When Reia was born we got a digital camera. It was just too big for me, so Terry took most of the pictures even though I spent most of the time with her. Then we downsized. A sweet effort by my husband to get me to take more pics. Still, it was too big for me to throw in the diaper bag and get some quick shots off. And then there was all of the pain in downloading. Go here, plug this into this, click on this, type in this info--heavens, I needed printed directions each time I tried. Again, Terry eneded up doing all of the work.

However, last year, Terry got me a Sony Cybershot for my birthday. It's small and quick. I take tons of pics while we are out or at home of the girls. I LOVE IT. What is even better though is the Picasa program Terry downloaded onto my computer. All I have to do is plug the camera in and turn it on. The program automatically recognizes that it is plugged in and it has new pics to download. Greatness! It prompts me for everything. Coming up the the folder name is the most thought I have to put into the process.

Once the pictures are in the folders, I can do all kinds of effects, fix red eye, write a caption, organize them in any way. I can also e-mail, order and send photos to my blog --- all from Picasa. The best thing? It's free. So, if you are challenged in this area and really want a foolproof alternative, check it out.

www.picasa.com