Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Road to Fatsville is Paved With Good Intentions
I was gonna be good, I swear.
I had spent a whopping seven(!) hours doing some major housework. I had miraculously transformed a disaster zone into a beautiful, nearly pristine bedroom all by myself. I craved a naughty fast food meal, and I deserved it! But no...I'll be good.
So, I go to the kitchen. I get out one of my "salad in a jar" specialties (hmm...I totally need to write about my experience with "salad in a jar"). I grab a cucumber, some carrots, an apple, and a jar of fat free dressing. I'm slicing and dicing my way to a healthy meal. I'm being so damn good!
But then, Heather comes upstairs. She and I have had a rough day spent trying to see who was the bigger bullhead (it's a tie). So, how can I possibly resist when she says, "wanna go with me to get some grub?"
That's how my Weight-Watchers 1-point "Good Intentions" dinner
turned into
a belly-busting 24-point reality. (But at least the drink was diet, right??)
In the end, I got to spend some much-needed time laughing with Heather, so it was totally worth it...no matter what the nasty Wii Fit bitch says tomorrow morning while I weigh myself.
And I have that salad all ready for my lunch tomorrow.
I had spent a whopping seven(!) hours doing some major housework. I had miraculously transformed a disaster zone into a beautiful, nearly pristine bedroom all by myself. I craved a naughty fast food meal, and I deserved it! But no...I'll be good.
So, I go to the kitchen. I get out one of my "salad in a jar" specialties (hmm...I totally need to write about my experience with "salad in a jar"). I grab a cucumber, some carrots, an apple, and a jar of fat free dressing. I'm slicing and dicing my way to a healthy meal. I'm being so damn good!
But then, Heather comes upstairs. She and I have had a rough day spent trying to see who was the bigger bullhead (it's a tie). So, how can I possibly resist when she says, "wanna go with me to get some grub?"
That's how my Weight-Watchers 1-point "Good Intentions" dinner
turned into
a belly-busting 24-point reality. (But at least the drink was diet, right??)
In the end, I got to spend some much-needed time laughing with Heather, so it was totally worth it...no matter what the nasty Wii Fit bitch says tomorrow morning while I weigh myself.
And I have that salad all ready for my lunch tomorrow.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Grumbellies
As if my unsatisfied taste buds didn't already make it clear, my belly is screaming with the borborygmi of hunger pangs.
Such is the life of a dieting computer-chair potato ('cause I never make it to the couch).
I decided to get serious regarding my efforts with Weight Watchers with the beginning of the year. Last year when I was tracking my "points," I was rarely hungry. I didn't even mind cutting way down on my fast food feasts. Oh, but last month when I went on an all-out food-fest, I must have corrupted all of my willpower. Now, every night, I'm scouting the cupboards for those elusive 0-point treats because I've already reached my quota by dinnertime. Let me tell ya, eating a can of green beans at 11 p.m. is just not what I'd call "a treat." Well, maybe if they were those amazing deep-fried green beans that T.G.I.Fridays sells, but when they come straight out of the can, they're just about as tasteless as their calorie count would indicate.
But I'm determined. I've lost 45 pounds...and gained back 8 of 'em. It's time to get that scale moving in the right direction, even if it means convincing my brain that green beans are a treat.
Such is the life of a dieting computer-chair potato ('cause I never make it to the couch).
I decided to get serious regarding my efforts with Weight Watchers with the beginning of the year. Last year when I was tracking my "points," I was rarely hungry. I didn't even mind cutting way down on my fast food feasts. Oh, but last month when I went on an all-out food-fest, I must have corrupted all of my willpower. Now, every night, I'm scouting the cupboards for those elusive 0-point treats because I've already reached my quota by dinnertime. Let me tell ya, eating a can of green beans at 11 p.m. is just not what I'd call "a treat." Well, maybe if they were those amazing deep-fried green beans that T.G.I.Fridays sells, but when they come straight out of the can, they're just about as tasteless as their calorie count would indicate.
But I'm determined. I've lost 45 pounds...and gained back 8 of 'em. It's time to get that scale moving in the right direction, even if it means convincing my brain that green beans are a treat.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Checks and Balances
Sometimes, it's just the little things that make me smile.
Like trying to balance my checkbook at almost midnight...and it came out to the cent.
Now if only there was any money left over so I could buy myself something to celebrate the achievement.
Like trying to balance my checkbook at almost midnight...and it came out to the cent.
Now if only there was any money left over so I could buy myself something to celebrate the achievement.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
12 Months?
My last blog post was in January!! That was January from a frickin' year ago. What the heck happened? Was there some sort of time warp that made me miss the last 11 months?
No...it was just the usual thing. Life got in the way. Or, to be more specific - teenagers, work, friends, and housework got in the way. Sheesh.
I used to love to blog. I made so many friends from keeping an online journal (yes, Andi, I'm talking about YOU!). So why would I slack off from something I enjoyed so much? Pure laziness. Just call me Queen Procrastinator.
A year ago, I was freshly starting a new Weight Watchers diet. To everyone's surprise (mostly mine), I stuck with it. I'm proud to say that I waddle just a little bit less when I walk nowadays. I lost 47 pounds...and gained back 8 of 'em. So here I am, new year, but same resolution. I'm back to tracking my points. Hopefully, I can get that Wii Fit Bitch to stop groaning and saying "That's Oh-beeese!" when she weighs me every morning.
I made some other small but surprising changes, too.
For the first time in my 43 years of slovenly living, I decided to start making my bed. Like, every morning. Sure, when I have a pretty girl sleeping in it, I decide to wait to make the bed until she finally wakes up for the day, but once my four-legged girlfriend finally stretches, purrs, and crawls out of bed to head for the litter box, I spend a minute or so making the bed look gorgeous. I'm at 27 days in a row. There is hope for my fellow slob-sisters everywhere!
One of the highlights of my year was having my dear friends, Michelle and Jim (and their daughter, Tessa) come to visit from Philadelphia. It was a week of lots of food, a bit of sight-seeing, a few Yu-Gi-Oh/Magic card games, and lots of "I want to see Marvin the Martian!" comments from the little one.
In the middle of the year, my work clientele practically exploded. I went from having two offices (8 doctors) to having six offices (21 doctors!). I've had to hire several more workers and things are going great. My mortgage company probably has a heart attack every month when I actually pay a couple of hundred bucks extra on the house payment.
