Crafty Girl
There was a great article in the Sunday Baltimore Sun on the revival of knitting and other crafts among young people, both women and men - check it out. There was one quote from the article that describes me perfectly:
"They may keep long lists of "things to make," but sneer at the impossible quest for perfection implicit in craft queen Martha Stewart's approach, and revel in the irony of creating while dirty dishes pile sky high."
One look at the state of my kitchen floor will tell you this is true. I stayed home sick yesterday and spent most of the day working on my cross stitch project instead of doing any sort of cleaning. I did manage to get a couple of loads of laundry done, though.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Monday, January 19, 2004
Weekend Update
A very busy weekend this weekend. We had to go to the bank Friday night since I left M's paycheck sitting on the kitchen counter Friday morning and couldn't deposit it over lunch (why oh why won't his company do direct deposit?) and the bank now closes at 7pm instead of 8pm, so I felt very rushed to get up there after feeding H. her dinner. We then went and picked up pizza from a new place and it was absolutley delicious! (God Bless Aldo's!) Ever since we moved here (almost 5 years ago), we've struggled with finding a place with decent pizza. There are no chains (Domino's, Papa John's) close by and we've tried all of the local places with moderate success. And I can't exactly pinpoint what's not so great about these pizzas (too greasy, too much sauce, crust too thin), just that I don't want to eat them every Friday night (I don't cook on Friday nights). For awhile, we switched to getting subs instead of pizza, and eventually, I was buying DiGiorno frozen pizzas, which were better than the pizzas we were getting. So we discovered Aldo's and it's a little bit of a drive to pick it up, but well worth it!!
On Saturday, my friend S. came down and we went to visit some friends from college, one of whom is expecting a baby in a few weeks, so we met at her house. We left pretty early, around 10am, since it was a two-hour drive. We had a wonderful time catching up with everyone, since the last time we were all together was last February, and we all brought presents for the mom-to-be. M. babysat H. for the whole day, probably the longest amount of time he's ever watched her. I only called home once and everything was fine. She had just woken up from her nap and M. was going to take her to his mom's for a visit. As S. and I were driving home, it started snowing. It was coming down pretty good by the time we got back to my house and S. still had another 2+ hour drive ahead of her. She called home and it wasn't snowing there yet, and since the storm was moving west to east and she was headed east, she decided to tough it out and drive home. She called us around 10pm and she had just gotten home - it snowed the whole way, but she made it safe and sound.
We ended up with more snow than predicted, between three and four inches. My friend Na was supposed to come over for lunch on Sunday. I called her in the morning to see what she wanted to do and she said she would still come since it was just raining. I ran up to the grocery store and on the way back, the snow turned to sleet and finally snow - big fat snowflakes. Na arrived about a half hour later - she was closer to my house than to home so she just kept going. We had a nice lunch and she stayed for quite a few hours. H. napped most of the time she was there, so we had a good visit, just talking and relaxing. And she brought me my birthday present - some of the Christmas accessories I wanted from Yankee Candle.
A wonderful weekend with friends, food and presents!
On Saturday, my friend S. came down and we went to visit some friends from college, one of whom is expecting a baby in a few weeks, so we met at her house. We left pretty early, around 10am, since it was a two-hour drive. We had a wonderful time catching up with everyone, since the last time we were all together was last February, and we all brought presents for the mom-to-be. M. babysat H. for the whole day, probably the longest amount of time he's ever watched her. I only called home once and everything was fine. She had just woken up from her nap and M. was going to take her to his mom's for a visit. As S. and I were driving home, it started snowing. It was coming down pretty good by the time we got back to my house and S. still had another 2+ hour drive ahead of her. She called home and it wasn't snowing there yet, and since the storm was moving west to east and she was headed east, she decided to tough it out and drive home. She called us around 10pm and she had just gotten home - it snowed the whole way, but she made it safe and sound.
We ended up with more snow than predicted, between three and four inches. My friend Na was supposed to come over for lunch on Sunday. I called her in the morning to see what she wanted to do and she said she would still come since it was just raining. I ran up to the grocery store and on the way back, the snow turned to sleet and finally snow - big fat snowflakes. Na arrived about a half hour later - she was closer to my house than to home so she just kept going. We had a nice lunch and she stayed for quite a few hours. H. napped most of the time she was there, so we had a good visit, just talking and relaxing. And she brought me my birthday present - some of the Christmas accessories I wanted from Yankee Candle.
A wonderful weekend with friends, food and presents!
