31 Days to Building a Better Blog Starts … NOW!

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Christine | No Comments

I’ve said for some time now that I want to do the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog program. I’ve read about it for at least a year now, and everyone I know that has done it, and stuck with it, has said how much it improved their blogs.

This ol’ thing? She needs some polish and SHINE! This month marks the 10 year anniversary of this blog. 10 years! Sure, I’m old skool when it comes to blogging. If you tell me you’re a long, long time blogger but you have no idea who Jish is or you’ve never heard of Greymatter, I might not believe you. But I’ve gotten a bit rusty. Maybe it is lazy. Maybe it is the fact that I have, oh, 5+ blogs that I’m running at once. Whatever. I need this.

Do you need it too? Who wants to join me? Go read all about 31DBBB. Buy the book. We’ll do it together. Won’t it be fun? I’ll write about my progress here, and I’ll post about it over on Twitter too. Leave a comment and let me know if you’re in!

From the page about the ProBlogger book:

Each day in the project contains:
- A Task – something to DO that day.
- Teaching – each day you’ll be given great instruction on both the WHY and HOW of the task of the day.

Who is this Workbook for?
31 Days to Build a Better Blog is for bloggers at different stages of their blogging including:
- those who have just started a blog but who don’t know what to do next
- those who have had a blog for a while but it’s stalled in its growth
- bloggers with bloggers block and lacking inspiration
This workbook is NOT designed for bloggers yet to start a blog (PreBloggers). It doesn’t cover setting up a blog.

I’m so excited – I can’t wait to do this!

Category: BlahBlahBabble
Tags: 31 Days to Building a Better Blog | 31DBBB | blog | writing
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Women CAN Be Successful Business Owners…

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Christine | No Comments

Women can be successful business owners.

This is probably an obvious statement in some ways, but one that I’ve been thinking about a LOT this past week. While we can be successful, I don’t think we often believe in ourselves. We set a lot of limits for ourselves, often unintentionally, having a hard time believing we can’t rise to the top.

Fear stands in our way.

If you think about it, women have really only started to rise in the ranks of business over the past 100 years. Before that, it was predominantly a man’s world. I think that to some extent, that is why we don’t always believe in ourselves.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been checking out the Rich, Hot & Happy B-School. Ok, I’ll admit it, I think the name is a bit cheesy. But what Marie and Laura are teaching is FABULOUS! I’ve already gotten some really great ideas from the free videos they put out there. So after a few days of consideration, I decided within the final hour last week to sign up for RHH B-School myself. I can’t wait for it to start in a few weeks!

They have decided that they wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to sign up, so they opened it back up for ONE DAY ONLY. You can register until midnight tonight, Pacific time. Personally, I think you should definitely check out the videos to see if you’re interested! (And it isn’t women only – men can sign up too!) Check it out!

Want to know more about who is behind this? Marie Forleo is a best-selling author, speaker, online-entrepreneur, Nike Athlete and Master Trainer, fitness personality, and dancer/choreographer, Marie has defied conventional wisdom and achieved phenomenal success across multiple industries. She recently worked with Tony Robbins for his DVD training program, The New Money Masters. Yes, THE Tony Robbins! Laura Roeder is a social media marketing expert who teaches small businesses how to create their own fame and claim their brand online. She is the creator of the Creating Fame Classroom and Your Backstage Pass to Twitter.

Basically, these women know their stuff!

So often I think wedding photographers and other wedding vendors get so focused on what their competition is doing, they forget to learn outside of the industry. I think that is a really important thing to do — as I witnessed first hand at Entrepreneur Camp Houston this past weekend. Stretch yourself and grow!

Check out Rich, Hot & Happy B-School, and maybe I’ll see you in class there? Don’t forget though – you only have through tonight to sign up!

LessAccounting and Getting Straight with my Money…

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Christine | No Comments

Confession: I hate bookkeeping. I’m sure I’m not the only photographer that feels this way. I’ve been keeping track of the essential stuff relating to taxes & sales tax, and loosely using LessAccounting to track everything since 2009 along with ShootQ, but I haven’t really BONDED with my business finances, if you know what I mean. My books were sort of a mess.

