So, It's Christmas.

Tweet I'm not quite sure how it happened, but Christmas is indeed this weekend. I must have been sucked into a time warp this year because SERIOUSLY HOW IS IT CHRISTMAS???

I have to say, I've been delighted lately that people have wound up on my blog searching for my antique Victorian Wal-Mart Christmas village. It's one of my favorite decorations. 

My daughter set the table with our Christmas dishes. She's such a sweetheart. The only time the table has been set in the last 3 years was because of her. 

We made gingerbread people. And I'm such a good mom, I sat on my hands and let the Spawn do what they wanted instead of trying to recreate the beautiful creation on the box. 

And we got a real tree this year! Fortunately the kids wanted to decorate it, because I was exhausted after wrangling that thing into it's stand. Serious, do you know how much real trees weigh? Then it left a massive trail of needles after I dragged it into the house. Totally worth it though.

What? The lights are out on the bottom half? SHUT UP.

And here is the Spawn's Christmas picture. I always order pictures and never send out cards, so here ya go. 

From the Not Blessed Family to yours, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. 

For Donna

Tweet This post is sponsored by The American Cancer Society.

You guys know I'm not too crazy about sponsored posts or product reviews. I don't like having to say what someone else wants just for money or free items. I'm sure I would if Mike's Hard Lemonade contacted me, or some other cool company (Disneyland? Hello?), but the opportunity just hasn't come along.

Until I saw this. The American Cancer Society is asking for help to get their message out- and how could I refuse? And when I read about this topic, I thought of Donna.

I don't know Donna- I've never met her, and I never will. Sweet Donna's life was lost to an agressive brain tumor, and I only know her beautiful story because her mom (Mary Tyler Mom) shared it on-line. In honor of Children's Cancer Awareness Month (back in September), she wrote a post every day about Donna's 31 months of treatment. I read them all. I cried, many times. It was heart wrenching- but I couldn't stop. I had to- for Donna.

So today, I dedicate this post to Donna and all of the children worldwide who fight this terrible disease. I can't imagine anything worse than losing a child- I can't imagine anything more impossible than eloquently sharing that story on-line with others. For all of the Donnas in the world, please watch this video. Sweet Donna, you don't know how much I wished you could have had more birthdays.

Atheists Are Not Ruining Christmas

Tweet So, let me tell you my friends, straight from the horse's mouth (did I just call myself a horse?): I am an atheist,and I am not trying to ruin your Christmas. My computer didn't even burst into flames when I wrote that.

On Facebook and Twitter lately, the anti-atheist sentiment has been making the rounds. I know you've seen them- rants about how people are trying to take the Christ out of CHRISTmas. Complaints about how stores can't say "Merry Christmas" anymore. An urge to take a stand against the godless heathens who are ruining the season.

Not Blessed Mama is here to tell you that Atheists Don't Hate Christmas. You can have Christ all you want. I would never presume to tell you otherwise. I don't give a crap if a store says Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah or Happy Kwanzaa. It makes no difference to me. AT ALL. I would also never be so rude as to post a status complaining about your religious preferences, but that's a whole different story.

As a matter of fact, I love the Christmas season. I love trees and lights and cookies and presents and yummy food and making my loved ones happy.  And no, I don't participate in the religious side of Christmas- but that is no one's business but mine. Just like anyone else's choice to celebrate Christ is their business.

I know I am always imploring you to think about the children (the children! think of the children!) but this season I have a different request: Won't anyone think of the atheists? Leave atheists alone this Christmas. I promise I'll do the same for you.

Ligers: Do Not F*** With Them

Tweet This post has been stewing in my brain for a while. I tried to kill it, but it was too strong (duh- it's about ligers). The following blog post contains graphic language. Readers be advised.


The other night, in an effort to postpone bedtime, my oldest Spawn asked me what the largest cat in the world was. He meant housecat, but what popped up in my Google images was Hercules- the Liger.

Isn't he gorgeous? Soft, beautiful, majestic. Don't you just wanna go snuggle him?

And sit on him?

And take glamour shots with him?

Wtf is going on here?

Well, I have bad news. This is a public service announcement from Not Blessed Mama, and it feels kind of ridiculous that I even have to say it:

Do not fuck with ligers.