Friday, January 16, 2004
Chick Lit Question
To answer Jennifer Weiner's question, the first "chick lit" book I ever read was The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank. I read it in 2000 and didn't know it was "chick lit" at the time. I read a couple of other books that would be considered "chick lit" in 2000, then read Bridget Jones's Diary the following year. But I didn't really jump on the "chick lit" bandwagon until 2003 (I know, woefully behind the times) after reading both of Jennifer Weiner's books (which I wouldn't necessarily consider "chick lit," but that's another discussion) and did some research on the genre. I've been a mystery/legal thriller gal for the past several years, but I surprised myself by not picking up on the "chick lit" trend sooner, especially since all I read as a pre-teen and young teen were Sweet Dreams and First Love from Silhouette romances. I have a lot of catching up to do!
To answer Jennifer Weiner's question, the first "chick lit" book I ever read was The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank. I read it in 2000 and didn't know it was "chick lit" at the time. I read a couple of other books that would be considered "chick lit" in 2000, then read Bridget Jones's Diary the following year. But I didn't really jump on the "chick lit" bandwagon until 2003 (I know, woefully behind the times) after reading both of Jennifer Weiner's books (which I wouldn't necessarily consider "chick lit," but that's another discussion) and did some research on the genre. I've been a mystery/legal thriller gal for the past several years, but I surprised myself by not picking up on the "chick lit" trend sooner, especially since all I read as a pre-teen and young teen were Sweet Dreams and First Love from Silhouette romances. I have a lot of catching up to do!
Friends
It may sound corny, but I'm getting very sad about the end of Friends. Last night's episode was very much the beginning of the end, with Monica and Chandler planning to move away. I can remember the final farewells of many shows that I loved - Cheers, Family Ties, Mad About You, etc., but this one seems much more personal, I guess because Friends came on the year I graduated from college and was about ME - working in "the real world," dating and being on my own. At the same time, we all found jobs, got married and had babies. Rachel and I were pregnant at the same time! Then I stayed up to watch the Prime Time interview with Jennifer Aniston and that made me even more sad. She is so charming (and beautiful, needless to say) and had such wonderful things to say about the rest of the cast. I really will miss my pretend "Friends."
It may sound corny, but I'm getting very sad about the end of Friends. Last night's episode was very much the beginning of the end, with Monica and Chandler planning to move away. I can remember the final farewells of many shows that I loved - Cheers, Family Ties, Mad About You, etc., but this one seems much more personal, I guess because Friends came on the year I graduated from college and was about ME - working in "the real world," dating and being on my own. At the same time, we all found jobs, got married and had babies. Rachel and I were pregnant at the same time! Then I stayed up to watch the Prime Time interview with Jennifer Aniston and that made me even more sad. She is so charming (and beautiful, needless to say) and had such wonderful things to say about the rest of the cast. I really will miss my pretend "Friends."
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Aye, Aye Mateys
I finally got around to watching Pirates of the Carribbean last night and I've wanted to talk like a pirate all day. I thought the movie was quite excellent - it lived up to everything I read and heard about it, especially regarding Johnny Depp's performance. I would rank it right up there with The Princess Bride - who doesn't love a storybook movie with a good swordfight scene? And does anyone else think Keira Knightley looks a lot like Natalie Portman?
I finally got around to watching Pirates of the Carribbean last night and I've wanted to talk like a pirate all day. I thought the movie was quite excellent - it lived up to everything I read and heard about it, especially regarding Johnny Depp's performance. I would rank it right up there with The Princess Bride - who doesn't love a storybook movie with a good swordfight scene? And does anyone else think Keira Knightley looks a lot like Natalie Portman?
Thursday, January 08, 2004
First Book of 2004
I'm off to a slow start for reading in 2004. I just finished my first book of the year - Bigfoot Dreams by Francine Prose (which I never even got around to posting on the sidebar). This is an older book, originally published in 1986, and is from my "What to Read" personal required reading list. It was an "okay" book, for lack of a better work, not quite what I expected, and a bit dated - lots of references to aging hippies and NYC in the '80s. But it got me out of my comfort zone to read something from a different genre, which is what my reading list is supposed to do.
I'm off to a slow start for reading in 2004. I just finished my first book of the year - Bigfoot Dreams by Francine Prose (which I never even got around to posting on the sidebar). This is an older book, originally published in 1986, and is from my "What to Read" personal required reading list. It was an "okay" book, for lack of a better work, not quite what I expected, and a bit dated - lots of references to aging hippies and NYC in the '80s. But it got me out of my comfort zone to read something from a different genre, which is what my reading list is supposed to do.
