Carol's random babble

Stop SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-18T12:34:00.000-06:00

Many websites are dark today in protest of two bills before Congress right now. The danger if the bills pass is that the Internet will be crippled, sites will be taken down for suspected copyright infringement/piracy without due process, ordinary people will be prosecuted for doing so much as posting a video of themselves singing a copyrighted song or quoting a copyrighted work.

I'm not tech-savvy enough to take my sites down and get them back up, so my support is this: watch this video and see the dangers, then contact your senators and representatives. Tell them that SOPA and PIPA are not going to solve the problem of piracy and they are likely to cause more problems in the long run.
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Good timing and a happy ending

2012-01-11T08:26:00.001-06:00

Cayla didn't get ready in time for Seminary, so she asked me to let her sleep for half an hour before getting ready to catch the bus. We were actually at the bus stop when the bus was there when she realized that she didn't have some homework she needs to turn in today. So we let the bus leave and headed home to get the papers.

The bus makes three stops in our town, so we headed to the third stop after she got her homework. The kids were standing in the road, and one was playing with a dog. The dog got loose, so I stopped short of the bus stop and told the kid to make sure the dog was put away before the bus arrived. He said the dog was just loose, so I told him to put the dog in my back seat so it wouldn't get hit by the bus. I parked in a driveway until the bus left.

There was a car waiting for the bus to leave. I let the dog out and it ran for the car. I yelled at the dog, but it went around the (now stopped) car and in the driver's side. I went up and tapped on the window to ask if the dog belonged to the driver.

Yes, he said, that was his dog. It got out of its leash and ran off. I was happy to see that the dog got back to its rightful owner safely. And it was because of Cayla being too late for Seminary and then forgetting her homework at home.

The reason I was so willing (anxious, even) to let a strange dog in my car is that when I was in fifth or sixth grade, we had a German shepherd puppy named Ginger. One morning Donna and I played with Ginger (who was being kept in the shed behind the house) while waiting for our bus, but when the bus came we quickly shut the door and ran to the end of the driveway.

The door wasn't shut properly, though, and Ginger got out. She ran after the bus and under the wheels and was killed. It was sad and totally our fault, and I am glad that I was able to prevent this from happening today to someone else's dog.

Birthday wrap-up

2012-01-11T05:14:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It wasn't half-bad. I had birthday greetings from dozens of people on Facebook: former co-workers, old friends, relatives, former classmates, people from Facebook and online forums.

I tried making a chocolate lava cake in the crockpot, which didn't turn out quite like I had hoped, but was still quite tasty, especially with ice cream.

I also made "homemade" pizza on my Pizza Pizzazz. (The dough was refrigerator dough from Pillsbury, hence the quote marks around homemade.) That also didn't turn out quite as I had hoped, but next time I will read the instructions and precook the dough a few minutes before putting the sauce and other ingredients on. The girls had one piece each and didn't care for it. The cats got into the Canadian bacon, so they got a treat for my birthday, as well.

I borrowed Mom's Kindle Fire and read a book I had downloaded for her that I had wanted to read. I paid her phone bill and took Kent to the grocery store. I picked up Cayla at school after she had speech (mime) practice. And I made an appointment for Amanda to get her eyes checked next week.

I received a gift in the mail - from a holiday exchange on an online forum. I haven't sent my present out yet, so I feel a little guilty about opening what I got, but I did it anyway. I received peanut brittle, a book and two kinds of homemade jerky: regular and hot. I can attest to the fact that hot means hot - as in clear your sinuses and make your eyes water. Cayla has taken the regular jerky, which means I get the rest of the hot jerky. A little will last quite a while, I think. I should put it in a plastic bag and keep it away from the cats. They still have Canadian bacon.

I'm planning to indulge myself with a purchase later this week, so the lack of presents isn't disappointing. I didn't say anything to the girls, but apparently I had a notice on the calendar on the old cell phone I use as an alarm clock and Cayla heard it go off while I was cooking. She came out of my bedroom and said "Happy Birthday" (it was around 7 p.m.). So I think I need to get the girls into family history so they will have an awareness of when people's birthdays are. I can tell you month, day and year for my parents and mother-in-law, month and day or month and year for my father-in-law, stepmom, grandparents, Burrell cousins and aunts.

Anyway, there it is: another year gone. I still have things I've wanted to do, and maybe I'll get to them. I don't feel like doing a life assessment right now. Actually, I feel like going back to bed right now, but I'm trying to get Cayla up in time to go to Seminary, or at least catch the bus so I don't have to drive her to school, so I can't go to bed yet. But as soon as I drop her off either at Seminary or the bus stop, I'll get my morning nap.

So, today's my birthday ...

2012-01-10T14:22:00.002-06:00

My kids are oblivious, but they'll come around later because I'm planning on cake. With ice cream.

Anyway, it's also a record-breaker as far as temperature for a January 10, and in a good way. But this made me laugh:

Notice the "Severe" warning at the top - record high temperature.

Yes, I guess in January a temperature of 57 degrees is quite a change from the norm. But to me "severe" means hazardous and 57 degrees means pleasant ...

Giveaway: iPad, Kindle Fire

2012-01-10T11:42:00.000-06:00

I have entered giveaways from blogs from all over. Some require comments, some require tweets. Some used forms of one kind or another. But when I started seeing Rafflecopter forms, I was hooked.

With Rafflecopter, each type of entry is easy to find (assuming it's filled out correctly in the first place). If it requires you follow someone, the link is there. If it requires a tweet, the link is there. So it's mainly click-click-click for each entry.

Rafflecopter is open to the public now, so they are celebrating and having a giveaway. They are giving away a 16GB iPad and several Kindle Fires. (I've been trying to win one of these for months.)

So here's the entry form. In the first entry, where it says "who referred you" put Carol Foltz of Carol's Random Babble and if you win, I win, too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Paying it forward

2012-01-05T15:31:00.000-06:00

A couple of years ago, while I was on my way to work, my car developed a flat tire. I think it was August - I know it was hot, and I just didn't want to try to change that stupid tire.

Luckily for me, a couple of Good Samaritans stopped, the husband repositioned my jack (I had gotten that far) and changed the tire for me. He didn't accept any payment but my thanks.

Today I got a chance to make a difference in someone else's day in a positive manner. I had stopped at the post office to check my PO box and as I was walking back to my car, a man hollered at me asking if I could give them a jump. I said I could, if they had jumper cables. (They did.)

So, they pushed the car over by mine and got to work. After a few minutes, several tries and changing over to the heavy-duty jumper cables, they got their car to start. The driver asked if he could give me anything, and I said no. Later it occurred to me that it was sort of my payback for the assistance I had received with the flat tire.

Procrastination and frugality don't mix

2012-01-04T23:29:00.001-06:00

I just realized that I forgot (postponed) to bag up the chicken I bought yesterday. Chicken breasts were on sale at Hy-Vee for 88 cents per pound, and I bought three packages. But there's too much meat in one package to have at once, so I have to separate them all. I just kept putting it off.

Buying stuff on sale is great, but if my procrastination makes my purchase go bad, then there's no savings. And this wouldn't be the first time it's happened. (But it's not going to happen, because I'll separate it in the morning.)

But now I'm going to bed, because I've procrastinated that too, and I have to get up way too early in the morning.

Who's too cool for school?

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

I thought my Doctor Who ringtone was the coolest ringtone possible. But then at work on Saturday I heard something that is right up there as far as cool factor.

Kersh's phone went off and everyone at work was amazed. It was part of the theme to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." You know, that sort of trill like a whistle and the waah waah waah sound? He said it was a Christmas present.

I now have ringtone envy. But I can't justify getting that ringtone for myself. It would have to be attached to a certain phone number so that when that person calls me that ringtone would be heard. And I just don't have anyone I can attach that sound to.

At one time I had considered getting an Adele ringtone, but her songs like "Rolling in the Deep" are about broken relationships. I'm separated from Kent and I am emotionally separated enough that I don't have the emotional equity anymore to care enough to give him a separate ringtone. I can't even summon up the energy to think about songs that would apply, and I certainly don't want to waste money on a ringtone for that purpose.

I'll stick with my Doctor Who ringtone. :-)

Entering giveaways

2012-01-02T06:52:00.001-06:00

I have a folder on my bookmarks toolbar where I put links to giveaways - to show that I have entered, to go back and finish, and to check back to see who won.

Today's giveaway that I have entered is for a group of items: a $15 Subway card, some makeup, a Usborne book, some other things. This one is fairly easy - follow six Twitter accounts. Two of the account names, however, are not right. The first is Mom Blog Society - should be @momblogsociety, not @momblogsociety.com. The second should be @couponcouple, @thriftycouponcouple. The person doing the giveaway should fix these, but just in case, follow the names I listed. This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.

And I'm still trying to win a laptop or a Kindle Fire. Mom seems to like her Kindle Fire - I asked and she said she is reading more. The good thing about that is she reads in her recliner, with her feet up. Her legs are pretty swollen, so hopefully this will help with that. And she has a doctor appointment tomorrow to address this issue.

Resolutions never work for me

2012-01-01T15:52:00.002-06:00

I can make them and break them very quickly. However, there are things I want to do and things I should do. So I will come up with these things and list them and make plans and possibly, just possibly, I will actually do some of them. Here's the list, in no particular order:

Make menu plans and grocery shop from a list.
Read the Book of Mormon.
Write more.
Keep up with my blogs.
Do more family history.
Do more family search indexing.
Get to work on time consistently (and on that note, I'm getting dressed for work now, so see you later).

And I'd like to point out that my plan was to make this a scheduled post, to help with NaBloPoMo, but since I added that last item it won't make sense if I schedule it for tomorrow morning. I really need to think these things through.

Beginnings

2012-01-01T09:55:00.000-06:00

That's the theme of this month's NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). January is traditionally a time when people assess their lives and try to make a fresh start. It's also often the time when the fresh start (as in New Year's resolutions) dwindles away.

This year will probably not be any different, sadly. For me, at least. I haven't given any thought to resolutions, but I have made an effort to make some effort, in a sense. I signed up for NaBloPoMo for this blog, which means a blog post every day this month. Thank goodness for scheduled posts, as I'm sure I'll be making use of that feature. If I can get a head start on the month ...

I also signed up for In Old Fort Dodge, my history blog. I did well last month, so let's see how it goes. I have three days' worth of posts in the queue, so that's a good start.

Google Plus

2011-12-31T13:41:00.001-06:00

I haven't really gotten the hang of it yet, but I'm going to learn. I started a page for In Old Fort Dodge, my history blog from the early days of Fort Dodge, Iowa. I'll do one for this blog, and I'm also working some social networking for an author friend of mine, so I'll get her on there, as well.

I don't think Google + will be a Facebook killer, but it doesn't hurt to get coverage in more than one place. I can be found here, if anyone is interested.

Giveaway!

2011-12-28T11:49:00.000-06:00

One copy of My Memories digital scrapbooking software. It's easy to use, and nice that you can make as many layouts as you want without running out of supplies.

One person will receive a code to download their own copy of My Memories Suite v3. One entry is mandatory, the others get you extra entries. This giveaway ends 12:01 a.m. EST on Dec. 31, which is 11:01 p.m. on Dec. 30. Please let the Rafflecopter widget load.

a Rafflecopter giveawaySamples of layouts I have done using My Memories:

He only does it to annoy

2011-12-09T07:05:00.001-06:00

From "Alice in Wonderland":

Speak roughly to your little boy,
And beat him when he sneezes:
He only does it to annoy,
Because he knows it teases.

In this case, it's Kent. Apparently he was in a bit of a fender-bender Tuesday night and his car is non-functional. Which is annoying to me because Cayla may miss the bus and I don't want to have to drive her to school. It's as if he does these things on purpose to inconvenience me.

Okay, not really. But seriously, I have told him over the years about driving carefully and here we are.

(Later) Luckily for me, I was able to get Cayla to the bus stop on time, so I don't have that extra trip into town.

My Memories on video

2011-12-05T12:13:00.001-06:00

To show a bit of what My Memories Suite can do, I thought I would offer a video from the My Memories YouTube channel. The video is about 2 minutes long and it's obviously a commercial/infomercial, but if you watch it you will see that there is more to My Memories than traditional scrapbooking.

I like the idea of creating something once and sharing it many times. If you want to make each version a little different, you can do that, too. In this post I showed how one layout can be switched around with different elements or backgrounds to look different. You can make slightly different versions of the same scrapbook if you want each book you are sharing to be different (for example if you don't want all the grandparents to get the same exact thing).

This also helps you decide how a page is best laid out. And since I have a tendency to add too many embellishments, I can look at the finished product and then take away some - which is difficult to do with actual stickers.

Anyway, if you are interested in a chance to win a copy of My Memories Suite v3 digital scrapbooking software, enter my giveaway. There is one mandatory entry - you must "like" My Memories on Facebook. Other entries are optional, but some will give you extra entries (if you go to the My Memories website and leave a blog comment or a Rafflecopter comment with the name of a product, you get five extra entries). Good luck!

Christmas layout 1

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

So I'm doing a giveaway of My Memories Suite v3 digital scrapbooking software, and I'd like to show a few things you can do with the software. So I will try to do a different layout every day during the giveaway, which started today and ends at 12:01 a.m. EST on December 8, 2011.

These two layouts are to show how you can change up a few things to make them better (I hope they are better). I have a tendency to put too much stuff in my scrapbook pages. But one nice feature is that if you do "save as" you can build on your original page, modify it or delete things without ruining what you have already accomplished.

I used Holiday Snows pack snow overlay (left side and bottom - all one piece), with some extra individual snowflakes. The word art comes from Holiday Simplicity pack. I purposefully arranged the snowflakes to cover some of the background stuff, although I could have cropped the photo or used a mat instead.


