Wednesday, October 28, 2009

dreams

~i dream about the day when I am standing in my cap & gown & holding E...I can't wait to have that picture taken.

~looks like it's about 400 more days away...

Random Dozen

Got this from MJ...if you play along, let me know so I can come see how you answered.

1.Candy corn: Your thoughts?
Probably the best Fall food ever. it's in a food group all it's own, right? love it!

2. Briefly, what was the first conversation you ever had with your spouse? (or best friend, if you're not married.) (Or someone significant, like your librarian.)
The first conversation revolved around my pick-up-mobile...AKA my beloved (and ever missed) 2000 Jeep Wrangler. A chick in a Wrangler is apparently a rare & eye-catching sight, especially in a ridiculously small town at the Mexican border. I think the first thing he said to me after "hi" was "when are you taking me for a ride in your Jeep?" Maybe I should have said "never"...just kidding, or not!

3. Could you ever become a vegetarian?
I'd probably fail miserably at it. I'm not a big veggie fan as it is, except for all the carb-loaded veggies...you know, potatoes, peas, carrots - yum! I could live without beef, but pork is my weakness...and I don't like fish...yeah, the vegetarian thing probably isn't going to happen for me. like ever.

4. Have you ever dressed up your pet in a costume?
I have two cats. what do you think?

5. Name something about childhood that you miss (like Clark Bars, Tea berry Gum, Malibu Barbie, cracking fake eggs on people's heads with your fist and "It's the Great Pumpkin" airing only once a year).
Oh I forgot all about the cracking fake eggs on peoples heads...i think I miss that most. not really, but it was fun. i miss the feeling that time DID NOT fly and the carefree nature of being a child.

6. Have you ever won a trophy? If not, what do you deserve a trophy for?
For softball, as a child....I have/had a few of them actually. I still have my MVP plaque from Senior Year High School Softball too. I think I want to be buried with it. As for now, I deserve a trophy for putting up with a lot of unnecessary BS!!

7. When do you think is the appropriate time to begin playing Christmas music each year?
How about a week or two before Thanksgiving. that is PLENTY early.

8. What is your favorite board game?
Haven't played one in about forever...i do remember enjoying Cranium though.

9. How do you feel about surprises (receiving, not giving)?
I cannot recall what it feels like to receive a surprise..i don't mean this in a negative or complaining sort of way but i'm pretty sure we were in the stone ages the last time I received one...in fact, maybe even before that...

10. Is it easy for you to say "I'm sorry?"
Most definitely NOT. it is actually excruciatingly difficult...although I will say it when I really mean it.

11. What is your favorite candle scent?
Usually some sort of vanilla combination is good.

12. October is traditionally "open house" time in public schools. If you had a literal open house in your home (like a reception) what light snacks would you serve visitors and what would you show them (as in art projects, graded papers) that would uniquely represent you?
Chocolate chip cookies usually work well for a snack and my scrapbooks would certainly represent me but I am typically a bit reserved when it comes to showing them to people.

Monday, October 26, 2009

my quilt-to-be...part 1


~so here are the 8 fabrics I picked out. i still need to pick on the back fabric.

~i layed them out to get an idea of how it will look. i'm thinking i will actually add a couple of more rows to make it bigger. the instructions i'm following call it a baby quilt, hence the size, but adding to it won't change the process.

~i likely won't start sewing 'til December 4...my last day of class for the semester. I'm itching to start now but it would not be a responsible way to use my time (boo!) considering I still have many chapters to read and projects to complete.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

week in review

~ran the Komen 5K today. not a great time, but I've been dealing with a funky Achilles Tendon that decided to go wacko on me after my Tuesday run. Lovely!

~took the cats to the vet today for their year (& 3 months) checkup. Hula is defying the odds as she turned 5 years old in March and I was told by the university vet docs that she may only last that long considering her grade 5 heart murmur and defect. she's amazing. i see no changes in her behavior and she continues with her daily Atenolol. all is good w/her. Milo on the other hand, while healthy, is a big wimp a$$...he cried and cried and cried all the way TO the vet, AT the vet & on the way home FROM the vet. he even hissed @ the doctor and he NEVER hisses. hilarious!

