My Nerdy Mom

Reclaiming Your Focus in 2026: The Rise of Deep Work & Focus Strategies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:30:00 +0000

In a world buzzing with notifications, multitasking, and endless tabs, focus has become a superpower. If you’ve ever felt like your attention span is shrinking or your productivity is scattered, you’re not alone. That’s why in 2025, one of the biggest trends in personal productivity is a return to deep work, the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks.

Let’s explore what deep work is, why it matters more than ever, and how you can start building your own focus rituals today.

What Is Deep Work?

Coined by author and computer science professor Cal Newport, deep work refers to:

“Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit.”

In contrast, shallow work includes emails, meetings, and social media—tasks that feel productive but don’t move the needle.

Why Focus Is Under Attack

In 2025, we’re facing a perfect storm of distractions:

AI-generated content flooding our feeds
Hyper-connected work environments
Digital fatigue from constant screen time

The result? A fragmented mind and a to-do list that never ends.

Top Focus Strategies That Work in 2025

Here are the most effective, science-backed strategies people are using to reclaim their attention:

1. Time Blocking

Schedule your day in chunks dedicated to specific tasks.
Tools like Google Calendar, Notion, or Motion can automate this.

2. Task Batching

Group similar tasks (like emails or meetings) into one time block.
Reduces context switching and mental fatigue.

3. The Pomodoro Technique

Work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break.
After 4 cycles, take a longer break. Great for building stamina.
Tip: Use a fun pomodoro timer to help you stick to your times!

4. Distraction-Free Zones

Use apps like Freedom, Cold Turkey, or Focus Mode on your phone.
Create physical spaces that signal “deep work only.”

5. Digital Decluttering

Turn off non-essential notifications.
Keep only essential tabs and apps open.

6. Mindfulness & Breathwork

A few minutes of deep breathing or meditation can reset your focus.
Try apps like Headspace, Calm, or Insight Timer.

Bonus: Build a Deep Work Ritual

Here’s a simple ritual you can try:

Choose your task (one that requires real thinking).
Set a timer (start with 30–60 minutes).
Eliminate distractions (phone off, browser tabs closed).
Start with intention (take 3 deep breaths, visualize success).
Reflect after (what worked, what didn’t, what to improve).

Final Thoughts

In 2025, productivity isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what matters, better. Deep work is your gateway to meaningful progress, creative breakthroughs, and a calmer mind.

So the next time you feel overwhelmed, don’t reach for another productivity app. Instead, try reaching for your focus.

I have made a free Pomodoro Technique worksheet for you to utilize to reach your focusing goals - you can download that here: Pomodoro Tracker Printable

And as always, I hope you'll check out the My Nerdy Mom Designs Etsy shop, which is filled with all sorts of nerdy printables to fuel your productivity!

---------How to adjust Alignment in your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 18:29:00 +0000

For those of you who are like me, and like to mess around with your blog, here's something simple that you can do to change the look and feel of your blog. Personally, I like everything to be pretty well centered typically. So all of my code will include how to center things. However, if you replace all my instances of "center" with either "left" or "right", you'll have the same effect as indicated.

We'll work from the top of your blog town.

You will be working in the "Edit HTML" section on your Design Tab.

Check the "Expand Widget Templates" box as shown in the image above so that you will see all of the code and not just the basics.

Type "CTRL + F" to open up the "Find" box. Then follow the directions as indicated in each section.

Centering the Header

http://www.bloggerguide.lk/2009/07/aligning-header-image.html
xx

Centering the Description Text below the Header

Using your "Find Box," look for this code:

#header-inner {text-align: left ;}

If your blog has this code, then change where it says "left" to "center" or "right" (or from whatever it is to whatever you want it to be.

If you do not have that code, look for this code:

.header-inner .Header .titlewrapper {
padding: 22px $(header.padding);
}

If you have this code, then copy the following code and place it immediately before the code listed above:

#header-inner {text-align: Center ;}

(Remember you can change center to read whatever alignment that you want)

Your finished code should look something like this:

}
#header-inner {text-align: center ;}

.header-inner .Header .titlewrapper {
padding: 22px $(header.padding);
}

The New and Improved My Nerdy Mom!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 23:00:00 +0000

Coming soon, the new and improved "My Nerdy Mom" site!

I haven't intentionally ignored this blog, it's just that I've barely had time to keep up with all of my responsibilities, as mother, full time employee and part time business owner. I have been trying to change that, and fit in more time for myself. I'm calling it "Balance." You might think it's weird that working on my business is taking time for myself, but I don't! Building my business and creating art are two things I LOVE to do! It has been hard trying to find what things allow me to have my art time alongside all these other responsibilities... but I think I'm finally getting there!

I currently have another blog, called Crafted by Life Designs. It's a fun place filled with crafts, crochet and knit patterns, tutorials, recipes, reviews and lots more. It's been hard even trying to keep up with that, but through balance, I have been delving more into my creative side and have been working on some awesome charts for crochet, knit and cross stitch. I've got it in a good place where I feel like I can stay caught up, and I'm finding that my crazy sporadic interests have also produced items which don't belong in that realm.

