Friday, August 29, 2008
Girl Scout Leader Ettiquette
As a Girl Scout leader for the last three years, I have pretty much held my parents' hands through everything. I have emailed, and printed out schedules, I have made phone call after phone call reminding them of deadlines, and then reminding them again, and then adjusting deadlines for them. Today I decided that would be coming to and end. I drafted my beginning of the year letter and told them we would be making changes. I told them that a deadline is just that and unless there was an extreme emergency it would not be adjusted. I told them that I would not be giving reminder calls. (I will probably send out general reminder emails, but they don't need to know that.) that I would not store product (nuts and cookies) for them in my home. There would be a pickup date and they needed to find a way to pick them up on that day. Any product not picked up, could be sold. I told them that any incentives earned by their daughter that are not picked up in a timely manner, would be donated to charity. (I still have cookie incentives from the Spring for one of my girls.) I didn't do this to piss people off, I did this to as subtlety as I could tell them that they were grown adults and they need to be more responsible about this stuff. One mom emailed me back saying that, "my requests/demands seemed reasonable." I cam off as demanding...not exactly my intention, but then subtlety was never my strong suit. The mom whose items I have been storing called. I unfortunately missed her call. She put it all on me. I guess it is my fault that I still have her daughters stuff. Whatever. She says she has left several messages this month...nope just one when I was in New York. She wanted to register her daughter for next year and pick up the items. I didn't call her back. I guess it is my fault. I did tell her in June when she called for the same thing that I was going to be out of town and would leave them on my porch for her. I then went into the attic and dug out her daughters stuff along with the registration form and left them on my porch. A week later I brought them in because it was going to rain, plus she had missed the early registration deadline. I once again stored the items. I will unpack them next week just before the meeting, she can wait and if that doesn't work...too bad. I have called her back and left her a message. We will see what happens. TTFN, Miki
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Back in School
So I have started school again after a few very short weeks off. I am taking Anatomy, Math and Spanish. Yes I took many years of Spanish already, but have not used it and do not feel comfortable putting on a resume that I speak Spanish. I totally wimped out and decided to take Spanish 101. This class is for students who have never had Spanish. The teacher wants me to move to another class. She thinks I won't be challenged. I explained to her that I already felt challenged, and that it would be a really good refresher for me, and that if I felt like it was too easy I would switch classes. She had me take a placement test of sorts and she didn't email me that I "knocked it out of the park" so I will take that as I can stay in the class. The way I see it, I can refresh my Spanish and get an easy A at the same time, plus I can spend less time studying Spanish and more time on the Anatomy.
As a complication to my best laid plans, the bookstore gave me the wrong math book, and did not even carry the right one. The smart people who ordered it somewhere else, have the right one. I have now ordered it somewhere else and should be able to study soon. Of course I have time to study right now, and no math book to work from. I guess it is a good think it is a virtual class. Of course it looks as if it were a normal class that I would have purchased the right book. Oh well, here is to another semester...TTFN, Miki
As a complication to my best laid plans, the bookstore gave me the wrong math book, and did not even carry the right one. The smart people who ordered it somewhere else, have the right one. I have now ordered it somewhere else and should be able to study soon. Of course I have time to study right now, and no math book to work from. I guess it is a good think it is a virtual class. Of course it looks as if it were a normal class that I would have purchased the right book. Oh well, here is to another semester...TTFN, Miki
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Vacation and catching up.
So, Olympic fever has set in at our house. The kids LOVE watching it all. My youngest is amazed by most of it. The highbar in mens gymnastics is probably her favorite, but she discovered pole vaulting the other night and liked it too. My daring middle daughter likes the still rings in gymnastics and all the diving. Makes me wonder how long till we visit the emergency room. Maybe the Olympics should come with a disclaimer...please don't try this at home, these events are done by highly trained athletes. Oh and BTW, the youngest is in love with Michael Phelps...she couldn't miss any of his races while my son has a big crush on Shawn Johnson.
Vacation...we finally took the kids to New York. I can't feel to bad about it being a trip we put off as they have been so many other places no one they know have been. Plus now they were a little older and could enjoy much more of it.
We chose to stay in a Hotel in Jersey to save a few bucks. We stayed at the Hyatt Place Fair Lawn. It was lovely, clean and not a bad drive for us to find a way into the city. The staff was extremely helpful and always remembered our name as if we were wearing name tags. I will definitely look at staying at the Hyatt again. Next time though we will probably choose a hotel in Manhattan...it would just make things that much easier.
We left last Wed. and used the GPS to tell us the fastest route. After a VERY strange backtrack it led us on in DC, it took us off the major freeway and led us on a path through rural Pennsylvania. A drive that we expected to take about 6 hours took us about 8. The drive was beautiful, but slow. We had hoped to go into Manhattan on Wed., but after all the driving we just crashed at the hotel. That was ok with us, as the Olympics were on. Thursday morning we got up bright and early so that we could visit the Statue of Liberty. We had prepurchased our tickets and also ask for monument passes. Only a limited number of visitors are allowed in the monument. Unlike when I was a kid, you can only go into the base and gaze up the inside of the statue. After doing this I now know why. The spiral staircase up is very tiny, and there is only one. We stopped at Ellis Island first, but only walked into the lobby area as our tickets for the monument were timed. We later learned that really didn't mean anything as we stood in line for over an hour to get in. Also, with all the genealogy research I have done, I have yet to find a relative that has come through Ellis Island. From what I can see they all came to Canada first and then immigrated from there.
