Product Review: My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software

So I received an invite to review the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software for free. Which is awesome, because A. I love computer stuff, B. I love crafting, and C. I LOVE FREE STUFF! So I said a whole-hearted yes.

There's no such thing as a free lunch software download, though. I have to review the darn thing! Which meant I had to mess around with it.

Please keep in mind that I received the software for free for the purposes of evaluating it and promoting it on this blog. I will schill, but only honestly. ;D So my review is how well it worked for ME. Specifically, they offered me the big momma - My Memories Suite Version 2.0.

Downloading/Installing: Piece of cake! A breeze to download and install, and while I say this as someone who is computer-savvyish, I think even a relative novice will have no issue downloading it. The instructions on the download site were smooth and easy to follow.

Use: For the most part, I found the software REALLY easy to use. My suspicion is that this is designed for people who aren't computer-savvy or scrapbookers by nature. There were a few minor quibbles, though, so let's just break it down into pros and cons:

Pros -

• It's mostly intuitive; I simply picked an album and started clicking away, no tutorial needed! But, again, I'm comfortable with computers. BUT they have a helpful-tips window that explains everything the first time you open the program, and it'll stick around until you tell it to go away:
  
  
• They have a ton of pre-made layouts to choose from! They range from basic photo layouts, so you can choose what "papers" you want, to pre-made albums where all you do is add the photos! The example photos are using one of the pre-made albums:
  
  
  
• You can even use the software to make COMPUTER-only photo albums - you can add music, narratives, videos, links to websites... it's pretty advanced options, but it's easy to add - you just click the menu you want to add stuff from, and then click the necessary buttons. I didn't mess with it too much, other than testing out adding music - took a second and was very easy!
• These pre-made albums are completely customizable, too, see?
  

  

  Please note that I'm fully legal age and I'm allowed to drink - in fact, I was turning 30 that day and had plenty of reason to drink, let's be honest. ;p

  All I did was click on each individual item to change the paper or background, whatever you want to change. I did have to individually delete the dots and replace them with hearts, but that was easy, too.

 Cons - 

• It runs kind of slow. I'm incredibly impatient, so having to wait for the program to catch-up with my key movements were REALLY annoying. This was mainly with keyboard manipulations (like using the keyboard arrows to move an embellishment), but you can move most items with your mouse, too - but there's still a delay. Again, though, this delay is all of 1 second, but I'm INCREDIBLY impatient. ;p
• There are some random errors that weren't really... errors! I'd get these "Error" messages, but ultimately they weren't ERRORS, whatever I was trying to do would work fine once I hit the "ok" button. (To the program's credit, they have a tech support email listed at the end of each error description - I just didn't because, again, impatient and ALSO lazy - that "hot mess" isn't part of my screen name just 'cuz it's cute, y'know.)
  
  
  
  
  

Overall, I liked My Memories! It was easy to use, and the basic program has a lot of options. They offer more "kits", too, if you need more options than what comes with the basic package, at a variety of prices. Their website also offers non-download options to make your own photo albums and calendars, with a decent amount of variety.

I'm using the program to make our Xmas "card" this year! Instead of having to spend hours making each card, or buying a bunch of meh ones, I can create my own "card" with my own pictures and the program's easy layouts! Check it out:

This is just a prototype; my parents had us take family portraits with them and our own little family as well, and I plan to use those in place of the ones I currently have once we get them (although the current ones aren't so bad either). I like that it's part letter, part card, and part picture! Plus I can get them printed out on nice paper if I really want it to be all fancy-pants.

Interested? The software I used, the Suite, is $39.97. As part of my review, My Memories has offered a $10-off coupon code AND a free giveaway! I'll do the giveaway later this week in its own separate post, but if you just want to buy it now, here's how:

1. Go to http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software 
2. Click on Add to Cart.
3. Enter the Promotional Code STMMMS56332 in the PRomotional Code field on the shopping cart page
4. Finish the checkout. To download the software, go to http://www.mymemories.com/my_accounts/downloads and click on the link to download the software. Your product key will also be displayed on that page (you'll need it for installation).

Let me know what you think, and show me what you create! I'm excited to see what you come up with as well. 

The Holiday Trinity: Holiday 2, Turkey Day Prep!