Because of that, I really wanted to dive back into the My Nerdy Mom project. My goal was to have a place where you could learn some simple blogger techniques to build up your blog, for whatever purpose you use it for. With all the changes in technology, it's hard to keep up with these tutorials, and I just don't have the time for it. So instead, I'm moving to focus the blog on things that are still nerdy, but different.

Now you'll find that I'm going to be writing about all things related to my non-craft related topics; Business, management, leadership, software, gaming, technology, organization, self help, and just general good mom advice.

I hope you stick with me and all the things that are to come!

Don't Let your Babies Grow Up to Be....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 14:00:00 +0000

We all want our children to grow up and be successful. We want them to thrive and become happy, healthy and wealthy. But one thing that we do not want, at ALL is...

Don't Let your Babies Grow Up to Be JPEGS!

What I mean is.... we live in this great digital age. We can take a picture, view it, and then immediately share it, delete it, or edit it. Back when photography first came about, we only had the capability of taking it back to a dark room to develop and utilizing the limited editing techniques available to you there. But in today's world, we have a ton of great options, but many people are either too busy, don't think about it, or just don't know what to do with all the great pictures that they take!

Today, I'm bringing you some great options for printing your pictures with good quality, and save you some money along the way!!!

Option #1: Shutterfly

I love Shutterfly because you can order your pictures in your pajamas! They have so many great options and they're always running one special or another. Here are a few deals to get you started!

50 Free Prints Coupon by Shutterfly

Save up to 50% on select Calendars, Prints and More by Shutterfly!

Option #2: Tiny Prints

This site is great for home decor, invitations, announcements and more! They have some really cute announcements for babies, invitations for baby showers and birthday parties and more. I've collected some coupons to get you started!

10% off your entire order by Tiny Prints

Option #3: Easy Canvas Prints

How about some great canvases to hang on your wall? Easy Canvas Prints makes it super simple to take your pictures and turn them into masterpieces on your wall!

50% Off Photo to Canvas Prints plus an additional $10 off orders $75 + Free Standard Shipping on all orders

Option #4: Blurb

You might just have a ton of pictures lying around... what should you do then? How about make an entire book of your life? I make a really nice scrapbook every year and have it professionally printed and bound so I can have it forever!

Option #5: York Photo Lab

I've not used this one as much, but sometimes they run some great deals!

50% off entire order over $25 at York Photo Lab

And one closing note! If you have a TON of pictures to print, why not take advantage of the 50 free prints from Shutterfly above AND the 40 free prints from York Photo Lab??? Sweet deal!

Questions? Leave me a comment below!!!

The Best Cameras for Everyday Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 15:06:00 +0000

Hi there! Nerdy mom here, bringing you a fresh new look on the latest and greatest cameras on the market. As a photographer who started out with a simple point and shoot camera and today owns two DSLR cameras and a bunch of lenses, I have done a lot of research on the best cameras for photography. Today I will share with you my pick of the best dslr cameras to buy, the best cameras to start with and the best cameras to take every day pictures that won't break the bank.

First up, lets talk about the affordable cameras that you should look at! Let me start by saying that a camera doesn't have to be ridiculously fancy and expensive in order for it to take great pictures for you! All it takes is knowing how to use it, and the right sort of settings and features to make it great.

Meet the Sony 20.1 MP Digital Camera. With a 5x optical zoom and a whopping 20.1 megapixels, this tiny little camera is capable of going anywhere with you easily (it would fit in your pocket! Not to mention your wallet- priced at just $88!) It also has a built in 720p camcorder, which is great for getting videos of your family's sporting events, recitals, and more!

My next pick is the Olympus TG-4 16 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD. I have always loved the Olympus line of cameras. They've got a great user interface and hold up to the test of time. The Tough line is wonderful, waterproof, shockproof and freeze proof as well! With 16 megapixels and a 1080p camcorder, this little gem is ready to go on your next adventure!

Of course this wouldn't be a complete listing if I didn't share with you a Canon brand camera. Canon has stood the test of time and their dslr cameras are among the favorite cameras used by professional photographers. The most recent point and shoot Canon has released is the Canon PowerShot SX710 HS It features 20.3 megapixels, wireless interfacing, and both digital and optical zoom, a giant viewing screen and a CMOS sensor. This is definitely a camera to look at if you want multi-functions (camera, camcorder, wireless interface, etc)

You may have wondered why I have left Nikon out of the mix? Well, it's mainly because I was saving it for the big guns. This is the camera that I lust over, that I will add to my collection someday, and that if you want to be a professional photographer, this is one you should look for too. It's on the pricier end, so it's not a good starter camera for any budding photographer, but if you're established and you're looking to upgrade, in my opinion, this is THE camera you should be looking at.

It's the Nikon D4S 16.2 MP CMOS FX Digital SLR with Full 1080p HD Video. This baby has all of the features that you could want or need, but beware, you're going to become addicted to buying lenses!
Want some pictures with some creamy bokeh? Look for something with a low aperture, like the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G Auto Focus-S NIKKOR FX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras. You'll love this pancake lens. For everyday use, I'd grab theNikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED Auto Focus-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens.

