Say Cheese.

I'm looking through pictures.

I take so many selfies.

You know it.

I know it.

Maybe that was part of the problem.

Who knows?

But I know I do. I do because if I don't - didn't - I was never on the other side of the camera.

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Free Write: Travelin' Mama

Yes'm - that's been me the last few weeks.

Minus this one.

I went to New York. Then to Maine. Then back to New York on the way home.

And then I came home and here I am.

It's been a weirdly longish and shortish week - being home without my loved ones nearby.

I did lots of stuff on my travels. I'm kind of opting for pictures to share them with you - since you probably think - yeah yeah - she traveled - okay. Lah-di-dah.

Home.

Brooklyn.

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Amazing reads.

So this past week my laptop and iPad have both been crazy busy.

Crazy busy, people.

I've had tons of tabs open with amazing posts that I absolutely need to share.

Some of them I've shared on Facebook because I kind of had to.

Some of them I've been waiting to share and kept the tabs open until the "time is right" and am still waiting.

So, here you go, my friends. Must reads for this weekend.

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Do I have anything in my teeth?

It's been a while since I headed over to Mama Kat's place to find myself one of her writing prompts, but today I so felt like getting prompted - does that even make sense? - and so I popped on by.

What a beautiful surprise to find out that the first prompt was inspired by the lovely Shell over at Things I Can't Say! #BONUS It's an inquiry of the top ten things that make you smile. Perfect! I love this idea!

And then I thought. And thought. And viola! Novel idea from me ... wait for it ...

So, you know how people (ehem, who? me?) tend to share pictures of what they are eating and/or cooking and/or want to be eating and/or drinking on all aspects of social media?

Well, I decided to do a culinary documentation here, and dig through Facebook and Instagram and find you some of my favorite culinary treats. Maybe it's because The Next Food Network Star is over and I'm feeling a hole in my life? Or something. But here goes!

Dad's Chicken Soup 

aka

Jewish Penicillin 

And you can't have chicken soup without ...

Matzo Balls!

Whoop whoop! From scratch! Go, me!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Hushpuppies

KALE!!

Kale chips with a little parmesan cheese. Ah! YUM!

Marinara sauce from scratch. 

It's a big deal, people. I used real garlic cloves. 

Real ones! Woo hoo!

Black and White Cookie.

New York City style. 

Trifles. 

Only I haven't made one yet. 

This one's pretty cute, though, right?

I'm gonna stop there. Because I know you won't follow me on Instagram anymore if I don't. Because I just don't have enough pictures to make a list of ten. Yeah. That must be it.

Anyway, I think this goes to show you for sure that I'm a Jewish Southern girl from New Yawk, all the way. Hushpuppies, fried green tomatoes and chicken soup with matzo balls and homemade marinara on the same list? That's me. In a nutshell.

Hope you enjoyed my masterpiece collection. Stick with me. I'm sure to have more to share in the coming months. I'm really working at cooking from scratch more often, so maybe next time ALL of my pictures will contain food made by me ... what? You didn't think I made that cookie, did you?

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Sharing captured moments.

I've decided to link up with Monday Listicles again today. This week's list covers your favorite pictures that you've taken, which, if you know me, I'm a picture-taking addict!



Some of my favorite shots taken over the past few months. You may have seen some them before, but bear with me. My kid is kinda' cute.

I'm going to give you seven. Because I'm lazy. And because I tend to share loads of the same kinds of pics and figure next week's theme is summer. And with summer comes loads of outside pictures. And so I'll probably want to save a few boating shots for then, and well, did I mention I'm a little lazy right now?

Anyway, here you have them!

See the arrow above? It's a squirrel! 

My sneakers. Obviously. Post Dirty Girl Mud Run. Less obvious. 

Also? One of my bucket list items! 

BOOM!

Pre-Color Mania run with the kiddo. Looking extra adorable with my bandana on her head. 

The beautiful lake. Sun captured off of the water. Love this shot. 

Queen of the world. 

Wind in her hair - focus - straight ahead!

                                          Me and my girl. Wind-blown. Sun-kissed. Happy. 

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I let my mind race and I write.

Random factoids that are on my mind today.

* My nails are growing like crazy. I finally took my polish off and am letting them breathe. They're doing well. I probably just jinxed myself, but still. Growth is good.

* My very favorite ice cream place is now open for the summer and we went last night. I'm a huge vanilla fan, but I love love love their chocolate shakes. I had one, and it was in a red Solo cup.

* Which is a song I enjoy now and then.

* And makes me think of Glee.

* Which I am a few episodes behind in watching, but I will get there. Eventually. That's what summer is for, right? And the DVR.