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Christmas Pics
This has been a long week so far - the first full week of work in quite a while. To help you get through it, here are some holiday photos:
Christmas Eve at Mimi's House
Opening Presents Christmas Morning
Brand New Slide
(note the TV on the floor in the background pre-new entertainment center)
Disney Princesses Teapot
Later Christmas Day at Honey & Pop Pop's House in the Elmo Car from Aunt Jenn
This has been a long week so far - the first full week of work in quite a while. To help you get through it, here are some holiday photos:
Christmas Eve at Mimi's House
Opening Presents Christmas Morning
Brand New Slide
(note the TV on the floor in the background pre-new entertainment center)
Disney Princesses Teapot
Later Christmas Day at Honey & Pop Pop's House in the Elmo Car from Aunt Jenn
Friday, January 02, 2004
Year in Review
I tried to do my Year in Review on Wednesday, but Blogger wasn't cooperating, so I'm a couple of days late. I apologize in advance if this sounds like "Baby's First Year," but it was, and those achievements will always be memorable to me.
January 2003
I returned to work full-time after my 12-week maternity leave, just before turning 31. It was a big adjustment, one I'm not sure I've fully made yet, a year later. I had a wonderful birthday celebration surrounded by all my family and friends.
February 2003
The latest "Storm of the Century" gave us close to 18 inches of snow Presidents' Day Weekend and an extra day off from work. This was also the weekend H. chose to cut her first tooth. She also started drinking from a cup.
March 2003
Somewhat of a blur, coming out of the big meltdown after so much snow all winter long. Nothing too memorable seems to have happened. In like a lion...
April 2003
We hosted Easter dinner at our house, complete with an egg hunt in the slightly muddy backyard. My sister J. used to host this holiday, but she passed it on to me since they were getting new carpet installed and it rains every year on Easter. I think it will be the holiday we host from now on. It works for me since I do get Good Friday as a work holiday.
May 2003
M. and I went away for the weekend by ourselves for the first time, leaving H. with my mom and dad. We only called home three times to check on her, but we arrived at my parents' doorstep bright and early Sunday morning, we missed her so much. It was also Mother's Day, so I thought I should be with her as much as possible. H. also mastered the art of rolling over, a little bit later than average. Given her roly-poly shape, you would think it would be easier.
June 2003
Several big milestones. Thanks to inspiration from other journalers/bloggers - such as Amy, Eliza and Jen - I started this online journal. H. also started crawling - a major accomplishment. And the three of us took a day trip to Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site - very much the family outing.
July 2003
Cousin Bubble (otherwise known as Brooke, but the kids like this nickname better) came to stay with us for a week before leaving for Japan for a year at the end of August. She also served as babysitter while ours was on vacation. H. went swimming for the first time on the 4th and really enjoyed it.
August 2003
The good/bad girls-only trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. Looking back on it, we did have a great time together, with or without all the little nuisances, like traffic.
September 2003
After celebrating H's 1st birthday, September turned into a very bad month - first Hurricane Isabel, then the fire, from which my sister and BIL are still recovering. Most of it is a blur of worrying about my sister and trying to be helpful is some way. We were thankful to see October.
October 2003
We went back to Luray, VA for the weekend, taking H. with us this time. I think M. and I did pretty good on our first family trip and we couldn't have asked for better fall weather. We definitely hope to go back to the cabin again in 2004.
November 2003
The 2nd of the month brought the biggest milestone of all (to date) - H. took her first official steps by herself. We had a lot to be thankful for at Thanksgiving and had an extremely enjoyable holiday.
December 2003
The month flew by in the usual flurry of holiday activity, not helped by two snowstorms early in the month. H. was a joy at Christmas and we're already looking forward to next year.
Wait, it is next year. B-day #32 is right around the corner and I'll have the whole year on record here. Happy New Year, readers! I'm looking forward to sharing 2004 with you.
January 2003
I returned to work full-time after my 12-week maternity leave, just before turning 31. It was a big adjustment, one I'm not sure I've fully made yet, a year later. I had a wonderful birthday celebration surrounded by all my family and friends.
February 2003
The latest "Storm of the Century" gave us close to 18 inches of snow Presidents' Day Weekend and an extra day off from work. This was also the weekend H. chose to cut her first tooth. She also started drinking from a cup.
March 2003
Somewhat of a blur, coming out of the big meltdown after so much snow all winter long. Nothing too memorable seems to have happened. In like a lion...
April 2003
We hosted Easter dinner at our house, complete with an egg hunt in the slightly muddy backyard. My sister J. used to host this holiday, but she passed it on to me since they were getting new carpet installed and it rains every year on Easter. I think it will be the holiday we host from now on. It works for me since I do get Good Friday as a work holiday.
May 2003
M. and I went away for the weekend by ourselves for the first time, leaving H. with my mom and dad. We only called home three times to check on her, but we arrived at my parents' doorstep bright and early Sunday morning, we missed her so much. It was also Mother's Day, so I thought I should be with her as much as possible. H. also mastered the art of rolling over, a little bit later than average. Given her roly-poly shape, you would think it would be easier.
June 2003
Several big milestones. Thanks to inspiration from other journalers/bloggers - such as Amy, Eliza and Jen - I started this online journal. H. also started crawling - a major accomplishment. And the three of us took a day trip to Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site - very much the family outing.