If you're looking for a simpler start, hands down, over and over again, I would look to the Olympus E system camera. It's got a great user interface, they're affordable and they have amazing lenses. I personally have two! Here's the one I'd suggest as a starter for any photographer: Olympus Evolt E620 12.3MP DSLR with IS, 2.7-inch Swivel LCD with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Lens

It's got a great weight and user interface, and I guarantee that you'll love it from the moment you own it! The lens that comes with it isn't bad, but I would recommend upgrading at the first chance you get. My all time favorite lens from their series is Olympus Zuiko 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 Digital ED SWD Lens for Olympus Digital SLR Cameras. It gives a great creamy bokeh when you want it, but it's mainly perfect for every day use! Unless I want to really zoom in on something, this lens pretty much lives on my camera! The next lens that I would like to get is Olympus 35-100mm f/2.0 Zuiko Lens for E Series DSLR Cameras- it's got the same great system as the short range, but you can zoom more. And if you have a lot of money to throw around, don't forget the telephoto lens, the Olympus 300mm f/2.8 Super Telephoto ED Lens for Olympus Digital SLR Cameras.

Good luck and happy camera hunting. If you have any questions or suggestions for other great cameras, feel free to leave a comment below!

30 Awesome Social Bookmarking Buttons

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 12:16:00 +0000

I absolutely adore social networking buttons! I usually have them strategically placed throughout my pages. When used correctly, they can provide a whole new selection of readers, or keep bringing back ones that you have had. I find the best places to put them are top left or right, eye level with the top of your post, and at the beginning and end of your posts. (Me saying this doesn't mean that you have to put them in all those locations, but those seem to be the most natural placements)

1.) Burnt Wood Social Media Icon Set

2.) Grass Texture Social Icon Set by Social Icon Studio

3.) Clear Bubble Icons by Web Treats etc

4.) Handycons 2 by Janko at Warp Speed

5.) Simple Glowing Neon Social Icon Pack by Social Icon Studio

6.)

7.) Vintage Polaroid Style Social Icons by Social Icon Studio

8.) Glowing Neon Social Networking Icons by WebTreats

9.) Glossy Black Comment Bubble Social Networking Icons by WebTreats

10.) Elegancy Speaks! by Cheth Studios

11.) 3D Glossy Black Button Social Networking Icons by WebTreats

12.) Faded Round Stamps Social Icon Pack by Social Icon Studio

13:) Social Icons by plechi

14.) Social Icons by Tydlinka

15.) Glossy Space Icons by Web Treats Etc

16.) Free Clock Social Icons

17.) Hand Drawn Social Media Shapes by Web Treats Etc

18.) Hand Drawn Social Media

20.) Social Buzz Icon Pack

21.) Social Media Icon Badges by Peach Pops

22.) Retro Icon Set by Pink Mustache

23.) Social Media Icons Pack by Font Fabric

24.) Upojenie Icons

25.) Picasso Social Media Icon

26.) Latte Art Social Icons by Cute Little Factory

27.) Bulb Social Media Icons

28.) Social Media Ballons

29.) Yammy Social Media Icon Kit

30.) Green Thumb Social Media Icon Set

Want to learn how to install these buttons? Visit How to Install Social Networking Icons on your Blog.

Don't want to take the time to figure out install? Want something ready and premade that you just have to stick a link into? Check out NiftyButtons, where they have a link generator built into the site. Want a tutorial on how to use that? Check out my Nifty Buttons Tutorial for Blogger!

How to Center Your Header {Blogger Tutorial}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 17:41:00 +0000

Let me start this tutorial by saying I am a neat freak when it comes to my blog. It may not always look like it (because it's in a constant state of flux) but I like everything to be nice and lined up in the same fashion. On my other blog, everything just HAS to be centered. My header and all of my widgets NEED to be lined up neatly.

Well, I recently tweaked my header a bit so that it would be better for all different browser types, and thus it ended up justified to the left! After much code exploration and trial and error, I finally found the pesky little code that needed some adjustment and here it is so you don't have to go through the same frustration I did!

First- Go to your Templates Tab:

Second, Back up your template (Always a good idea when making code edits)

Third, Click the Edit HTML Button to open this screen:

Make sure that you check the box marked "Expand Widget Templates" or you won't see all the code!

Next: Click into the HTML box and use CTRL+F to open up the search box. Search for this code:

]]></b:skin>

Directly above that code, paste the following:

#header-inner img {margin: 0 auto !important;}
#header-inner {text-align:center !important;}

Now Save your template and exit the HTML screen. If all went well, you should now have a nicely centered header!

Nifty Buttons Tutorial for Blogger {Tutorial}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Jun 2013 17:41:00 +0000

So today I want to talk about this awesome site called Nifty Buttons. It's a site that is made for Bloggers who want cool and unique social networking buttons, but do not have the know-how or desire to create or find their own. With this site, you can pick a set of buttons, insert your code into the form fields and it will automatically generate the code you need to paste on your blog!

