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New Albums – Stephen Curtis Chapman, Kutless, Casting Crowns, Britt Nicole

jan — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:24:17 +0000

I got some new albums this week, a couple of albums from favorite bands/singers and a couple new to me. I have found that I love wandering through iTunes and listening to different artists to find new ones.

The first one isn’t new to me, but is from one of my favorite bands – Casting Crowns’ Until the Whole World Hears – another wonderful, rich album. Love their sound! Don’t love the songs as much as The Alter and the Door yet, but I’m sure I will.

Steven Curtis Chapman’s Beauty Will Rise. This album is in a class by itself, as he expresses his grief over the death of his little girl and works through it to the assurance and hope that God is always in control, even amidst the pain of this world. I don’t listen to a lot of SCC anymore, but I had to get this one. We all walk through the valley at some point in our lives. I just hope that I will be able to walk that walk and maintain my faith and hope like he does.

Britt Nicole’s The Lost Get Found – I don’t usually listen to a lot of pop/techno-pop but I really liked the sound on this album. It’s very upbeat, with a few slower songs. The lyrics are meaningful and the beat is great. I ran to this the other morning and it was a great running album!

Kutless’s It Is Well – this is another new one for me. They have a sound a bit like Casting Crowns but a little harder. Again, loved the lyrics and their take on some traditional favorite hymns. Gotta listen to it more to get a better feel for it, but liked it the first time through.

Love getting new tunes!

P90X Workout Sheets

jan — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:51:14 +0000

So Mike and I started Beachbody’s P90X about 3 weeks ago. I learned from doing ChaLEAN Extreme how important it is to keep track of what you’re doing, how heavy you’re lifting and keeping on schedule. Beachbody has made it super easy with their P90X workout sheets. They come in two formats – PDF or Excel Spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is amazing. It has everything you could possibly need for keeping you on track, and if you’re compulsive about lists, this spreadsheet will feed your need! It has the schedule for both the Classic and Lean versions of the program. It has a separate sheet for each workout. You will be able to keep track of what weights you’re lifting on weight-training days and how many reps you did, so you can chart your progress. You can note that you’ve completed the cardio workouts and make notes if needed. There are sheets for keeping track of your measurements and your calorie intake as well. This spreadsheet has everything about the program covered, and even keeps track of your progress automatically from the numbers you poke in. You can find it on the Beachbody Fitness Tools Page.

The only downside is that the spreadsheet will not work on a Mac in Numbers or even Excel for Mac (if you have Parallels or VMWare and are running Excel 2003 or later, you’re probably fine).

Here are the links for what’s currently available:

PDF Format (for printing):

Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Downloads:

Photography Class – Understanding Exposure

jan — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:20:03 +0000

Scrap Girls has a great new Photograhpy class starting next month, based on the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Join this photography class and learn how easy it is to get out of Auto mode and in to Manual mode on your DSLR. The book is a fantastic resource for learning the fundamentals of making correct exposures and how to master ‘creatively correct’ exposures.

In this class you will:

Get off Auto and into Manual Mode.
Learn Creatively Correct vs. Correct Exposures.
Explore the Photographic Triangle – Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO.
Gain an understanding of the Light Meter.
Study how aperture is used to create storytelling vs. single theme photos.
Discuss how Shutter Speed affects the motion of a photo.
Discover where to take meter readings.

Hurry! This class is going to sell out fast!