Please, please, someone tell me why these people are dragging a liger around like a goddamn golden retriever on a leash. I know that people train lions and tigers. Do I think it's a good idea? Um, no (related: see Sea World and killer whales). What I think is even LESS of a good idea is dragging around a monster, mammoth, freak of nature hybrid cat. These damn things can grow up to around a thousand pounds and ten feet long! 

Do you know what that liger is thinking? "I'm bored. I'm bored. I want to eat you. And you. I'm bored. I'll eat those children. I'm bored. Oh, milk. I'm bored. I'm gonna chomp on your head." And that's pretty much it. Please, please, you crazy lunatics: do not fuck with ligers. They're not a dog. If you want a dog, I will personally bring you a dog. Keep it away from your liger, because your liger will bite it in half and call it an appetizer. 

And now that I think about it, I feel like I maybe should just tell mankind in general: stop fucking around with massive wild animal predators that are bigger than you and like eating flesh. Again, not quite sure why I have to say this, but apparently it needs to be said. You're welcome. it's what I do. 

Yup, I Am One Of Those Twilight Moms

Tweet Last night I went to the grand opening of Breaking Dawn, the new Twilight movie. At midnight. While I figured there would be a 50/50 split of moms and teenagers, there was a huge diversity of people there. Couples, young folks, old folks, even dudes.

And I loved it. LOOOOOOVED it. And since I'm too tired to be creative after I stayed up all night, I'm linking you up to this post I wrote about liking Twilight last year. I still love Twilight, I'm still not ashamed, and I hope you'll respect me in the morning. But if you won't, I'm okay with that too. Hey, at least I don't watch 16 and Pregnant.

Nothing good comes from taking pictures at 2 a.m. in a movie theater.

Black Friday Is Coming! (Oh, And Thanksgving Too)

Tweet I wrote about Black Friday last year at  Things I Can't Say. I gotta say, the response was less than stellar. Everyone thought I was crazy for going out to battle the crowds at 3 in the morning! (I do not battle the crowds, by the way, and I'd never trample someone for a $10 DVD.) While I am reasonably certain that I am not completely crazy, I understand that some people aren't as desperate for a good deal frugal as I am.  So, this year I am back with my tips for Black Friday On-line shopping. Here we go!

Many stores now have a lot of their items available on-line. Now, if Wal-Mart is selling 15 laptops at $198 each, NO- those won't be on-line. But lots of the toys, clothing and housewares are available on-line. Get your mouse ready and plop your butt on the couch with your laptop- the sales go on-line at different times, but it's a safe bet to start checking for the Eastern time zone. And then it's refresh, refresh, refresh.

But don't just think you can leisurely browse and get what you want. You need a game plan. Start studying the ads now (they're just starting to come out). Decide what items are most important to you- generally I look for at least a 50% off savings. You'll want to add these first, and check out fast. Items sell out in no time (and trust me, it's really maddening when items in your cart are no longer available). Make sure that you have an account registered and your payment info stored for a speedy check out.

One last thing to consider (are you still there? Almost done!) are those pesky shipping charges. Scoring all those good deals won't be worth it when you see a $70 shipping charge (true story, TOYS R US). Wal-Mart has some great shipping deals. 2 years ago I bought a GPS there which shipped for 98 cents. Toys R Us, like I said, has some of the most ridiculous shipping fees (and it is the worst store to go to on Black Friday! Do not attempt!). Fortunately, they have a service called ShopRunner (this is not an affiliate link). It's a shipping service similar to Amazon Prime. For $79 a year, you get free 2-day shipping to TRU and a few other random stores. But $79 is a lot of money just for free shipping on most TRU items- therefore, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU CANCEL YOUR FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP BEFORE THE 30 DAYS ARE UP. It's what I did last year, and it worked perfectly. I was even able to make multiple orders as different items became available, and my items came super fast!

WHEW, that was a lot of info for one post. I hope I haven't scared you off Black Friday shopping even more then you already may have been. I'm not sure if I'll be heading out to the stores this year or not. It may be my year to shop from my comfy couch.

Have any good Black Friday stories to share?

Not Blessed Mama's Unwanted and Unsolicited Product Review: Bio Sphere Living Ecosystem

Tweet It's not often that I stumble upon a product that makes me want to sing it's praises to high heaven. (Not since the glorious Suave Dry Shampoo post. And do you want to know what Suave said when I e-mailed them that I wrote a slightly wildly popular blog post about them? "Thanks! Sign up for our mailing list to receive special offers and information!" Bastards.) Anywho, recently we ordered something I am totally in love with. And of course, I had to share it with you, my dear mama friends.