Step 1:
Go to Niftybuttons

Step 2:
Choose your Social Networking Buttons

Step 3:
Insert your Links
*Note: You do not have to fill in all the links, just the ones you fill in will be generated.

Step 4:
Submit and Copy the code provided.

Step 5:
Go to Blogger Layout and click Add Gadget in the section where you want to add your buttons.

Step 6:
Select HTML/Javascript Gadget

Step 7: Paste the code that you recieved into your HTML/JavaScript Widget and hit save. You can move this widget where you want your icons to appear.

Enjoy!

IOS App: Vuemix

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 14:36:00 +0000

Vuemix is a revolutionary iOS app that changes the way video browsing is done. Vuemix uses 9 screens simultaneously playing videos to engross users in its content. Yes, 9 screens playing at once. When the app prompts users on log in, they are greeted with a myriad of different videos. These videos can all be seen playing at once, with audio coming from the selected tile. This system caters to the fact that users don’t want to be confused by a static thumbnail (as often happens in YouTube video browsing).

The technology behind Vuemix is unprecedented. The cloud technology stores all streams of videos uploaded into the app. The videos are then ported into the app as one stream, yet appear to the users in the multi-tile interface that makes Vuemix such an unrivaled app.

One of the gigantic benefits, outside of the revolutionary tile technology, is the content sources on Vuemix. The app crawls the web through hundreds of different sources for the most important and relevant video content. This means that the videos on Vuemix are the most up-to-date, broadest, and highest quality that is on the web.

But it doesn’t stop there. Vuemix provides not just relevant and trending videos; it provides over 30 different categories of videos ranging from shopping, vacation, and fashion, all the way to sports and gaming. This means that whether you want to watch the latest twitch.tv StarCraft match or the fashion industries newest trends, Vuemix is the place to go.

One of the newest and greatest features on Vuemix is the live shopping network tile. 8 live shopping networks streamed in real time to your device. Yes, live, on your device, with no signup from a service provider. Can’t get to the TV to watch your favorite HSN slot? Pull up Vuemix on your device and you’re set. The app is the first of its kind to cater to the shopping market with 0 signup overhead. These channels are the first to come to Vuemix and more are expected in the future.

Some of the other impressive features include seamlessly integrated video sharing through social networks, the ability to create a ‘mix’ of your favorite videos, and related news articles for every video you watch. If that wasn’t enough, the app allows you to search the Twitter related activates of each video as well, so you can see what others are saying about the said topic.

Television is still considered the top-flight medium for consuming video. Vuemix is the first alternative to this on an app level. The integration of live TV into the app is unprecedented. There’s no better way to consume video on a device than Vuemix.

Pretty In Pink Social Bookmarking Buttons {Free Download!}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 18:38:00 +0000

Here, for your enjoyment, is a set of 8 FREE Social Bookmarking Buttons designed by ME!!! That's right, folks, I've been playing around with all sorts of blog decorations to share with you and this is just the first of what is to come! I hope you enjoy these and remember, if you don't know how to install them, just check out How to Install Social Bookmarking Buttons (on this site!).

So what are you waiting for? Go download your Pretty in Pink Social Bookmarking buttons now!

App Review: Marvel War of Heroes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:48:00 +0000

My current favorite Android game is Marvel: War of Heroes.

It's a mix between a mission focused game (think Mafia Wars, Vampires Live, etc) and a card collecting game (think Elements), that takes place in the Marvel world.

You complete missions to get cards, battle to get resources, and build the ultimate deck through a mixture of Boosting, Fusing and Mastery. I can usually always find something to do when I log in, especially when they run special events, which is practically every week!

My favorite aspect is the card collecting. I like that you still get to upgrade the card and there's all sorts of methods that you can apply and all help you meet different ends.

What are you waiting for? Play today! (and if you do, you should use my referral code so we can both get a special edition Jean Grey card!!! My referral code is xyp397688)

Just for a Smile....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:05:00 +0000

I saw this link pop up a couple of times and just had to share. I laughed for a good 20 minutes reading the comments. You HAVE to read through the comments. Some are just hilarious.

How to Insert Tables in your Blog, Part 2: Table Customization

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:41:00 +0000

So in the last post, How to Insert Tables in your Blog, Part 1, we learned how to insert tables into your blog posts. We learned how to insert the basic table, and how to add more rows and columns. In this post, we're going to learn how to further customize your table.

Here is our basic table code:

<table border="2" bordercolor="#000000" style="background-color:#FFFFFF" width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3">

<tr>

<th>Table Header</th>

<th>Table Header</th>

<th>Table Header</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

<tr">

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

</table>

That table looks like this:

Table Header	Table Header	Table Header
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell

The first customization that we're going to learn is how to change the colors within the table.

If you look at the first bit of code from the table, you see this:

<table border="2" bordercolor="#0033FF" style="background-color:#A9BCF5" width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3">

Border width (red)
Border color (blue)
Background color (green)
Table width (orange) Can be a percentage (fluid) or actual width in pixels

Don't know HTML color codes? Check this dynamic html color code website.