For this version, I downsized the snowflake overlay (should have moved it closer to the edge of the page) and put a peppermint stripe mat, rotated and sized down, under "Holiday" in the word art to make it show up better. I was able to increase the font size of the journaling, as well.

Blue version of the original background, and I changed the mat color to blue using the picker option so it is a color from the actual background. Also picked a different mat, although that one doesn't quite suit.


Used a white flourish from Holiday Simplicity pack and rearranged the other elements.

As you can see, I was able to try a few different looks without using up my "supplies" and I can still make changes.

I mention the packs the embellishments came in. Some of the embellishments come with the software. Some are downloaded - and I only used what was free on the My Memories website or offered by the designers on their Facebook pages. I still have some I haven't used yet because they are in zip files and I'm figuring out how to use them (not how to unzip them, but where they go once they are unzipped). The files from My Memories are usually executable files, so they go where they are supposed to when you double-click on them.

You can also download the packs in photoshop format if you want to use them but don't have the My Memories software yet. And if you are in the market, I've got this giveaway going on, or you can simply purchase it by clicking on the graphic at the right and use my affiliate code STMMMS22597 to save $10 on your purchase (and yes, if you do that, I am compensated).

Giveaway

2011-11-30T12:41:00.001-06:00

I recently started using My Memories digital scrapbooking software. It's nice to be able to make multiple layouts without running out of supplies or messing things up if I cut something wrong.

You can do many things with My Memories - create scrapbooking layouts (of course), calendars, cards, and I've even seen someone who is using it to create layouts of her favorite recipes, with photos of the actual food.

When you use digital scrapbooking software, you can recreate your layout as many times as you like. You can share with as many people as you like, without using up your precious hoard of scrapbooking materials. (Yes, I hoard mine.) And if you think it's not personal enough this way, start the layout on your computer, print it out and add physical embellishments for the final touch.

But you don't have to add physical embellishments, because embellishments are included. And what's nice here is that they are sizeable, so you can have the same embellishment in many different sizes, and even colors.

This layout uses a background paper plus the ornament embellishment and three stars at the bottom, the family memories embellishment and text and photo. I colored the text two different colors to highlight Amanda's childhood wish list.

I'm having a giveaway - one person will get a copy of My Memories Suite v3 software - it's a download, so you have to be able to access the Internet on the computer you will use the software on. (System requirements) I run it on an eMachine with 1 G of RAM and it runs pretty fair, as long as I am not running a lot of other stuff at the time, although I have run it at the same time as Firefox. Probably not fair to my computer, which I bought refurbished last year.

Anyway, here's the giveaway. If you don't see the Rafflecopter form right away, give it a minute to load. There is one mandatory entry - you must "like" My Memories on Facebook. There are two ways to earn 5 entries each, both of which you visit the sponsor (MyMemories.com) and leave a comment on the blog post with the name of your favorite product or use the Rafflecopter entry form and enter the name of your favorite product in that form (third text box). You can do the 5-entry Rafflecopter entry or the tweet once per day, all other entries are one-time only.

Contest starts at 12:01 a.m. EST Dec. 1 (11:01 p.m. Nov. 30).

Okay, let's try this again

2011-11-30T12:27:00.001-06:00

I recently held a giveaway that failed. I didn't get even one valid entrant. There were two requirements, both of which related to the sponsor, and I didn't want to change them. So I didn't give the item away.

But here I am again. I'm going to use Rafflecopter again, because I like entering Rafflecopter giveaways, and they're not that hard, honest. I've got some background stuff to do, because I'll be highlighting the product again and want to create new stuff for this giveaway.

Maybe I'm just overthinking it ...

It's Cyber Monday!

2011-11-28T14:11:00.001-06:00

Supposedly people are more likely to shop online today. Here's a glimpse at what happens to online shoppers when the computer crashes:

Here's a modern version of a visit to Santa Claus:

And finally, word to the wise:

(I'd like to point out that I don't actually drink alcoholic beverages; however, I have been known to sit at the computer for hours, fueled by diet Dr Pepper.)

These are some items I've seen on Facebook, which I call Facebook funnies. I'll post them here from time to time.

Help me out?

2011-11-21T12:39:00.001-06:00

For anyone who hasn't used StumbleUpon, for each 5 people who sign up through my link, I can get $10 Amazon.com credit. I've got plans for something to buy there and I need more credit. So, anyone? Except maybe Mom, who has enough to do on the computer already. :-) (Mom, I like the Mahjongg game you've been playing lately.)

Plastic Jungle

2011-11-08T18:00:00.001-06:00

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I had a $30 gift card I couldn't use, but I could trade it in for some credit for an account I could use. Sure, I would lose some of the value (I would get about $24 in credit), but it seemed better than losing the value of the gift card completely or having to a) drive 90 miles to the closest store of that type or b) spend it online and have to spend more money, too (although this might have been the better option, in retrospect).

So, I signed up for PlasticJungle.com. You tell them about your gift card and they tell you how much you can get for it in various formats, including PayPal and Amazon credit. They generate label information, you print out the sheet, cut the mailing label from the sheet and tape it to an envelope and tape the card(s) to the invoice sheet.

Then, apparently, you wait.

And you wait some more.

And after you've waited for awhile, you contact their customer service. And they tell you to wait. And they mark your request for assistance as "resolved" and "closed."

So, it's been three weeks and a day since I put the card in the mail. Nothing on their website - it doesn't show that they have received the card. (It doesn't help that they did a major website relaunch in the meantime, so who knows if it's because they didn't get the card, or because they are tardy in processing it, or if their database is messed up?)

But here's my latest request for assistance, and although I didn't threaten to blog about this, here I am:

I sent an Office Depot card for $30 on Oct. 17, 2011. It does not show up in my account. I contacted customer service through the website and by phone. Both customer service people have said my problem is solved and closed. NO IT IS NOT. They think it's solved when they tell me to wait longer. NO IT IS NOT. It is solved when I get credit for the $30 card I sent you.

I also left a comment on your Facebook page. Someone from Plastic Jungle promised to look into it, but never got back to me and now the thread is gone.

It's been three weeks since I sent the card. You should have received it by now. I am very unhappy with this "service" and I know I'm not alone. The number of unhappy commenters on your Facebook page is much greater than those who are happy. I want to know what you are going to do to resolve this issue, and telling me to wait and then marking my request for assistance as "resolved" and "closed" is not the right answer.

So, I'll keep you informed about what happens next.

A busted giveaway

2011-11-02T16:05:00.002-05:00

So I held my first giveaway on this blog. The giveaway ended at 12:01 a.m. today. I had one entry.

The problem is that two entries were mandatory and one person did one of them, and another left a comment which didn't fulfill the requirements.

I'm waiting to hear from the sponsor to see what to do next. I guess I didn't advertise enough. I also barred my relatives from entering, which would probably have gotten me a couple of entries, if only to keep them from hearing me whine about it.

More to come when I know what's going on.

My Memories a layout a day: Grumpy Cat

2011-11-01T20:35:00.003-05:00

Today's layout is Grumpy Cat. It's actually an embellishment, but it's easy to add photos - you just add a photo box, size it and send it to the back. I also added Word Art and two text boxes. It only took a few minutes.

The giveaway of a copy of My Memories Suite v2 digital scrapbooking software ends at 11:01 p.m. tonight (12:01 a.m. Eastern time Nov. 2).

6 centimeters

2011-11-01T00:35:00.001-05:00

That's how long the gash in Cayla's leg is, according to the E.R. nurse.

She slipped at the haunted house and cut her leg on a sharp corner on an outlet cover attached to a pole. She called me at work to let me know that someone from the haunted house was taking her to the E.R. I left work and met them there.

It's not that bad, only took two stitches and some steri-strips to hold it closed. But we spent 3 1/2 hours in the E.R. (mostly in the waiting room) and I expect Cayla will be in a little bit of pain tomorrow (her leg is starting to bruise), so I have already called the school to say she won't be there.

And now I'm off to bed, to charge my phone (which was down to one battery bar by the time I left), to turn off my alarm, and to sleep until I wake up on my own in the morning. Please let there be no phone calls.

Also, my motto is Always Bring a Book. And Always Bring a Camera. Having neither of those items made the lengthy wait seem even longer. And no souvenir photos of our experience.

My Memories a layout a day: Halloween 2

2011-10-31T14:03:00.002-05:00

Today's layout uses Pumpkin Flair, a free embellishment pack from My Memories. I got an email with a link to download. If you sign up to get email updates, you can get these free packs, too. The link I got is here, but I'm not sure it allows more than one person to get the free download.

Usually the part that takes the longest time for me is checking out each kind of paper and embellishment, because there are a lot to choose from. It's easy to use a predesigned kit and just plug in your photos, though. This layout is based on a photo layout without any embellishments. I added the Pumpkin Flair (the little pumpkin faces), "Happy Halloween" from the Halloween card kit I downloaded, and pumpkin stripe background paper. I also used Word Art for "Trunk or Treat 2008." The whole thing only took a few minutes.

The giveaway is still going on. You can win your own copy of My Memories Suite v2 digital scrapbooking software. Giveaway ends at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Nov. 2, which is 11:01 p.m. Tuesday night for people in my time zone (Central). Two entries are required: Visit MyMemories.com and leave a comment in my blog entry here with the name of something you like on their website, and "like" My Memories on Facebook. Use the Rafflecopter entry form to let me know you have done these entries. Other methods give you more entries, but are not mandatory.

My Memories a layout a day: Princess Diva

2011-10-30T12:20:00.000-05:00

I think this scrapbook layout came with the My Memories Suite. I downloaded a lot of free templates and papers, but it's not on my list. (Forgetful me, sorry)

I didn't add anything to these except some text in the last page shown:

There is plenty of room for text here. I would recommend putting a shape with a color that matches or complements the colors of the background paper, then putting your text box on top of that. You can group those two elements and move them around together.

Cayla has no idea I've been using pictures of her for these layouts. Shhh! Don't tell her!

You can enter my giveaway for a copy of My Memories Suite v2 digital scrapbooking software here. There are two mandatory entries - you must "like" My Memories on Facebook, and you must leave a comment at this blog post with a My Memories product that you like. You don't have to like my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter, but you can get extra entries if you do. But you must do both mandatory entries to be eligible for the prize.

My Memories a layout a day: Christmas tags

2011-10-29T23:23:00.001-05:00

I thought I would try a different template - this one is a free download at MyMemories.com.

As you can see, all you do is double-click on the picture box (or circle) and browse to a photo. You can also add the names by using text boxes, but I like handwritten names better (unless your handwriting is really, really bad). :-)

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a copy of My Memories Suite v2 digital scrapbooking software. And if you don't win, but buy it on your own, you can save $10 by using this code when you check out: STMMMS22597.

My Memories a layout a day: Vintage

2011-10-28T14:02:00.000-05:00

Today's layout uses a template to create an album with different page layouts and photo positions. I modified these pages a bit, changing the size of the photo boxes in one and removing a couple of photo boxes and adding a journaling box to the other. Other modifications are noted in the captions.

This layout uses a burlap texture for the background and word art for the name.

The background for this one is turquoise large stripe paper.

For a complete album, I would probably use different background but a similar color scheme, as much as possible. But with My Memories digital scrapbooking software, each page could have a completely different background or you could them all the same.

Go to my giveaway and enter to win your very own copy of My Memories Suite v2 and you can create your own digital scrapbook.

You can also visit My Memories on Facebook, "like" the page and click on VIP exclusive. You can download exclusive content beginning every Friday.

My Memories a layout a day: Halloween

2011-10-27T23:55:00.003-05:00

During the giveaway week, I'm going to post a layout each day using My Memories digital scrapbooking software.

Today's layout is barely today, because I actually work outside the home and was in town for about 12 hours today, so I didn't have time to tweak my layout and get it uploaded until very, very late. But here it is:

Halloween times 2.

Simple background, one of the Halloween background papers offered. "Halloween" is done with the Word Art feature.

Same photos, text and word art. I put a black background behind the words "Cayla's hand" to help it show up better against the busy background. This paper comes in different colors, and there are more "batty" papers to go with it.

You can download free papers and embellishments at MyMemories.com, and you can also purchase paper packs or layout sets.

Also? My configuration: (refurbished) eMachine with Intel Celeron 2 GHz processor, 1 gigabytes of RAM and 53.3 gigabytes of hard drive space. I am definitely not running this on a new, high-end machine, but My Memories Suite v2 runs just fine. If I'm trying to use it and have an open browser, it sometimes gets real slow until I close one or the other, but that's the only problem I've experienced.

Skip over to my giveaway and enter. There are two mandatory entries and four optional entries. You could win a copy of My Memories Suite v2.

My Memories Suite scrapbooking software

2011-10-26T14:01:00.000-05:00

I was recently asked to do a review of the My Memories Suite scrapbooking software and the good news is that one lucky ready will get a copy of the software for their very own!

From My Memories website:

My Memories Suite Version 2.0 digital scrapbooking software is a fun and creative way to keep and share memories, whether you have a Mac or PC. The software's design tools will help you to build entire albums effortlessly using one of the many installed templates, or designing your very own pages from scratch.

Available worldwide. Intended for English-language computers. Technical support is English-only.

You can do a lot with My Memories suite. You can lay out a full scrapbook of several pages following a template and just plugging in your photos and embellishments from the digital scrapbooking software. You can just create a couple of pages - or only one at a time - and follow their layouts or create one completely from scratch. You can make cards and calendars, as well.

I played around with the software for a bit and here's what I have come up with:

This is very simple, just a prearranged layout, some photos and a little text.


I have added a color background, some embellishments (A Day To Remember, a button and stars), and a shape with a paper backround (heart).

Again, fairly simple but with the stars, button and "One of a Kind" embellishments added.

The background came from a free download, and I added Word Art (Cayla creates) and played with some of the options.

I played around some more and created layout a day: Thursday, Halloween; Friday, Vintage; Saturday, Christmas tags; Sunday, Princess Diva layout; Monday, Halloween 2; Tuesday, Grumpy Cat.

