The product was (and still is) a photo-editing software called Aurora.  It is basically the easiest photo-editing tool out there.  It automatically pulls your photos from your computer files and has them ready for you to tinker with.  Perhaps my favorite part is the relight tool, which allows you to brighten up your pictures – I”m notorious for my dark photos.  You can also use it to darken your photos that are washed out.  Other features include crispness, color strength and color warmth, “punch”, tint, black and white, red eye, retouching, and cropping and straightening.  You simply click which option you choose and a bar at the top allows you to add or subtract whatever you’re working with (brightness, for example).  The most awesome part?  You can see a before and after of your photo, showing you just how crappy of a photographer you really are and how much Aurora makes you look great.

So the photo editing is great, but why choose it over other options?  I love that you can synchronize it to your favorite social media photo sharing sites.  It works with Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, Shutterfly, Smugmug, and Twentythree.  You click a button and they are automatically uploaded to your site.  I’ve only used it with Facebook so far, but I love not having to deal with their uploader.

Just like anything, there are some flaws.  When I used Aurora with Facebook, it uploaded my pictures fine, but the captions I added didn’t ever show up in my albums.  Instead, it posted each individual picture to my wall with the caption on there.  Perhaps this is a kink that can be worked out, but it did annoy me mildly.  Another thing about Aurora is that it is a serious photo editing software, meaning that you can’t zombify your pictures or add blood coming out of your mother-in-law’s mouth (not that you’d ever do that, of course).  Lastly, I have a friend who likes to watermark her pictures for use on her blog and she was disappointed that it could not be done on Aurora.  However, these cons don’t stop me from using the product.

What truly convinced me to give Aurora a try was the price: $19.95.  And if you’re still not convinced, they offer a 7-day free trial.

I could talk about it all day long, but I want to show you how great it is.  I have a pictures I took from Navy Pier while in Chicago.  (Notice the first is washed out and crooked, while the second just sparkles and pops and is straightened out.)

Before:

And After:

Take a look at what I found:

When not harassing us on the Room 704 Radio Show or blogging over at badassdadblog.com, dad blogger Michael Blanchard handles marketing and PR for Seismic Games.

Seismic is shaking up the iPhone for the holidays with their debut app, iCaroler. Kids from one to 92 will love iCaroler’s interactive Christmas carols, sung in perfect vocal harmony in festive winter scenes. Christmas carols go interactive with iCaroler, just $.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Dudes, I tried it out. It’s totes cool. The kid likes it, and hey, I don’t have to sing ALL THE FUCKING TIME. Thank you baby Jesus.

Not only do they come in cute color & print combinations, but they actually work with the way you shop.

There’s a freezer bag, veggie pod, regular bags…you name it, they got it covered.

Best place to keep this is in the car, obvs.

Blue Avocado (cute name, too, eh?) is offering a special holiday discount:

“We wanted to share our exclusive discount for friends and family of goodgift20 for a 20% discount at:http://www.blueavocado.com “

So check them out!

Victoria needs some clothes for her big Vegas trip coming up, so we started shopping on twitter for her. Naturally, I hit LB in my search because they’ve been so good to us before.

kaisermommy: dear lane bryant WHAT? http://is.gd/51dm2 with a side of THEFUCK?! http://is.gd/51dmY11:39 AM Nov 22nd from twhirl

kaisermommy: okay DID lanebryant smoke a bowl before designing this fall line? http://is.gd/51dri11:41 AM Nov 22nd from twhirl

ewiller @kaisermommy Oh dear. Yeah, this body would never EVER consider wearing those. My gawd.2:40 PM Nov 22nd from web in reply to kaisermommy

@ewiller I KNOW!! and it’s NOVEMBER.11:42 AM Nov 22nd from twhirl in reply to ewiller

themaggers: @kaisermommy are they for serious2:41 PM Nov 22nd from TweetDeck in reply to kaisermommy

@themaggers apparently. this is …. amazing…. and bad11:42 AM Nov 22nd from twhirl in reply to themaggers

themaggers: @kaisermommy the thing is that somewhere out there somebody will wear it and make it look fabulous

2:45 PM Nov 22nd from TweetDeck in reply to kaisermommy

There were more awesome comments – one about who cut up grandmas quilt and decided to call it an asymmetrical skirt but Twitter search is being a douche and won’t show it to me.

I was additionally discouraged because I needed to be shopping for a dress for my cousin’s wedding in 3 weeks. Where I see my family for the first time in a year. For the first time since I’ve packed up from a 10 to a 14/16. (GOOD TIMES FOR ALL!)