You know that we love pets in the Not Blessed household. You've seen our guinea pigs and cyborg cat, and if you didn't, that's a shame because I am too lazy to go dig up the pictures. But animals are a lot of work- kind of like children. You feed them, you clean up their poop, and all they do is make a mess and look cute. And make lots of irritating noises.

Well, Not Blessed Mama is SO TIRED OF CLEANING UP POOP. There's poop everywhere. Guinea pig poop, fish poop, cat poop, and if I'm unlucky, human poop. So much poop. Definitely too much.

 Enter our new "pets":

It's the Bio Sphere Living Ecosystem from Hearthsong. Look! It's cute little tiny shrimps, living in a sealed container. No feeding- no pooping- no dying- just cute little shrimps swimming around! It's a little pricey at thirty dollars, but it sure as hell is worth it to have some animals in the house that won't stink up the place and rip holes in your sofa.

And these things are hardy. I accidentally left them outside overnight (or two nights) (or three) when I was trying to get them some indirect sunlight, and they survived. The only thing you have to do for these suckers is open the sphere once a month for the first 3 months to give them some air- and that's it! The directions said they live a long time too, like 4 years. I'm not sure exactly how long, since we spilled water on the directions and tossed them. I don't even really know what they eat, which kind of makes me a failure since this was bought with my homeschool funds. But forget all that! Do not buy your kid a cat- or a guinea pig- or a dog. Buy them some friendly little crustaceans and enjoy the easy life of a shrimp owner.

This is not a paid or sponsored post. Bio Sphere and Hearthsong do not know me- please do not tell them I am writing about them, or they'd probably send me a cease-and-desist letter. 

Halloween Costumes: Made With Love- Or Bought With Love?

Tweet When I was a kid, my mom lovingly hand made my Halloween costumes. I had a beautiful Snow White, and a super cute fancy mermaid. I also had a horribly not-flattering orange flapper dress (but I've forgiven her for that- I think she was getting tired).

That's not me- but that's the pattern she used.

To continue the tradition, I've made most of the Spawn's costumes. We've had an anglerfish (only one man knew what it was- God Bless you, random neighbor. He said it was the best costume he'd seen all night), a mermaid, a princess, a wizard and who knows what else. There have been a few random store bought costumes thrown in here and there- a spider witch, a pirate. Until last year, when the Spawn revolted. They all wanted store bought costumes. 

Wear your damn Spiderperson costumes while you break my heart.

I was a little sad. Just like when I was growing up, the grass was greener on the other side. All I ever wanted were those chintzy store bought costumes, while my mom was slaving over wonderful homemade costumes as a labor of love. And now my lousy ungrateful kids were repeating history. Shunning my creative, lovingly handcrafted creations for polyester crap from Wal-Mart.

Sigh.

This year I decided I would make or buy what anyone wanted. I got a request for one homemade Halloween witch, one chainsaw and one set of ninja swords. And now I'm thinking.....

WHY THE HELL DID I WANT TO SEW ANYTHING? 

Halloween is 3 days away and Spawn#2's witch costume is in 20 pieces. We're so busy and tired I can't even think about sewing it without getting a headache. Seriously, who gives a crap where a costume comes from? All the kids want is candy. 

When I asked Spawn#2 if we could go buy her a costume, she almost cried. Dammit.

Do you make or buy your costumes? And do you feel guilty over which you choose?

OMG CALL THE PRESIDENT! BARBIE HAS TATTOOS

Tweet My loyal readers know that here at Not Blessed Mama, we take social issues very seriously. Just recently we had the One Million Moms Who Eat Balls initiative, which was a smashing success (thank you friends). Mothers Against Bare Shoulders also did quite well- if we have saved one girl from the torture of having to wear a tank top, then we've done our job. But we cannot be complacent! There are always new threats and attacks on our children. As mothers, we must always be vigilant and ready to answer a call to action. And I have one for you. 

This time it's Barbie. 

This is the face of evil. 

Yes, Barbie. Tokidoki Barbie. Have you ever seen a more sickening thing in your life? Look at her- covered in tattoos, with pink hair. And you haven't even seen it all yet...

Look at those clothes! And even her pet is atrocious- wearing a cactus costume. It makes me shiver with revulsion.