Matter of fact, I have had a really bad tendency to think to myself, “Hey, look at that! I’ve got $1000 right now – I can go buy (insert non-essential item here) right now! I’m rich!” only to discover a week later that uh, no, I wasn’t rich, and now I’ve got 3 different things to pay and no money left to do it with.

This is NOT a good way to run a business. So over the past few weeks, and thanks to guidance by the wonderful Christyna Lewis of BEE Ventures, I’ve been getting over this head-in-sand syndrome and really getting intimate with my money.

It was hard at first, but now I feel SO much better! It is powerful to be in charge of your financial situation! I’ll share more about what I’ve been doing, but to start with, if you don’t have an accounting system in place to really track everything you have going in and out of your business, go right now and sign up for LessAccounting. I’ll share more of what I’m doing with it over the next few weeks so you can get real with your money too!

(Don’t own a business? Get hooked up with Mint – great for personal finances! Plus it is FREE!)

Read Your Site – What Does it Say About You?

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Christine | 1 Comment

I was looking at the site of an event planner today, someone who had contacted me about working together on weddings. On their site was an “About Us” page. Yay! I could read and learn a bit about her.

Or not. Other than the opening sentence, which was launched with a typo as well, it only included their names and nothing more. That isn’t “About Us” – that is “About our company”.

In the Internet age, people want to know about YOU. And what is really amazing is that while 10 years ago, I used to point out to clients that the awesome thing about the web was that you could make your business seem as large as you wanted, now people want to connect with the people they are working with. All around, you can see huge corporations wanting to act as if they are small mom & pop shops. They want to be personable. They want you to connect with them. To embrace their brand as your own. They want you to be loyal to them and only them.

So go look at your about page. Does it tell your reader about you? Really about you? Is it full of a lot of “we” puff up text where you try to make your business sound like there are many employees when it is really just you? Big brands are envious of the advantage you’ve got. Stop trying to be something that you’re not. Be yourself. Be real. People want to work with people they like – and that “About Us” page? It is the door to them liking you. Give people that chance.

Houston’s History of WordPress – Matt Mullenweg’s WordCamp Keynote

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Christine | No Comments

WordCamp Houston is taking place today, and I’m not there since I’ll be the wedding photographer at a Woodlands Resort wedding in a little bit. I tuned in this morning to Matt Mullenweg’s keynote presentation, and he even gave me a shoutout! Awww…

If you’re interested in watching it and learning about Houston’s history of WordPress, you should check it out!

So many great memories, like Matt’s Palm user club, us swapping tips about using our Handspring Visors (remember those?), SXSWi 2003, which is where he first told me he needed a name for the software he had been working on, the first time he met Jeffrey Zeldman, and so much more. It is great to hear that we are Matt’s people. I *heart* WordPress!

Category: Geek Love
Tags: Matt Mullenweg | WordCamp Houston | WordPress
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I’m Here, Where are You? (The importance of the Title tag on your site.)

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Christine | 3 Comments

I see it almost every day while reviewing sites & content for Wholly Matrimony. Photographers and other wedding vendors that make it so that you have to dig through their site to figure out where on earth they are located.

I’ve said this before, but stop what you are doing RIGHT NOW and go look at the Title on your website. This is the thing that displays at the top of your browser window. Does it say “Happy Sunshine Photographer” and nothing more? Or better yet “Index” or “Home”?

Yeah. Change that. Go on in there and change it to say something helpful. “Happy Sunshine Wedding Photographer, Orange County, California” Make it easy for someone to figure out where you are at. Trust me, if they can’t find it fast enough they will move on. The Internet is vast & wide.

This is especially important if you have a Flash site without a splash page. Google and the other search engines can’t read your site. So you need to at least tell them where you are.

You get BONUS POINTS for including your city & state somewhere on the site as well – ideally, the footer of every page and on your contact & about page. Even better if you include your phone number too. Who doesn’t want BONUS POINTS???

“But Christine! I want to do destination weddings! I’ll travel anywhere!”