* I'm a non-closeted pop-country song fan. I like some old school country, but the newer stuff? Yep.

* Blake Shelton, for one. I'm so excited to go see him in concert in August. Yahoo!

* I watched the tribute to Oklahoma the other night. Lots of country stuff. Hootie was on! He sang one of his new-ish country songs. And then yesterday I heard him on the radio and he was a blowfish again. And singing 'Let Her Cry,' which I love and flashed me back to when I saw them in concert, back in 1996, maybe ...? Wow. Long long time ago.

* American Pie is an earworm that will stick with you for a longggg time.

* As is Maroon 5's Payphone.

* Is factoid a word? It seems like it is or should be. I like it. So I'm using it.

* We went out on the lake every day of the weekend. Friday evening, Saturday, and today. Today was a daytime cruise. We had breakfast on the boat. Yesterday we had some friends join us and the kiddo loved hanging with one of her best buds.

* Sunscreen needs to be applied on the backs of one shoulders, especially near the edges of tank tops.

* Pringles makes a honey mustard chip. It's interestingly yummy.

* We went for BBQ today, but I just realized that they didn't have hush puppies. They did have awesome mac-n-cheese, though. And I got fried okra, but dang, it was salty.

* I started reading Inferno yesterday. Dan Brown's latest. I hope I find myself sucked into it. I need that kind of read right now.

* I owe you all a bunch of reviews. I'm trying to catch up but I do this to myself every year at this time. It's that pre-summer I want to read ALL.THE.BOOKS and then I start trying to and it just sneaks up on me and I'm not done with all I want to be done!

* I'm addicted to taking pictures. Did you not guess that already? I took a bunch out on the lake this weekend, trying to capture that perfect moment ... or two ... or ten.

* Here are a few of what I got so far. We'll see how the summer goes. I've got plenty of time.

* Getting outside is critical. It exhausts you in a way that not many people get otherwise. It even works on six-year-olds. Kinda' sorta'.

* And Vitamin D is a good thing. For you. Your kids. Your spouse. Everyone. Just be sure to use your sunscreen.

* It's amazing how beautiful Mother Nature can be, and yet, how terrifying. We got home the other night after the most still and peaceful boat ride and I turned on the TV to find out about pending tornadoes on Oklahoma. Again. I wish for safer days for those in the area, and wish for Mama Nature to go take a nap. A good one. A calm one. An uninterrupted one.

I hope your weekend was a great one, my friends. And I'll catch you later in the week. Hopefully with one or two of those book reviews ...

Off to figure out if we actually need to eat dinner or if our late lunch was enough. Hey - there's always Pringles!

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Taking pictures w. the #BlackberryZ10 #VZWA

* I have received a BlackberryZ10 phone and service to use for three months as provided to me by Verizon Wireless. This post reflects my personal experiences while using the phone and its features as a Verizon Wireless ambassador. I am not further compensated for this post. It is an honest review of the Z10's camera features. *

I went to the zoo with my daughter's kindergarten class the other day.

Pause. Take a moment to let that sink in, would you? I. Went to the zoo. On a field trip. With 20-something kindergarteners. AND three other K classes.

Yes.

I did it.

And I survived!

And I brought my BlackberryZ10 phone with me. See it? *Look down!*

It's as sleek as ever, easy to use, and my absolute favorite feature is the camera. It seriously might be giving the Samsung Galaxy S3 camera a run for its money!

One of the best things about the Z10's camera is the instant touch to take a picture. You don't have to find the camera "shutter" when you want to take your shot, you just tap the screen and the picture is yours. Capture the moment immediately!

This is especially beneficial when taking pictures of children. And, as you'll see in a moment, animals.

Getting my 6-year-old to stay still for a few shots to be sure I've caught the right one is never easy. But with the Blackberry Z10 I'm in luck. I'm actually able to take a handful of pictures before she blinks. Tap - tap - tap! No fumbling for the small circle on your screen. Just hit it anywhere. I've taken pictures of myself and friends using my knuckle on the screen. Seriously. It worked!

And look at how crisp and sharp these pictures turned out:

Excuse my giant head, I was kind of close to the camera, going for the "There's an elephant right behind you!" kind of shot. And hey - it worked!

These images have only been edited to include my @goodgirlgoneredneck watermark-tag. I have not filtered or touched them up in any way. They're awesome. If I do say so myself. Keep looking ...

Do I not seem as though I am right next to the animals? I mean, if you're going by these shots, I could reach out and touch them, right? Obviously that's not true - but this camera made me really happy. I didn't even bring my regular digital camera with me. I stuck with the phone and was glad I saved myself from having to carry something extra.

