The Sewing Mom

Before I left this morning, I spent time on my computer writing a blog post. I then headed out the door and drove to my new job where I spent 5 hours in a training class typing information onto a keyboard. Now I’m home and needing to write more, but I have to tell you, my eyes are tired and I’m tired of sitting in a chair, I’d really like to stand up and move around. I recently read an article that might have the answer to my problem.

A NY Times Review of DNS10 told me about an exciting software program that uses voice recognition to type your words for you. In other words, Dragon Naturally Speaking software, rather than using my hands to type, I would be able to use my voice to speak the words and punctuation and the software writes the text for me.

Take a look at this video to see what I’m talking about.

Now, I learned to type when I took a typing class in college and I’m pretty good at it. I don’t know that they offer typing classes any longer and I think that many people no longer have good typing skills. The Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Preferred, as talked about in the video, or the Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard would both be excellent options for any blogger.

Seriously, think about it. If I can type 75 words per minute (or better on some days), but can speak 150 words per minute, I’m going to save myself a lot of time by speaking and letting the software do the typing for me. Plus, I could stand up and speak when I’m needing a stretch break, it would give me more mobility. In addition, my blog content is going to have a more natural sound to it because what I’m speaking, is being written (typed). Better content leads to higher traffic and higher traffic is what most bloggers are shooting for, isn’t it?

YEA! I made it through my first full week of being back to work. It’s just part time, but right now, it’s 5 days a week, 5 hours a day of sitting in a chair listening to a trainer speak. It’s going by fairly quickly because there is a lot of information, but I’m looking forward to Saturday and not having to drive to the office!

To mark the end of the week, here’s my favorite meme, Four Foods on Friday sponsored by Valmg at Fun, Crafts and Recipes.

This weeks questions with my answers:

#1. Melon. What’s your favorite kind? I love honeydew and cantaloupe and I really enjoy them together.

#2. Orange citrus. What’s your favorite – oranges, nectarines, navel oranges, tangerines, etc. I love tangerines, nectarines and clementines, because they’re all easy to peel! Clementines are seedless, so that’s a bonus.

#3. Oreos. What kind is your favorite? (Don’t eat Oreos? What about olives?) Hmmm, Oreos or olives? That’s an odd alternative! I do eat Oreos though and I prefer the original ones. Yes, I do occasionally twist them apart and lick the frosting!

#4. Pot pie. Share a recipe. (No pot pie recipe? What about a casserole or some other hot meal you bake?) I do actually make a chicken pot pie from scratch, but I don’t have time right now to type the recipe. I’ll do that later. I also know there is a common pot pie recipe using Bisquick, I’ll have to find that one too.

Are you active?  I have always tried to be somewhat active, I’ve even been a member of a gym in the past, I’ve attempted at home exercise programs and I’ve even done walks around the neighborhood. The gym went well until I injured my shoulder working one of the upper arm weight machines and I never returned. Since then, I’ve made attempts to walk regularly and, most recently, purchased our Wii Fit to make exercising more fun. I still find that I’m not nearly as dedicated to exercising as I should be.  Now that I’m back working, even though it’s only part time, it has become even more difficult to squeeze in a beneficial workout.

I’ve recently learned of a new workout program called XFLOWSION which combines the best moves from martial arts, power yoga, and dance to give a full body workout and you don’t have to go to the gym to do it. It’s all on DVD! It’s called TRIPLE TRAINING™ and it uses all 3 mediums to give you one great workout, all in the comfort of your own home. This program promotes fat burning and muscle toning and promises that you will never get bored.

I think XFLOWSION is just what I need to help me stay dedicated to working out.  How do you stay motivated?

Tonight we will be attending my daughter’s first band concert of the school year.  It’s called the “Tailgate Concert” and includes every band in our school district from 7th grade through 12th.  Considering the high school band is over 500 students, I would have to think that there may be close to 1,000 students total at the concert this evening.

There are 3 junior highs and each of those has 3 bands, Honors, Symphonic and Regular.  The Honors and Symphonic bands from each junior high will perform the individual school’s fight song that they represent and then all junior high bands will perform a song.  Next, the high school band will perform before all students of all grades combine to perform a final song at the end.

The event itself is taking place on the football field, the only place that can accommodate all of the band members.  I’m very excited, and I need to remember to take my video camera!   If I can, I’ll post the video here.

My nephew and his fiance are getting married next July. They’ve been planning all of the wedding details for quite some time now, but I wonder if his fiance has her bachelorette party plans made. I might need to find out who the maid of honor is and ask her. I just found out about this great piano bar and it would be a blast to be there.

A friend of a friend was telling me about a Hollywood bachelorette party and it sounded like everyone had had so much fun, I checked into it and discovered that the piano bar where they’d held the party is called “Howl At The Moon” and, they have 14 locations around the country, including one in Indianapolis which is where my nephew’s wedding will be. It’s perfect!

What makes this piano bar stand out is the dueling baby grand pianos on stage. Throughout the evening, there are always 2 piano players playing and creating excitement. Every hour, two additional piano players come out on stage and the four of them play 2-3 songs together. During the foursome, other instruments might be played such as a saxophone or guitar. This transitions into the next duo of dueling piano players for the next hour. This continues through the evening.

The staff of Howl At The Moon gets into the act as well. There are choreographed routines to well known theme songs and commercials that gets the audience involved and keeps the energy level up.

I definitely need to make sure my nephew knows about this place, if he doesn’t all ready!