~cut a bunch of the squares for my soon to be quilt today. i'm pretty excited about making this. i hope i don't mess it up down the road when i get to the more complicated parts. i'm going with a green/teal/brown sort of theme. i'll post pictures soon. i need to find 2 more fabrics to coordinate first. i got 6 patterns at JoAnn's the other day, so tomorrow I'll head up to ACMoore to find at least 2 more. this is already getting addicting.

~no more studying on Sundays...at least until I start sub-teaching....which won't happen for at least 3 wks 'til they process the paperwork (slow pokes). i'll be dropping E at daycare on Monday, head to the gym and then to B&N (or Borders now that they joined the party with the FREE internet) to study.

~hoping to go to Boo @ The Zoo on Sunday but this afternoon E developed a fever which was later followed by a cough and runny nose. not sure where it came from as he did not go to daycare on Friday. he got a flu shot a week ago Thursday. hoping he can fight this one off quickly, if not, my study Monday plans will be shot & I have a paper to write. oh boy.

~got my PC back from HP. set it up last night. all is well. there are major pros & cons to tracking finances on the computer...like when you don't have it for 3 weeks, then have to install the program on your laptop & then restore the backup file & then input all the receipts & then when old computer returns, restore (new) backup file onto that computer. phew...it was exhausting (mentally & physically). glad to be done with that nightmare.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

start of a new era

~a new chapter.

~E starts daycare today.

~I'm 'ok' with it for the most part.

~O is another story.

~I know E will love it after the adjustment period has passed.

~I also know that he will cry today after he realizes I'm not there.

~I hate that.

~Well, got to get ready to go now....

Monday, October 19, 2009

running fail

~i feel like a failure....when it comes to running specifically (although in other ways too, but we'll just discuss the running here)

~two of my friends ran Marathons yesterday...one in MI and the other in CA. For both it was their 2nd marathon. both improved their time by 7 minutes. neither have been lifelong die-hard runners...which contributes to my grand feelings of failure-ism.

~so far Sep & Oct have been lackluster running months for me...for multiple reasons...such as (1) i'm bored with it, (2) i no longer get that "rush" that everyone talks about (3) multiple aches & pains while running, (4) feelings of no progress (5) lack of time....to just name a few.

~I have a 5K race on Saturday - the Komen. Should be interesting to see how I do considering my extremely low mileage over the past 60 days. i wish i could say i didn't care...but i DO care. i want to do well.

~I was hoping to run this morning while E naps, but not sure how that will work out as I had a "procedure" done on Friday @ the doctor and the jarring motion of running isn't going to feel so well. I may just have to walk.

~I so badly want to "be" a runner, but am feeling rather defeated in that area at this point. i won't give up though. i will still attempt to run the WDW 1/2 in March, but I sure wish I was making progress in my training so I could feel a bit better about it all. and speaking of training, the other challenge is that I just don't have time right now to go out and run 7-8-9 miles every couple days either...so i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place i suppose.

~and these feelings just contribute to the ever-increasing mountain of negative feelings I have about myself in that I have nothing to feel that good about right now (besides E, people!!!) ...or say, nothing going for me...i'm not good @ anything nor is there anything unique about me or my life. i'm just plain and well, that bores me.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

bake-a-thon

~just a few things i've been baking recently...pumpkin cupcakes w/cream cheese frosting (cinnamon sprinkled on top)

orange-vanilla cupcakes

peanut butter brownie cups

~and this was my first attempt at actually doing decorative frosting on the cupcakes instead of just slapping it on with a knife. I don't know why i thought it was so hard...it wasn't too bad.

Friday, October 16, 2009

random thoughts

~i've never desired to go to Paris, yet lately I keep having dreams that I'm traveling there...and enjoying it. now I kind of want to go there. strange.

~the song with the most plays, 283, on my iPod is: "Margaritaville "by Jimmy Buffett. When I noticed this yesterday, it made me laugh out loud. It remains E's favorite song. Whenever he is fussing in his car seat I can put this song on and his world is just again. This has been going on since last October. good thing i love JB as much as I do.