I did tweak the following picture a bit because I wanted to blur out my daughter's classmates, but I love how the camera caught her looking into the water - a beautiful glow and pretty shot - as she looked for the seals, or maybe something else? I forget!

SO, if you're looking for a new phone and a great camera is a critical characteristic, I can tell you that so far the Z10 is a huge hit with me.

More on the phone's other features soon ... just stay with me and check out the #VZWA and #VZWVoices hashtags for more discussions.

* Reminder: I am participating in the Verizon Wireless ambassador program at this time. Verizon Wireless has provided me with a phone and three months of service in exchange for my honest review of the product. #VZWA #VZWVoices *

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From Windows to Blackberry. #VZWA

Y'all know I'm a Verizon Wireless Ambassador, right?

Oh, you forgot? All my #VZWA hashtagging up the wazoo didn't work for you? Harumph.

Well, I'll fill you in. Because I'm moving on from my Windows 8x phone, and I am headed to Blackberry land. Yikes. Another step into unchartered territory for me.

See? Here's my new baby:

And I figured I'd take a photo shoot so you could see it next to the Windows 8x and the Samsung Galaxy SIII. (Don't mind the fingerprints!)

To sum up my experience with the Windows 8x, I wound up liking the phone more than I expected. I stuck with it when I went for a run or a walk, and focused on finding fitness with my phone, I also was really excited to learn I could load my iTunes music onto my Windows 8x phone! That was especially helpful when running towards a fitter me.

I admittedly had a few concerns when I started testing out my Windows 8x phone.  The buttons still bother me and I've had friends tell me the same thing. They found it hard to take pictures, and while I love the protection offered by the Otterbox case, it didn't make using the buttons any easier.

I still miss apps like Instagram and Angry Birds. And I can't utilize the options to connect between my Windows-using friends because I don't have that many Windows-using friends right now. Perhaps it will catch on and turn into the new "go-to" operating system for everyone, but it's just not there yet.

Oh! I almost forgot to let you know. Pandora is now available on Windows phones. Have you not heard about Pandora? Come on out of the dark ages, my friends. Free music. And it's ad-free for Windows users for the time being. This rocks. Completely.

I look forward to testing out the Blackberry Z10, and if you know me, and I think you do, I've already tested out the camera and found myself excited that all you have to do is TOUCH THE SCREEN ANYWHERE! ANYWHERE! No buttons to push, tap, shove, etc. Just tap that screen and the shot is yours. That's pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Stay tuned for more details as I become familiar with my new friend. Hope you'll let me know if you have any questions for me, too, as I would be happy to give you whatever insight I might have.

I'm a Blackberry virgin no more!

*I am participating in the Verizon Wireless Ambassador Program. Verizon Wireless has provided me with a wireless device and three months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product. 

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Testing out the Windows 8X. #VZWA

If you haven't yet checked out my intro post on my new Verizon phone you can head over to this post where I am introducing the Windows 8x phone! to you all, or you can keep reading!

I'm testing out the new Verizon Windows 8x phone for the coming months. It's interesting for someone like me who hasn't used Windows in quite some time.

I had no idea what to expect. Have you seen the ads yet? The *home page* (is that the best term to use? I'm not always sure ...) is pretty cool. You can customize it to meet your needs, similarly to how you'd put your favorite apps front and center on your Android.

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An excellent apps experience. #VZWA

I can't seem to live without my apps these days.

It's amazing how addicted I've become.

And yes, I do still have my "other phone," and no, it isn't an iPhone, and yes, I do still use it ... But when it comes to apps, downloading, using, updating and so on - my Samsung Galaxy S3 wins, hands down.

You have already seen me sing the praises of the camera, and I still do. I use Instagram happily and never worry about my pictures not loading, or freezing up. (Though I do have a weird situation with the camera crashing on me when I first click into it. It isn't happening all the time, and it isn't truly impacting my picture-taking process, so I haven't complained about it - yet!)

I also love how when I take pictures, and yes, there I go back to the camera related detail! - it automatically connects and is available to load into my G+ feed, available to publish, should I so choose.

And the speed is still ridiculously crazy. I just sat here and before I finished typing that sentence the phone downloaded the update to Pandora. And if you aren't already using Pandora, you should be. And you will be if you have this phone. It is so quick, seamless, in fact, when it comes to playing the stations of your choice. A few days ago I tried to use Pandora on my laptop, and I swear it works better on this phone. I suppose that isn't saying very much about my laptop in comparison.

So, besides picture taking and my music addiction, what other apps am I finding beneficial on my Samsung Galaxy S3?

