Archive for August, 2010

Do you know you can read hundreds of blogs quickly and easily using a Reader?

Did you know you can have your favorite blogs email you whenever they make a new post?

Do you hear the words “Reader” and “RSS” and “Subscribe” and have no clue what they mean?

Today is your lucky day!

I’m going to attempt to give a tutorial on how to use Google, Google Reader, and your email to your advantage. (Hopefully I won’t confuse the hell out of you!)

First off, create a Gmail account and an iGoogle Homepage.

How? I’m glad you asked!

Go to Google. (Or as my sister and I like to say, “the u-google-izer”).

Once you are there, SIGN IN and create a gmail account. If it won’t let you, leave me a comment with your email address and I’ll send you an invite (I’m not sure if Google makes you have an invite or not). Once you have a gmail account, click on the little link at the top that says “iGoogle”.

Awesome. Now you have your very own iGoogle. Now make it your homepage ’cause you’ll use it constantly. (To do this – at least on a Mac using Firefox – Click on Firefox, then Preferences, then click the button that says, “Use Current Page”.)

Welcome to the best day of your life. Play around with your new iGoogle page. You can add Gadgets for billions of things. I have one for my gmail (shows my email right on my home page), my blog RSS (I’ll get to this in a minute), weather, Woot, sports, news, etc. The list is endless.

Now here’s where the fun begins…

From your iGoogle page, you can access your new very best friend in the entire universe.

Google Reader.

At the top of the screen, click on “more” and then scroll down to “Reader” and click it.

Now you are at your very own personalized Reader page. If you take just a few minutes to set this up, you will love me so much for teaching you this that I may end up needing a restraining order.

Don’t freak out when you see my Reader. I’ve got hundreds and hundreds of blogs that I subscribe to. Yours won’t look so overwhelming. Yet.

On the left is where all your blog subscriptions will be located. In the middle section is where you will READ your blog subscriptions. On the upper left is a button where you can ADD your blogs that you want to follow.

Once you add a blog to your Reader, when you click on the blog in the left column, the posts for that particular blog will show up in the middle body section of the Reader. Once you scroll down and read the post, it will go away and the blog link on the left will look normal (not bold). Blogs that have new unread posts will be BOLD while blogs with no new posts will be plain.

That, my friends, is how to create your very own Reader (or RSS).

So, now it’s time to add blogs!

Most blogs have an RSS button somewhere on their blog. Here’s mine:

The first two buttons are the most important.

The orange button is to add the blog to your Reader.

The green button with an envelope is to have new blog posts emailed to you.

Both are great ways to read blogs. I usually subscribe to blogs using the RSS button, but if they are a FAVORITE blog of mine, I’ll subscribe both ways (just so I don’t miss anything from them!).

If you click on the ORANGE button, a screen will open asking you how you want to subscribe.

Don’t freak out and close this screen when you see it. Just click on the little tiny Google button.

If the blog uses Feedburner you can also subscribe to receive email updates. I’ll address that in a few minutes. Let’s stick with the RSS/Reader for now…

Once you click the Google button, this new page will open.

If you click “Add to Google Homepage” it will add it as a Gadget on your new iGoogle. I prefer not to do this, but it’s totally up to you. Try both ways. Or just add them both. Whatever you’d like.

From here just click, “Add to Google Reader” and it will automatically add the blog to your new iGoogle Reader page that you created a few minutes ago.

That’s it. Now when you want to see if any of your favorite blogs have created new posts, you can just open your Google Reader. Any blogs in BOLD have new posts for you to read. Just click on each blog listed in the left column and their new blog post will show up right there for you to enjoy.

If you want to get even more fancy and quick, You can just click on “All Items” located right under the “Add a Subscription” button and ALL new posts for all blog subscriptions will show up in the middle body section. Just scroll down as you read each post.

There’s one last thing I want to teach you how to do today.

Email Subscriptions.

If you click the little green box that has an envelope, a screen will pop up prompting you to enter your email address. Once you add your email address an email will be sent to you asking you to confirm the subscription. Click on the link provided in the email to confirm the subscription.

Now you are ready to receive your favorite blogs in your email!

Whenever that blog makes a post, you will automatically receive an email containing the post. It’s so awesome!

Here’s what it looks like in my gmail account:

The post actually shows up in my email account exactly as if I were reading it in my Google Reader!