Most surprising of all was that I gave up Facebook. The changes they made in September or so were just so damn annoying and I hated wasting my time trying to maneuver the site to read what my friends wrote. Try as I might to get friends to join Google+ (which seems to work just exactly the way Social Media should), very few would make the leap. The irony is that everyone said "I don't want to go to Google+ because nobody is there"...but nobody is there because nobody wants to go there until other people are there. Hmmph. I was recently coerced into coming back to Facebook...but just on a limited basis. Basically, I have time to make a quick post and glance to see if anyone has written anything interesting. But I refuse to jump hurdles to read posts, so basically, I'm becoming a "status updater" instead of a "commenter." I guess if my friends want me to read their updates, they'll have to post on Google+ where it is easy to read. It sucks, but I only have so much time to goof off and FB just makes it too hard to get to the good stuff.
Anyway...we're back to a new year and that means hopefully updating this old blog more than once every 12 months.
No...it was just the usual thing. Life got in the way. Or, to be more specific - teenagers, work, friends, and housework got in the way. Sheesh.
I used to love to blog. I made so many friends from keeping an online journal (yes, Andi, I'm talking about YOU!). So why would I slack off from something I enjoyed so much? Pure laziness. Just call me Queen Procrastinator.
A year ago, I was freshly starting a new Weight Watchers diet. To everyone's surprise (mostly mine), I stuck with it. I'm proud to say that I waddle just a little bit less when I walk nowadays. I lost 47 pounds...and gained back 8 of 'em. So here I am, new year, but same resolution. I'm back to tracking my points. Hopefully, I can get that Wii Fit Bitch to stop groaning and saying "That's Oh-beeese!" when she weighs me every morning.
I made some other small but surprising changes, too.
For the first time in my 43 years of slovenly living, I decided to start making my bed. Like, every morning. Sure, when I have a pretty girl sleeping in it, I decide to wait to make the bed until she finally wakes up for the day, but once my four-legged girlfriend finally stretches, purrs, and crawls out of bed to head for the litter box, I spend a minute or so making the bed look gorgeous. I'm at 27 days in a row. There is hope for my fellow slob-sisters everywhere!
One of the highlights of my year was having my dear friends, Michelle and Jim (and their daughter, Tessa) come to visit from Philadelphia. It was a week of lots of food, a bit of sight-seeing, a few Yu-Gi-Oh/Magic card games, and lots of "I want to see Marvin the Martian!" comments from the little one.
In the middle of the year, my work clientele practically exploded. I went from having two offices (8 doctors) to having six offices (21 doctors!). I've had to hire several more workers and things are going great. My mortgage company probably has a heart attack every month when I actually pay a couple of hundred bucks extra on the house payment.
Most surprising of all was that I gave up Facebook. The changes they made in September or so were just so damn annoying and I hated wasting my time trying to maneuver the site to read what my friends wrote. Try as I might to get friends to join Google+ (which seems to work just exactly the way Social Media should), very few would make the leap. The irony is that everyone said "I don't want to go to Google+ because nobody is there"...but nobody is there because nobody wants to go there until other people are there. Hmmph. I was recently coerced into coming back to Facebook...but just on a limited basis. Basically, I have time to make a quick post and glance to see if anyone has written anything interesting. But I refuse to jump hurdles to read posts, so basically, I'm becoming a "status updater" instead of a "commenter." I guess if my friends want me to read their updates, they'll have to post on Google+ where it is easy to read. It sucks, but I only have so much time to goof off and FB just makes it too hard to get to the good stuff.
Anyway...we're back to a new year and that means hopefully updating this old blog more than once every 12 months.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Diet Dessert Recipe
I found this recipe in a fantastic cookbook (the name of which will remain anonymous so that I don't catch the attention of their lawyers). It was too good not to share:
Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Here's the easy-peasy recipe:
For cupcakes:
2 Cups Moist-Style Lemon Cake Mix (half of an 18.25-ounce box)
1 Cup Diet Lemon-Lime Soda (we didn't have Diet Sprite, so we used Fresca and it was just fine)
3/4 Cup Fresh Blueberries (divided)
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
For Frosting (and it was amazingly light and yummy!)
1 Cup Cool Whip Free - thawed
1/2 Cup Skim Milk
2 Tablespoons Lemon Sugar Free/Fat Free Dry Pudding Mix
Optional
12 additional blueberries for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the frosting first: combine pudding mix and skim milk in a medium mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer set to medium speed, mix for 1 to 2 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes. Mix in the Cool Whip and refrigerate until the cupcakes are ready to be frosted.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, soda, egg, and baking powder. Stir until blended and lump-free.
Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute cake mixture among the 12 sections.
Place half of the blueberries on top of the cake mixture in the cups (about 3 to 4 berries each). Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven and evenly distribute remaining blueberries among cups, pressing down slightly to keep the berries from rolling. Return pan to the oven and bake for an additional 7 minutes, or until cupcake edges are slightly browned.
Let cupcakes cool completely, then evenly distribute frosting among the tops. Add a blueberry to the top of each cupcake, if you like. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 12 servings, each are 3 PointsPlus for Weight Watchers new program.
Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Here's the easy-peasy recipe:
For cupcakes:
2 Cups Moist-Style Lemon Cake Mix (half of an 18.25-ounce box)
1 Cup Diet Lemon-Lime Soda (we didn't have Diet Sprite, so we used Fresca and it was just fine)
3/4 Cup Fresh Blueberries (divided)
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
For Frosting (and it was amazingly light and yummy!)
1 Cup Cool Whip Free - thawed
1/2 Cup Skim Milk
2 Tablespoons Lemon Sugar Free/Fat Free Dry Pudding Mix
Optional
12 additional blueberries for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the frosting first: combine pudding mix and skim milk in a medium mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer set to medium speed, mix for 1 to 2 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes. Mix in the Cool Whip and refrigerate until the cupcakes are ready to be frosted.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, soda, egg, and baking powder. Stir until blended and lump-free.
Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute cake mixture among the 12 sections.
Place half of the blueberries on top of the cake mixture in the cups (about 3 to 4 berries each). Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven and evenly distribute remaining blueberries among cups, pressing down slightly to keep the berries from rolling. Return pan to the oven and bake for an additional 7 minutes, or until cupcake edges are slightly browned.
Let cupcakes cool completely, then evenly distribute frosting among the tops. Add a blueberry to the top of each cupcake, if you like. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 12 servings, each are 3 PointsPlus for Weight Watchers new program.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year, Old Resolutions
It seems like every year, January rolls around and I say "this is the year!" My resolutions always involve my weight.
Sure enough, I started Weight Watchers again (though I'm too cheap to pay for the meetings). At first, I was just going to list everything I eat on my phone just so I could be cognizant of my intake. But, there are just so many wickedly cool Android apps for counting Weight Watcher points that I decided to go whole hog (so to speak).
Speaking of hog...when you weigh as much as I do, it's almost a daunting task to actually consume 31 freakin' points in a day. Yeah, 31. And that doesn't count any "weekly flex points" or "activity bonus points." Here it is, 10 p.m. and I'm munching on Ritz crackers just to try to hit my point level, and I still have 10 points left to blow.
