The weather is beautiful! No frost this morning, and we're heading for a high in the 60's, with 70 temps expected by Sunday or Monday!
The Great Printer Hunt
What IS it with me and electronics? All I want to do is print out three sheets of promo labels. I downloaded the template, as my Word program didn't have the right one. I put my info into the template and saved it, both to the hard drive and to my flash. Everything is fine.
I go to Office Max. What? The labels are wrong for your printers? That's okay; I have friends with printers, as mine isn't arriving until next month.
Friends #1-3: Printers are old and not working at the moment.
Friend #4: It printed fine, until I looked at it. There are little 00's and the format is off (something I apparently didn't notice when I hit 'print'); fine, I fix it and hit 'print' again. Nope; same problem. I fix it again and hit 'save', then 'print'. Darn thing goes back to orginal! And then I notice 'wordpad' at the top. Guess what? Their PC isn't Vista. I unplug my flash and go home.
Friend #5: Paper feed is busted. They've tried feeding it manually, but it still refuses to work.
Friend #6: Printer out of ink.
Friend #7: Yes, they have Vista and yes, the printer works. Come on over! I hustle over...but for what ever reason, her laptop refuses to open the file I emailed to myself, in the event the file on the flash is now damaged, due to the non-Vista PC. She doesn't have Word, so we try opening it in Works. It saves it to her computer, but when you click on it, a window pops up the the file 'Can't be found'. I feel like that stupid saying a week or so ago; I'm yelling at the thing, "It's saved on your hard drive! What do you mean, you can't FIND IT???"
I give up and come home; it's time to attend sports banquet.
What happens when my son is awarded his letter? My camera batteries are low and I end up cutting off half his head. AAAACCCCKKKK!!!!
We come home, and I sit down at the computer. Earlier, I'd frantically emailed my crit partners.
Friend #8: "Sorry; printer's not working. Sorry!"
So today, I'm on a quest for a printer that will work with me. I have a few other people I've not tried, including throwing myself on the mercy of a few businesses in town, even the library. Surely SOMEONE can print it out for me? Otherwise, I'll be reduced to hand-lettering 180 labels. And my hand-printing is barely legible, let alone onto a label which is 2/3" x 1 3/4"!
Why am I banging in my head in frustration over this? A new promo idea, for the Vendor Blender and Santa Stroll this month. The Vendor Blender is tonight and tomorrow; there are 35 vendors setting up at the 4-H building in Washington, IN tonight from 4-8:30 and tomorrow from 9-3. The Santa Stroll is the 20th and 21st in our downtown area. I'll be at the Open Art Gallery from 5-9 on the 20th and 10am-6pm on the 21st. Bookmarks are getting expensive, so I'm trying the label-on-the-Smartie route. Call me strange, but I still have the Smartie wrapper from the winner of the Chili Cookoff in September!
CBS Time Travel: Yesterday, 1954:
-Year my spouse was born!
-Transister radio
-Nuclear-powered submarine
-Brown vs Board of Education
-Senator McCarthy's Communism Witch Hunt
-Marilyn Monrow
-Miss America televised
-The Platters, Elvis
-I Love Lucy
-TV Dinners
I wasn't born yet; nor were my parents even close to knowing each other! They were only 11 and 12. However, thanks to radio, I love 'Only You' and 'The Great Pretender' by the Platters (did they also do 'It's Twightlight Time'??), and nearly everyone knows Elvis and I Love Lucy!
To-Do List:
-Aforementioned Great Printer Hunt
-Picking up my bookmarks
-Signing tonight (I also need to locate one or two tablecloths)
See you tomorrow!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Thrifty Thursday
NaNo Word Count: Did pretty well yesterday; 550 words, all in longhand. Sigh...now to type it up...
Why Thrifty? I'd forgotten the Sports Banquet was tonight. That means I don't have to provide a meal for three of us, heh heh heh...Yup, S and W can eat leftovers tonight!
Update on Tuesday's Dilemma:
Unfortunately, the father showed up with the police yesterday, and was allowed to take his daughter. DCS never showed, but did schedule a visit in order to do the foster-care application inspection (they'd applied for this long before the son and granddaughter arrived!). The mother is en route from Tennessee in order to go to court so the grandmother can be given custody of the child.
I'm furious. They were supposed to do an emergency intervention, and royally dropped the ball, IMHO! When I left Tuesday night, I was under the impression that if the father showed up, the police were to be called in order to arrest him for the theft of the pain meds. Does NOBODY care about this child? She's now in a house with a negligable parent; a 40-something woman who's also been caught stealing narcotics, and who can't control her own teenagers. Scrap that; she can't control one of her teens, and gives full permission for her 14-year-old to sleep with her 17-yr-old boyfriend. Fine upstanding environment for a toddler...what the hell is wrong with our system?