So Halloween has come and gone. I'll admit, it's the least important of the Holiday Trinity for me. I like it, and as I've gotten older I've circled around to being MORE into it than I used to be, but it still pales in comparison for me to Turkey Day and Xmas!

Turkey Day is the middle child, unfortunately, when it comes to my excitement. Like Halloween, my excitement for it is growing as I'm getting older, but that's because I'm more involved in it now. Growing up, it was just a day where I feasted on Southern-style Thanksgiving foods made by my step-grandma, and we hung out watching basketball and movies. THAT'S IT. Boring, but delicious.

A few years ago, as my mother-in-law's work schedule started requiring her to work holidays, I offered to take over Thanksgiving, and we have it on the Saturday after. This benefits me nicely, in that I get to actually enjoy Thanksgiving the way I did growing up (yes, it can be boring, but it's also DELICIOUS), and yet I still get to host and cook the meal on my own! I've blathered about this before, so I won't repeat myself, other than to say that I'm aiming to extend the guest list this year. 3rd time's the charm, and the last 2 have been successful enough that I'm comfortable offering for my parents, siblings and their mom, and my cousins who live in town to join us this year. =)

I'm also going to work on more decorations this year. I bought the makings of a Autumnal wreath for the door at the Dollar Tree, and busted out my glue gun! For $6 and a podcast of "This American Life", I made this:

I considered making a tutorial, but honestly, there's not much TO this. I wrapped the ribbon around the wreath, then tied a knot and glued the knot to the wood. The pumpkin pieces were pre-"bunched" floral picks from Dollar Tree - all I did was bend the wire stems to wedge them in, and once I liked where I placed them, I used a glue gun to secure them. Then I picked some leaves from a bigger bunch of autumn leaves and filled in gaps where I saw fit.

Some tips for first-timers (in lieu of a step-by-step tutorial):

• Fake flowers/plants are usually detachable and interchangeable - the second picture (which you'll notice is slightly different from the first one) shows me taking the "wheat" off the bunch on the left and adding it to a bunch on the right. I had an extra "wheat" and replaced another bunch that had a weird sprig-thingie on it. 
• Use a variety of leaf shapes and colors - it's more visually interesting. Just place them around until you like how it all looks!
• Start small and take frequent breaks to stand back and assess. This way you don't "gild the lily". I had to refrain from adding gold pinecones several times, but I'm glad I didn't use them (and I have other plans for them now, muahahahahaha).
• Glue the pieces to the WOOD - plastic doesn't adhere well to plastic when the glue is hot, all it does is melt it. 
• Use the individual leaves to cover areas where you can see the floral pick stems or where you could see the ribbon knot through the wreath (if you have that problem like I did). 

Other than that, it's all about individual tastes. Take it slow and enjoy the process - that's the whole fun of crafting!

I'll post my official Thanksgiving menu and plans for execution closer to the actual day, as well as my centerpiece/table decoration once I decide on it and how I plan to make it. (I'm fairly sure I know what I want!) Yay for the Winter holidays! Weather-wise, Spring is my favorite season, but the Fall/Winter holidays are my favorite time of year!

Halloween - doin' it my own damn way!

So I bemoaned the lack of Halloween goodness in my life last week. After I wrote it, though, I decided that rather than sit here and pout, I could figure out SOME WAY to have fun for Halloween.

Of course, I decided this on the WEDNESDAY before Halloween, so it's not like I had a ton of time. I chose to just have some friends over, cook them some fall-themed food (ever so kindly linked in the menu plan - the food was a big hit, btw!), and watch a scary movie. We invited our local "couples" friends, who were kind enough to bring some scary movies for us from which to choose.

Go figure, though, when we all voted, we ended up voting for "Clue" - which is a great movie, but not exactly scary. Hahaha, guess we're wusses! It was merely an excuse to hang out with good friends and call it "celebrating Halloween".

I didn't decorate the house, but I DID decorate myself!

My nails! I painted them myself! (Except for the heart & crossbones, that's a sticker. I'm not THAT good.)

Whipped up a quick ribbon brooch in Halloween colors!