The statue was beautiful. The kids also enjoyed it. At this point, the vacation for Craig took a turn for the worse. He was stung by a bee or something similar on the left bicep. He took the last two benadryl I had, but still the arm swelled all the way down to his wrist. By the end of the day with more benadryl in him, his arm was so swollen that you couldn't feel the bone in his elbow. It felt as if there was jello in his arm. YUCK! The heat, pain and swelling continued until Sunday night, even with the benadryl. I think it may have been a localized allergic reaction, and the next sting will be worse.
After the statue, we took the ferry back to the New York side instead of the Jersey side. We bought all day tickets for the subway, and began our trek through the city. We stopped at the Girl Scout Headquarters in New York City, and the Empire State Building. We didn't go to the top of the Empire State, that will have to wait until next time. We then headed up towards Central Park. We decided to take a carriage ride through the park. At this point of the day, a storm was just about to hit. It did this during our ride, so we had to ride with the top up. Our carriage driver also told my daughters that the crowd outside The Plaza Hotel across the street were there to watch the filming of the Jonas Brothers new music video. My oldest couldn't wait to get off the carriage. Unfortunately it began raining hard before the had started shooting, and no one had seen the band. We waited about an hour for the rain to pass, but finally the crew began to pack up and we knew they wouldn't be shooting that day. The girls were bummed, but we did all we could for them.
After Central Park and the Plaza Hotel, we went to Rockefeller Center and Times Square. We didn't catch a Broadway show this time. This trip was really all about the Yankees. Neither Craig or I, both long time Yankees fans, had ever seen a game in Yankee Stadium. This is the final season in Yankee stadium, so it was now or never. As a side note, I have never been at a game were the Yankees have won. It hasn't matter what stadium I have seen them in, who their opponent was, how good either team was, who was pitching, etc. I have seen the lose the year they had a record number of wins, and have also seen them lose years they have won the World Series. It is so bad, I have friends who are Red Sox fans who have offered to buy me season tickets. Long Story short, Friday was game day, we chose to drive into the city and park as we learned that public transportation in the late evening hours, especially to Jersey is very lacking. This would explain why in extra inning games the stadium doesn't look very full. They all need to catch the last train. So, we got there early, and explored the area of Brooklyn right around the stadium. We had lunch, hotdogs from a cart of course, and got in line early to see Monument Park. We also wanted the final season commemorative coin they were handing out. We got in the stadium, saw the monuments and were settling in for batting practice when it began to rain, and the ground crew began covering the infield. This was at about 530. The game was scheduled to start at 705. We sat in the concourse to stay dry until about 830. By then it had pretty much stopped raining and they began to prep the field for play. The game was great, very exciting it was tied at 3 at the top of the 9th when Mariano Rivera came in. At this point I was expecting extra innings because well duh it was Mariano, after striking out I think 2, with one on base, he threw a wild pitch that scored a run. What! Mariano, who you expect to be perfect wasn't. We did get out of the inning giving up only that one run. Bottom of the 9th and the Yankees were still in it. Two outs, bases loaded. I think both Jeter and A-Rod were on, and Jason Giambi was at bat. Jason was 0 for 4 that night, so he was due for a nice hit. But instead of a lovely walk off grand slam, or even a simple base hit, he popped up to center. Game over...Yankees lose. Same story, for me at least. Just once, I want to be in the stadium when they win, however it is getting to the point, that I don't want to see them play, so they at least might have a chance to win. BTW, did I mention the were playing the Kansas City Royals. The Royals! They lost to the Royals!
We drove home the next day, ignoring the GPS, and taking the Turnpike to I95. It took almost as long, maybe the GPS was right.
Non vacation news...I started on a new knitting project while on the trip, if I had brought it to Yankee Stadium, I may have finished it during the rain delay. It is Tank Girl, by Vicki Howell. You can find it on Knitty Summer 08. It is very cute, and I will post pictures when it is done.
Also, while on vacation my grades for last semester were posted. I received all A's...a 4.0 feels so nice! I start my next smemster on Monday. For the most part the classes won't be hard. I am taking Spanish 1 ( cake considering I was fluent when I graduated from High School, although I am not as confident anymore as I haven't used it), Basic Math, and Anatomy and Physiology. I think the Anatomy will be my hard class, but fortunately I don't have other difficult classes that will also eat up my study time. Actually the only thing eating up study time is life and other commitments, like Girl Scouts and Cheer. BTW, my oldest and youngest are doing a read a thon fundraiser to raise money to purchase cheer mats. We are required this year to own our mats instead of using the schools because of MERSA. If you would like to sponsor the girls, or just give a flat donation, that would be greatly appreciated. It is a tax write off, and I can provide a receipt. Just let me know. Thats all I have for now, Miki
Vacation...we finally took the kids to New York. I can't feel to bad about it being a trip we put off as they have been so many other places no one they know have been. Plus now they were a little older and could enjoy much more of it.