~don't all you gals be jealous now, but I'm off to the OB today. 2nd visit in as many weeks. I know you wish you were me!!

~for some (stupid) reason, Firefox does not like some blogs & will not allow me to comment....so then I have to go open IE, get to the blog and comment there. a real PITA!

~Hewlett Packard just notified me that they are awaiting a part in order to fix my PC and now won't be delivered 'til Oct 26. That's WAY more than 7-10 days they quoted. turds!

~my running is still chugging along albeit at a much less intense pace/rate. I've decided to try for shorter runs (2-3 miles) on a more regular basis...almost daily. We'll see how long that lasts...I'm just really bored with it right now.

~i found a new love (yes, another). pumpkin bagels w/pumpkin cream cheese. Einstein Brothers is the place. hooray for having one on campus. gonna have to get another before the season passes.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

long weekend & a winner

~I almost forget about my contest. With a whopping 8 entries...the winner is comment #2 by MJ!! Send me your address & I'll have the goodies on their way to you.

~i'm off work today. had it planned since it's Fall Break, but now worked out perfectly since the sitter left us high and dry.

~i'm happy to have the day off, but sadly I have to take E for a flu shot...since he's going to daycare next week. he won't be happy about the shot.

~tomorrow I'm going scrapbooking and so excited to have 5-6 uninterrupted hours to do something fun. i'm really looking forward to it.

~on Saturday we are planning to drive up to Gatlinburg and on to Newfound Gap (elevation 5,046) ...O wants to go to Newfound Gap because that is where Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Smoky Mountain Park 75 years ago. He's a history nut...me not so much. Hopefully I can stay awake. As for Gatlinburg though, that's a fun place. i'm looking forward to the getaway. hopefully we don't want to kill each other during the drive, although it's not that far and we've been before.

~since the forecast here holds nothing but *(&^%$# rain...I plan to stay holed up in the house on Sunday and bake!!!! I have wanted a day to bake for quite some time and since I'm caught up on my studies (finally!), I will likely forego my usual trip to B&N. I may even stay in my PJs all day long.

~I plan to bake at least these three things...(1) Sour Cream Cookies decorated for Halloween (2) Pumpkin Cupcakes and (3) Orange Vanilla Cupcakes (if I can find the vanilla bean paste). I am even going to attempt to frost the cupcakes in a presentable manner...with the help of this tutorial...I think I can do it.

~I will take all of these to work to share so i don't blow up to the size of a house.

~E can now say the word "bucket"...but alas it's not crystal clear...so guess what it sort of sounds like....

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

I Want Wednesday...and a giveaway.

~this would be a great addition to my home office, which has a NYC decor theme going on...

I've been wanting this necklace for a quite a while & secretly thought that maybe I would treat myself once the lawsuit was complete. Now the thought of buying it makes me feel guilty...so instead I'll just keep on wanting...
Been wanting one of these for a while...although I don't know what the deal is because it seems there are out of stock everywhere I look....how can it be that this is the ONLY brand manufactured to play an iPod. I certainly don't want one that plays CDs, as I have VERY few of those anymore.
And what I want most of all...is tickets to see my most favorite actor/comedian ever...Robin Williams. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I am crazy about him...I wish I knew about this show long ago I would have started a fund to be able to afford the Meet & Greet tickets. I'm afraid I may be missing the chance of a lifetime...He will be here Thursday night & sadly I just cannot afford the astronomically priced tickets. ($211.00 for TWO tickets!!!!) :(

And now on to the part you are likely more interested in...the giveaway...due to the underwhelming lack of success of my Etsy store...I am giving away (1) a 5x5 mini album kit and (2) a 3x6 mini album...as pictured below.

The Rules:
For 1 Entry...leave a witty comment...the funnier, the better. Since I am not fortunate enough to go see Robin Williams tomorrow night, it's up to you to entertain me.

For an additional entry...Tweet the Giveaway & post a comment with the link to your Tweet.

And if you want even another entry...post it on your blog & then leave me ANOTHER comment here with the link to your blog post.