You can download free kits and sample pages at MyMemories.com. Even the sample pages are worth a download, because they may contain embellishments that you will want to use in other pages.

And there's a giveaway! One person will win a copy of My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software to download. There are two mandatory entries and four optional entries, including tweeting once per day. The giveaway is live now and ends at 12:01 a.m. EST on November 2, 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: Two entries are mandatory. You must "like" My Memories on Facebook and you must post a comment listing something you like on their website at www.mymemories.com. If you don't do both mandatory entries, you are not eligible to win. I tried to keep it simple for people to enter. Use the Rafflecopter form below for your entries. If you don't see it, wait a bit to let it load.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of the software for the purpose of this review. I also signed up as an affiliate and will receive compensation whenever someone purchases the My Memories v2 scrapbook software through my referral code: STMMMS22597. (Purchaser will save $10 on the purchase of the software suite. This does not apply to the Wedding Studio or Photobook Studio software.)

There's a dead skunk in the middle of the road

2011-10-19T17:38:00.000-05:00

Did you ever play that word game as a child? It goes like this:

Savvy first person: "There's a dead skunk in the middle of the road. I one it." (You explain to the other person they say "I two it.")
Unsuspecting second person: "I two it."
Savvy first person: "I three it."
Unsuspecting second person: "I four it."
Savvy first person: "I five it."
Unsuspecting second person: "I six it."
Savvy first person: "I seven it."
Unsuspecting second person: "I eight it."
Savvy first person pointing and laughing: "You ate it! You ate the dead skunk! Hey, look at who just said they ate a skunk!"

Unhappy second person: "I want to do it again but I want to be first this time."
Savvy first person: "Okay."
Unsuspecting second person: "There's a dead skunk in the middle of the road. I one it."

Savvy first person: "I two it."
Unsuspecting second person: "I three it."
Savvy first person: "I four it."
Unsuspecting second person: "I five it."
Savvy first person: "I six it."
Unsuspecting second person: "I seven it."
Savvy first person: "I jumped over it and you eight it! You ate the skunk! Hahaha, you ate another skunk!"

Usually at this point the whole thing degenerates and eventually bandaids are involved.

Or in my case, "I ran over it with my car and now my car smells like cooked skunk."

Still, two days later. (This happened Monday night on the way home. Crunch.) Then on Tuesday I drove over to Webster City to help a friend set up a couple of websites and there was a dead skunk on the side of the road on Highway 520. On the way back to Fort Dodge I took D20, which is old Highway 20. Another dead skunk. I haven't seen any yet today, but the day's not over. I just hope I only see the dead ones, on the side of the road, and not disturb any live ones or run over any more. Not fun.

"Pigs Must Fly"

2011-10-18T09:26:00.002-05:00

I suck at writing book reviews. Really.

But I do want to tell you about "Pigs Must Fly" by Edna Flannigan.

Iris Haugsdahl has suffered all her life. No one would ever call her attractive, and when she left high school to marry Urbb, a much older man, people didn't care, except to speculate that her parents paid him off with farm land.

Urbb wasn't abusive, but neglectful. His passion was his dairy farm, and his favorite cow was Enola - "she had Swiss written all over her," Urbb had said.

When Urbb is invited to a VFW convention in Las Vegas, Iris urges him to go. And when Urbb dies a few weeks before the convention, Iris goes, on her own for the first time in her life.

There she meets Kitty Velour, a transgender lounge singer who inadvertently reopens old wounds. Kitty tries to make it up to Iris, with unexpected results.

Added to the mix are the neighbors from back home, Forky and Netta Stimple, and things get a little crazy.

"Pigs Must Fly" is an enjoyable read. I could identify with Iris, and feel her pain. But there's also a bit of things turning around, of karma making things right.

I do recommend this book. If you know me personally, I can loan you my (signed!) copy. If you are in the Webster City area, you can get your own signed copy at a book signing from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Romancing the Home, 707 Second St., Webster City, during Ladies Night Out.

Lessons learned

2011-10-12T07:10:00.000-05:00

Every weekday that school is held (and not delayed because of weather or whatever), I have to get up at 4:30 a.m. and usually spend the next 1 1/2 hours getting Cayla awake, out of bed, into the shower and out the door for early morning Seminary (a scripture study class at church for high school students). She is always late, except on the days when she completely misses it - like yesterday, because I didn't want to drive in dense fog.

Most of the time, I just stay in my pajamas - sweat pants or old exercise pants, and an old, raggedy T-shirt (I have several to choose from). When I get home I usually go on the computer for a bit and then roll back into bed.

Today, Cayla was pretty wide awake - due to the fact that when she got home yesterday she went to bed for a one-hour nap and didn't wake up til this morning. I dozed off after my alarm went off at 4:30 and woke up again at 5:35. She was ready to leave. As we left, she mentioned that she needs a calculator for a math test today. Had I known this yesterday, when I was at the dollar store, I could have gotten one then. She said she would try to borrow one at school.

We were on time today - and by on time, I mean the teacher hadn't opened up the church yet, and other people were waiting to get in. So I dropped her off and I went to Walmart to buy a calculator. I think only 4 or 5 people saw me, and I held my hoodie closed. But still kind of embarrassing. I don't want to end up on People of Walmart.

Lesson one: Cayla learned that her mom loves her enough to go to Walmart in her pajamas to buy her a calculator when she needs one.

Lesson two: Cayla's mom learned to always, always, get dressed from now on when driving Cayla to Seminary.

Now I'm going to roll back into bed while it's still dark.

Kindle Fire

2011-09-28T18:40:00.002-05:00

Oh, yes. I want one.

All about the kitties

2011-09-24T11:28:00.000-05:00

Mom called the other night to tell me she thought there was something wrong with my blog because the last entry she saw was from Aug. 20. I had to tell her that was correct - I just hadn't updated in that long.

I sometimes compose blog posts in my head while driving or whenever, but then forget to actually post when I get home. Maybe someday you all will get the benefit of my thoughts on those topics ... But for now, all about our cats:

We have three cats. Buster, known as Boo-Boo, is 4 1/2 (I think). Chicken and Olivia were born July 5, 2008. They are all so different. Boo-Boo is aptly nicknamed. He is a fat cat, and sometimes incredibly clumsy. Chicken is finally warming up to me after living with us for three years. (We got her and Olivia in August 2008 and the girls bottle-fed them at first - they were very tiny and hadn't been cared for by their mother.) Olivia is a sweetheart and very lovey-dovey.

Chicken and Olivia as kittens

Chicken is Amanda's cat. She used to be very possessive of food and would try anything. More recently I've had to stop her chewing on plastic, including the sleeve of a stack of crackers. She has over names, but we've forgotten the list - it was something like Chicken Solar Zucchini with a couple more in there. She is a marmalade and white cat, and when she lies down in the kitchen window and the sun hits her fur, it brings out copper highlights.

There is a shelf next to the door of my bedroom. All the cats like it, but Olivia especially likes to sit on the shelf and have me pet her. She will grab at my hand if I move it away, and pull it to her. She's a tortoise-shell kitty, the first I've ever had. She's actually Cayla's cat, but I think she thinks I'm her human. She comes over when I'm on the computer and insinuates herself onto my chest, making me support her with my left arm - which makes typing difficult.

Boo-Boo was born in a garage belonging to friends of mine in Webster City. Debbie J. mentioned at church that a cat had given birth in the garage and there were kittens old enough to take home. Donna wanted one, and she drove us both over to Webster City. I picked Boo-Boo, who is a tabby with white on his belly and legs. We found out that he could catch mice, but he didn't want to eat them, just play with them. We were living in a mobile home that started getting mice that following winter (feral cats started living underneath the mobile and I think that was what started it). Boo-Boo would catch one, play with it, sometimes lose it. So we would (and by we I mean Kent) grab a plastic grocery bag and grab the mouse away from Boo-Boo and throw it outside into the snow, hoping it wouldn't come back. Boo-Boo's mice now come from the grocery store - I buy the kind with rabbit fur on the outside. He plays fetch with them. Seriously.

Boo-Boo takes naps seriously.

Boo-Boo can also jump higher than Chicken and Olivia. He can jump from the floor to the top of the fridge. The girl kitties jump onto the stove, then on a shelf next to the stove (we no longer put jars of spices there - they were getting knocked down) and on to the fridge, or from a stool to the fridge. Chicken can jump from the back of a chair to the top of the pantry if the chair is in the right position and she remembers that she can do that. Otherwise she cries until someone puts her up there or she jumps on my back if I am careless enough to bend over near the pantry, and then jumps up. Chicken can jump from the top of the computer monitor (which she's taking a nap on right now) to the top shelf of the bookcase, but Boo-Boo can jump to the top of the bookcase. There's a huge entertainment center, too, and Chicken and Boo-Boo can jump to the middle shelf and use that to get to the top. Olivia doesn't jump to the pantry, bookshelf or entertainment center.

The girl kitties' growth was stunted by their early circumstances. They were born to a feral cat who was taken in by Dawn T. a co-worker of mine. Dawn gave the kittens as much care as she could, but she would be gone for hours at work and couldn't bottle-feed them in that time. A couple of the litter died. We got these two at five weeks and Amanda and Cayla bottle-fed them around the clock. We went through a lot of tiny nipples for the bottles, as the kittens would bite right through them.

So there you have it. We've got three cats, they are all different. They all love being in the window when it's open - I opened a bedroom window this morning and they rushed over like it was their Christmas present. Unfortunately, the days of open windows are soon to end for awhile. They can still look outside, but they love the fresh air. I kind of like it, too.

Disappointment and surprise

2011-08-20T00:24:00.000-05:00

This morning didn't start out too bad. I knew ahead of time that someone was cranky about something that happened last night. Okay, a couple of somethings. One of the somethings was a missed deadline. I finished the task ahead of the deadline that is posted, but apparently behind the deadline that is not posted, that nobody else has to follow, and it's all my fault.

I thought I was dealing with that pretty well, and then came the phone call. It was a personal call, on my cell phone. I had to take the phone into the office because the person on the other end wasn't listening to my point of view. In fact, my point of view was a "weak excuse" in his words.

I had, apparently missed another deadline.

This was a personal matter. I had agreed to perform a certain task. I thought I still had time, but apparently although Person A said the person (Person B) for whom the task was to be performed would have things going on this week, I was supposed to do it anyway. And I was supposed to make sure that Person C was there, too.

I objected to being responsible for making sure Person C was involved. For one thing, I don't want Person C's business to be my business, and vice versa. I have a hard enough time doing my own responsibilities and, to be honest, failing at most of those. So to tell me I have to make sure Person C fulfills their responsibilities as well, seems pretty harsh.

As do the words, "weak excuse."

This conversation brought back all the times I listened to the disappointment in my dad's voice. I was never good enough, never did things fast enough or soon enough to please him. I eventually had to tell myself that nothing I ever did would please him, and stop trying.

So this renewed my childhood memories and painful feelings. I've tried to get past them all my life. But I feel like I've been a disappointment to Dad since the day I was born a girl. And how do you get past that?

So all day, I've been in an emotional turmoil, upset and angry. I was going to just go home after work, but decided to do some grocery shopping the Cayla had requested. When I got home, I brought in some of the groceries, but the garbage bags fell out of the bag onto the lawn and it was about the last straw. I rehearsed in my mind what I was going to say when I entered the house: "I'm done. You guys get the rest of the stuff and put it away."

What came out of my mouth instead was, "thank you, thank you, thank you" and then sobs. Cayla had cleaned the kitchen. Really, really cleaned it. There had been boxes from when we moved in almost three years ago that had never been gone through, but they are gone now. She did an amazing job. But the shock on top of my emotions brought me to tears.

I still have the problem of the unfinished task and the harsh feelings brought on by the phone call. But I'll deal with that later.

I've got wheels!

2011-08-18T10:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I've had wheels for more than a week.

I bought a car on Aug. 9. I got it as a used car place which I discovered is actually part of a dealership - apparently they funnel their lower-priced trade-ins over there. Or something. Anyway.

It's a Pontiac Grand Prix, four-door. There's no radio, so I'm going to try to get the radio from the Camry to work, but the wiring is different. There are some wiring issues - the door locks don't always want to lock when I want them to lock so I either turn the car on and keep trying to lock them or go around and lock them all manually. One back window doesn't open. There's something missing in the trunk area to keep water from entering the trunk, so I need to get that fixed.

But it runs and it gets me to work and places I need to go. And I'm thankful for that.

A car, a car, my kingdom for a car

2011-08-01T10:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, I don't actually have a kingdom, and I do actually have a car, only it's not well.

On July 22, I picked Cayla up at camp and on the way home the car developed some problems. When I stopped at Harcourt (because it has a convenience store), I discovered that the oil cap was off. This is not good.

We put a couple of quarts of oil in and continued back to Fort Dodge. After Cayla's practice (for her performance in a chamber music recital that evening) I got an oil change. We went to Walmart and headed home.

Going through the woods on Otho Drive, the car's problems got much worse, to the point that I wasn't sure it would make it up the hill. Since I didn't want to try to turn it around or back down the curvy hill, I kept it going. The car died after reaching the crest of the hill. I managed to coast most of the way home, got it started and made it to my driveway.

And it has sat there ever since. A friend of Kent's has looked at it and said it could be one of about eight different things. A thrown piston rod is one possibility. If that's the case, I'm not even going to try to get it fixed. I'll find another cheap car. I hope.

In the meantime, my sister has been driving out here twice a day to pick me up for work and take me home. It's a big hassle for both of us, and I will be paying her for gas when I get paid. I hope the car issue is one that is fixable for not too much money (under $400 would be good) and can be fixed quickly, so I don't have to impose much longer.

Beware the cats

2011-07-17T09:34:00.000-05:00

I said a long, long time ago, that if cats had thumbs, they would rule the world. This theme has been expanded upon by Bertrum Thumbcat, whose ponderings and plots can be followed on Facebook.

I have often accused our cat Booboo of trying to kill me, especially by tripping me, sometimes at the top of the basement stairs. Although this is simply proof that Booboo is not entirely there, or possibly not thinking things through, as I buy the cat food. So that is obviously not in his best interests.

I may have proof, finally, of catty plotting.

Yesterday I was trying to watch a video online. It was slow loading - watch a minute or two, then pause it to let it load. It took 3 1/2 hours to watch 36 minutes last night and I finally went to bed, leaving the screen up so the video could keep loading (which it did, just fine).

But this morning, the image on the monitor was completely upside-down. The cursor worked completely backward, in line with the upside-down image. I was able to Google monitor image upside down and found instructions to turn the image back the right way. The keyboard combination is Ctrl-Alt-Up arrow.

Now, it took me both hands to fix this. So for a cat to do this would be even more difficult, which leads me to believe that it's a deliberate act. I just can't decide if it was so the cat can watch stuff from a position on top of the monitor, or just designed to make me crazy.

Or, for all I know, both. Because there's nothing like killing two birds with one stone, right?

Legally an adult

2011-07-13T21:31:00.000-05:00

But not quite a grownup.

Amanda's birthday was today. She and I went out to Fazoli's for a late lunch, stopped by my mom's and did a (very) little shopping for Amanda. She and I were both tired, so we went home. I took a nap before taking Cayla to church, but Amanda wouldn't go.

We also stopped at Kent's before we went shopping. His dad had stopped by and took him out to eat, and gave him an older laptop he had that he didn't need any more. Unfortunately, he can't remember the password, so Kent won't be using it right away. And Kent said his dad told him to tell Amanda happy birthday from him.

I did some research on the Carr family and Thomas Nicholson, the Gowrie town marshal who was shot to death on July 11, 1908, by Wilbur Carr. Wilbur's dad was Ira, the younger brother of Lydia Carr Caylor Burrell Baxter, my great-great-grandmother, which makes Wilbur my first cousin three times removed, I think.

I think I discovered an error in the 1900 census. It lists Thomas Nicholson as being 36, married 14 years, but with a daughter of age 21. The daughter is listed between the 12-year-old son and the 10-year-old daughter, and the third digit in her birth year is messed up. I think it's supposed to be 1888, not 1878. I think the census taker wrote down the birth years and did the math later, and couldn't read his own handwriting or something. In the first article about the shooting, it says that Nicholson had three children graduate from the school at Gowrie that spring. If the daughter was 11 in 1900, that would be the right age, between two siblings also graduating. There were no other children listed as being close enough in age.

I've got loads more to type about the murder, but I also have the daily stuff to do on In Old Fort Dodge. I think I'll do that and then play a while before I go to bed.

An interesting day

2011-07-12T13:01:00.002-05:00

Kent was called into jury selection today, so he needed a ride to town. His friend Chad needed to go grocery shopping, as well, so I combined those trips. Dropped Kent off just after 9 a.m., put gas in the car ($3.57/gal at Walmart, but 10 cents off/gallon because I used a Walmart gift card), took Chad to Fareway, did a little shopping and went out to the car to wait for Chad.

While I was waiting for Chad, I wrote some research questions in a notebook about a relative who is a big black sheep in our family. Wilbur Carr, 23, shot the Gowrie, Iowa, town marshal to death in July 1908. Wilbur's father was Ira S. Carr Sr., and Ira's sister was Lydia Carr Caylor Burrell Baxter, my great-great-grandmother. Which makes Wilbur my first cousin three times removed, if I have figured it correctly.

So, one of my questions is what is Wilbur's actual name? I think that in census records he's listed as Wilbur. But most of The Messenger articles about the crime and the aftermath refer to him as William. So I headed back to the courthouse to look up Wilbur's birth record to see if I could find his real name.

As I pulled into a parking spot in front of the courthouse, Kent hollered "hey" at me. He was just leaving and ready to go home. But I made him wait while I went up to the recorder's office and did my lookups. We went to Walmart, where I picked up some items for Mom, and discovered that gas had gone up 11 cents since I was there about 2 hours before. ($3.68 now!)

As it turns out:

the person who wrote most of the entries in this birth registry had really bad handwriting
hardly anyone listed a birth name when they turned in the records - probably because it was the medical attendant/doctor who turned in the records.

So now I'm home, ready to work on stuff, and with lots of typing to do because that news article appeared on July 12 and I've got to post it today. But I'm going to take a nap first because the Tuesday copy editor has the day off so they are having a reporter copy edit - which isn't bad, unless he needs to go cover stuff like a fire or bad weather, as happened last week. Plus the paginator was indisposed yesterday, so I offered if circumstances require it (if paginator is still indisposed and reporter needs to go cover stuff) I can come in for the evening. So in case that happens, I need to take my nap now.

And since it's an on-again, off-again rainy day, it's not too sunny and that should help.

Funny kitties

2011-07-06T11:46:00.002-05:00

First a video:

Poor kitty. No nap for you!

Now to our kitties.

We have a bookcase (media tower?) that is about 2 feet wide and about 7 feet tall. I firmly believe that bookcases should be packed with books. The books should be stacked on top of each other, and I've been known to have two rows of books on one shelf, along with the stacked books on top of each row.

However. I'm still not organized from when we moved in (September 2008), so many of my books are still in boxes. This bookcase/media tower has a few books, assorted stuff and software cases. But on the top shelf right now is a rock bookend and a cat. Chicken, to be precise - Amanda's cat. Chicken is taking a nap on the top shelf. She likes it up there.

She can jump from the computer monitor (the desk is in front and slight to the left of the bookcase). Booboo can jump all the way to the top of the bookcase, and he likes to hang out there.

Chicken likes the freestanding pantry we have, but she can't jump up there on her own. Sometimes she stands on the kitchen chair next to the pantry and meows at me. I ask her, "do you want up?" Then I pick her up and toss her on top. She rolls around on there and is happy. Until she falls off, which has happened a couple of time.

Olivia has been spending time on a shelf that overlooks the sink and kitchen window. She has taken naps up there. As far as I know, she hasn't fallen into the dish drainer. Yet. But right now her favorite spot is an box that used to hold ramen noodles, but currently has nectarines in need of ripening. She's spent so much time there that a little while ago, when she was sitting on the computer desk, I could smell nectarines.

Olivia is Cayla's kitty, but she seems to think I'm her human instead. She likes to nap on my computer desk, obstructing access to the keyboard (Booboo likes this, as well). She also likes my chest, which (especially if I lean back in the chair) offers a little napping shelf for her. And at night she comes racing in and jumps on me, starts kneading and purring and eventually lies down to sleep on my side. Directly on me, that is, since I sleep on my side. I just have to be sure to have blankets pulled up so she's kneading the blankets and not my flesh, since our cats are not declawed.

Booboo's little escapade today: When I brought groceries home, I put them on the top step in the breezeway and asked Amanda for the key to the garage so I could put some things in the freezer there. Booboo escaped and ran into the garage, hiding in the stuff in the back. I put the ice cream and other frozen items in the freezer, locked the garage and came inside. I waited about 10 minutes, then opened the garage again and called him. He was sitting about 3 or 4 feet from the door. He came into the breezeway, I locked the garage, and he looked around like he was going back into the garage. I don't think so! I still had to capture him, but that's a lot easier in a six-foot-long space than a garage full of shelves and stuff. So we are all back inside where it's cooler.

And now, a video of a barking cat:

Free searches on Ancestry.com

2011-06-30T10:25:00.000-05:00

Ancestry.com is allowing free searches of Sons of the American Revolution applications through July 4.

This database contains applications for membership in the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution approved between 1889 and 31 December 1970. The applications are arranged in packets. It may be helpful to scroll through the images to find all information relating to the applicant.

The DAR has a database that allows searches of patriots and descendants. I discovered that an ancestor of mine did serve in the Revolutionary War and several people have achieved membership in the DAR through one of his children. I am descended from another child, but it shouldn't be too difficult to prove.

A series of mishaps, or why I picked a bad week to quit Dr Pepper

2011-06-27T14:51:00.000-05:00

I decided to stop drinking Dr Pepper after my last one Friday night. So, all day Saturday and all day Sunday, with headaches on and off.

At church yesterday, I locked my keys (both sets) in the car, necessitating a call to ask my niece Jessica to take Cayla home to get her key. We went home after that.

Our power went out just before midnight last night due to a bad storm and didn't come back on until 11:12 this morning (one minute after I made an 11:11 wish that the power would come back on).

Booboo woke me up at 5 a.m. puking on the foot of my bed. I threw him on the floor and he immediately jumped back up to finish puking on the head of my bed.

I woke up at 8 a.m. (had my alarm set for this purpose) and called the phone company to tell them I would bring the money in today that I was supposed to bring yesterday, and the customer service representative assured me that my service would continue today.

Two hours later I woke up again and tried the phone, but it was disconnected. Apparently Mr. CSR is a liar and also doesn't document his work, because when I finally got through to make a payment on the phone (fourth? fifth? call to them today?) there was no record of that call. There were other calls, including one where the guy (Dennis in Florida) said that if I make the past due payment the service would be turned back on. The last guy gave a different amount, but we finally settled on what I expected.

In between, though, were a trip to the bank to take out money, a trip to the pawn shop to pawn my flat-screen TV, and lunch. Because I hadn't eaten up to that point. And when I got to the phone company, there was a sign that they would be back at 1:30. I left at 1:45 to go buy a prepaid Visa gift card in order to pay the bill over the phone, which I finally accomplished in a phone call using Kent's cell that lasted 30+ minutes.

And all of this adds up to why my first purchase today was a Dr Pepper. And my next purchase might well be one, as well.

The dreams we dream

2011-06-23T08:49:00.000-05:00

I often have what I call "weird dreams." Because they are. Some make me feel like I wasn't actually asleep, so I wake up nearly as tired as when I went to bed.

Today's was a doozy.

I can only remember a little bit, so I'll give the Cliff Notes version.

It involved the crew of Serenity. Somehow there was a thieving team or mafia upset with them. It may have had something to do with a possible client of Inara's, or a similar situation to "The Train Job" when Mal returned what was stolen and angered Niska.

At any rate, there was a scene (yeah, well, it seemed like a movie) where the bad guys were shooting and the crew decided to try to talk their way out of it. Mal told them the crew would come up and he started up a really long ladder. On the way, he picked up a pan that had been shot, so it had bullets in it. He dumped the bullets into a pan that already had lead, saying something about not wasting it. (My dad used to make bullets for his muzzle-loader, and I got to watch when I was a kid.)

Now it gets weird(er). River told the Doctor (oh, yeah, did I forget to mention it's a Serenity-Doctor Who crossover/mishmash? It is.) that she would do something, but he needed to cross the time (streams? lines? I'm not sure). He got in the TARDIS (and I don't remember which version of the Doctor it was) and she got to work.

Somehow River "fixed" flaws in each of the thieving team. It was like rewriting each person's history. Two of the team members had feelings for each other, and she had them get married. This gave hope to others. One guy was in a wheelchair, and somehow she fixed that, too. She saved the team leader for last. There was a sort of badge or something in the ground with a swirly design and she manipulated that, acting as if the Doctor wasn't coming back and she was trying to reset it.

Then River "fixed" the team leader, who was also in a wheelchair. The leader expected to be healed from whatever cause the problem, but instead, she disappeared. River looked sad and said something about the team not needing her any more. It was like the team leader was erased from history.

There was a little bit more. It was like the original timeline was the way it was because these flawed people got together and their flaws worked things up to a certain point. By taking the certain flaws away, they could go in a more normal direction. The two people who got married (originally a thief and a whore) gave hope to others that they could find love. They didn't have to steal - didn't feel that was the only option available.

There may have been a hint of Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series in there, as well. I recently finished reading the first three books, and there was a tight-knit thieving crew in the series.

But, yeah, it's just weird. And there's the fact that I woke up with a caffeine hangover - I do know better than to drink (diet) Dr Pepper late at night, but I did anyway. I can't help but think the caffeine had something to do with the dream.

A pain update

2011-06-20T13:44:00.000-05:00

Since my last post, which was on a very painful day, I did have a couple more days like that. That Sunday (June 12) was pretty bad. By Wednesday it was getting better, until I was getting dressed to take Mom to the podiatrist's office. While pulling my jeans on, my left leg twisted and pulled a muscle or something, causing a lot of pain. I called Donna to see if she could take Mom so I could go back to bed and not have to be out running around, but she didn't have her car. So I went.

Mom's appointment went okay, and we even grabbed something to eat and sat in the car for awhile. The weather was nice and with the windows open it was quite breezy. We were parked in the shade in the Walmart parking lot. I felt the need for a chocolate milkshake, so I went to Ja-Mar's before dropping Mom off at home.

My knee hasn't given me too much grief since then. I've had more problems with muscle cramps in the calf of that leg. But overall it's been slight pain and some weakness.

My day so far

2011-06-11T13:28:00.001-05:00

Got up (always a plus), dressed, and out the door for an ancestry workshop by the DAR. Had McDonald's breakfast on the way there. Was a little late, but no worries. I got some information, learned how to look things up on the public part of the DAR website and learned some things.

Then I went to the flea market. Parked my car, walked all the way to the main building, where I bought Avon deodorant from 2 vendors. I like to spread my money around. ;-) I also got popcorn, which I had to wait for, but it was good.

Then I went looking for eggs. Barbara had raved about the eggs she had bought there before. So I tried to find the vendor. I went north and south from the main building, then all the way north and around, through the barns and back to the main building. Possibly I didn't go far enough south, but even by the time I left the building, I was having problems.

So. Much. Pain.