We chose to stay in a Hotel in Jersey to save a few bucks. We stayed at the Hyatt Place Fair Lawn. It was lovely, clean and not a bad drive for us to find a way into the city. The staff was extremely helpful and always remembered our name as if we were wearing name tags. I will definitely look at staying at the Hyatt again. Next time though we will probably choose a hotel in Manhattan...it would just make things that much easier.
We left last Wed. and used the GPS to tell us the fastest route. After a VERY strange backtrack it led us on in DC, it took us off the major freeway and led us on a path through rural Pennsylvania. A drive that we expected to take about 6 hours took us about 8. The drive was beautiful, but slow. We had hoped to go into Manhattan on Wed., but after all the driving we just crashed at the hotel. That was ok with us, as the Olympics were on. Thursday morning we got up bright and early so that we could visit the Statue of Liberty. We had prepurchased our tickets and also ask for monument passes. Only a limited number of visitors are allowed in the monument. Unlike when I was a kid, you can only go into the base and gaze up the inside of the statue. After doing this I now know why. The spiral staircase up is very tiny, and there is only one. We stopped at Ellis Island first, but only walked into the lobby area as our tickets for the monument were timed. We later learned that really didn't mean anything as we stood in line for over an hour to get in. Also, with all the genealogy research I have done, I have yet to find a relative that has come through Ellis Island. From what I can see they all came to Canada first and then immigrated from there.
The statue was beautiful. The kids also enjoyed it. At this point, the vacation for Craig took a turn for the worse. He was stung by a bee or something similar on the left bicep. He took the last two benadryl I had, but still the arm swelled all the way down to his wrist. By the end of the day with more benadryl in him, his arm was so swollen that you couldn't feel the bone in his elbow. It felt as if there was jello in his arm. YUCK! The heat, pain and swelling continued until Sunday night, even with the benadryl. I think it may have been a localized allergic reaction, and the next sting will be worse.
After the statue, we took the ferry back to the New York side instead of the Jersey side. We bought all day tickets for the subway, and began our trek through the city. We stopped at the Girl Scout Headquarters in New York City, and the Empire State Building. We didn't go to the top of the Empire State, that will have to wait until next time. We then headed up towards Central Park. We decided to take a carriage ride through the park. At this point of the day, a storm was just about to hit. It did this during our ride, so we had to ride with the top up. Our carriage driver also told my daughters that the crowd outside The Plaza Hotel across the street were there to watch the filming of the Jonas Brothers new music video. My oldest couldn't wait to get off the carriage. Unfortunately it began raining hard before the had started shooting, and no one had seen the band. We waited about an hour for the rain to pass, but finally the crew began to pack up and we knew they wouldn't be shooting that day. The girls were bummed, but we did all we could for them.
After Central Park and the Plaza Hotel, we went to Rockefeller Center and Times Square. We didn't catch a Broadway show this time. This trip was really all about the Yankees. Neither Craig or I, both long time Yankees fans, had ever seen a game in Yankee Stadium. This is the final season in Yankee stadium, so it was now or never. As a side note, I have never been at a game were the Yankees have won. It hasn't matter what stadium I have seen them in, who their opponent was, how good either team was, who was pitching, etc. I have seen the lose the year they had a record number of wins, and have also seen them lose years they have won the World Series. It is so bad, I have friends who are Red Sox fans who have offered to buy me season tickets. Long Story short, Friday was game day, we chose to drive into the city and park as we learned that public transportation in the late evening hours, especially to Jersey is very lacking. This would explain why in extra inning games the stadium doesn't look very full. They all need to catch the last train. So, we got there early, and explored the area of Brooklyn right around the stadium. We had lunch, hotdogs from a cart of course, and got in line early to see Monument Park. We also wanted the final season commemorative coin they were handing out. We got in the stadium, saw the monuments and were settling in for batting practice when it began to rain, and the ground crew began covering the infield. This was at about 530. The game was scheduled to start at 705. We sat in the concourse to stay dry until about 830. By then it had pretty much stopped raining and they began to prep the field for play. The game was great, very exciting it was tied at 3 at the top of the 9th when Mariano Rivera came in. At this point I was expecting extra innings because well duh it was Mariano, after striking out I think 2, with one on base, he threw a wild pitch that scored a run. What! Mariano, who you expect to be perfect wasn't. We did get out of the inning giving up only that one run. Bottom of the 9th and the Yankees were still in it. Two outs, bases loaded. I think both Jeter and A-Rod were on, and Jason Giambi was at bat. Jason was 0 for 4 that night, so he was due for a nice hit. But instead of a lovely walk off grand slam, or even a simple base hit, he popped up to center. Game over...Yankees lose. Same story, for me at least. Just once, I want to be in the stadium when they win, however it is getting to the point, that I don't want to see them play, so they at least might have a chance to win. BTW, did I mention the were playing the Kansas City Royals. The Royals! They lost to the Royals!