Ok. But your site right now doesn’t even tell people you shoot weddings. Or where you are coming from. So you’re competing with every other photographer that thinks location doesn’t matter. You just threw yourself into a much larger pool. Full of sharks. Get out & save yourself. Even if the visitor to your site lives in another country, they still want to know where you are coming from.

So what does your Title say about you?

Posts on Building Better Blogs…

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Christine | 3 Comments

I’m working on my editorial calendar for the next two weeks for all of my blogs, and I realized that I want to write something to help YOU. But I want to know what that is – straight from you. If you could have help & guidance about how to build a better blog to make online marketing of your business work for you, what topics would you like to see covered? What can help you out?

I’ve got a list going, but I’d love to hear what it is you need so I can make it even more specific!

June Weight Loss – 5 in 10 Update…

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Christine | 5 Comments

YES!!! I lost 5 pounds in June! Finally, another month where I lost 5lb in one month this year!

I was torn on whether or not this was a victory that I could celebrate — the 5lb I lost were 5lb that I managed to gain in May. Obviously, my goal is to not keep gaining & losing the same 5lb. But I seem to be stuck at a point, circling the same number. The whole month of May it was 1lb up, 2lb down, 2lb back up again – all right around the same number. Then at the end of the month when we had our road trip to Taos, I came home 4lb heavier, and then that didn’t seem to move either. So frustrating!

But I AM going to celebrate it! Because instead of throwing in the towel and giving up, I continued on. I’ve been biking this month and really enjoying it. I’ve been eating better and even starting to crave vegetables. I actually asked Mike last night to pick up more cauliflower so he could make more roasted cauliflower for us this weekend! My plan of having him just tell me what I can eat has worked well for me; it seems that food suggestions is what kicks off my cravings most of the time.

Most importantly, while I do have the goal of losing weight, I’m refusing to consider myself to be on a diet. I’m making LIFE changes here. A diet is something you do for 2 months before summer vacation. This is a forever thing.

So to summarize, I’ve lost 13.2lb since the start of the year now. I still have to lose 2.2lb to get back to my lowest point in 2010 so far. My goal for 2010 is to lose 40lb.

We’ve officially started the second half of 2010. I’m going to continue to lose 5lb a month from here on out. MUST do it. I was going to say that I’m “hoping to” but that isn’t the case. Not hoping, because that isn’t very empowering. I must. That would mean a 30lb weight loss from right now, and reaching my goal of a total of over 40lb for the year. I just have to keep eating right, exercising, and not giving up!

Alright, so who is in this with me?!? We can do it!

Around the Web & Back Again – Update #2

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Christine | No Comments

Who am I kidding calling them a weekly update? Yeah, I know. I was feeling ambitious.

I’ve finally been losing weight again. I had to have Mike take over my Weight Watcher points for me. He cooks for us most nights, and he would often ask me what I wanted for dinner, and I’d pick something bad for me (yummm… pizza) and he wouldn’t stop me. So now, he is under standing orders to just cook. Tell me what I can have. Once a week I get a complete free day where I can eat whatever I want, but otherwise – I eat what I’m served. Within reason, as he knows the things I hate and won’t eat.

As a result, I lost nearly 4 pounds last week. Yay! We’re on to week 2 now!

I’m still biking, although I didn’t as much last week as I have been. Biking makes me hungry and then I don’t eat well, and then the weight never goes away. Vicious cycle. I’ll start back up riding 4-5 times a week in the next week or two, I just have to break through the weight issue. My goal was to lose 5lb a month in 2010, but it is not supposed to keep being the same 5lb!

BIG NEWS!!! Mike’s blog, CoffeeCorner, turned 10 last week! (That means my blog’s birthday is just around the corner too!) Our blogs played a roll in bringing us together, as I was first introduced to him by our friend Ann, who I didn’t get to meet in person until our honeymoon in London. This fall we’ll be returning to England for Ann’s wedding, and I can’t wait! It has been an amazing 10 years for us both. I’m glad it is somewhat documented by our blogs.

In other big news, in case I didn’t mention it before, Jason got a job! He is now working part time. He’ll be going to school locally in the fall, so it works out well that he can keep the job too. Yay!