I also decided that I could only use my excuse of "too much work to do" for so long before I had to accept that I deserve a little bit of fun time. So, I laced up my sneakers and did 30 minutes of Wii Fit. It's a lot of fun, but I seriously doubt that it has much benefit in exercise. It takes almost an hour just to get in the 30 minutes of countable exercise, but it's fun, so I'm gonna do it. Pictures will NOT be forthcoming as seeing me swinging my hips to imaginary hula hoops is not a pleasant sight.
I did have a pleasant surprise, though. I looked back to see what my weight was on January 1, 2010. On that date, I was 233.5 pounds. A month ago, I was down to 218. Woo hoo! Admittedly, the Christmas snacking hit me hard and I'm up another 5 pounds again at 223.5. But just realizing that I lost 15 pounds this year without trying at all (I certainly never had the time to exercise and I didn't diet at all) was amazing. The only change I made was that six months ago I bought those Skechers Shape-Ups shoes. I didn't think they'd help me lose weight, I bought them because they are comfortable. But I'm convinced that those missing 15 pounds are from the shoes. Now...I just need to stay away from the damn Christmas cookies so I can continue the downward slope.
Sure enough, I started Weight Watchers again (though I'm too cheap to pay for the meetings). At first, I was just going to list everything I eat on my phone just so I could be cognizant of my intake. But, there are just so many wickedly cool Android apps for counting Weight Watcher points that I decided to go whole hog (so to speak).
Speaking of hog...when you weigh as much as I do, it's almost a daunting task to actually consume 31 freakin' points in a day. Yeah, 31. And that doesn't count any "weekly flex points" or "activity bonus points." Here it is, 10 p.m. and I'm munching on Ritz crackers just to try to hit my point level, and I still have 10 points left to blow.
I also decided that I could only use my excuse of "too much work to do" for so long before I had to accept that I deserve a little bit of fun time. So, I laced up my sneakers and did 30 minutes of Wii Fit. It's a lot of fun, but I seriously doubt that it has much benefit in exercise. It takes almost an hour just to get in the 30 minutes of countable exercise, but it's fun, so I'm gonna do it. Pictures will NOT be forthcoming as seeing me swinging my hips to imaginary hula hoops is not a pleasant sight.
I did have a pleasant surprise, though. I looked back to see what my weight was on January 1, 2010. On that date, I was 233.5 pounds. A month ago, I was down to 218. Woo hoo! Admittedly, the Christmas snacking hit me hard and I'm up another 5 pounds again at 223.5. But just realizing that I lost 15 pounds this year without trying at all (I certainly never had the time to exercise and I didn't diet at all) was amazing. The only change I made was that six months ago I bought those Skechers Shape-Ups shoes. I didn't think they'd help me lose weight, I bought them because they are comfortable. But I'm convinced that those missing 15 pounds are from the shoes. Now...I just need to stay away from the damn Christmas cookies so I can continue the downward slope.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Nookie Time
I bought my B&N Nook ereader in March. That has resulted in a couple of changes in my life:
But being the gadget guru, I'm always looking for the newest/best gadget out there.
After months of anticipation, Barnes and Noble finally announced the new version of their Nook ereader today.
Rumors were that it was going to be everything I wanted:
Today, they presented the new Nook Color. What was announced was everything in the rumors...except...it is an LCD screen instead of color e-ink.
Nobody who has ever read on an e-ink screen will ever read books on an LCD screen. First, you can't even see the screen if the sun is out. Second, LCD screens flicker hundreds of times a minute...you just don't notice it, but your eyes do. That's why computer work gives folks headaches.
Here's a microscope view of an LCD screen versus an e-ink screen:
Here's a magnified view of an iPad LCD screen
And here it is on an e-ink screen
Plus, you can't read a book out in the sun on an LCD screen. Go ahead, look at your camera or cell phone and try reading when the son is glaring on the screen. On e-ink displays...no problem.
So, the bad news is that Nook Color is LCD.
But the good news is that since it is LCD instead of e-ink, I save $250.
So, no new Nookie for me. I'd like to have color, but since I mostly read novels, black and white is just fine. I will miss having the landscape orientation, though. Sometimes, it's just nicer having the display wider than it is long.
- I no longer read magazines in the bathroom.
- I no longer buy books (Nook lets me download ebooks from the library).
- My TiVo queue has grown quite extensive as I prefer reading to watching TV.
- I don't mind standing in line at the grocery store at all...it just means I get to read a page or two in my book.
But being the gadget guru, I'm always looking for the newest/best gadget out there.
After months of anticipation, Barnes and Noble finally announced the new version of their Nook ereader today.
Rumors were that it was going to be everything I wanted:
- 7 inches (instead of the 6 of the original Nook)
- Full color e-ink screen (instead of original black & white e-ink)
- Portrait or landscape mode (instead of just portrait)
- Full screen touchscreen (instead of just the 1-inch strip at the bottom)
Today, they presented the new Nook Color. What was announced was everything in the rumors...except...it is an LCD screen instead of color e-ink.
Nobody who has ever read on an e-ink screen will ever read books on an LCD screen. First, you can't even see the screen if the sun is out. Second, LCD screens flicker hundreds of times a minute...you just don't notice it, but your eyes do. That's why computer work gives folks headaches.
Here's a microscope view of an LCD screen versus an e-ink screen:
Here's a magnified view of an iPad LCD screen
And here it is on an e-ink screen
Plus, you can't read a book out in the sun on an LCD screen. Go ahead, look at your camera or cell phone and try reading when the son is glaring on the screen. On e-ink displays...no problem.
So, the bad news is that Nook Color is LCD.
But the good news is that since it is LCD instead of e-ink, I save $250.
So, no new Nookie for me. I'd like to have color, but since I mostly read novels, black and white is just fine. I will miss having the landscape orientation, though. Sometimes, it's just nicer having the display wider than it is long.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Purple Power
Those folks on Facebook are always coming up with new ways to get a bunch of people to do something as a group.
We've had the "bra color for breast cancer" thing where you are only supposed to post what color your bra is (without any explanation other than posting the name of the color) and similarly the "purse placement" where you list the place in your house that you keep your purse (both of which I managed to be as sexual as possible by answering "nude" to the first one and "well, I don't like big ones, so I usually just go without" to the latter).
Today was "Wear Purple Against Homophobia." With all the lesbians I know, I'm surprised there weren't any "purple-people-eater" comments, but maybe I'm the only one with that sick of a mind.
All four of my family members wore purple, but what surprised me was how many of my friends - married, single, gay, straight, young, and old - did the purple thing, too. I have amazing friends!
