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Disney Style Family Birthdays in August

Posted on August 7, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

The month of August is a big month in our family. Yes, there are back-to-back-to-back birthday celebrations in our family during this summer month. Papa’s big day is next Monday and TechyDad just celebrated his birthday on Saturday. While I was expecting NHL, we always assumed he would be born in September. He surprised all of us by coming two weeks early to join the August party parade. Now, ten years later, I am in denial that my oldest will be sporting a two digit number for his age. To help celebrate, I made a collage with all three of the August birthday boys from their last Disney trip with me (NHL/May ‘12 – Papa/May ‘12 – TechyDad/Dec ‘12).

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Categories:
birthday Disney family travel vacation

Tuesday Tales – Crocheting Books

Posted on August 6, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Just after JSL was born, I started to knit again. I really enjoyed it, but I secretly wanted to learn to crochet. This was about the time that a lot of books came out that promised to teach you with photos how to do crafts and more. I bought one of those books. While the book is beautiful and may assist me now that I know the basics, it really just sat in storage until I pulled it out for this post.

Although I am a visual learner, this books did not teach me to crochet because I needed a little bit more. YouTube videos were my secret to success. I watched many different beginner tutorials and then found my love in the world of granny square videos. I admit it, I am a granny square addict in the making. As I was thinking about topics to write about, I recalled an Instagram photo that someone had shared recently. It was a book all about Granny Squares that you can crochet. If you have been watching my Instagram photos since March, I am a little obsessed with granny squares since I learned to crochet and immediately started what turned into a giant granny square rainbow afghan.

Once I finished that blanket, I went to look for more granny square inspired projects. Thanks to Pinterest, I located a cute bag pattern and finished that with scraps from the blanket. I will share that as soon as I sew a liner into the bag. Now that I am finishing up another bag, I am curious about other granny square patterns and projects.

So I figured I would asked in Tuesday Tales this week if anyone has crochet books, specially about granny squares, that they would recommend. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Categories:
books crocheting knitting Tuesday Tales

Verizon LG Optimus Zone Smartphone Giveaway

Posted on August 5, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a Verizon Lifestyle Blogger, I have had the chance to learn a lot about Verizon Wireless, products that they sell, and services that they provide. TechyDad and I have been customers of Verizon Wireless longer than the eleven years we have been married. One of the latest items that I am learning more about are the prepaid phones and plans that are available. My oldest son is in his last year of elementary school. Thanks to this, we have to think about getting him a phone for security reasons for the start of middle school.

Why a Prepaid Smartphone?

Prepaid smartphone allow individuals and families to have a flexible way to utilize a phone with a data plan. The phone does not cost as much as some of the higher end options and there is no annual contract required, so there is no long term commitment. The phones comes with unlimited talk and text and then you select one of two data plans. For $60 a month, you get 2 GB of data and $70 allots you 4GB on Verizon’s 3G network. For young cell phone users, it keeps them safely in a plan where you will not have to worry about extra data charges. Replacement phones are will not cost you hundreds of dollars if lost, stolen, or broken. As a parent, I am intrigued in these options for my son once he gets a phone of his own.

Verizon Wireless currently offers several Prepaid Devices that you can purchase from them. One of the smartphones is the LG Optimus Zone pictured above. That is the same phone that Verizon sent me to giveaway to one of my readers. Some of the features of the phone include:

Android 2.3.6
3.2” QVGA Display
3.2MP Camera
3G – WiFi Capable
Take Notes with QuickMemo™ (I had this feature on my Lucid 2 by LG and adored it)

Giveaway Information:

Verizon Wireless would like one lucky winner to have a chance to win their own LG Optimus Zone prepaid smartphone. The package above includes the phone, battery, travel adapter & USB Cable, and information from Verizon on the prepaid plans and how to set it up. It is important to note that NO service from Verizon is included with this giveaway. Please be sure to see the rules listed within the Rafflecopter widget and below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section and Rafflecopter. Giveaway begins August 5, 2013 and ends August 26, 2013. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to US residents only.

