Triple Play-Sorta Makes Up For Being Stupid

I had to go up to Lansing to pick up my laptop today and we went to the Red Cedar Grill for roasted garlic with chiabatta. It is one of my fav appetizers anywhere (and I had a 10 dollar GC off my bill too! as part of my frequent dining club). The appetizer is 12.95 but very much sharable with multiple people. Problem was, it was not good tonight. It was not cooked enough and was cold, so we sent it back (and they microwaved it-yuck) but it's still not cooked to spreadability. So we bitched. And got it free! The entrees we got were fine (I had Thai peanut fettucini-very spicy) and there was enough left over to send home for daughter to have for lunch tomorrow. Then the manager came over and apologized and not only gave us the appetizer free but gave us a 10 dollar gift certificate for next time too! Triple play!

Now the laptop story and why I feel stupid!

So I bought a new laptop a while back and was "saving" it for when the desktop started acting up. I wanted to make sure I got XP (no Vista for me). I used it twice in an internet cafe and everything worked, so I put it away. Last week I decided to take it out, put on the newest virus protection and add my new office software. I added Symantec and restarted and ejected the software.

When I went to put the Office disc in, the dvd/cd-rom drive would not open, so I used the bypass. Put the disk in and nothing. Nada. The drive was no longer there and nothing was read from the disk. WTF? I played around and still nothing, so called the brains in the family and one of them answered. Courtney tried to fix it and when nothing worked (mind you the warranty is up as its been stashed a year), she said she would keep it a few days as the battery was dying anyways.

She calls me today and said she fixed it-I am assuming she took the back off and maybe plugged it back in. Nope. She plugged the power cord in! It seems Sony laptops have a power save and when that kicks in, it disables the optical drive to save power. When she turned it on after plugging it in at home, there was the drive! I had no idea and boy do I feel stupid. It would have been nice to have some small booklet included with the machine to at least explain the special features, ya think?

Thank You For The Hugs

To everyone who wrote me today with hugs and encouragement over a recent development, thank you so much. I appreciate all the positives uplifts you sent. Us humans make mistakes and none of us are immune. I was up all night upset over it and have not eaten today as my stomach went into overdrive. I will be better tomorrow, I think.

I consoled myself with a new cookbook, a grass de-thatcher (see what a weirdo I am) and some glittery 99 cent rub ons from Micheal's. I am easy-and the grass is finally gonna get mowed (I could not find a rent-a-goat locally to munch the weeds-but the dandelions are pretty)

Happy 31st birthday to my baby boy! Ben and his lovely Johanna are out hiking for the day and I am sending the GC via email so they can add some goodies for their kayaks. (did you know you have to get a license for a kayak in Iowa? Grubby taxing scum everywhere).

Anyways-thanks for everything. I need to simplify my life for a while and go smell my blooming lilacs! I now have 6 beautiful dwarf Korean bushes in light purple! Photos as soon as I can find some time.

One Giant Leap Into The Universe

Have you heard of this? Microsoft has a new FREE pc program that lets you explore the universe. It is incredible and did I say it was free? Go check it out here.

The system requirements are not for the cheapie desktops. Here are the minimum needs to use it.


WorldWide Telescope minimum system requirements

For PC:
Microsoft® XP SP2 (minimum), Windows® Vista® (recommended)
PC with Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 2 gigahertz (GHz) or faster, recommended
1 gigabyte (GB) of RAM; 2 GB RAM recommended
3D accelerated card with 128 megabytes (MB) RAM; discrete graphics card with dedicated 256-MB VRAM recommended for higher performance
1 GB of available hard disk space; 10 GB recommended for off-line features and higher performance browsing
XGA (1024 x 768) or higher resolution monitor
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing and scrolling device
Microsoft® DirectX® version 9.0c and .NET Framework 2.0
Required for some features; Internet connection at 56 Kbps or higher through either an Internet service provider (ISP) or a network. Internet access might require a separate fee to an ISP; local or long-distance telephone charges might also apply

Estimated download time 1 hour (56Kb), 10 minutes (DSL 512Kb)

What TV Mom I Am?

This is too white here so I moved the post to my other blog. Check for it here .

