Ouch

I just broke a tooth. Eating a piece of chicken. Not like I eating anything too tough or chewy. I hope my dentist has an opening tomorrow (I'm not in pain, that's why I'm not calling tonight). I'm not looking forward to the bill either. I'm sure that will be painful.

E-mails

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had to leave work a bit early (4:45 pm) on Friday in order to pick-up Mr. Fix-it and get to our babysitting duties on time. From then until I walked in this morning, I received 49 e-mails, plus a project schedule changed last minute, plus the people to finish this project are coming in late today, plus I won't know the status of this project until these people come in. No wonder I soooo look forward to my weekends!

Babysitting adventures

Last night, we babysat the twins while my BIL/SIL went to see my nephew's school performance. He's in preschool so they sure start young! It was a bit of a rush to get over there. Mr. Fix-it agreed to help babysit, so I had to leave work early to drive home, then drive over there. Thank goodness for the carpool lane.
My SIL seemed reluctant to have me (us) babysit so to encourage her, I gave them this for their anniversary. It is stack of 1 and 2 hour gift certificates for babysitting. The gift was really fun to make. I used a leftover Prima container (finally, I'm getting some use out of their excessive packaging) and backed the gift certificates with Bazzill Bling to give them a little extra oomph. Most of the ribbon came from my giveaway pile, so it felt good to use that up.

The girls kind of ignored me unless they wanted to be picked up; they were really interested in Mr. Fix-it. Maybe because they see him more often? Of course, he was responsible for playing with them and I was responsible for diaper changes. Little Miss C was an unhappy camper. Her mom said to let them cry it out when I put them down, but after 20 minutes of wailing, I figured something was wrong. (I can't believe her sister slept through that.) Turns out, she had a messy, very messy diaper. After a change and a bit more wailing, she went right to sleep, thank goodness.

After the musical, the family went out for ice cream. My BIL said my nephew really enjoyed his "alone" time with Mom and Dad. Poor little guy hasn't been getting as much attention since his sisters were born. I'm glad we were able to help.

Congratulations to me!

Since it was announced on her website, I can now proudly announce that I have been selected for the design team at Linnecards. I'm very excited to become more involved in the scrapping world. If you need any scrapping supplies, check out the shop. Everything is discounted and free shipping has a low minimum.

Teaser

Got some exciting news this morning. But can't spill the beans until there is an official announcement.

Communication

It is so interesting how communication has changed over the years. I remember when we would make a long-distance phone calls and time them because we didn't want to spend too much money. I remember comparing long-distance phone plans to get the best deal. Now, with free long distance on my cell phone, I don't worry about long-distance calls anymore. And when Mom calls me, I ask her to hang up and let me call her back so she doesn't have to spend any money on the call.

I communicate with some people by e-mail, others by snail mail, some by phone, some by IM or PM, but none by texting. Don't know how to, don't care about it either. Mr. Fix-it isn't interested in texting either so we don't have it on our phone plan. One problem with all these communication methods is everyone has their favorite and if you don't use that method, you might not hear back from them. And I think that's rude.

Entering the modern age

It looks like 2008 will be the year we enter the modern age of technology. I'm writing this from our new notebook, and that means we have a wireless network at home too! Woo hoo! It's about time! It amazing how impatient one can get with technology when you get something new. The computer boots soooo much faster than our desktop.

This is really Mr. Fix-it's computer, but I've been testing it out the last few days. The history and bookmarks are all scrapbook and cooking pages. I think he'll be surprised the next time he logs on, lol.

I tried to set up our network myself. Really, it should have been very easy. But I couldn't get the router to connect to the internet. The manual was useless. The router forums were almost useless because most of the solutions assumed you knew how to set up a network so the one line answers just lead to more questions. I set the MAC address, blah, blah, blah. But still no go. One of the techies at work offered to check out the router to make sure it wasn't bad so I took him up on his offer. He called me a couple nights later to get some network settings from me and it turns out there were two settings that should have been the same, but were one digit off. He didn't even ask me about those settings because he assumed they would be the same, but I noticed the difference and told him. Guess I am detail-oriented, ha! ha! So he set up my router, brought it back, and Houston, we have a wireless network! The only slightly annoying this is, he brought back my router, told me he set it up, but wouldn't tell me what he did. Guess techies like to always be one up on their colleagues. I can't complain too much since he didn't charge me anything and I trust him more than I trust geeksquad.