For this example, I changed the thickness of the border and the background color:

Table Header	Table Header	Table Header
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell

You can center the alignment of the table itself by adjusting your code to include the text in red:

<table border="2" bordercolor="#000000" style="background-color:#FFFFFF" width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3" valign="center" align="center">
        <tr>
        <th>Table Header</th>
        <th>Table Header</th>
        <th>Table Header</th>
        </tr>
        <tr>
        <td>Table Cell</td>
        <td>Table Cell</td>
        <td>Table Cell</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
        <td>Table Cell</td>
        <td>Table Cell</td>
        <td>Table Cell</td>
        </tr>
        <tr">
        <td>Table Cell</td>
        <td>Table Cell</td>
        <td>Table Cell</td>
        </tr>
        </table>

Here's the example for centering your table within the post:

Table Header	Table Header	Table Header
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell

Of course there are many more things that you can do with tables, some that I haven't even discovered yet, I'm sure. I hope that this two part guide has been helpful!!

How to Insert Tables into your Blog Part 1 {Code and Tutorial}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 19:41:00 +0000

Part 1: The Basic Table

Tables are a useful way to display information particularly tabulated information. Tables are good whenever you want to align information so that it is easy to read and understand. You can add text, hyperlinks and even images to a table which makes them very useful for presenting information.

If you’ve done some looking, you’ve already noticed that there isn’t a table button on the editing list in Blogger. It isn’t hard to add a table, however, and I’m going to show you how to do it with ease.

I’m going to start with the most basic table to cover today, and we’ll expand from there.

This first table will have 3 columns and 4 rows, one of which is a header row. This tutorial will teach you how to do this basic column and how to add additional rows and columns.

In part two of this tutorial, you will learn how to add a background color, a border, change the size of the table and how to align the table.

Table Header	Table Header	Table Header
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell

^ This is the table we will be creating ^

So let’s get started!!!

Step 1: In Blogger, open the post that you wish to have the table.

Step 2: Click on HTML next to compose in the upper left of the post to edit directly in HTML

Step 3: Insert the following code into your Blogger post where you want the table to appear.

<table border="2" bordercolor="#000000" style="background-color:#FFFFFF" width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3">

<tr>

<th>Table Header</th>

<th>Table Header</th>

<th>Table Header</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

</table>

Step 4: At this point, you can flip back to the Compose section of blogger, and you will see something that looks like this:

Table Header	Table Header	Table Header
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell

Now, in the Compose section, you can click right into your table and edit the values within. If you need more rows or columns, follow along on to step 5.

Step 5: If you need more more rows, simply do this:

<table border="2" bordercolor="#000000" style="background-color:#FFFFFF" width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3">

<tr>

<th>Table Header</th>

<th>Table Header</th>

<th>Table Header</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

</table>

If you notice, the text in red is just a repeat of the section before it, and you can do this as many times as you need to add a new row.

Table Header	Table Header	Table Header
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell

If you would like to add another column, just edit the HTML as such:

<table border="2" bordercolor="#000000" style="background-color:#FFFFFF" width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3">

<tr>

<th>Table Header</th>

<th>Table Header</th>

<th>Table Header</th>

<th>Table Header</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

<tr">

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

<td>Table Cell</td>

</tr>

</table>

If you notice, this time the text I’ve added is within each section, in order to add another column. You can add the text in red as many times as you need columns.

Table Header	Table Header	Table Header	Table Header
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell
Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell	Table Cell

And here's what that will look like.

So there’s the quick and dirty about inserting tables into your Blogger posts. Come back tomorrow for part 2, further customizing your table!

Nerdy Mom: iPod 2nd Gen Problem Solved!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:25:00 +0000

Do you ever have a problem that frustrates you to no end?

Have you ever solved that problem and then smacked yourself on the face saying, gah I'm stupid?

I did that today with this problem....

I have a second generation iPod Touch. I haven't used it in a couple of years because I got an android phone and what is the point of carrying around two devices that pretty much do the same thing... So, I decided to give it to my daughter this year for Christmas. Only problem is that I couldn't for the life of me get things to work properly. It would turn on fine, but it wouldn't let me connect to the internet or download apps (even though I could view them just fine in the app store).

I literally fought with this thing for days. It would look like it was going to download an app, and then it would disappear. I was convinced that it was either broken, or so old that there was absolutely no support or games that would work for it.

*insert light bulb here*

Did I think to check the date? I mean the thing has been shut off for about a year.... in most electronic devices, if the battery is dead for so long, part of it's memory banks get wiped, and usually that part includes the date.

Sure enough, I went in, found out that the iPod thought it was 1970, corrected that, and am happily downloading apps and surfing the web again.

(I know, so stupid. But I share so that if you're having this issue, you don't have to feel so stupid. Because I did it first :P)

You downloaded Furdiburb, now what?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to what I'm going to temporarily call The Weekend Walkthrough!

I made this nifty logo and can't decide what to really call the segment....