I also wore my orange-and-black Swarovski crystal earrings that I made for when we go to SF Giants games (who have the same colors as Halloween, luckily), and a brown top. So I felt Halloween-y, even if I wasn't wearing a costume. So it wasn't a GREAT Halloween, but now at least I feel like I HAD a Halloween!

However, I'm saying it now: I'm having a party next year, come hell or high-water. I want to dress up! I had, like, a MILLION great costume ideas this year and no reason to buy/make/wear them! =(

What Works For Me: "Two-fer" freezer meals

A Home-making post? On a blog that claims to be about housewifery? That even calls itself "Hot Mess HOUSEWIFE"?!? Blasphemy!

I'm just as shocked as you are.

I will never claim to be a master chef, 'cuz I'm NOT. I can cook, though. The Hubs even admits that one of the things that "sealed the deal" for him was that I can cook as well as, if not occasionally better than, his mom. And she has some tasty dishes in her arsenal. (My MIL even claims that I roasted the best turkey she's ever tasted! THAT was a huge compliment.) I'm not quite at the point where I can make my own recipes, but I alter a lot of them to my own needs, and generally improve them. I think I'm getting to the point where I should just stop being a big weenie and give it a shot.

But that's not the point of this post. The point of this is to "pass it on", in the sense that I love reading "housewifery" blogs because they are full of great tips and recipes. I hoard recipes - if they did an "internet Hoarders" special, I'd probably get an intervention and take up most of the hour. But yeah, so I figure I should share what strategies work for me - like I do with recipes, I've mixed and molded ideas to figure out what works for me. I've gotten my rhythm in some areas, but I'm still playing around in others.

One area I've found my rhythm is the feeding of our tiny family, for the most part. Yes, there was a 2-week gap between meal plans recently, if you noticed my meal plan side-bar not changing... it's been crazy around here, schedule-wise. I'm working as a temp, and my current position requires a nearly 2-hour commute each way. I'm compensated quite nicely for it, but it's EXHAUSTING. The job is off and on - over the summer, it averaged about one week "on" every 3 weeks, but it's picked up lately to where I'm working every week, and almost every other week is a commuting week (the rest of the time is local). So as it started happening more frequently, I started seeking out and cooking more recipes that could freeze well. The Hubs and I would eat one serving, and any leftovers were wrapped up tight and thrown in the freezer.

Now, as long as I remember to take the food out of the freezer the night before, I can come home, microwave the food for 10 minutes, and have a hot home-cooked meal that is instantly comforting. Plus The Hubs is happily fed and we aren't wasting money on fast food.

Some of my favorite meals to cook now and freeze for later:
Enchilada Casserole
Slow-Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken
Chili (I don't have a link for the recipe, it's my friend's recipe)
Taco Soup (I prefer it without the tomatoes, and I add black beans)

Also, I like to freeze the components that mix to make great meals, like my Burrito Bowls (shown below). They are DELICIOUS, and cheaper to make than to buy at Chipotle!

Carnitas Burrito Bowl (like "Chipotle"!)
To cook:
Cilantro-lime rice (recipe)
Black beans (canned or cooked from dried - I'm lazy, I use canned), warmed in their "juice" in a sauce pan.
Carnitas (recipe below)

Layer the rice, beans, and carnitas into a bowl. Add toppings like cheese, sour cream, salsa, etc. Nom the S*** out of it, it's freakin' delicious.


My carnitas recipe (modified from various other recipes) - if you're cooking for a small family, this recipe halves easily and works just as well!
- 4-5 lbs. Pork shoulder or Pork roast (I prefer pork shoulder, but pork roast is less fatty)
- 2 tsps. cumin

- 2 tsps. garlic powder
- 2 tsps.salt
- 3 cups beef broth

Cut your pork into huge chunks (about 2"x2" at the biggest). Mix up all the spices and rub the pork chunks with the spice mixture.

Pour the beef broth into a 4-quart (or bigger!) slow-cooker. Lower the chunks into the broth, cover, and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours. (I've done high with no problems, but my slow-cooker cooks a little fast.)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F towards the end of your cooking time. Once the pork chunks are done, take them out of the broth and shred them however you prefer. (I use two forks, old-school.) As meat's shredded, put it back in the broth so it stays juicy. With all your meat shredded, put it in a baking pan, spread out, and spoon some more broth on the meat. The meat should be wet, but it SHOULDN'T be swimming in broth. Place the pan in the oven and let it cook for 15-25 minutes; this crisps the meat up a little and enriches the flavor of the meat. (You can skip this step if you want, but the carnitas taste AMAZING after you bake 'em for a little!)

