Someone Else’s Kids

Sometimes the best childhood memories are the simplest ones that cost nothing, but a thoughtful moment and a little time.

For example, it’s nice to look back years later and think that every time you were out playing in the snow, your mother had a cup of hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows waiting for you when you got back inside.

Perhaps you think back to playing with your friends on a crisp fall day just raking big piles of leaves and then jumping in them for hours. You didn’t even know you were getting great exercise at the same time.

What is your favorite simple childhood memory?childhood, nostalgia

I’m glad that I have the chance today to talk about digital photography and how it has changed taking pictures for me.

I was never into taking pictures years ago because frankly, I could not be bothered with always having to go to the store to buy film, and then go to the store again to drop off film to be developed, wait days, and then return a final time to pick up the finished pictures. That was too much trouble.

Then the digital photography revolution changed everything. Picture taking went from a chore to a pleasure three and a half years ago when I bought my first digital camera. I went all out and bought a 3.1 mega pixel camera which was the best available at the time. I also got an HP photo printer at the time so I could share the pictures with people who hadn’t joined me in the new digital age. (Yes, Mom, that means you!)

Flash forward (a little camera humor) to today and I’m still using that same camera and photo printer! They still work great, but I haven’t kept up with the changes in technology. I think I knew I was in trouble when I started seeing camera phones advertised with the same resolution as my digital camera! I have been thinking of upgrading lately because I know I could be getting much sharper pictures at higher resolutions that would hold up better when enlarged.

I have also seen a lot of opportunities lately to sell photos online (and that it is a perfect complement to writing online), but most of the quality sites require better resolution than I have so a new 6 mega pixel camera from HP would open up a new source of income as well as better pictures all around. Yes, I still need the convenient photo printer because even almost four years later, some people still aren’t joining the digital revolution. (No names mentioned, Mom).cameras. hp cameras

There is something about the holiday season that brings out the kid in all of us. Everywhere you go, you can’t help but see ads for games, toys, and electronics. Doesn’t it take you back to when you wanted all those things under the tree?

Stroll through your local Wal-Mart, Target, or K-Mart and you will notice the expanded toy departments creeping several aisles beyond normal. Also, there will probably be some prominent toy and games displays right in the front of the store too.

The best part of being an adult is that you can buy the stuff whenever you want. No more waiting, hoping, and wishing that someone else will get it for you. So, go ahead, this year buy yourself that new video game you saw advertised or that new board game! You won’t even have to wait until the end of December to start playing with it.childhood, nostalgia

Just in time for the holidays, here is another post directing you on how to find online deals.

Visit the DealKing.com website and you will find some amazing bargains that also include cash back! Too bad all your holiday purchases don’t include cash back for you while you are shopping. Two great offers you should check our tight now are getting $20 off a $50 purchase (that’s 40%) at Buy.com and a T Mobile Nokia 6030 phone free after T Mobile rebates and DealKing cash back offers.holiday deals

In a previous entry I mentioned all the options available for kids today in the toy department. I was at Wal-Mart earlier today and I saw something called Moon Shows. Have you ever seen them?

The box described them as being mini-trampolines for your feet that would make you jump when you walk. I just did some more research online and found out these things have been around for years. How did I miss these things? The box says that over a million pairs have been sold!

Do your kids have them? Do they really work? Are they safe?

I would love to hear more about these things?

With all the media outlets available today and the proliferation of websites, you might assume it is easy to get publicity. In fact, it can actually be harder than ever because there is so much “noise” in the media that you and your message may be lost long before either reaches its target audience.

Since traditional PR firms charge a fortune regardless of how successful the media campaigns are in the end, it is interesting to find a new PR company with a different approach to the business.
Publicity Guaranteed rolls its mission and policy right into its very name. Users of the service only pay for the service when they get the desired result, which is a real news story (not simply an ad), placed in a major publication. Rates vary, but as start at as low as $195 for newspapers with circulation under 10K.pr, publicity

Is it more or less fun to be a kid these days?

Since kids have so many options for toys, where is the imagination? We had plenty of toys in the 70’s and 80’s too so I guess adults were saying the same things about us back then, too.
What a contrast to kids even 100 years ago that certainly didn’t have more than a wooden toy or a rag doll. childhood, nostalgia

Has it snowed in your area yet? We have not even had a single flake yet, although it has been cold enough on a few days so far. We did have a week of rain so no doubt plenty of people were muttering, “Imagine how much this would be if we had snow instead.”

When I was a kid, we used to shovel snow to make a few extra dollars on those snow days off from school. Depending on the size of the job, it could be anywhere from five to ten dollars.

Do you encourage your kids to go out and shovel snow for the neighbors (after they do your own driveway of course)? What is the going rate these days? Can they earn enough from one storm to buy the latest Nintendo Wii video game?

snow