Well, I am so glad you asked!

If you are a regular reader of mine, you know I am working towards a healthier me. I am focusing on fitness, calories, food, health and so much more. And my Galaxy S3 is helping me meet my goals and find my way.

With apps like LoseIt, myfitnesspal, C25K-Pro, Endomondo and my new find, Fooducate, I am making my way to healthier living with the touch of the screen. I have downloaded all of these apps and am determining which ones work best for me.

I recently came across Fooducate in the Verizon app store and decided to download it to use at my next grocery shopping trip. I will let you know how that goes, but in the meantime I have been able to use it by either scanning bar codes or shaking the phone! It basically picks a product at random and tells you all of the nutritional information you need, along with giving you some ideas at healthier products to replace the initial one you researched. There seriously is an app for that!

For the app-addicted like me, you will find that the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the 4G LTE service provided by Verizon Wireless will truly meet your needs when it comes to speed, performance, and accessibility.


* I am participating in the Verizon Wireless Ambassador Program and have been provided with a wireless device and three months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

For more information on my experience with this phone, see: New Apps and my Galaxy S3

And for more info on the awesome camera, see: Amazing camera on the Samsung Galaxy S3

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Have you seen my pictures lately? #VZWA

I'm totally addicted to Instagram. Have you been following me on there lately?

If you're a new friend, you may not have noticed the increase in my Instagram photography, but I can guarantee I'm even more addicted than before since I've had the Samsung Galaxy S3 to play around with.

You can look to the upper righthand side of the page here for a small sampling of my Instagram shots. Almost all of them (likely all, but just in case!) were taken with this phone. And they pretty much rock.

I mentioned in my previous post (see below for link) that I am in love with the camera on this phone. For the most part that remains true. A few quirks I'll get to later and we'll see what you think when I weigh out the exceptional pros and the occasional con.

So, let's begin!

I received my phone before heading to New York for vacation and was happy to test out my camera with some scenic shots.

A beautiful Brooklyn sky:

It's really pretty, right? Captures the blue sky, the red and orange tons of the sun as it is setting, the crispness of the contrast between the clouds and the sky. I sound all corny, but I like taking pictures, as if you couldn't guess.

And then we went to see the in-laws in Maine. They live off a pond and it was a perfect opportunity to test out the camera.

Quiet moment on the pond:

No filter has been added to either of those images, I've only watermarked them with a property of notation.

So those are still shots, which are obviously easy to capture, but the quality of the camera is pretty impressive for a cell phone, at least any cell phone I've ever used for photo-taking purposes.

 I used the phone the other night at a baseball game. I even took some shots of the fireworks display. A few of them came out well, and a few of them came out blurry. I did want to share a night shot, to show that with the flash I was able to capture the kids in the darkness, even though I could barely see where they were standing myself!

Watching in awe:

Again, no filter and a still object, but nighttime and pretty dark (they were facing the fireworks so you can see there were none in the air at the time of this shot) and it still came out pretty well.

So those are some of my positives about the camera in the Galaxy S3. I'm a fan so far. Even with the negatives I've experienced. The camera does tend to crash, or simply close on me, when I'm setting myself up to take a picture. I don't know if I happen to hit a button, or I set something off or what, exactly. But it is super sensitive.

Sometimes I get really blurry shots. It's easy to find yourself chasing down your kid or your pet and wind up with part of the shot showing up clearly and the rest of it in a whir of motion. No different than my camera, which may not say much for my camera, but I am noticing that it captures more of the shot than my regular cell does. Or I should say did, as I'm rarely using that camera now that I have this one.

And as you can say for most things, there are certainly more positives and negatives to discuss, so weighing the pros and cons is what I'll continue to do as I use both, the phone and the camera. I'll be sharing all of it here with you, so stay tuned for more posts with my honest feedback.

* I am participating in the Verizon Wireless Ambassador Program and have been provided with a wireless device and three months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

For more information on my experience with this phone, see: New Apps and my Galaxy S3

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Capturing the Moments: Part II

As you likely already know, if you know me at all, I am addicted to taking pictures.

I'm addicted to loading my digital shots to my laptop, finding the ones I love the most and then uploading them to Shutterfly so I can do any of the following things:

* Share them with loved ones ... I even have a share page, if you don't have one, get one now. It's like blogging - minus the words.

* Ordering affordable prints to display in my home, send out to the grandparents and other family members who live far away. I also squeeze a few into quick notes to friends. Sometimes snail mail makes a person smile a bit more than an e-mail does, ya know?

