I've got Answers, Part 3

I am a slacker & finally have answers to Part 3. The final set of answers!
Thank you for your patience, I have a lot going on (busy, busy, busy!)

But, I finally have time to answer another round of questions from my Got Questions? post.

Here are the answers to Part 1 & Part 2

Question #1:
I would love to know how you make all your paper designs/invites?
I love the numbers picture you did. Would you mind sharing how it was created?

I make all my invites, cupcake toppers & the important dates print in Photoshop. I use Photoshop CS3. For invites, I just use scrapbooking backgrounds (or make my own) and add clip art & play around with fonts until I like what I make.
For the important dates print, I just have a solid background color & add the numbers/dates and make sure they are all lined up!

Question #2:
What position did you play in soccer?

I played forward the majority of the time. But, I also played outside midfield from time to time if my coach needed me there. I never played defense, I was all about scoring goals!

Question #3
We are going to paint the trim around our slider white like yours(it is currently just oak).Do you have any type of window covering on your French Doors... curtains or shades of some type? Thanks for taking the time to answer all of these questions!! if you don't have any window coverings on your sliding door - doesn't that bug you? I am way too freakish to sit in my family room/kitchen at night without having my shutters closed, etc.

We don't have any curtains or window coverings on our French Doors. I love being able to see out the doors and have it light & bright in our Family Room/Kitchen. It doesn't bug me having no window coverings on it, I think it would bug me if we did! And, we back up to open space & there isn't a home behind ours, so I am not worried about any neighbors being able to see into the back of our house. We have plantation shutters on all our windows, which I love!


Question #4
I think you’ve said that you use Photoshop-my question is how did you learn to edit and would you be able to do a post on some of the basics in editing-Mel style? I know you have your plate full, but I thought I’d ask anyway. If not, could you provide some helpful tips for those of us who are intimidated by Photoshop?

Yes, I use photoshop to edit my pics. Although, I don't edit all my photos that I post here on my blog, most of them are SOOC (straight off the camera) I shoot in manual so I try and get my photos to look good on the camera, not in photoshop. Occasionally, some of the photos I post on here, I do slight color corrections or brighten them. When I shoot photos for other people, I do edit each and every single one of them, evening out skin tones, sharpening the photos, color balance, etc. I do have some actions that I use to edit, but I don't use those much anymore.
This gives me an idea to post a photoshop tutorial one of these days & the exact steps I use to edit photos! Stay tuned.
I am self taught on Photoshop, I just played around with it & read about stuff online. So, my advice would be to open it up, and practice!!!! Play around with different functions. Or, take a class on Photoshop. It really is fun to use!

Question #5
How do you create the designs for your invitations? I have zero creativity and can’t imagine how you do that? How do you fit pictures into the designs and print all that? Do you have a special printing program or printer? Just curious because I have no idea how people do that!!!

This answer is similar to answer #1. I just come up with ideas in my head for invites, etc and play around in photoshop until it looks the way I envisioned. When I first start thinking of an invite, it goes through several drafts/changes/fixes before I decide I like it. I mostly agonize and fixate on the fonts. I am a font snob..I can literally spend HOURS choosing a font. I print my invites/cards/etc through WHCC, Overnight prints or Costco.

Question #6
OK, so my 12 year old just asked for help with his homework:
2(3x)=2x+16
x=?
Yeah! A math problem! Fun! Although, you asked this in November, so I am a little late on homework help. Ha! This is solving equations, which is what I teach my 7th grade Pre Algebra students.
First step is on the left side, you multiply 2 and 3x which equals 6x.
So, your equation is now:
6x=2x+16
Our goal is to solve for x. In order to do that, we need to have all the numbers with x on one side, so we are going to subtract 2x from each side of the equation.
(The golden rule of math is what you do to one side, you must do to the other side)
So, once you subtract 2x from both sides, your equation will now be:
4x = 16
Now, we need to get x by itself, so we are going to divide each side by 4.
x =4
And, don't forget to check your work using the original equation.
You want the left side of the equation to equal the right side of the equation.
Wherever you see the x, substitute it with the 4.
2(3x)=2x+16
2(3*4) = 2(4) +16
2(12) = 8 + 16
24 = 24
Yeah! We got it right, x = 4.

Question #7
1. Would you say going on the Disney cruise with two kids or going to Disney world with two kids was more relaxing? My husband and I are debating on which would be better. (Our girls are 7 and 3)
&
2. What camera would you recommend for beginners. I Just want a good camera to take pictures of my girls...not too expensive but not too cheap either?

I would say hands down, the Disney Cruise is more relaxing!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, it was so fun.
And, your kids will love it also. They do have kids clubs you can check your kids into, but we didn't use them during the day, we wanted to hang out with our girls at the pool, beach, etc. We had them go to the kids club at dinner time (dinner takes a long time on the cruise & our dinner time was 8 pm, so we fed our girls room service at 6 and them put them in Kids Club while the adults had dinner. We did this 2 out of 4 nights.)
Disney World was also fun, but not relaxing....especially in June with heat & crowds. If you are looking for relaxing, the cruise is the way to go. We went for 4 days, I could have stayed longer. *Sigh* I want to go back.
You can read more about our Disney Cruise & Disney World Trip here, here and here.

The 2nd part of the question was about cameras.
If you are interested in getting a DSLR, I would get an Entry level DSLR either a Canon Rebel or Nikon D5100 ( I think that is what the Nikon one is called)
My first DSLR was a Canon Rebel. It is a great camera. As I got more familar with the camera & not shooting in auto, I upgraded lenses. Once I was shooting in all manual (about 2 years after I got it) I upgraded the camera to the Canon 50D.
I am a Canon girl, but Nikon is great also.
I would go to a camera shop (or Best Buy or Costco) and actually hold the Canon and Nikon in your hands. Whichever one is more comfortable in your hands & feels better is what I would go with. Be prepared to spend over $500 for an entry level DSLR with a kit lens.

Question #8
You've shared that your girls don't sleep well at night. My first 2 kids have always slept super well, my 3rd baby...not so much. Any tips on how you function with a wacky sleep schedule? Thanks!

How do I function with wacky sleepers? 2 words:
Coffee (in the morning) and
(at night)
(For me, not them!)
Honestly, having kids who don't sleep very well is hard. They have gotten better, but at least one of them wakes up in the middle of the night....still. Luckily for me, I am a very, very heavy sleeper & don't hear them at night. Unluckily for Kevin, he is a light sleeper, so he is the one who gets up with them in the middle night & deals with them. (Thanks, Kevin!)

Question #9
Do you work out and if so, when do you find the time and what are your favorite workouts? I'm a teacher too, and I've been struggling this school year to find the time and motivation to workout.

Yeah....I haven't worked out in over 6 years (beforeI was pregnant with Kate)
So, to answer your question, I haven't found the time to do it (especially teaching & being a mom) So, I don't have the time or motivation either. (And, so far, I have been lucky with good metabolism) I guess that doesn't really help you with your question, but maybe one of my readers has some advice for you (and me!) One of these years, I would like to get back on a workout routine. If I did, it would be running. I USED to run all the time. I love (loved?) running. So, if I were to workout it, it would be by running. I am not a gym person. Kevin & I belonged to a gym our first few years of marriage & I think I went a total of 10 times in 3 years. Gym membership FAIL. Ha!

Question #10
How did Kevin propose???
Kevin proposed 10 years ago(!!!) on February 15, 2002.
You can read all about it HERE.

Phew. It only took me a few months to answer the questions!
But, I had fun answering them!
Hope you are having a great Wednesday & Happy Pi Day!