Bath fizzies and prospects.

Another end to a long week! Wow, the days sure go by quickly. I've already been back in school over a month. Tempus fugit!

I'm excited at some upcoming prospects, such as a possible teaching job for the LEAP program at Algood Elementary. I finally can go to the photography studio whenever to develop pictures; my portraits came out okay. The professor really liked one I took at the Fall Funfest of people by a funnel cake stand. I'll post pictures later.

And what better way to end the week with a lovely bath? How about a bath with Jack o' Lantern bath bomb fizzies? :)



These little buddies were given to me by Alyson at Bathgasm, as part of her giveaway. They look so cute! And honestly, I didn't expect them to be so big. They smell divine: pumpkin spice and sweetness. I could almost eat them... hehe. She also has lovely cards, and even wrote me a kind note on the back of one. :D Yay for Etsians and their giveaways! What would we do without them?

Speaking of which, I may do a giveaway soon to celebrate all good things in life, as well as 250 Twitter followers. Seems appropriate. But it depends on what you guys are looking for... ;) Leave a comment of your thoughts.

(P.S. Opened up at Artfire, since they're doing unlimited listings for the holidays. More items will be there since there are no fees!)

My First Giveaway!

Hey guys, I think today I'm feeling generous. And I reached 150 followers. And school is about to start...

Anyway, in celebration, I'm giving away this pretty Scrolling Irises Medium Journal from Pepper Pot.

It's hardcover, 6" x 8 1/2" and contains 162 beautifully lined and designed pages (front and back). There's a matching rubber band in the back to wrap around the front, securely keeping it shut. I have one of my own and I love it!

Details:
There are several ways to earn entries, listed below. You must follow the first requirement of entry to be considered. I'll end the giveaway on September 4th (Friday), at noon CST, or 12:00pm CST. I'll use my magic configurator (calculator) to determine the numbers and throw them into the cauldron (Random.org) to select a winner. Later on that evening, I will announce the winner here and contact them shortly for information.

How To Enter:
1) You must leave a comment on this entry. It counts as your first entry, and of course let's me know you read it all and want to win it. :) Say anything you want, and leave your e-mail address. You may space it out to avoid spambots.

Extra Entries, please leave separate comments for EACH:

1) One extra entry if you follow me on Twitter. Please leave a comment with your username.

2) One extra entry if you tweet about this giveaway. You can use this: "Giveaway! A hardcover flower journal from @spektorish on her blog, ends this Friday at noon CST: http://tinyurl.com/ksdv3c" Comment with a link back. Spamming tweets will not help you. :P

3) One extra entry if you blog about this giveaway. Please link back to it.

4) One extra entry if you follow me through Google connect, located in the sidebar to the right.

5) One extra entry if you subscribe to my blog, using the RSS feed.

Note: if you already have done something, like follow me on Twitter or follow me here, it counts as an entry -- just leave a comment to remind me, there's a chance I could miss it! :)

I'm very excited and wish you all luck!!

Fiber For All!

If you're into Twittering as much as I am, then let me ask you: have you seen #fiberforall flying around lately? First off, it's nothing to do with irregularity. ;) It's referring to fiber technology. (And a wicked cool contest, which will be mentioned at the end of this post.)

I'm a very visual person, being a right-brained artist and all, so I'm going to start with a video you may or may not recognize.

Yes, indeed, he loves to blow things up. But he's also mentioning something here that's very important for you to know about: fiber technology, specifically in communications. That includes the internet. And we all know that faster internet is better internet. So, what is it?

When it comes down to it, fiber technology boils down to fiber optics. It allows our lovely interweb communications to transmit over longer distances at a faster rate. Fibers (usually made from glass or plastic) replace the typical metal wires because the fibers enable signals to travel faster with less "loss" (or attenuation) and no interference, which is always a good thing. Nothing irritates me more as an internet addict than when my internet's not working efficiently.

I'm not much into science, so you know this has gotta be good to get the attention of someone like moi. That's what fiber is all about, but why is it worth mentioning? How much better is it than, say, DSL or Cable? Like I said, I'm no computer person, but here is a great, short article to sum up the victor when it comes to the battle: Fiber vs. Cable vs. DSL - What You Need to Know.

As seen in the Michael Bay commercial, Verizon offers Verizon FiOS, or "Fiber Optic Service." Honestly, they should've left out the "i" so it could be interpreted as "Forget Other Services." ;) But anyway, here is another article from the same site that discusses what Verizon offers, and where it is available: http://fiberforall.org/verizon-fios/

But that is the main downside to this whole deal: fiber technology is not available everywhere. As of now, it is limited to some states like California (figures), Delaware, New York, and Oregon (what?). Poor lil' ole Tennesseeans like me can't get to it yet. But fear not, the technology is rapidly growing in its efficiency and availability, as soon as people start to recognize its significance. And, of course, Verizon won't be the sole solicitor of this great technology of the world wide web, for AT&T is jumping on the bandwagon (called AT&T U-verse). The main thing you'll have to worry about when the time comes is which price will fit your budget. Verizon is known to be more expensive, but it's all about their reliability. My phone service with them is rather nice, thank you. Better than T-Mobile, at least. (However, their mascot is hotter than Verizon's.)

If you want to learn more, check out places like FiberforAll.org and even look into articles placed around the web. Wikipedia was a good start for me, since I'm clueless about science and math. Google, as always, is the best option.

I highly suggest looking into this first at FiberforAll.org, and follow them on Twitter @FiberforAll, because it so happens that they're doing a fantastic giveaway to bloggers and Tweeps alike in celebration of illumination. Prizes include an HP Mini 10.1-Inch Netbook and a Sony Bravia 26-Inch 720p LCD HDTV (services, as usual, are not included). You don't want to miss out! They've extended the deadline to Labor Day, so go visit for more details! http://fiberforall.org/fios-triple-play-bundle/

Say it with me now, loud and clear: FIBER FOR ALL!

-Laura