Moonpig.Com: Funny Name, Cool Cards

You know how you have an occasion to buy a card, Valentine’s Day for example, and you totally forget to pick one up every time you’re at the store because you’re too busy being terrified you’ll forget the toilet paper? I am terrible at remembering to buy cards. Thankfully, Moonpig.com has come into my life and made that much easier for me.

I live most of my life online. I get my news online, I stay in touch with my friends online, I pay my bills online, and do most of my shopping online, so having a service that will let me choose, customize, and send greeting cards online is perfect for me.

These aren’t e-cards that were really cool for 30 seconds years ago. Moonpig.com has a huge assortment of greeting cards for all occasions, and they allow you to personalize them with captions and customize them with photos. It’s great fun! I made three cards with photos I had taken and they all turned out great. The cards I chose had options to customize the front, both inside pages, and some even allowed you to customize the back.

Customize your greeting cards with Moonpig.com

Mailing cards is easy with Moonpig.com. No more hunting for a stamp, or trying to figure out how much extra postage to put on that oversized card because Moonpig.com takes care of that for you. All you do is electronically sign the card, enter the recipient’s address, and the card goes off in the mail! As long as you make your order by 2pm EST (Mon-Fri) it is printed and mailed the same day. The cards I made arrived within 3 days of making them, which I thought was really fast service.

You can either send cards directly to your recipient or you can send them to yourself, which is what I chose to do so that I would have customized Valentines for my husband all ready to go. The cards arrived in a sturdy white envelope that housed both the card and the matching envelope inside.

You can also set reminders in your account so you don’t forget important birthdays or anniversaries, which is perfect for me because I am the absolute worst.

The cards range in price from $3.00 to $7.99, plus postage and handling, which is pretty much what I pay in the store depending on the card.

You can even send cards overseas and to APO/FPO addresses! Moonpig.com was launched in the UK, and they have an Australian branch, so they’re not just available in the United States. You can actually buy a card here in the US, enter the UK address, and it will be printed and mailed in the UK for much faster delivery than had it come from the States.

I can definitely see myself using Moonpig.com for a lot of my greeting card needs.

Disclaimer: While I received a credit to use on Moonpig.com to order the cards I created, my opinions are my own.

All photos except the Featured Photo (by Lisa Stoner) courtesy of Moonpig.com.

About The Author:  Lisa is an unrepentantly immature fortysomething who loves photography, making great food for the people she loves, and her spankin' new grandson. She's a card carrying 80's refugee who can't make it through a day without her iPhone. She blogs at www.ellemmess.com. Follow Lisa on Twitter @ellemmes

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The Black Rapid Strap Isn'tA Pain In The Neck

I have been shopping for the perfect fit in camera bags for what seems like forever, and I just haven’t found something that suits me. It turns out that I should have been searching for that perfect camera strap instead of a bag, because the Black Rapid RS-Sport Extreme Sport Strap has changed my camera toting life.

I love my Canon 7D. I love it more than chocolate and nacho cheese and Cherry Garcia combined, but… Yeah, there’s always a “but” isn’t there? In this case the “but” is that my beloved camera is one heavy sucker, and if you add a lens of any size pretty soon you’re toting around a big ole hunk of pain in the neck. Forget carrying it around your neck with the stock strap, unless of course you like the hunchback look.

Actually, there aren’t any DSLR cameras that are lightweight enough to be carried by the stock strap around the neck for any length of time without some discomfort. Plus? Those straps are short when you have an overabundance in the chestal area. They hit me just in the wrong place so that not only am I uncomfortable, I look rather ridiculous.

I own several camera bags – too many camera bags, truth be told – including ones that are dressed up to look like purses. But I just couldn’t find something that was comfortable to carry around with my hunka hunka camera, and still convenient to get at the camera and be shooting in a reasonable period of time.

When I went to BlogHer I lugged my big camera bag around with me on an all-day sight-seeing tour and by the end of it I wanted to throw the bag off the pier. My friend Suzanne had a cool looking strap that she wore slung over one shoulder so that her camera rested at her opposite hip. I was intrigued and asked her about it. She told me it was the Black Rapid strap, and that it had made a huge difference for her when it came to spending quality time with her camera. I ordered one as soon as I got home!

I love this strap.

The fastener screws into the base of the camera at the tripod connector, and your camera hangs upside down at your hip, while the strap slings across your body to distribute the weight more evenly. The strap is padded at the left shoulder, and the Extreme Sport model has a removable underarm safety tether that prevents the Black Rapid strap from sliding around your body.