Tonight & throughout the week new posts will go up on Wholly Matrimony. We’re now a part of the Two Bright Lights editorial partners, and submissions are up because of it! I can’t wait to share some of the gorgeous weddings that have come in recently! I hosted the Two Bright Lights Bootcamp when it came to Houston as well last week – a ton of fun, and I’m loving the software from the wedding photographer side of things as well!

Over on the SLGT Photo Project I’ve featured B.E.E. Ventures & Christyna Lewis, Daisy’s Doggie Duds, and Sarah Shah, author of Dress Yourself Skinny. More on her soon, as I’ll be giving away a copy of her latest book!

The wedding & boudoir photography blog saw photos from Zack Arias’s OneLight workshop last year featuring Marc & Tracy, and a sneak peek of Miss E’s boudoir session. Even more of Miss E’s shoot is on Boudoir Mon Cheri, along with the hot, hot, hot Summertime Boudoir specials!

So I’m working on my goals. Not perfect yet, but making progress. The most important thing is that I’m eating right, exercising, and writing blog posts!

One of my favorites from the Boudoir session that I just posted earlier today…

Category: BlahBlahBabble

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Around the Web & Back Again: Weekly Recap #1…

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Christine | No Comments

I’ve been craving a change. It isn’t the first time I’ve felt this way, but once again I find myself wishing I could consolidate all of my sites into one big site. In the end, it is all me, but sometimes I feel like I’m spread out. Pieces of me in different places. Twitter. Facebook. Flickr forums. Here, there, everywhere.

But for some of my sites, this move wouldn’t make sense at all. I need to maintain a business presence for my photography brands, and the SLGT Photo Project needs to stand on its own. So instead, as a way to review what I’ve done and what I need to do, I’m going to start doing a weekly write-up here of what I’ve done everywhere else. If you follow all of my other sites, you will recognize things you’ve already seen. If you only read this one, you’ll get a recap of other things. Hopefully it will lead you to something new, or something you may have missed.

- In big news at home, Jason graduated from high school! Whoo hoo!!! Yes, I took photos. Yes, they are still on the memory cards. They will be edited this week, and I’ll write more about that here. Mike’s parents flew in from Kentucky for the graduation, and they, along with my parents, went with us up to College Station for the event. It was a great day! I’m so proud of him!

Now he has his first job interview tomorrow! Eeeeee!

- I relaunched Wholly Matrimony this week. With a new look, and a refreshed focus on real destination weddings, with a touch of DIY craftiness & planning tips to help couples planning their destination wedding. I was excited to share Lea & Brian’s Costa Rica Destination Wedding, a cute DIY paper pom-pom for decorating a wedding venue, and Jessica & Christaan’s Destination Wedding at Rockhouse in Negril, Jamaica.

- On the SLGT Photo Project, I shared information on the First Saturday Arts Market, Q-Views Theresa Quintanilla, Robot in Bloom’s incredible handcrafted flowers, and Active Pets Houston.

This week, I have a whole blogapalooza of posts planned for over there. Check in often, as I’m going to be writing them up as fast as I can! I have several shoots waiting to go live!

- I made a big design change over at the Christine Tremoulet Destination Wedding & Boudoir Photography blog. It is now a lovely sunny shade of yellow! I needed a clean, uncluttered site. The kraft paper background, while lovely and matching my branding & marketing materials, just wasn’t giving me the feel that I wanted. Now I smile every time I pull up the site. That energizes me to blog there as well! Lots to share coming up!

On Monday or Tuesday, I’ll be announcing the latest boudoir photography specials. I just need to put the final touch on them! I think I’m going to do a Twitter/Facebook only bonus special as well, so if you follow me there keep an eye out for it! I have had the honor now of photographing over 50 gorgeous women. I wish I had more sessions to show off, but I respect everyone’s privacy and don’t post photos without permission. Trust me, every woman is beautiful, and every client that has ever left has told me how empowered they feel after their session. They are such a blessing for them, for me, and of course the recipient of the photos if they are doing them as a gift.

And yes, I *do* travel for boudoir sessions. People always say that they wish I lived in their area. Get 2-3 friends to agree on dates that work for me, and I’ll head to you to do a session with each of you! (If you’re the organizer, you get a special deal!)

