I kept seeing all these pics posted on Facebook saying they were shared by Instagram. Country stars and other famous people were posting pics of themselves or their travels and they all looked so different.

It was then I discovered that Instagram can REALLY help enhance your pictures!

I downloaded the FREE app to my smart phone and I have been having so much fun with it!

You can take a normal pic and make it extraordinary! You can make them black & white, look old (like the 70s), brighten photos if they’re dark, enhance the different features. It makes you feel like a REAL photographer!

You can follow me on Instagram. I am sharonbuckdj and I can’t wait to share more pics with you! If you don’t have a smart phone you can still the pics on your computer at Sharon Buck Instagram.

It was a cold and rainy night of horseshoes last night at the Lisbon Left-Hand Club. Yes, we play in the rain! The biggest challenges last night during horseshoes were keeping the score sheet dry, keeping your hands dry and staying warm. Throwing a good shoe just didn’t seem as important last night.Last night we did not play well. The other team did and we lost 5 to 1. After a strong start to the season, much like the Red Sox, we are falling in the standings!

Noland led the team again last night with 13 ringers out of 60 shots and 1 six-pack.

I had 9 ringers out of 60, my best game of 5 ringers was during the worst of the rain!

Lad had 6 ringers and 1 six-pack.

Scott had 5 ringers.

Let’s hope for better weather and better shoes!

There was hardly a cloud in the sky on Sunday and the temperature couldn’t have been for comfortable for the annual March Of Dimes, ‘March For Babies’ in Augusta. Hundreds of people and teams gathered at the Kennebec Valley YMCA and thousands of dollars were raised for the March Of Dimes.The Augusta ‘March For Babies’ featured the Fossett family, whose son Ryan, was born prematurely at just 25 weeks. Ryan and his Mom and Dad, led the Augusta walk.

What is great about events like this is the community coming together. teams from Hannaford, The Bank Of Maine, The Maine Army National Guard and many more came out to walk on Sunday. Also, Cony High School’s ‘Madrigals’ sang the National Anthem, and many individuals came on their own to walk and donate money to the March of Dimes.

It’s the March of Dimes’ 75th year, it was started in 1938 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and through research, education vaccines and breakthroughs, they have helped millions of babies and their families.

Last year, the Augusta walk raised $25,000 for the March of Dimes and at yesterday’s walk, $8,070 came in that morning in cash donations with the online donations still being counted.

The March of Dimes Augusta March For Babies was sponsored by Hannaford, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, Central Maine Medical Center, Spectrum, Hollywood Casino, and The Bank Of Maine.

There are many things I would love to check off on my Bucket List. Most are trips to different countries to see major landmarks like the Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China.

But some are things to challenge myself.

When I heard about the Perry, Fitts, Boulette & Fitton (PFBF) Half Marathon, I thought, THIS would be the perfect opportunity to check SOMETHING off my list! Not only will it help my Bucket List, but it also helps Special Olympics Maine!

I can run all I want. I have a schedule of how many miles to run everyday to get ready for the race. However, a key to being able to “Go The Distance” is being physically fit. That means you need the strength and the muscle.

Anytime Fitness of Augusta and Fairfield are going to help me get the muscle, strength and stamina I need! Last week, I had an assessment of my body and weight and fitness. They gave me a strength test that included pushups, leg presses and my fastest mile. My body fat percentage was 26.70%. My goal is 20% and my average mile goal is 10 minutes.

I can do this!

And with the knowledgeable staff and trainers there, I feel I can!

Please join me in my journey to not only complete this half marathon but to also be healthy. Heaven knows with 3 active kids in my life I need the stamina to keep up with them!

They are also having a 5K that day if you want to start off slow! JOIN HERE!

Congratulations to our latest B98.5 Maine Education Credit Union ‘Teacher of the Month,’ Dr. Kelly Mechling of Thomas College.

“The B98.5 Teacher of the Month” brought to you by: Maine Education Credit Union, serving Maine educators and anyone living or working in Kennebec and Somerset counties. Maine Education Credit Union, where educators and community unite! Maine Education Credit Union, University Drive and South Chestnut St., Augusta.

Each month B98.5 will recognized an outstanding educator. Monthly winners receive a customized award from Yankee Trophy, Neck Rd., Benton and dinner out on us.