CBS Time Machine: Yesterday, 1983:
-Knots Landing cast
-Pointer Sisters
-Boom Boxes
-Michael Jackson's Thriller Album
-Flashdance
-Cabbage Patch Kids
-My Little Pony
-MASH Finale
-President Reagan and observation of Martin Luther King Jr Day
-Swatch watches
-Strawberry Shortcake
-Sally Ride becoming the first female astronaut
-Simon and Trivial Pursuit
I never was a fan of Knots Landing; I did love the Pointer Sisters "Jump For My Love", "Slow Hand", "I'm So Excited", and "He's So Shy"; I was watching the Grammy's when MJ performed "Billie Jean" and did his moonwalk; we also eagerly watched the "Making of Thriller", the hour-long documentary on behind-the-scenes look at how the music video "Thriller" came to be. My sister and I wished for cable television, so we could watch MTV.
One of my English Class assignments was a paper about the MASH finale. I still have it somewhere. One of the ironic things I remember the most was that Klinger spent the entire series trying to get OUT of the army, and home to Toledo; in the finale, he'd married a Korean woman and was now staying in Korea, to look for her family (I think was the reason...it may have been for something else).
Mom would NOT let us rip our perfectly good sweatshirts. We did sing the song 'What a Feelin' whenever it came on the radio; we were not old enough to see the movie (I think it was rated R; if it wasn't, then Mom refused to let us see it). My sis had the Cabbage Patch Kid and the Swatch Watch. In college, my roommate had one of those boom boxes, and we thought we were 'cool' when we carried it around, blasting either Van Halen's "1984" or Olivia Newton-John's 'Totally Hot" cassettes!
My grandmother had bought the new electronic game Simon, and my sis and I spent many happy moments testing our memory. Trivial Pursuit remains my all-time favorite game (although my kids smoked me on the 90's version!) and I proved best at the science and geography categories. In 1997, a friend and I entered a game-in-progress late, and with our very first turn, answered every single question correctly; had our six pieces of the 'pie', and were headed back to the center. Our second turn, we won the game. No one would play with the two of us as partners after that...
1983 was also the year I had the tickets to go see Styx in concert, 1st balcony, 1st row, in my hand, and my mother made me give them back, because the concert was the same day as my sister's birthday. I finally got to see them in 1996.
To-Do List for Today:
-Writing (duh!)
-Ordering my promo labels for the Smarties
-K's Sports Banquet
-Survivor Night! Tonight they merge...what hell will (Evil) Russell drag the others in to now?
Why Thrifty? I'd forgotten the Sports Banquet was tonight. That means I don't have to provide a meal for three of us, heh heh heh...Yup, S and W can eat leftovers tonight!
Update on Tuesday's Dilemma:
Unfortunately, the father showed up with the police yesterday, and was allowed to take his daughter. DCS never showed, but did schedule a visit in order to do the foster-care application inspection (they'd applied for this long before the son and granddaughter arrived!). The mother is en route from Tennessee in order to go to court so the grandmother can be given custody of the child.
I'm furious. They were supposed to do an emergency intervention, and royally dropped the ball, IMHO! When I left Tuesday night, I was under the impression that if the father showed up, the police were to be called in order to arrest him for the theft of the pain meds. Does NOBODY care about this child? She's now in a house with a negligable parent; a 40-something woman who's also been caught stealing narcotics, and who can't control her own teenagers. Scrap that; she can't control one of her teens, and gives full permission for her 14-year-old to sleep with her 17-yr-old boyfriend. Fine upstanding environment for a toddler...what the hell is wrong with our system?
CBS Time Machine: Yesterday, 1983:
-Knots Landing cast
-Pointer Sisters
-Boom Boxes
-Michael Jackson's Thriller Album
-Flashdance
-Cabbage Patch Kids
-My Little Pony
-MASH Finale
-President Reagan and observation of Martin Luther King Jr Day
-Swatch watches
-Strawberry Shortcake
-Sally Ride becoming the first female astronaut
-Simon and Trivial Pursuit
I never was a fan of Knots Landing; I did love the Pointer Sisters "Jump For My Love", "Slow Hand", "I'm So Excited", and "He's So Shy"; I was watching the Grammy's when MJ performed "Billie Jean" and did his moonwalk; we also eagerly watched the "Making of Thriller", the hour-long documentary on behind-the-scenes look at how the music video "Thriller" came to be. My sister and I wished for cable television, so we could watch MTV.
One of my English Class assignments was a paper about the MASH finale. I still have it somewhere. One of the ironic things I remember the most was that Klinger spent the entire series trying to get OUT of the army, and home to Toledo; in the finale, he'd married a Korean woman and was now staying in Korea, to look for her family (I think was the reason...it may have been for something else).
Mom would NOT let us rip our perfectly good sweatshirts. We did sing the song 'What a Feelin' whenever it came on the radio; we were not old enough to see the movie (I think it was rated R; if it wasn't, then Mom refused to let us see it). My sis had the Cabbage Patch Kid and the Swatch Watch. In college, my roommate had one of those boom boxes, and we thought we were 'cool' when we carried it around, blasting either Van Halen's "1984" or Olivia Newton-John's 'Totally Hot" cassettes!