We're also planning on upgrading our cell phones since we want Bluetooth. Actually, I don't really care about Bluetooth, but it will make it easier for me to multitask if I don't have to hold my cellphone in my hand. Gosh, think I'll ever get an iPod someday? (I'm coveting an iPod Touch.)

Thank you

Thank yous...they are sort of an inside joke, well, I guess not anymore since I'm telling you all. I'm not supposed to thank anyone because I usually get into trouble when I do. More on that later.

First, thank you to the guy who blew me a kiss. I didn't think that leaving you space to pull out of the parking lot was that big a deal, but hey, I'll take that kiss! And thank you to the lady who let me go ahead of her in line since I only had a few things to buy compared to her basketful. And should I thank my friend for her lovely thank you card? Yeah, I guess a thank you for a thank you could turn into an endless cycle. None the less, I'm thankful to have her as a friend.

As for why I can't thank anyone? Well, maybe just not at work. Many years ago, I thanked someone for helping me with a project (he did an extra good job). But I didn't thank anyone else so they all got bent out of shape, emails flew back and forth, and I was so upset by it all, I swore never to thank anyone again. But, I like to live dangerously and ended up sending a thank you e-mail again. Worded very carefully so as not to offend, to be all inclusive, and be casual, yet professional. Yep, offended someone else. This time, all the recipients and their managers were happy. But others felt I had raised the bar and now thank you notes would be expected by all. So now, no more sincere thank yous. I still thank people at work, but it really isn't very sincere. More like, "Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I have a question about the second bullet point, blah, blah, blah."

Thanks to everyone who reads my blog!

Jury duty

Yep, that's how I spent my day. Right in the midst of our busy season and I have a project due this week. But, when I got the summons, I didn't have this project and we weren't quite as busy. I was a bit frantic last week trying to make sure I got as much done as possible and yesterday I left extensive notes for everyone in case I was selected as a juror.

This time, I had to go to Superior Court rather than the local court I had been to before. In some ways, it was a nicer experience. The juror room was huge with comfy chairs, several tables, and computer corrals. (I hope someone enjoys the current magazines I finished reading and left behind.) The cafeteria was small, but serviceable. There is much more activity, which made the experience more interesting.

I am so proud of my fellow citizens. There wasn't anyone who gave excuses about it being a hardship. No one who brought their children. Not too many complaints about the time. A few times, we had to self select based on the criteria they read off (not that they didn't have our info) and people lined up to go to the various courtrooms without complaint. So while I'm happy I wasn't selected for a jury, I am also happy to have served my civic duty and happy that we have the 6th and 7th Amendments.

My first forty...

dollar tank of gas. That was painful. Especially when you consider I'm driving a compact car.

(What, did you think I was finally going to reveal something about my age?)

Thankful for...

I have lots to be thankful for. I had lunch today with my friend who had surgery. She looks terrific, is moving a bit gingerly; all in all, she's doing really well. I was so worried for nothing I guess. Thank you for your prayers.

And my wonderful friend S is moving back into the ranks of the employed. She made the announcement via her avatar and I was too dense to notice. Thank goodness others weren't so dense. Congratulations!

From Indian to Italian

A local restaurant has gone through several changes. For many years, it was a successful dance/bar/restaurant. Then just a regular restaurant, then a Chinese buffet. There are waaaaay too many cheap Asian buffets in the area and unless you've got outstanding food or are extra cheap, you won't make it. And this place didn't.

Then it was an Indian restaurant. I love Indian food. I don't cook Indian food because it is too much work, but we don't go out for Indian too often because it is rather expensive. We only ate there once and the food was good, the teas were outstanding, the service was good, the prices a little high. Before we had a chance to try it again, it turned into an Italian buffet. A cheap Italian buffet. With pre-fab pizza crusts. And cheap pasta. And really expensive sodas (not that I drink soda that often). But at least it is doing well. We went early one evening and the place was filled with seniors (they get a dollar off of the already cheap $6.99 price) and then later with families. I wasn't thrilled with the food, but Mr. Fix-it liked the variety. I'd go back without complaint since there's a few things I did like (the roasted chicken, salad bar, and some of the soups were good).