July 2003
Cousin Bubble (otherwise known as Brooke, but the kids like this nickname better) came to stay with us for a week before leaving for Japan for a year at the end of August. She also served as babysitter while ours was on vacation. H. went swimming for the first time on the 4th and really enjoyed it.
August 2003
The good/bad girls-only trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. Looking back on it, we did have a great time together, with or without all the little nuisances, like traffic.
September 2003
After celebrating H's 1st birthday, September turned into a very bad month - first Hurricane Isabel, then the fire, from which my sister and BIL are still recovering. Most of it is a blur of worrying about my sister and trying to be helpful is some way. We were thankful to see October.
October 2003
We went back to Luray, VA for the weekend, taking H. with us this time. I think M. and I did pretty good on our first family trip and we couldn't have asked for better fall weather. We definitely hope to go back to the cabin again in 2004.
November 2003
The 2nd of the month brought the biggest milestone of all (to date) - H. took her first official steps by herself. We had a lot to be thankful for at Thanksgiving and had an extremely enjoyable holiday.
December 2003
The month flew by in the usual flurry of holiday activity, not helped by two snowstorms early in the month. H. was a joy at Christmas and we're already looking forward to next year.
Wait, it is next year. B-day #32 is right around the corner and I'll have the whole year on record here. Happy New Year, readers! I'm looking forward to sharing 2004 with you.
Lottery Coinky-dink
Those of you in states with the PowerBall drawing may have already heard about this, but this week's drawing was a big one with lots of media coverage and two people won on New Year's Eve. One of the winning tickets was sold in York County, Pennsylvania, where I live, but alas, I was not the winner. Stories surrounding the chances of winning the lottery are always interesting, but this one was even more so by the fact that the second winning ticket was also sold in York County - York County, South Carolina, that is. What are the chances?
Those of you in states with the PowerBall drawing may have already heard about this, but this week's drawing was a big one with lots of media coverage and two people won on New Year's Eve. One of the winning tickets was sold in York County, Pennsylvania, where I live, but alas, I was not the winner. Stories surrounding the chances of winning the lottery are always interesting, but this one was even more so by the fact that the second winning ticket was also sold in York County - York County, South Carolina, that is. What are the chances?
Thursday, January 01, 2004
Happy New Year
Now for a proper New Year's post. Happy New Year everyone! M. and I spent New Year's Eve as we have for the past few years, even pre-baby - crabcake dinner and a movie and asleep before midnight. We watched Bruce Almighty, which had some funny parts, but wasn't exactly what I thought it would be from the trailer. I made it to 11pm, then fell asleep. Coincidentally, H. woke up at 12:04, so I got to officially wish M. a Happy New Year as I crawled back into bed after giving her back her pacifier.
Today was spent relaxing. We went to Toys R Us to return a couple of duplicate gifts and bought a more useful ear therometer instead. Toys R Us has a wonderful return policy - no receipt needed if you only want store credit. Not a problem for me!
We came home to watch Maryland stomp all over WVU in the Gator Bowl. My sister J. and BIL went to the game. They were going to drive halfway home after the game was over and should be home some time on Friday. Announcers on TV said Maryland fans were outnumbered by WVU fans 15 to 1, which is an interesting statistic.
Back to work tomorrow - what a messed-up week. I wish my company would have just given us off tomorrow as a bonus because of how the holiday fell during the week. It seems silly to go in for just one day. It feels more like a Sunday than a Thursday night.
Today was spent relaxing. We went to Toys R Us to return a couple of duplicate gifts and bought a more useful ear therometer instead. Toys R Us has a wonderful return policy - no receipt needed if you only want store credit. Not a problem for me!
We came home to watch Maryland stomp all over WVU in the Gator Bowl. My sister J. and BIL went to the game. They were going to drive halfway home after the game was over and should be home some time on Friday. Announcers on TV said Maryland fans were outnumbered by WVU fans 15 to 1, which is an interesting statistic.
Back to work tomorrow - what a messed-up week. I wish my company would have just given us off tomorrow as a bonus because of how the holiday fell during the week. It seems silly to go in for just one day. It feels more like a Sunday than a Thursday night.
Christmas Party Update
A little belated, but I finally fixed the photos from the Christmas party and updated the Dec. 14 entry. I figured out the resize feature as it relates to my scanner and the scanning program, and the digital camera, too, so hopefully I can avoid the overly large photos that bump out the sidebar in the future.
A little belated, but I finally fixed the photos from the Christmas party and updated the Dec. 14 entry. I figured out the resize feature as it relates to my scanner and the scanning program, and the digital camera, too, so hopefully I can avoid the overly large photos that bump out the sidebar in the future.
