Hey everyone! I am house/dog sitting for my friend S again! I have been staying on and off with my friend’s C and J and their cute baby who smiles whenever he sees me, I think I am in love! It is great catching up with friends and blogs and traveling information and in general doing inside stuff because it has rain ever single day, all day since I have been back!
Blog Updates
- I fixed the Where I Yoga page there weren’t any links before. Oh and FYI, Lee teaches at ASY now also!
- I have added a Maps page which has Google Maps that you can add suggestions to for my South American Backpacking Trip and my Road Trip to Michigan to drop my car off so that I can leave for Cartagena in August.
- I added my House Sitting page with references from Sarah and Kathy.
New Purchases
I have been a busy busy bee.
New Computer
Acer Aspire One AO722-0473 11.6-Inch HD Netbook (Espresso Black)
I bought my new computer. After months of agonizing over what to buy (ultrabook, tablet, Macbook, netbook, laptop…) and then physically agonizing over carrying my huge laptop and accessories bag around the Minneapolis Airport, I finally bought my new computer. It is an Acer Aspire One. I decided my budget was cheap and I needed something I would not cry about if I lost it, broke it, or someone stole it. However, it still had to be functional. I need to be able to bulk edit photos, browse multiple websites to blog and keep in touch, video chat, use Google Voice/Chat/Talk, and watch Hulu Plus. This is a good one so far. It is light, keyboard is large, it’s not so tiny it is difficult to use, it works with Google Talk/Voice/Chat really well, and Hulu is even better than my old computer (hello Daria and Bones). I still need to check out photo editing. To boost the computer a bit I also bought…
4 GB Memory
PNY 4 GB DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10666) 204-Pin Notebook SO-DIMM, Single (MN4096SD3-1333)
I opted for the upgrade to 4 GB of memory on my own. I bought it and installed it easily by myself. You just need to:
- Slide battery release at top with screwdriver
- Remove battery
- Remove tiny screw on opposite side of battery
- Slide bottom casing towards the side of the screw
- Lift casing
- Push to pins on edges of memory to pop out old memory
- Slide old memory out (take note of which way the metal end goes – down towards screw end of casing)
- Slide new memory in paper side down metal into slot
- Push down to lock pins
- Replace cover by putting four corners into the correct slots and sliding up towards battery
- Replace screw
Literally took 3 minutes and it only took that long because I did not notice the slots used to put the cover back on. Another option is to watch this guy do it in 60 seconds or this guy has a clearer picture but sometimes moves the laptop off-screen.
The package came with a free movie download, have not tried to get that yet.
Amazon Kindle Touch
Kindle Touch, Wi-Fi, 6″ E Ink Display – includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers
I actually bought this one a while ago when I got rid of all of my stuff, including my books. I realized I needed books! I chose the touch WiFi with advertising because of price, 3G only goes to Amazon’s store and Wikipedia, and because it has amazing battery life. It can last for weeks of usage without a charge, I have tested this and found it accurate, but remember this is not using it all day. It can connect to WiFi to get to Amazon store and to its experimental browser which is not really fancy but works better than my crappy old phone to check Facebook. It has a lot of little games for free or cheap and some other apps. It is not like the fire or Nook Tablet. But I really enjoy it.
I was even able to replace almost my entire Paulo Coelho collection for 12 dollars because Paulo Coelho put his entire collection except Aleph and The Alchemist on sale for $0.99 each. The sale is over now and everything is back up to apx. $10.00 each. I told you guys to get on it!
Photobucket Pro
As a way to back up photos and track where people are linking to my photos from I bought a subscription. So far I am slightly upset because my new computer does not read the stats and half the referring pages are unknown. I have yet to upload my full size photos so we will see how that goes this weekend. I plan on uploading all my photos into private albums full size so that the photos I already have backed up are accessible on the road.
New Shoes
Sadly my plantar fasciitis has flared up and the Merrell shoes I bought are not going to be able to hold up good enough for my arches. I bought a new pair of Orthaheel flip flops and slides from Fleet Feet Sports in Altamonte. This is a great all around running store with clothes, shoe fittings, shoes, supplies, gear, and hydration products for running and cycling. The flip flops, which do not look that dark in real life, are great. It took a while to get used to the thong in between my toes again (I do not wear flip flops often). The slides have given me blisters the one time I wore them but I think my old pair (which I wore down until there is no more arch) did at first too, I just need to put something over the back seam. I will only bring one pair with me. Probably the flip flops.
Upcycled Bliss 