And the more I look at it.... the cuter I think it is. IT'S ADORABLE. I love it. I love her purse- I think I had one like it. I love her haircut- I've for sure had that bob, and pink hair on many occasions. But now we've got the internets and a bunch of parents saying they are worried their children will want tattoos when they are older. OH LORD NO, PLEASE NOT TATTOOS. ANYTHING BUT THAT!

Let me tell you something: I worry. I worry a lot. I wonder if my children will turn out to be well rounded, intelligent, caring human beings. I worry about them finding jobs, finding fufillment, finding happiness. I worry about them being healthy and safe. I worry about what the future will bring. But one thing I do not worry about is tattoos. If your children getting ink is a huge concern for you, then you need to re-think your priorities. 

And seriously, who doesn't have a tattoo these days? My parents have more than I do. We even have a family tattoo artist- and we're not some leather wearing, Harley riding freaks. Okay, my parents are, but I'm not. I'm just me. Little ol' Not Blessed Mama. Who never wants her daughter to have an eating disorder. Who never wants her sons to fight in a war. But does not, and will not ever, care if her children get tattoos.

Yup, that's me. 

By the way, this Barbie is $50 and a collector's item. My daughter will not be receiving this Barbie, but just because there's no way I'm wasting $5o on a Barbie that will wind up with its head missing and its clothes down the bathtub drain.

My (Weird) Baby

Tweet This is my baby. (My four-and-a-half year old baby.)

He's a mama's boy. He puts his little arms around my neck and hugs me and whispers, "I'll never let you go mom." Whenever he visits Grandma, he comes home and tells me how much he missed me. He wanted to marry me, until I had the nerve to tell him that boys couldn't marry their mamas. Boy was he pissed.

As much as I love this little guy- and my love stretches to the moon and back- this kid is WEIRD. He has a flair for the dramatic. He's always dressing up in assorted odd costumes. His latest accessory- well, I just have to show you. You'll be so jealous.

Why YES, that is a plastic Winco shopping bag. You see, Spawn#3 likes to tote his various treasures around, and he likes to do it in the most white trash way possible. And his collections..... they're interesting. (Although this one is missing the nails- I insisted on taking them away when we went to the park.)

 There are some normal kid things in there. Dollars, coins, markers. Sunglasses, candy.

And then you get to the weird stuff- Anbesol, a packet of Equal, a small cleaning brush, grape Laffy Taffy chapstick, Mucinex, a tablet of applications for the Home Depot Garden Club, a used Subway card.

And like I said, I took away the nails. He's also had vitamins, a single sock, sparklers (these seemed to alarm some of the people at a playdate, for some reason), and a million other things I can't remember. All lugged around in a flimsy plastic bag until it falls apart.

I tell you, I love that weird kid. He takes after his mother. 

Lice, Your Child, And You (You Being The Horrible Parent)

Tweet Oh, Not Blessed Mama has had one of those weeks, yes she has. Now we're in the middle of dealing with a possible lice infestation. Yup, homeschoolers can get lice too, apparently. Doesn't seem fair, but anyway. I have learned some things about lice this week, and I'd like to share them with you.

1.THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. You are a horrible parent. You didn't wash the sheets enough, you never clean the house, and now your kid has lice. How could you let this happen?

2. ONLY DIRTY POOR PEOPLE GET LICE. And now, everyone will know that you are a dirty poor person. They will all find out- oh yes, they will. And they'll tell e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e! EVERYONE will be talking about it. Congrats.

3. YOU NEED TO TREAT YOUR WHOLE FILTHY HOUSE FOR THOSE BUGS. Anything within a one mile radius of your child needs to be sprayed with Lysol, doused in bleach and set on fire.


4. YOU SHOULD PROBABLY JUST MOVE, IF YOU COMPLETED #3 PROPERLY. It'll be better if you move anyway- your kids might have a chance at a normal life.

5. HURRY AND GO BUY SOME LICE SHAMPOO TO KILL THOSE SUCKERS. If you expect your kid to ever be bug-free, get your hiney to the store and buy that ridiculously over-priced crap. All the good parents do.

6. IF YOU USE TOXIC LICE SHAMPOO, YOU ARE POISONING YOUR CHILD. Only a moron would put that toxic crap on their kid. You need to douse your kid in olive oil and mayonnaise and light a stick of incense. All the good parents do.

