A New Love-Affair

So, many of you interact with us on a daily basis, others only every quarter (sometimes not even that frequent).  Those of you that don't see us daily will be able to learn a little insight into our technology obsession (those that see us on a daily basis will already know that we are eccentric technology fans and have a gazillion gadgets around our house!).

We have recently become a Mac family.  I fought the system for YEARS I tell ya!  As of recently though, Matt received an IMac for Christmas and I got an IPad for my birthday.  I love Mac now and I am not sure why I didn't give it a shot before??  I think I was just being stubborn and didn't believe in what Mac stood for, however, I believe more in investing in our future and making a smart purchase (note we have burned through 4 Windows laptops in the past 4 years).   The IMac has been great for my photography business, creativity and editing my photos- it is top-notch for creativity- I will give it to Mac for that (and it has a super fast start up- rather than the bogged down program-laden Windows start up).

My current favorite is the IPad, which I bought for my photography business: Bella Vita Photography (shameless plug!).  It has become one of our go-to pieces and I have found some awesome apps for it!

A couple of the ones I use the most are:
1. The Bible App from YouVersion- it ROCKS!  Bookmarks, reading plans, progress monitoring, and sharing- plus it works on IPhones, Andriod, and BlackBerries.

2. The Daily- A brand-new DAILY News App that just came out specifically for the IPad that incorporates true news, in an interactive style designated especially for you!  TOTALLY rocks- it is getting a lot of media coverage currently, so check it out on any of the big news media outlets websites. 

3. PDF Expert- the reason for my shameless business plug!  This app allows you to edit PDFs on the go.  WAY COOL, which means that when I go to sessions, I don't have to take any paper contracts.  I just tote the IPad along (great way to show the client other pictures from my portfolio) and they sign on the PDF contract without ever raising pen to paper! 

4.  Educational Apps- there are way to many to list (we have already downloaded several) that we play around on with Isabella.  She will be teaching me about technology before too long! ;)

5.  Travel Apps- there are a couple I use- Lonely Planet for all my background locational info and a couple others for the planning stage.  I am a very detail oriented person, so these apps together rock out at vacation planning!

I really think that technology is the wave of the future (why else would school districts fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars on laptops, programs, computers, cameras, SmartBoards, etc for students to interact with during the educational process if it were only a phase?  I know I use these things daily with my kids, and in moderation with Isabella (have I mentioned lately that she's so smart, and makes me smile!!??) 

I am certainly not trying to persuade anyone to believe anything that we do, just thought y'all would like to know some of the changes (for the better) going on in the Dressler home!  Be Blessed.