My grandmother had bought the new electronic game Simon, and my sis and I spent many happy moments testing our memory. Trivial Pursuit remains my all-time favorite game (although my kids smoked me on the 90's version!) and I proved best at the science and geography categories. In 1997, a friend and I entered a game-in-progress late, and with our very first turn, answered every single question correctly; had our six pieces of the 'pie', and were headed back to the center. Our second turn, we won the game. No one would play with the two of us as partners after that...
1983 was also the year I had the tickets to go see Styx in concert, 1st balcony, 1st row, in my hand, and my mother made me give them back, because the concert was the same day as my sister's birthday. I finally got to see them in 1996.
To-Do List for Today:
-Writing (duh!)
-Ordering my promo labels for the Smarties
-K's Sports Banquet
-Survivor Night! Tonight they merge...what hell will (Evil) Russell drag the others in to now?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Weird Wednesday
NaNo Word Count: 500 yesterday! It would have been more, had I been able to attend crit group. Maybe I'll do better today and add another 200 words? We'll see:)
Saw on the news this morning the medical profession is encouraging people who wake up in the morning 'not feeling well' to stay home. They may or may not have H1N1, but why take a chance? There is also the financial factor: You go to work and don't do your best. You also infect your co-workers, who in turn go home and infect their families, or even clients.
But say you can't afford to stay home? No sick leave? Simply negotiate with your employer.
Yeah, right. Like that REALLY works. You call in one too many times (cough...walmart...cough) and you'll find yourself out of a job.
So no job vs working sick and spreading the germs. Which do you choose?
Ever since I can remember, I've dreamed of working at home. No having to get up at the ungodly hour of 6am; not having to drive in snow and ice or even cold temperatures.
(record scratch) Wait...I work from home and I still get up at 6, and yes, I have to drive kids to school in freezing temps!
But...I don't have to interact with anyone if I don't choose to, other than via phone or email. And, oh wait...I don't get paid either, unless you count the occassional royalty check in the mail. I get paid in hugs and 'I love you's".
And On That Note...
Parenting is a responsibility. Where do some people get off treating their kids as if they OWN them, instead of having to CARE for them?
If you're single and choose to destroy your life with drugs, alcohol, and unhealthy relationships, by all means, go ahead. But if you have kids, GROW UP!
I made an emergency trip last night to help a friend who is fighting for her granddaughter's right to grow up in a safe environment. The mother is on meth; the father gained custody to get his infant daughter out of harm's way. BUT...he's fallen under the charms of a predatory female, who has him drinking again; stealing his mother's pain meds; and not spending any time with his daughter. Oh, and this woman also withdrew her own daughter from school, in order to 'home school' the child, who now spends the majority of her time at her boyfriend's house, in order to stay away from a brother who regularly beats her up. This is a fourteen-year-old child who was making straight A's and B's, who, if the authorities don't intervene in time (they were called yesterday), will become another unwed, uneducated teenage mother. The brother was removed from the home, but given to the grandparents, who allowed him to get drunk!
I'm waiting for news of what will happen today. We packed up the father's possessions and put them in his car, finding proof of his theft as we did so. He wasn't smart enough to hide the bottles or labels. DCS will assess the situation and hopefully it will be proven that the father is unfit, and the child given into her grandparents' care. She's a sweet child, who six weeks ago, thought Cheeto's were an acceptable meal; wore size 9 month clothing (she's now 13 months old); and barely walked or talked (I'll concede this final point is age-appropriate!). She has gained weight; grown 3 shoe sizes; wears a 2T clothing; and is enjoying the educational benefits of PBS Kids. In short, she's blossomed under Grandma's care. Dad showed up drunk for a job interview two weeks ago, and in an unrelated incident, scared my daughter when she arrived for a visit. S doesn't scare that easily, so for her to call me and request to come home early is huge.
Bottom line: If you have kids, raise them responsibly. Care for them. Love them. But don't let your own selfish desires take precedence over your kids' welfare. You can go back to destroying your body once they've attained adulthood.
CBS Timeline: 1990!
-Vanilla Ice "Ice Ice Baby"
-Murphy Brown
-Gameboy was introduced
-Madonna's 'documentary'
-Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait
-Hubble Telescope launched
-President George Bush's declared hatred of brocolli (kids everywhere cheered!)
-Nelson Mandela released from prison
-Assisted suicides by Jack Kevorkian
-Death of Ryan White
-Home Alone, Ghost, Pretty Woman
-Infamous Milli Vanilli losing their Grammy Award for lip-synching
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
-SuperSoakers
I was enjoying my first year as an adult, but 1990 was traumatic on a personal level. I had gotten trapped in an emotionally abusive relationship, and broke my engagement, but couldn't get him to stop leaving my alone. It literally took me giving up my job and apartment for him to 'get it'. I vaguely remember the invasion of Kuwait; I remember laughing at the absurdity of spending all that money on a telescope which was now near-sighted; and since I lived ten minutes from Ryan White's house, his death was the newsmaker which had the most impact on me. I didn't know him, but I'd been by his home, and knew those who DID know him.
I still have my cassette tape of the TMNT singing 'Comin' Out Of Our Shells', a collection of songs Pizza Hut offered as a promotional item. In fact, I found it on YouTube; punch in TMNT Pizza Power, and you can find several songs, including more of my faves, 'Sing About It', 'Count On Us', 'Walk Straight', 'No Treaties', and 'April's Ballad'.
Since I still can't seem to copy/paste, here's the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J89vz7tfN-k&feature=related
(I hope it works! If it does, Enjoy!)
Saw on the news this morning the medical profession is encouraging people who wake up in the morning 'not feeling well' to stay home. They may or may not have H1N1, but why take a chance? There is also the financial factor: You go to work and don't do your best. You also infect your co-workers, who in turn go home and infect their families, or even clients.
But say you can't afford to stay home? No sick leave? Simply negotiate with your employer.
Yeah, right. Like that REALLY works. You call in one too many times (cough...walmart...cough) and you'll find yourself out of a job.
So no job vs working sick and spreading the germs. Which do you choose?
Ever since I can remember, I've dreamed of working at home. No having to get up at the ungodly hour of 6am; not having to drive in snow and ice or even cold temperatures.
(record scratch) Wait...I work from home and I still get up at 6, and yes, I have to drive kids to school in freezing temps!
But...I don't have to interact with anyone if I don't choose to, other than via phone or email. And, oh wait...I don't get paid either, unless you count the occassional royalty check in the mail. I get paid in hugs and 'I love you's".
And On That Note...
Parenting is a responsibility. Where do some people get off treating their kids as if they OWN them, instead of having to CARE for them?
If you're single and choose to destroy your life with drugs, alcohol, and unhealthy relationships, by all means, go ahead. But if you have kids, GROW UP!
I made an emergency trip last night to help a friend who is fighting for her granddaughter's right to grow up in a safe environment. The mother is on meth; the father gained custody to get his infant daughter out of harm's way. BUT...he's fallen under the charms of a predatory female, who has him drinking again; stealing his mother's pain meds; and not spending any time with his daughter. Oh, and this woman also withdrew her own daughter from school, in order to 'home school' the child, who now spends the majority of her time at her boyfriend's house, in order to stay away from a brother who regularly beats her up. This is a fourteen-year-old child who was making straight A's and B's, who, if the authorities don't intervene in time (they were called yesterday), will become another unwed, uneducated teenage mother. The brother was removed from the home, but given to the grandparents, who allowed him to get drunk!
I'm waiting for news of what will happen today. We packed up the father's possessions and put them in his car, finding proof of his theft as we did so. He wasn't smart enough to hide the bottles or labels. DCS will assess the situation and hopefully it will be proven that the father is unfit, and the child given into her grandparents' care. She's a sweet child, who six weeks ago, thought Cheeto's were an acceptable meal; wore size 9 month clothing (she's now 13 months old); and barely walked or talked (I'll concede this final point is age-appropriate!). She has gained weight; grown 3 shoe sizes; wears a 2T clothing; and is enjoying the educational benefits of PBS Kids. In short, she's blossomed under Grandma's care. Dad showed up drunk for a job interview two weeks ago, and in an unrelated incident, scared my daughter when she arrived for a visit. S doesn't scare that easily, so for her to call me and request to come home early is huge.
Bottom line: If you have kids, raise them responsibly. Care for them. Love them. But don't let your own selfish desires take precedence over your kids' welfare. You can go back to destroying your body once they've attained adulthood.
CBS Timeline: 1990!
-Vanilla Ice "Ice Ice Baby"
-Murphy Brown
-Gameboy was introduced
-Madonna's 'documentary'
-Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait
-Hubble Telescope launched
-President George Bush's declared hatred of brocolli (kids everywhere cheered!)
-Nelson Mandela released from prison
-Assisted suicides by Jack Kevorkian
-Death of Ryan White
-Home Alone, Ghost, Pretty Woman
-Infamous Milli Vanilli losing their Grammy Award for lip-synching
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
-SuperSoakers
I was enjoying my first year as an adult, but 1990 was traumatic on a personal level. I had gotten trapped in an emotionally abusive relationship, and broke my engagement, but couldn't get him to stop leaving my alone. It literally took me giving up my job and apartment for him to 'get it'. I vaguely remember the invasion of Kuwait; I remember laughing at the absurdity of spending all that money on a telescope which was now near-sighted; and since I lived ten minutes from Ryan White's house, his death was the newsmaker which had the most impact on me. I didn't know him, but I'd been by his home, and knew those who DID know him.
I still have my cassette tape of the TMNT singing 'Comin' Out Of Our Shells', a collection of songs Pizza Hut offered as a promotional item. In fact, I found it on YouTube; punch in TMNT Pizza Power, and you can find several songs, including more of my faves, 'Sing About It', 'Count On Us', 'Walk Straight', 'No Treaties', and 'April's Ballad'.
Since I still can't seem to copy/paste, here's the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J89vz7tfN-k&feature=related
(I hope it works! If it does, Enjoy!)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Tuesday's Tidbits
Currently Reading: Still on Elfin Blood. Didn't get a chance to read yesterday. Too busy.
NaNo Update: Word Count for yesterday, 300. Not bad, considering everythng on my chore list:)
Panic Attack: I cannot find my old return address labels! Did I throw them away, after all? I was planning to attach them to the Smarties I bought for my upcoming signing. I'll either have to buy the Avery ones and find someone willing to print them for me (bribery??) or try Office Max's prices. The good news about my rummaging? I found the rest of Barb's sticky notes!
Also learned something amusing: I called one of the other vendors about the directions to Eastside Park, and apparently someone had Googled me, but emailed the wrong author Molly Daniels! Afterwards, I Googled myself, and still came up #2, 5, and 9 on the first page. I'll be sure to pass around my business card this weekend! I've never been to this venue before, or spent a great deal of time in the town. Lots of new people to meet:) So if anyone happens to be in Washington, IN and knows where Eastside Park is, we'll be in the new 4-H building. Need directions? Email me and I'll give you the same directions I've been given. Let's hope they are accurate!
CBS Time Machine: This entire week, the Early Show is 'going back in time'. Yesterday was 1979:
-The Sony Walkman
-Dallas cliffhanger: Who Shot JR?
-Bee Gees, Blondie, Gloria Gaynor
-Star Wars
-Mean Joe Green's Coke commercial
-Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down To Georgia" song
Amazing. An MP3 player can fit into the cassette display of the Walkman, and holds more data than the Apple II computer, also debuting that year! And my kids were amazed when I showed them the 'awesome graphics' of Space Invaders. My parents bought us an Atari and we were thrilled with the black and white graphics and sound effects as we destroyed aliens, helped Pac-Man gobble dots and avoid the ghosts. We also played ping-pong with little 'paddles'; helped little balls break through three or four layers of a multi-colored 'ceiling' (once you broke through, another ball would appear, making it more challenging!); and navigated a 'car' through a night time race course. The spouse and I were reminiscing about these early games; the teens rolled their eyes.
Through A Child's Eyes:
K went north Sunday to attend a Confirmation Meeting (he's sponsering one of his friends) and brought back the two car seats for Sam, as well as five other boxes. Two of the boxes contain our Disney VHS tapes. S and W opened them; W promptly exclaims, "I've been wondering where that movie was!"
S rolled her eyes and laughed. "You don't even REMEMBER these!" She popped in Lady and The Tramp 2 and later, Spirit. Apparently, W was rather impatient when LATT 2 had to be rewound. "Play the movie!"
"This isn't like the discs; I can't just hit Menu!"
Educating a five-year-old on why VHS tapes are different from DVDs....
Today on the To-Do List:
-Writing...I came up with another good idea for an abandoned wip's character
-Going to Office Max to inquire about cost of labels for Smarties and order bookmarks
-Beef Stroganoff for dinner
-Laptop Society/NaNo Write-In meeting
NaNo Update: Word Count for yesterday, 300. Not bad, considering everythng on my chore list:)
Panic Attack: I cannot find my old return address labels! Did I throw them away, after all? I was planning to attach them to the Smarties I bought for my upcoming signing. I'll either have to buy the Avery ones and find someone willing to print them for me (bribery??) or try Office Max's prices. The good news about my rummaging? I found the rest of Barb's sticky notes!
Also learned something amusing: I called one of the other vendors about the directions to Eastside Park, and apparently someone had Googled me, but emailed the wrong author Molly Daniels! Afterwards, I Googled myself, and still came up #2, 5, and 9 on the first page. I'll be sure to pass around my business card this weekend! I've never been to this venue before, or spent a great deal of time in the town. Lots of new people to meet:) So if anyone happens to be in Washington, IN and knows where Eastside Park is, we'll be in the new 4-H building. Need directions? Email me and I'll give you the same directions I've been given. Let's hope they are accurate!
CBS Time Machine: This entire week, the Early Show is 'going back in time'. Yesterday was 1979:
-The Sony Walkman
-Dallas cliffhanger: Who Shot JR?
-Bee Gees, Blondie, Gloria Gaynor
-Star Wars
-Mean Joe Green's Coke commercial
-Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down To Georgia" song
Amazing. An MP3 player can fit into the cassette display of the Walkman, and holds more data than the Apple II computer, also debuting that year! And my kids were amazed when I showed them the 'awesome graphics' of Space Invaders. My parents bought us an Atari and we were thrilled with the black and white graphics and sound effects as we destroyed aliens, helped Pac-Man gobble dots and avoid the ghosts. We also played ping-pong with little 'paddles'; helped little balls break through three or four layers of a multi-colored 'ceiling' (once you broke through, another ball would appear, making it more challenging!); and navigated a 'car' through a night time race course. The spouse and I were reminiscing about these early games; the teens rolled their eyes.
Through A Child's Eyes:
K went north Sunday to attend a Confirmation Meeting (he's sponsering one of his friends) and brought back the two car seats for Sam, as well as five other boxes. Two of the boxes contain our Disney VHS tapes. S and W opened them; W promptly exclaims, "I've been wondering where that movie was!"
S rolled her eyes and laughed. "You don't even REMEMBER these!" She popped in Lady and The Tramp 2 and later, Spirit. Apparently, W was rather impatient when LATT 2 had to be rewound. "Play the movie!"
"This isn't like the discs; I can't just hit Menu!"
Educating a five-year-old on why VHS tapes are different from DVDs....
Today on the To-Do List:
-Writing...I came up with another good idea for an abandoned wip's character
-Going to Office Max to inquire about cost of labels for Smarties and order bookmarks
-Beef Stroganoff for dinner
-Laptop Society/NaNo Write-In meeting
Monday, November 2, 2009
Mad Monday
Currently Reading: LOVED Ashley Ladd's Recipe For Disaster! Another Recommened Read! Next up: Elfin Blood, by Gracen Miller. I've already read a few chapters and I'm not crazy about Nobel Romance's chapter breaks. I'm finding it slightly distracting. If you're a fan of paranormal romances featuring elves and vampires, give it a try:) I'm going to read a few more chapters when I meet my daily word count goals.
November Reading Schedule:
-Elfin Blood
-Blood Line
-Highland Beast
-Spanish Topaz
-Burn
If finances are good, here's the rest of the month's buying schedule:
Nov 9:
-Infidelity by Debbie Gould
Nov 16:
-Naughty Nooners by Dakota Rebel, et al
Nov 23:
-Unexpected Mr. Right by Kelley Nyrae
I'm off to a slow start. Yesterday, the SyFy channel hijacked my attention by running the original V all day. Why was I so captivated? We own the DVD. Weeeelllllll, okay. We have HALF of the movie, found in the discount bin about ten years ago. And I was outraged when it stopped 'halfway through'!
"Flip the disc over, mom..." Nah...that wasn't even 'The End'! Where was Robin giving birth? The grand finale?
So yesterday, I noshed on Smarties, $1000 Grand bars, and what leftover Three Musketeers and Snickers were left in the bowl, and vegged out to one of the few sci-fi movies I can stand. And my kids finally got to see what Mom was moaning about every time we get the urge to watch our DVD: It wasn't COMPLETE!
Yeah, it seems hokey now, with the 'special effects', obvious plot errors, and crappy dialogue. But as a teenager, I loved it. As an adult, I can appreciate the basic storyline and jokingly speculated the 'New V' series will be about Diana's daughter, coming back to finish what her mother started?? Will Elizabeth be the one who saves the day again? I think we have plans to DVR the pilot on Tuesday; if and when I watch it still remains to be seen. It interferes with my 90210 and spouse's NCIS.
To-Do List:
-Laundry (and trip to grocery store)
-Proofread K's term paper ("Pleeeeeaaase Mom?????" How can I possibly refuse that, lol?)\
-Devote 2 hours to my NaNo wip
-Pork Steaks for dinner
Okay; time for me to get off line; throw another load in the washer; eat lunch; get cracking on the word count (and the proofreading)! I'll check in again later.
November Reading Schedule:
-Elfin Blood
-Blood Line
-Highland Beast
-Spanish Topaz
-Burn
If finances are good, here's the rest of the month's buying schedule:
Nov 9:
-Infidelity by Debbie Gould
Nov 16:
-Naughty Nooners by Dakota Rebel, et al
Nov 23:
-Unexpected Mr. Right by Kelley Nyrae
I'm off to a slow start. Yesterday, the SyFy channel hijacked my attention by running the original V all day. Why was I so captivated? We own the DVD. Weeeelllllll, okay. We have HALF of the movie, found in the discount bin about ten years ago. And I was outraged when it stopped 'halfway through'!
"Flip the disc over, mom..." Nah...that wasn't even 'The End'! Where was Robin giving birth? The grand finale?
So yesterday, I noshed on Smarties, $1000 Grand bars, and what leftover Three Musketeers and Snickers were left in the bowl, and vegged out to one of the few sci-fi movies I can stand. And my kids finally got to see what Mom was moaning about every time we get the urge to watch our DVD: It wasn't COMPLETE!
Yeah, it seems hokey now, with the 'special effects', obvious plot errors, and crappy dialogue. But as a teenager, I loved it. As an adult, I can appreciate the basic storyline and jokingly speculated the 'New V' series will be about Diana's daughter, coming back to finish what her mother started?? Will Elizabeth be the one who saves the day again? I think we have plans to DVR the pilot on Tuesday; if and when I watch it still remains to be seen. It interferes with my 90210 and spouse's NCIS.