The next day. The VERY NEXT DAY. A lovely rep for Lane Bryant contacts me. Because of the relationship we started this summer and the success of that relationship, would I like to have a gift card to use and tell you about what I bought.

*totally unrelated from my tweets*

I felt a little guilty about taking the card. But I took the card. OF COURSE. I needed a dress. I was determined, and now armed with some cash to make it happen. The additional challenge was to avoid all that stuff from above.

I looked on the website more. They’ve redesigned it and, well, I don’t like it. It’s sorted into subcategories now like you look for dresses and rather than seeing all the dresses on one page, it’s sorted into black dresses, social dresses, casual dresses … I’m positive there are a billion people out there who alphabetize their spices and sort their tampons by size, who LOVE this category system – I just like to see all my options at once so I know I’m not missing a piece of awesome off in some corner where I didn’t click.

So all of this sounds pretty snatchy so far – It’s getting ready to take a turn for the better.

We have two Lane Bryants in town. One at the mall which is really nice, and “the other one”. “The other one” was more convenient, so I hit that one over Thanksgiving weekend when the entire store was 40% off. As soon as I walked in the store I breathed a sigh of relief. Oh the pretties. Not a khaki romper in the joint.

I found a coat I fell in lurve with – but it was more than I had to spend, and wasn’t going to help me be ready for the wedding.

I picked up dresses and a couple sweaters. I was shopping for a dress, but the sweaters made me happy. One of them, I had noticed online and really liked.

I took a bunch of photos in the dressing room. As I was taking them, I kept thinking of this photo.

(Photo totally grabbed from Hope 4 Peyton – because Anissa’s awesomeness should be celebrated in that dress cuz hot damn kids. HAWT.)

My photo fashion show isn’t NEARLY as good – but here you go – I had fun taking them (Pardon the hair and glasses – was #aiminglow apparently.)

I start off showing you that I still love my Right Fit Jeans from this summer. They make me look curvy and kinda hot.

I tried on the red sweater next (not realizing I had a size too large) and just loved the sleeves and the overall girly feeling of it.

The grey dress was the one I found online that I thought would work. but it was a #fail on my curves. (See 1st photo for curves.)

Black turtleneck dress with wrap I made myself – at the time, it was an okay option. Looking at the photo I’m thinking MAN that looks pretty freaking good!

Same dress in red – I felt like my mother. I like mom, don’t want to channel her when I’m clinging to my 20s though.

Black sweater, ribbing around the waist to help it find the curve between bustline and hipline.

THE VERDICT

I was going to buy the black dress – its soft, warm, went with the boots and the wrap I had. Bridesmaids at the wedding are wearing black, so no worries about being inappropriate.

Thing was, I REALLY wanted the red sweater, and I didn’t have the funds for both the dress and the sweater.

Also? I had a dress at home that *could* work if I really wanted it to. I decided I wanted the red sweater enough to make  the existing dress work.

So I bought the red sweater and the black sweater. Love ‘em both. Thanks Lane Bryant for having my back, and my curves, even when I don’t always give you love on twitter. (But SERIOUSLY?! Rompers? You were asking for it. )

Natalie let me select a pair to try for myself. I tell ya now, I gave up knickers for Lent one year …. or because I was sick of the wedgies … and I only wear them on those “special” days.

Well these knickers are for special days – but not the Aunt Flo special days. These are PRETTY.

The website is a touch difficult for me to navigate – It’s fairly easy if one were to order a non specific/surprise me selection (say, if someone were ordering a gift – which this site is very much geared toward) – To order a specific color and style requires an email to the owners – not that it is difficult to email, it just makes the ordering process a little less automatic.

I spent a lot (A LOT) of time nitpicking through the gallery photos, and I tell you honestly – these look like hand sewn drawers made by real live humans, rather than mass produced assembly line garments. These are beautiful.

These are sized small, medium and large. Uh oh. I was concerned. My large is pretty in charge right now. I decided to give it a go. I gave a couple of hipster options and Natalie sent me the “Barely There Hipster in Whisper“.

Readers, they FIT. and they RAWK. The lace is soft and elastic throughout, and these are wedgie free on me.

Apparently, a snazzy, sexy, somethin’ somethin’ is all I need to forget that I am rawkin’ the plus size.

How about you?

A note to you from Panty by Post

We want to thank-you again by offering FREE SHIPPING to ALL YOUR READERS on their holiday purchases with pantybypost.com. The offer is good until Feb 14th, 2010 and all your readers have to do is send us an email with their order number. We’ll be happy to credit their account.

Merci again for your support,

Natalie and Lori