See, I don't really know if they'll all be reviews, walkthroughs or whatever, so if you have any good ideas for what I should call this segment, please be my guest and leave me a message. However, it will go something like this: Every weekend, I'm going to pick an app to review. I'll put up pictures, comments, sometimes hints and walkthrough information. (It all depends on how much I like the game, as to how in depth I want to take our weekend) Some weekends might just be disappointing "Don't Download This!" reviews, but that's the goal, is to give you a real persons take on some of the best (and worst) android apps available.

Now this week, I've already been talking about Furdiburb. It's a great game. I love it, my daughter (5 years old) loves it too. I've put together a basic guide to caring for your furdiburb here for you today.

I love this game so much that you'll probably see it in future posts as well!

So without further Adeiu:

FURDIBURB!!!

Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of a Furdiburb!

Your Furdiburb lands contained within his egg. It’s up to you to figure out how to get him out of it!

How to care for your Furdiburb:

Feeding:

Once he/she/it has hatched, then you need to make sure that you can feed and care for your furdi.

When Furdi is hungry, he will look sad. In order to feed him, you need to water some sprouts!

There are three sprouts on furdis home screen. Drag a cloud to one of the sprouts and water it, once the cloud floats away you will see something grow.

Once your item grows, then you can pick it. If you touch it once, it will fall from the plant.

If you drag it to Furdi, he will eat it, and if you press and hold on the item it will be taken to your inventory.

You can access your inventory now by pressing and holding on Furdiburb. Drop items by clicking on the item you want, but each land can only hold a limited amount of items so if you can’t drop any more, you’ve reached your limit for that land!

Here are the items that grow on sprouts:
Hot dogs- edible
Cherry-edible
Pumpkin – edible
Strawberry- edible
Squash- edible
Cheese- edible
Pineapple- edible
Eggplant- edible
Dragon fruit- edible
Mangasteen fruit (plum looking) – edible
Pink sushi (cupcake looking) – edible
Yellow rotten sushi- inedible
Squirrels- inedible

There are also seasonal fruits that will sprout on the holidays! (These can also be crafted via the Factory)
Earth (earth day, April)
Roast chicken or turkey (thanksgiving, November)
Eyeball (Halloween, October )
Jack o lantern (Halloween, October)
Heart (valentines day, February)
Broken heart (valentines day, February)
Gingerbread man (Christmas, December)

You can collect up to 99 of each of these items in your inventory, and you can use them to feed your furdiburb, make other things in the factory, to buy things or to earn you money.

Bathing:

When your Furdiburb gets dirty, he starts to smell and have a funny cloud around him. If you don't clean him, he might get sick and he certainly won't be happy. Take him to the screen with his house on it, drag a cloud over the top of furdi's head and all the clouds will come to him and get him wet.

Then, pick a piece of Aloe (the plant right next to furdi's house) and scrub him with it. You will see bubbles start to form and he will start to get cleaner.

Scrub him this way until he is completely clean. Now the last step is also very important. You need to dry your furdi or he will get sick! Grab one of the pieces of wind and hold it over furdi to call a tornado to dry him off!

Other Bodily Functions:

Furdi will poo at some point, you can long press on these to store them as well. Note: Furdiburb gets sick when he eats the poop!

The Neapolitan poops can be used to buy things!

The regular poops can be used in the factory or to feed plants on the farm!

There is also seasonal poo that only shows up randomly during holiday months.

Roses in his poo for valentines day.
Shamrocks in his poo for St Patrick's day.
Holly berries in his poo for Christmas

Golden Poop (can be used to buy special items)

You will get a golden poop from Furdiburb at least once a day. If you would like to purchase gold poop, access the inventory and hit the Buy button. (you will have to buy these in your app market with real money)

What to do when your furdi gets sick:

When furdi gets sick, he is covered in bumps or colored all funny. You can buy potions from Tokori in the Boomy Woods that will make him feel better. The trick is to match the potion to the color of the sick furdi!

Orange Elixir - Vitamin C good for colds and fevers. (Colored orange with spots, sickness caused by not being dried off properly)

Lavender Chili oil - cures tummy aches. (Furdi is purple and red, sickness is caused by eating something bad)

Eye berry juice - cures tummy aches from greedy eyes (cures illness caused when furdi eats neopolitan poo)

Milk Thistle - Cures any sickness

Golden Ginseng - Heal any sickness , Fill you up, and clean you all in one

(I don't have pictures of all the sicknesses yet, will post when I can recreate them again!)

Putting Furdiburb to Bed:

Furdiburb needs sleep too!! Put him to bed by dragging him to his hut, and he will go to sleep! You can wake him up by knocking on his hut three times. When he answers the door, you can remove him from the hut!

You can also go into his hut, and change up the items that he has, either by creating them at the factory or buying them after you unlock some areas within the game.

The plant in furdis hut is called a ginko. If it only has one leaf, its not because its sick, its because ginkos lose their leaves in the winter.

To exit the hut long press the swirl on the bottom left of the screen.

That's it for this short and to the point basic care guide for your Furdiburb! Hope you've enjoyed the Weekend Walkthrough (or whatever I'm going to end up calling it...)