We've had the "bra color for breast cancer" thing where you are only supposed to post what color your bra is (without any explanation other than posting the name of the color) and similarly the "purse placement" where you list the place in your house that you keep your purse (both of which I managed to be as sexual as possible by answering "nude" to the first one and "well, I don't like big ones, so I usually just go without" to the latter).
Today was "Wear Purple Against Homophobia." With all the lesbians I know, I'm surprised there weren't any "purple-people-eater" comments, but maybe I'm the only one with that sick of a mind.
All four of my family members wore purple, but what surprised me was how many of my friends - married, single, gay, straight, young, and old - did the purple thing, too. I have amazing friends!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Twilight Dreams
Two years ago, mom offered to make me a quilt. All I had to do was pick a pattern and chose some colors and she’d do the hard stuff. Am I lucky, or what?
What I didn’t realize was how hard it would be to find a pattern I liked. I’m not a “traditional quilt” kind of girl and the concept of “scrap quilting” drives my brain bonkers. I like things neat and organized and orderly (and for those of you who have seen my housekeeping abilities…hush!).
I scoured mountains of quilting magazines and books, and then I found the one I wanted. It had the rather boring name of “Strips and Strings” or something like that. But I fell in love with the picture. It’s basically just a quilt that starts off in ivory/pale lavender and radiates darker towards the edges.
So, Mom started gathering material in varying shades of purple.
This is the center of the quilt.
See all those strips?
They become the individual blocks of the quilt. I watched my mom make this thing from start to finish and I STILL can’t figure out how she could take a bunch of solid pieces of material and create this masterpiece. She’s a quilting genius, I tell ya!
A few more of the darker strips going on the quilt.
The top is done!
Since the only place big enough to pin together a queen-size quilt is the middle of our living room floor…down Mom goes to her hands and knees. It’s awfully nice that Harmony and Melody are there to help.
And of course, Harmony wants to help hand-sew the binding on the quilt, too. (Melody’s there, too, but you can’t see her because she’s our “tunneling” cat and she’s buried herself under the quilt by Mom’s feet.)
And here it is…Twilight Dreams.
Gorgeous doesn’t begin to describe it. It’s ALMOST worth cleaning my room and making my bed occasionally just so I can admire it.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Covering my Assets
Last week, I finally bought my Barnes and Noble Nook eReader. I was thrilled, but it didn't take long for me to realize that without a cover of some sort, it was just not practical to take anywhere.
I searched the Internet and found a few nice covers. Then I went to www.oberondesign.com and my search ended. They have custom-made journals and eReader covers in about 20 different designs. The first one I saw was called "Tree of Life" and I fell in love. I balked at the price, but I just couldn't get it out of my head. I showed Mom, fully realizing that she thought the Nook was a waste of money and she'd talk me out of spending even more moolah on a cover. Nope. She took one look and said "It's gorgeous! Happy birthday!" I ordered it that night.
Since they are custom made and they wouldn't receive the order until Monday, they said to expect the cover to ship between 14 to 21 days after ordering. So...I still had the Nook that couldn't really be carried anywhere because the screens would get damaged floating around in my purse. Mom to the rescue. She's a whiz with the sewing machine, so I asked if she could make some sort of sleeve for it. As usual, she took a rough idea and made something perfect. Not only did she let me pick the fabric, but she quilted it with a cushioning layer of batting and even took the tattered cover off of an old junk book to reinforce the front of the cover so nothing could poke the screen. She rocks.
The day after she made the cover, I got the email saying "it's been shipped!" Yeah...a mere 4 days after ordering, the item was already in transit. I received it today.
The front cover is gorgeous. They created a custom pewter button to hold the cover closed (and even sent a matching charm for free). The leather is incredibly thick and they even say there is no problem with folding it completely back - something I'd never do for fear of it cracking if they hadn't assured me it was okay.
This is one of their "wrap-around" designs which makes it just as gorgeous on the back as the front.
The Nook looks like it is barely being held in place, but Oberon has a video showing their "shake test" and trust me, it's secure.
I feel bad that Mom went to all of the work to make me a sleeve that I only used for one day. She's already been hired (for the price of "eternal love and back scratches") by Beth to make a netbook cover because Beth was so impressed.
I searched the Internet and found a few nice covers. Then I went to www.oberondesign.com and my search ended. They have custom-made journals and eReader covers in about 20 different designs. The first one I saw was called "Tree of Life" and I fell in love. I balked at the price, but I just couldn't get it out of my head. I showed Mom, fully realizing that she thought the Nook was a waste of money and she'd talk me out of spending even more moolah on a cover. Nope. She took one look and said "It's gorgeous! Happy birthday!" I ordered it that night.
Since they are custom made and they wouldn't receive the order until Monday, they said to expect the cover to ship between 14 to 21 days after ordering. So...I still had the Nook that couldn't really be carried anywhere because the screens would get damaged floating around in my purse. Mom to the rescue. She's a whiz with the sewing machine, so I asked if she could make some sort of sleeve for it. As usual, she took a rough idea and made something perfect. Not only did she let me pick the fabric, but she quilted it with a cushioning layer of batting and even took the tattered cover off of an old junk book to reinforce the front of the cover so nothing could poke the screen. She rocks.
The day after she made the cover, I got the email saying "it's been shipped!" Yeah...a mere 4 days after ordering, the item was already in transit. I received it today.
The front cover is gorgeous. They created a custom pewter button to hold the cover closed (and even sent a matching charm for free). The leather is incredibly thick and they even say there is no problem with folding it completely back - something I'd never do for fear of it cracking if they hadn't assured me it was okay.
This is one of their "wrap-around" designs which makes it just as gorgeous on the back as the front.
The Nook looks like it is barely being held in place, but Oberon has a video showing their "shake test" and trust me, it's secure.
I feel bad that Mom went to all of the work to make me a sleeve that I only used for one day. She's already been hired (for the price of "eternal love and back scratches") by Beth to make a netbook cover because Beth was so impressed.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Gonna Have Nookie in Bed Tonight!
Given my severe lack of anything resembling a sex life, there are only three things that give me pleasure these days (kids notwithstanding):
1. Books.
2. Technology.
3. Food.
So, of course, when the eBook readers came out, I started looking at them. They were ridiculously expensive, too large to slip in a pocket, and the books were overpriced (between $10 and $20 no matter how long the books were available as cheap paperbacks).
I decided to go ahead and just use my cell phone as an eBook reader. Cool. It covers #1 (Books) and #2 (Technology) perfectly. Sit there reading a story while munching on a bag of Fritos and I hit the trifecta!
I've been happy...except for the cost of the books, of course.
But then, I discovered that Ohio's public libraries offer free eBook loans. Woo hoo!! About 10% of their selection are available as .mobi books (which you can put on any smartphone). Yay!! But it didn't take me long to realize that most of the books I really wanted to read were in ePub format, which would require reading on my computer (not gonna happen) or purchasing either a Sony Reader or a Barnes and Noble Nook reader. After checking them out, the Sony Readers are really junkie. The Nook is awesome, but overpriced ($258).