Monday, December 29, 2003
Cross Stitch Gallery
One of the things I wanted to accomplish while I was on "vacation" was to set up a gallery of my completed cross stitch projects at Cyberstitchers.com. Mission accomplished! If you're so interested, you can view my Gallery here. I'll also add a permanent link to the sidebar. I'm still adding a few more photos to the gallery - some pics that I took at my mom's last week with the digital camera didn't turn out, so I need to reshoot the next time I'm over there. Check in for updates somewhat frequently, including updates on my current Work in Progress (WIP) - a birth announcement for H. (no, I'm not behind or anything).
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Christmas Wrap-Up
No, I didn't get stuck at Walmart on Christmas Eve, it's just been very busy since then. Walmart was surprisingly un-crowded on Wednesday, so much so that after going to the bank I did some last minute shopping. Then I came home and made one more batch of cookies - oatmeal raisin for M., since he always complains that I never make any cookies he likes.
We had a wonderful holiday - we really enjoyed ourselves. We spent Christmas Eve at my in-laws and all of the children were very good. H. received so many nice presents and only one duplicate. Christmas morning was so much fun. H. did a great job opening presents. I was amazed at how into it she was. She tore the paper and looked for the present without getting distracted by the box or paper. We videotaped the whole thing, of course. She absolutely loved the sliding board from my parents. She got the hang of it really fast. Then it was on to my parents' house Christmas Day afternoon for more food and present opening. H. received more wonderful presents, including an Elmo car from my sister that she can't get enough of. Same sister bought M. and me this cool pine tree with bears on it for our family room. It's almost six feet tall and lights up.
The day after Christmas was supposed to be dedicated to putting the entertainment center together, since we were having company Saturday. M. and I worked on it for about an hour and it was a monster. My parents called around noon and I begged them to come help us. They got here around 2pm and M. and my dad worked on it pretty much straight through until 9pm! But it looks really good now! I got all of my knicknacks set back up and the family room looking half decent in time for company. But we definitely need a bigger TV with this new unit. Our 25" looks lost in the center cabinet.
Saturday we had friends over for dinner and more presents (more!). I cooked a whole turkey, the first time I had ever done that. I've only ever cooked a turkey breast before. But it turned out good, I thought, along with mashed potatoes and peas, plus lots of dessert, including cookies. There aren't that many left from the almost 12 dozen we started out with.
So today I'm just relaxing before going back to work tomorrow. The only chore I'm going to do is laundry. We're going to watch football and eat leftovers and play with H's new toys. And wait for the long-awaited Ravens-Steelers game at 8:30pm tonight. I wanted to get to bed early tonight for going back to work, but unless the game is a blowout, that won't be happening. Go RAVENS!!!
We had a wonderful holiday - we really enjoyed ourselves. We spent Christmas Eve at my in-laws and all of the children were very good. H. received so many nice presents and only one duplicate. Christmas morning was so much fun. H. did a great job opening presents. I was amazed at how into it she was. She tore the paper and looked for the present without getting distracted by the box or paper. We videotaped the whole thing, of course. She absolutely loved the sliding board from my parents. She got the hang of it really fast. Then it was on to my parents' house Christmas Day afternoon for more food and present opening. H. received more wonderful presents, including an Elmo car from my sister that she can't get enough of. Same sister bought M. and me this cool pine tree with bears on it for our family room. It's almost six feet tall and lights up.
The day after Christmas was supposed to be dedicated to putting the entertainment center together, since we were having company Saturday. M. and I worked on it for about an hour and it was a monster. My parents called around noon and I begged them to come help us. They got here around 2pm and M. and my dad worked on it pretty much straight through until 9pm! But it looks really good now! I got all of my knicknacks set back up and the family room looking half decent in time for company. But we definitely need a bigger TV with this new unit. Our 25" looks lost in the center cabinet.
Saturday we had friends over for dinner and more presents (more!). I cooked a whole turkey, the first time I had ever done that. I've only ever cooked a turkey breast before. But it turned out good, I thought, along with mashed potatoes and peas, plus lots of dessert, including cookies. There aren't that many left from the almost 12 dozen we started out with.
So today I'm just relaxing before going back to work tomorrow. The only chore I'm going to do is laundry. We're going to watch football and eat leftovers and play with H's new toys. And wait for the long-awaited Ravens-Steelers game at 8:30pm tonight. I wanted to get to bed early tonight for going back to work, but unless the game is a blowout, that won't be happening. Go RAVENS!!!
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Bah, Humbug
Okay, I'm not in a very Christmas-y mood right now. My vacation is going by very fast and I'm not getting anything accomplished. Or, I should say, I'm not doing any relaxing and working on projects I want to work on.
Sunday we visited friends in the outer reaches of northeast PA. They bought a new townhouse back in April and this was our first chance to see it. We had a great time and it's wonderful to spend time with college friends I don't get to see very often, but man, was it a long drive - close to three hours. Especially with a one-year-old and a cranky husband. We took the turnpike home and chopped almost a half hour off the drive time.