The Grand Prize winner will receives $1000.00 from Maine Education Credit Union for the teacher to go towards school supplies.

There is nothing like comfort food. That usually means something tasty but not really healthy for you. I tried for the first time last night a cooking for guys: stove top shepherd’s pie. As you’ll see, I didn’t really think this all the way through! I used a pound of 93% lean ground turkey, a sweet onion, summer squash, instant mashed potatoes.

In a frying pan, saute the ground turkey with diced onions and summer squash (I would have used corn, peas and carrots instead if I had them on hand!)

In a sauce pan, boil one and a third cup of water, 1/3 cup of milk (I used vanilla soy milk), add some margarine and bring to a boil. Take it off the stove and whisk in 3/4 cup of the instant potato flakes.

Then mix in the mashed potatoes with the ground turkey and vegetables and add salt and pepper to taste.

Thank you central Maine! What a wonderful day, Sunday April 7, at our first annual Electricity Maine KidFest presented by Catholic Charities of Maine.

Champions at the Elm Plaza in Waterville was filled with obstacle courses, bungee jumps, laser tag, magicians, clowns, music, wonderful vendors and thousands of smiles.

Thank you for spending the day with your family with us…we hope you had as much fun as we did!

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Peeps. You either love them or hate them. But they are kind of a vestal “medium” for lots of projects, edible and otherwise. There are many colors and styles of Peeps, but can craft and cook with them, too. Boggles my mind.

I am not a Peep fan. My mother, she is. In fact my mother is a registered, t-shirt wearing, card carrying Peep fan. That is the only reason I even know thing one about Peeps, I buy them for her. Check out all the things you can do with a Peep other than eating it.  Enjoy!

Last week when we had our snow storm and I couldn’t get out of my driveway to go to work, I did things I had wanted to do for so long. One of those things was to put our change in the bank. Anderson went with me to the bank and he said “Mama, can I do that, too?”

Of course you can!

And here’s what we did!

Being the smart mom I am, I called around to different banks and credit unions. When I asked most places about a child’s savings account I received some startling answers. One company said their savings account for children is the same as adults. There were no incentives and very small return on investment. I found that with many different places.

After calling many, MANY places I FINALLY talked to Taconnet Federal Credit Union. Even though I wasn’t a member, I fit the criteria: I lived or worked in Kennebec or Somerset county. The lady on the phone explained to me just about everything AND was pleasant to talk to!

They told me the Monty Moose fund was what Anderson would have. Each time he makes a deposit, his name is put into a drawing for the month of $25 that would go into his account. The return on investment is also great! It’s .25%, which is higher than many other places. They get a gift on their birthday. Next month there is the April Youth Week where they do something very special for their current child customers and invite new kids to join!

Anderson was so excited he carried his two small piggy banks into Taconnet. We got to talk to Miss Cindy who helped us out!

While taking the money out of the pigs, I took out a couple of $2 bills. I got a little teary-eyed and I explained why.

Many years ago, Howard Holt (Uncle Howie) and his wife Dorothy (Aunt Dot) were very special people in my life. My dad was Uncle Howie’s favorite and when my parents were having children he wanted to be a Godfather to one of them. And when I was born, I was chosen. Uncle Howie and Aunt Dot loved me so much that every year on Christmas, Easter, my birthday and Halloween (because my birthday was in October) I would get a card covered in stickers in the mail with a brand new $2 bill in it. Those bills went into a small brown barrel bank. He also gave me $.50 pieces whenever he saw me. Those went in there, too!

When it came time to buy my first house I used almost all of the barrel money as a down payment for the house. I kept 2 $2 bills and lots of the half dollars to give to my child when I had it. It went straight into Anderson’s piggy bank when he was born.

I did keep one $2 bill to frame and keep in the house. This way we will always have a reminder of Uncle and Aunt Dot and what they did for us.

And what they did for us is start a college and church mission fund. This is the first step you can take for your child! It’s very easy to do. ANY family member can donate to it. Children can earn money by doing chores and taking a trip to their financial institution is something fun to do!

START YOUR KIDS EARLY!!!!  Teach them to save for what they want…to earn money by doing things like chores or cleaning up the street they live on or helping out an elderly neighbor. SO MANY WAYS to help and be repaid for their good actions! Spring clean up is a great time to start them up!