blizzard? check.

hot cocoa with marshmallows? check.

kids napping? check.

dinner in the slow cooker? check.

Coding project? check.

love these snowy afternoons! What projects are you working on this wintery day?

 

 

If you are like me, you’ve browsed through Facebook or Pinterest and wondered how all those fancy and creative images are created?

Most web designers and graphic designers are most likely using Adobe Photoshop (Ps), which is an incredible tool. Ps and other Creative Suite software are among the standards in the industry, but there is an easier way {hence today’s tip}

Introducing – Canva. With nearly thousands of templates, text graphics, and other features that you can select and drag-and-drop into a new project, it really is among the easiest ways to design a great graphic quickly and (cheaply). While some of their templates and designs are offered for a low-cost, many great options are free.

check it out! 

This is drawing on my last post about the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading challenge. Here are my book picks!

1.Book Published this year: To be Determined

2. A book you can finish in a day:  “Say Goodbye to to Survival Mode” by Crystal  Paine (finished 1/3/2016)

3. A book you’ve been meaning to read: “Hands Free Life“by Rachel Macy Stafford

4. A book recommended by local librarian or bookseller: “David and Goliath” by Maxwell Gladwell. (finished 1/10/2016)

5. A book you should have read in school: “Red Badge of Courage” by Stephan Crane (Update: I started this  1/20/16  and I made it half way through, and I was just not plain enjoying it at all. I really tried, but decided life is too short for boring books, so I moved on!)

6. A book chosen by friend/spouse/sibling/bff: “All the Lights we Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr

7. Published before you were born: “Emma” by Jane Austen.

8. Banned at some point: “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle

9. Book previously abandoned: “The Rule” by St. Benedict. I’ve read parts but never the full book.

10. Book you own but never read: Charlotte’s Web by E.B White.

11. Book that intimidates you: “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte

12. Book you’ve already read at least once: The Gospels.

Stay tuned for my list on technology books for 2016!

Two fun challenges for reading this year!

1. This was put together by the Anne at modernmrsdarcy.com.  I intend to do this for 2016. It seems doable enough, right?

Here is my reading list for 2016!

2)

SkillCrush’s 48 books to add to your Tech Reading List.  Find the list here. Soon I will write about which ones I intend to read. (post coming soon.)

Watch this video and reflect on what Christmas is really all about. Happy Tuesday, friends!

 

Ok, I will be honest. Until recently, brushing my toddler’s teeth hasn’t been the easiest task. She greatly disliked it, even though she helped pick our the Tigger and Pooh brushes. It was such a battle of wills, and although I usually won, it still was a generally unpleasant task. Thankfully, it has become easier as she grows older, but I can empathize with parents who do struggle with the routine each day.

Enter: Apps.  Oral-B and many other companies have produced timed apps that will entertain children for the recommended 2 minutes it takes to brush their teeth. These apps also have alerts to brush each day, fun characters that children can remember and look forward to seeing.

The techy side of me likes to see the positive use of apps, and teaching dental health to children is important, and if an app will acheive that goal, I’m all for it.

But on the other hand, I hesitate to have my babies and toddlers watching the screen for something as routine as brushing their teeth. My worry is that we have become (or can quickly become) too reliant on a screen to make regular life bearable. We have not used an app yet, and instead try to sing silly songs or jingles to encourage the activities.

What are your thoughts on the use of such apps?

 

 

In one of my past posts, I talked about the great free tool, JS Bin. JS Bin is essentially a free, online, text editor that allows you to immediately see the results of your html and css code.

When you write a piece of code on jsbin, there is an option to ‘archive’ it, so it’s not lost when you close your browser. In order to archive projects, you are prompted to sign in or sign up with GitHub.com.  So, what is GitHub?

First, let’s break it apart.

What is a Git?

According to howtogeek.com, Git is a essentially a software that stores multiple versions of open source (ie, free) code. In technical terms, it is a “version control system,” what’s that mean? When developers are creating something (an application, for example), they are making constant changes to the code and releasing new versions, up to and after the first official (non-beta) release. (source)  Open source code can be manipulated by any online user, so Git is a software that can hold and manage most recent version, or older versions, of a program. Additionally, you can download Git onto your system, so you have access to multiple versions of the code your write.

GitHub

So, GitHub is an online community where users can share and store their coding projects  and connect with others in the tech world. Having a GitHub account will make using JSBin much easier. Join today!

If you are in the Minneapolis area, Girl Develop It (GDI) is actually hosting a class on GIT this Thursday. Click here for more info!

We recently moved our Casio keyboard back to the living room, and it’s been a delight to play again. (It was kept high up on the shelf after our recent move.) I took lessons all through elementary-10th grade, but after hs/college/work, there wasn’t always a lot of opportunity to play, let alone to the degree during my school years.

My fingers act like they remember the tunes, but they slip and stumble, especially with a piece with f and c sharps. I have to replay the piece many times and remind myself to be patient. Getting back to the skill level that I desire is not going to happen overnight.

As I was playing this morning (while baby and toddler pounded away on the lower keys) I was thinking about how much this relates to my endeavor at learning HTML and CSS. I’ve been back to working on codecademy.com and even though it has been only weeks since I’ve really delved in to the work, my fingers were a little slow when arranging the CSS of a navigation bar on a website. I *knew* how to do it, but there was a slight brain fog, just like when you dust of an old favorite piano piece. It’s the same with my coding practice. Sneaking in 20-30 minutes a day will put me bounds and leaps ahead of a two-three hour stretch once or twice a week.  So, it’s back to the keyboard(s)!

For those new to the programming world, it can be a little confusing when trying to decide where to start. I saw this infographic online and thought it breaks down the differences and purpose of each language really well.

source: http://theultralinx.com/2014/09/coding-language-learn/