Monday was crazy busy. H. had her 15-month appointment at 8:30am - she's 23 lbs, 13 oz and 31 and 1/2 inches long - plus she had to get four shots, including a flu shot, which was still available. Then we stopped into my work to visit a few people who didn't get to see her at the Christmas party. Then, it was off to my parents' house. My mom and I took H. and K&K to Sears for a late Christmas portrait. I thought the girl that helped us was very rude as it pertains to the coupon we were using, but that's a rant for another day. After lunch, we all played outside for a little while, since it was in the 50s for the first day of winter. We got home around 4pm and that's when my real adventure began.
My IP at home is MSN and there was a disc in the mail on Monday to upgrade to MSN 9. When I tried to install it, I kept getting an error message that the .NET Passport system that verifies e-mail addresses and passwords was unavailable, making me assume it was a problem on the part of MSN. So I tried to get online several times last night and at various times throughout the day today. I still kept getting the same message and was starting to get annoyed. So I finally called MSN support. Turns out I didn't have enough memory to install the new version, which is why I was getting the error message. Wouldn't an error message telling me what the real problem was been more helpful? So I reinstalled MSN 9 and it appeared that the installation was a success. But when I went to log on, the sign-in screen was scrambled and I couldn't log in. I tried re-installing and re-starting, but nothing worked. So at 10pm, I called back with my new problem. I was on the phone for over an hour and still couldn't get the problem corrected. Microsoft didn't want to admit that I could have received a bad disc, which I suggested since this was the second problem that I had with it. Finally, after much back and forth and a whole wasted evening, I found my old MSN 8 upgrade disc and loaded that back onto my computer and voila, I'm finally back online!
So after braving the grocery store the day before Christmas Eve and baking two batches of chocolate chip cookies, I'm finally catching up on my journal/blog reading and writing what I thought was a quick entry. (I'm rambling now, but it's after midnight.) And I just realized after dinner that I actually have to go inside Walmart tomorrow! I never withdrew the money I needed for four cash gifts, so I have to do that tomorrow and my bank is inside Walmart. If you don't hear from me by the end of the week, I'm still trying to get out of the parking lot.
Sunday we visited friends in the outer reaches of northeast PA. They bought a new townhouse back in April and this was our first chance to see it. We had a great time and it's wonderful to spend time with college friends I don't get to see very often, but man, was it a long drive - close to three hours. Especially with a one-year-old and a cranky husband. We took the turnpike home and chopped almost a half hour off the drive time.
Monday was crazy busy. H. had her 15-month appointment at 8:30am - she's 23 lbs, 13 oz and 31 and 1/2 inches long - plus she had to get four shots, including a flu shot, which was still available. Then we stopped into my work to visit a few people who didn't get to see her at the Christmas party. Then, it was off to my parents' house. My mom and I took H. and K&K to Sears for a late Christmas portrait. I thought the girl that helped us was very rude as it pertains to the coupon we were using, but that's a rant for another day. After lunch, we all played outside for a little while, since it was in the 50s for the first day of winter. We got home around 4pm and that's when my real adventure began.
My IP at home is MSN and there was a disc in the mail on Monday to upgrade to MSN 9. When I tried to install it, I kept getting an error message that the .NET Passport system that verifies e-mail addresses and passwords was unavailable, making me assume it was a problem on the part of MSN. So I tried to get online several times last night and at various times throughout the day today. I still kept getting the same message and was starting to get annoyed. So I finally called MSN support. Turns out I didn't have enough memory to install the new version, which is why I was getting the error message. Wouldn't an error message telling me what the real problem was been more helpful? So I reinstalled MSN 9 and it appeared that the installation was a success. But when I went to log on, the sign-in screen was scrambled and I couldn't log in. I tried re-installing and re-starting, but nothing worked. So at 10pm, I called back with my new problem. I was on the phone for over an hour and still couldn't get the problem corrected. Microsoft didn't want to admit that I could have received a bad disc, which I suggested since this was the second problem that I had with it. Finally, after much back and forth and a whole wasted evening, I found my old MSN 8 upgrade disc and loaded that back onto my computer and voila, I'm finally back online!
So after braving the grocery store the day before Christmas Eve and baking two batches of chocolate chip cookies, I'm finally catching up on my journal/blog reading and writing what I thought was a quick entry. (I'm rambling now, but it's after midnight.) And I just realized after dinner that I actually have to go inside Walmart tomorrow! I never withdrew the money I needed for four cash gifts, so I have to do that tomorrow and my bank is inside Walmart. If you don't hear from me by the end of the week, I'm still trying to get out of the parking lot.