We drove home the next day, ignoring the GPS, and taking the Turnpike to I95. It took almost as long, maybe the GPS was right.
Non vacation news...I started on a new knitting project while on the trip, if I had brought it to Yankee Stadium, I may have finished it during the rain delay. It is Tank Girl, by Vicki Howell. You can find it on Knitty Summer 08. It is very cute, and I will post pictures when it is done.
Also, while on vacation my grades for last semester were posted. I received all A's...a 4.0 feels so nice! I start my next smemster on Monday. For the most part the classes won't be hard. I am taking Spanish 1 ( cake considering I was fluent when I graduated from High School, although I am not as confident anymore as I haven't used it), Basic Math, and Anatomy and Physiology. I think the Anatomy will be my hard class, but fortunately I don't have other difficult classes that will also eat up my study time. Actually the only thing eating up study time is life and other commitments, like Girl Scouts and Cheer. BTW, my oldest and youngest are doing a read a thon fundraiser to raise money to purchase cheer mats. We are required this year to own our mats instead of using the schools because of MERSA. If you would like to sponsor the girls, or just give a flat donation, that would be greatly appreciated. It is a tax write off, and I can provide a receipt. Just let me know. Thats all I have for now, Miki
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Wondering
Is there such thing as a vacation hangover? If so...I think I have it. I will blog later about the trip, and other cool stuff. Right now I need a large cup of coffee. TTFN, Miki
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Exhausted
My nieces left this morning. We had a wonderful time with them. They were on their best behavior, and I am sure I will miss them again soon. I however now know why I am not the mother of 6. It is completely exhausting, even when they are all good.
Its a good thing that I don't have school tomorrow so I can recover. TTFN, Miki
Its a good thing that I don't have school tomorrow so I can recover. TTFN, Miki
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Do some people just not own a mirror?
My sisters two oldest daughters are here, so it seriously looks like I am a mom of six this week. The girls just want to swim. This is fine with me, but I would like them to have at least one memorable adventure. Yesterday I suggested Maymont. It is lovely and educational. I thought they might enjoy the Japanese gardens or the bears. They said no. I then suggested the Metro Richmond Zoo. They have a terrific giraffe exhibit so that you are nearly eye to eye with the giraffes and can feed them. The younger of the two girls told me giraffes were her favorite animal, but she would rather swim. So we swam.
In the evening we took them to their first ever concert. It was at a nice outdoor venue that will let the kids under 12 in for free, so it didn't break the bank. We saw Foreigner. They have a new album coming out. I wonder if anything will chart. The girls had a good time.
But why the title you might ask, well my oldest daughter noticed a woman as we were buying our tickets and she was both shocked and repulsed. Now mind you, she is at the age that EVERYRTHING shocks and repulses. But even I had to admit this was bad. This woman was wearing a micro mini skirt in a sporty type fabric that really had no coverage over her ass. I mean we saw what little panties she was wearing, and both cheeks. On top she was weaaring a skin tight pink and white striped crop shirt that barely covered her boobs. And to top it off she had a nice roll in between. YUCK! I wanted to take a picture to post, but my husband told me it would be inapproriate. To make matters worse, the ladies selling beverage tickets commented that her attire was more conservative than the previous week. Really, was she naked the week before? Once again I told my husband that I wish I was able to go to the Poison concert in a few weeks just to people watch. TTFN, Miki
In the evening we took them to their first ever concert. It was at a nice outdoor venue that will let the kids under 12 in for free, so it didn't break the bank. We saw Foreigner. They have a new album coming out. I wonder if anything will chart. The girls had a good time.
But why the title you might ask, well my oldest daughter noticed a woman as we were buying our tickets and she was both shocked and repulsed. Now mind you, she is at the age that EVERYRTHING shocks and repulses. But even I had to admit this was bad. This woman was wearing a micro mini skirt in a sporty type fabric that really had no coverage over her ass. I mean we saw what little panties she was wearing, and both cheeks. On top she was weaaring a skin tight pink and white striped crop shirt that barely covered her boobs. And to top it off she had a nice roll in between. YUCK! I wanted to take a picture to post, but my husband told me it would be inapproriate. To make matters worse, the ladies selling beverage tickets commented that her attire was more conservative than the previous week. Really, was she naked the week before? Once again I told my husband that I wish I was able to go to the Poison concert in a few weeks just to people watch. TTFN, Miki
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Where did my progress bars go?
I just noticed that my knitting project progress bars are gone. Not that I have finished much on them, but where did they go? When did they leave? Now I need to figure out where I found them, and how to put them back, or if I even want them back. TTFN, Miki
Midlife Crisis?
So, I finally relented, and my husband got a convertible. This one does have four seats so if he is responsible for more than one kid we can still use the car. Plus it gets pretty good gas mileage.