- I was a sponsor of TEDxHouston yesterday, and it was AMAZING. If a TEDx event is happening in your city, go. Definitely, go. The photos below are part of the set that I posted on Flickr that you can check out here. It was a wonderful day, and I’m so very glad I got to be a part of it.

One of the things that made TEDx unique is that it is a curated audience event. You had to apply to attend. The speakers aren’t paid to speak, so it is key to have a passionate audience that wants to hear what they have to say. You could just sense an energy that was like nothing I’ve seen before. It was amazing.

Props to the team at Culture Pilot & all of the volunteers who worked *hard* to make this happen. You did an AMAZING job!

- Last but not least, I posted here about a workbook that NO website owner, business owner, blogger should be without – my review of Naomi Dunford’s IttyBiz Ninja SEO School. Short version? If you don’t have it, you should buy it. NOW.

I also wrote about Mike appearing “in print” in an article about curing meat at home. Why yes, he did in fact make pancetta in our study. He had to hide it from me, his favorite picky eater. My reaction? “Ewwww…” But he swears it was delicious!

- Weight loss for the week: 0 lb. Still circling the same number. Doing measurements tomorrow so I can at least see inches go even if pounds don’t.

Category: BlahBlahBabble, Picture Time

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Curing Your Own Meat Has Nothing to Do With Cookies!

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Christine | No Comments

I find it somewhat ironic that I write on a blog called “Big Pink Cookie” and I do not write a thing about baking or cookies, and my husband Mike writes at CoffeeCorner and talks about food, not coffee. (Ok, there are a few coffee related posts here and there, but you get the point.)

Over the past several months, Mike has been writing more & more about his experiments with food. Unfortunately, he married a picky eater who is super sensitive to some smells, so he is often stuck doing some things on Saturdays while I’m off photographing weddings. I leave my old camera at home for him – a great camera, but one that has retired from my wedding gear – and he has been photographing everything he cooks as well for the blog. He has a pretty good eye too for food photography – so if you like a good food blog, you should be reading his!

Some of the foods he has made involve curing your own meat. This is not something I *ever* expected to happen in my home! But it makes him happy, so I’ll live with it. More importantly, it is now making him famous on the internet. Yes, yes, the whole point of this long & rambling post is to congratulate him on making it. Today, his name was “in print” on the Houston Press Eating Our Words blog in an article about Making Your Own Designer Meats.

He tells me the stuff he made was super tasty. Others have raved about it. I just have to take their word for it, because the picky eater who doesn’t like bacon? Yeah, I’ve never tried any of it. The pork rilletes made me want to gag. However, the bacon definitely smelled better then commercial bacon. Maybe someday. It is famous on the internet after all…

Category: BlahBlahBabble
Tags: cooking | curing meat | designer meats | food
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Ninja-like Skills for SEO…

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Christine | 1 Comment

I’ve been keeping a secret from you. Nothing bad. Or illegal. No, nothing like that. I’ve been holding out on one of the most awesome SEO* resources out there. Seriously, Naomi is amazing.

I first discovered Naomi & her Ninja SEO School at the beginning of the year. I wavered on picking up a copy. Google is already my minion, so I didn’t think I needed it at first. But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really should check it out. After all, I go through people’s blogs top to bottom to help them with their SEO, so I should actually read everything I possibly can on the subject. Then I saw Naomi’s name popping up all over the place, and I finally gave in and bought it.

I haven’t regretted that choice for a single moment. If you could stand to have your SEO whipped into shape, and you don’t have the money to get a private consultation (great gobs of money if you don’t want to do a workshop for thousands of dollars), it is worth every penny you spend on it. Need more justification? It is currently $39. That is like 8 visits to Starbucks. Fancy coffee or more eyes on your site turning into more business for you? Yeah, that is what I thought — go ahead and click here. (If you’re really scared, it has a 100% guarantee from Naomi, so you’re pretty much golden.)

Between Ninja SEO School and using Scribe to make SEO copywriting simple, my traffic has been higher than ever before. SEO for the win! (Psst… when I was done with the SEO School, I picked up the Click here to view more details as well. It is just as awesome! Worth checking out. After you finish SEO school, that is.