To-Do List:
-Laundry (and trip to grocery store)
-Proofread K's term paper ("Pleeeeeaaase Mom?????" How can I possibly refuse that, lol?)\
-Devote 2 hours to my NaNo wip
-Pork Steaks for dinner
Okay; time for me to get off line; throw another load in the washer; eat lunch; get cracking on the word count (and the proofreading)! I'll check in again later.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday's Stupid Saying and Snippet
Tech Support: What seems to be the problem, sir?
Customer: Whenever I press the Backspace key, the letters I typed disappear.
actual tech support call
Kids Halloween Costumes, Past and Present:
K has been:
-Ghost
-Astronaut
-Mouse
-Tigger
-Scream
-Girl (complete with long blonde wig and one of my dresses! He was 10 or 11)
-'Super K' (two years ago...he's even on YouTube somewhere.)
S has been:
-Pumpkin Baby
-Rabbit (family costume; I wore it; my sis wore it; by the time Grandma unearthed it, K was too big for it.)
-Tigger
-Queen Amidala
-Scream (she borrowed her brother's costume!)
-Vampire (last two years)
W has been:
-Tigger
-Spiderman (three times now)
-Batman
(I can't remember if he ever wore the rabbit costume!)
Snippet: Today's theme is Horror; however, my copy/paste mode is refusing to work! And since I really don't feel like retyping the entire page, you'll just have to wait until next year. I hope Blogger cooperates with me the next time I try to paste a section onto it!
NaNoWriMo Starts Tomorrow!
Are you signed up? A few of my friends are. Once again, I'm not going to turn into Evil Bitch Writer Mom, but I am going to inform the family of my goal to write every day for an hour or two. Similar to what I'm already doing; however, this time it will be a priority. As for word counts, whatever comes from me in that hour or two is what I'll be happy with. Not going to kill myself getting the 1500 down this year!
Happy Halloween:)
Customer: Whenever I press the Backspace key, the letters I typed disappear.
actual tech support call
Kids Halloween Costumes, Past and Present:
K has been:
-Ghost
-Astronaut
-Mouse
-Tigger
-Scream
-Girl (complete with long blonde wig and one of my dresses! He was 10 or 11)
-'Super K' (two years ago...he's even on YouTube somewhere.)
S has been:
-Pumpkin Baby
-Rabbit (family costume; I wore it; my sis wore it; by the time Grandma unearthed it, K was too big for it.)
-Tigger
-Queen Amidala
-Scream (she borrowed her brother's costume!)
-Vampire (last two years)
W has been:
-Tigger
-Spiderman (three times now)
-Batman
(I can't remember if he ever wore the rabbit costume!)
Snippet: Today's theme is Horror; however, my copy/paste mode is refusing to work! And since I really don't feel like retyping the entire page, you'll just have to wait until next year. I hope Blogger cooperates with me the next time I try to paste a section onto it!
NaNoWriMo Starts Tomorrow!
Are you signed up? A few of my friends are. Once again, I'm not going to turn into Evil Bitch Writer Mom, but I am going to inform the family of my goal to write every day for an hour or two. Similar to what I'm already doing; however, this time it will be a priority. As for word counts, whatever comes from me in that hour or two is what I'll be happy with. Not going to kill myself getting the 1500 down this year!
Happy Halloween:)
Friday, October 30, 2009
Halloween Memories
Currently Reading: Finished Linked yesterday...wow! I really loved Chapters 9 and 24! This book was slightly squeamish in places, but thankfully there was just enough description of the gritty parts. The horrific parts were left to the imagination, and the interaction between the hero and heroine was fantastic as two people learned to trust each other. Recommended Read, IMHO! Next up is Ashley's Recipe For Disaster.
Word Count: Goofed off yesterday. See above paragraph:) That, plus the spouse took me to BW-3's for lunch. We'd never eaten there before, and we will be going back:) Next time, I'll sit closer to the Trivia screen so I can READ the questions and play along!
In elementary school, I was a witch; Miss America; Donald Duck; and my bff and I had plans to borrow a rather robust neighbor's overalls and go as the Two-Headed Monster. But since neither of us ever worked up the nerve to ask him if we could borrow them, we opted for separate costumes.
In high school, I missed Halloween my sophomore year because it fell on a Saturday and we were at the State Finals of the Marching Band competition. We didn't place in the top 10, but we stuck around to cheer on the winners.
My junior year, I was taking World History and fell in love with Greek Mythology. I decided to go as Aphrodite, and the imagination was greater than my costume-making skills. My mom had two strapless formals, both with tulle from the waist down. I strapped one around my thighs, so it was ankle-length, and the other in the usual place. A white turtleneck went under the thing, since it was slightly cold and rainy, and my mom was significantly larger on top than myself. Gold pumps went on my feet; they were only slightly large, but thick socks kept my heels from sliding out. And yes, I wore either jeans or tights under the dresses. Lord only knows how I managed to WALK in that getup!