So the devil on my shoulder sat there whispering in my ear. "You know, you read a book every two weeks or so. Since these books are free, that savings over buying $10 books every two weeks would pay for that Nook reader." I never gave the angel on my other shoulder time to talk sense into me.
I drove up to Akron yesterday and bought it. It's amazing!! It does the eBooks and periodicals, of course, but it also displays my pictures, plays music and best of all, plays audiobooks. It's still a little large for me, (about the height and weight of a paperback, but much thinner) but I'll get used to it.
Here's a shot of King's Under the Dome on my cell phone and as a hardcover. Since I've already read it, I pulled up a different story (James Patterson) on the Nook for comparison.
The Nook is perfectly viewable no matter how bright the sun is shining on it which is awesome and that's one of the problems I've had with my cell phone. It doesn't have a backlight which is a bummer, but I can always clip a light onto the Nook.
So tonight, I'm gonna enjoy some Nookie in bed!
I just found the most amazing leather cover for it online...more about that another day.
1. Books.
2. Technology.
3. Food.
So, of course, when the eBook readers came out, I started looking at them. They were ridiculously expensive, too large to slip in a pocket, and the books were overpriced (between $10 and $20 no matter how long the books were available as cheap paperbacks).
I decided to go ahead and just use my cell phone as an eBook reader. Cool. It covers #1 (Books) and #2 (Technology) perfectly. Sit there reading a story while munching on a bag of Fritos and I hit the trifecta!
I've been happy...except for the cost of the books, of course.
But then, I discovered that Ohio's public libraries offer free eBook loans. Woo hoo!! About 10% of their selection are available as .mobi books (which you can put on any smartphone). Yay!! But it didn't take me long to realize that most of the books I really wanted to read were in ePub format, which would require reading on my computer (not gonna happen) or purchasing either a Sony Reader or a Barnes and Noble Nook reader. After checking them out, the Sony Readers are really junkie. The Nook is awesome, but overpriced ($258).
So the devil on my shoulder sat there whispering in my ear. "You know, you read a book every two weeks or so. Since these books are free, that savings over buying $10 books every two weeks would pay for that Nook reader." I never gave the angel on my other shoulder time to talk sense into me.
I drove up to Akron yesterday and bought it. It's amazing!! It does the eBooks and periodicals, of course, but it also displays my pictures, plays music and best of all, plays audiobooks. It's still a little large for me, (about the height and weight of a paperback, but much thinner) but I'll get used to it.
Here's a shot of King's Under the Dome on my cell phone and as a hardcover. Since I've already read it, I pulled up a different story (James Patterson) on the Nook for comparison.
The Nook is perfectly viewable no matter how bright the sun is shining on it which is awesome and that's one of the problems I've had with my cell phone. It doesn't have a backlight which is a bummer, but I can always clip a light onto the Nook.
So tonight, I'm gonna enjoy some Nookie in bed!
I just found the most amazing leather cover for it online...more about that another day.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Grandpuppies are Priceless
Back in September, my dad called. I couldn't quite figure out what he was saying, because he was only able to utter a few words mixed in with gut-wrenching sobs. I finally understood what he was saying "Camshaft broke her leg and the vet says she has to be put down."
Cammie, an 8-year-old very overweight lab is my dad's life. This dog (his grandpuppy) is more important to him than anything. When the vet said they couldn't help her, he just couldn't accept that. They sedated her and the next morning we took her to a specialty animal hospital. They took better x-rays and determined that the break happened the length of her leg bone, rather than breaking it in half down the middle.
The vet agreed that with damage like this, it is definitely a case for putting her to sleep. But...with enough money, yes, they could fix her. Did I mention that Cammie is Dad's life?? They gave an estimate of $3,100 to place internal screws and rods and straps in addition to having two "external fixators" that would give extra support.
The problem was that the break was unusual (she was just standing up from a sitting position when it just snapped) in presentation and it usually happens from bone cancer, which is prevalent in her breed. They wouldn't know if she had osteosarcoma until they got the path reports back...two weeks after the surgery.
Dad readily whipped out his checkbook. She underwent surgery immediately and we went back in the next morning to pick her up.
It amazed me that she was able to walk (and was happy!) just hours after surgery. That Fentanyl patch they slapped on her was a miracle! The best news was that the surgeon saw no evidence of cancer. Woo hoo! The bad news was that the $3,100 estimate somehow went to $4,000. But oh well. When you see the picture of Cammie as she looks with adoring eyes at her Grandpa, it was worth it.
Two weeks later, she went in for a re-check. Bad news. The path report said that it was probable osteosarcoma. We were looking at a two- to three-month lifespan. It was just devastating. Dad said "then she'll have the best three months of her life."
We had to keep going back to the doctor every two weeks or so for x-rays. (Which were not included in the price quote. Hmmph.) She was able to hobble around fine, but she wasn't allowed to do any stairs. So how exactly are we supposed to carry a 120-pound dog? My dad always says "Where there's a Wood, there's a way." He attached a ramp to his house and made a portable ramp to get her in and out of his van (that has the license plate "CAMSHAF" because he bought the vehicle just for the dog!) and even transfer her from one van to the other.
So, she was very happy and obviously nobody ever told Cammie that she only had three months to live. Apparently they never told her she has cancer, either. Because it's been six months, she just had her final vet visit and he said "she's a miracle. There are no signs of tumors, she doesn't have cancer. Let's get this fixator taken off of her so she can be happy."
And she is.
Oh, and final tally - nearly $6,000. Worth every penny.
Cammie, an 8-year-old very overweight lab is my dad's life. This dog (his grandpuppy) is more important to him than anything. When the vet said they couldn't help her, he just couldn't accept that. They sedated her and the next morning we took her to a specialty animal hospital. They took better x-rays and determined that the break happened the length of her leg bone, rather than breaking it in half down the middle.
The vet agreed that with damage like this, it is definitely a case for putting her to sleep. But...with enough money, yes, they could fix her. Did I mention that Cammie is Dad's life?? They gave an estimate of $3,100 to place internal screws and rods and straps in addition to having two "external fixators" that would give extra support.
The problem was that the break was unusual (she was just standing up from a sitting position when it just snapped) in presentation and it usually happens from bone cancer, which is prevalent in her breed. They wouldn't know if she had osteosarcoma until they got the path reports back...two weeks after the surgery.
Dad readily whipped out his checkbook. She underwent surgery immediately and we went back in the next morning to pick her up.
