Aloha Friday Blog Hop #14

 

Welcome to the "Aloha Friday Hop", hosted by What Jean Likes and Local Sugar Hawaii!  Aloha Friday Blog Hop is a brand new weekly feature that will run for 6 days and occur every Friday at 12 midnight Hawaii Standard Time.  Aloha Friday Blog Hop is a great way to meet new people and learn new things as well as increase your blog followers! So let's have some fun!!

We are so excited to have our NEWEST Featured Blog of the Week!!!  Find out who won below and please show them some love and follow them!!  If you would like to enter the drawing for featured blog of the week, enter your info in the Rafflecopter widget below and a winner will be chosen at random!!

Join the Aloha Friday Blog Hop, Grab our button, Enter to win next week's Featured Blog of the Week and learn more about our current Featured Blog of the Week below!


Grab the button here!!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.whatjeanlikes.com/2012/05/aloha-friday-blog-hop_10.html" title="Aloha Friday Blog Hop"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0bc1JG0Lxo/T6_NsiF9wiI/AAAAAAAAAh4/kN5KRsmf5d0/s400/draft.jpg" alt="Aloha Friday Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

This is all about sharing the Aloha spirit with other bloggers out there and helping each other to gain some exposure and find some awesome blogs to read!!!  You don't have to be from Hawai'i to participate!  In fact, we encourage and welcome people from all over the world to join us on this Aloha Friday Blog hop!

• Follow Jean via Google Friend Connect, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Networked Blogs, Pinterest, Tumblr, Linky Followers, and Bloglovin!  
• Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky below.  You can do a separate entry for your blog, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Linky.  We want everyone to get lots of follows and some sugar!! 
• Grab our Aloha Friday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog and in your sidebar (if you want) to show some love and let everyone know that you participate in the weekly blog hop!
• Go to as many blogs on the Linky as you want and FOLLOW them!!  Be sure to tell them that you are from Aloha Friday Blog Hop!!! 
• If someone is nice enough to follow you, why not show them some Aloha and some sugar and Follow back any followers you have gained from the Aloha Friday Blog Hop!

--Featured Blog of the Week: --It's Me Again... Pamela--

Hi! My name is Pamela and I blog at It's Me Again, Pamela (my every day blog ) and Sew Much Class & Crafty, Too! (for my creative side). I am proud to say I am Arkansas Bred & Texas Wed. I am married to my BFF - I have 2 grown children who have blessed me with 4 beautiful GrandAngels. I also have 2 stepgrands. I love being a part of the blogging world and have made some wonderful new friends.

I would love to have you as a regular at both of my blogs.

http://pjgraves51.blogspot.com - It's Me Again, Pamelahttp://sewmuchclass.blogspot.com - Sew Much Class & Crafty, Too https://twitter.com/pamela2heaven  - Twitterhttps://www.facebook.com/ItsMeAgainPamela  - Facebook

This is all about sharing the Aloha spirit with other bloggers out there and helping each other to gain some exposure and find some awesome blogs to read!!!  You don't have to be from Hawai'i to participate!  In fact, we encourage and welcome people from all over the world to join us on this Aloha Friday Blog hop!

What's neat about our Blog Hop:

• Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list!
• Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on Everyones lists!
• By adding your blog YOU MAY BE RANDOMLY CHOSEN FOR OUR BLOG SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!

**Leave a comment with your blog address if you are new to our hop so we can follow you back**

Happy Aloha Friday!

Remember, if someone follows you, follow them back! Show some Aloha!
If you want to embed this blog hop on your blog, click the link below where all the thumbnails for people's blogs are. It's called "Get the code here.."

Enter YOUR Blog to be the next Aloha Friday's Spotlight Blog of the Week!!
Click "Read More"

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Where did Jean go?

If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you may be wondering where the heck did Jean go? Well, I didn't go anywhere, really... I've just been really busy. I somehow have found the time to code and do the weekly Aloha Friday Blog hops which I love to do but other than that, my time has been so occupied by other things that I haven't found much time for blogging or photography. Even though I'm still busy, I've found a few spare minutes to write about what I've been up to the last few weeks.

