Carol's random babble

Last Friday was a strong thaw. Most of the snow in the yard melted - and in places it was knee deep. At Mom's on Saturday, I found a caterpillar on the sidewalk. It had evidently been fooled by the warm temperatures into coming out of hibernation, but then froze again. I picked it up and brought it home to show Cayla. It woke up for awhile, but after Cayla saw it, I took it outside so it can hibernate again. (I'll try to remember to post a picture later. Computer isn't cooperating.) The other thing about Friday was the intense fog. Kent took me to work and when he picked me up, we went to Walmart. We drove home on P59, at about 30 mph. Visibility was about 20 feet, I think. It was a harrowing ride, but we made it home safely.

A member of Geeks! posed the question: What is your favorite dish to eat? My response: Two meals I miss from when I lived in Chicago: From the cafeteria where I worked: a buffalo chicken sandwich, fries, egg custard and Dr. Pepper. The bite of the buffalo chicken and Dr Pepper were offset by the cool taste of the custard. From a salads-to-go delivery service that stopped at my building: a Hotsy-Totsy salad (and Dr Pepper). The salad was pasta with chunks of hot chicken (not buffalo but something along those lines) with broccoli, and peppercorn dressing. I moved from Chicago in 1996 and still remember how much I liked those meals. ;-) Honestly, I have thought about those particular meals since we left Chicago, including several times lately. I've considered trying to make the salad, but I'm not sure how to do the chicken. It wasn't buffalo chicken, I think the description said something about some oriental name but it's been so long I can't remember. I can't reme...

I worked a day shift Friday. It was difficult because we got back from Waterloo around 2:15 a.m. and I had to be at work at 9. But I made it. On Fridays, I do a page for the Sunday business section. I had someone come in after the page was done who wanted something added to the page. I told him the page was done and I could get it in for next Sunday. He suggested it might go in the Sports section. Perhaps it might. It won't go in before Friday anyway. Whatever. Because I was at work all day, exhausted from the trip to Waterloo, and busy, I forgot that I hadn't picked up the prescription for Mom's pain pills from the clinic. They aren't open until Monday. (Side note: I stopped to pop a mini-bag of Orville Redenbacher popcorn - lime and salt flavor. It smelled like Froot Loops for a little when it was cooking. The lime taste isn't very strong to me.) We did a little grocery shopping Friday night - Kent had brought me to work and picked me up. I had to get stuff for Je...

Donna drove to Waterloo to pick up Richard. We opened presents - Kent got us (girls and me) cell phones. I was stunned. We went to dinner at Hong Kong Buffet. Before dinner, Kent and I (and the girls) went to Community Pizza to pick up a pork tenderloin sandwich for Mom and took it to her. Donna got her a chocolate shake from Hardee's. The buffet was nice - I hadn't been there in a long time. They had some (Americanized of course) Chinese food, salad stuff (including shrimp), crab legs and a lot more. I took some pictures while we were eating. Amanda kept hiding her face. She continued that when we went back to Mom's for pumpkin pie. I got fed up with her resistance and told Kent to take me to work and then come back for the girls. Amanda took a picture of herself with her cell phone camera and texted an apology to me later. Work was okay. I made up the obit that hadn't been entered into the system for Thursday and got all the obits caught up. I did a couple of pages, b...

I didn't have to work Wednesday - it's my normal day off. Apparently they could have used my help, as there was no obit clerk scheduled. So on Thursday I had to do a little catchup work. One obit that ran in Thursday's paper wasn't in the billing system, so I had to enter it as if it ran in Friday's paper, but made sure not to put it on the page for Friday. Wednesday was pretty quiet. We didn't do any Christmas Eve stuff. Cayla made sure she stayed up until Suzanna got here, because I told her she couldn't open anything from Suzanna unless Suzanna was here. So we stayed up until 2 a.m. I went to bed after presents were opened, around 2:30 a.m. Suzanna gave me a $35 gift card for Walmart.

I haven't blogged and wanted to catch up, so I'm starting with Tuesday. I had the weirdest dream. Well, in the top 20, maybe. I live in a one-story house with a basement. It has a garage, and there's a breezeway in between. The yard is a good size, and fairly level. There is no ditch. In my dream, the house was two stories, with a deck all the way around or nearly all the way around the house at the second story, which was apparently the main level. There was a ditch next to the street in the front, but apparently not all the way around. This is important to the dream. There was something about a fence near the stairs up to the deck, which is also important. The deck was redwood, which is not important, just a detail. The garage wasn't there, either, but the driveway was. Okay, here goes: There was a car or a couple of cars driving around through my yard. I called police, and also took a picture with my digital camera. My camera showed a message that the license plate o...

