Must App Monday - Voxer

 

Strangely enough, I was forced to get on Voxer by my family when I was still out in Colorado. I have to share this very cool app with you all. It's basically like a walkie-talkie on your phone. You can send text messages through it too. But you can send voice messages through it!! I can send a group message to my mom and my little brother then they can listen to the message when they have time, and send me a voice message back. It's very cool for busy people (or people who hate to talk on the phone, like my husband). And is fun when texts become impersonal. Wouldn't it be cool to send a "Happy Birthday" voice message to someone instead of a text? And what about sending a quick message when you don't have your hands free to type a lengthy text? Simply tap a button " I'm headed out the door to meet you now. Can you please order me a hot tea when you get to the restaurant, I'll be right there!" I wish more people had the Voxer app, I would use it ALL the time!!

 

Come find me if you want to try it out! You can search for people with their first and last name.

 

Run like the wind!

I have to tell you about Rigel's great escape yesterday! We were out on my parents' farm to do some work and my mom decided that the sheep needed to be moved to a different pasture. So I put Rigel in the house with the guys working on the house and went to help my mom with the sheep. After about 15 minutes outside, in the middle of the farm animals, I could feel a .... disturbance in the force. The chickens and ducks started going crazy! So I looked around for an animal or a hawk or some other threat to the animals, only to see my 7lb yorkie running along the fence trying to get to me. One of the guard donkeys isn't sure he's a dog, but the chickens and ducks are sure of it! So I yelled his name so he knew exactly where I was. He ran to me as I made my way to the gate. He was panting so hard as the chickens and ducks went nuts around us. He smelled like dog and wind. His heart was pounding as I held him close. He had found his way out of the house.

Rigel is not a farm dog. Not even close. I worry about him so much when we're on the farm. There are so many dangers to a 7lb yorkie even though there isn't another car in sight - hawks, snakes, big (read:HUGE) bugs, bobcats (!!!), animals that would kick at him, other stray dogs NOT on a leash or in a pin (stray dogs are ALL OVER this county). And I doubt he knows about any of the dangers because he is a city dog. He's been raised on a leash, unfortunately. I'm so scared that he will take off after a bird and be lost forever. So even on the farm, all the acres and acres of nothingness, Rigel is on a leash. My father says I should trust my dog more, but I love him more than I trust him. And I know he loves to chase birds. He's off his leash at the farm occasionally, but definitely not around the animals, and we're all outside to yell and chase after him if we need to.

I would be devastated if something happened to Rigel. But I just had to laugh at him, panting like crazy, as I imagined his great escape to find me. He's a brave little man. But I'm afraid that will also be his demise!

Must App Monday!! - Viggle

Have you heard about Viggle yet?? If not, be prepared for amazingness!! I've used Viggle for about 6 months now. Viggle "listens" to your TV and then gives you points for watching shows. Too easy, right? Then you can redeem those points for actual things, like gift cards. There are lots of rewards - Starbucks, Barns & Noble (my two faves), Fandango, Groupon, Chili's, 1-800-Flowers, Redbox, and even a reward of an iPod Touch!! The points vary for each one. I must admit, the points for each reward are going up since so many people are discovering Viggle. But hey, free stuff - I'm not going to argue! I've earned about $60 in Starbucks giftcards and about $20 in Barns & Noble gift cards.

 

 

 

 

Home again & an update

I've been in Arkansas for a little over 2 weeks now. A lot of things are the same as they were when I was a kid. My parents live in the same house, with mostly the same neighbors. But I wave and it takes them a moment to realize who is outside walking the little dog. My small town hasn't changed much. The roads seem smaller. There are new restaurants. Some old buildings have been torn down or businesses are left vacant. I can go to the grocery store and not recognize a soul. While the town hasn't changed much, the perspective through these eyes seem to have changed greatly. I assumed I would make the change back home easily. I've lived here since I was 8. I learned to drive on these small roads. I slept over at my neighbor's houses. I used to know everyone. But I left for college over 10 years ago. Then married and moved to Kansas and Colorado. I haven't "lived" here since I was 17 years old. It's very weird coming back now. It's like my little down has been tweaked slightly. There's something very "Twilight Zone" about it.

The job hunt is still on, for those of you wondering. There are some awesome job postings in NWA. I am do excited to find a job I love and start a new career!

Rigel is doing well. He seemed very needy for a while. He was clingy and soft. But we figured he was just out of sorts & missed his house & his Joe. He's much better now.

Joe will officially be home at the end of December. The Army has once again thrown us a very strange curve ball, but this time, we win! We get to make the decision that effects our lives. It's so nice, after being given orders for over 7 years.