More soon, TTFN, Miki
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
When schools fail what can you do?
Yesterday while reading one of my favorite (who am I kidding, it is my favorite)blogs I read a comment from another reader that mentioned a HORRIFIC event in a school in Florida. If you have not hear of this, as I hadn't, a teacher encouraged her students to tell another child what they didn't like about him, and then they voted him out of the class. Horrible on all accounts, but this child is also in the process of being diagnosed with Aspergers. School should be a safe place for a child. Why is it that these actions were not reprimanded? Why is it that we live in a society were this is considered acceptable. I am outraged! Today Sue, my favorite blogger, wrote a lovely post about this. I encourage you to check it out. TTFN, Miki
Motorcycle accident update
Not sure how to title todays post. I just read in my email prayer requests from my previous church in Oregon that the husband of my friend who died in the motorcycle accident has also passed. His injuries were also to severe. I pray for peace for the family as they deal with this tragedy. I also pray for the driver of the car as this is something he will live with for the rest of his life.
TTFN, Miki
TTFN, Miki
Saturday, May 24, 2008
I am getting to old for this
Wednesday night Craig and I attend the Eagles Long Road out of Eden concert. It was FABULOUS!! We had a terrific time. They sang many of their new songs, and many of their clasics. The next night we attended a James Taylor concert in Virginia Beach. Normally I wouldn't go to back to back concerts, but we had purchased the James Taylor tickets before the Eagles announced they would be here. Long story short, Thursdays concert ended at about 1130, and we arrive home at 315 in the morning. It took us about 2 hours to move 5 miles. The traffic through the tunnel was down to one lane due to construction. I was tired and cranky the next day and no ammount of coffee was going to help.
I will say though, if you get a chance to see the Eagles, do because they were great.
TTFN, Miki
I will say though, if you get a chance to see the Eagles, do because they were great.
TTFN, Miki
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Motorcycle Safety
The last several months, as gas prices have increased, Craig and I have argued over the purchase of a motorcycle for his work commute. He drives about a half an hour one way. While I can see that they get much better gas mileage than even his Taurus, I don't think it will save us money. He thinks it will. My arguement is that I don't think motorcycles are safe. Even the safest driver can still by killed. I think that after getting more life insurance, and buying the motorcycle, and taking the classes to be a responsible rider, and the insurance, and the personal property tax, and even possible the therapy for me after worrying that he won't come home each time he rides, we will not be ahead financially. Even if we were ahead, I don't think it would be by much, and that fact that it scares me too death that he isn't a safe as he could be, makes it not worth it.
Normally I wouldn't blog about this, but as I "cleaned out" one of my inboxes this morning I read a prayer request from the church in my home town. I dear friend of mine and her husband had been injured in a motorcycle accident on their way to the Rhodedenron Festival. She apparantly had been life flighted to another hospital where she eventually died. Her husband was in critical condition at a closer hospital. I immediately began searching for info on this crash. I finally found some on a local tv station website. I was saddend to hear that they were hit from behind as they slowed to turn into a waypoint. What the article did not say was if speed was a factor. I am sure it was. This for me only proves my point in how unsafe motorcycles are. The driver of the car that struck them was not paying enough attention, and as a result my friend is dead and her husband critically injured. I know in my rational mind that my husband could also die in a car accident, but I also know that he is better protected in a car to survive. Plus, I am not ready to live without him, and don't think I ever will be. TTFN, Miki
Normally I wouldn't blog about this, but as I "cleaned out" one of my inboxes this morning I read a prayer request from the church in my home town. I dear friend of mine and her husband had been injured in a motorcycle accident on their way to the Rhodedenron Festival. She apparantly had been life flighted to another hospital where she eventually died. Her husband was in critical condition at a closer hospital. I immediately began searching for info on this crash. I finally found some on a local tv station website. I was saddend to hear that they were hit from behind as they slowed to turn into a waypoint. What the article did not say was if speed was a factor. I am sure it was. This for me only proves my point in how unsafe motorcycles are. The driver of the car that struck them was not paying enough attention, and as a result my friend is dead and her husband critically injured. I know in my rational mind that my husband could also die in a car accident, but I also know that he is better protected in a car to survive. Plus, I am not ready to live without him, and don't think I ever will be. TTFN, Miki
Saturday, May 17, 2008
School?
So here I sit, on the lunch hour of my first class since being back in school. Ugh! I sure hope this isn't going to be what it is like. I mean really...! Now I am remembering why I didn't finish the first time around. I wasn't challenged enough to study, or pay attention, or go to class for that matter. Of course this time will be different. I am older and wiser, or maybe just older. Hopefully I am not as cocky as I was back then. I really just want this to be done with.
What class am I taking? Well it is a lovely class called Introduction to Microcomputers. It is required as part of the nursing program. As is another lovely class I need to take called College Success Skills. I opted to take the computer class over two Saturdays, hoping to not draw out the agony anymore than I need to. I am glad I made this choice.