The Big Business & Life Goal…

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Christine | 6 Comments

Last night, Christyna of B.E.E. Ventures came to speak to the Houston Fast Track Photographer / Pictage User Group (PUG), and it was nothing short of FABULOUS! She talked about creating sustainable income for your business and things you can do to take your success to the next level. She really sought to speak to all levels of business that were represented in the attendees, from people just starting out to people well established in their business and maybe needing a kick in the right direction.

I left with three pages of notes, a ton of inspiration, and a big goal for the next 18 months.

In addition to helping to pay for Jason’s college tuition, I want to pay off all of our debt within 18 months from my business income.

I said it out loud to Christyna last night because saying it made it a reality. I am typing it out here because I need more accountability then just one person.

To do this, I need to be a better bookkeeper and be more accountable on where I spend my money, watch impulse purchases, curb my gadget addiction a bit (I’m still getting the new iPhone when it comes out, but I’m going to plan ahead and know where the money is coming from to pay for it), and I’m going to need to make big payments towards the debt to pay it down fast. Next week, I’m going to take the first step of making a handwritten list of every last cent we may owe to anyone, interest rates, due dates, and everything like that – Dave Ramsey style. Why handwritten? Because I could type it out, but there truly is something different when you write it by hand. I remember things so much more clearly. Maybe there is even a little pain involved in it. (It is slower and a bit more tedious.)

I’m also going to be more focused and scheduled with my time. Procrastination costs me money, sometimes literally cash. Other times it costs me money in the form of missed opportunities. Either way, there is a price, and it will impact this goal. One of the things I’ve been working on this week in addition to editing for the SLGT Photo Project is updating things at Wholly Matrimony! — adding in affiliate advertising (along with links on this site as well), working on the layout, and more features that will be rolling out over the coming week. I have a BIG launch planned on Monday as well, and I’ll be lining up lots of real destination weddings to feature there! All to help with the goal.

I think I can, I think I can… (and yes, I’ll be sharing more about it here!)

Category: BlahBlahBabble
Tags: debt | financial goals | planning
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May Weight Loss Results…

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Christine | 4 Comments

I spent May much like April, circling the same number as far as weight loss — 1 lb up, 2 lb down, over and over again. Ugh! So frustrating! But it is pretty obvious why that has been the case, I’ve been terrible about really tracking what I eat. The Weight Watcher’s motto of “you bite it, you write it” really does hold true. If I don’t track it, I just keep circling the same number. Traveling didn’t help either. I never picked working out with any sort of routine back up either after I got sick earlier this year.

So now we’re in to June and it is a fresh month. Clean slate. New goal of losing 5 pounds this month. I’ve actually lost 2 pounds already since returning from New Mexico on May 28th, so that is a good start! I ended May 2.6lb over where I started this month, so I can’t have another month like that!

I went to Angel Fire, NM (a resort town near Taos, NM) from May 23-28 with my friends Kelly and Brittany. It started off as a plan to have a destination wedding photographer retreat – talking about all the things we can do to grow our business. (Brittany does editing for me – I’m *so* fortunate to have her!) In the end, not only did we do that, but we shared all of our obsessions with each other too! Brittany taught Kelly how to knit, and they talked about how Brittany wants to run a triathlon, and while we were at Taos Cyclery getting things for Kelly, I decided to make my dream a reality and get a new bike! (We had a bike rack on the car because Kelly brought her bike to keep up her training – so I could easily bring it home.)

The team at Taos Cyclery was beyond awesome. They took the time to talk with me about what I wanted in a bike, what I planned to do with it, about my issues with my right shoulder and how I can’t ride if I have to put too much weight on it. In the end, I picked out a bike that fit all of my wishes, and they sent me out the door to even test it out. How awesome is that?!? Considering the investment I was making, it was nice to get out on the street and make sure it was a nice ride.

So now I have a new Raleigh hybrid bike, great for cycling the streets of Houston comfortably for a nice long ride. Coach Kelly has me on a nice training program now so I can slowly work my way up to some of the longer organized rides, and I’ve started doing 15-20 minute rides (about 3 miles) this week.