To Freeze:

- Rice - Let the rice cool to at least lukewarm. I put it in plastic zipper sandwich bags, about 2 cups per bag.
- Beans - again, let cool to lukewarm, and put it in plastic zipper sandwich bags, about 1 cup per bag (or one big bag if you're not doing individual servings), with some of the "bean juice" from the can.

- Carnitas - 3rd verse, same as the first! Let them cool to "warm" temperature, baggie it up - only change is to ADD SOME MORE BROTH. It'll help the carnitas stay juicy when you warm them up later.



To Reheat:
- The night before, put beans and carnitas in fridge. LEAVE THE RICE FROZEN UNTIL ABOUT TO EAT.
- Warm up the rice in the bag for about 30 seconds, just to make it more pliable, then transfer to a bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (making sure it's not touching the food). Nuke 2 more minutes, stirring once. Add defrosted beans, warm covered 1 more minute.
- Warm up carnitas w/ liquid in another bowl for 1-1:30 minutes, covered in plastic wrap. Top rice and beans with carnitas, and add desired toppings like the first time.


TA-DA! Delicious dinner that lasts for two meals!

Missing Halloween

Halloween was never a major holiday for me growing up, or at least it was never consciously a big holiday. I mean, sure, it was FUN - you get to dress up, you say magic words and are rewarded for your efforts with "Oh how cute!" and free sugar. Who WOULDN'T like that? Plus I was fortunate in that my Halloween was never ruined by having the crap scared out of me. I don't like being scared... had that happened, I would probably hate Halloween now.

I kept up the shenanigans for a little while into junior high... by mid-High school, though, I had stopped bothering, but I was bummed we didn't get more trick-or-treaters. As a costumes person, I enjoyed seeing the great ideas people came up with more than anything.

In college, the town in which I attended school had a rather notorious reputation when it came to Halloween (if you live in Nor Cal, you can probably guess which school I'm referring to). I indulged for a year or two, but the shenanigans were crazy in good ways and in personal-safety-being-threatened ways, so going out lost its sparkle once the cops were on every street corner to maintain order. Not fun for the people who weren't causing any of the trouble. (My favorite costume I wore in college: Frat Boy from Ay Phelta Thi. Totally pulled it off, too!)

As I got older and settled into married life with The Hubs (also not a big Halloween guy), Halloween has become one of a few non-Holidays that just don't matter as much when you're a childless adult. Now that I'm of an age where we're prepping for children to enter the picture (hopefully) soonish, though, I notice more and more I want Halloween to be a bigger deal. The last time I dressed up was 2009, which was also the last time I had plans. It was a blast! All we did was hang with some friends and hand out candy, but I loved it! Loved the costume-wearing, loved the kids and parents walking by, and looked forward to the next year!

Unfortunately, next year didn't happen... I'd even started prepping a costume, but no plans formed! Plus we don't really have any kids in our apartment complex, so we don't even get to see little kids in their costumes. =( This year is shaping up to be similar, which bums me out. (I had a GREAT costume figured out for The Hubs that he FINALLY agreed to - and now no plans! LAME.) I planned to still at least decorate a LITTLE for the holiday, making a wreath for the door and carving a small pumpkin, but my temp work picked up in the last few weeks and I haven't had the time. So another Halloween looks like it will pass by without my participation. Again, I'm so bummed!

I understand that this is a holiday aimed at kids, but it's still fun to participate in the festivities on a more grown-up level. It's trickier for adults when the day falls on a weekday, as the weekend is when we can best celebrate if we don't have children.

Oh well. There's always next year, right? Right. In the meantime, I've made a GREAT Pinterest board with all sorts of cute ideas (and some ideas I can still use for Turkey Day), and I'll turn my attention to the end-of-the-year holidays, including my FAVORITE one: Christmas!

Oh, and because my last official costume was the SHIZ, here it is: Roller Derby Girl!

My number was 666; my Christian parents were less than pleased with that choice, but my mom still thought I looked adorable ;D