I will pick the winner via the Random Number Generator at 8am EST Thursday morning.

Enjoy!!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Post It Note Tuesday








Novelista Barista is giving away one of my mini-book kits. Head over there to enter!

latest dilemma

~ok, so it looks like E will be starting in daycare next Tuesday.

~i'm trying to focus on the positives associated with it.

~i'm also trying not to call my EXsitter & go nutso on her over the phone. I'm just furious over her lack of courtesy.

~so all that to say that I'm considering applying to be a Substitute Teacher since my Mondays and Fridays will be open & it would help to offset the daycare costs.

~here's the issue....
~the pay is a measly $65.20 per day.
~I have to fork out $78.00 for pre-employment background check & such.
~there is a mandatory Orientation on Tuesdays only which means I'd have to miss one Stats class & some GA work hours.

~is it worth it? keep in mind, there is NO guarantee I'd be called, but what I do have going for me is that Mondays & Fridays are the "most-needed" days for Substitutes, so hopefully I'd be busy.

~your input please. what would you do?

Sunday, October 11, 2009

child care drama

~warning! this may be a lengthy post...so pull up a chair or come back later when you have time to read....or I guess you could choose not to read at all...anyway, that's your warning.

~as the title implies...this will focus around my newly developed child care issues.

~things had been going well until about 3 weeks ago.

~background: a lady comes to my house 3 days per week to watch Ethan. I only need 3 days of care right now, so it works perfectly. Her son and husband work with O and she doesn't drive so they drop her off in the morning on their way to work. Seemed to be working well.

~3 weeks ago she called to ask if she could bring another kid with her. apparently she has watched this kid before & all of a sudden (!) his parents didn't have anyone to watch him. My other choice was to take Ethan to her house and well there's no way that was happening because (1) our agreement was child care at OUR home (2) she lives 30 minutes away (3) she lives in "the hood"...i've been there. it's nasty. nuff said.

~her youngest child (8 years old) is in year-round school so he was going to be coming with her as well for the past 3 weeks while on his break. that's fine. he has come before. no issues.

~well, with the other kid...there were issues. he is a couple months older than E and initially I thought it would be great that E would have a playmate. I also understood this to be ONLY this ONE week. things quickly went downhill....like E would not nap during the day. The first day he finally gave in at 4:30pm and we had to wake him at 6pm so that he would sleep at night for me. The 2nd day, she neglected to mention that he didn't nap AT ALL and so he crashed at 5:05pm - the minute they walked out the door.

~on that Thursday (her last work day w/us for the week), I asked if they were ALL coming back on Tuesday and she replied that they would. That is when I began to further inquire about this other kid and how much longer he would be coming. She said she did not know if the parents were looking for alternative arrangements. She had been planning to bring him indefinitely...

~the following day (Friday) I called my sitter to inform her that I could not have her bringing this other kid to MY house indefinitely for the following reasons; (1) liability!!! if something were to happen to him at MY house, I'd be screwed (2) this was not our arrangement, we agreed to 1:1 care for Ethan and I did not feel he was receiving the same quality care and (3) Ethan is not napping. Also, in my opinion, she was technically 'double-dipping' getting paid by both us and the other kids mom...essentially running a day-care at MY home & I wasn't profiting at all...in fact, it was costing me more in juice, wipes, food...etc.

~Because I realize the difficulty in finding child care, I told her she could bring the kid for the following 2 weeks while her kid was also out of school, but after that I could not allow him. She would need to inform the parents. She seemed to be fine with that.

~This past week was the end of week 3.

~Guess who called me last night (Sat) to say that she has no one to take her 8 yr old to the bus stop & therefore cannot come watch Ethan?!?!?! Initially I felt she was being sincere & not making this shit up but the more I think about it, it's just a bit too coincidental for me and I think she's a big freakin' liar.

~just like when there were 5 dirty sippy cups @ the end of the day & she said the other kid wasn't using E's cups. Yeah...I was also born yesterday.

