In the Blink of an Eye

Blog Update

mgagliano — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:37:44 +0000

Please head over to my main blog for further posts.

This blog will no longer be updated.

I hope to see you there.

You can find me here, here, and here

Posted in Uncategorized

Product Review – Weight Watcher – Yellow Sponge Snack Cake

mgagliano — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:33:33 +0000

Last week I received a package of Weight Watcher’s newest snack cake……..

Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling

I have been watching what I eat for four weeks so getting a box of sweets was like heaven for me. Tearing open the box and sliding out the pretty blue and white box from Weight Watchers I smiled thinking about the fact that I was about to eat something for the sake of a review.

Getting a plate from the cabinet I pulled an individually wrapped Twinkie looking cake from the box. I was beyond excited. You would think that someone had just given me a Junior’s Cheesecake and a fork.

I sat down across from my husband who was very amused as I took my first bite of sweets in 4 weeks. This was my very first Weight Watchers snack cake and I have to say, I don’t know why I waited 4 weeks to have a sweet. It was moist and the filling was good but not sugary. I loved it.

Sitting back I looked at my husband and asked if he would like to try one. He said, “no thanks.”

I told him, “good because I was really only asking to be polite, and I didn’t want to share these”.

Why you will love these:

They are good!
It is a convenient, sensible snack food!
It is individually wrapped and easy to take with you.
Each snack cake is only 1 Weight Watchers point.
Cheat without the guilt (but remember the serving size-it would be easy to grab two)

Why your kids will love them:

They look like Twinkies!!
They taste good!
They are considered “your snack”

On my shopping list this week: Weight Watcher’s Carmel Cake, Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake and Golden Sponge Cake.

Posted in Product Review Tagged: diet, Product Review, snack, snack cake, weight watchers

Product Review – Leave Me Be

mgagliano — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 17:44:34 +0000

You have got to check out some of the shirts at Leave Me Be. Not only are the cute, witty and different, but, they were at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards showing off their fabulous tees!

Check out their website to see the celebrities who are in love with Leave Me B.

Need a gift for someone who has everything?

Need a gift for a girlfriend, sister, mother, friend, new dad?

There is something for everyone here.

Check these gems out.

Uncomfortable telling everyone to keep their hands off your tummy? Let your shirt do the dirty work.

I love this shirt, there is never enough out there for mom’s of boys

Hahahah…I remember when I was pregnant, I couldn’t see my shoes at all.

Beside the typical Father to Be shirt and Adopt me Angelina they have these and 9 others

They have 27 baby/child shirts sized newborn-6T
They even have adorable Mom and child t-shirt sets
If you think this stuff is cute, you should check out their barware, bumper stickers and their Mommy Megaphone. I know I need one of these.

After checking out the Leave Me Be site, head over to Amy’s online Diary to say hello.

Posted in Product Review Tagged: barware, bumper stickers, clothes, cool kid stuff, kid shirts, Leave Me Be, maternity clothing, Product Review

Bloggy Giveaway – Book – The Complete Idiots Guide to Photography Essentials

mgagliano — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:39:35 +0000

Remember this review I did this week on The Complete Idiots Guide to Photography Essentials?

This book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Photography Essentials by Mark Jenkinson is a necessary read for anyone who loves taking pictures.

I’ve obtained a copy of this fantastic book to giveaway to my readers.

Give Away Details:

Leave a comment here on my other blog(easy huh?)
The contest deadline: September 22nd at Midnight
Subscribe to my blog for an extra entry
Random winner will be drawn and notified by email (please include your email in the comment)
The winner will have 3 days to claim their prize or an alternate winner will be drawn

Good luck!!!

Sponsor of contest

Posted in giveaway Tagged: blog giveaway, bloggy giveaway, book giveaway, Complete Idiots Guide to Photography Essentials

Product Reviews – The Complete Idiots Guide to Photography Essentials

mgagliano — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:37:48 +0000

Ok, let’s talk photography. You love taking pictures right?

That digital camera is awesome and you get instant satisfaction on seeing the thousands of photos right away. I know, I know me too.

This book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Photography Essentials by Mark Jenkinson is a necessary read for anyone who loves taking pictures.

What I loved the most is how basic (well, I guess the fact that it’s an idiots guide should have been my first clue) and fundamental this book is.

I must admit, I hate reading well, non-novel (heck, is that even a word) books . I hate reading about how something works or how to learn something, self help books kill me. I just want to jump in and use, do, learn. I don’t want to read about it.

I read this book from cover to cover. Why? Because not only do you get basic knowledge like understanding the basic science behind how a camera works but you get tips on everything from editing your images, to shooting in any kind of light and everything in between.

Things like:

Use of light and shadow
The difference between shooting in film and shooting digital
Angle
The difference between JPEG’s and RAW files
Vantage points
Composition (the rule of 3rds – I am totally using this rule when I shoot these days)
Adjusting depth of field
Shooting moving objects
and more

My favorite part of the book, were all the pictures 150 total. Using pictures with a description is a great learning tool.

Reading this book is like taking a photography class. This is a must have for anyone who wants to take amazing pictures.