I've been undergoing several changes in my life as of late. Though I always work a lot, my load lately has been heavier than normal so I've been struggling to find a balance between work time and quality time with my son. What adds to this dilemma is that my son is currently still on summer break so I have to really budget my time properly so he can still have a fun and active summer. Oh the joys of single motherhood!! Though it's a challenge, I wouldn't trade him for all the money in the world. He is the best blessing from God that I ever got  and I'm so thankful for him.

I managed to take my son Alaka'i and my adorable niece Kaliko to the beach last weekend which was fun for them and for me. I didn't take many beach pics but I have so many from this beach that it's kind of like "been there done that, seen that already". Both kids enjoyed a yummy and cool after beach treat in the form of shaved ice from one of my favorite places to visit on a hot day, Keneke's in Waimanalo, Hawai'i. It's a place that I used to go to with my brother and my parents after the beach as a child and I still love going there for some yummy shave ice cones, teriyaki burgers and french fries. Yummy!!

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you probably already know that my son and my niece both love shaved ice. Who doesn't like something cold and sweet after a long, hot, humid day in the sun? It's not "all natural" like the shave ice we've had at Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha, but I miss the refined sugar sweetness or regular shaved ice and this was a nice departure from my current diet changes.

As you can see, the kids had a great time eating their shaved ice and french fries while joking around and being silly.

On the way home, my son was so tired that he just fell asleep. My niece Kaliko however, is a chatty Cathy and talked to me all the way home :) 

On a side note, I've made a lot of changes in my life as far as eating and health go. If you didn't know already, I"m a "plus sized" gal and I've gotten to the point that I don't want my genetic predisposition to heart attacks or strokes to get the best of me so I decided to eat right all the time (very hard to do when you're a mom) and work out every day (also hard to do, whether you're a mom or not!). I have cut my portions down a LOT and eat mostly organic fruits, vegetables and whole grains. I also eat meat but a lot less of it and I've cut down most refined sugar products and starches like rice (which I love). It's a difficult transition but I've been doing it a month now and I am liking the way I feel.

I'm a work-in-progress and I'm going to start doing some health/fitness journals and blogs to document my journey. I'm not sure if I'm going to put it on this specific blog or start another one, but I'll make sure I let you know when I do!!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week.

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Aloha Friday Blog Hop #13

 

Welcome to the "Aloha Friday Hop", hosted by What Jean Likes and Local Sugar Hawaii!  Aloha Friday Blog Hop is a brand new weekly feature that will run for 6 days and occur every Friday at 12 midnight Hawaii Standard Time.  Aloha Friday Blog Hop is a great way to meet new people and learn new things as well as increase your blog followers! So let's have some fun!!

We are so excited to have our NEWEST Featured Blog of the Week!!!  Find out who won below and please show them some love and follow them!!  If you would like to enter the drawing for featured blog of the week, enter your info in the Rafflecopter widget below and a winner will be chosen at random!!

Join the Aloha Friday Blog Hop, Grab our button, Enter to win next week's Featured Blog of the Week and learn more about our current Featured Blog of the Week below!


Grab the button here!!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.whatjeanlikes.com/2012/05/aloha-friday-blog-hop_10.html" title="Aloha Friday Blog Hop"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0bc1JG0Lxo/T6_NsiF9wiI/AAAAAAAAAh4/kN5KRsmf5d0/s400/draft.jpg" alt="Aloha Friday Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

This is all about sharing the Aloha spirit with other bloggers out there and helping each other to gain some exposure and find some awesome blogs to read!!!  You don't have to be from Hawai'i to participate!  In fact, we encourage and welcome people from all over the world to join us on this Aloha Friday Blog hop!

• Follow Jean via Google Friend Connect, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Networked Blogs, Pinterest, Tumblr, Linky Followers, and Bloglovin!  
• Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky below.  You can do a separate entry for your blog, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Linky.  We want everyone to get lots of follows and some sugar!! 
• Grab our Aloha Friday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog and in your sidebar (if you want) to show some love and let everyone know that you participate in the weekly blog hop!
• Go to as many blogs on the Linky as you want and FOLLOW them!!  Be sure to tell them that you are from Aloha Friday Blog Hop!!! 
• If someone is nice enough to follow you, why not show them some Aloha and some sugar and Follow back any followers you have gained from the Aloha Friday Blog Hop!