~Anyway, I would bet a pretty penny that the mom of the other little kid is paying her more than we are (since we only need 3 days & she needs 5) to watch her son & it's a better deal for my sitter because now she can stay home & get paid more to watch this little rugrat.

~I'm livid!!

~I usually don't enjoy confrontation, but believe me when I say I am pretty damn close to picking up the phone & going nutso on her....the only reason I'm not is that I have NO proof...but then again it's awfully coincidental to me.

~What infuriates me most is the lack of courtesy to give me some notice...if she doesn't want to watch E and would rather watch this other kid at her home, that is her right, but be professional and have some effin courtesy.

~Now for the fun part. O is in a position of power at work over the sitter's son & husband. They pretty much have a job because of O. He has gone to bat for them. He translates for them. Etc. There have been numerous layoffs at O's company and he has pretty much saved their a$$ since they are watching Ethan.

~The shit is about to hit the fan.

~If they want to screw with us...I'm thinking they'll be awfully sorry in the end. Not that O or I will do anything intentionally, but O has been complaining about the extreme laziness of the two of them for quite a while and well, I don't think he's going to be willing to cover for them anymore.

~We can play this game too.

~So now on Monday afternoon, O and I will go up to the daycare so he can see it. Mom and I went on Friday and I am pleased with it. The biggest negative though is they only do Full Time care and we don't need Full Time right now, although we will in January.

~I have this week of care covered between my mom and me taking Thursday off, but it seems that E may start daycare the following week as opposed to in January.

~The biggest drawback for us of course is paying ALOT more for a service that we don't fully need right now. I wouldn't mind finding a PT job but who in the heck is going to hire me on Mondays and Fridays only....nuff said.

~Oh and if you think I'm mad about this...you should see O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, October 09, 2009

so silly!!!

Easter Basket also serves as a hat!!







He won't sleep in there, but it's the first place he goes for pouting!!! Hilarious!

observations

~craigslist can really suck sometimes. like when people email you & say "do you need cash" but they really just want you to respond so they can send you hokey ways to make money.

~considering that i have sold absolutely NOTHING from my Etsy shop in quite a while, unless there is a sudden buying rush, I have decided to give up on that dream. epic failure. i really put a lot of thought & effort into creating that mini book kit too. taking a big hit to the self esteem there. turns out i'm not so crafty after all it seems. looks like i may have alot of "giveaways" coming to my blog in the near future. :)

~statistics and my brain just simply do not get along. if the instructor wasn't so fun & bubbly, I would be completely miserable in that class...instead I'm just confused.

~no sooner do you shampoo the furniture & carpets in the entire house and in less than 48 hours something is stained once again. or at least that's how it works at my house.

~that's all for now. hoping to go to the pumpkin patch tomorrow & take lots of pictures. yay!

Thursday, October 08, 2009

post it notes

Saw these over on Moonjava's Blog and loved them, so I had to go make a few of my own. Go here if you want to create your own. Enjoy!




This was fun...SupahMommy does a Post it Note Tuesday Meme for these...but I figure Thursday is good too!


so true!

~i'm loving this song right now...and honestly, over the past year, or so I've really found out who MY friends are...(and aren't)

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare

This is where the rubber meets the road
This is where the cream is gonna rise
This is what you really didn't know
This is where the truth don't lie

{Chorus}
You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are

Everybody wants to slap your back
wants to shake your hand
when you're up on top of that mountain
But let one of those rocks give way then you slide back down look up
and see who's around then

This ain't where the road comes to an end
This ain't where the bandwagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lot of folks jump off

You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are

When the water's high
When the weather's not so fair
When the well runs dry
Who's gonna be there?

You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are

You find out who your friends are
(yeah, yeah)
You find out who your friends are

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
(Well man, I've been there)
Or get yourself in a bind, lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare
(Man, I've been there)

Man, I've been there
Oooh yeah.

"Find Out Who Your Friends Are" by Tracy Lawrence

*and for the record: I would run out, crank up my car, hit the gas & get there fast for MY friends.

xoxo

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

current thoughts

~i'm trying hard to fight off the nerves of tomorrow's presentation. so far in my (professional) life I have avoided doing presentations like the plague. there is no escaping this one. thankfully it's only 50 minutes long and I'm splitting the slides with my supervisor, but regardless of all of that, i'm still nervous.