Furdiburb is now out of Beta!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 17:24:00 +0000

I've talked about Furdiburb before, and it's such a great game. I love it, my daughter loves it, and you can literally play this game for hours even when there's nothing left to do. Well, just today, my game updated from the beta version to the full version and there's quite a few changes! It's inspired me to continue with my little helpful furdiburb hints and play this game more! Look for some fun furdiburb articles to be coming your way!!!
Here's a look at a few of the new things I've noticed just playing for a few minutes:

I can't wait to start exploring it all!!! :)

How to take Screen Shots in Android Ice Cream Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:10:00 +0000

How To Take Screenshots in Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.x)

If you're like me, and play games on your phone, or just want to take random pictures to save from your phone screen, this will be useful information for you :)

To take a screenshot:

Simply hold down the Volume Down button and Power button for about a second.

You’ll see a flash and the screen will be framed which shows the screenshot was taken. The screenshot will be saved in a folder /Pictures/Screenshots on your phones internal SD card.

You’ll also get a new notification in the notification bar saying “Saving Screenshot…” and once it’s done there’ll be a “Screenshot captured.” notification in the pull down menu which will take you directly the screenshot in the Gallery. From there you can send it or share it, or just hoard it on your phone :)

Making your own Social Bookmarking Buttons {Code and Tutorial}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 20:28:00 +0000

Making your own unique Social Bookmarking buttons is easy. All you need are some images, your links and one little block of code to repeat over and over again.

Start by finding some Bookmarking images that you like. These can either be designed by you or you can find them on the web. Check out these buttons! Once you have the buttons that you like, upload them somewhere that you can access them from. I use photobucket for this purpose.

Next take a look at this code, which is for a simple facebook button like this:

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Nerdy-Mom/386904641334831" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b144/junelley/facebookbutton2.png" /></a>

All you have to do is take the text above and replace the blue text with your Facebook Page URL, and replace the red text with the URL for your image.

So great.... Now we've got one button, lets do some more. All you have to do now is make the same piece of code for each different networking site that you want to link to. So to make a link to follow your rss feed, for example... you're going to replace that same blue code with the link to your feedburner feed (or whereever else you burn your feed) and you'll replace the code in red with the link to your RSS feed button. Here's how mine looks:

I make mine in a notepad document before I install it into my blog, this makes it easier to keep track of which one that you are working on.

Soon, you'll have a bunch of snippets of code. Here's what to do to install them on your blog.

Place them one right after another, like this:

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Nerdy-Mom/386904641334831" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b144/junelley/facebookbutton2.png" /></a>

<a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyNerdyMom" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b144/junelley/feedburnerbutton2.png" /></a>

<a href="http://technorati.com/blogs/mynerdymom.blogspot.com" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b144/junelley/technoratibutton2.png" /></a>

Which will then appear all neatly in a row, like this!

Have fun installing your own custom buttons to match your blog!!! :)

A Rant and a Request

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 17:46:00 +0000

Hey all,
I know I'm not as active as I should/could/want to be on this blog- but I am just fuming and had to post a little rant here.

I went to go and play one of my favorite facebook games after having taken a couple of months off (like 5 months or so). I usually take a break from games over the summer while I'm in my busy season. But when I went back to this game, it was GONE! Gone gone gone.

The game? Restaurant City.

Why it was awesome? Because unlike other "restaurant" or "dining" games, once you had your menu set and had found the ingredients, you didn't have to be there to put food on diners plates, it was fun trying to find the ingredients and there wasn't oodles of work and stuff to be done.

I can't find any other game like it.

Here's where I need help. I know that some of the players are working on a new game, but I want you to let me know if you've found another game that is similar. Please, save us both the time and don't say Chefville, Diner Dash, Bakery Story, or anything that is like those. I've tried them all and my food spoils constantly because I don't have the time to be watching the clock and know I have to serve food.

Do you know of any games like Restaurant City?

Have you ever played Furdiburb? {Android App}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 15:18:00 +0000

So forgive me for being away, I've been busy working on everything else and have more or less neglected this blog. I'm going to just ignore the time I've been gone and get right on going on with working on this blog.

So today I want to talk about my new favorite app. It's in the Android App Store and it's called Furdiburb. It's reminiscent of the Tamagatchi toys I remember from my youth but there's a lot more to do under the surface. The more I play, the more I find and the more I fall in love with this game. I'm anticipating writing a lot about this game in the coming week, as I've found that there aren't many other websites talking about it and I think it's a great little game!

You start with a little alien egg that you have to figure out how to hatch. Once you do, you have to figure out how to take care of him!

There's not much support on this game, and you pretty much only get your descriptions once, so that's inspired me to write about this game in further depth. I'll be bringing you more of my review and write-up tomorrow!

If you play the game and would like to give your input, please leave me a comment!

How to Make Columns in HTML (for blogger)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:41:00 +0000

One day I wanted to make some columns. I had to look up many different resources on how to best do the columns in the way that I wanted.

This was finally the best style that I could come up with for columns. I hope it is useful for you!

.
.

The code to make it look like that is listed here:

 <style>

    #columns {
        width: 600px;
    }

    #columns .column {
        position: relative;
        width: 46%;
        padding: 1%;
        border: solid 1px #000;
    }

    #columns .left {
        float: left;
    }

    #columns .right {
        float: right;
    }

</style>

<div id="columns">
    <div class="left column">
        <p>One day I wanted to make some columns.

