IFTTT

You might have noticed a couple of YouTube clips have been posted on my blog. I have been playing with If This Then That. Basically it is a free application that allows you to automate different actions across various social media, by creating (or following) a "recipe"which works in the background without you even thinking about it.

So, using the YouTube clips as an example, I have set up my YouTube account to automatically post any video I add as a Favourite to my blog. All I have to do is mark it a favourite and you automatically get a post about it!

I have others in place - Instagram automatically adds pics to Dropbox. Google Reader automatically shares blog posts I star to Facebook and Facebook automatically adds them to Evernote! Etc, etc.

My camera already syncs photos with Dropbox but now IFTTT will automatically email those to Picasa! I am so backed up it isn't funny!!!

You can do almost anything between everything! Go have a look - If This Then That

Have fun!

Breastfeeding: Whip 'Em Out! by TheBumpTV

Breastfeeding: Whip 'Em Out!

Did you know August is National Breastfeeding Month? For such a great cause, we've whipped up some fabulous PSA videos packed with celebs (like Kelly Rutherford, Ali Landry, Lisa Loeb, Constance Marie and Ana Gasteyer) and real moms who all have one thing in common: They breastfed their babies and are proud of it! Go to http://www.thebump.com/breastfeeding to see more stories from moms just like you, and help us spread the word that breastfeeding doesn't suck!

A Memory a Day - an old take on Project 365

Two days into the new year and I have decided I want to tackle this project in a slightly different was this year. As well as capturing new memoires along the way, I am now planning to revisit old memories as well. with more than 25 000 images in my collection, lifetimes of photography from behind my lens, that of my father, grandparents of photographers before them along the family lines, as well as new images through the lenses of my children.

So Memeory a Day - an image every day, posted to Facebook and here on my blog. Some from the day and some from the vault, all with a little tale to share.

1/365

Bringing in the new year with a Doctor Who marathon. Kieran, Melissa and their cousins Sarah and Rachael, as they ended 20 hours after they started.

2/365

The growing wardrobe for the growing granddaughter2be. The slogan says it all - Famous on Facebook!

3/365

The O'Dowd males, circa mid-late 80s. Enacting a tribal ritual where one - any one - grabs the whole trifile and/or pavlova and announces "Well, here's mine, don't know what the rest of you are having."To which they all laugh. Sadly, we lost Uncle John (far right) a few years ago but the new generation of males have learned at their father's knees and the cry can be heard at every family feast.

Luvs - Breastfeeding by luvsdiapers

Luvs - Breastfeeding

Second time moms know: When you've gotta feed, you've gotta feed, no matter your location. Do you relate? Live, Learn & Get Luvs Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter: www.facebook.com/luvsdiapers www.twitter.com/luvs

One Word - RENEW

re·new  

/riˈn(y)o͞o/

Verb Resume (an activity) after an interruption. Reestablish (a relationship).

Synonyms renovate - restore - revive

Okay, so ... moving on. Or back.

My Word for 2013 reflects where I am right now. There are many new things happening in 2013 - the birth of my first grandchild in April. My 50th birthday in July. However, I am very much drawn to existing things which I feel are incomplete - my scrapbooking is a good example.

Renewing my focus on things which have gone on the back-burner will help me move toward my second half-century with more completion and also allow me to review and release what I am ready to leave behind. It means decluttering my possessions. Decluttering my time. Refocusing.

So, come along for the ride! One thing I am renewing is my photo a day project, such a staisfying thing from 2010. My new camera will make this very easy. I also hope to blog my journey through the year and, of course, keep up to date on Facebook ;)

New Year, New Word - but first, update on current word.

For the past few years, I have embraced the concept of One Word to focus on for the year, rather than specific resolutions.

2012 - Heal
2011 - Change
2010 - Enjoy
2009 - Live
2008 - Create

Looking back on 2012, it is ironic that I started out well on my quest to HEAL in mind, body & spirit. I returned to yoga and water aerobics. I started to see a physio, a naturopath, a psychologist - in addition to my myotherapist and chiropractor and I formally became a patient of Dr Jenny, after a year or more of aimlessly seeing whoever was available after the sudden death of my long-term GP, Dr Rob in 2010. I began to art journal, took a variety of online art classes and challenges , picked up my crochet hooks and knitting needles and set a new yearly reading goal on Good Reads. I was spending chunks of money of consultations and herbal treatments and really feeling I was making progress.

Then, around June, I ran into a new problem. I started to feel pain and numbness in my right hand, in the little finger and half of my ring finger. It wasn't MS numbness, that runs across my fingertips. I mentioned it to the team and everyone started to mention the ulnar nerve. Yoga and water aerobics became causes of pain. Knitting and crochet and reading caused pain. Driving and cooking. I was told activities that involved gripping should be avoided. Paintbrushes, scissors, pencils and pens. Computer. Shopping. Amazing how much gripping you do in the average day!

I was referred to a hand therapist. She was fantastic! She suggested a Nerve Conduction test, to measure the function of the ulnar nerve. This test is only done locally by the OTHER neurologist, not my MS one. So of I went and had the test and the results showed moderate abnormality. Hand therapist advised anything higher than mild needs surgery. GP says surgery. Myotherapist says do whatever I can to avoid surgery! So does chiro! Start chiro treatment twice a week which helps temporarily. All my therapists start focusing on my neck/shoulder/elbow/wrist/hand. My back complains at being neglected!!!!

So - HEAL. Well, sort of. Kind of. To be continued .....

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas