Carol's random babble

Organize with Sandy Reviews is giving away a Rubik's World game. I'm trying to win. Kent won a Wii and this would be an interesting addition to our games.

I finally got my own site with my own domain working, so I'll mostly be posting at CarolFoltz.com . The focus of that site will be the same: my random babbling on whatever topic is on my mind. I plan to start a site about my web design, but that can wait. I don't really have a name for it yet, and still have a year of school to get through before I try to make money at this. And I'm not quitting my (night) job because I don't expect to support myself at this, it's just for extra money and for fun. So, join me at CarolFoltz.com for updates. I might post here from time to time, but my main focus will be therem .

Barefoot Mommies blog is giving away an Excalibur dehydrator . I'm trying to win this - I have a catalog (addressed to my landlady's late husband) and looked through it. I think it would be great to have this for the excess vegetables we should have from our first-ever vegetable garden. I really don't want to start canning yet and I think this could be a great alternative. I know the Excalibur website has all kinds of ideas for using the dehydrator: making beef jerky, speeding up bread-making process in conjunction with a bread-making machine (another thing I want), drying flowers for crafts and even drying photos that have gotten wet. I don't know that I'll be using it for all those things. I'll just be happy to use it to preserve the vegetables that we grow. I could even loan it to people at church who have gardens (they can try it out and decide if they want to buy one). We've got a vegetable gardening group sort of started.

For real, I'm trying to get my own domain set up but the hosting side of it is a little problematic. I can't log into my own domain, when I try it logs me into the one I started for Amanda. I uploaded all the WordPress files to my domain but still nothing. I'm going to be spending some quality time with GoDaddy tech support tonight, I guess.

Actually, I need a budget, but I'm trying to win a program to help with it. It's called You Need a Budget or YNAB for short. The contest is here and closes (looks at clock - it's after midnight) today. So, here's my entry. And I'll stop back at Confessions of a Housewife because she sounds like someone I would be comfortable with. I also added her on Twitter .

Partly because it's 3:49 a.m. and I'm tired. I know better than to stay up all night, yet I do it anyway. Nobody to blame but myself. Partly because I just mentally rehashed a difficult few minutes at work, where essentially someone called me a liar and a thief (in more carefully couched words, and perhaps that wasn't the intent but it's how it sounded to me). But mostly because I just watched "Pride and Prejudice" - the version with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth. I tend to get emotional during love scenes and loved-and-lost scenes, and there were plenty of those. I've also got the version where Colin Firth plays Mr. Darcy. That's next, but not right now. I'm comparing versions - and reading the original - to do justice to a future book review. But that will come later. Now is bedtime.

SciFi channel aims to shed geeky image with new name. The comments are pretty negative about this change. People who either a) fit the "geek" image SciFi is trying to bust or b) fit the alleged demographic are both offended. As a 48-year-old female who has been reading scifi for at least 36 of those years, I agree. (I also like video games, BTW, and my teen daughters do, as well). I recommend reading the comments, though. Some of them are pretty funny and point out things about the name that were apparently missed in the market research. (One person claims that "syfy" in Polish means "things that are stinky.") I liked the suggest of changing the channel name to OOPS, as in "Our Original Programming Sucks." Some people pointed out that the programming changes (wrestling, anyone?) are what drive people away. Start out by providing interesting, quality programming and gradually get rid of the interesting, quality stuff, replacing it with, well, crap...

or maybe I'll get my website launched. The problem is, I'm still fairly new at this. I had installed WordPress on my site at carolfoltz.com. Then I changed my mind, deciding to write my own HTML. Then I changed my mind again, deciding to install WP and go with that. At the same time, I bought a domain name for Amanda: unholynationvampires.com. That's for her Graal Online clan. Now, when I log into my site, it takes me to her site. The theme is hers. It actually logs me into her WP account. I haven't had time to spend on the phone with GoDaddy tech support yet, but next week is spring break. Now I should really go to bed, because I have a full day at school tomorrow (9:10 a.m. to 1:40 p.m.) I'm not feeling tired now, but I certainly will when the alarm goes off. And remember, that theme is what Amanda chose (if you check out the sites). My choice is very different, and someday I'll actually have it up and maybe I can bring my blog over there.

I just learned about the MormonMessages channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages. Mormon Messages is an official channel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I watched Dieter F. Uchtdorf - CREATE and it made me think. One of the screens said, Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you. I am guilty of this - and the voice is my own. I am very self-critical and have been all my life. In kindergarten or first grade, we made (small - you could hold in one hand) clay pots "like the Indians" and painted them. In my mind's eye, I see my effort: misshapen and covered with blotches of paint. Then I see the other kids' works of art: symmetrical and painted with even lines and dots like "real" Indian pottery. I know this is not true - the other kids could not have created what my mind recalls. But at that tender age, I decided that I was not artistic and carried that belief throughout my life. I'm still struggling with it ...

I've added a couple new blogs to my blogroll. First: Olivia . Olivia is mooshinindy's sister-in-law and the post I was directed to (dated Feb. 22, 2009 ) is her response to a troll. I'm kind of sorry I didn't see what the troll said, but her response is great. Second is "Hurley" from Lost: Jorge Garcia. His blog is Dispatches from the Island and he talks about his life and the show. Confession time: I've only seen the first episode of the show - it's on Wednesdays and the girls have church then. But Jorge Garcia kind of looks like my nephew Alex and he has a good sense of humor - definitely a good read. I also added Cake Wrecks . I check this blog from time to time - it's always a good read and often has me laughing until tears run down my face. The motto is "when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong." Some are simple spelling errors or mistranslation between what the customer says (filtered through the person taking the ord...

I have a set of classes that meets Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I have not attended them yet this week. I went today, only a few minutes late, to discover that the classes had been canceled. I didn't think to check the notices online. D'oh. And I parked way the heck out in the west side of the parking lot, so had a long walk to the building where my classes are, then a long walk back. So I ended up going to drop off Mom's new prescription that she got on Monday that I keep forgetting to drop off. I asked the pharmacists how long, he said 15 minutes, which is what he always says. So I went back to my car and read the Ensign that Mom had given me a few days ago. And I went back in. Her prescription wasn't ready, so I waited. I ended up standing for about 1/2 hour. I went back out to my car and pulled out a book and read some more, then went back in. Still not ready. I tromped down the stairs to their bathroom, which is actually under the stairs and there's nothing to ha...

GeekMommy is one of six bloggers running contests for trips to SeaWorld Orlando. The requirements are: post a comment (for first entry), tweet (for an additional entry) and blog (for an additional entry). So, this is my blog entry. I should go look for those photos from SeaWorld San Diego ... where I went with a school trip years ago. I was filling in for a friend of the family, accompanying her daughter's class. I took lots of pictures and learned that you don't want to sit front and center for some of the shows. Luckily, we dried off quickly. ;-) I remember petting dolphins and being amazed at the colors of the sea creatures in pools where you can just go up and look at them closely. It's educational and fun. This trip for four includes riding the Manta . This kind of freaks me out because I probably can't ride anyway, but I am a little afraid when riding roller coasters. But I've gained a lot of weight since the last time I rode one, and I honestly don't thi...

because of something in Unix? Apparently this Friday (Feb. 13, 2009) the time will read at 1234567890 in Unix . Huh? Will somebody explain this to me - in a way that someone not a programmer can understand? I got the Y2K thing when that was going on - and no, I did not hunker down in my bunker with stored food, water and ammunition. I have no idea what the Unix thing is about. And Mom, if I don't get it, I'm pretty sure you won't - no offense. It's just a goofy thing that Amanda showed me.

My Adobe software should arrive today. I'm getting the student edition of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver. This should help a lot with getting my homework done. And it should be fun. ;-)

Anne Bradshaw at Not Entirely British blog has a contest going to give away a CD of "Thy Healing Hands Songs of Comfort and Peace" by Sara Lyn Baril . I'd like to win this. The winner will be picked at random, but I'll tell why I would like it. I like a variety of music. Sometimes I listen to one type of music or one artist exclusively for awhile. But the variety is the thing. And I don't have much music by LDS artists.