I didn't win any of the 50 HP Magic Giveaway prize packages. I didn't enter all the contests - some were in Spanish or Portuguese, some I missed deadlines or chose not to enter because the qualifications were difficult. But I did learn something. There are blogs out there where you can win something. So I'm going to keep trying. I might not win a computer (in fact I'll be falling back to Plan A, student aid in February), but I might win something. So, here goes: My first blog contest that I'm going for is from Organize with Sandy . There are three mini books to give away: Three Steps to Organizing your Kitchen, Three Steps to Organizing your Child's Room Three Steps to Organizing your Office. You have to go to www.1-2-3getorganized.com and go back to the contest page and leave a comment about which product you would love to have. There are extra chances to win, too. You can Twitter, blog about it, post Organizer Sandy buttons on your blog and/or follow Sandy...

I missed a couple of days posting, but I've been busy. Thursday I had three final tests, went home for a bit, then went to work. I got off at 9:30 and drove home. I think that was the worst drive home I've had as far as poor visibility goes. When a snow plow turned onto 169, I pulled off on a side road and let it pass me so it could clear the road. I made it home, though. But it makes me leary about tonight. We're under a blizzard warning, with snow, blowing snow and bitter wind chills expected. I expect I'll have to spend the night at Mom's. I'm not planning to go to church in the morning. Tomorrow's high temperature is predicted to be around zero. I got up shortly after 6 a.m. and didn't go back to sleep. So I'm going to take a nap before I get started on my past-due assignments for school.

I had Tuesday night off from work so I could go to Enrichment Night. Enrichment was cancelled because of the weather - we got a few inches of snow. Kent and I went into town in the evening so I could drop off my Secret Santa present at work, so Kent could get some groceries, and so Kent could fix Mom's computer - again. While he was working on that, I shoveled her sidewalk. And the neighbors' sidewalks. Her apartment complex is made up of four-plex buildings. They are arranged so that there's a central sidewalk and then it splits off to each apartment. So in Mom's building, there are four apartments but only two of them face the same courtyard. I shoveled the sidewalks in Mom's courtyard. I was feeling pretty good about myself - even had Kent take a picture of me. Yeah, I knew I'd be suffering later (back spasms from the shoveling) but I was pleased. When we got back to Otho, we picked up Amanda so she could have supper at Kent's. I decided to leave the car ...

I'll be going out of order here in order to make a quick post before midnight. Donna asked me to take her to the ER because her blood sugar was over 400 and she'd been suffering from a bad headache since the wee hours of the morning. We got there around 8 p.m. and left around 11:10. I took my Dreamweaver book but didn't study - I read the copy of "New Moon" that she had brought. I finished the book. Cayla made stew for supper, but it wasn't ready when we left, so I am waiting for Jessica to finish cooking a batch of pork cutlets and then I'll have something to eat and go to bed. I didn't get done the homework assignments I was supposed to turn by tonight. Oh well.

I need to check this out thoroughly. The author's aim was to use the crock pot every day throughout 2008. It appears to be a success. There are posts by category, including " fun stuff " which is (mostly) nonfood items like crayons, soap and Christmas ornaments. Some of those uses will make you raise your eyebrows, and there's a "don't try this at home" disclaimer on one item. But, it looks like a worthwhile blog to follow.

Chris Pirillo is participating in the Don't Just Give A Gift, Grant A Wish contest. What would you do with one of the offered packages? I would pass it along to the local Salvation Army and/or Operation Christmas. I think the Family Game Night package would be best.

I would share. My first sharing would be with my 70-year-old mom, who is using my old computer that runs on Windows 98. This computer breaks down frequently, and she can't access some of her favorite websites. Mom would get the HP TouchSmart so she would be able to see the screen easily. I would have loved to keep this myself, but the other computers are laptops and Mom just wouldn't do well with a laptop. So she would get the TouchSmart. I did a little video with my camera that shows Mom, my husband Kent working on Mom's computer and me. (I had the hardest time uploading it, so I'm just linking to it.) My sister's two daughters would get two of the computers. Suzanna is in college and has no computer. Jessica wants to re-enroll and her laptop has been defective since water was spilled on the keyboard last December. They would get one of the laptops and the HP Mini 1000. I would get one of the laptops, but that would be sharing, as well. In my web technology progra...

Feel free to vote on my entry. And yes, that's actually a cheeseburger eggroll special, which is why, to my mind, this was an "appetite fail." more fail, owned and pwned pics and videos Not sure that's a win.

