Thing #4

Image Sharing

This summer my family decided to take a road trip to Dallas. We left Richmond Thursday afternoon, and arrived early evening. My daughter and Husband went down to the pool and my son and I stayed in the hotel room and relaxed. About an hour and a half later I put on the TV and saw a breaking news headline, that there was a shooting in downtown Dallas, and officers were shot. I had not been to Dallas in over 15 years, and the day we decide to go, there was sadness and chaos in Dallas. I will never forget that day. By the hour, things progressively got worse. Several police officers lost their lives, due to a senseless act of violence.

Despite the sadness and disbelief, we spent the next few days taking the kids to the Lego Discovery Center, Rainforest Cafe, a Rangers Baseball Game, American Girl, and even visited Carlos' Bakery. Before leaving, we stopped by the Dallas Police Department's Headquarters to pay our respects. The picture collage below depicts the raw emotions felt by people from around the world. Through the pain and suffering, we lift each other up and unite as one. Let's not forget to hold our loved ones tight and cherish our time together.

I also uploaded the picture to flickr and it is available online. #dallasstrong

Thing #3

Digital Photo Editing

I tried out some of the recommended photo editing websites. The picture with my daughter and I (picture is about 3 years old), was edited with Fotoflexer. I loved that you are able to adjust the density and size of some of the filters and effects. I chose to change the colors of this picture from the original picture and I added a border. I love that you are not limited to certain colors and can completely customize the colors to whatever color scheme you need.

Below is a picture of my family that we took on the first day of this school year. I edited it using Pixlr. I just loved it so much that I had to download the app on my phone as well. I changed the colors, added text, a border, and a few other minor edits. I am a big time photo editor and use Moldiv, Tadaa, and Pic Collage pretty routinely.

Thing #2

Blogging

I set up and designed my new professional blog with Blogger. (Image courtesy of www.spiceupyourblog.com). This was rather fun for me. I enjoyed customizing the design so that it reflects my style and who I am. I chose the grass and flowers template to reflect my earthy environmental science side. I also chose a photographer picture for the background, as I do enjoy taking pictures and capturing life's precious memorable moments. When looking through the lens, you focus on what is important. Often times that are other happenings in the background (distractions and outliers) but through your vision, you create and capture a snapshot to relive in the future. Hopefully that was not too deep, lol. I think blogging is an awesome tool that will allow me an outlet to share my knowledge with others and express my opinions. I will let my voice be heard. I look forward to learning more and seeing what else blogging has to offer.

Thing #1

7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners

After reading the 7 1/2 habits, I reflected on all of them for a while to figure out what I do well with and which ones I need to improve. My easiest habit is accepting responsibility for my own learning. I am a self motivated and self disciplined learner and will work at something until I get it as perfect as possible. The sky is the limit, and we are the only ones who get in the way of our goals and dreams. If there is something I want to achieve, all I need to do is make my mind up, and accomplish it! This can be applied to various areas of my life.

With that being said, I also came to the realization that I need to play more. I am a serious person, and because I hold myself accountable for my successes and set backs, I spend long hours perfecting my skills. I made a promise to myself, that I must stop every now and then to enjoy the simple things in life. If I plan on taking on the next challenges, I must have a fresh and open mind. I am only going to live once. My kids are only going to have one Mom. I must allow myself  time to re energize my soul and love on my family and friends.

I am committed and excited to take on the challenges of this course.
My Learning Contract

Image courtesy of www.amazon.com.