Friday, December 19, 2003
Christmas Miscellany
I have eaten enough food in the past two days to last until the New Year. And it's not even Christmas yet! Yesterday we had our department holiday lunch at a local Italian restaurant and eveything was delicious. Then today, everyone on the floor brought in a dish and we ate all day long. I just ate one of the tiramisu brownies I made (a Pampered Chef recipe) and if I do say so myself, they were yummie. There's a few left to take home for Mark.
I'm off work all of next week - YEAH! I'm so looking forward to it, not that it's going to be particularly relaxing - doctor's appt. on Monday, cookie baking on Tuesday, then Christmas Eve at the in-laws and Christmas Day at my parents'. Maybe I'll get to relax on Friday. But being at home also means I'll be on my slow computer, but I'll try to post a few updates and finally fix the Santa pictures. I tried to fix them again last night and I couldn't get them to load. In addition to my scanner saving everything at 100%, it also defaults to bitmap instead of jpeg or tif. Maybe I'll add "read the scanner manual" to my list of things to do while I'm on vacation!
Very Happy Holidays to everyone!
I have eaten enough food in the past two days to last until the New Year. And it's not even Christmas yet! Yesterday we had our department holiday lunch at a local Italian restaurant and eveything was delicious. Then today, everyone on the floor brought in a dish and we ate all day long. I just ate one of the tiramisu brownies I made (a Pampered Chef recipe) and if I do say so myself, they were yummie. There's a few left to take home for Mark.
I'm off work all of next week - YEAH! I'm so looking forward to it, not that it's going to be particularly relaxing - doctor's appt. on Monday, cookie baking on Tuesday, then Christmas Eve at the in-laws and Christmas Day at my parents'. Maybe I'll get to relax on Friday. But being at home also means I'll be on my slow computer, but I'll try to post a few updates and finally fix the Santa pictures. I tried to fix them again last night and I couldn't get them to load. In addition to my scanner saving everything at 100%, it also defaults to bitmap instead of jpeg or tif. Maybe I'll add "read the scanner manual" to my list of things to do while I'm on vacation!
Very Happy Holidays to everyone!
Monday, December 15, 2003
Rest of Weekend
In addition to the Christmas party, we had a pretty busy weekend. As planned, we bought the new entertainment center Friday night, which needs to be put together. There are currently four giant boxes sitting in my family room. Who knows when we'll get to that! Then we had a very nice dinner at the Outback. When we first got there, I went to use the restroom and who was standing there but H's babysitter and her little girl. They were there with some neigbors of theirs. K&K and my younger sister all spent the night. Before leaving for the party on Saturday, M. and I squeezed in a quick trip to get a tree while H. was napping. Then M. stayed home to put up the Christmas lights before the next round of bad weather while we went to the party.
After the party, we headed for my parents' house. We got there around 4pm and my mom said my other sister was coming over around 6pm, so why didn't we all stay and have dinner, then we would have cake for Vanessa's birthday, which was Sunday (the big 3-0)? I hadn't planned on staying there all night. And my sister didn't show up until 6:30, so we didn't get home until 9pm.
Sunday we stayed in since it was snowing/sleeting/raining. We did bring the tree in the house and get it in the stand, but that's it. It needed to fall out some, so I'm going to try to get the lights on it tonight, then decorate it tomorrow. I did finish wrapping most of the presents I had, in addition to getting all of the laundry done and keeping H. entertained all day. I hate it when we can't even go outside for a little while. We all get a little stir crazy.
This week is going to be a busy week. Work is hectic, since most people will be out next week (including me!), and I have errands to run every day at lunch, plus trying to finish up all the decorating and such at home.
After the party, we headed for my parents' house. We got there around 4pm and my mom said my other sister was coming over around 6pm, so why didn't we all stay and have dinner, then we would have cake for Vanessa's birthday, which was Sunday (the big 3-0)? I hadn't planned on staying there all night. And my sister didn't show up until 6:30, so we didn't get home until 9pm.
Sunday we stayed in since it was snowing/sleeting/raining. We did bring the tree in the house and get it in the stand, but that's it. It needed to fall out some, so I'm going to try to get the lights on it tonight, then decorate it tomorrow. I did finish wrapping most of the presents I had, in addition to getting all of the laundry done and keeping H. entertained all day. I hate it when we can't even go outside for a little while. We all get a little stir crazy.
This week is going to be a busy week. Work is hectic, since most people will be out next week (including me!), and I have errands to run every day at lunch, plus trying to finish up all the decorating and such at home.
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Christmas Party
The children's Christmas party through my work on Saturday was fun, if not a little hectic. There were over 130 kids in attendance, not counting the various parents, grandparents, etc. who also attended. The entertainment kept the kids well occupied and the gifts they each received were very nice - definitely not just from the dollar store. H. received the Little People school bus, which she doesn't have, Little K got a Daphne Scooby Doo Barbie and Big K's present was a PDA/radio, which she thought was the coolest thing around.