I entered the Notebooks.com portion of the HP Magic Giveaway in the nick of time, I believe. The rules say the cutoff is noon today, but doesn't specify time zone. Later in the rules it says something about Pacific time, so I'm hoping that's right. Anyway, here's my two most important tips for entering these contests: 1) Read the rules and 2) Pay attention to deadlines. Many of the deadlines have already passed, and prizes have been awarded. Organizational skills will help you in your quest. Another tip: Embrace technology. Many of the contest bloggers invite people to follow them on Twitter, to tweet a specific phrase, or to post a video. I posted my first video on YouTube to enter this contest for another blogger. I've been trying to upload it to my blog, but it's not loading properly. I had the same problem uploading to YouTube, but finally got it up from another computer. What I would do with this prize? I've written this so many times already. ;-) Mo...

The HP Magic Giveaway is an awesome package of computers, hardware, software and extras (Kung Fu Panda, anyone?). Here's what it would mean to my family: My mom, who is 70, would have the HP TouchSmart. She would have the wide screen to easily see what she's doing. She would be able to enjoy her favorite websites. If she wanted to, she could play solitaire by moving the cards around with her finger, although she probably wouldn't do that for long with her shoulder problems. What this means to me: I wouldn't have to send my husband over to try to fix the computer she's using - my old HP Pavilion that runs on Windows 98. Mom would be able to post on her forums, watch BYU-TV and play games. I would get one of the laptops, which would help me in school (web technology). I don't own a computer than can run Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver. I'm using the computer of a relative who's staying with me after getting evicted last month. (I took in t...

The HP Magic Giveaway is a chance for 50 bloggers to each share a $6,000 prize package with 50 people. Most of the contests so far have asked the winners to share with others. Here's my entry into Techie Diva's contest : I'm a struggling college student with a big difference: I'm 47, separated, raising two daughters, working full time and sharing my home with two relatives who were evicted last month, plus all their pets (seven cats and a dog). Thanksgiving was about being thankful for a roof over all our heads. My plans for the computers in the giveaway are this: The HP TouchSmart would go to my 70-year-old mother, who would enjoy being able to watch BYU-TV online again (my old computer which she's using runs on Win98 and she's unable to enjoy some of her favorite websites); one laptop and the HP mini 1000 would go to my two college-age nieces to help them in school; and I would get the other laptop. My major is web technology. My problem is that the Adobe pro...

I'm trying to play Sims2. I can't get it to start. I only get this message: Please insert the original disc instead of a backup (1000). From what I understand, this is an anti-pirate measure. I bought this game legally, as I have bought all my other EA games. I've had to reinstall my games, due to changing computers and reformatting and so on. Why can't I just play my game? I've wasted 2 hours on this tonight - 2 hours I could have been playing for some mental relaxation. Or it could have been 2 hours of much-needed sleep. This happened with Bon Voyage and FreeTime. I've spent a couple hundred dollars on Sims games and this is how you treat your customers? I was going to buy Apartment Life this week, but I'm not sure I want to continue with the sims. I might just give up on them altogether. And I might forget about Sims3. I submitted the first two paragraphs to the EA help people. We'll see if I get a response. From what I've seen online, my choices ...

And I'll be going back to bed as soon as Donna gets here (she works 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.). Or maybe I'll go back to bed now and let Amanda tell me when Donna gets home, like she woke me up to tell me that school was closed.

Oops, forgot to post yesterday. Well, there's always next month. We're currently in the midst of a winter storm. A winter weather advisory is in effect until 3 p.m. tomorrow. A bunch of schools in our area have already declared a 2-hour delay for tomorrow, but not our school. Of course. I'd like to sleep in, but I've got to prepare for class tomorrow. What I'd really like to do is: a) go to bed and sleep til noon b) play Hatchlings on Facebook and feed all my pets, Cayla's pets and pets belonging to our friends from Utah (I told them I'd help feed their pets) c) play Sims2 until I fall asleep at the computer. What I'll probably do is: a) mess around online until I fall asleep at the computer and then wake up in the morning going "oh crap" when I realize I have to be at the college at 8 a.m. even though the kids have a 2-hour delay by then. Anyway, please leave a comment on my winter driving tips entr y in the HP Magic Giveaway. (yeah, like anyb...

It's Saturday, I have to go to work later. I tried working on my past homework, but lost motivation. I'd rather play Sims 2 (which kept me up til 2:30 a.m.). But you've got to have a little fun in your life, right? I entered the Geeks! portion of the HP Magic Giveaway. The challenge is to write a 500+ essay on how to, what is or top 5 of something. The essay with the most comments wins. I wrote about winter driving tips . There are no comments yet. I won't be winning that one. Guess I'll play Sims 2.