My left knee, my right knee a bit, my left ankle, my lower back. Whatever benefit my fairly good night's sleep (one interruption, about an hour lost) had gained was competely lost. When I got home, I grabbed a package of cookies and the rest of the milk and that was my lunch. I'm going to take a nap now before I have to go to work.

There is still some grocery shopping in my immediate future, as well. That will be short but not very sweet.

And after all the walking, I never did find the vendor I was looking for, so I ended up going back to one of the Avon vendors because she had a sign for eggs and I bought a dozen there. I hope they are worth it.

Update: More about the pain here, and about the eggs: I couldn't tell how much of a difference there was between the eggs I bought at the flea market and regular store-bought eggs. Until last night, when I wanted a quick meal and only had one flea market egg left, so I cooked one of each. There is quite a difference. One yolk was yellow and one was orange. I couldn't tell if there was any taste difference, but it certainly looked healthier. And as it turns out, I bought the eggs from the same person Barbara did, I just heard her directions wrong or something.

DAR update: I did some research on Ancestry.com at church last Wednesday and found a direct line to a Revolutionary War soldier. I will do research to verify this and might apply to the DAR. Whether I apply to DAR or not, it's valuable information and I'm kind of looking forward to pursuing it.

Rotters

2011-06-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

This is not exactly a book review, especially since I haven't finished the book. It's a warning: Do not read this book just before bedtime.

It is unsettling.

I lay part of the blame for my three hours of wakefulness in the middle of the night on this book. It's a fascinating read, and I will finish it, but not at nighttime.

What we learn to live with

2011-06-09T10:51:00.001-05:00

I have been in increasing, almost constant pain for probably a couple of months now. My left knee is stiff and painful, especially when I stand or walk. When I sit, my leg becomes numb and/or painful. Sometimes the pain radiates up or down my leg. Stairs are a killer. Walking with this pain is such a problem it affects how I walk, to the point where my right knee is sometimes affected, as well.

I even started taking pain pills, which is very rare for me. I stopped taking them because they didn't seem to help, but I'm going to start again. I'm taking a store brand naproxen sodium.

But I haven't seen anyone about it.

I don't have health insurance - the premiums at work were too high, and the kids are currently covered. So I muddled along thinking I can deal with whatever comes along. I keep limping - last week at work a co-worker called me "Hopalong." I gave my witty reply back and it was well-received. But people at work will notice today, because I was off for two days and it always shocks them to see it again.

Last night, I work around 2:30 a.m. I couldn't sleep again for about 3 hours. It wasn't the pain - my knee hardly hurt at all, except when I was up moving or trying to find a good sleeping position. Part of my problem was restlessness and the effects of reading the wrong book before bedtime, and part was, I think, possibly sleep apnea - except I was awake. I just kept seeming to stop breathing and then gasping for breath. Not restful at all.

So I'll be going on to work with sleep deprivation and pain, but that's fairly normal. It's what I've learned to live with.

Things to do, places to go, people to talk to

2011-06-03T10:19:00.001-05:00

Today's laundry list:

Go to hospital to visit Mom, who was held overnight for observation after having chest pains.
Pay interest on laptop.
Put gas in car.
Call phone company.
Call Chamber of Commerce for Cayla's costume for the parade tomorrow.
Call landlady.
Fill out and return reporting form.
Library - need an article for June 4.
Go to work.

Here's where I'm at right now:

Go to hospital to visit Mom, who was held overnight for observation after having chest pains. (Update: just talked to Donna. Mom will be going home soon, so I won't be going to visit her at the hospital. Which is fine, since I've got to get to work.)
Pay interest on laptop.
Put gas in car.
~~Call phone company.~~
~~Call~~ Chamber of Commerce for Cayla's costume for the parade tomorrow. (Called, left message, no response. So we're taking Cayla there.)
~~Call landlady.~~
Fill out and return reporting form. (Can't find my Nanny Goats in Panties pen, so I have to find another pen to fill this out.)
Library - need an article for June 4.
Go to work.

I need to take a shower and get dressed, then we can do all the running-around stuff. I'm going to have to do the hospital and go to work, then do the rest afterwards. Kent will take Cayla to the Chamber after dropping me at work.

And I should do laundry, as well.

Chuck!

2011-05-13T14:39:00.000-05:00

The NBC show "Chuck" has been renewed for its fifth season. This is good news. It's a great show overall, and one of my favorites. I generally watch the morning after it's aired, since we are cable-less now, but it's worth waiting for.

The bad news: this is likely the last season for the show. I hope that the season-of-13-shows-with-option-for-more turns into a full season, and I hope that enough people join the current fans of "Chuck" to increase the numbers and keep the show going.

Synopsis: Chuck, who has been in a holding pattern since being kicked out of Stanford for cheating (he didn't) and being dumped by his girlfriend, receives a mysterious email from his old college roommate, Bryce, who was the person who turned him for cheating. The email downloads top-secret information into his brain, which can then make connections between things he sees or hears and the government data. Chuck then becomes a government asset, to be guarded and watched, but also possibly killed if things go badly.

CIA agent Sarah Walker's cover as Chuck's new girlfriend turns into something more, and NSA agent John Casey finds he has something more than being the designated shooter at the government's beck and call.

There's more to the story, but it's worth catching up on. Seasons 1-4 are available on DVD or at Amazon.com. The last three episodes are available at Hulu.com or NBC.com (I always watch there). You can view some episodes here - they usually do 6-7 episodes of season 1 at a time, so you can get that out of the way. And right now, today, those are episodes 1-6 of season 1, so if you haven't watched "Chuck" before, this is the perfect time to give it a try.

I'm so glad that "Chuck" will be back next fall.

Yay!

2011-05-02T07:07:00.001-05:00

Cayla didn't miss the bus to school this morning. It is the first time in 2011 she didn't have to be driven to school - other than days she was sick.

This means she's on time and not making me waste gas. Yay!

Also, Kent and his friend put some stop leak stuff in the radiator and hopefully it will hold together for a couple of days until I can get it fixed. So I'm leaving soon to go into town - genealogical society meets today and one of the members specifically asked me to come for my input on a decision they will be discussing. Cool.

In other news ...

2011-05-02T01:14:00.000-05:00

It was just another Sunday afternoon at work. Two obits to process, a few pages to lay out. Deanna had the front page done and we thought we were going to get done in a timely fashion.

Then the sports editor said, "I hate to break it to you, but the president's going to make some big announcement at 9:30."

That was sometime after 9 p.m. It would be much, much later that we got the official word (after many "unofficial" announcements by various people) that U.S. forces had killed Osama bin Laden.

Then was more of a waiting game - waiting for the Associated Press to provide an article, waiting for updates to the article, waiting for photos be be available. Finally, finally we sent the last pages to the press.

And I called my sister to have her pick me up and take me home, because apparently it developed another hole (this is the second time since Friday this has happened) in the radiator. I won't be able to take care of it Monday (today), so I will need a ride to work and another ride home. And then I have to figure out how to get it into town to be worked on and how to pay for that.

In the meantime, I'm heading to bed because I have to get up in less than four hours to get Cayla out of bed in time to catch the bus to school for the first time in 2011. Let's hope I'm more successful than I have been for the past four months ...

A very long day

2011-04-19T14:51:00.000-05:00

With about four hours of sleep, I wasn't prepared for the various weirdness of the day. Cayla delayed getting up, to the point that she was extremely late for school. As it turned out, that didn't matter, as she started feeling sick again (she was sick yesterday) and so I told her to have her dad drive her home.

I was at the hospital with Amanda, who was having an upper GI endoscopy done. She had missed a lot of school because of "stomach aches" when she was still going to school, and when she was ill a couple of weeks ago the doctor remembered this and decided she should be thoroughly checked out. Last week it was an abdominal ultrasound, this week an upper GI encoscopy. And the illness a couple of weeks ago was vomiting on a nearly daily basis for about a week, then nothing since then.

The weird part is that it's April 19. And it was snowing this morning. Big, heavy, clumps of snow coming down. Accompanied by thunder. Kent actually consented to driving below the speed limit - at a safe driving speed. I had him drop Amanda and me off at the hospital so he could take Cayla to school and Amanda wouldn't be late for her appointment, but of course, it didn't matter, since Cayla thought she was going to be sick again.

After Amanda came back from her procedure and was awake enough to eat and drink and walk, Kent came to get us. We drove through Hardee's for something for her lunch, since she wasn't allowed to eat or drink from 10 p.m. yesterday until after the procedure. I went into Walmart for a few things, we stopped at Mom's to pick up her phone bill payment and dropped it off at the phone company. Then through McDonald's for a smoothie for Cayla and home.

So, I'm beat. I've had lunch and now it's my naptime, about 7 hours late. I usually take a couple of hours after Cayla goes to school. I will admit that I dozed off at the hospital while they were working on Amanda. But dozing sitting up in a stiff chair isn't very restful. So I'm off to get a couple of hours of sleep. Naps are good.

Ups and downs

2011-04-14T23:55:00.000-05:00

We all have them. Sometimes I tend to focus on things that are similar, as if a group of bad things are an indication that my life is going downhill. When that happens, I ignore any good things that happen. It's kind of like when a celebrity dies and somebody wonders who the next two will be, because "these things happen in threes."

So, this morning I discovered that my laptop battery not only wasn't holding a charge, but lost power quickly, going from 53 percent to 40 percent in only a few minutes. Yikes.

An involved web search - on the desktop computer after I shut the laptop down - gave me the information that:

the battery needs to be replaced
laptop batteries tend to last about a year (mine is two years old)
a new battery will be between $104 to $150, depending on whether I get a six-cell or 12-cell battery
the 12-cell battery got bad reviews, including the fact that it sticks out from the profile of the laptop and makes the laptop go at an angle
you can run a laptop with the battery out using just the adapter

I can tell you one thing - I will not buy a battery on eBay. I bought a laptop adapter on eBay once and it didn't last long. Better to spend a little more and get something more reliable.

So I'm using the laptop with the adapter, no battery. I'm not sure when I'll order a new battery. I'm going to check at the local Office Max first. I might get it through Office Depot, because I have a $30 gift card to use. And it probably will be a six-cell so I don't have to worry about the extra weight and size of the battery.

And I realize that isn't much of a down, except I have a great use for my laptop and can't afford to have it out of commission. I don't have the $100+ in my budget for a new battery right now. And with my tendency to group bad things in my mind, I can't help but wonder what's next?

Mmmmm, Nutella

2011-04-03T23:29:00.000-05:00

I saw this at our local Hy-Vee store on Saturday. The jars on the right are the normal size, but now they have 26.5-ounce jars available. Wonderful!

Fad-tastic

2011-03-30T14:55:00.000-05:00

I don't often get involved in the current fads. Although I did have a pet rock the first time they were popular. And a mood ring. But really, I don't subscribed to fads that much.

What I do is my own fads, themes, obsessions or whatever. I played Farmville, Frontierville and Cityville - those last two daily from the time they started until I gave them all up on Jan. 1 of this year. I put in 2-3 hours a day playing Zynga games.

Then there's the food thing. I find a food I like and can eat that thing twice a day for forever, or until I get tired of it. Put some Panda Express pork potstickers in front of me and I can eat them 3 times a day. Especially with my favorite Thai sweet chili sauce. (That I now have four bottles of, thanks to a road trip to Ames on March 1.)

I think my new fad may be family history/genealogy webinars. I just finished one (on using Twitter/Tweetdeck) and signed up for Writing Your Personal History (and Living to Tell About it) which starts in about 10 minutes.

And maybe family search indexing. I just got an email yesterday saying I have completed 100 batches. Yay me. I actually know someone who has done thousands - tens of thousands - of batches. So I do need to get started on my second hundred ...

Side note: My mom says that her dad used to say that he was working on his second million dollars. The first million didn't work out so well, so he was moving on to the second.

That comment may seem out of place, but it actually fits with the family history category. I need to get more family stories - I can get dates and names from official sources, but they don't tell who the people were. My memories of people and what I was told may differ from someone else's, and I just want to document as much as I can while I can.

So let family history be my next fad, and may I control my direction (not letting it become an obsession to the detriment of my other responsibilities) but also may I never give it up.

Timing is everything

2011-03-26T11:42:00.000-05:00

I went to the library yesterday between work times. (On Fridays I lay out a Sunday business page and copy edit the rest of that section, then go to lunch and come back to work until around 10:30 or so.)

I was hoping to see Roger Natte there. He's a local historian, in the Webster County Historical Society and Fort Dodge Historic Preservation Commission. I told him about In Old Fort Dodge.

He likes the site, but was particularly excited to see one article I had posted about the high bridge being nearly completed. He hadn't seen that one yet, and he's looking for every possible resource and information about the high bridge, as the Historic Preservation Commission is working to get the high bridge listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

I asked if I could scan and use photos from the Historical Society. He's okay with that, but he got excited and said that I had to see these photos. He showed me a couple of pictures taken in 1912 of an aircraft invented by a Fort Dodge man. He looked around for the article and when he showed it to me, I got excited, too. It was dated March 25, 1912.

This meant that if I wanted to use it, I needed to get it typed and posted right away. So I typed it right then, and Roger sent me an email with the photos. The whole thing is posted here. I also talked to the acting library director, Rita, who said she will try to get a link to In Old Fort Dodge on the library's website. Cool.

This morning's focus on timing means that I can't watch "Who Do You Think You Are?" right now, because I signed up for a family history webinar that starts in 18 minutes. So it's time to go log in.

Natural disasters

2011-03-11T12:45:00.003-06:00

An earthquake triggered massive tsunamis, affecting a wide area of the Pacific Ocean. The death toll is unknown at this time. Google has offered a widget to help people find each other:

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;    src="http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?small=yes&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lang=en"&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;    width=400 height=300 frameborder=0&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;    style="border: dashed 2px #77c"&amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

If this doesn't work, go to 
http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com.

A semi-productive day

2011-03-02T23:43:00.000-06:00

I got A Vague Recollection up and running, might have freed A Wiser Steward from the clutches of Website Tonight (I haven't checked yet).

I sorted through hundreds of copies of newspaper articles for In Old Fort Dodge to get them grouped by month, and by day for January through February.

I have typed and scheduled posts for tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, and pulled articles for the rest of the month.

Of the four things on my to-do list today, I got one done. I didn't take Mom where she needed to go because she asked if we can do it Saturday. I didn't take Cayla to church because she wasn't feeling well and took about a three-hour nap. And I didn't get to the library, but I do have enough articles for this month, so it's not that urgent.

New day tomorrow, new to-do list. Feels kind of good.

The waiting game

2011-03-02T11:52:00.001-06:00

Since I renewed hosting at CarolFoltz.com and purchased three new domain names for three distinct blog sites, I've been trying to get them all set up.

I hit a glitch with A Wiser Steward. When doing the original hosting setup, I was asked if I wanted to create a launch page. I thought it was just a placeholder, but later figured out it was a one-page site through Website Tonight. This is a problem, since I want all four sites to be managed with WordPress.

I finally got A Wiser Steward off of Website Tonight, but it will take time for the account to cancel. Now I'm waiting for installation of WordPress at A Vague Recollection to finish, so I can get it started.

On the other hand, it's only been a few days since I actually got the ball rolling on this, so I should be patient. A friend from church is waiting for her baby to arrive, and she's been waiting a lot longer than I have. I should go take Mom on her errand(s) and go to the library. That would occupy my mind.

But, no. I keep going back to the tab and refreshing the page only to see "installing application" is still there.

I also press elevator buttons more than once, and hold down the button when buying pop from a vending machine.

(Update: Installation is complete, and I have a theme installed and a first post. Mom doesn't want to go anywhere today, so I just have to get myself going so I can get to the library. First, though, I'm going to organize the files I have, which is why I bought the file box and folders yesterday.)

A productive day

2011-03-01T23:10:00.000-06:00

Mostly, anyway.

Cayla had a headache and didn't go to school. I worked on In Old Fort Dodge - the post that was scheduled to go live at 6 a.m. didn't. It took several (many) tries before I got it to work. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Donna and I had made plans to go to Ames. I wanted to see if I could find a couple of food items: Yoshida's oriental gourmet sauce, which Kent and I used to do stir-fry with when we lived in Chicago, and Aroma Chef Thai sweet chili sauce, which I really, really like to use on potstickers.

Jessica went along, too. It was her birthday.

During the day we stopped at two Asian stores, three Wal-Marts, a diner/cafe (The Grove Cafe in Ames), Suzanna's apartment in Ankeny, Arby's (yay for chocolate turnover!), a super Target, PetsMart and Michaels. (Did I miss anything?)

I bought chopsticks, four bottles of the sweet chili sauce, a file box, hanging folders, manila folders, Sharpies, oil pastels, binders, two scrapbooks and some quilting fabric.

Tomorrow I have to take Mom on an errand, go to the library, schedule more posts on In Old Fort Dodge, organize the article copies I already have (which is what the file box, hanging folders and manila folders are for), and take Cayla to church.

It's kind of cool to have a plan. And now I plan to go to bed.

New ventures

2011-02-27T13:21:00.001-06:00

I've had some ideas rolling around in the back of my mind for some time now. I wanted to start new blogs - not necessarily about my personal life, but something to share with others.

I finally took the next step. I registered three domain names and will be setting up hosting in the next day or so.

The three domains and their purposes are:

In Old Fort Dodge: news articles from the early days of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and the surrounding area. These will be printed exactly as they appeared in the publication of the time. (This site is now active.)
A Vague Recollection: I'll begin with my personal memories and possible add interviews of others. I use this phrase when recalling something that I know could be tainted by time and/or previous retellings.
A Wiser Steward: Learning to take care of my personal stewardship, live frugally and improve my life.

In Old Fort Dodge should launch March 1, which is Tuesday. I plan to set up posts ahead of time, timed to release on the day of publication matching when they were first published. So March 1 will have an article from March 1 of a previous year.

Eventually I'll set up my own WordPress themes, but for now I'll pick some free ones that suit my mood. I have to get past my mental block about CSS - for some reason my mind resists learning it well. I "get" the need for using CSS and I "get" how it works, but I don't "get" how to actually do it. But I have my "CSS: The Missing Manual" and I'll get it eventually.

I'm still going to work on learning German. Oh, and I need to be more consistent about reading the scriptures. And I've got a few other things I feel I need to do. That's partly what "A Wiser Steward" is all about. I originally planned a blog about working finances while consistently paying tithing. But I realized that there's more to it than that. It's not just finances, it's also managing my time and doing constructive things.

So, here I am with all these grand plans. So far this year my one success story has been quitting playing Zynga games on Facebook. I relapsed a couple of times, but I found that it's mostly been pretty easy once I blocked the games. Setting a short (one-month) deadline was key - I didn't feel that deprived when it was only for one month, but it also broke the hold the games had on me.

So I'll be figuring myself out, figuring out CSS, learning German ... guess it's not so bad that I'm not in college this year. Not sure I would have the time.

New Year's Resolution part 2

2011-02-22T14:54:00.000-06:00

I backslid a little bit on my New Year's resolution. I played Farmville for about half an hour and played Frontierville for three days. On the fourth day, it wouldn't load, so I deleted it. I haven't played any of the games since.

Part 2 is replacing the "bad" behavior with something positive. I've got several plans - two or three new blogs with specific purposes, and some educational plans. One of my ideas is taken from my cousin Neela. She has a blog called "What Would Super Junior Do?" where she talks about her family and her "obsession" with a Korean boy band called "Super Junior."

Neela likes this band so much she is learning Korean so she can understand what they are singing. She does also like other things about Korean culture, but the band is her main reason.

So here's my plan: I will begin learning German again. I took German and Spanish in high school. I liked things about both languages and at the time even planned to join the Air Force and learn more languages. But my weight was in the way and instead of doing something about that, I gave up on that plan and went in a different direction.

Since then I have used my meager Spanish skills to order meals at Mexican restaurants. "Un torta de lengua, sin cebollas, por favor." I haven't used German at all. And my obsession with getting things perfect or not doing anything at all means I put things off and don't accomplish anything. It also means I waver between choosing between one thing or another and usually never choose. So when I have thought about resuming language studies, I think "oh, Spanish would be more useful in real life" and "German is the language of many of my ancestors and would be more useful in family history." So I put it off.

I'm going with German. I have a list of resources that can help people learn languages for free. The church has a magazine called the Liahona that has articles from the Ensign, New Era and Friend in different languages. My mom is the ward magazine representative, she would be glad to order it for me in German. And the church's website offers various language versions, including the scriptures in those languages.

So the next step is to make my decision public, thereby making myself accountable to produce results. If you don't tell anyone what you are doing, nobody will encourage - or nag - you to continue. And I'll take either. ;-)

Guten Tag.

Baby steps

2011-01-19T08:40:00.000-06:00

I always fail at New Year's resolutions. One common mistake is to make grand plans - those never work for me.

This year I am winning.

I made one resolution, and only promised to do it for one month. My resolution was to block all Zynga games on Facebook for one month.

By blocking for one month, I am taking away the temptation to play the games that used to take up so much of my time. I could play for two hours a day between Farmville, Frontierville and Cityville.

I blocked those games on Jan. 1 and haven't gone back. I still have to block related posts, but eventually those will fade away, as well. And by saying I would do it for one month, in my mind I can go back at the end of the month.

But I doubt that I will.

I just got an email about Cityville - I've been chosen to receive 10 City Cash. That's enough to purchase a new expansion area.

I deleted the email. I could have accepted the cash and then blocked the game again, but that would mean giving into temptation, even a bit. At the end of the month I want to be free and be able to say I was completely successful in this one resolution.

Baby steps.

What a week

2011-01-12T18:13:00.000-06:00

Okay, mostly minor things. I did say mostly.

Last Friday, payday. Paid some bills, gave Kent gas money (yeah, I know, but he's been taking Cayla to school on the days she misses the bus, which is nearly every day), oh and was involved in a minor traffic accident. No apparent damage to my car, which was rear-ended at a stoplight.

Saturday, work.

Sunday, missed church, went to work.

Monday, snow storm started. I made it to work, but stopped at Hy-Vee first, to pick up a cake. It was my birthday and Sandy Mickelson's birthday (also her anniversary) and Jesse was back at work for the first time since Christmas (and the surprise birth of his son at 27 weeks). I did not get an inscription on the cake, because there wasn't room for:
Happy anniversary Walt and Sandy
Happy birthday Sandy and Carol
Welcome back Jesse

although it would have been funny.

Tuesday, day off and also a snow day. I also went into town and paid some bills and did a little shopping.

Wednesday, Cayla had a dentist appointment, after which I got some money out of the bank and put gas in my car (actually Cayla pumped the gas - go Cayla!), then on the way to the library, was rear-ended near an intersection. Again. No apparent damage, again. Now it's about time to head to church. Let's hope it will be a non-eventful trip.

I caved in

2011-01-03T09:25:00.000-06:00

I got the cheapest microwave Walmart had to offer. It's a Sunbeam, 900-watt, .9-cubic-foot microwave. It has buttons instead of a dial, which I prefer. Amanda has already tried it out. And at least we have a microwave now.

I also looked for the pizza oven thingy - the kind that rotates the pan under heat. They don't have it in stock, but I think it's available online. I'm considering this partly because our oven is wonky and partly because it cooks the pizza in half the time.

Generally I'm not a fan of speciality appliances. I don't own a grill, I do own a sandwich maker but I don't like it. I actually bought that for Amanda to make her ham and cheese sandwiches with, but she won't use it. Luckily it only cost $7 so I'm not losing much.

And now that I think about it, I do own more of these appliances: a rice cooker, a blender, the sandwich maker, a bread machine. I have owned two different kinds of popcorn poppers in the past and was recently considering a hot-air popper. I haven't had an ice cream maker, deep fryer or food processor. I guess my reasoning is that I wouldn't get enough use out of it to balance the inconvenience of cleaning the appliance. But maybe if I had one of those things I would cook more.

Then again, maybe not.

My life isn't that bad, apparently

2011-01-02T13:11:00.000-06:00

My life? Well, I work at a job where I don't always feel my efforts are appreciated, and haven't had a raise in a while. I support two frequently unappreciative and occasionally surly teen daughters, one of whom recently dropped out of high school and the other one apparently thinks I never know what I'm talking about. (Yes, I keep telling you to go to bed early so you can wake up in time to go to Seminary or at least catch the bus to school. There's a reason I keep telling you - it's because you aren't doing it!) I have a hard time paying my bills on time, which is made harder recently. My microwave conked out and the oven in the stove needs something - maybe the thermostat is not working, so I can't bake now either. My car has a cracked windshield that I worry every day is going to just pop - especially in winter weather with the difference between the outside temperature and the heat inside the car. My mom lives on her own, but I worry about her, too.

However, I'm currently praying for: a co-worker whose husband is recovering from hip replacement surgery but has confusion issues, another co-worker whose first child was born at 27 weeks, an online friend on bed rest to prevent premature labor, another online friend who lost her full-term baby just before Christmas, and am now adding to the list a blogger who suffers from deep depression (and she's pregnant). Of course, my list includes family members, although I need to expand that list as well.

So, while I can't afford health insurance but don't qualify for Medicaid, at least I'm reasonably functional. If my microwave and oven don't work, at least I have a slow cooker and the top of the stove. My car runs and gets much, much better gas mileage than my old car (approximately 26-28 mpg vs. 12-14 mpg), which is extremely important in a time when gas is around $3/gallon. While I may feel underappreciated at my job, at least I have one and I (usually) do it well, even the parts I don't like. And I have a roof over my head, which is also important.

And, while I have thought for a very long time that I should see a doctor to see if I really am depressed, right now that's not an option. But looking at the lives of others, I see that depressed or not, I'm not in that bad a place. I'll struggle on with my own trials and pray for others with theirs.

Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care ...

2011-01-02T01:22:00.000-06:00

Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast.
~William Shakespeare, Macbeth

I should make a resolution to go to bed earlier. I admonish Cayla about it on nearly a daily basis. She doesn't go to bed early enough, so she can't get up early enough to get to Seminary, or usually even to make the bus to school. That means someone has to drive her, and that's a waste of gas. But I set a bad example.

The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late. ~Charles Caleb Colton

I looked up some quotes on sleep.

No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap. ~Carrie Snow

I had never heard of Carrie Snow, but she's got a point. Yes, there are days so bad that a nap can't fix them. But naps are great.

Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds. ~JoJo Jensen, Dirt Farmer Wisdom, 2002

Now there's some wisdom. And here's mine: When I started playing around with my blog tonight, it was just after midnight. I just checked the time: 1:21 a.m. In addition to getting more sleep, I need to monitor my computer time better. I've got a log sheet I can track my time on, see where I spend it. I need to use that.

But now, I need to go to bed.

Resolute

2011-01-01T07:35:00.000-06:00

My one specific resolution for this year is to block Zynga games on Facebook for one month. I play Farmville, Frontierville and Cityville daily and spend too much time on them, neglecting other responsibilities.

What makes it hard is that they all have these "missions" where you complete certain tasks in order to receive a reward. I left unfinished missions in each game.

However, I suspect that by the time the month is over, I will be okay with not going back. And that was the purpose of this resolution - to free up my time and free me from the feeling of obligation to play.

I have other things I need to work on, as well, but no specific "I'm going to" statements yet. But the advice I've seen is that being specific and having a time limit are two ways to help you succeed in completing a resolution. I think this will work.

Why does God let bad things happen?

2010-12-22T15:04:00.002-06:00

2 Nephi 2 (Book of Mormon)

Lehi is speaking to his son Jacob. He talks about the Redeemer, that salvation is free, and those who believe in Christ shall be saved. Then he talks about opposition:

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

12 Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God.