Family As Friends and Making Hard Choices

I still have not found time to photograph my new cards but maybe tomorrow or Friday if the rain and wind stops. It's still so cold here too altho I had hubby turn off the heat because I am here alone and my quilts are fine and a lot cheaper than the gas company. I spend all day perusing the Yellow Pages trying to find a few roofers to give me estimates. The whole housing market is bad here-so the fringe people (painters, roofers, cabinetry, etc) have taken a beating too. I got not one phone pick up so emailed several to see what is up.

I found this card in my archived file. I can't even remember anything about it. It's a printed acetate overlay that is attached to a card with several odd pieces of card stock. I inked the edges of the card stock to distress a bit but jeez, have no idea how long ago it was made.

I think I need to go do some heavy thinking. I am not having a lot of luck with the dog I adopted back here . I have to decide whether he will be going back to the Humane Society . He does not respond to me at all. Unless I have a cookie. I have tried every possible thing (the dog whisperer is not working with him either) but I cannot even walk him on a leash or take him in the car as he is too hyper and won't obey me-he is at least a year and a half so not a puppy. He is a little better with hubby but not by much (and hubby is not here much anyways). I have never failed with a pet-until now. I think Jackson needs a larger expanse of land (a farm maybe?) , and a "job" like keeping the vermin away. I am afraid to even have kids around as he is so strong and could hurt them (not on purpose but because he is so so strong for a 55 pound dog). He barks at the birds, squirrels and anything that moves for hours and I am waiting for the cops to shop up with a noise violation. Even an obedience collar is not working (and I vowed I would not use one) .

He has all his shots and is neutered. He has heart worm meds for a year (all dogs in Michigan should have this). His own special sleep cage and sleep pillow with blankets. I spared no money on toys and top of the line food and he gets a lot of attention. He is a beautiful dog and is very intelligent. I can tell him to go get a certain toy and he knows what it is and picks it up. But when I tell him to come, or stay in the family room or any simple thing that requires I being the boss-it's no go. I find myself crying in frustration and I have bruises all over from trying to grab him and force a submission. He doesn't respect me as the head of the pack. And good boy Marley is showing frustration as Jackson will not let him be still at all.

Jackson has also eaten anything not tied down outside-my table, a pot of flowers, the mulch bags (all over the yard now) and the cover around the deck. All my hostas are dead as are the chicks and hens and several bushes he ate. And when I tell him no inside (I don't want him upstairs at all), he lifts his leg and wets on my coat, books and just missed my bag with laptop. He is healthy-so what is going on?

I feel like I am failing him---and myself. But what do I do? I don't want to hate him or resent him and I find myself slowly falling that way. Any ideas?

Monday Morning Political Humour

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain were flying to a debate.

Barack looked at Hillary, chuckled and said, 'You know I could throw a $1,000 bill out of the window right now and make somebody very happy.'

Hillary shrugged her shoulders and replied, 'I could throw ten $100 bills out of the window and make ten people very happy.'

John added, 'That being the case, I could throw one hundred $10 bills out of the window and make a hundred people very happy.'

Hearing their exchange, the pilot rolled his eyes and said to his copilot, 'Such big-shots back there. I could throw all three of them out of the window and make 304 million people very happy.'

I'm voting for the Pilot!!

What Kind of Fairy Are You?

I don't normally direct to other blog candy entries, but I am curious to know the answers for this. Please go look here and enter your answers. I am Janette Legume-the Vegetable Garden Fairy.

My Friend Stacey Bought a Stamp Company!

How cool is that?? You can see the images and purchase online here or you can buy them in person at Stacey's store in Fowlerville. Both links are in my sidebar under local stamp and scrap stores!

Let's Stamp Out Hunger For All Americans!

If we can afford to buy stamps and scrap materials to feed our habit, we can all afford to put out a small bag of non-perishables for the food drive for today, Saturday May 10th.

I always have fun with this food drive-making sure I box up a complete meal for 5-6 including desserts. I try to make at least a two day feast (even tho I know they will break it down and disperse it otherwise). I purchased canned chicken, dried pasta and two sauces, several soups and some boxed crackers, some seasonings, canned salmon, dried eggs and some dehydrated hash browns, and some cookie mix and a cake for dessert. I try to stay healthy in my selections and even tho I am a vegetarian, I do not force that choice on those who need healthy food and give no lecture.

I hope you will participate. Watch this video for more info and get your bag out to your mail box-even street box collection-and know you helped feed a family today. No one should go hungry in this country-the land of plenty and probably way too much.

I Saw This Bumper Sticker Today-Love It!