Two of my favorite FREE things.

Hi friends!  Remember me? :)   September is almost here so that means so is my big project that I've been working on-- ok-- it's not THAT big, but... it's kinda fun and I will be revealing it in "stages" through out September.  Here's your first preview:

Intrigued??? (maybe not-- as it's one of the first photos that I have uploaded  from this project and it's not all that exciting)   Well -- you'll have to wait a little longer to see more....

In the meantime, I have to tell you all about 2 FREE internet things that have changed my life-- seriously!  and no one is asking me to tell you about these things, I promise-- I'm just that kind :)

Have you heard of  these??!! Have you used these??!! They are life changers -- seriously!! (start a word count -- I might be saying "seriously" (2) A LOT in this post)

OK-- let's calm down and take a look at these  (oohhh... I'm so excited to introduce you to these guys if you don't already know about them....)

 

otherwise know as:

 

Here's the basic gist of Google Reader (taken directly from the Google Reader site)

Keep track of your favorite websites

Stay up to date
Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you can be sure that you won't miss a thing. 

Simplify your reading experience
Google Reader shows you all of your favorite sites in one convenient place. It's like a personalized inbox for the entire web. 

Discover new content
Millions of sites publish feeds with their latest updates, and our integrated feed search makes it easy to find new content that interests you.

Basically-- you "subscribe" to your favorite websites through Google Reader.

Then you download a little icon to your bookmarks bar that looks a little something like this:  Next »

And when you want to start looking at the sites that you visit regularly, just click the Next button and it will take you to the next page that you've subscribed to that has new content on it!

It's genius because you don't waste time looking at all your bookmarked sites just to see if there is anything new-- this ONLY takes you to the sites with new content (and it takes you directly to the new stuff).  It's a total time saver and one of the best things ever invented!!

Only second to:
 

or:

OK-- I am SERIOUSLY (3) excited about this one!  Pinterest is the most amazing tool.  Here is the description from the Pinterest website:


Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

I'm still a novice at Pinterest, but it's pretty much (in my very simple words) like visual bookmarking.  Each picture that you "pin" on your virtual pinboard brings with it the original source of the photo so... say like me, you were looking for some party inspiration and saw one that you adored!  Of course you want to pin every picture, but ... if you just pin one -- for example one specific detail featured --  when you go to that pinned picture, it will take you right to the blog post with that pin in it (where all the other party details reside).  OR if you pin a project that you would like to try, the one photo will take you right to the directions on how to do it!   It's BRILLIANT!  Seriously! (4)

AND you can follow other people's pin boards as well to discover new and exciting things that you might not otherwise find on your own. 

I'm telling ya'.  I'd heard other bloggers sing Pinterest's praises, and was a little skeptical, but... this is the real deal -- prepare your self for hours trolling pin boards...

Now I just have to work on taking all those bookmarks that I'd been filling my bookmarks folders with and get them all on to Pinterest-- this could take a while folks.

Oh and if you want, you can follow my pinterest boards.  I installed a little "follow me on pinterest" button on the right hand side of my blog.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to hunker down for a little Hurricane Irene that's coming this way.  (and I thought by coming to Connecticut I was moving AWAY from bad weather in Syracuse)

 

See that little red line-- I'm right underneath it. :) East Coasters-- Stay Safe!!