13 And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.

14 And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon.

We exist. We feel. We can act for ourselves, choosing good or evil. Yes, bad things happen even to righteous people. But there is also joy, which would not exist if there was not sorrow.

25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

A family I know (not from Iowa, not related) is grieving today because their expected child did not survive birth. Any death of a child is hard - this season makes it harder. But I know that Heavenly Father will provide them comfort and understanding. There are many people praying for this family.

There is a God. He loves us and wants us to return to Him. He has provided us the tools to make this happen, including the love and support of those around us. He gives us trials and allows us to fall into error because we have to grow and learn, but He loves us more than we can imagine. There is a purpose to our lives, and there is joy.

Second guessing and adjusting

2010-12-19T00:44:00.000-06:00

So it's been, what, about 12 hours since our microwave went kaput. I spent a great deal of that time at work, so the significance didn't hit me until after I got home.

A co-worker had given me a lovely Christmas package, which included homemade bread. I usually slather a large slice with margarine and pop it into the microwave to warm and melt the margarine. Only, I can't.

Cayla made a late supper for us - lemon pepper chicken and au gratin potatoes. I was thinking if there were any leftovers, we could heat them in the microwave ... but, no.

I did suggest to Cayla that maybe we just need to clean the microwave, but she reminded me that the smell was kind of like ozone. So it's not burnt food, it's a microwave that has heated its last meal.

And I realize that my mourning over a microwave is kind of ridiculous. There are people mourning for real reasons. A former co-worker at the paper now works for an orphanage in Haiti where they take in handicapped children. Many of the children have families who can't care for them. One of the boys died overnight Friday - he was 3 1/2. One of my Facebook friends (from India) posted that her daughter's 15-year-old friend was raped and murdered - she might have been saved if the police has taken quicker action. Even closer to home - Kent is having a hard time adjusting to the death of his friend last week. So, all in all, I should be happy with what I have.

And on that note, I'm heading off to bed. I am teaching a Primary class in the morning, so I'll definitely be going to church.

Another one bites the dust

2010-12-18T13:56:00.000-06:00

Cayla was defrosting some chicken in the microwave for her lunch when we all smelled something odd - something that was kind of a burning smell, but kind of electrical. She shut off the microwave and unplugged it. Looks like we're getting a new microwave for Christmas.

I checked the Walmart website and it's kind of surprising the range of prices they have - all the way from $59 to $549.54. Although, that last one is also a convection oven. But they also sell one for $306.66 that is only a microwave. Eeek. I'll be looking in the $130 and under category. Maybe $150 and under - simply because I want something with a lot of power that will last a long time. I checked the back of my current microwave and found that it was made in July 2002 - so it's eight years old.

According to this website, it's a couple of years under its life expectancy, although this thread on the Disney discussion boards is all over the place with microwaves that quit after a year to one that is 26 years old. Unusual topic for a Disney forum, I think.

I'd also like to point out that my Google search for "how long should microwave last" has suggestions at the bottom for how long other things should last: menopause, superbowl, high, mono, garlic, shingles, ovulation and a copyright.

Anyway, it's time to get ready for work, so I can earn money to pay for a microwave for Christmas.

Currently watching: Elf

2010-12-15T16:28:00.000-06:00

One of three DVDs I borrowed from the library today. I returned the first season of "Warehouse 13," "Airplane!" and "A Christmas Story." I looked for "Scrooged," but apparently they don't have it. What the library lacks in the DVD department is made up for by the price (free!).

I'll have to borrow "Warehouse 13" again, though, as I didn't finish watching the whole season. And I should be congratulated for my restraint: I did not borrow anything to do with "Chuck."

Anyway, Cayla, who wasn't feeling well this morning and didn't go to school, is watching "Elf" and enjoying it. I'm getting my Facebook stuff out of the way and then I've got actual work to do.

Safety first

2010-12-12T14:22:00.000-06:00

In the past, there have been times that I didn't go home for days because of the weather or even stayed in town one night unexpectedly. I have even said my motto is that I drive like an old lady so I can be one.

Last night was another unexpected overnight in town. The weather started with rain Friday night into Saturday, and the temperature dropped, bringing dangerous wind chills. Rain turned to snow, but a light snow that blew waves across the road.

I made it into town with no problems, top speed of 45 mph. We worked on the paper quickly, and all the pages were over before 8 p.m. (For those who were expecting the lottery numbers in their papers, so sorry, but I was hoping to go home last night.)

My boss went home - she lives in town - and she called (twice!) from her house to tell me to not go home. The visibility was so bad in town she thought it was a bad idea to go anywhere. After her second call, our photographer called. He lives out of town, even farther than I do. He said he and his wife were stuck in a ditch on their way home.

So I called my mom, who reminded me that her recliner is broken and won't go back. She offered her floor, but I prevailed upon my sister, who agreed to let me stay there. She called into work, and it sounded like the whole overnight crew bailed on going to work. I slept in my niece's bed - she is at a friend's house this weekend.

The skies were clear this morning, and the roads were about 99 percent ice-free. There were a couple of places where I slowed down because snow was blowing across the road and a couple of places that were icy or snow-packed. But I made it home safely.

A sad side-note: I noticed that Kent's car was parked at his friend's apartment and I could tell he had been there overnight because the snow behind his car was undisturbed. Kent was on the phone when I walked in, talking to Cayla. As it turns out, his friend was supposed to go to the hospital yesterday but didn't because of the weather. And he died in the night, while Kent was at his apartment. Kent woke up this morning to discover his friend had passed away. So he's understandably upset.

Once again

2010-12-05T01:01:00.000-06:00

I am late posting. I got home in time, but didn't get on the computer until after midnight and then forgot until a few minutes ago. I'm going to bed in a few minutes, so this is my Dec. 4 posting (after midnight).

I'll be teaching the Valiant girls class tomorrow. I substitute-taught last week, and it didn't go too badly. I had taught the class before, a few years ago, when the classes were boys and girls together. The Primary president is having a hard time getting someone to be the permanent teacher, so I offered to teach just for this month. I figure I can handle 4 more classes, right? And I felt kind of sorry for the girls because they asked if I was going to be their permanent teacher - they've gone through other substitutes, as well.

Anyway, the lesson is about Jonah, and repentance. I'll read it some more in the morning (yes, I've read the lesson, but I need to read it again).

Inexplicable Twitter

2010-12-03T11:14:00.000-06:00

I was quite active on Twitter for awhile, then dropped off the radar, so to speak. But I kept getting these "*** is following you on Twitter" e-mails, which I do check out. So I created a filter to put them all in one folder so I can deal with them when I feel like it. I just haven't felt like it in some time.

Now the e-mails are just going to my inbox, which is annoying. But the perplexing question is, why are these people following me on Twitter? I've done maybe half a dozen tweets in the last month.

But that reminds me, it's time to (maybe) tweet again.

I've been playing Office Max's Elfmas Town. It has some cute and somewhat annoying games, but the one I play is Holiday Grab Bag. You choose from 3 possible presents. So far I've won a $10 gift certificate, a pen and 100 rubber bands. The rubber bands are points you can use to get coupons to save money at Office Max. I think the coupons you are offered are based on how many rubber bands you have, and those are reset daily.

So my prize for today was rubber bands (points). I'm not tweeting about that.

The third monkey

2010-12-03T00:42:00.001-06:00

(insert oh crap, I forgot to post on time but this counts for Dec. 2, seriously)

Re: the third monkey - you know the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys?

I can't complain about my job. At all. 'Nuff said.

NaBloPoMo prompt

2010-12-01T13:47:00.000-06:00

I'm going with the National Blog Posting Month prompt today.

If you could stop your body from aging at any point in your life, what age would you want to stay at and why?

I would stop in my mid-20s somewhere. I'd like to have more energy, be a little more fit, and be at an age where if I had young kids, I'd be better able to take care of them. I try (somewhat) to not let my physical age determine my intellectual/emotional age - in a good way. By that I mean, there are people my age who don't appreciate current music, who get stuck at a certain point in their lives and stop accepting new things. I don't want to be one of those people.

That being said, I have never and will never understand this longstanding trend for young men to wear pants with the waistline below their butts. And if that makes me an old fuddy-duddy, so be it. I try to be young at heart, but that's going a bit too far. ;-)

"Why are you being such a bitch?"

2010-11-30T23:38:00.000-06:00

What I said was, "I'm not being a bitch, I'm being informative."

Other possible answers:
Because I can.
Because I'm tired/depressed/obsessed with parking spaces (more on that in another post that I'll link to later)/hungry/you fill in the blanks.
PMS
Because you parked wrong and didn't put up your handicapped sticker (and I did point out if a police car came by, the fine is $100 and it's their $100, not mine).

The situation: I was leaving Wal-Mart and someone parked straight in one of the sideways handicapped parking spaces they recently put in. I hate these spaces, but finally came to the understanding that there are a lot of people out there with their own carts or even wheelchairs that will benefit from the larger spaces. But you are supposed to drive right in, facing the store in this case. This guy parked parallel to the store. I've seen people park 2 cars that way in one space.

So I waited and when he got out, I told him how the parking space was supposed to be used. He said he didn't feel like parking that way. I looked at his license plate and where you're supposed to put a hanging sticker if you have one (rearview mirror) and didn't see any handicapped insignia, so I said, as a reminder, that he forgot to put it out.

I have forgotten that on occasion and when I realize it, I am always thankful I haven't gotten a ticket yet. I only use it when Mom is with me and is actually leaving the car to go into church or the store or wherever. If she's staying in the car, I park in a normal space.

So, after I reminded the driver about the handicapped sticker, the woman passenger said, "why are you being such a bitch?"

I'm sure if I think about it, I can come up with a few more answers.

Grammar gripes

2010-11-28T01:52:00.000-06:00

and spelling errors ...

This was a post on a Freecycle group I belong to:

IM IN NEED OF A LARGE DOG KETTLE/CAGE ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

I did email the sender to point out that a kettle is what you cook in, while a kennel is where you keep your dog. I didn't make any smart remarks about cooking the dog, although you can probably come up with some funny ones.

This type of error is one of my pet peeves. Yes, I understand about typos and about typing things in chat where you are trying to type quickly and don't always have time to correct errors. But for anything that takes longer, like an email or a blog post, there really is no reason not to make sure you are typing what you think you are typing.

Punctuation is nice, too.

About "Chuck"

2010-11-11T11:04:00.000-06:00

Yeah, it's becoming an obsession. I'm still not sure why. It's a great show and funny and all, but I can't pinpoint why I'm suddenly getting into it like this.

And, yeah, I'm all caught up. I've seen every show that's on DVD (Seasons 1-3) and every show that's aired in the fourth season. You can actually buy episodes on Amazon.com for $1.99 and watch them as many times as you like. I wouldn't buy a whole season's worth that way, though, because I prefer to watch on the TV so I can do computer stuff on the computer. But the last 3 episodes of Season 3 that weren't available from the library (disc was damaged) and the first two episodes of Season 4 were available. And, as a bonus, "Chuck versus the Subway" and Chuck versus the Ring Part II" were packaged together for $1.99, so I got two episodes for the price of one.

I've now watched every episode from "Chuck versus the Living Dead" through Chuck versus the First Fight" at least twice.

From this point onward, I'll be able to watch the episodes for free at NBC.com or Hulu as long as I don't wait too long.

I don't think that will be a problem.

A confession

2010-11-10T02:00:00.000-06:00

Hi, my name is Carol, and I'm a "Chuck"aholic. I could go into a cutesy little post about how it started so innocently, but I'm going to skip right to the meat of it. I don't know why this show keeps me up at night, but it does. I caught up on three episodes I had missed by purchasing them on Amazon.com. Luckily, two episodes were packaged together. By Monday, when the next show airs, I'll be completely caught up.

And this post is not meant to mock groups like AA or NA. My point is that I do have a problem. I can't get enough of "Chuck." It does affect my behavior and other aspects of my life. The fact that I just finished watching three episodes in a row - that I purchased online - and it's nearly 2 a.m. should prove that.

Tuesday morning I had a "Chuck" dream. (Kind of like "Chuck versus the Coup d'Etat") There's got to be a warning sign in that.

I'm going to bed now, only to get up again in 3 hours. Wish me luck.

Nothing to say

2010-11-09T13:23:00.000-06:00

I'll get working on some blog posts. I usually think about things for awhile and then just post. I think I'll get some written down for those days when I don't feel like going public with the stupid things that happen in my life and just want to post observations or whatever.

Besides, I'm still living in "Chuck" land. I returned Seasons 2 and 3 to the library yesterday, but watched the available Season 4 videos online - twice. I still want to catch up on the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4, but I'm not sure how I can do that. I don't want to buy Season 3 on DVD just because I missed 3 episodes, and the first two episodes of Season 4 aren't available. Unless I want to pay at Amazon.com, I think. I don't know.

Anyway, I'm considering starting watching the series over - how annoying is that. Partly because it would bug Amanda, who "didn't feel like going" to school yesterday and today and probably just flunked the 3 classes she's been working on since the beginning of the school year. They are transitioning to computer classes, and she can do some online at home, but still has to attend every day. And since she doesn't have enough credits, they probably will want her to go all day, which is not what she wants. We'll see.

Still not learning my lesson

2010-11-07T04:46:00.000-06:00

First, I haven't managed to do a blog post every day, as part of NaBloPoMo. Second, although I know I need to get to bed earlier, I stay up later than a normal, responsible person should do. I've got my own "Chuck" marathon going on (although I'm finally going to bed now).

So, I haven't learned my lesson about getting enough sleep. I'm going to bed now, and hope my sleep-deprivation headache goes away.

And I'm sure I would be more eloquent if I actually got enough sleep, but that's kind of the point, isn't it?