7. THE LICE WILL NEVER BE GONE AND YOU NEED TO OBSESSIVELY CHECK FOR THEM. You should probably get some Red Bull, coffee and crank, because you won't be sleeping for the next 6 months. Every night will be spent picking through your child's hair with the light from your phone.

8. KILLING YOURSELF MAY BE EASIER. I'm sorry, my friend. I don't advocate violence in any situation, except for lice. It's just not worth living anymore once lice is in your house.


Well, I hope that you have enjoyed Not Blessed Mama's tips for treating lice! Good luck!

Of course this post was written in jest- if you need real information regarding lice, check out a website such as Dr. Sears.

Raise Your Hand If You Pledge To Eat Schweddy Balls

Tweet You may have noticed that Not Blessed Mama is all about the social issues lately. I just feel that as an internet celebrity, I have certain responsibilities. I pledge to you that I will do my darndest to live up to your expectations. I owe it to you. Like I've always said, I'll never forget the little people.

Recently, Ben & Jerry's announced its newest flavor- Schweddy Balls, in honor of the infamous SNL skit with Alec Baldwin (seriously, if you haven't watched it- click the link. Hilarious). And almost immediately, a boycott was announced. One Million Moms has said that Schweddy Balls is too vulgar for something as innocent as ice cream- and they don't want their kids asking for it at the grocery store. Basically, if you buy this ice cream, you are contributing to the downfall of society. OMM is very upset with Ben & Jerry's for offending it's customers- like when they released the ice cream in support of gay marriage last year. Shameful!

Well, guess what, OMM. Jokes about balls are not ruining our society. Intolerant jerks are. Ball jokes are funny- so are jokes about farts, poops, and any other bathroom humor. It's just funny. Don't fight it. No point. Get used to it, and go focus your energy somewhere important.

That's why I'm starting another new initiative- OMM-WEB, One Million Moms Who Eat Balls. I will gladly pay to gobble up some Schweddy Balls. I'll let my kids eat Balls! I'll offer my husband Balls after dinner. And we'll all laugh about it, and then go on living our lives. Because jokes about balls are funny.

If you're interested in joining our movement, leave a comment below- or send me a tweet with the #OneMillionMomsWhoEatBalls hashtag. Granted,the hashtag is pretty long so you won't be able to say much- but we have to show our solidarity to the world. We must unite in the face of ridiculousness and say, "We are more ridiculous than you! We will not stand for your intolerance! And we have no shame, so we will embarrass you!" So far we have one member, but I know that our ranks will grow. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can be the people who eat Schweddy Balls. God Bless America. The End.

A Day In The Life: Not Blessed Mama Edition

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Not too long ago, I saw my pal Razing Mayhem say that she was going to participate in a photo challenge- and I'm way too lazy to go back and look at what it was or who started it, but it was something along the lines of taking a picture every hour for one day.

I know that you, my loyal reader, must be very fascinated by Not Blessed Mama's rock-star lifestyle. I know you're just wondering every day- what's N.B.M. doing? Where is she today? What's she wearing, who's she with? I am here to answer your burning questions, my dears. Because I love you, and that's what I do. Here is a day in the life of the Not Blessed family. (Okay, all these pics were not taken exactly one hour apart- I'm not a robot. But I tried.)

9 a.m.

Since we co-sleep, I am awakened each morning with a loving smile. I then roll over and tell that loving smile that I am still tired, and to leave me alone.

10 a.m.

I always make sure my kids start the day with a nutritious breakfast, like an ice cream sandwich. You think I'm kidding.

11 a.m.

We're playing with these kid's meal toys from Sonic. Tot-dinosaurs. What crackhead designed these?

12 p.m.

Come to mama, delicious caffeinated beverage. You have no idea how much I enjoyed this. (Or how I'm still wide awake at 2 a.m.- thanks, caffeine.)

1 p.m.

Homeschooling- my kids love workbooks so much, they eat them up! Like, literally gnawing!

                                          

2 p.m.

Enjoying the internet. There's my Facebook page, my Words With Friends (username notblessedmama), and a Twitter conversation I greatly enjoyed.  Genie In a Blog called Dr. Pepper "DP"- much to my shock and delight. An interesting conversation ensued, which ended with Dr. Pepper following me, which made me self conscious about the DP jokes.