The first part of the morning was about random thought regarding the computer and anything sort of computer related. We learned the history of numbers, and loads about Lord Byron, yes the poet. Did you know he had a club foot? What this has to do with computers I am not sure, but it was a tangent and he went with it.
The last hour was spent learning all about the world wide web. I now know that it wasn't created by Al Gore...sorry Al. Of course I already knew that, but whose keeping track. Actually the only really useful thing that I have picked up today was regarding HTML code. I know very little about this. Of course anyone reading this blog and who understands the code, knows that. Again, who is keeping score. Anyhow,...I know have a better understanding of HTML, and maybe now I can tweak my blog. Of course I am not sure how that will help me with nursing, but we shall see.
During the first part of my lunch break I was telling my husband that this class really didn't seem to be designed for students who were working towards any type of degree. Most people in college are much younger and have never known anything other than using a computer. This class seems better suited for older students, who have lived in a hole in the ground for the thast 10-15 years, or for seniors who don't quite understand how it works. Or maybe for people who have a VCR that is still blinking 12:00.
Well gotta go, lunch is almost over, and I need to get back to it. I will keep you up to date. TTFN, Miki
What class am I taking? Well it is a lovely class called Introduction to Microcomputers. It is required as part of the nursing program. As is another lovely class I need to take called College Success Skills. I opted to take the computer class over two Saturdays, hoping to not draw out the agony anymore than I need to. I am glad I made this choice.
The first part of the morning was about random thought regarding the computer and anything sort of computer related. We learned the history of numbers, and loads about Lord Byron, yes the poet. Did you know he had a club foot? What this has to do with computers I am not sure, but it was a tangent and he went with it.
The last hour was spent learning all about the world wide web. I now know that it wasn't created by Al Gore...sorry Al. Of course I already knew that, but whose keeping track. Actually the only really useful thing that I have picked up today was regarding HTML code. I know very little about this. Of course anyone reading this blog and who understands the code, knows that. Again, who is keeping score. Anyhow,...I know have a better understanding of HTML, and maybe now I can tweak my blog. Of course I am not sure how that will help me with nursing, but we shall see.
During the first part of my lunch break I was telling my husband that this class really didn't seem to be designed for students who were working towards any type of degree. Most people in college are much younger and have never known anything other than using a computer. This class seems better suited for older students, who have lived in a hole in the ground for the thast 10-15 years, or for seniors who don't quite understand how it works. Or maybe for people who have a VCR that is still blinking 12:00.
Well gotta go, lunch is almost over, and I need to get back to it. I will keep you up to date. TTFN, Miki
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Earth Day
So I had planned on writing something yesterday for Earth Day. It didn't happen. I will however write something today. In my quest to be greener, I feel like I am still falling short. I have been working hard at remembering my own bags for the grocery store. The clerks usually give me a funny look and then still only put a few items in each bag. I end up grabbing groceries before they can to stick in my still empty bags so they won't give me any plastic bags. Sometimes it feels like the bagging person, gets paid by how many plastic bags they use in a day. Seriously!
Sunday with my Girl Scouts, they decorated canvas bags for the grocery store. The bags had a piece of the Girl Scout law, either make the world a better place, or use resources wisely. Each bag was similar and yet different. My oldest daughters was awesome! I am constantly amazed at her effortless artistic ability. She would have loved to have taken an art class at school this year, but she wasn't willing to give up choir. I guess I could always sign her up for a class at a local studio. Where I would find the time for it, I am not sure.
Yesterday's Weekly Grist was informative as usual. I particularly liked their top ten. I will definitely be looking into some of these items. The led lights and power strip were two of my favorites.
Sunday with my Girl Scouts, they decorated canvas bags for the grocery store. The bags had a piece of the Girl Scout law, either make the world a better place, or use resources wisely. Each bag was similar and yet different. My oldest daughters was awesome! I am constantly amazed at her effortless artistic ability. She would have loved to have taken an art class at school this year, but she wasn't willing to give up choir. I guess I could always sign her up for a class at a local studio. Where I would find the time for it, I am not sure.
Yesterday's Weekly Grist was informative as usual. I particularly liked their top ten. I will definitely be looking into some of these items. The led lights and power strip were two of my favorites.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Living Greener?
So much for my resolution to live greener. I have always been a good recycler, and try really hard to garden organicly. This year however, I decided to work a little harder at leaving less of an impact. Remember how I said that I wanted to start using my own shopping bags? Well I am using my own most of the time. That has been great. The checkers seem inconvienenced by not using their bags, but screw them!They are so wasteful with them sometimes only putting one or two small items in a bag. Last night for example, we were at a store and purchase a pair of capri sweat pants and two packaged t-shirts. When I told the clerk we didn't need a bag, he looked shocked. Please! We could totally carry these ourselves.
