15-20 mph winds), so kayaking was much more difficult than usual - especially when trying to learn new strokes! All the same, here's what I learned.

The first thing we did was learn the different parts of the kayak. I found a wonderful diagram from paddling.com that basically covers what we went over.

The next thing we learned was the parts of the paddle - which the instructor taught us to the tune of "head, shoulders, knees and toes". I found a lovely image from trails.com.

Then... we got in the water. We snuck into the area where the boats dock (the marina) because it was too windy to practice out on the lake. (Curious about where I'm taking this class? Tempe Town Lake - a man made lake in the middle of the Phoenix area.) We learned three different strokes.

1. The front stroke - your paddle should be more vertical than horizontal, and your torso should turn with each stroke - this indicates you are using your core and not your wrists/arms/shoulders, which can get painful quickly. The paddle starts near the front of the boat and moves backwards.

2. The low brace - basically, if you start falling out/over, use this. The only reason we learned it the first class was just in case - the wind was pretty crazy. Anyways, you use your paddle to push down on the water (on the side you are falling towards, this will push you back up). Move your lower body to help guide the boat up, and move your head back in position last. It's a bit difficult to explain, since it seems pretty instinctual.

3. Stop - to stop, dip your paddle fully in on each side, quickly alternating between sides.

Then, we braved the lake a little bit - but we didn't make it that far. I'll update you on class two-four as they come! Any kayaking tips from you?

Musicmicetro Pinterest Board Feature: Easter

I feel like I have a lot of Pin boards that are just sitting there and being awesome, so I figured I'd share some with you! Since Easter isn't too far away, here are some of my favorite pins from my Easter board. Clicking on the photos will take you to the pin.

Adorable plush birdies from PetitePurls.com

This is designed to be an Easter countdown, but it's so cute, I think I'd make this just for a decoration. From MyLoveforWords.com

It's an Easter subway print that's totally focused on Jesus, which is awesome From DIYTilWeDie.Blogspot.com

Fun Easter wood decoration from DittleDattle

An adorable religious Easter card from StampWithTami.com

Looove this bunny print by Delphine Doreau

Adorable lace and teal eggs from Flamingo Toes (which is a super awesome blog - check it out!)

This looks easy and fun and festive for Easter, from SweetCDesigns.com

Last but not least, a crochet pattern for adorable Peeps bunnies! From Ravelry.com

I hope you found this post Pin-spiring! Happy Easter!

6 Things Not to Do on a First Date

That's right! Call her up! Take her out! Just don't do the following...

So, I don't have a whole ton of experiences in first dates, but from the experiences I have had, I've created this list of six things you should never do on a first date.

1. Call your date's religion old-fashioned. (Even if you think this, if you want to get a second date, you probably shouldn't mention it.)
2. Describe in detail the joy and rush of power you felt when you used to kill kittens as a child. (Actually, you should probably do this never  - both killing kittens and describing it to people.)

3. Spend the whole date complaining about coworkers that you dislike, but your date is friends with. (Or… just not complain at all - go for being a positive person.)
4. Ask if they are a virgin (maybe it's just me… but this seems like an awkward first date question).

5. Ever use the phrase "when I was your age" (self explanatory)

6. Show your date your (incredibly messy) bedroom (The bedroom thing could be okay in the right context, but at least clean it up first!)

So, there's only six (thank goodness!). How about you? Any additions to this list?

Olive Tree App

I have a fantastic app to share with you today. A friend of mine was using it at bible study, and it proved to be very helpful, so I decided to check it out on my own - and I'm glad I did!

What it is:

Olive tree is an awesome bible study app. It comes with two versions free (NAV and King James) and has the option for other versions.

What's awesome about it:

1. You can highlight in multiple colors (yay!).

2. You can add notes, which are easy to use and don't distract from reading. Plus, it's easy to go back to them.

3. You can bookmark verses, and tag them with categories if you want. For example, I've created a tag called "light" that I link to all verses I find that have to do with light (salt and light, light in the darkness, etc.) This also makes it easy to go back to verses you found cool or interesting or you wanted to do more research on.

