My Toast...

It's New Year's Eve and with it brings contemplation over the past year. I'm amazed at where I began the year in Second Life and where I am today. At the beginning of 2008, I was just learning to build and opened my first store. Today, I'm tweaking and expanding my product line, and I have a total of 5 stores in SL and many ad boards.

People have gone in an out of my life. New friends have been made and other friends have walked away. Relationships bring disappointments sometimes, but all of them are a learning experience. Whether it is real life or Second Life, we leave a part of ourselves in the other person's life experiences. I hope in some way I have positively touched everyone I've met along the way.

As we look forward to 2009, I hope all of us have a wonderful year full of new and exciting things!

Happy New Year, my dear friends!!!

The sounds of Christmas... streaming music on your land

Have you been hearing that wonderful Christmas music being played throughout SL? Want to find URLs to stream holiday music (or any music) on your land? You can get a URL for any SHOUTcast radio station. Here are the directions: (NOTE: You need to have permissions to set media on the land in order to change the URL.)

1. Go to shoutcast.com.

2. Search for a station you would like.

3. Right click on Tune In button.

4. Choose Save Link As.

5. A Save As dialog box will open allowing you to choose the location to save the file on your computer. Find the location and click Save.

6. Find the file and open it. It will open in Notepad.

7. The URL will be listed in the text. Select it and copy it (CTRL + C).

8. In Second Life make sure you are on your land. On the menu bar at the top of the screen, click on the name of the land.

9. Click on the Media tab.

10. Click on the Music URL box. If something it already in it, select the text.

11. Paste the URL into the box (CTRL + V).

12. Hit Enter.

13. Close the box.

14. Turn your music on at the bottom of the screen and listen to make sure the station changed.

Here is a short list of music URLs I already found:

Mix Christmas: http://216.155.137.150:8082

Big R Radio - Christmas Country: http://66.90.121.2:2796

Christmas R&B: http://216.155.137.149:8088

Christmas Smooth Jazz: http://216.155.137.149:8092

Christmas Celebration: http://216.66.72.115:2932

Christmas Rock: http://216.155.137.149:8090

Santa's HOHOHO Radio' from Time Capsule Radio: http://208.53.170.253:8028

Christmas Old Time Radio - CHRISTMAS SHOWS, Jack Benny, The Shadow, Amos and Andy: http://206.248.1.89:8010

Forever Christmas - Christmas Never Sounded So Good: http://70.85.112.10:8000

Tinsel & Tunes by Mak McKeehan: http://94.76.204.97:9016

Effie's Winter Wonderland

Wow, it has been a very busy Holiday season. I wanted to take the time today and share a few blog entries with you.

I opened a seasonal store called Effie's Winter Wonderland. It's an store full of items to elegantly decorate your winter wonderland. A step away from the traditional Christmas red and green, the store is full of items in hues of blue. You will also find things to keep you warm like a big roaring bonfire and a cozy fireplace.


To visit Effie's Winter Wonderland, CLICK HERE. (Electra 93, 225, 85)

Interesting Build to Walk Around - Sick

It just seems so appropriate that I find an area in SL called Sick during a week that my RL avie has been so sick. LOL. Sick is made up of 4 sims in SL including S.I.C49. It is a futuristic city that is truly amazing. I have some picks here, but they really don't do the sim justice. You have to see it for yourself! From what I have read, these sims have been created for the setting of an original movie.


Sick isn't the most interactive build in SL, but it is intriguing to walk around. One of the most fascinating builds I have ever seen. The city parts of the build remind me a bit of Blade Runner. There is some shopping themed with the area. I noticed a few weapons stores for those that like to role play. The sims are Japanese owned so most of the signs and information is displayed in Japanese.

Flying is turned off in these sims. I got myself totally lost exploring the sims which I think is a big part of exploring. Even though I didn't encounter much, I read that there are some surprises along the way like manhole covers that explode when you walk over them. I'll have to do some more exploring and check it out.


Take some time and get yourself lost in Sick.

To visit, CLICK HERE. (sick 217, 123, 28)

Mmm..good - 7 Days Magic Bakery

I have been stumbling over the most creative and beautiful sims lately. The 7 Days Magic Bakery is definitely one of them. The main RL company is Vivartia. The baked goods and snack brands include 7 Days pastries and breads.


For a corporate based SL presence, I am so impressed with the creativity. The sim is an interactive and multimedia creation with touches that reminds one of a Pixar creation. The background music is reminiscent of some of the lighter music of the Harry Potter films (magical).


Make sure you turn on all your multimedia settings for the sim to get the full effect. If for some reason you can't, the boards that say CC deliver a note card with what the guide is saying to you. You are greeted by Rusty the Customs Bot who clears you for entry into the 7 Days Magical Bakery. He also suggests that you visit the Town Hall next.


Sophia, your tour guide at Town Hall, guides you to the bakery.


Chef Alina and Test Bot 0-X3 greet you at the bakery. They give you instructions to make your own delicious sweet and savory snacks. Sit on the seat of any machine with a green READY sign. The chair will take you to each station. Choose your options first (look at the different buttons and gadgets on the machine) and touch the green GO! button. You will automatically move to the next step.


Once you have made your creation, buy it for L$0. Don't forget to right-click on it and take it with you also.


Tour around the town to see what else is around. You'll find a couple of cafes along the way. An orientation island is being build adjacent to the sim on the SW side. Only a couple of things work there right now.

I found this place absolutely charming!

To visit, CLICK HERE. (7Days Magic Bakery 249, 10, 25)

We're off to see the wizard...

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby...

You can fly over the rainbow, too! Magic of Oz is a new sim in SL that just opening at the beginning of the month. Many builds on SL are fun, but after being around for a while and becoming a builder myself, it takes a great build to really "wow" me. Well, this was one! The talented builder Jenne Dibou created Magic of Oz.

The owner of the sim, Candy Cerveau, said that she just loved the books and the movie since she was a kid and wanted to do something different for her stores. You'll find that the beautiful "lands" house many stores. Most of them are already full.

When I arrived at the Oz, the Emerald City rezzed right in front of me. Tall, towering emerald gems flank the city. Make sure you let everything rezz before moving on or you might miss something. The yellow brick road will take you to the other areas of Oz.

Discover the twister that landed Dorothy in Oz. The house sits underneath. Put on your ruby slippers and sit on the pose ball to become the witch the house landed on.

The Scarecrow will greet you in the middle of the corn field. There is even another stand so you can keep him company in the field.

Munchkin Land is bright and colorful just like you would imagine it to be. The architecture is reminiscent of Whoville. Lots of curly cues and swooping lines.

The witches castle towers over Oz in it's gloomy magnificence. Although it's not an exact recreation of the castle in the movie, it definitely gives the grandeur of evil complete with flying monkeys.

See the grandeur of Magic of Oz for yourself.

To visit the Magic of Oz, CLICK HERE. (Magic of Oz 125, 145, 28)

To attend the Halloween Pirate Party, CLICK HERE. (Midnight Oasis 78, 198, 22)