It amazed me that she was able to walk (and was happy!) just hours after surgery. That Fentanyl patch they slapped on her was a miracle! The best news was that the surgeon saw no evidence of cancer. Woo hoo! The bad news was that the $3,100 estimate somehow went to $4,000. But oh well. When you see the picture of Cammie as she looks with adoring eyes at her Grandpa, it was worth it.
Two weeks later, she went in for a re-check. Bad news. The path report said that it was probable osteosarcoma. We were looking at a two- to three-month lifespan. It was just devastating. Dad said "then she'll have the best three months of her life."
We had to keep going back to the doctor every two weeks or so for x-rays. (Which were not included in the price quote. Hmmph.) She was able to hobble around fine, but she wasn't allowed to do any stairs. So how exactly are we supposed to carry a 120-pound dog? My dad always says "Where there's a Wood, there's a way." He attached a ramp to his house and made a portable ramp to get her in and out of his van (that has the license plate "CAMSHAF" because he bought the vehicle just for the dog!) and even transfer her from one van to the other.
So, she was very happy and obviously nobody ever told Cammie that she only had three months to live. Apparently they never told her she has cancer, either. Because it's been six months, she just had her final vet visit and he said "she's a miracle. There are no signs of tumors, she doesn't have cancer. Let's get this fixator taken off of her so she can be happy."
And she is.
Oh, and final tally - nearly $6,000. Worth every penny.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
She's Driving Me Crazy
Bugs scare me. Climbing more than 5 rungs on a ladder sends shivers down my spine. Getting a letter from the IRS could make me wet my pants.
But none of those is more terrifying than teaching my 16-year-old to drive. Wait...that's a bit of a misnomer. I'm not teaching her anything. I'm sitting beside her in a 4,000-pound lethal weapon white-knuckling my grip on the oh-shit handle while stomping on the imaginary brakes while screaming "look out! Too close!! AHHH!" while she calmly rolls her eyes and keeps muttering "you've gotta trust me sometime..."
When I say I'm terrified teaching Heather to drive, it's not an exaggeration. She's had her permit for a year and has only been driving probably 10 times in that timeframe, all because I'm too scared to take her.
I just saw that Honda has a driving simulator. You know...like they have for pilots, but this is intended for cars. Why haven't they been doing this for new drivers for years? Instead, they just let kids get behind the wheel and give their parents heart attacks.
I think insurance companies should pay the $66,000 and put one of these in every town. Let kids learn to drive before they actually start driving. And save me from needing a heart transplant.
Meanwhile, Heather just set up her appointment to finally have her first in-car driving lesson with the instructor at Frenzel's. I hope they take their heart medication.
But none of those is more terrifying than teaching my 16-year-old to drive. Wait...that's a bit of a misnomer. I'm not teaching her anything. I'm sitting beside her in a 4,000-pound lethal weapon white-knuckling my grip on the oh-shit handle while stomping on the imaginary brakes while screaming "look out! Too close!! AHHH!" while she calmly rolls her eyes and keeps muttering "you've gotta trust me sometime..."
When I say I'm terrified teaching Heather to drive, it's not an exaggeration. She's had her permit for a year and has only been driving probably 10 times in that timeframe, all because I'm too scared to take her.
I just saw that Honda has a driving simulator. You know...like they have for pilots, but this is intended for cars. Why haven't they been doing this for new drivers for years? Instead, they just let kids get behind the wheel and give their parents heart attacks.
I think insurance companies should pay the $66,000 and put one of these in every town. Let kids learn to drive before they actually start driving. And save me from needing a heart transplant.
Meanwhile, Heather just set up her appointment to finally have her first in-car driving lesson with the instructor at Frenzel's. I hope they take their heart medication.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Another year older, another year wiser...
So, yeah. It's been a whole year since I've blogged. Did ya miss me?
I miss blogging. Facebook is fun, but there's only so much info I can give in a quick little update. I miss telling the story of my life, rather than just posting a snippet.
So, I'm back. I hope you are, too.
I miss blogging. Facebook is fun, but there's only so much info I can give in a quick little update. I miss telling the story of my life, rather than just posting a snippet.
So, I'm back. I hope you are, too.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Stupid Cupid! Quit Ignoring Me!
It's Valentine's Day, blah, blah, blah.
Since the cute little diaper-wearing, arrow-shooting midget apparently can't see the bullseye I painted on my tush, it's yet another year where I spend my day at my desk rather than in the arms of some cutie.
My daughters have been a tad more fortunate in love.
Beth drove to Bolivar so she could (ahem) "watch the sunset" with Captain Hormone. Yeah, I know. When you go to the Bolivar Dam to "watch the sunset," the chances are that you'll miss the heavenly splendor of the sky because the car windows are gonna be too fogged up with teenage hormones to be able to see anything.
Later, he made reservations to eat at Georgio's Grille. Since their dates usually consist of him coming to our house and sitting on the couch watching movies every Saturday, this date was a pretty big thing and Beth was just ecstatic. Unfortunately, she didn't think to hand her camera to anyone so I could have a picture of the two lovebirds together.
I got a text message from her shortly after she finished eating and said she had the steak and salad and they shared crabcakes as an appetizer. In her words, it was "foodgasmic!"
To which I replied "Yay!! If you had a foodgasm, that meant that there was no need for a real orgasm. That makes Mom a very happy camper!" Still...I counted the condoms to see if any were missing. He IS an 18-year-old horndog, after all.
Heather also got to spend some time with her boyfriend. I drove her to Canton so she could meet up with him at Borders Bookstore.
Yes, that is a kilt. If you knew Paul, you'd never be shocked. It's just him.
They went to see the movie Coraline in 3D. It totally messed with Heather's head...which is her way of saying it totally rocked. Dinner was McDonald's, which was exactly what Heather wanted. She wore a formal dress. No, I'm not kidding. Yes, she knew she was going to fast food. THAT's why she wanted to wear a formal gown. Only normal people wear jeans and a t-shirt to Mickey-D's. She's far from normal.
The date finished with a few ankle-thrashing hours spent at an indoor ice skating rink.
Oh, and in case you are wondering the answer to the question that goes through everyone's minds when seeing a guy in a kilt...
Nice girls ask.
Naughty girls find out for themselves.
Since the cute little diaper-wearing, arrow-shooting midget apparently can't see the bullseye I painted on my tush, it's yet another year where I spend my day at my desk rather than in the arms of some cutie.
My daughters have been a tad more fortunate in love.
Beth drove to Bolivar so she could (ahem) "watch the sunset" with Captain Hormone. Yeah, I know. When you go to the Bolivar Dam to "watch the sunset," the chances are that you'll miss the heavenly splendor of the sky because the car windows are gonna be too fogged up with teenage hormones to be able to see anything.