~i may take a 'mental health day' next Thursday, Oct 15. It will be Fall Break and I won't have Stats class that day, which makes even more sense to stay home.

~tonight the Tigers face the Twins to find out who moves on to the playoffs. i'm not sure i will be able to watch this one as the Tigers are notorious for blowing everything in the end....just like they blew a 7 game lead in the last 3 weeks of the season.

~looks like E may be going to daycare beginning in January. my current child care arrangement is sort of fizzling out and now that he's getting older, he can get MORE out of daycare, i.e. education, social interaction etc. The best part, the daycare is owned by a lady in my neighborhood & we've gone over to play with her kids - she has triplets & an older son. Since I will need at least 4 days of care per week in January, it seems like the logical thing to do. Depending on what day the (new & improved) play group falls on, I may or may not be able to go, so in the least, E will have kids to play with and if I have any luck at all...he'll get on a napping schedule. Oh halleluah!!!

~i'm getting great insight & coaching from a fellow GA student here in my office. she has given me great tips on my upcoming Practicum & Internship. I jokingly told her I need to make her my mentor...but really, I need one. She rocks.

~now that my PC data is backed up, i'm pretty excited about getting a "new" computer...well sort of new, right?

~thinking that $347 is ALOT of money to pay for a stack of papers. this particular stack is a printed copy of my deposition. I did not realize this cost was coming out of my "winnings" - I looked @ the first few pages & stuck it in a file cabinet. Sucks! I can think of a gazillion much more exciting things I would have liked to spend that $347 on. too bad i didn't have that option.

~comprehensive exams were given to students graduating from my program last friday. it's crazy stressful. two years (or more in my case) of studying, comes down to 1 test and 3 hours. if you don't pass, you don't graduate. one of the girls in my stats class who took the test on friday stepped out of class today for about 10 minutes...because she was crying...about the test. that's stressful. i'm already worried about it & I don't take it 'til next year.

~by the looks of my Nike mini, I probably need to run soon. I did the Operation Bootcamp on Saturday of which I am just NOW recovering from & while we ran, it wasn't running that I could really track with my iPod. I'm pretty disenchanted with running right now. It's sucking up my time & it's been painful lately. I may just take a mini-hiatus from it...like say, all of October. We'll see.

~hoping that my visit to the OB in two weeks yields some good information for me. vague, i know and NO, i'm not pregnant.

~thinking about taking an 'extra' class next semester, although not necessarily "extra". it would be applied to my post Masters EdS degree. I need 24 credits for the EdS. I already have 3 (hooray) since I took Substance Abuse last semester for the Mental Health Program, but it's not required for the School Counseling program...now I can apply it to my EdS...the more classes I take now while I'm a GA, the better....they are FREE!!!

~the candy corn in my banner is making me wish I had some here @ the office.

~thinking about a friend who turns 46 today.

Monday, October 05, 2009

I *heart* Geeks!

I ♥ Geeks! Yes, folks I do. I didn't always feel this way but I sure do now.

Cute Geek came over today & unfortunately the attempt to replace the Graphics Card did NOT solve my computer issue, however Cute Geek WAS able to access & backup all of my data which made me a super duper happy gal.

As for my computer, it's likely the Motherboard<--I think that is such a funny name...anyway... I had backed up my pictures fairly recently, but was unsure about my documents and had NEVER backed up my email (gasp!). I'm thankful for my 2nd chance!! Now the plan is to ship my PC back to HP (on their dime) where they will give it a full makeover & it will be shipped back to me within about 9 days. The bad part is all my data will be gone so I'll have to re-install all that crap, but heck, it'll be like getting a brand new computer. That's kind of awesome. This is all FREE for me thanks to having a mere 13 days left on my warranty. Whew!!! The backup set me back $93 though, which sort of irks me since technically it's HP's fault.