I would give the HP TouchSmart to my 70-year-old mom (not living in my house) so she can visit her favorite websites. She has been missing BYU TV online because she's using my old HP Pavilion computer runs on Win98 and can't open the videos. The TouchSmart screen is plenty big for her to see. My nieces Jessica (planning to go back to college, currently living in my house) and Suzanna (currently going to college and not living in my house) would get one laptop and the HP mini 1000. (Jessica gets first pick.) The other laptop would be mine, to do my college coursework. My major is web technology. My coursework involves creating websites. I plan to mostly do websites for nonprofit organizations while I'm in school. I'm also thinking of starting a technology group at church to help people learn to do email and so on.

Entered the HP Magic Giveaway at MediaBlab. You, too, can enter: Jake Ludington’s HP Magic Giveaway

I just sent Chris an entry for the HP Magic Giveaway. He lives on the West Coast and isn't up this early, so I'll have to wait to see when he posts my entry. This is one case where earlier is better: part of the contest is to see how many comments each entry gets. There aren't too many entries so far, so maybe my chances are pretty good. I'll post when I get a link to my entry.

I got home around 11:15 p.m. and Amanda was still up. Donna was on her computer, but she consented to letting me kick her off after I got my laundry started. Amanda is still up - it's nearly 12:06 a.m. "I took a nap," she said. But she'll still be difficult to get up in the morning. Right now I should go to bed, but I just started a load of laundry that I need to see through to the dryer. I don't feel tired, but know that if I went to bed right now, I'd be asleep in few minutes. I should be doing homework, but I'm also trying to think of what to write about for the Geeks! entry into the HP Magic Giveaway . Chris PIrillo wants a 500-word essay on a how-to, what-is or Top 5 subject. I can't figure out what to write about.

Chicken is Amanda's kitten. She's 5 months old tomorrow. And she's sick. She's been sneezing and gagging. She puked a couple of times. Right now she's asleep in a laundry basket. I'm too broke to take her to the vet. The last time I took a cat to the vet, I spent $120 and the cat died 4 hours later. That was after I called the vet's office to say "my cat has fleas and I didn't know until now how bad she is" and they said "you have to buy medicine and treat her at home." Well, "how bad she is" was anemic. I wonder if I had taken her to the vet on Friday when I called instead of the next day, would she have survived? Poor Comet kitty. Anyway, that's life. You try to do the best you can and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. I'm going to go enter a couple of the HP Magic Giveaway contests now because I'm so lucky and postitive right now.

I'm kind of tired, but not ready to go to bed yet. I've been trying to fulfill requirements for entries into the HP Magic Giveaway, and I'm not quick. I haven't started doing my homework yet. Yikes. And we have a test in my first class (today) - unless we have a late start or a snow day, if it snows enough. Of course, at 2 a.m. they haven't made that decision yet. Plus, my luck would be that the K-12 schools have a late start but the college would be on time. I don't think it's started snowing yet. (checks weather.com - nope) I could fall asleep really easily, but I've still doing laundry. I guess I'll put the clothes in the dryer when I get up. ;-)

National Blog Posting Month. It's every month, but in November it's serious. You have to post each and every day to be included in the contest. Since I didn't sign up until today, I'll have to wait until next year. But it should be a good exercise in discipline - can I really post every day? Can I come up with something to say/write on a daily basis? I've got (counting) five blogs at least. I won't try to post in each one every day, but I should be able to manage a post a day in at least one of them. My badge:

I'm going to list the schedule by day, taken from a Google calendar *: Nov. 28 Bleeping Computer -entered- (didn't win) Gear Live -entered- (didn't win) Windows Connected -entered- (didn't win) Nov. 29 Morningside Mom -entered- (didn't win) Thoughts on poetics & tech -entered- Nov. 30 BostonPocketPC MediaBlab -entered- Neowin Dec. 1 HackCollege Dec. 2 Gotta Be Mobile -entered- I Started Something -entered- (Enter name and email addy. Bonus entry for using Windows Vista {download}) The Gadgeteer Dec. 3 Carlos Alberto (in Portuguese) Down-to-Earth Mama -entered- La Bitácora de Erwin Ried (in Spanish) moosh in indy -entered- Dec. 4 GearDiary Geeks To Go! -entered- Geeks! -entered- (didn't win) Dec. 5 One Day, One Job (tell how you helped someone try to get a job) Dec. 6 Geek.com - entered- (survey) Notebooks.com Techie Diva -entered- Dec. 7 InfoWester (in Portuguese) merlot mom Noticias Tech (in Spanish) Techmamas Dec. 8 AbsoluteVista Barb...