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I often receive devices to test out and share ways that I use my cell phone to make life easier. Verizon is providing the LG Optimus Zone to my winner, no other compensation was received. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

Categories:
giveaway Technology

Doctor Who Birthday Wishes for TechyDad

Posted on August 3, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

While I do not typically post anything new on Saturday these days, today I had to make an exception to the rule. You see, today is TechyDad’s birthday. While our plans are still not entirely set, I do know that the boys and I are going to make sure we have fun celebrating his special day. We will begin by officially giving him his present.

The present is not a surprise. For quite some time, TechyDad has said that he really wanted a sonic screwdriver. In the time before I started Doctor Who with him, I really had no clue why this meant so much to my geeky husband. Then, as I started and quickly finished watching the new Doctor Who seasons with him, I started to get it. While the little toys that he had were fun, a true Doctor Who fan must really have their own sonic screwdriver. Simply knitting one for him was just not going to cut it. I can make those for the boys.

I finally figured I would surprise him buy purchasing a sonic screwdriver. Then, as I was talking to a friend, she asked me which Doctor was his favorite. While I was pretty sure he was a big fan of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, I wanted to make sure with such an important geeky purchase. So I casually asked TechyDad which was his favorite doctor. His exact comment back to me: “Well, I like the Tenth Doctor the most, BUT I like Matt Smith’s sonic screwdriver more.” Ooops, so I needed the sonic screwdriver for the Eleventh Doctor! Guess it was pretty obvious, but I had no real choice since I waited too close to his birthday.

We all went out the other night and picked up the sonic screwdriver above. In addition to this, TechyDad asked to get the light-up TARDIS for his desk, and I had to get the Dalek bookmark. Daleks are special in our house because they are what intrigued that boys with the show enough to finally start watching it.

So to TechyDad, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and we make many family memories celebrating your special day. I am sure your Doctor Who collection will continue to grow once we find a few more of the items that the boys and I wanted to get you. Thank you for being patient and letting me slowly become a Whovian who now loves to crack jokes all about Doctor Who and the crazy stories within the show.

Love,

Your Angel Forever

Categories:
birthday TechyDad television

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 for Children

Posted on August 2, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Recently, TechyDad and I realized that both of the boys had a lot of gift card money that they had never used from birthdays and Chanukah. While our oldest quickly declared that he wanted a Nintendo 3DS, our little guy did not. Rather than get more toys that he did not need to clutter the house, we started to investigate tablets. We quickly came to the conclusion that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 would be perfect.

While we were doing our research about the device, Verizon Wireless reached out to me about sharing our experience with the device. As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, we were sent a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 that has 4G capabilities on the Verizon network.

So you may be asking why a tablet and more specifically why the Galaxy Tab 2? Well, for starters, JSL likes to use the apps on my phone more than he likes traditional gaming devices. The tablet also offers him the ability to use items from our family of mostly Android devices. As an Android user, I already know a lot of educational apps that are good for my little guy. In addition to this, we can load the tablet with the Kindle app for book reading and OverDrive Media app for book listening. When TechyDad and I started to do research on Android tablets, the reviews for the Galaxy Tab 2 were amazing. When we went to visit with them in stores, the beautiful screen clarity and easy motions made us know that it would be kid friendly. Another big factor is the price point of the Samsung. It is available in two different sizes (7 and 10 inch) and you can also purchase a non-4G version with Wi-Fi only.

When the Galaxy Tab 2 arrived, TechyDad spent a lot of time getting it ready for JSL. More about that process coming soon. Once it was ready and charged, JSL quickly learned to show us how everything should be used. (He also named it: Stupendous.) He loves the time he is allowed to use it and because of the size it packs up easily for long car rides (see the photo below)

In the upcoming weeks, I plan to share more of the ways we use the Galaxy Tab 2 for educational purposes and more. Oh and in case you were wondering, NHL no longer wants the Nintendo 3DS. With his birthday coming up later this month, he wants to get another Galaxy Tab 2. I believe we have a family of tech geeks in training.

So my question to you this week:

Do your children use a Tablet and what do they typically use it for? If you happen to have an Android tablet, I would love more suggestions on apps that we may want to add to our device.

It's Me

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I received a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 to test out and share ways that I use this in my life. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this Friday fun. These days, Pamela at A Renaissance Woman is reviving the fun Friday Meme. Head over there to link up and join in the fun.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life