H. had the typical one-year old reaction to Santa - she screamed her head off as soon as we got near him. But luckily, there was also a Mrs. Claus in attendance and she was fine with her. We weren't able to get a picture of all three of them together, so below are the photos of H. with Mrs. Claus. and K&K with Santa.
Edited 1/1/04 to add photos.
H. had the typical one-year old reaction to Santa - she screamed her head off as soon as we got near him. But luckily, there was also a Mrs. Claus in attendance and she was fine with her. We weren't able to get a picture of all three of them together, so below are the photos of H. with Mrs. Claus. and K&K with Santa.
Edited 1/1/04 to add photos.
Friday, December 12, 2003
Mouse in the House
I forgot to tell you my mouse story from last night. We usually get a mouse in the house every year when the weather first turns cold. Earlier last week, I thought I heard one and said something to Mark about buying bait. Then, last Saturday when I moved one of the Christmas boxes down in the basement, there was an empty nest made out of insulation (of which Mark quickly disposed). Last night, I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and Mark was in the basement working out. I heard banging, but thought it was just his weights. When he came upstairs he says, "I saw the mouse and tried to catch him, but I lost him."
Around 9pm, I was sitting on the floor in the family room wrapping presents when I saw IT run across the baseboard! My reaction was so stereotypical it almost made me laugh. I actually let out a little squeal and had an overwhelming urge to jump up on the sofa. I called Mark down and we spent a half an hour chasing this thing around the family room (I did more pointing than chasing and tried to stay on the opposite side of the room). After much moving of furniture, including a bookcase, Mark finally caught him by the cellar door. The whole thing just creeped me out. I went back to wrapping presents, buy my eyes kept darting around the room looking for the tiniest bit of movement. I hope this little fella didn't have any friends.
I forgot to tell you my mouse story from last night. We usually get a mouse in the house every year when the weather first turns cold. Earlier last week, I thought I heard one and said something to Mark about buying bait. Then, last Saturday when I moved one of the Christmas boxes down in the basement, there was an empty nest made out of insulation (of which Mark quickly disposed). Last night, I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and Mark was in the basement working out. I heard banging, but thought it was just his weights. When he came upstairs he says, "I saw the mouse and tried to catch him, but I lost him."
Around 9pm, I was sitting on the floor in the family room wrapping presents when I saw IT run across the baseboard! My reaction was so stereotypical it almost made me laugh. I actually let out a little squeal and had an overwhelming urge to jump up on the sofa. I called Mark down and we spent a half an hour chasing this thing around the family room (I did more pointing than chasing and tried to stay on the opposite side of the room). After much moving of furniture, including a bookcase, Mark finally caught him by the cellar door. The whole thing just creeped me out. I went back to wrapping presents, buy my eyes kept darting around the room looking for the tiniest bit of movement. I hope this little fella didn't have any friends.
Happy Anniversary
Today is our fifth wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe it's been five years already! So much has happened - a house, a baby. And I don't know how I managed to plan a wedding, get married and go on a honeymoon all right before Christmas. I can barely plan just for Christmas now. I remember getting back from our honeymoon on Dec. 20 and opening all of our wedding gifts, then opening more gifts just a few days later. It all seemed like so much!
So we're going out to dinner tonight, probably to the Outback, but first we're going to purchase my anniversary-slash-Christmas gift - a new entertainment center for the family room. The one we have now is very cheap looking (maybe that's because it was cheap), so I'm excited to have this much nicer piece of real furniture. I guess it's a good thing we didn't get a tree last weekend, since it goes right next to the existing entertainment center and this one is much bigger. Now I can get this set up and decorated, then we can put up the tree sometime this weekend as well. Before or after dinner, we also have to squeeze in a quick trip to Target for my last Angel Tree gift and I want to stop at the Verizon store in the mall and change cellphone plans, since I'm not getting my money's worth right now. Then tomorrow is the children's Christmas party at work and I'm taking H., K&K. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics on Sunday.
So we're going out to dinner tonight, probably to the Outback, but first we're going to purchase my anniversary-slash-Christmas gift - a new entertainment center for the family room. The one we have now is very cheap looking (maybe that's because it was cheap), so I'm excited to have this much nicer piece of real furniture. I guess it's a good thing we didn't get a tree last weekend, since it goes right next to the existing entertainment center and this one is much bigger. Now I can get this set up and decorated, then we can put up the tree sometime this weekend as well. Before or after dinner, we also have to squeeze in a quick trip to Target for my last Angel Tree gift and I want to stop at the Verizon store in the mall and change cellphone plans, since I'm not getting my money's worth right now. Then tomorrow is the children's Christmas party at work and I'm taking H., K&K. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics on Sunday.
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