My big push for the past few weeks has been to make sure my life is very scheduled because I get so much more done then – so I’m riding Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday. I’ve been going in the morning before the heat gets too bad, since it is already well in the 90s every day. (Ugh!) On days that the weather doesn’t cooperate, I’ll be walking on the treadmill or doing another indoor workout.

I’m on track to lose 5lb in June, and to lose another 30 by the end of the year. It isn’t a sprint but a marathon. I’m not trying to hard-core diet, but rather making lifestyle changes that I can implement from now on. I’ll continue to write about it so you can hold me to it!

Category: Smaller Pink Cookie
Tags: 5 in 10 | diet | weight loss
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Testing out MacJournal…

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Christine | No Comments

Prepping for a road trip, I wanted a way to post to my blog while offline. I’m hoping that MacJournal does the trick and allows me to write blog posts while offline that I can post later on.

… And, it worked! Although it thinks it timed out. Hmm. Well, either way – yay! Blog posts written offline! SWEET!

Check out MacJournal if you need a way to write blog posts offline and post later to your WordPress blog!

Category: BlahBlahBabble
Tags: blogging | code | MacJournal | software | WordPress
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Kindle vs the iPad – 3 Reasons Why the Kindle Wins!

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Christine | 6 Comments

Have I mentioned that I live in Geektopia? I do. And as a gadget junkie, I have both a Kindle (the original wedge-shaped one) and an iPad (64gb WiFi only). When the iPad was coming out, I heard many people say that they weren’t going to get a Kindle or another similar electronic book device because they would use the iPad for it.

I’ve tried both. And as much as I love the iPad, it doesn’t beat out the Kindle in this area.

- The Kindle is lighter in weight, making it much easier to hold and read for long periods of time. I’ve read mine for 8+ hour stretches before, and I could never hold an iPad for that long.
- The Kindle is not backlight, so it is easier on your eyes. If you’re like me, reading a backlit device for several pages of content is painful. I can’t read books on a computer monitor either.
- Since the Kindle isn’t backlit and has a matte screen, you can use it outdoors on a bright, sunny day. I tried to read a book on the iPad in the car (while Mike drove, of course!) and I couldn’t even see the screen.

Bonus reason:
- Kindle books can be ported to several different devices – I can read the same book on my Kindle and through the Kindle app on the iPad, the iPhone, my Mac and our PC. My Kindle books can go to many electronic devices – and books from the iBook store can only be read on the iPad. (Not necessarily a perk for the Kindle device so much as for the service itself over Apple’s new iBook store.)

I love my iPad, and the Kindle app that is available for the iPad is fantastic. Much, much better than the iPhone app. But when you find me curled up with a good book to read, it will be with a Kindle in my hands.

Side note about the Kindle: I love paper books. I really do, and I honestly thought that the Kindle would never be as good as reading a real book. Then I tried one out, and I discovered that it is lightweight and so much easier for me to hold – I have a weak right hand and problems with my thumb. I’ve read more books since I purchased my Kindle in 2008 then I did in the 5 years before that because using the Kindle is such a pleasant experience. I almost forget the books are electronic once I get in to them because the digital ink technology is so impressive. If you haven’t gotten your hands on a Kindle yet, you should!

Knitting books are the one exception. They just don’t translate well to the Kindle at all. I also tend to purchase books written by anyone I meet and get them signed for my collection!

My Beloved iPad…

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Christine | 2 Comments

As a destination wedding & boudoir photographer, I had a justification for an iPad as soon as they were announced because I knew it would be a great way to constantly carry my portfolio around, but I didn’t pre-order one. Even as a die-hard gadget junkie, I wanted to get my hands on one first before I did it. Then Clint and others started talking on Twitter about how wonderful they were.

Before I knew it, I was up at the Apple store testing them out. True, they don’t have Flash. Whatever, Flash is so 2004 anyways – unless you’re a photographer. Oh wait, I am. But my blog is the first page you hit when you visit my wedding & lifestyle photography site and my boudoir site, and the Flash portfolio is tucked away inside. (I want my site to be as iPhone & iPad friendly as possible! Plus the search engines *love* it!) Of course, the iPad had only been out for a week or so, so the Apple store didn’t have any in stock. I added myself to the wait list for a 64gb iPad, and picked it up on April 22nd.