My senior year, I dressed all in black; carried my original 1978 lightsaber; and went as a Jedi Knight. My sister was horrified, even though she was Chewbacca.
In college, I dressed as a Punk Rocker; Scarlett O'Hara; and in one disastrous evening, ended up being Ashton instead of Brett from North and South, because my boyfriend rented the wrong costume. I wanted him in Union Blue; he chose Confederate Gray. My final year, I wore my Scarlett O'Hara dress, but when friends joined us for the Residence Hall Trick-Or-Treating, I became Glenda the Good Witch. My bff was Dorothy; one girl was The Tin Man; her roommate was her Oil Can. A stuffed dog was tucked under Dorothy's arm for Toto. Later, a guy who was interested in my bff invited us to a Haunted House put on by one of the fraternities. All was well until the final room: I was leading the way and 'Frankenstein' jumped out from behind the door. His fist connected with my nose, and as I stumbled toward the exit, mildly blinded by tears, one of the guys passing out the candy noticed my distress and gave me an ice pack.
"Just tell Frankenstein to be more careful in there." When my friends rejoined me, we went to a local bar and had a few drinks, plus watched the costume contest.
Festivities For Today:
W had no trouble getting out of bed this morning. All it took was a 'Today you get to wear your costume' comment and out he bounded! He dressed while I pulled it from the plastic, and tried it on. Perfect fit, and when he saw himself in the mirror, he exclaimed, "I am a HOT Spiderman!"
I took it off of him, put it in his backpack, and dropped him off at school. Tonight he might do the 'Safe Trick-or-Treating' at the area businesses. It all depends on the weather!
The teens are planning to go to the high school's Haunted House, and having a few friends over afterwards. I think a big pot of chili will be made for dinner tonight, or pizza.
Heard 'Monster Mash' on the radio as I was taking W to school! What's your favorite Halloween song? We also introduced W to It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on Wedensday. He loved it!
Word Count: Goofed off yesterday. See above paragraph:) That, plus the spouse took me to BW-3's for lunch. We'd never eaten there before, and we will be going back:) Next time, I'll sit closer to the Trivia screen so I can READ the questions and play along!
In elementary school, I was a witch; Miss America; Donald Duck; and my bff and I had plans to borrow a rather robust neighbor's overalls and go as the Two-Headed Monster. But since neither of us ever worked up the nerve to ask him if we could borrow them, we opted for separate costumes.
In high school, I missed Halloween my sophomore year because it fell on a Saturday and we were at the State Finals of the Marching Band competition. We didn't place in the top 10, but we stuck around to cheer on the winners.
My junior year, I was taking World History and fell in love with Greek Mythology. I decided to go as Aphrodite, and the imagination was greater than my costume-making skills. My mom had two strapless formals, both with tulle from the waist down. I strapped one around my thighs, so it was ankle-length, and the other in the usual place. A white turtleneck went under the thing, since it was slightly cold and rainy, and my mom was significantly larger on top than myself. Gold pumps went on my feet; they were only slightly large, but thick socks kept my heels from sliding out. And yes, I wore either jeans or tights under the dresses. Lord only knows how I managed to WALK in that getup!
My senior year, I dressed all in black; carried my original 1978 lightsaber; and went as a Jedi Knight. My sister was horrified, even though she was Chewbacca.
In college, I dressed as a Punk Rocker; Scarlett O'Hara; and in one disastrous evening, ended up being Ashton instead of Brett from North and South, because my boyfriend rented the wrong costume. I wanted him in Union Blue; he chose Confederate Gray. My final year, I wore my Scarlett O'Hara dress, but when friends joined us for the Residence Hall Trick-Or-Treating, I became Glenda the Good Witch. My bff was Dorothy; one girl was The Tin Man; her roommate was her Oil Can. A stuffed dog was tucked under Dorothy's arm for Toto. Later, a guy who was interested in my bff invited us to a Haunted House put on by one of the fraternities. All was well until the final room: I was leading the way and 'Frankenstein' jumped out from behind the door. His fist connected with my nose, and as I stumbled toward the exit, mildly blinded by tears, one of the guys passing out the candy noticed my distress and gave me an ice pack.
"Just tell Frankenstein to be more careful in there." When my friends rejoined me, we went to a local bar and had a few drinks, plus watched the costume contest.
Festivities For Today:
W had no trouble getting out of bed this morning. All it took was a 'Today you get to wear your costume' comment and out he bounded! He dressed while I pulled it from the plastic, and tried it on. Perfect fit, and when he saw himself in the mirror, he exclaimed, "I am a HOT Spiderman!"
I took it off of him, put it in his backpack, and dropped him off at school. Tonight he might do the 'Safe Trick-or-Treating' at the area businesses. It all depends on the weather!
The teens are planning to go to the high school's Haunted House, and having a few friends over afterwards. I think a big pot of chili will be made for dinner tonight, or pizza.
Heard 'Monster Mash' on the radio as I was taking W to school! What's your favorite Halloween song? We also introduced W to It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on Wedensday. He loved it!
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