* Creating random cards and/or holiday photo cards for loved ones! (My daughter's birth announcements were actually done through Shutterfly those oh-so-many years ago.) One year we sent out our holiday cards super early since we knew we'd be traveling, and so we created cute cards with pictures from Halloween!

Of course there are many other options that you can use their fun cards for, like Thank You Cards and even Party Invitations!

* Then there is my latest addiction: PhotoBooks. They're like a mini-montage of your important events. I find myself creating one every summer, though this year I'll need two. The first one is already done, the second one is in the works, but saved to my account. It's an addiction, I tell you. It's so great to not have to worry about scrapbooking or sliding the pictures into those little plastic covered sheets. The notations I make to help me place the memories and the moments are jotted right onto the page through the program. Easy as pie. Seriously.

Shutterfly has generously offered to give me codes for three sets of 10 free 5x7 flat cards! Which means we'll have three winners here!

So if you're interested in winning, leave me a comment to let me know what you would do with this free set of cards. Holiday cards? Party invitations? Thank you cards? Just simple picture notes to say hi to loved ones?

And for extra entries you can do any or all of the following - please leave a separate comment for each entry:

* Follow me here through Google Friend Connect
* Follow me on Twitter @goodgirlgonered
* Tweet about this giveaway (just use my handle so I can find it, or leave me the URL here)
* Leave me an extra comment to let me know approximately how many holiday cards you mail out each year. I'm curious, so fill me in!

And a special thanks to Shutterfly - the site that totally rocks!

** At this time [time of post] I have not been compensated for any of the review comments shared here. I have purchased all of the items I am discussing on my own with my own money through the Shutterfly.com website. Shutterfly has indicated that upon my posting this information and this giveaway to my readers that they will also give me one set of these 5x7 cards for my personal use. **

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Capturing the Moments: Part I

It's really difficult to take pictures of a moving subject. Have you ever thought of that? I would say that I'm a pretty good photographer. Not a professional, by any means, and not even someone who would classify it as a hobby. But when it comes to taking pictures of my child, well, it's nearly impossible to feel even the least bit talented or remotely qualified.

My daughter is three. She's always on the go. I seem to be trying to get some fun pictures of her all the time, and, well, they don't turn out as well as I hope they will. Thank goodness for digital cameras, right?

What did I expect to happen? Well, I expected that the child who used to stand still and say cheese might resurface. She sometimes does, but not always. And I thought that maybe, just maybe, she'd ham it up a bit and pose for me. And then I could turn around and say, 'See? I've still got it!' Alas, not happening.

So I suppose I'll just resort to hiring professional photographers, who may have a better chance at tiring her out and getting her to just freeze for that one moment. That one second that brings so much more to a memory than the mind.

It helps you reflect when the mind questions. It helps you remember exactly what was worn, and where you were. And sometimes, if the color is just right you may even feel you can smell the flowers that surround you.

Maybe someday I'll be able to capture that in my child again. Maybe. Maybe not. But either way, I'll know it's in there. Somewhere. And in the meantime, here's one of my favorite action shots (I'll admit I enhanced the color a little bit. Picnik is a wonderful website!) of her from over the summer. Her hair is all wild and crazy after hitting that wacky scrunchy ball with her head. I love it!

And stay tuned to my blog as later this week I'll offer you a chance at winning a way to share the moments you've captured with those you love ...

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Share your pics!

We want to see a picture or two of you and your BFF!

To enter:

Contestants can submit a a photo of themselves with their best friend to: FriendsYouLove@gmail.com

Submissions will be accepted 9/7 - 9/12.

Voting will occur 9/14 - 9/18 over at Friends You Love!

We are putting together a fabulous prize pack from our sponsors for the winner. 

Images may be used on Friends You Love for contest purposes.

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Shoot Me - Week 2 of 52!

I missed posting this yesterday because I took the day off, but here's my shot of me and my lil girl from last week. It's a bit blurry because I took it w. my laptop camera, and the lighting was ickky, but we were modeling our new tees from the mommies' site I belong to. Mine says: "YOU CAN'T SCARE ME, I'M A MOM!" Perfect, no? If you're interested in a mommy site in your area, check out The Mommies Network.** It's a free organization that supports moms across the US/Canada.

As for this meme, I'm trying to catch myself in FRONT of the camera for 52 straight weeks, as a part of the Shoot Me! challenge over at Forever in Blue Jeans (check the Shoot Me box above!) I do have a picture or two from my munchkin's birthday, but I haven't loaded them yet. Lazy Momma award of the week goes to ... ;)
**While I volunteer for the national and local sites, but get nothing from referring you, etc. It's honestly just a great support system for mommies, mommies-to-be, mommies who want to be that I honestly recommend!**

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