It also made me want to return to my beloved expensive 35mm sitting in a protective bag in the closet. As Mark states, can you really

Posted in Product Review Tagged: amateur book review, Book review, camera, Complete Idiots Guide, Complete Idiots Guide to Photography Essentials, creative photography, Mark Jenkinson, Product Review

Amateur Book Review – Sam Feels Better Now

mgagliano — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:24:20 +0000

Sam Feels Better Now by Jill Osborne and illustrated by Kevin Collier, is a wonderful book about a little boy who is going to a “special” therapist for the first time.

Sam and his mom head into a therapist office because Sam “was scared by something” his mother tells the therapist.

The therapist then helps Sam by having him draw pictures, (someone who is scared, something that is scary, people that Sam loves and who love him, etc.) The drawing pages are interactive. This is where the child reading the book will fill in what is pertinent to their situation.

The book is a wonderful tool to help children and their therapist or parent, deal with the child’s feelings. We don’t know what scared Sam because it will be different for each child.

Sam Feels Better Now is a safe, non threatening way for children to talk about their feelings and how to deal with them. A great way to empower your child to take control of their feelings and deal with them in a healthy way.

I believe this is a great book for ages 4-14 even though the book is geared toward 4-7. The characters are sweet, colorful, non-threatening with big caring eyes.

The purpose of the book is to help children who have experienced traumatic events to be able to learn how to cope, and reduce the effects of traumatic stress.

Great book for a child about to enter therapy or for a parent trying to find out more about their child. Also, a great resource for therapists.

Posted in Product Review Tagged: amateur book review, Product Review, Sam Feels Better Now

Protect Your Children – Help Pass the Protect Our Children

mgagliano — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:35:40 +0000

The other day Oprah’s show was about Child Molesters and sexual abusers.

It was one of the most disturbing shows I have ever seen.

They showed photos of babies as younger than 1 being abused. Along with reading aloud a child abuse pamphlet per se. It was a sheet that dictates ways to sexually abuse children. The first card mentions how to abuse 0-1 year olds.

This is devastating, disgusting, horrific, every other despicable word you can come up with.

We need to Stop this! Help Pass the Protect The Children Act.

The PROTECT Our Children Act will:

* Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.
* Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
* Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

Act Now!

Your U.S. senators will be voting on the bill soon, so it is crucial you contact them immediately.

Go to www.senate.gov to find contact information for the senators in your state. Search for your senator by name or state by clicking on the arrow from either dropdown menu. Contact information is provided here. To send an e-mail, click on “Web Form” below his or her name, and e-mail your letter to make a difference!

Call Your Senators
If you choose to contact your senators by phone, be sure to tell them, “Vote yes on Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act.”

Write to Your Senators
If you choose to write a letter, fax, telegram or e-mail, you may use the following sample letter—and modify it how you see fit.

Dear Senator:

I know that you believe, like I do, that we must do everything possible to protect children from sexual predators. That is why I am asking for your help.

Last year alone, U.S. law enforcement identified over 300,000 criminals who were trafficking in movies and pictures of young children being raped and tortured. Experts say that one in every three of these criminals has local child victims. Child pornography trafficking over the Internet has given us a trail of evidence that leads straight to their doorsteps, but the vast majority of these children will never be rescued because investigators are overwhelmed, outnumbered and underfunded.

As your constituent, I urge you to do everything in your power to pass the PROTECT Our Children Act (S. 1738, Biden-Hatch). This bipartisan legislation passed the House 415-2, but it is now the victim of petty partisan politics.

Now that we know where these children are and how to protect them, there is no excuse for the Senate to fail to take action this session.

(Your name here)

Instructions for How to Copy and Paste the Letter
To copy and paste the letter into your senator’s web form at www.senate.gov, point your mouse arrow at the beginning of the text that you want to copy. Click your left mouse button and hold it down. While holding the left mouse button, drag your arrow to the end of the text that you want to copy. Release the button. The text should be highlighted. Place your mouse arrow over the highlighted text, click your right mouse button once and let go. A new menu should appear. Select Copy from the drop down menu. When you get to the message form field for your senator at www.senate.gov, point your arrow at the beginning of the message field that you want to copy your text to and right click with your mouse. Click Paste from this menu. Submit your form and help our children!

Wordless Wednesday

mgagliano — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:10:41 +0000

Come over to Wordless Wednedsay to participate or to see more wordless photos.

Ruby Tuesday – My Gem in a Ruby Box

mgagliano — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:35:13 +0000

To participate in my favorite meme head over to Mary’s site Work of the Poet and join Ruby Red.

Feeding Ducks Is Like A Religious Experience

mgagliano — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:34:15 +0000

Feeding the ducks with the Goddess is like a religious experience. Sometimes just being with her is like that for me (tearing up as I write this). I wished for many years for a baby girl. Losing my mom so young really made me hunger for a mother-daughter relationship and I love spending time with her.

Today, on a beautiful fall morning, we went to feed the ducks in town while waiting for Handsome to come out of school, there were none.

She was throwing bread to nothing. The water was still, and empty. I asked her where she thought all the ducks were. She said, “I don’t know, maybe they are home with their mommies (cute).” Then she stood at the deck, put her hands around her mouth and yelled, “Ducks, ducks…where RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?Wouldn’t you know it, they came. Tons of them just started flying across the water towards us. Crazy.

And the rain comes down
There’s no pain and there’s no doubt
It was easy to say
I believed in you everyday
If not for me
Then do it for the world – Stevie Nicks