Anyhow I found out yesterday that most of this work has been in vain. A few months ago we got a water bill for almost 500 dollars. I thought to myself, oops I must have missed the last bill. We are billed bi monthly. Now the ammount seemed high even for 4 months, but I really didn't pay much attention. Well then we got another 500 dollar bill. I then called the department of utilites and they were less than helpful. Their inspector came out and was supposed to knock on the door to make sure we weren't using any water when he checked the line. He didn't he looked and left a note that said we had water running in the house. Well, because he didn't knock I didn't know if we did or not. So the lady at the department of utilities, which I would like to call the department of uselessness suggested that I dye test my toilets. I questioned whether that could really make my bill go up by almost 4 times. She assured me that it could. I asked even if I couldn't hear my toilets running and she said yes. Well....the plumber yesterday told me no. He also told me after turning off the water to my house, under the house that we had a break somewhere from the meter to where it comes out of the ground under the front corner of the house. YEAH! We get to dig up our front yard! In my quest to live greener, during a near drought(we have been under water restrictions) I have been using tons of water. I am shocked that this wasn't a red flag to anyone at the department of uselessness. I mean we aren't allowed to water our lawns, or wash our own cars, but apparantly can have HUGE leaks in our front yards. Or course a dear friend suggested that I look for the silver lining. Hmm....the oak trees in the yard have been well fed...I will have one nice green strip of grass where they have dug up the line. Umm...my water bill should go down...and considering the size of the leak, I should have better water pressure. And, I can once again continue my quest for greener living.
BTW, I am typing on my new laptop, and keeping hitting an unknown key that causes the cursor to jump somewhere else on the screen. It is getting VERY frustrating and I don't know what key it is or how to stop it. The strange thing is this has never happened to me on any other keyboard ever. So, if there is a typo I missed...sorry.
Anyhow I found out yesterday that most of this work has been in vain. A few months ago we got a water bill for almost 500 dollars. I thought to myself, oops I must have missed the last bill. We are billed bi monthly. Now the ammount seemed high even for 4 months, but I really didn't pay much attention. Well then we got another 500 dollar bill. I then called the department of utilites and they were less than helpful. Their inspector came out and was supposed to knock on the door to make sure we weren't using any water when he checked the line. He didn't he looked and left a note that said we had water running in the house. Well, because he didn't knock I didn't know if we did or not. So the lady at the department of utilities, which I would like to call the department of uselessness suggested that I dye test my toilets. I questioned whether that could really make my bill go up by almost 4 times. She assured me that it could. I asked even if I couldn't hear my toilets running and she said yes. Well....the plumber yesterday told me no. He also told me after turning off the water to my house, under the house that we had a break somewhere from the meter to where it comes out of the ground under the front corner of the house. YEAH! We get to dig up our front yard! In my quest to live greener, during a near drought(we have been under water restrictions) I have been using tons of water. I am shocked that this wasn't a red flag to anyone at the department of uselessness. I mean we aren't allowed to water our lawns, or wash our own cars, but apparantly can have HUGE leaks in our front yards. Or course a dear friend suggested that I look for the silver lining. Hmm....the oak trees in the yard have been well fed...I will have one nice green strip of grass where they have dug up the line. Umm...my water bill should go down...and considering the size of the leak, I should have better water pressure. And, I can once again continue my quest for greener living.
BTW, I am typing on my new laptop, and keeping hitting an unknown key that causes the cursor to jump somewhere else on the screen. It is getting VERY frustrating and I don't know what key it is or how to stop it. The strange thing is this has never happened to me on any other keyboard ever. So, if there is a typo I missed...sorry.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Technology Sucks...Sometimes
So the cookie sale is over. Finally! I just have some money collecting, and a little paperwork to do. The girls and I finished up two large projects for the cookie pins and submitted them electronically. I took a break planning on making the hard copies later in the evening. Well later when I came back the screen on my laptop was BLACK! When I rebooted the screen quicly flashed some ugly color, and then went black again. So, I took it itno geek sqaud today and they say the LED screen has gone bad. YUCK! So I bought a new laptop and paid for them to transfer my files to the new one. They however did not get all of the music...actually they only took the itunes. This works great for me, but not my hubby as his MP3 player doesn't use itunes. The most frustrating part is I was told they were making an exact copy of my hard drive...LIARS. Anyhow, now I have to either take it back to them, and watch them connect the two hard drives and tell them what to take, or figure out how to do it myself. Apparantly the spot on my old laptop to connect another monitor was also not working; LUCKY ME! As far as I can tell they got everything else. Now I just need to figure out how to get all my bookmarked sites back. And I need to figure out this new keyboard as every once in awhile, I touch something and the cursor jumps back a few lines.
On another frustrating front, we took Craigs new/used car in yesterday for its inspection. We knew they wouldn't get to it until today. Well they called this morning and ask how to shut off the alarm. I told them to use the correct key to start the car. I don't think they liked that answer. So apparntly there is a keypad to type in a code if the wrong key is used. Which I am sure they did, or the alarm wouldn't have gone off. Only problem is Craig wrote the code down on a scrap of paper that I had recycled, and while I was on the phone with the mechaninc, the recycle truck was pulling away. So I went to the mechanics and I have no idea what they did, but no matter what I did, keyless entry unlock, anything...the alarm went off. So I called the dealer, who called the previous owner to get the code. We typed in the code, and the alarm still went off. Now we have driven this car 3 or 4 times with no problem, so I don't know what they did, but long story short, they took the alarm out. The car however, did not get inspected today.