Later, he made reservations to eat at Georgio's Grille. Since their dates usually consist of him coming to our house and sitting on the couch watching movies every Saturday, this date was a pretty big thing and Beth was just ecstatic. Unfortunately, she didn't think to hand her camera to anyone so I could have a picture of the two lovebirds together.
I got a text message from her shortly after she finished eating and said she had the steak and salad and they shared crabcakes as an appetizer. In her words, it was "foodgasmic!"
To which I replied "Yay!! If you had a foodgasm, that meant that there was no need for a real orgasm. That makes Mom a very happy camper!" Still...I counted the condoms to see if any were missing. He IS an 18-year-old horndog, after all.
Heather also got to spend some time with her boyfriend. I drove her to Canton so she could meet up with him at Borders Bookstore.
Yes, that is a kilt. If you knew Paul, you'd never be shocked. It's just him.
They went to see the movie Coraline in 3D. It totally messed with Heather's head...which is her way of saying it totally rocked. Dinner was McDonald's, which was exactly what Heather wanted. She wore a formal dress. No, I'm not kidding. Yes, she knew she was going to fast food. THAT's why she wanted to wear a formal gown. Only normal people wear jeans and a t-shirt to Mickey-D's. She's far from normal.
Oh, and in case you are wondering the answer to the question that goes through everyone's minds when seeing a guy in a kilt...
Nice girls ask.
Naughty girls find out for themselves.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Spending Spree...The grand finale
My last of the grand purchases arrived yesterday.
Say hello to my new best friend: Tivo.
Wait a minute...surely I've mentioned my love affair with Tivo before, right? Oh yeah. The little guy entered my life in 2003, several years before cable companies decided to rent out their inferior generic DVR models (from what I hear, the difference between Tivo and the cable company's generic DVR is like the difference between a Prime Rib and a Big Mac. Sure, they'll both feed you, but if you want to enjoy the process, go for the good stuff).
Well, a few months ago when I bought the spiffy new flat screen HD TV for the family room, I just knew I was gonna spring for the newest TiVo model to go along with it, because the other four (yeah, four!) TiVo boxes I have don't do High Def TV.
My brand-spankin new Tivo HD XL arrived yesterday in all of it's Bloop-bloop-bloop glory. The fact that it records in HD is just one of the big features.
Heather is in Heaven because now she can watch YouTube videos from the couch.
What was first on the Tivo Queue? "Candy Mountain."
If you're not a teenager, you just won't understand. Unicorns, dinosaurs, and kidney-stealing Sesame Street letters with legs. I recommend you empty a couple of glasses of alcohol before watching.
Plus, you can download your Netflix Queue movies directly to the Tivo and play them on the TV. Yeah baby!! Start popping the corn, I know where I'm gonna be this weekend! Wii Fit be damned, I wanna turn into a couch potato!
But the best thing about the new Tivo HD XL is the recording capactiy.
Here's a screen shot of the Tivo that's currently residing in my office:\
It says at "basic quality" you can record up to 79 hours of TV. You'd think that was a lot, but considering how many days (or even weeks) go by before I get a chance to watch TV, you'd be amazed at how fast that thing fills up, especially since we do "high quality" for most recordings.
But the new box has a slightly higher capacity.
Yeah, that says it will hold 1,367 hours (compared with 79). You know what that means...Scrubs Marathon!!
Oh crap. I've gotta work. The couch potato marathon will just have to wait for the weekend.
Say hello to my new best friend: Tivo.
Wait a minute...surely I've mentioned my love affair with Tivo before, right? Oh yeah. The little guy entered my life in 2003, several years before cable companies decided to rent out their inferior generic DVR models (from what I hear, the difference between Tivo and the cable company's generic DVR is like the difference between a Prime Rib and a Big Mac. Sure, they'll both feed you, but if you want to enjoy the process, go for the good stuff).
Well, a few months ago when I bought the spiffy new flat screen HD TV for the family room, I just knew I was gonna spring for the newest TiVo model to go along with it, because the other four (yeah, four!) TiVo boxes I have don't do High Def TV.
My brand-spankin new Tivo HD XL arrived yesterday in all of it's Bloop-bloop-bloop glory. The fact that it records in HD is just one of the big features.
Heather is in Heaven because now she can watch YouTube videos from the couch.
What was first on the Tivo Queue? "Candy Mountain."
If you're not a teenager, you just won't understand. Unicorns, dinosaurs, and kidney-stealing Sesame Street letters with legs. I recommend you empty a couple of glasses of alcohol before watching.
Plus, you can download your Netflix Queue movies directly to the Tivo and play them on the TV. Yeah baby!! Start popping the corn, I know where I'm gonna be this weekend! Wii Fit be damned, I wanna turn into a couch potato!
But the best thing about the new Tivo HD XL is the recording capactiy.
Here's a screen shot of the Tivo that's currently residing in my office:\
It says at "basic quality" you can record up to 79 hours of TV. You'd think that was a lot, but considering how many days (or even weeks) go by before I get a chance to watch TV, you'd be amazed at how fast that thing fills up, especially since we do "high quality" for most recordings.
But the new box has a slightly higher capacity.
Yeah, that says it will hold 1,367 hours (compared with 79). You know what that means...Scrubs Marathon!!
Oh crap. I've gotta work. The couch potato marathon will just have to wait for the weekend.
Spending Spree...Condensed Version
Yeah, yeah. I know. I've skipped all of the entries of my big spending spree. Here's the quick and dirty lowdown:
Part One: Bought Stephen King's Six Stories limited edition book on eBay. I wept with joy. But not until I put the book away, 'cause you just don't wanna get tears on a $1,000 book.
Part Two: New fancy schmantzy coffee table that lifts up and is ever so cool. I've used Pledge on it five times already. Considering my significant lack of domestic abilities (not to mention inclination), that's about a year's worth of dusting this week.
Part Three: New bed. Since my old headboard was a "Queen/Full" size but my mattress was a "Full," that meant my nightstand would stick out about six inches from the edge of my bed. Trust me when I tell you that I'm not the kind of girl looking for an extra six inches in my bed. 'Nuff said.
Part Four: Back to eBay for more books. I only need three more of Stephen King's books for my collection to be completely first editions. Naturally, they're the expensive ones. I find a guy who has 'Salem's Lot. He accepted my offer. Woo Hoo!! Unfortunately, the other two books that I'm missing are Night Shift (which runs about $800 for a first edition) and Carrie (King's first book, which is also in the $700 to $900 range). Way out of my league. I'll just have to be happy with my collection missing those two.
Part Five: ...Until I check the other auctions that the guy has. There it is, "Night Shift." He wanted $488 (which is a heck of a steal) and I offer $350. He takes it. Woo hoo!!!!