Still tired

2010-11-03T23:19:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was Election Day, and we worked late. I left at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. We had pizza around 7:30 p.m., so I was hungry when I left. I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of things, then went home.

Cayla missed Seminary and the bus, so I asked Kent to take her to school. I took a nap, then took Amanda to school. I made a couple of stops, including to Mr. Money to pay interest on a couple of things I have in there.

I made a discovery there - a couple of things that have been missing from my house for months were there in Kent's name. Needless to say, I did not give him permission to take them. And I have them back now.

Between the exhaustion of working to late last night and the emotional upheaval at finding that Kent had taken my things and pawned them, then getting them back, I'm really tired right now. And it's past time I should be in bed, but I have to stay up until my laundry is dry so I can put Cayla's clothes in the dryer. And tomorrow, I have to go to work early because Sandy won't be there, so I won't even have as much naptime as I usually do. :-(

I guess tired is here to stay.

Unknown treasures

2010-11-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

Okay, not really treasures, but things I didn't know about before.

In an attempt at saving money, we're going without cable for a while. So I've been borrowing DVDs from the library. We watched season 1 of "Chuck," season 1 and part of 2 of "Pushing Daisies" and now I've got season 2 and 3 of "Chuck."

I didn't get into "Pushing Daisies" at first, but it grew on me. We didn't finish season 2 before I had to return it to the library and they make you wait at least a day. But I'm having fun with "Chuck."

Why didn't I know about these shows before? Because I work evenings and miss most shows when they are first on. So not having cable is giving me an opportunity to catch up on things I didn't know I was missing.

I try not to think about the shows I like that are going on while I don't have cable. You can't have everything.

Random memories

2010-11-01T23:51:00.000-05:00

The bank in Vincent was robbed today, and in newsroom conversation with Sandy, I mentioned that I used to work at a convenience store in Chicago. I was never robbed at gunpoint, but had some "interesting" events occur there.

One time, a guy came in after he was mugged and stabbed. Another time, a guy came in and started shoplifting - he wasn't even trying to hide it. I worked every shift every week, and my two graveyard shifts were Friday and Saturday nights.

I quit there after I was mugged - non-related. I happened to go visit my sister and on the way home I had to switch buses. While I was waiting for the bus, a guy grabbed my bag. There were only two things in it. I had my money and bus pass in my hand.

When I told Sandy what was in my bag, she laughed and laughed. You see, I had visited my sister when she was doing laundry, and had her wash my bra. I put that in my bag, and the only other thing in there was my voter registration card. So then I was freaking out that the guy would be mad about what he "scored" when he mugged me and come looking for me. (He didn't.)

He did leave his mark, though. When he grabbed my bag, I instinctively tightened my arm - the strap was in the crook of my elbow. He pulled so hard I fell down. When I didn't let go, he kicked or hit me in the face. A couple of weeks later, I developed Bell's palsy, which the doctor told me was probably related.

Bell's palsy is the gift that keeps on giving. I got it during my pregnancy with Cayla, to the point where I had to tape one eye shut at night to sleep. I got it another time a couple of years ago for a few weeks.

So, there you are. I have these random memories come up from time to time, and I remember them and then let them go back into the dark recesses of my mind. I've decided I'll share a few now. ;-)

Funny and awesome

2010-10-14T06:28:00.000-05:00

Cayla has been staying up too late lately (more than the usual). To the point that, this week, she hasn't been to school. She was up so late that she was too tired to function. Of course, this means she's missed Seminary as well, but she was missing that before, even on days she made it to school.

Last night the bishop called and talked to her. She was still up too late, but when her alarm went off this morning, I didn't even hear it because she turned it off right away. I got up a couple minutes later and her light was on. Surprise!

So, as I was driving her into town, I looked at the time and realized we would be there before 6 a.m. I told her, "it would be funny and awesome if we got there before everyone else," but I didn't really think it would happen.

It happened.

Not only were we first, everyone else arrived a little late. I had let Cayla in and waited in the car. Three other cars arrived a few minutes after 6, including the teacher. I had suggested to Cayla that she get a blanket from the YW room and pretend she had been there all night, but that was just a joke. It was nice to know that she was there on time, though.

We'll see how tomorrow goes. For now, though, I'm going back to bed. Which is not very funny, but very awesome. ;-)

Catching the bus

2010-09-02T07:48:00.000-05:00

Cayla missed the bus at her regular stop today. I quickly drove her to the third stop in town. After I dropped her off, I checked the time - it was 7:09 a.m., one minute before the published scheduled time for her to be picked up at her stop. After I got home, I called the bus barn. Looking at the bus schedule and talking to the dispatcher, I learned that the bus driver plans to pick up at Cayla's stop at 7:06 - one minute before the published first stop, which is two stops before where Cayla catches the bus.

The dispatcher explained that they've had to adjust the schedule because people registered their kids for school late and had to be added in. I told her I just didn't want the bus driver giving Cayla a hard time for getting on at the wrong stop because he did last year.

And in the end, it's a moot point. Next week Seminary starts and I'll have to drive her to church at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday. I'm just thankful that the bridge repair that has blocked our most convenient road to church will be completed this week. That will save me time and gas.

Small mercies

2010-09-01T07:16:00.000-05:00

Cayla is upset with me. I thought we had agreed on a certain course of action, but when I proceeded she got upset. It was pretty unavoidable - I had to do a certain task that affected her. The consequences if I didn't do this thing would be bad for me. But she just says "whatever" and goes off to her room.

The mercy thing is that although she stayed in bed until the last possible moment, pretty much, she was able to make it to the bus on time. It's merciful because now I can go back to bed. I'm always tired, but this morning is a bit more than usual.

Oh, and I tripped this morning and hurt my ankle. Lovely. It was quite painful for awhile, but now doesn't bother me much. We'll see how it goes later, and my knees as well. Sometimes an injury doesn't have much effect at the beginning but makes itself apparent later on.

Good way to start the day, huh?

School stuff

2010-08-18T21:07:00.000-05:00

School starts next Tuesday for the girls. Amanda will be going to the alternative high school, Cayla to regular high school. Cayla had mentioned in the past that she might like to join band as well as orchestra. Apparently she wants to learn oboe. She said she's willing to wait until I have the viola paid off. ;-) How kind. How about settling on one instrument and not keep adding more? So far we're up to a violin and viola ... and she still won't take piano, which I wish she would. It would give her a lot of opportunities in church.

Anyway, the girls start school, but I won't be going. There was some sort of kerfluffle with my financial aid and the school won't let me have any until I pay for (and pass) some classes with my own money. The problem with that is I can't spare any for college, so it looks like I'm going to have to completely drop that aspiration. Thanks, financial aid appeals committee, for making my dreams go away. Sigh.

Tomorrow is an orientation for 9th-graders and their parents, for Cayla, Should be interesting.

What next?

2010-08-12T09:04:00.001-05:00

Going to get ready for work now. Will have lunch with the father-in-law again - he visited last week and took us all to Chen Garden. But Thursdays are a hassle - split shift and deadlines, copy-editing, paginating (one page, but it's a fun one usually), processing obits ... we'll see how it goes.

UPDATE: Lunch was simple, but there were gifts. I ended up with a new set of tires when all was said and done. (Had to use money from Amanda's gift, but now I've got four new tires and I'll pay her back on Friday.) I'm no longer worried that one of the bald tires will blow, especially considering I was using the spare. Now the spare is back in the trunk where it belongs.

So I didn't sleep so well last night

2010-08-11T16:31:00.000-05:00

Events lined up to cause me to have to sleep at Mom's last night - in her recliner. Not the most comfortable "bed." I stayed up late and woke up early - Mom opened her door and got the paper around 5:30 a.m. I didn't go back to sleep after that - just watched TV until about 7 and then left.

The events that lined up were because of bad weather. We got rocked by a storm Tuesday night. Rain poured down and, as happens when it rains hard, certain roads were impassable. The railroad underpass on Highway 169 was flooded. There was water over the road on the main route I take to get home. I decided caution was best, so I didn't attempt to go home. I did get a nap in my own bed, but I'm still feeling the effects of not enough sleep.

BTW, I'm not complaining about your hospitality, Mom. You were quite accommodating, especially when I showed up late at night without calling. It's just circumstances.

Time to win again?

2010-08-09T09:52:00.000-05:00

There's a Back-to-School Giveaway Bonanza on Facebook starting today. The first item being given away is a Dell laptop - there are 12 blogs involved, so 12 places to enter, with multiple chances on each blog. I'm currently going down the list.

Last year I won a Samsumg camera on Twitter - it was a total surprise. It would be nice to have that luck return now. ;-)

I can only imagine

2010-07-16T11:18:00.000-05:00

I ache all over. A large part of it comes from not enough sleep. I've been getting up at 4:30 a.m. all this week to get Cayla to the pickup point for detasseling. (I got up yesterday, but she didn't go.) Part of it also comes from participating (in a small way) in the cleanup of the garage that Tonya has initiated. I spent 3-4 hours each day on Tuesday and Wednesday in the garage with her - not doing much, but helping and being a facilitator - if she needed garbage bags or paper towels, I got them.

Last night I left work at 11:45 p.m., got home around midnight. I was in bed around 12:30 a.m. but didn't get to sleep for about half an hour. Up at 4:30 a.m. again.

Cayla was still up when I got home last night. Partly because Amanda didn't let her on the computer until after 10 p.m. (even after I told her that Cayla has to get up early and she should let her on right away). So, as much pain as I feel, I can only imagine how Cayla feels right now.

And I should get ready for work.

Surviving

2010-07-13T05:17:00.000-05:00

Well, Cayla - and I - survived her first day of detasseling.

I hadn't heard from her while I was at work, so I called Kent a couple of times to see if she had called him for a ride yet. By 5 p.m. she had not, so I took my supper break at 5:15 and went to the drop off point to wait. Another woman drove up and asked if I had heard when they were coming. I said I was just waiting in case they showed up. She parked and came over, and her phone rang. Her daughter said they were on the way back. I asked if I could use her phone, and before the phone number disappeared from her screen, I caught a glimpse of it - it looked like my number. Cayla had my phone, so it seemed likely that she had allowed the woman's daughter to call her mom.

I called Kent to let him know I would take Cayla home. He said she had asked permission to go to Donna's to hang out with Jessica. I waited 'til Cayla arrived and took her over there. I got my phone back and called Jessica to hash out details while I was on my way back to work. We decided that Cayla could stay there until I got off work unless she decided to call her dad for a ride.

When I finished work, I called over there. Jessica said that Cayla had spent nearly the entire time asleep in a chair. When I went to pick her up, I found that Donna had insisted that Cayla take a shower (apparently she was able to change into some clothes Suzanna had left there) and wash her clothes. So that saved me from having to do laundry last night.

We drove through McDonald's for something for Cayla since she had slept through her time at Donna's, and I went to Wal-Mart. My oil light had come on during the short drive to Donna's, and we needed bread. When I got back to the car, Cayla was resting under a blanket. I had bought the blanket at a garage sale held by the Young Women - in May. It was in the car that whole time and finally came in handy.

I stayed up way too late and only got about 2 hours of sleep. Cayla is getting ready now for her second day. I hope we both survive it. ;-)

Milestones

2010-07-12T07:06:00.000-05:00

So I woke up about 4 o'clock this morning. My alarm was set for 4:30, to get up and get Cayla up - she starts detassling today.

My little girl has her first paying job (besides one babysitting gig a few months back). But this one is an official job - she had to fill out a W-2 and everything.

I made a checklist: she had to pack her lunch, take her lunch, water jug, bug spray, sunscreen, poncho, etc. I planned to drive through McDonald's for breakfast (as it turns out, the McD closest to our route isn't open at 5:30 a.m.).

I got her to the drop-off point on time and waited until the buses showed up, then left. She's got my cell phone to call her dad to pick her up when she is done for the day. I'll probably at work. And this is only for one week because she's got camp next week.

Much not have made much of an impression ...

2010-07-07T23:20:00.000-05:00

So, Tuesday night our bishop called me on my cell phone while I was at work. He started out by saying, "Carol, you and Cayla haven't spoken in sacrament meeting this year ... " and I started laughing. I said, "two weeks ago. I had to ask you how much time I had for my talk - you were on the stand!" I was the first speaker and Dan Jensen was the second speaker.

Now, I know he just got back from vacation, so it probably slipped his mind. But it's a little disconcerting to learn that my talk - or even the fact that I gave a talk - was so forgettable. But that's water under the bridge now, and Cayla gets to speak this Sunday. I'm not sure what steps he can take after that to make sure we get to church on time ... there are only so many people in my household. ;-)

Sidetracked

2010-06-22T12:36:00.000-05:00

Oftentimes my train of thought takes some interesting paths. I start at one topic, slide to another and before you know it, I've taken a completely different direction. Kind of like surfing Wikipedia.

Usually, though, these thought paths have some kind of logic. Something I'm doing or something that I'm thinking about has a connection to the next direction, and I can usually follow them back to the original thought.

Today, however, I'm stumped.

I was making macaroni salad. Making pasta of any kind usually makes me think of Kingdom of Loathing, where two of the classes of adventurers are pasta-centric (pastamancer and sauceror). This also led me to think of church, because we have potluck this coming Sunday (which led to me thinking about my talk, about printing out the article it's based on and some printer issues at work).

Then it came out of the blue. The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. Really? A Disney musical? C'mon brain - where did you pull this out of?

We saw the movie when I was a kid. We even had the album, which we played on our turntable. But I haven't thought of this movie or album in at least 30 years.

Looking over the Wikipedia article, I notice that Lesley Ann Warren was in the movie. She also is in "In Plain Sight," a series on USA network. It's just possible that a brief thought about the IPS episode I watched last night led to my brain digging deep enough to retrieve this memory, but it's still bizarre. I didn't even see her in that episode, but that's all the connection I can come up with right now.