         I had to look up many different resources on how

         to best do the columns in the way that I wanted.</p>
    </div>
    <div class="right column">
        <p>This was finally the best style that I could come

        up with for columns.  I hope it is useful for you!</p>
    </div>
</div>

Now you can see that I've changed the width of the column, and you can change that to the width of any space that you want to put the columns into.

The % width indicates what percent they'll make up of that pixel amount, so adjust this to make your columns smaller or larger.

You can also increase the border around the columns by changing the border px to be more and make it thicker. You can also change it to read "none" (without the quotation marks) and there won't be a border.

You can add more lines to each column by using the <p></p> function.

Try it out! Put it in a dummy post and test out what happens if you change the values around!

Have fun testing your own columns!

How to Make Link Back Buttons with Code Below

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:17:00 +0000

I like making buttons. I like snagging buttons even more!

These buttons are perfect for sidebars, easy access for people to snag the button for your site.

You'll start with an image that is roughly 125px by 125px. You can vary this if you like. Typical button sizes are 80x15, 88x31 and 125x125. Have this image hosted somewhere, either in blogger, or some other photo sharing site like flickr, photobucket, etc. Have the url for this image handy.

Also have the url for your page with you as well, as when other users install your button, the button will then link back to you.

First, start on your Design Tab:

Click on "Add a Gadget" in the section where you want to have your button snagger placed.
Select "HTML/JavaScript"

Now here's the bit of code that you'll need:

<img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b144/junelley/button1.jpg" alt="My Nerdy Mom" /><div style="width: 123px; height: 125px; overflow: auto; border: 1px solid #666666;"><a href="http://mynerdymom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b144/junelley/button1.jpg" alt="My Nerdy Mom" width="125" height="125" /></a></div>

Replace the color coded bits, as follows below:

1- URL of your button

2- NAME of your site

3- URL of your site

4- URL of your button

5- NAME of your site

Edit the height and width to equal that of your button size, then hit save.

You should end up with something that looks like this:

Wonderful! You've now made a vertical button that includes the code that anyone can snag for your site! Feel free to snag mine if you like my site!

How to make Link Back Buttons with Code on the Side

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:41:00 +0000

I love link buttons. I love sharing other peoples buttons on my blog, using them to link back and I love it even more when people take my buttons and share them with the world on their site.

Now, if you notice, on this blog, in the sidebar, I have a link back button that has the picture on the top and the code on the bottom. If you go to this page on my blog: Button Up!, you'll find a bunch more buttons of all different sizes that users can pick up and share on their blog. With these, the code is all to the side of the picture. It took me a while to figure out how to do this, as most sites use the picture on top and code on the bottom.

I figured I would take the work out of it for all of you and share it here!

So, in blogger, it's pretty simple. I'm not that familiar with WordPress, but I'm sure the same principles apply.

You'll start with an image that is roughly 125px by 125px. You can vary this if you like. Typical button sizes are 80x15, 88x31 and 125x125. Have this image hosted somewhere, either in blogger, or some other photo sharing site like flickr, photobucket, etc. Have the url for this image handy.

Also have the url for your page with you as well, as when other users install your button, the button will then link back to you.

First, on your Design Tab:

Select "Add a Gadget"

Then Select "HTML/JavaScript"

Then a box pops up. In this box, insert the following code:

<table><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><img alt="My Nerdy Mom" src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b144/junelley/button1.jpg" /> </td> <td align="center"><textarea cols="30" rows="8"> <a href="http://mynerdymom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b144/junelley/button1.jpg" alt="My Nerdy Mom" /></a> </textarea> </td> </tr>
</tbody></table>

Replace all of the lines above with the matching color coded item below:

1- Name of your blog

2- URL of your image

3- URL of your site

4- URL of your image

5- Name of your blog

Additional Tweaks you can do:
If you change the values within the textarea cols it will change the height and width of your text box.

Hit save and then you can move your new link back button widget where you want it on your page!

Voila! This is what you should now have on your page! Feel free to snag my button if you like what I share on my site!

How to Center Adsense Widgets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 03:03:00 +0000

So if you're like me, you like things to be all nice and lined up. I recently installed an Adsense Banner below my Pages and it was stuck on the left. I had added it via the Page Elements Screen, as a basic widget and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to move it to the center rather than it hanging out on the left all out of alignment. So I did some digging, and found the necessary code changes that needed to be made.

Start out on our favorite "Edit HTML" screen and don't forget to check the "Expand Widget Templates" box or you won't ever find this code!

Using "Ctrl + F" Search for this code:

<b:widget id='AdSense1' locked='false' title='' type='AdSense'>
<b:includable id='main'>
<div class='widget-content'>
<data:adCode/>
<b:include name='quickedit'/>
</div>
</b:includable>
</b:widget>

Do you see the line that I highlighted in red? Replace it with this code:

<div align='center' class='widget-content'>

Go ahead and click "Save Template" and now your Adsense banner should be centered on the page!