I don’t carry a camera bag anymore, unless I know I’m going to want more than one lens. My camera hangs at my hip, close by my right hand, so that I can easily grab it for quick shooting. You can also lock the camera in place with clips placed on either side of the camera connector. It’s so comfortable I can wear it around all day, even while hiking.

The tripod socket connector is very sturdy and hasn’t come loose once, but I do check it often because I’m paranoid.

The only drawback to this strap is that you have to remove the connector if you want to use a tripod, but it’s super easy and only takes seconds. If you’re concerned about having your camera on a tripod sans strap to hang onto just in case, the carabiner can attach to the bag hanging loop on your tripod to give you that added bit of security.

As a big girl, I was concerned that maybe the strap wouldn’t be long enough to go around my body and still place the camera at my hip, but it’s plenty long enough that I could adjust it to fit exactly how I wanted.

Did I say I love the Black Rapid RS-Sport Extreme Sport Strap already? I do, and I bet if you’re looking for an all-day camera carrying solution that doesn’t leave you with a pain in the neck you’ll love it too.

 Featured Image Credit

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SkinIt For All Your Electronics

I’m a woman. Ok, you knew that already. How about, I’m a fickle woman. (My husband, whom I have lovingly named HHH, can verify that fact!) I change my mind about things at the drop of the hat. I will love a scent one day, then I can’t stand it a month later. I’ll  see a pair of knee socks that I just have to skate every roller derby bout in for the entire season, then tragically, I’ll no longer feel their magic. The same could be said of my tech devices. New laptops coming out? Gotta put one on my spring shopping list. Netbooks are the new craze? I had one of those bad boys ASAP. New cool phone coming out? I’m on it. Well, almost on it. I just haven’t won the lottery yet so I can heavily invest in Apple products. Still, I love my phones that I’ve had. I’ve gone through a few in the past and one thing I have to say is…..

Phone cases ain’t cheap, Yo!

I’ve had all sorts of phone cases: glittery cases, rubber shock-absorbing cases, plain cases. I even had a “Psych” phone case! Even after having had all those phone cases I just didn’t like any of them. Oh they were cool and they served the purpose of making my phone singularly identifiable out of all the other phones casually tossed on to the rink wall at derby practice, but none of them ever really felt like …… well,….. me. I’m individual, singular, like the song says, I gotta be me! I rolled along for a few more months till I happened onto a Web site completely by accident, a Web site called Skinit.

So, I’m looking for a design that says, Blondefabulous, but I’m just not seeing something I really feel awesome about. I kept scrolling through pretty swirls and beautiful photos, still not satisfied with what was there. Then… I saw it! Right next to the “Browse our designs” buton there was a “Create your own” button. Holy crap! I could design my own skin for my phone! COOOOOOOOOOL! I click on the button, follow the instructions, and Bob’s your Uncle I had my first skin designed exclusively for me. From there I filled out the shipping information and everything was a go. And what did I choose for my first skin?

My Skin

Oh yes, I picked one of my roller derby shots from my first season skating. It was totally cool. I couldn’t wait till my new skin arrived. Once it did, (I chose standard shipping, so it took about a week.) I followed the easy directions and applied the skin to the back of my phone. The skin package also came with two stickers for the front of my phone too. I picked a plain, matching color that matched my team colors. Even if I couldn’t figure out how to apply the Skin from the directions they sent, the “What is a Skin” page has a handy video to help with that. It’s great!

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Skinny Sleeve 7 In Gloss Purple

Let me tell you about the Skinny Sleeve 7 by Acme Made.

I have a tablet that I love dearly.  And there are three small sets of hands in my house that are constantly trying to get to it  so they can play their games.  Not only do I want my beloved tablet protected from the day to day with me, I want it protected from those little hands as well.  Even my Droid had a special protective cover on it.  The tablet?  Has nothing.

Acme Made sent me one of their Skinny Sleeves, made for 7″ tablets and e-readers… which just so you know includes the Kindle 3, the Nook and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Features include:

Ultra-thin fully padded protection, which does not add bulk within a bag.  Seriously, fits right into my pocketbook without taking up any extra space or adding weight.

Acme Made’s unique StretchShell neoprene which is water AND stain resistant.  Woo hoo!  If you know me, you know I need something water resistant.  Trust.

Super thin seam construction to provide a snug fit.  And it does!  Once you put your tablet in, there is no room for it to move around.  However, when you go to take it out there is no need to struggle either.  Slides right in and back out again.

Protective screen insert to guard against scratches and impact.  You can actually feel it on the inside under the fabric.  I have complete confidence that the tablet is well protected. Color options are matte black and gloss purple, and the Skinny Sleeve 7 retails for $24.95.  It’s also safe for airplane travel. I don’t know how I lived with my tablet for so long without it!