Here's a link to a PDF that explains the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. http://tgtbt.com/CRIMINALS.pdf This is a big file and takes awhile to download. MOM! Don't view this one!) Government site about it: http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.HTML CPSIA - The Lessons of Nero: http://learningresourcesinc.blogspot.com/2009/01/cpsia-lessons-of-nero.html More explanation: http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia Basically, in order to protect children from dangerous chemicals (such as lead in toys), every manufacturer who creates things for children under 12 will be required to test each component of each item they make. For large manufacturers, this will add to the cost, but won't necessarily put them out of business. But for small businesses, such as people who create handmade items like clothes or toys, it can ruin them. Imagine a handmade outfit for a child. Each component has to be tested - and by the person who puts it together, not...

Donna called me, waking me up because of a phone call (I skipped class today to sleep). Caller: "You have been accepted for a special MasterCard." Me: "No thank you." Hang up. I woke up for this? What a waste. I changed my alarm to give me another half hour of sleep and went back to bed.

Kent did my running around yesterday - went to a used tire place to find out about getting a tire, went to a junkyard for a different wheel rim, and back to the used tire place. So now I don't have to worry about driving on the little spare. I'm still not sure what to do with this car when I get my financial aid. I could get it worked on, but I'm not sure how much work it needs and how long it will last even if it gets some work done. I could sell it - either to a private party or a junkyard. I could donate it to Wheels for Work. But sellling it to a person or donating it kind of worry me. I'm concerned there may be some problem I'm not aware of that could cause the next owner more problems. I could keep it as my back-up car. But I'm not too happy with that idea, either. So today, I'm leaning toward selling it for scrap metal. Who knows how I will feel about it tomorrow.

Mainly this one - I couldn't get the tired fixed yesterday and I'm still driving on the little spare. I won't do any trips I don't have to, and this is a time when church isn't as necessary as staying safe. We waited an hour at Wal-Mart, and they told us that they wouldn't put a new tire on because the rim is damaged. So we can't do anything until Monday. Kent's going to take me to school tomorrow and go try to find a tire with wheel. I'm down to not much money now, though.

yeah. I was going to move my car so Donna could park in the front of the driveway and I could park in back, thus being able to come and go as I please today, when I discovered I won't be going anywhere in the immediate future. I have a flat tire. This changes a lot of things. I can't move my car right now, so I'll have to move Donna's car (after mine is mobile again) out to the street, move my car, park her car in the driveway and then park my car. It would have taken so much less time with both of us driving, but she'll be going to bed soon - she works nights. And I'll be buying a couple of tires for this car that I'm not even sure I want to keep after I get my financial aid in a couple of weeks. There goes most of the money I have left after I got paid yesterday. Yippee.

I didn't go to class today. I was going to take a nap and make it to the third and fourth classes. Then I called Kent, he said he was coming over and I decided to stay home. He could have come over by himself, but I came back anyway. I had to go into town anyway because Cayla had an afterschool meeting. I picked her up around 1:45, she said they were done at 1:30. I came when she had told me they would be done. Plus, she left her cell phone at home today, so she couldn't call or play games or anything. Donna went to Ames today for multiple reasons. She took Mama Cat to Suzanna, who took her to a vet down there. The vet told Suzanna that Mama Cat probably has pancreatic cancer and said something about keeping her comfortable in her last days. But nothing about putting her to sleep. This was based on the vet scruffing her to pick her up and saying her skin was pulling away. Suzanna did not ask about putting the cat to sleep, so is supposed to bring her back here. Donna also took ...