Now I never miss a post, plus as an added bonus, I can read these emails on my iPhone! (I can also read posts in my Google Reader from my iPhone).

Don’t be all Old Skool anymore and use this:

Create an iGoogle page and start using Reader!

You’ll now have so much extra time to spend with your family!…

Or you can just start reading even MORE blogs now.

Good luck! I hope I didn’t confuse you. If you need any additional help creating your new Reader, or any questions regarding anything about RSS or email, please just leave me a comment and I’ll try to get the answer for you.

Now go read some blogs!

Just because I am capable of fixing something does not mean I want to fix it!

But sometimes we have to do things we don’t really want to do.

We’ve been in our house for 4 weeks (can you believe it’s been 4 weeks already?!)!

When we moved in 4 weeks ago our backyard looked this green.

Well, after 4 weeks of watering 3x a week with our sprinkler system, the grass kept getting yellower and deader in a few areas.

I put it off for a few weeks, but finally decided I better go out and deal with the sprinkler system. Something was obviously wrong with it.

What I found were TWO broken sprinkler heads – and two HUGE sloppy puddles where those heads are located.

Now, at this point I was ready to just call a sprinkler guy to come fix it. But hubbs gently reminded me that we are on a limited budget and if we spend a few hundred dollars to fix the sprinkler system then we won’t be able to spend a few hundred dollars elsewhere – like, say, new furniture or paint for our walls.

Gah! Why does he always have to be so logical? Crap. Now I’m in a predicament. My yearning for paint won out and I very begrudgingly agreed to fix the system myself. Yes, I did just say “myself”. Or, I should rather say, I agreed that I would try to fix the system myself. “Try” being the key word here.

I shut the sprinkler system off, let the area dry out for 2 days, and then dug two holes to survey the situation. (All the while reminding myself that several gallons of paint for my Living Room will be worth this torture.)

Two broken Funny Pipe Flex Assembly arms. Great. This is just great. {{New Living Room Paint. New Living Room Paint…}}

Ok, so let me be honest here. Before I went to Home Depot today I didn’t even know what those black tube-y arm things were even called.

I honest to God had NO CLUE what I was doing today. I’ve never done sprinkler systems. NEVER. I literally just learned as I went along – so you can too! (Trust yourself!).

I figured out that the tube that connects the PVC water line pipe to the actual sprinkler head was broken on both.

In order to fix the leak, I was going to have to replace the Funny Pipe Flex Assembly arms, but they were attached to the PVC Tee, which meant it had to come out as well.

I made my grocery list and headed to Home Depot.

(Believe it or not, this actually makes total sense to me. Haha!)

I also took my camera so I could look back at the pictures I snapped while I was at the house in case I needed a visual while figuring out what parts I needed to buy.

As I show you how I replaced the old heads with new ones, I’ll give you a run-down on what items I purchased in case you need to do this same project at home (hopefully not!).

Take your Funny Pipe Flex Assembly and wrap Thread Seal Tape around all the male threaded parts.

The Thread Seal Tape is ALWAYS needed when you are doing any type of plumbing work. It forms a water-tight seal. The tape isn’t sticky at all but just wrap it around a few times tightly like you would with regular tape.

Now it should look like this:

Next, you need a PVC Tee with Fip Branch (No clue what that means). This T shaped PVC pipe will attach the water line to the Funny Pipe Flex Assembly. Make sure you buy a Tee that is smooth through the main part and female-threaded at the top.

*For those that don’t know what male and female threading looks like, a male threaded part is threaded on the outside, while a female threaded part is threaded on the inside. The male threaded part goes inside the female threaded part.*

Once the tape is in place, simply screw on the Tee.

Now take the other end of the Funny Pipe apart, add the Thread Seal Tape, and then put it back together. This is the end the sprinkler head will attach to.

Now you are ready to start gluing PVC pipe!

I can’t just cut out the old pipe from the ground and add the same exact piece. Because I cut the pipe out they are now too short, so I have to extend the pipe using additional pipe and a coupling. I’ll explain this more as I go along.

For starters we need to glue the Tee piece to the extra piece of PVC I purchased. Here’s how to glue PVC pipe together.

I bought this package:

I don’t know WHY you have to prime the pipes with purple primer. All I know is that you have to, so do it.

Using the brush attached inside the lid (like rubber cement), paint around any part of PVC that will be glued together.