Hope everyone out there is doing well. I'll blog again when I have news to share. :-)

And the winner is....

I was so excited to be able to host this wonderful giveaway from such an AMAZING company!! I absolutely LOVE their products!! Thank you so much to Erin Condren for supporting my request and offering this to my loyal readers.

So out of 67 entries, the winner is...

And the second entry was from...

 

 

Congrats to MEGAN!! You will get an email from me as soon as I recieve the discount code from the company.

Must App Mondays!!

This week's app is Kik!

All of a sudden three of my friends started telling me about this app. We all had Blackberrys at one point in time and would chat over the Blackberry Messenger (BBM). There are some perks to BBM & also now Kik. They aren't texts, which means they don't count against your text message numbers. While I have unlimited texts, some of my friends do not, so this is awesome for people who have smartphones but are trying to save money on texts.

 

But Kik is even better than BBM because it is not limited to Blackberrys! This app can be used across cellphone platforms. Lovely. And you also can chat with people without giving out your phone number. So watch this... my username is sara0120. Now people can message me without me posting my personal phone number online. This came in handy during my thesis data collection. When people wanted to contact me personally, I usually referred them to Kik with my username. That way they could talk to me (usually chew me out about my perceived disrespectfulness) but I didn't have to give out my number.

 

So there you have it. Go get Kik and shoot me a message!

 

Liebster Blog Award

So I must admit, I don't usually do these things. I just never have any time to give them the attention they deserve. But I am so thankful to my friends and readers! But look at this one! Not only is it beautiful, but it's GERMAN!! So you understand why I had to do this!



 

Sweetest, kindest, dearest, beloved...liebster (in German)

The Liebster Award is for up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

 


This beautiful award is from Bethany over at Canines & Cadences. So she has 11 questions I have to fill out. So here goes...








Questions:
1. Which issue (politics, religion, etc) are you most passionate about? Oh what a hard question! And it's just the first one! So anyone who knows me knows I am passionate about many many things. But since this is the Sara & Rigel blog, we'll go with the obvious one.. about dogs. Well, designer dogs to be exact. I was actually just on Pinterest, innocent Pinterest, where I saw someone talking about a corgi / lab mix. Where the dog "looks like a puppy" it's whole life. Gag me now! I HATE this whole hybrid dog movement. There are perfectly amazing dogs in rescues and shelters waiting for loving homes while there are people out there that want to create these special mutts in their backyard, in some cases causing problems with the mother dog and the puppies. Anyway, I will save you from the nitty gritty.

2. What is your S.S.B.? (Secret Single Behavior -- from Sex & The City) I have no idea what this means. LOL! I'm not a good "girl." I've seen Sex & and the City, but I'm not well versed enough in it to know what this is. Sorry.




3. What is your "deal breaker" in a relationship? Respect for my goals. And the fact that I'm not a typical "girl." I don't wear make up. I don't dress up. I'm a jeans kind of a gal. I've had "boys" break up with me because I don't wear make up. Suck it up dudes. Not into it. And my goals. It's not like I have weird goals. But they tend to conflict with some guys' idea of what a wife should do. Thankfully, Joe is totally cool with my education / career goals and is uber supportive of them all!

4. What is your radio tuned to when you're in the car by yourself? I have this awesome iPod holder thingy. I hardly ever listen to the radio.

5. What is the cheesiest pick-up line you've received? What's your favorite item at Taco Bell? Well, I would like to go buy you as many soft taco supremes you can handle.

6. If you could have any exotic animal for a pet, what would it be? PENGUIN!!

7. How long does it take you to get ready in the mornings? What is your routine? I can be ready in about an hour and be completely ready for whatever. First I have to take care of Rigel, so that's the very first thing I do. Then shower and dress. Can I mention that I HATE to blow dry my hair, ugh.

8. What was your favorite cartoon as a child? Smurfs. I could name them all! I wanted to be tiny and blue so badly!!

9. What is one hot-button issue that you wish everyone would just shut up about? Well, hot-button, so this could be rough. But I have to pick the prochoice / prolife debate.

10. If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? Twister, hands down! This confuses Joe to no end! I know every word of this movie! And I just adore it! Even after living in Kansas and almost being in a tornado, I still love it. Why? I don't know. It's just a fave I never tire of.

11. What would your significant other say is your best quality? My hair. Which is strange right, knowing how much I hate to fix it. Joe says I have model hair. With the help of my stylist, Martha, and really wonderful hair products, I can make it really nice in just a few moments. Joe will sit and play with my hair, which I love because my mother used to do the same when I was near her.