I watched the inauguration today - as best I could. I was in class, watching it stream semi-live on ustream.com. The video was laggy and kept skipping. I heard part of Obama's swearing-in. I went to the student center and watched for awhile, heard much of his speech. On Twitter, someone asked when the White House website would switch to the new president. It switched just after noon Eastern time. I got screen shots before and after: Bush: and Obama:

Okay, I'm not sure that's a word and I'm not looking it up right now. Years ago, I worked at a Circle K store in Arizona (convenience store/gas station). I had worked there for awhile and when a new employee was hired, I was asked to help train her. As I recall, she had been a nurse. She was in her 40s or 50s, I think - I was around 28. As I was telling her how things were done there, I got the impressions that she was disregarding me - and that proved to be the case. Everything I told her kind of went in one ear and out the other. Although I told and showed her how things were done, she did them her way. I've always assumed that it was because of the age difference - that she disregarded me because she was older and "knew better" than me how things were done, even though I had worked there long enough to know that. It bothered me and I didn't want to be the kind of person who would be so foolish. Now (at 48) I find myself on Twitter. I'm being followe...

can be hard. Waiting for money days (payday, financial aid, tax refund). Waiting for my sister to be able to move out (I'm not kicking her out, but it's hard to run my own household without having to modify the way I do things). I try sometimes to enjoy life as it's happening. But I get caught up in thinking of some future event, as if that event will change things for the better. Yeah, when I get my financial aid I can get a better car and a computer so I can do my class assignments on my own. But I won't be able to do everything with that money that I want to do - it simply won't stretch that far. So I'll have to compromise, as I always do. But that's life.

Well, I was going to blog the Sunday School lesson for BJ, and I was going to blog the Relief Society lesson here, and I was going to clear crap out of the driveway - especially after the car got stuck, and I was going to go hunting for Hatchlings eggs and update the Links with Eggs list and do laundry. I did one load of laundry and updated the Links with Eggs list. I also took a nap, but woke up crabby. I calmed down after a bit and feel almost human. I haven't had supper yet, but I'm sure I'll feel better after I eat. (Leftover macaroni salad, but at least I won't have to cook.) And I should get my books ready for class tomorrow - should be my first full day of classes since the semester started last Wednesday (missed Wednesday because I was sick, missed Thursday because my car wouldn't start, missed 1 1/2 classes Friday because I couldn't get my act together).

I was late for the second class, missed the first one entirely. But my car started and I was able to go. I'll have some catching up to do over the weekend - I didn't keep caught up in Dreamweaver and when we start up on Tuesday in Dreamweaver Projects, I'll need to start from where we left off in the book. So I've got to get that caught up.

so far. The college is still supposed to open at 9:30 and my only class today is at 9:40. But I don't want to go out in the cold, and I wonder if the car will even start. So I put off getting ready, even though I absolutely have to wash my hair today and it will freeze when I go out. The floor is even a bit cold, but my bed would soon be warm if I could snuggle back under the covers. Oh, to heck with it. I'll go take my shower. They'll probably cancel while I'm in there. (I can still hope.)

Pardon my language, but honestly. They don't have the artists I want to listen to, they make you sign up for a 30-day "trial" in order to download the free downloads, they gave me 50 downloads when the Pizza Hut offer was for 75, they billed my credit card before the 30 days was up, and they are making me jump through hoops to cancel my account. It's only been about 2 weeks - not 30 days. So I'm trying to cancel my account but the site keeps directing me to the page where I'm supposed to update my credit card into or the FAQ page. The FAQ doesn't include my particular problem, which is how to extricate myself from their substandard service. And back to the original part - they don't even offer what I want. Type in "Coldplay" and you get this: We’re sorry but in order to keep eMusic download prices at less than half of iTunes® and Amazon® we currently do not have albums by Coldplay. They do, however, offer Coldplay songs sung by other artists ...

I started a new blog yesterday - intended to cheer up a friend from church who is having some health problems. So I did blog, but not here. I'm still going to count it for NaBloPoMo . I haven't kept track of my daily posts, but I know I missed one day by one minute. I got home that night (Jan. 3, a Saturday) and asked Cayla to let me on the computer before midnight. I guess I wasn't specific enough. I got on in time to make a very quick, short post - and it posted at midnight exactly. So my blogging streak was ruined already. Today is a snow day. The kids don't have school, but I still have to go to work this afternoon. Of the three people who work on the news side tonight, I live closest to town, so I can't use bad weather as an excuse not to go to work. I'll leave early, though, so I will have plenty of time to get there. And I'll take my fancy new cell phone (which has GPS if I need it). I'll just make sure it's fully charged - it drains quickly ...