--Featured Blog of the Week: --Organized Island--

I am so honored and humbled to be chosen as the featured blogger this week.  I am a mother of two in Southern California and I love to blog mostly about simple recipes,  uncomplicated craft ideas, and of course, organizing at Organized Island!  While the kids were growing up, I was (at different times) a working mom, a WAHM and a SAHM so I can relate to many.   I share ideas that I believe will help moms because moms have so much on their plate.  You can read more about me  here. 

This is all about sharing the Aloha spirit with other bloggers out there and helping each other to gain some exposure and find some awesome blogs to read!!!  You don't have to be from Hawai'i to participate!  In fact, we encourage and welcome people from all over the world to join us on this Aloha Friday Blog hop!

What's neat about our Blog Hop:

• Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list!
• Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on Everyones lists!
• By adding your blog YOU MAY BE RANDOMLY CHOSEN FOR OUR BLOG SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!

**Leave a comment with your blog address if you are new to our hop so we can follow you back**

Happy Aloha Friday!

Remember, if someone follows you, follow them back! Show some Aloha!
If you want to embed this blog hop on your blog, click the link below where all the thumbnails for people's blogs are. It's called "Get the code here.."

Enter YOUR Blog to be the next Aloha Friday's Spotlight Blog of the Week!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Post Sponsor Ad:

Aloha Friday Blog Hop #12

 

Welcome to the "Aloha Friday Hop", hosted by What Jean Likes and Local Sugar Hawaii!  Aloha Friday Blog Hop is a brand new weekly feature that will run for 6 days and occur every Friday at 12 midnight Hawaii Standard Time.  Aloha Friday Blog Hop is a great way to meet new people and learn new things as well as increase your blog followers! So let's have some fun!!

We are so excited to have our NEWEST Featured Blog of the Week!!!  Find out who won below and please show them some love and follow them!!  If you would like to enter the drawing for featured blog of the week, enter your info in the Rafflecopter widget below and a winner will be chosen at random!!

Join the Aloha Friday Blog Hop, Grab our button, Enter to win next week's Featured Blog of the Week and learn more about our current Featured Blog of the Week below!


Grab the button here!!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.whatjeanlikes.com/2012/05/aloha-friday-blog-hop_10.html" title="Aloha Friday Blog Hop"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0bc1JG0Lxo/T6_NsiF9wiI/AAAAAAAAAh4/kN5KRsmf5d0/s400/draft.jpg" alt="Aloha Friday Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

This is all about sharing the Aloha spirit with other bloggers out there and helping each other to gain some exposure and find some awesome blogs to read!!!  You don't have to be from Hawai'i to participate!  In fact, we encourage and welcome people from all over the world to join us on this Aloha Friday Blog hop!

• Follow Jean via Google Friend Connect, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Networked Blogs, Pinterest, Tumblr, Linky Followers, and Bloglovin!  
• Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky below.  You can do a separate entry for your blog, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Linky.  We want everyone to get lots of follows and some sugar!! 
• Grab our Aloha Friday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog and in your sidebar (if you want) to show some love and let everyone know that you participate in the weekly blog hop!
• Go to as many blogs on the Linky as you want and FOLLOW them!!  Be sure to tell them that you are from Aloha Friday Blog Hop!!! 
• If someone is nice enough to follow you, why not show them some Aloha and some sugar and Follow back any followers you have gained from the Aloha Friday Blog Hop!

--Featured Blog of the Week: --Simply Stavish--

Mindi is a working mom with two silly boys, Xander (age 3) and Noah (age 1). She spends her work days helping children with their speech, language, voice and swallowing disorders. The real fun for her happens

when she is at home with her boys, chasing them around and pretending to be a super hero. She blogs about their silly antics at Simply Stavish . Her weekly feature MommyMinute Monday, teaches parents how to grow their child's speech, language and feeding development through everyday moments.

In addition to blogging, Mindi has a bit of a yarn addiction, which she feeds by wiping out the boring boy clothes syndrome one sweater at a time. She loves to decorate her house, including  Xander's superhero theme room and Noah's owl nursery .

This is all about sharing the Aloha spirit with other bloggers out there and helping each other to gain some exposure and find some awesome blogs to read!!!  You don't have to be from Hawai'i to participate!  In fact, we encourage and welcome people from all over the world to join us on this Aloha Friday Blog hop!