When the primer is dry (in about 10 seconds) take the cement and paint around the same part.

Quickly insert both pieces together, then twist 1/4 a turn. Let dry for about 30 seconds or so.

Take your piece, cut the long pipe the length you need, and then glue the coupling.

Now it’s time to attach your new pipe segment to the existing pipe in the ground!

You’ll need to use a PVC cutting tool and cut the old segment out before you can glue the new one in.

Old and new:

Clean your pipe in the ground (I used a Lysol wipe and a paper towel), prime it with the purple primer, then add the glue.

Insert your new pipe and let it all dry for a few minutes.

We are almost done, I swear! (Try doing this when it’s 100 degrees outside!)

Now it’s time to attach the new sprinkler head to your brand new pipe! (Don’t forget the thread tape).

Once it’s screwed on you’ll need to pull up on the orange tab. That will raise the water arm. Remove the orange top, but be careful not to let the tube pop back into the sprinkler head. Hold it tightly!

Attach your new nozzle (this is purchased separately, so don’t forget it!).

And now you are DONE with the installation of a brand new sprinkler head and Funny Pipe Flex Assembly.

Stand back and admire your work. Pray it doesn’t leak.

Time to test it out before I bury it again. (It seems like such a shame to bury such amazing work.)

By golly, it works! And on the very first try no less!!

Finally, bury that sucker back in the ground. Turn on the water one more time for a final photo-op and to admire your handy work!

I learned all.of.this. TODAY. It’s amazing what a few hundred dollars will do to motivate someone!

Oh, also, I spent about $40 total on all the parts and tools I needed for this project!

And because I said I had to replace TWO sprinkler heads today, here is the completed 2nd one. Beautiful, isn’t it?!

I’ll never look at another sprinkler head the same way ever again!

Oh, and in case you are wondering why I’m out here doing this and not my wonderful hubbs…

He works. A.LOT. Plus, I’m the handy one in this family. He can do computer “stuff” like no other, and he’s great at lots of things, but when it comes to home repairs, that’s my job. My dad forced taught his daughters how to do all sorts of Do-It-Yourself stuff. I hated it at the time, but now I’m eternally grateful! I can replace a toilet, build a shed, install a new car engine, change a flat, tile, install doors. I’m just one of the guys. But with boobs.

If I could give one bit of advice, I’d say no matter what you are doing, stop. Take a step back. Survey the situation. Study it. Figure out how it works. If you understand how it works, then you can usually figure out how to take it apart, fix it, and put it back together. I always learn how something works before I tackle it. A project may seem totally overwhelming at first, but if you just step back and study it for a few minutes and understand how the entire thing works, it will become much less overwhelming! At that point you can determine if you think you can take it apart yourself and fix it, or if it’s just too complicated and a repair person needs to be called.

* Install or fix your sprinkler system AT YOUR OWN RISK. This tutorial is based on my own personal opinion. What works for me may not work for someone else. If you try to fix your system and end up making a bigger mess than when you started, don’t panic. Back away and call a professional.

A few weeks ago I made a post called

Give Your Windows Special Treatment

Included in my roundup of great Model Home window treatments was this one…

This is my favorite treatment ever. The fabric is just to die for.

Beautiful, right?

Well, I’m not the only person who loves this fabric! You do too!

I’ve been FLOODED with emails and comments about this fabric.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know ANYTHING about the fabric. It was just another fabric in a Model Home I was in.

BUT, after over two weeks of CONSTANT emailing from you guys, I’ve FINALLY tracked it down.

Thanks to Google and a LOT of determination on my part, without further adieu, here is the info about the much coveted fabric.

Made By: Duralee Fabrics

Thomas Paul Prints – book # 2642

Pattern/Color: 20874-340
Description: EARTH
Contents: 95% COTTON 5% LINEN
Width: 54″

You can purchase it from Drapery Row for *only* $36.50/yard (yikes!).

So there you have it! Pattern 20874-2642 can now be yours too!

If you find it ANYWHERE for cheaper than $36.50 a yard, PLEASE let me know so I can share it with everyone else.

If you actually purchase this fabric and make anything from it, send me some pictures of your project and I’ll showcase them here at House of Hepworths!

I’m planning on purchasing it for my dining room window, but at $36.50 a yard, I think this project may have to wait.

Enjoy your fabric!

Kisses.

(If this isn’t proof that I really do love you, I don’t know what would be!)