It turns out, the owners saw the writing on the wall and in week or so, changed from gourmet Indian to cheap Italian. While I'm sorry the area couldn't sustain a quality restaurant, I'm happy the owners have found business sucess. Mr. Fix-it has been there for lunch a few times and said it is always crowded. There aren't any other non-Asian buffets in the area, so hopefully they will do well. I wonder if I can convince them to add naan to the buffet?

10,428

That's how many e-mails I have stored at work. A couple weeks ago, I was under 10k, which was pretty exciting since I'm a packrat. But we're incredibly busy at work and sometimes I have trouble wading through the 50, 60, 70 e-mails I get. Yes, I only keep the last e-mail on a thread. Yes, I delete unnecessary e-mails (but who's to say what is necessary and what isn't?). No, I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel for this workload.

Looking for a six pack

You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find six packs of veggies, much less some of the "gourmet" varieties I like. We went to four different places. Next time, we'll just go to the local nursery first, even if everything costs more. The convenience and gas savings will be worth it.

So far I've planted three Japanese eggplants, one San Marzano tomato, three Sweet 100s tomatoes, and one Early Girl. I also planted some Chinese string beans, beets, Japanese cucumber, and more Swiss chard (all from seed). I hope the string beans grow. The seeds are from my mom and she got the original seeds from my grandma. Every year, she lets a few beans go to seed and saves them for the next year.

I still need to plant basil, bell peppers, and more tomatoes. And I'm still looking for English cucumber seeds and an Amish paste plant. But I'm running out of room!

Prayer request

A dear friend is having major surgery today. Please pray for a sucessful surgery and and quick recovery.

Frequent Flyer

No, I'm not flying anywhere. I'm taking about the bearded irises in my front yard. I had trimmed them back in January and was afraid I had killed them. But look at them now! I've got way more blooms than I did last year.

Lofthouse cookies

Once again, I fell prey to peer pressure. A while back, there was a thread on 2peas about Lofthouse cookies. Based on all the praise, you would have thought the cookies were created by Martha or The Pioneer Woman or some other cooking goddess. Supposedly, they are the softest, yummiest cookies you can buy. Intrigued, I browsed the supermarket aisles and found out several local stores carried them. But I resisted...for a while...until yesterday. We were out running errands and once again, I must remind you to NOT shop while hungry. Because we walked by a display of Lofthouse cookies and I couldn't resist. No matter that they were colored an unnatural shade of blue. They had my favorite sprinkles on them! I couldn't wait and as soon as we got into the car, I opened the package and took my first bite. And last. Talk about deceptive advertising. They are soft, but definitely not delicious.

My new weight loss plan

Skipped yoga last weekend. Haven't been walking at lunch. Been eating a lot of chocolate. My weight is down. Who knew that doing everything wrong would result in the pounds falling off?

The garage sale

Yesterday was the annual area garage sale and as usual, it was a bust. The good thing is we cleared out four big boxes of stuff. The bad thing is most of it went to Goodwill, rather than being sold. The good thing is we sold enough to buy us breakfast, lol.

To end on a more positive note, I did get a lot of weeding done in the rose bed while I was waiting for customers.

Missing Uncle T

March was a somewhat difficult month. Health-wise, I'm still feeling a bit too plump. Work has been crazy. One of my friends called it March Madness. And Uncle T has been gone a year. On LifetimeMoments.com, a woman was asking what she could do with her late husband's ties. Several people sent her links to quilts, bears, pillows, ornaments, all kinds of neat stuff.

I wish I had thought about this when Uncle T's stuff was being thrown out. Really, I just should have flown up and there and instruded. Then maybe I would have gotten back the stuff I had given him. Yes, I know they are just things. But why throw out photos and cards and my scrapbook? Why throw out the portrait of me and my siblings? I would have liked to have one of his old Navy blankets. It was wool and heavy and itchy. But we use them to built forts with the couch pillows (something we could never do at home). It would be so nice to have a quilt made from his ties. Or a throw made from Auntie L's fur coat. I really, really need to keep reminding myself that memories are better than things.