*Disclosure: I was not paid for this post, Acme Made was however kind enough to send me a Skinny Sleeve for review.  Opinions are all my own.

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Running Gear For The Digital Age

I love to run and when the weather is nice, I would prefer to be running outside than on a treadmill. I am considering training for my first half marathon this winter and as I start increasing the distance of my runs, I don’t always want to drive them first to check the distance and I don’t like to run on a track so figuring out my miles has always been a problem.

With regular pedometers, my gauge is always off. I’m never sure if it’s because they’re attached to my hip in the wrong place or if I am doing something wrong when I set them up and I tend to get frustrated with them and give up after a few months. For the past year, I have been using a new method of mileage tracking, the Nike + iPod Sensor. If you have an iPhone or an iPod and like to run or walk, this is the greatest invention since sliced bread.

The kit comes with a tiny sensor that fits into a pocket on your running shoes.  If your shoes don’t have pockets – mine don’t – you can buy separate little pouches that strap onto your laces to hold the sensor for about $5.  The kit costs $39, but if you have an iPod touch or an iPhone 3GS or newer, the receiver is built in and you can buy just the sensor for $19. Once you have the sensor on your shoe, you open the app on your iPod and start walking. The receiver picks up the signal, starts tracking your mileage and you’re on your way.

There are a few things I really love about the Nike+ system, the first is that it saves all of your data from every run so you can keep track of your speed if you are trying to decrease times for marathon training.If you run different routes from day to day you can title them and save them. The next time you run that route you tap on it in your list and all of your previous information comes up for comparison. The app also uses music you already have in your playlists to play durng your workout. You can build a new playlist specifically for the app or use one already in your library.

The only con I have found in the system is that the sensors do burn out.  My first one lasted about 9 months before I had to replace it, but that’s longer than I have ever had a single pedometer last before. All in all, it’s a great tool for runners and walkers looking to keep track of their workout information whether it’s simply for exercise purposes or for marathon training.

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The Motorola XOOM Tablet Arrives February 24

The Motorola XOOM is the one and only Android 3.0 smart tablet with Google software developed specifically for tablets. It’s not a phone, although Verizon sells the data plan for it. It’s not a laptop, although it fits in your lap. it’s not an iPad, although it’s apps based. It’s a beautiful touch screen apps device that promises to create a better world.

(If only it were that simple.)

The XOOM‘s tech specs are as follows:

• Honeycomb Android 3.0 OS
• Adobe Flash Player 10.1
• Touch screen with pinch-to-zoom navigation
• 1Ghz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor
• 10.1 ” 1280X800 gorilla touch screen display
• 1080p video and HDMI output
• 32 GB internal storage
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• ULP GeForce graphics
• 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, 720p Video capture
• 2 megapixel front-facing camera
• Fully functioning HD camcorder
• Gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer
• 3G and Wifi  connectivity, upgradeable to 4G
• HDMI 2.0
• USB 2.0
• 3.5mm Audio Jack
• Bluetooth 2.1 EDR + HID interface
• RUMORED 10 hour contact video playback battery life
• Weight: 1.5 lbs

Gobbledygook translation: That is a pretty awesome tablet. It’s high speed, a decent screen size, great battery life, and in the simplest of terms: beautiful.

What do you actually do with a XOOM?

The Next, Next Generation

You work anywhere. With Verizon’s data plan you can access your corporate email and calendar, open and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, and video chat with the boss. Data is encrypted for total security.

You play anywhere. Google eBooks provides access to over 3 million titles on your Xoom. Type, talk, or show your beautiful face to the world with Google Talk. Watch movies or create movies! Gamers will enjoy the rich graphics and super fast speek, as well as a built-in gyroscope and accelerometer. WHEE!

When you’re not on the go you can dock your XOOM into a docking station then use a wireless keyboard and mouse to interact with it rather than the touch screen.

Note that an optical drive does not come with the XOOM, which means that if you want to play CDs and DVDs you will need to buy the drive as an external accessory. This actually a normal occurrence with tablets and netbooks to keep the weight down. It does have a USB port for you to plug in a flash drive (thumb drive, pen drive, USB stick, whatever you like to call it).

Also note that there is NO ethernet port for plugging directly into a network, it’s only capable of wireless and 3G/4G network connection.

The Motorola XOOM is a Best of CES 2011 winner. Way better idea than the light-up cereal boxes. Great job, Motorola.