4. You can easily cross-reference different sections of the bible. You know those little lettered footnote references that are everywhere? Now you can easily have the reference pop up in the same screen - no flipping back and forth.
5. It's red-lettered.
6. There are reading plans. For example, I'm trying the 90-day-reading plan, where you read the entire new testament in 90 days. You just read until you reach the "done" button - which gives you a sense of accomplishment and easily breaks it down for you to spend time in the Word.
7. You can have split screens - two different bible screens up at once.

8. It's available off-line, so once you download it, you don't need internet connection to use it.

Things that could be better:

1. I can't find a Catholic version of the Bible in this app yet, but that doesn’t neccesarily mean it's not there.

2. I wish you could add notes to bookmarks - I don't want to tag all of them, I just want a short summary of why I bookmarked it.

So that's it! I highly recommend you check this out. 

10 Perspectives that Have Changed Since Becoming a Tech

This is my nephew a couple of months ago - he's into technology already!

If you don't know, I recently got a job (about two months or so ago) in tech support. Here are ten perspectives that I had before becoming a technician that have now changed.

1. "Have you tried turning it off and back on again?" As cliché as this phrase is, it solves a lot of problems. I got praise on my first day for recommending "take the battery pack out and put it back in again" - which worked. If you have restarted your computer - then you can call tech support. =)
2. "Are you sure it's plugged in?" Another stupid question. Silly, but I have definitely spent two hours trying to troubleshoot why a client's printer wasn't working when it turns out it was just not plugged in. And  a co-worker of mine had a client and a bank representative on the phone at the same time to troubleshoot a check scanner (and hours of work had gone in before this point too), when it was simply unplugged. (When my co-worker had asked if it was plugged in, the customer responded with "yes, of course it is" without actually checking. The bank technician was smart and asked "have you tried it in another power outlet?", at which point the client had to go make sure the cord was plugged in.)
3. Windows 8 is not as bad as I thought it was. After given the opportunity to poke around with it, and being forced to use it on a daily basis, it's actually a pretty decent operating system. It just takes a little bit to get used to.
4. Windows 8.1 is worse than I thought it was. I have both regular (non IT) friends who have had trouble with it, and experienced IT professionals who have trouble with it too -just don’t upgrade! To be fair, I haven't upgraded yet, and some of my coworkers have no problem with 8.1, but I've heard enough to be warned against it.

5. Windows XP is awful. I'm sure it was great for its time, but if you are still running a computer with XP, it is probably time to replace it. Especially if you want it to be compatible with a lot of today's programs and features. Or if you want it to run at a decent speed.
6. Outlook is actually a pretty cool email program. I always hated it because it never worked out for me or wouldn't set up correctly for me, but it is a good program for business environments. From the server/administrator side, it is relatively easy to manage as well, and pretty flexible to different accommodations.

7. Macs are annoying. Don' t get me wrong, they're great for personal use and for creative fields, but they don't support a business environment very well. They have many random glitches and incompatibilities with many programs.
8. Google Chrome has disappointed me. I'm pretty loyal to Google and their services, especially since I discovered Chrome, but it sometimes fails on me while working IT - and I have to default to Firefox.

9. Internet Explorer isn't very reliable. As soon as any customer (or co-worker, for that matter) has an internet issue on Internet Explorer, we ask if they still have the problem on Firefox or Chrome. And sometimes that fixes the issue. Which is sad, but true. (Then again, sometimes Internet Explorer works when Chrome fails so…)

10. Tech support wait times are (usually) justified. Sometimes you just can't get to a problem in a decent amount of time. Or, more likely, the problem is actually much more complex than it appears and it takes a decent amount of troubleshooting to get the problem resolved.

I hope that's not super negative! I love my job and I love working with computers. I'm not super skilled yet, but I can't wait to grow and learn. As far as this blog goes, I'd love to try to answer your tech questions. Or, make a tutorial for something you're confused about. Leave a comment below. =D