What's neat about our Blog Hop:

• Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list!
• Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on Everyones lists!
• By adding your blog YOU MAY BE RANDOMLY CHOSEN FOR OUR BLOG SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!

**Leave a comment with your blog address if you are new to our hop so we can follow you back**

Happy Aloha Friday!

Remember, if someone follows you, follow them back! Show some Aloha!
If you want to embed this blog hop on your blog, click the link below where all the thumbnails for people's blogs are. It's called "Get the code here.."

Enter YOUR Blog to be the next Aloha Friday's Spotlight Blog of the Week!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Post Sponsor Ad:

Aloha Friday Blog Hop #11

 

Welcome to the "Aloha Friday Hop", hosted by What Jean Likes and Local Sugar Hawaii!  Aloha Friday Blog Hop is a brand new weekly feature that will run for 6 days and occur every Friday at 12 midnight Hawaii Standard Time.  Aloha Friday Blog Hop is a great way to meet new people and learn new things as well as increase your blog followers! So let's have some fun!!

We are so excited to have our NEWEST Featured Blog of the Week!!!  Find out who won below and please show them some love and follow them!!  If you would like to enter the drawing for featured blog of the week, enter your info in the Rafflecopter widget below and a winner will be chosen at random!!

Join the Aloha Friday Blog Hop, Grab our button, Enter to win next week's Featured Blog of the Week and learn more about our current Featured Blog of the Week below!


Grab the button here!!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.whatjeanlikes.com/2012/05/aloha-friday-blog-hop_10.html" title="Aloha Friday Blog Hop"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0bc1JG0Lxo/T6_NsiF9wiI/AAAAAAAAAh4/kN5KRsmf5d0/s400/draft.jpg" alt="Aloha Friday Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

This is all about sharing the Aloha spirit with other bloggers out there and helping each other to gain some exposure and find some awesome blogs to read!!!  You don't have to be from Hawai'i to participate!  In fact, we encourage and welcome people from all over the world to join us on this Aloha Friday Blog hop!

• Follow Jean via Google Friend Connect, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Networked Blogs, Pinterest, Tumblr, Linky Followers, and Bloglovin!  
• Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky below.  You can do a separate entry for your blog, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Linky.  We want everyone to get lots of follows and some sugar!! 
• Grab our Aloha Friday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog and in your sidebar (if you want) to show some love and let everyone know that you participate in the weekly blog hop!
• Go to as many blogs on the Linky as you want and FOLLOW them!!  Be sure to tell them that you are from Aloha Friday Blog Hop!!! 
• If someone is nice enough to follow you, why not show them some Aloha and some sugar and Follow back any followers you have gained from the Aloha Friday Blog Hop!

--Featured Blog of the Week: --Cave Princess--

Thank you Jean and Nicole for giving me this opportunity to shine!  The Aloha Friday Hop has just exploded these past two months, and that has everything to do with your amazing posts, engaging writing, generous spirits, and all around positive vibe.  I love being apart of this community and feel so fortunate to be the featured blog this week! 

It is hard to believe that less than four years ago I walked into the delivery room carrying twins at 205 pounds.  Now I write a health and fitness blog hoping to inspire other people to achieve their fitness goals.... all while working on my personal training certification. I chose to create Cave Princess to illustrate how being FUELED BY NATURE changed various aspects of my life for the better. I wanted to share a feminine perspective on feeding the body with plenty of natural food, and how a healthy relationship with food can facilitate a peaceful balance for the rest of your life.

Please come see me at my Facebook page Cave Princess sometime!  I'm also on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.  I ALWAYS make it a priority to follow any guests back!

Aloha!

Krista

This is all about sharing the Aloha spirit with other bloggers out there and helping each other to gain some exposure and find some awesome blogs to read!!!  You don't have to be from Hawai'i to participate!  In fact, we encourage and welcome people from all over the world to join us on this Aloha Friday Blog hop!

What's neat about our Blog Hop:

• Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list!
• Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on Everyones lists!
• By adding your blog YOU MAY BE RANDOMLY CHOSEN FOR OUR BLOG SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!

