So I know it’s been awhile since I’ve updated my blog here. For good reason though. My husband and I are having our first child in March. We are expecting a little boy sometime around or on St Patty’s day. This has been one heck of a roller coaster ride and we’re not done yet. As a matter of fact, I have a feeling we are just beginning. So needless to say, things have been a little hectic around our house and priorities have changed!

I decided to dabble a little in interior design today. I’ve been furiously scouring Pinterest for the last few months in search of ideas and components for our little one’s new nursery. I want to put together a gender neutral theme keeping with the existing wall color (we plan on moving eventually) and on a budget. How’s that for a challenge?  So I decided to put my photoshop skills to some use and try to get an idea of what everything would look like together before I started buying accessories. We’ve already purchased the crib, changing table and chair, so I just needed to pull everything together. I plan on making the word DREAM out of the yarn wrapped letters and putting it on a shelf above the crib. Lucky for me, the hubby is quite the carpenter, so I plan on having him try to recreate the shelves, and side table. Then I’ll see what I can put together for the pug picture and the poster.

I think I nailed it! Let me know what you think.

In an article today on Mashable, the iPad can now claim 2.1% of the US’s internet traffic and 1% of global users,  according to the latest numbers from NetMarketShare.

This is another notch on the scorecard of the tablet/smartphone vs laptop/desktop debate. For the average user its a no-brainer as it’s all about the luxury of portability without sacrificing quality and for that the iPad and it’s tablet brothers make a perfect fit. I readily admit to anyone who will listen that I have not traveled with my laptop for work since I bought my iPad in April and it goes into my bag every morning whether I use it or not, because it’s just so darn easy to have with you. This new information reinforces what I see as a trend that will continue to climb as more and more sales reps, attorneys and medical and government employees adopt the tablet to save paper and time.

My only problem is, the “creators” of the world still need the power of a laptop/desktop computer. I don’t always just want to surf the web, email, watch some HBO onDemand (my new favorite app!), read a book or play a game. As a creative, I still have a very real need for a laptop and one that I cannot see the tablet replacing anytime soon. I require the programs and computing power to design and edit graphics and photos. I might need to work on a spread sheet? (You can “technically” do this on your iPad, but the interface is just not there yet in terms of productivity.) There are also still some websites or YouTube videos that I want to view and can’t due to the dreaded Flash incompatibility. However, YouTube is apparently slowly integrating HTML5 which runs just fine on Safari (iPad’s browser of choice). As the popularity of the tablet grows, it has created an all new headache to website developers. Competition from apps, lack of UI design functions such as mouseover effects and the need to integrate adaptable CSS to solve the new smaller proportion issues. (Great article on the new considerations on web design here) But for your average consumer, the iPad can do just about everything you need. Or maybe you prefer the Motorola Xoom… or whatever the next new thing is – I’m eager to check out the new Amazon tablet coming out this fall. Why the iPad rules is an argument for another day.

While 2.1 % is still a small number it’s important to note the speed of user growth and to start planning for where the web is going. Good marketers will begin to research and put together additional analytics, including page views, time on site and sources of traffic — and then compare that to other devices. Understanding the behavior of an iPad user vs. the users of other devices will prove valuable.

and you can get it here.

My newest pet peeve is the word literally. Has anyone else noticed how quickly it’s become THE word for emphasis in our everyday speech?

My newest pet peeve is the word literally. Has anyone else noticed how quickly it’s become THE word for emphasis in our everyday speech?