Shipping like a Pro

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Last year I researched how to stream line shipping. Between returns and items that I need to ship myself I wanted to see if I could get shipping items down to under one minute. I was able to do this and now I can easily ship packages from my phone or Mac with a few buttons and clicks.

This is something you can do too, and requires an investment in some hardware and software.

I always prefer Ethernet since it’s the most reliable but I have this set up using both. The benefit of this is that the printer sits in my office closet and doesn’t need to be connected to a computer. It also means my iPhone can spit out these labels.

App

I use an app called Easy Shipper on iOS and macOS. It’s really simple and basic and gets the job done.

EasyPost

EasyPost is a service that will make it easy to print labels and ship across UPS, USPS and FedEx. You simply get accounts with each service and anytime you ship, you can compare all the options and choose the best. Additionally, EasyPost supports all of the USPS priority and first class shipping options including all the flat rate packages and options.

Printer

The secret to fast shipping is getting a thermal printer. These are the printers that commercial shipping operations utilizes.

I got the Brother QL-1110NWB Wide Format printer. This is a wireless printer that support Ethernet, Wifi and Bluetooth.

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Living with COVID-19 - Tests, Masks and Proof of Vaccine

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Well it’s been a while since I wrote about my post on Masks and I had this dream that in the fall of 2021 things would be mask free, but it appears we are in for a year or more of ongoing COVID-19 mitigations…

In our household three out of four of us are vaccinated and our son is awaiting the submittal of the vaccine trials for ages 5-11 and then emergency approval. It appears that the soonest we will see this approval is at the end of October which would mean our kids would be fully protected by Christmas and partially protected at the end of November. That’s acceptable to me and I hope we stick to that schedule.

Until then, things are a bit complex since our son’s ability to go to in-person remote school depends on a number of factors. Already a Kindergartner contracted covid and the entire class had to quarantine for 10 days. Furthermore, any travel out of state requires that our son pass 5 consecutive COVID tests in order to addend in person.

And finally, we are all wearing masks again - seemingly indoor and outdoor.

So what are some tips for managing through all this?

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Kai Kitchen Scissors

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A few years ago I encountered my first pair of Kai scissors. I didn’t even know I was missing out all these years using cheap scissors. I have since purchased a few of these for my home such as the Professional 8 inch scissors.

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My favorite scissors are the Kitchen scissors. They are wonderful to have and have stayed sharp and in good shape for many years. The best thing about them is that you can simply take them apart and put them in the dishwasher. We have two pairs of them in our knife drawer so we always have a clean pair ready to go.

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Dyson Omni-glide

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Hi Friends! It’s been a pretty light schedule for me this summer and I hope to start publishing more. I have a pretty deep backlog of stuff to share with you.

I have owned many Dyson products in my life. I’m always intrigued when they launch new ones.

Recently I picked up the Dyson Omni-glide. The Omni-glide is different from a traditional Dyson vacuum cleaner. I would compare it to a broom and dustpan vs a vacuum cleaner.

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🍕 Pizza Making Gear

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For many years I’ve wished to learn to make my own Pizza. I have many friends who do so successfully and that inspired me to get going! Now we make pizza every Saturday night at our house.

To hopefully inspire you - I have never made any kind of dough in my life. I was starting from total scratch. I’ve experimented with many different techniques and gadgets and have settled on a repeatable path that I like.

You don’t need much to make pizza from scratch. When I started I made Pizza in our Jenn Air oven with a Baking Steel. While it did not produce a true neapolitan pizza, it made something I like to eat! From there I have shifted my pizza making to cook in an outdoor pizza oven.

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Travel Flashlights

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For the last few years, I have traveled with a small flashlight. Flashlights come in really handy on airplanes, in hotel rooms, or in homes that you are staying in. Recently I purchased some flashlights for everyone in the family that I place in their charger “Go Bag” which has all the necessities for charging devices like iPhones, Kindles, Apple Watch and AirPods.

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