**Leave a comment with your blog address if you are new to our hop so we can follow you back**

Happy Aloha Friday!

Remember, if someone follows you, follow them back! Show some Aloha!
If you want to embed this blog hop on your blog, click the link below where all the thumbnails for people's blogs are. It's called "Get the code here.."

Enter YOUR Blog to be the next Aloha Friday's Spotlight Blog of the Week!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Post Sponsor Ad:

Photo Inspiration: 5 Tips on How to Properly Hold Your Camera

Found this practical and very helpful list of tips on how to hold your camera properly to avoid shaking which results in blurry photos!!

All the content below courtesy of SLRLounge.com

This may be a topic that seems basic and easy to gloss over, but have you ever thought about to properly hold your camera? Sure, DSLRs have been designed to give you better and better ergonomics and grip, but when you start shooting with slow shutter speeds or telephoto lenses with no vibration compensation, having the right technique can be the difference between a photo that looks sharp and a photo that has shaky motion blurs.

Some of these technique may feel weird, but think of it like learning to play golf. It doesn’t always feel right, but the results will speak for themselves.

Tip 1. Tuck the Arms When Standing

INCORRECT: One of the most common mistakes in holding a camera is to have the elbows out to the side, which makes it easier for your arm to sway around. This also makes your left hand hold the lens from the side, which provide less support for the camera, especially when you have larger and longer lenses attached.

CORRECT: Tuck in your elbow to your body so that your arms are anchored to your torso’s center of gravity. This helps keep your arms from swaying and also allows you to move your left hand under the lens to give it more support. It does feel weird at first to hold it like this, but you will be able to shoot at much slower shutter speeds without noticing camera shake. As for your posture, be sure to stand up straight without leaning forward or backwards with your legs apart in a comfortable, but stable stance. All of this applies when you’re shooting in portrait mode.

Tip 2. Brace Yourself Against a Stable Object

If you are using a really slow shutter and you are still getting some shakiness in the image, try to find a wall (or something else that is stable) to support and stabilize your upper body.

Tip 3. Brace Your Camera On Your Arm

If you cannot find a wall, this is another standing technique can give you that extra stability. What you do is bring your left arm around the right arm and hold on tight to your right shoulder. This restricts motion in your right hand. Next, by placing your camera on the upper part of your left arm, you now have a more stable base. Time your breathing as well by holding your breath while taking your shot.

Of course, the disadvantage of this technique is that you can’t zoom or focus with the lens, so be sure to set that up first or use your camera’s focus points.

Tip 4. Place Your Feet Flat-Footed

INCORRECT: If you to crouch to get a low perspective, there is a big difference in stability between the two popular ways of crouching. The first one, where you are on the ball of your feet, is inherently unstable and will transfer motion to your camera.

CORRECT: Plant your feet so you are crouching flat footed, then tuck the elbows in either on or between your knees.

Tip 5. Sit With Your Elbows On Your Knees

INCORRECT: Sitting down is generally the better choice when you have to shoot from a low perspective. But even while sitting, there still methods we can use to improve stability. If you are just sitting with your legs out or legs crossed, your torso and your arms are essentially still free-standing with minimal support.

CORRECT: While sitting, place your feet on the ground with your knees propped up. Place each elbow on each side of the knee using your knees as a brace. If you think about it, you are essentially acting like a human tripod. When Post Production Pye does this move, I like to call him the Pye-Pod =)

That’s it folks! If you have any other tips in shooting with slow shutter speeds or long telephoto lenses without a handy tripod or monopod, post it in the comments below!

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Photo Inspiration: Photographing Fireworks.

The 4th of July is almost here which means celebrating our country's independence, barbecues, and fireworks!  I've found some really helpful videos about how to photograph fireworks from some of my favorite photographers/teachers on the web and I thought I'd share. There's nothing quite like capturing the elusive shot of a firework as the burst of colors explode in the sky.  The photo above is one I took on New Years Eve this year.  The show here was underwhelming but still quite lovely.

I hope you find these videos helpful and informative!! Happy shooting!

Jared Polin from Fro Knows Photo shares some helpful tips and tricks to capturing great photos of fireworks.

Michael the Mentor gives simple and easy tips to making sure your photographs of fireworks look spectacular.

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