It also turns out that these Slimline computers have been somewhat notorious for faulty motherboards (hee) and so well, that sucks. Let's hope I get AT LEAST another year out of it. Did I mention I just mailed the last payment for it 2 weeks ago? Sucks! While HP has been very responsive in this process, I will only get 90 days of warranty on whatever is replaced/repaired and I think that stinks. That's like HP is saying their computers are only manufactured to last 15 months, at which point if something goes wrong, they claim no responsibility. I'm sorry, but if I fork over $800-$1000 for a computer, I certainly expect to get more than 15 months out of it.

I'm running out of options on computers...I've sworn off Sony (last computer) and I am now swearing off HP...although maybe I should only swear off the Slimline version as I've been pretty fortunate with full size HP computers in the past. My laptop is a Dell and so far, so good, but it's only about 6 months old & I don't use it much. I may have to go over to the dark side of Apple in the near future...

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Good, Bad & the Ugly

Good: i have a cute little HP slimline desktop PC. it doesn't take up much space on my desk which is awesome!
Bad: it broke yesterday.
Ugly: due to small size they are pain to work on & parts are hard to find. great!

Good: My HP slimline desktop PC is only 1 year & 6 days old.
Bad: Best Buy Geek said he's seen a "few" of these same PCs in the shop...for motherboard issues. gasp!
Ugly: I'm going to have to use up space on my laptop to install my printer driver so I can print my school work.

Good: I emailed HP & they said it's still under warranty. yay!
Bad: I would have to ship it to them (on their $$ though) for repair.
Ugly: I would get my PC back in "factory shipped condition"...in other words, with ALL of my data etc wiped clean.

Good: I am an organized person.
Bad: I struggle with digital organization.
Ugly: I'm unsure exactly WHEN I last backed up pictures & music, although I know it was recently...but I was unaware of HOW to backup Outlook...wah!!!

Friday, October 02, 2009

drama

~once upon a time I lived a drama-free life.

~i don't cause drama nor do I encourage it to come near. I prefer to steer clear.

~then I got married & had a baby...and the drama found me.

~plenty of drama in O's family, of which I won't go into....instead let me share with you the drama that has evolved in the very, very, very important PLAY GROUP! (sarcasm!)

~yep, that's right folks. Play Group has become full of drama & is on the verge of falling apart. crazy, i know!

~E and I missed quite a few over the Summer since I had class on Thursday mornings, but now that the group has been changed to Fridays we can participate again...that is if it doesn't all fall apart.

~I don't know how/why it started & I am not involved (thank goodness). Well, my involvement is actually just being updated on it all from my play group friend (the one who keeps me on the phone F-O-R-E-V-E-R). She is the "founder" & "organizer" of the group.

~It seems that one of the newer gals that joined earlier this year was trying to "take the reigns" from my friend and wanted to lead the group....I dunno much more than that, but that seems to be the situation.

~Then a clique formed with the "take the reigns" girl & all kinds of other high-school-ish behavior ensued. At this point, I'm glad I missed all those summer play sessions...apparently that is when all of this went down.

~So now "take the reigns" newer gal has dropped out. Apparently she got upset when she called to ask if she & her daughter could still come to our last playgroup even though her daughter had a fever the day before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Um, really? Are you kidding? It had not been 24hrs since she was fever free & typically that is the "rule" to avoid exposing others.

~Just the fact that she asked annoys the piss outta me...because you see...on NUMEROUS occasions her daughter had the world's nastiest runny nose while at many of our play groups. Before I knew better, I chalked it up to the whole teething process...but now I'm not so sure.

~So all that to say...i cannot understand how grown women have the time & energy for all this drama & to be so unbelievably ridiculous. And even while my friend (founder) says she's "sick of it" etc.....I think she plays a pivotal role in all of it as well.

~So now it is likely the group will (sort of) end and then a "new" group will be started, which will include only the non-cliquish people. Let's hope the new group stays drama-free...

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Thankful

-the Tigers were on TV here last night! Even if I only got to see an inning of it since I had school.

-my year and a half long lawsuit has finally been settled. Happy ending!

-today is my Friday!

-E has quit his middle of the night screaming fits and sleeps solidly thru the night!

-Fall has arrived!