Facebook, Etsy ...the Web!! - Oh, My!

Do you feel like there are multiple versions of you out there?

Where have you been, what did you say, where did you say it...
~~~

What is the URL, what is your password, which account is this one. ...What??

Yes, that's right, I'm not talking about the dreaded memory loss or personal interactions. I'm talking about virtual reality, social networking, network marketing, bill-paying, learning, socializing... all that.

If you are friend of mine on Facebook, you will see by all the links to the left that we (Autumn Sun Alpacas) are signed up everywhere: Facebook, Blogger, Ravelry, Etsy, Artfire, Flickr, not to mention AlpacaNation and our website (well, soon to be launched).

Not too bad, but then add the accounts and passwords for the email service, ARI, AOBA, ABR, SECAB, the Google groups, the Yahoo groups, the special website groups/newsletters....

And let's not forget about webshopping store accounts, bill paying, school lunch account, finances, photo storage -- oh my! Work passwords? Lets not even go there, because that adds another double digit count of accounts/passwords.

Would you believe that 99% of these rattle around my head in some form, because I don't trust writing them down. Or if I do, I encrypt them so that I cannot figure out what I wrote later - to my endless frustration.

I wonder sometimes if this level of 'convenience' is a bit overwhelming! Whew! We love it, we hate it, but technology is part of our lives. This review shows how it is firmly entrenched in all aspects -- from school, to work, to farm, to fun.

So, just keep your head on straight, maybe with a little cheatsheet if necessary, and remember all those versions of you out there! :)


Good luck,



Mary

... Leave Those Kids Alone :)

You know the old saying: "Youth is wasted on the young" -- meaning that kids just don't appreciate what they have and really use/enjoy it?

Well, I had an epiphany yesterday. It may be totally obvious sounding now, but it was an 'ah' moment for me....

Why should kids think about how 'good they got it'?

We say that we want them to appreciate what they have, so they could really experience it or so they could avoid losing it. Therefore, they should know that they have it 'easy' while we walked up hill both ways, or we failed to appreciate our youth, or whatever.

I had thought of myself as wise....

I knew that kids could not really understand us and what we were trying to tell them. I knew that you could try to tell them what you have learned, to 'give them a leg up,' but that they would not listen. And it was not their fault. I was so wise, knowing not to hold this against them, or so I thought. With this wisdom, I thought I might be able find a way to convince my boys that I understood, so that they would in turn listen to me.

But yesterday, I remembered the other phrase we all know: "Ignorance is bliss."

And, I realized that this is not always a bad thing. This phrase to me was a bad thing, a chastisement. But now I beleive that it is not just a statement about being a sheep lead to slaughter or a sloth letting life pass by.

Because, kids are ignorant... of the woes of trying to keep/find a job, of paying the bills, of driving defensively, of watching out for psychos (mostly), of getting old, of dying. Most kids are... and that's a GOOD THING! Let them have their joyous childhood, not fully understanding how good they got it.

Honestly... to know joy, you have to know sadness, ...to appreciate comfort, you have to know pain, ...to understand the benefit of the security of a good home, you have to know the fear and uncertainty of the lack of one.

Frankly, kids are too young and happily innocent for us to TRY to show them how good they have it. ...Too soon, they will understand.

So, just as it is your job to help them through those moments of understanding, it is your job as a parent to help them enjoy their ignorant bliss now. Maybe, seeing their innocent joy will give you a little happy feeling, remembering your past bliss.

I remembered that when I looked in the face of an old friend who is facing his mortality. And, I remember that when I looked at the wildly impish grin of my boy later on. We should always remember to cherish our youth and ignorant bliss, even if only vicariously in the laughter of a child.

So, I remember another quote (from a song): "...leave those kids alone."

ASA's February Sale! 20% off....

Did you see our February Newsletter in your inbox? Did you click on the link in the newsletter to check out our February sale? Did you know that the Saints won the Super Bowl?

Well then, you know that Somora is now on sale at 20% off. Good job, Saints!

Make sure you take a second look at Somora, since her proven production history can be a relief to your breeding program with her easy care and consistently fine, healthy, dark crias.


For those of you who may not get our newsletters, I've posted the link here to our February 2010. If you are interested in receiving our newsletters, email us and we will add your email address to our mailing list. Or, feel free to write us on Facebook, Ravelry, Etsy, Openherd, or leave a comment after this blog posting.

Let us know if you have any questions about Somora, her service sire (due Spring 2010), or her past crias. We'd love to talk more!

Thanks for looking, Mary and Michael (Autumn Sun Alpacas)
.

FaveCrafts Blog posting: How to Loom Knit and How to Convert

Whoo -Hooo -- Good job, Saints!

What a great day to be running around playing on the internet while watching the tube! I also found an interesting blog posting at FaveCrafts! This one talks about converting knitting loom patterns into traditional knitting patterns.

That's pretty nifty.... unfortunately, though, I'm not really not a knitter. So, I what I really need is a method for converting traditional knitting patterns into loom patterns. :) Well, actually that's why I crochet! But, for those of you that knit, here you go...

FaveCrafts Blog posting: How to Loom Knit and How to Convert

Enjoy!