Share your life as it happens with your new best friend, Motorola XOOM, starting February 24. The rumored price point is steep, shown as $1,199 on Best Buy’s site (*gasp sputter choke*), but if you’re into the best gadgets you’ll want to add this one to your collection. Buy Motorola XOOM directly from Motorola or purchase through Verizon with a data plan or pre-order your XOOM from Best Buy today.

Photo credit: Motorola

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Wii Ultra Wireless Sensor Bar

For just $19,99, we recently decided to add the wireless ultra sensor bar to our Wii system.  If you are sitting across the room, the regular sensor does not have enough range for you to use the remote.

We use our Wii for streaming NetFlix movies, so being able to use the long range sensor is a great bonus when searching through movies. We really like the bar, but learned quickly, this is about all its good for.  It sucks the life out of batteries like you wouldn’t believe, even rechargeables.  It would be better for it to actually be wired in, so you wouldn’t be changing the batteries out every other day. We don’t even utilize it when playing games- it wouldn’t be worth it. You also have to remember to turn it on, as it only stays on stand-by for 1 or 2 hours. (This is suppose to save battery life. I find that amusing.)

Here are the Wii bar particulars:

Features

• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Category: More Accessories
• Publisher: Bensussen, Deutsch & Associates
• Console Accessory Features: LED Indicator Light, On/Off Switch
• Gaming System Compatibility: Nintendo Wii
• Includes: Wireless Sensor Bar
• System Requirements: Batteries Required
• Power Source: Battery-Powered
• Warranty Description: 2 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty

I’m not exactly regretting the purchase, because I like to use it for NetFlix. And, let’s face it, it wasn’t a large investment.  But, I think Nintendo needs a re-design of this one  or some sort of fix for the battery draining- because to date I have spent more on batteries than the device.

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Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 arrives to the masses February 10

AT&T has been the exclusive authorized wireless carrier of Apple’s iPhone since day 1, but that is all about to change. Verizon Wireless will now offer pre-orders for the iPhone 4 as one of its authorized phones starting February 3, 2011 for existing Verizon Wireless customers then open up the orders to new customers starting February 10, 2011. The number of iPhones be allotted to Verizon Wireless for this no-longer-a-monopoly is not being divulged.
Read between the lines and anticipate that the iPhone 4 will sell out quickly from Verizon, that perhaps only existing customers will be able to snatch up the devices, and that you might have to wait a very long time to receive them.

And then if everything turns out hunky dory and everyone who wants one is able to order and receive an iPhone 4 is a reasonable time frame then we can all be happy! That could happen! (It could.)

The cost of a Verizon iPhone 4 with a new 2-year contract and data pak is $199 for the 16 GB model and $299 for the 32 GB model.

One very important difference between AT&T and Verizon is GSM (AT&T) vs. CDMA (Verizon). With GSM you can carry on a phone call while you use the data portion of your phone. So, for example, if you are on the phone with a client you can look something up in email or on the web while you keep the call going. With CDMA you would have to tell your client you’ll call them right back, hang up, look up the info, then call them back to communicate the info. This is, unfortunately, the main reason why if you want to switch from AT&T to Verizon you can’t just activate your AT&T iPhone 4 on the Verizon network, and will need to buy a Verizon iPhone 4.

So, why exactly would you buy the Verizon iPhone 4 instead of the AT&T version? A few reasons:

• you strongly dislike AT&T for [insert your reason here, perhaps most likely because your phone calls drop every 3 seconds]
• your area has better Verizon coverage than it does AT&T coverage
• you’ve always been a Verizon customer and now the iPhone 4 is coming to Verizon!
• you enjoy change

One cool feature that deserves more than a bullet and that Verizon is hoping will attract new and existing customers is that their version of the iPhone 4 is able to be used as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 5 other devices. This will slow down your iPhone 4 while you have the feature enabled, but this might make long car rides with family, friends, or co-workers much more pleasant.

The Verizon iPhone 4 will use the 3G network instead of 4G, but hopefully the iPhone 5 that is scheduled for a July 2011 release will catch up to 4G. Verizon has started rolling out 4G network for other phones in their line to help existing and new customers not be plagued by the slowdown that the iPhone 4‘s addition will undoubtedly contribute to, but 3G is *sad panda* news for those itching to snap up the current batch of Verizon iPhone 4 phones.

For more information about the Verizon iPhone 4 visit Verizon‘s Existing Customers page or their New Customers page, whichever is applicable to you. To view purchase information about the Verizon iPhone 4 visit their It begins page.

For less awkward reading I used Verizon in place of Verizon Wireless throughout this post. In all instances Verizon Wireless is meant in place of Verizon.