3 p.m.
Play-Doh kitties. Don't judge the messy hair and dirty fingernails, she didn't go anywhere.

4 p.m.
Snuggle time. I suppose you can tell who is the mama's boy in this house.

5 p.m.
What he would do all day and all night (every day), if I let him.

6 p.m.
 Pancakes for dinner- you didn't exactly catch me on a proud food day.

7 p.m.
Putting my feet up, playing Words With Friends.

8 p.m.
 Rewarding myself with my Subway card from Klout Perks. Spawn#3 insisted on wearing red white and blue swim trunks, an orange shirt with some peyote inspired desert scene, and a plastic bag as an Adventure Time backpack. The writing on his arm is a watch.

9 p.m.
What's on my table: markers, drawings, popcorn and a cat.

10 p.m.
Yeah, my kids sleep until 9 in the morning- but that means this is what they look like at 10 at night.

11 p.m.
Cleaning the guinea pig cage at 11- because what else would I be doing? Sleeping?

12 a.m.
 Got up after the kids went to sleep to do the dishes- decided to stick my head in the oven instead.

1 a.m.

 Me bloggin' it up for you, and loving my 2nd best friend (everyone knows my iPhone holds they key to my heart).

2-4 a.m.

No photos- Instagram quit exporting my pictures, and then Blogger quit letting me insert said pictures where I desired. It was not pretty.

And that's it! An exciting peek into the life of Not Blessed Mama. Hope you enjoyed it!









The Hidden Danger That's Threatening Our Daughters

Tweet Our daughters are in danger.

There's an epidemic facing our young ones, and no one's talking about it. I only recently had my eyes opened to the situation, but I'm here to break the silence.

This is the face of fear.

Tank tops.

Yes, tank tops. Young girls going around with bare shoulders. I'm not even sure how our society got to a place where it was deemed acceptable for a tot to prance around in a spaghetti strap sundress, but something needs to be done about it. Take a look at these facts*:

- 67% of girls who are allowed to wear tank tops drop out of high school.

- Teen pregnancy is 82% more likely in a girl who was raised in a bare-shoulder household.

- 73% of the female homeless population was allowed to wear spaghetti straps before they were 18.

- Mothers of bare-shouldered girls are 89% more likely to consume alcohol weekly.

You know that Not Blessed Mama is always interested in important causes. That's why I'm starting the MABS Foundation- Mothers Against Bare Shoulders. If you take just a moment today to make a contribution to MABS, 100% of your tax-deductible donation will go to rehabilitating a sweet, innocent child who has suffered from living a life with her shoulders exposed. With your generosity, these girls will have a chance at living a normal, functional life. A shoulders-covered life. Don't we owe it to the younger generation? Give our daughters a chance. Donate to MABS today. Thank you.

*All statistics in this article are from the Not Blessed Mama Insitiute of Fictional Research.

Not Blessed Mama's Unwanted And Unsolicited Product Review: Instagram

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I do not take nice pictures. I am not interested in taking wonderful pictures. I just want to take a picture, have my kids look good, and move on with my life. Sadly, it doesn't always work that way, and I'm stuck with a bunch of crappy pictures.

Fortunately, that life changing device that I like to call my iPhone has the perfect solution. What can't an iPhone do? Seriously, if you don't have an iPhone, it will change your life. Now that that's out of the way, if you have an iPhone, you need to check out Instagram.

Instagram is a free app that has been blowing up in popularity. It's a camera app that allows you to add different effects to your photos after you take them. Hipstamatic is a similar app, but I'm pretty sure I paid for Hipstamatic and you have to choose the lense and filter before you take the pic (and sometimes your choice is not ideal).

Here's a pic I took of Spawn#2 that didn't turn out too well. I wanted to get a pic of her cute new outfit, but she was in a rush and didn't feel like posing. The results were less than stellar.

After importing the picture to Instagram and adding a cool filter, the pic looked much better. Arty, defined, sharper. I love the results!

Here are a few more examples.

I highly recommend you check out Instagram so you can pretend to be an arty, farty photographer like me. Instagram also allows you to easily share your photos on social networking sites as well (like Twitter!), and we all know how important that is to bloggers.

As usual, no one provided me with any free products for this review- and since Instagram is free, I guess that wouldn't make sense anyway. Also, as usual, if anyone has any free cool stuff, send it my way, would ya?