not to have to clean off my car ... I had to shovel - Cayla's still asleep (1:37 p.m.) and Amanda's over at Kent's. Jessica just got up a few minutes ago. Donna came upstairs earlier, but went back to bed. So I shoveled a path around both cars, but didn't clean off either one. Kent came over, so he might do that. He's taking me to lunch. I don't think I mentioned that the cell phones arrived. I got an LG Voyager with touch screen and QWERTY keyboard. It's really cool. I still feel a tinge of longing for the Palm Centro, which was my second/third choice if I couldn't get this one - I could have downloaded the scriptures onto that. But I can play Oregon Trail on this one. (I have to take off my glasses and hold it really close, though.) Anyway, new cell phones arrived Thursday, just before I had to go to work. I've showed mine off to everyone at work - I'm sure they are tired of it. And I have a lesson to prepare for Relief Society tomorrow: Lesson...

and all I want is to not have to shovel the driveway. But I know I'll have to anyway. Sigh.

Colleen Stearns (Living life one day at a time blog) is offering a set of wool balls to one lucky reader. Rules are here . The wool balls come from Purrfect Play . They have toys for dogs and cats. Although the wool balls are intended for dogs, I think our cats would like them, too. The pet toys are made with natural fibers, no dyes. They look lovely, and I bet our cats would have a field day. I picture Boo-Boo (Buster) throwing one of the small mice up in the air and catching it, like he used to do when we lived in a place that had mice. His substitute since then has been the small mice that have actual fur. He loves those, but they do have dyes, and I have to wonder how safe the dyes are. The added benefit of buying from a company like this is supporting small businesses. I'll admit to shopping at Wal-Mart - it's cheaper most of the time. They match advertised prices - but there has to be competition for this to happen. Supporting other businesses makes sense, and supporting ...

I entered to win a T-shirt from Resist Today . The contest is from Sandier Pastures. I would want the Skulls and kittens grey T-shirt for Amanda. It also comes in yellow, pink and blue. She's not here to pick, so I'm guessing grey will work for her.

I reread "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer yesterday. I was prepared to feel superior about those people who are such fans of the series, but I kind of understand how they feel. I'm not going to change my username to BellaSwan or EsmeCullen or anything like that. But the books are enjoyable and don't damage the mythology too much. The reference to changing my username is because I've used "CaySedai" for nearly 13 years. The Sedai part is from the Wheel of Time series by the late Robert Jordan. The last book ("A Memory of Light") of that series is being written by Brandon Sanderson and is supposed to come out later this year. Sanderson's site says that he's not done with it, so I doubt this will be the year. The point is that books move people in different ways. There are plenty of people who have taken usernames that reflect their favorite books, whether it's from the Wheel of Time series or the Twilight series or something else. ...

I won Organizer Sandy 's mini-book giveaway last week and the mini-books arrived on Friday. They are truly tiny, but have good tips. I almost feel like getting organized. (But not right now) I'm also entering Organizer Sandy's car caddy giveaway . Oh, and the last post about needing my own computer? I told Cayla when I got home that I needed to get on the computer before midnight. I should have been more specific. I needed to get my Saturday post in before midnight. As you can see, I got it at midnight, making my run for January (NaBloPoMo) invalid already. Oh well, there's always next month, right? Sigh.

That is all.

Using a cellphone to post is the pits. I want a qwerty keypad.

My first post of the new year. I'm still in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month, which is every month, actually). January's theme is Change. I signed up for The Power of Less challenge. My first challenge is to take my shower first thing in the morning when I get up. I usually wait until the girls go to school, then I have to rush around to get ready and am often late for class. This next semester my classes start at either 9:10 or 9:40, but it's still a good idea - get the day started right. I'm adding a new blog to my blogroll: The Levite Chronicles . I "heard" about it on Twitter. Another thing I found on Twitter: Project 365 . Basically, take a picture every day. Post it in a blog or photo account. Along with making a blog post every day, I think I can take a picture every day, as well. I already take my camera everywhere, and soon I'll have a cell phone with a camera (when that arrives, that will be my picture of the day!). More later, maybe.