Image credit: Verizon Wireless

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Twelve South BassJump Speaker

Being an audiophile and a wee bit over 40, I like my music to be with me all the time and I like it LOUD. My iPod usually does the trick, but on those occasions when I am traveling or using my MacBook, I like to add a little boost to it’s built-in speakers. I discovered the TwelveSouth Bass Jump Speaker from a friend’s son, who uses it to pump up the volume on his Macbook while he is creating music. It’s small, portable and is perfect for small spaces, and as an added bonus, it sounds amazing ! It makes a great addition to anyone’s Mac and seems especially popular with teens, college students and aging children of the 80′s. *cough*

You simply plug it in via the supplied USB cable and it’s ready to go. It can be used with iTunes and for gaming and multi-media. The preferences window gives you two old school style VU meters and allows you to customize the sound for pop, rock, etc. The sound is right on, it has the right amount of bass and the audio is digital, so the quality is top-notch. It comes with a neoprene carrying case for travel, and is USB powered so there’s no need to carry extra power cables. I use it not only with my iTunes library, but also on the Pandora and Sirius XM sites. And don’t even get me started on how Angry Birds sounds through the Mac App store. I hear every shrill giggle and snort from those darn pigs. Anyway, the Twelve South BassJump Speaker for Mac is available at their website and also at your local Apple store or at apple.com, and retail prices vary between $59.00 and $69.00.

Rock on y’all !!

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The Garmin nüvi Is A great Inexpensive GPS

I have owned the Garmin nüvi 285W/285WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic for over a year. I bought it when I was frustrated that my old refurbished Garmin couldn’t find an address to a friend’s house and upgrading the map would cost $99, almost the entire cost of the refurbished GPS. I like my GPS, if you’re looking for one that’s fairly inexpensive, super compact, has good maps, has a pleasant computerized voice selection, and is Internet capable if you want to pay for it.
Being the paranoid geek that I am, I have never quite trusted any GPS fully. I will always click forward in the directions to see exactly where it’s taking me. And sometimes even when the GPS seems to be taking me the same way it always takes me to places I go to infrequently enough so I need a GPS, sometimes it plays a dirty, dirty trick on me and takes me through the Lincoln Tunnel during rush hour traffic. Not a happy camper when that happens, I assure you.

So, why does it do that sometimes?

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The device we use to get directions is actually called a GPS receiver, but we all say GPS so let’s keep the trend going. It locates 4 or more of the 24 functional GPS satellites in our orbit then trilaterates with them to determine its own position. Wikipedia explains that “trilateration methods involve the determination of absolute or relative locations of points by measurement of distances, using the geometry of spheres or triangles.” Once it can do that it knows from the maps how to get from here to there, but staying within satellite signal range is super important because loss of satellite signal range means your GPS suddenly doesn’t know where it is anymore and no longer knows how to get where it’s going.

Right now through February 22, 2011 the United States Department of Defense is doing GPS tests in the Atlantic Ocean.

US Department of Defense Is Performing GPS Tests Through February 22, 2011

What kind of GPS tests? The kind that interfere with your GPS. The kind that make the satellites not correctly report how to get to your destination. These tests look to be as far reaching West as Alabama and North as Virginia. That’s no laughing matter. The Federal Aviation Administration has issued flight advisories for pilots, and really this warning goes out to you too: If you’re planning to travel in the southeast portion of the United States between now and February 22 you should have paper maps or other verified direction sources to any destinations you need help arriving to.

Are you wondering why the Department of Defense is allowed to do GPS tests that affect our GPS? Well, I’ll tell you why: It’s because they invented it in 1973 when other navigation systems were lacking. If you invent something and own it and want it to continue to be useful you have to test and improve it, so that’s what they’re doing. Or, at least, I assume that’s what they’re doing, because what they’re doing exactly is confidential.
And I’ll throw in my paranoid 2 cents: You should always have a backup paper map or verified direction source. You never know when technology will blink out or when those crazy people who like to ruin people’s day will get inside your GPS and monkey with it. (Did anyone else see that CSI: Miami episode? That’s no joke, that’s real.)

The Garmin Carrying Case Is Sleek And Compact

If you’ve gotten all the way to the bottom of this post and still want a GPS recommendation, I definitely do recommend the Garmin nüvi 285W/285WT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic. And I definitely also recommend the Garmin 4.3″ Carrying Case to protect it. There are newer models of the nüvi since I bought mine, but the price will definitely be higher so if price is super important consider buying this model over the newest.
Do you own a GPS? Do you rely on it completely for directions to your destination? Or do you travel with backup methods of getting from point A to point B?

Garmin images: Amazon
GPS test are image: Engadget

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