This keyboard is truly driving me crazy! I wish I could figure it out, and why it keeps jumping around.
On another frustrating front, we took Craigs new/used car in yesterday for its inspection. We knew they wouldn't get to it until today. Well they called this morning and ask how to shut off the alarm. I told them to use the correct key to start the car. I don't think they liked that answer. So apparntly there is a keypad to type in a code if the wrong key is used. Which I am sure they did, or the alarm wouldn't have gone off. Only problem is Craig wrote the code down on a scrap of paper that I had recycled, and while I was on the phone with the mechaninc, the recycle truck was pulling away. So I went to the mechanics and I have no idea what they did, but no matter what I did, keyless entry unlock, anything...the alarm went off. So I called the dealer, who called the previous owner to get the code. We typed in the code, and the alarm still went off. Now we have driven this car 3 or 4 times with no problem, so I don't know what they did, but long story short, they took the alarm out. The car however, did not get inspected today.
This keyboard is truly driving me crazy! I wish I could figure it out, and why it keeps jumping around.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Knitting Photos!
My mom has received her socks. They fit and she loves them. YEAH! She even ask if I had put them on my blog, I told her what I wrote and she laughed and said she hadn't check it in a while, but I was right if I had put the pictures up she probably would have seen them.
Also here are the face/dish cloths I have knit.
Enjoy, TTFN, Miki
Also here are the face/dish cloths I have knit.
Enjoy, TTFN, Miki
Monday, March 03, 2008
Whats new
Val says that I need to update my blog...she is right. So here is what I am up to. Sleep and laying around. I got the flu about a month ago, and things are just not the same. I tire very easy, and my resting heart rate is still way higher than it should be. ANY activity (Im talking walking to the bathroom) raises it to lets say my target heart rate or above. I've been to the doctor and to a specialist and they have come to the conclusion that it is just a virus. Im going to give it a little longer and then get another oppinion. We are working on week four and they said the bug should last 2-4 weeks.
Needless to say, I have not done much knitting as I just haven't felt like it. I did however finish a round face cloth, and frogged another one. I am also working on a super secret gift for my moms birthday, which was yesterday. I say super secret, because she has started to read my blog from time to time, and if I tell you what it is, this would be the time she reads it. As soon as she receives the gift, I will post about it.
I am also at the middle of Girl Scout cookie sales. We actually got our cookies today. This will mark the beginning of a crazy busy week, and month. I love the cookies, and love that they support girl scouts, but they are VERY time consuming.
So that is what I am up to, hope to post more soon. TTFN, Miki
Needless to say, I have not done much knitting as I just haven't felt like it. I did however finish a round face cloth, and frogged another one. I am also working on a super secret gift for my moms birthday, which was yesterday. I say super secret, because she has started to read my blog from time to time, and if I tell you what it is, this would be the time she reads it. As soon as she receives the gift, I will post about it.
I am also at the middle of Girl Scout cookie sales. We actually got our cookies today. This will mark the beginning of a crazy busy week, and month. I love the cookies, and love that they support girl scouts, but they are VERY time consuming.
So that is what I am up to, hope to post more soon. TTFN, Miki
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
A dish cloth meant for the face
My BFF Val just started knitting. Like me she has crafters ADD. She quickly learned that a garter stitch scarf was boring! So she knit a dish cloth. Hers is great! However, she ran out of patterns. I looked up a few for her on Ravelry, and then found a couple I would like to try.
Part of my "being greener" in the new year has been to reduce my paper use, ie napkins and paper towels. Instead I use cloth, or for every day small dish cloths. They are inexpensive and I can re use them. So anyhow, I found this pretty feather and fan pattern and figured I would give it a try. Then I found a Sugar and Cream cotton by Lily that was self striping and the colors were so pretty. It was called country stripe, but I think it is a little more Pacific Oceany than country. The first picture shows the colors the best I can get tonight, and the second shows the pattern the best. My oldest daughter really liked how it turned out, and thinks it would be a shame to use on dishes, so it will probably be used for the face. Enjoy, Miki
Part of my "being greener" in the new year has been to reduce my paper use, ie napkins and paper towels. Instead I use cloth, or for every day small dish cloths. They are inexpensive and I can re use them. So anyhow, I found this pretty feather and fan pattern and figured I would give it a try. Then I found a Sugar and Cream cotton by Lily that was self striping and the colors were so pretty. It was called country stripe, but I think it is a little more Pacific Oceany than country. The first picture shows the colors the best I can get tonight, and the second shows the pattern the best. My oldest daughter really liked how it turned out, and thinks it would be a shame to use on dishes, so it will probably be used for the face. Enjoy, Miki
Sunday, January 27, 2008
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