I opted to go with the WiFi version. I didn’t want to pay $130 extra for the 3G version, plus monthly fees for 3G access, and I already have a Sprint Overdrive with 4G access that I can link up to. Most of the time I have WiFi access anyways.

I’ve had it for three weeks now, and it is fabulous! It does actually fill a gap in my computer lineup for me.

- The battery lasts for 9-10 hours. My MacBookPro lasts maybe 1 hour, if I’m lucky.
- The Photo app is a GREAT way for a photographer to show off their portfolio. Or for a parent to show off photos of their kids.
- It is small and light weight. I can put it in a large purse or small bag. Easy to always have with me.
- The apps that have come up so far for the iPad are pretty fabulous. (I’ll be sharing my thoughts about them!)
- Being self-employed means I’m on my computer all the time. It is nice to put it away when I want to catch up on my RSS feeds, read Twitter, and play on Facebook.
- In the end, I opted for the 64gb so I’d have lots of space for photos and for music, videos & movies when I travel.

When I’m in the car on a road trip, my iPhone is still my go-to device. I tried out the iPad, but the larger surface just wasn’t good in the bright sunlight – I struggled to see the screen. I’ve never had that problem with my iPhone, or my Kindle for that matter.

Have an iPad? Thinking about getting one? What apps do you have & love? Which ones are you looking forward to getting?

Category: Geek Love
Tags: Apple | Gadgets | geek | iPad | Wedding Photographer
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Big Pink … Towels?

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Christine | 5 Comments

My husband, Mike, is a brilliant man. He really is. But sometimes, it amazes me to think how he can do complex math problems that make my head hurt just looking at them – yet he doesn’t have common sense.

You know, like thinking that putting 4 red shop towels, those towels you would use in the garage, into the wash with WHITE kitchen towels wouldn’t turn the kitchen towels a lovely shade of pink.

Granted he added bleach to the load of towels. But bleach doesn’t trump RED like he thought it would. Not even close. He honestly expected a load of sparkling white towels to come out. Instead he got a whole lot of pink.

A second round of bleach didn’t help at all. I gave it a go yesterday, but no luck. They are permanently pink, it seems. Matter of fact, that photo linked above is from after the second run through the washing machine. And these are not just any towels either – half of them were wedding gift towels from Williams Sonoma. My nice, favorite kitchen towels. Good thing he is the one that normally cooks.*

So in honor of my Blogiversary week, we now own several of lovely pink towels. I can’t help but laugh every time I look at them. And Mike? Well, he can still show you how to derive the quadratic formula, and he can cook some fabulously delicious food!

* He loves to cook. He reads cookbooks like novels. I know how to cook, but I cook to eat. I enjoy baking, but not that much. I leave the kitchen in his hands most of the time.

Category: Amuse Me
Tags: Amuse Me | CoffeeMike | Domestic Bliss | Laundry | Towels
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Social Media – The Revolution is NOW.

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Christine | 5 Comments

BigPinkCookie (aka BlahBlahBlog) will turn 10 tomorrow! 10 years of blogging! Eeeeeeee!!! I sort of have dual blogiversaries for this site actually, because I launched May 8, 2000, and then didn’t use it much until September 2000. So think of this as the celebration kick-off!

It was fun watching this video while thinking of how much the internet has changed in the past 10 years, how the blogosphere has grown, how the word “blog” is now a household word instead of something you have to explain every time you say it — and to think of how much this blog has impacted my life over the past 10 years. I have friends I would have never met if I didn’t have this blog – in Houston and around the world! I probably wouldn’t have met Mike without this blog – our paths wouldn’t have otherwise crossed. The list could go on and on.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of YOU. If you’re reading this – you’ve probably touched my life in some way. I’m grateful beyond words. You guys are the BEST!

I’m whispering so I don’t jinx it … but I really do promise to start posting here more often. If I don’t, you can fuss at me. Deal?

[via Think Splendid.]

Category: BlahBlahBabble

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