Part Six: And while I had been bidding on a beat-up copy of Carrie, someone came in and outbid me with only five minutes left. Well, I couldn't let THAT happen, so I upped my bid and emptied my wallet and now, I officially have a "Complete" collection of Stephen King first editions. Of course, I won't actually read these books. That's what paperbacks are for. Oh hush! You just have to humor me. I'm so happy!
Part Seven: Stay tuned...(pun definitely intended!)
Part One: Bought Stephen King's Six Stories limited edition book on eBay. I wept with joy. But not until I put the book away, 'cause you just don't wanna get tears on a $1,000 book.
Part Two: New fancy schmantzy coffee table that lifts up and is ever so cool. I've used Pledge on it five times already. Considering my significant lack of domestic abilities (not to mention inclination), that's about a year's worth of dusting this week.
Part Three: New bed. Since my old headboard was a "Queen/Full" size but my mattress was a "Full," that meant my nightstand would stick out about six inches from the edge of my bed. Trust me when I tell you that I'm not the kind of girl looking for an extra six inches in my bed. 'Nuff said.
Part Four: Back to eBay for more books. I only need three more of Stephen King's books for my collection to be completely first editions. Naturally, they're the expensive ones. I find a guy who has 'Salem's Lot. He accepted my offer. Woo Hoo!! Unfortunately, the other two books that I'm missing are Night Shift (which runs about $800 for a first edition) and Carrie (King's first book, which is also in the $700 to $900 range). Way out of my league. I'll just have to be happy with my collection missing those two.
Part Five: ...Until I check the other auctions that the guy has. There it is, "Night Shift." He wanted $488 (which is a heck of a steal) and I offer $350. He takes it. Woo hoo!!!!
Part Six: And while I had been bidding on a beat-up copy of Carrie, someone came in and outbid me with only five minutes left. Well, I couldn't let THAT happen, so I upped my bid and emptied my wallet and now, I officially have a "Complete" collection of Stephen King first editions. Of course, I won't actually read these books. That's what paperbacks are for. Oh hush! You just have to humor me. I'm so happy!
Part Seven: Stay tuned...(pun definitely intended!)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Spending Spree...Part Two
Another day, another dollar (or more).
Today's big acquisition was some furniture I picked up from a store in Canton. After redoing the living room, we decided the coffee table belonged in there, which meant it was time to buy a new one.
I knew exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, "exactly what I wanted" just wasn't to be found around here. When I'd locate something I liked, they'd tell me it would take 6 to 8 weeks until it would arrive. Ummm, no. I'm part of the "I Want It NOW" generation, so that wasn't gonna happen.
Last weekend, I took Beth and her friend, Jordanne, to Canton so they could hit Jordanne's favorite store (a health-food store called The Raisin Rack) and Beth could hit her favorite store (Border's Books, of course). Meanwhile, Mom and I trekked our butts all over town. We went to cheapie stores like Big Lots Furniture, Value City Furniture, and nice places like Arhaus. Finally, we were down to the last place we could think of. It's an east coast furniture chain called Levin's Furniture. I'd seen their ads on TV and just presumed that they only sold junkie stuff.
We walked in and were blown away. The selection was amazing and everything seemed like decent quality. Their prices were cheaper than most of the "cheap" stores, too!
Within a minute of walking through the door, we had a salesman offering to help. That's always a good sign. I told him what I wanted and he smiled and said, "of course!"
There it was. The exact table I'd been searching for was sitting in the showroom. AND it was $100 less than the others I'd seen. Best of all, he would have it within a week.
Today was the arrival day, so Mom and I headed back to Canton. That, of course, meant we'd have to start out with lunch. Today we did the Quaker Steak And Lube restaurant. Everything was themed from a mechanic's point of view. Pretty cool.
Then, to Levin's. While their store is absolutely awesome, their loading deck is not. We've had snow and ice and as I'm walking down to ring the service bell, one leg goes forward and one leg goes back and splat! My fat ass is cracking the cement (or at least it felt like it). My knee is still throbbing. With all the money people pay for their furniture, you'd think they could find $20 to put down some salt, wouldn't you?
Fortunately, we had borrowed Dad's truck to bring the stuff home (did I mention that the coffee table isn't the only thing I bought? Oh, yeah, that'll be discussed in tomorrow's post) because the back of the truck was filled to the point where we had to tie stuff down so it wouldn't slide out. And the stupid salesman assured me that I'd have no trouble fitting it in my minivan. Idiot!
Heather helped me put the coffee table together. She was a tad irritated that I insisted on explaining the difference between a locking washer and a flat washer, but hey, she needs to know these things, so she was forced to listen.
The table is gorgeous. It matches the cherry wainscoting (which you can't see in this picture because of the couch) and cherry woodwork. See the little drawer down at the bottom? Perfect for our abundance of remote controls.
But the best part, and the thing that I REALLY wanted in the coffee table was the ability to use it as a laptop desk. The top lifts up and comes toward you as you sit on the couch.
How cool is that?
Oh, apparently Melody and Harmony like it, too.
Today's big acquisition was some furniture I picked up from a store in Canton. After redoing the living room, we decided the coffee table belonged in there, which meant it was time to buy a new one.
I knew exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, "exactly what I wanted" just wasn't to be found around here. When I'd locate something I liked, they'd tell me it would take 6 to 8 weeks until it would arrive. Ummm, no. I'm part of the "I Want It NOW" generation, so that wasn't gonna happen.
Last weekend, I took Beth and her friend, Jordanne, to Canton so they could hit Jordanne's favorite store (a health-food store called The Raisin Rack) and Beth could hit her favorite store (Border's Books, of course). Meanwhile, Mom and I trekked our butts all over town. We went to cheapie stores like Big Lots Furniture, Value City Furniture, and nice places like Arhaus. Finally, we were down to the last place we could think of. It's an east coast furniture chain called Levin's Furniture. I'd seen their ads on TV and just presumed that they only sold junkie stuff.
We walked in and were blown away. The selection was amazing and everything seemed like decent quality. Their prices were cheaper than most of the "cheap" stores, too!
Within a minute of walking through the door, we had a salesman offering to help. That's always a good sign. I told him what I wanted and he smiled and said, "of course!"
There it was. The exact table I'd been searching for was sitting in the showroom. AND it was $100 less than the others I'd seen. Best of all, he would have it within a week.
Today was the arrival day, so Mom and I headed back to Canton. That, of course, meant we'd have to start out with lunch. Today we did the Quaker Steak And Lube restaurant. Everything was themed from a mechanic's point of view. Pretty cool.
Then, to Levin's. While their store is absolutely awesome, their loading deck is not. We've had snow and ice and as I'm walking down to ring the service bell, one leg goes forward and one leg goes back and splat! My fat ass is cracking the cement (or at least it felt like it). My knee is still throbbing. With all the money people pay for their furniture, you'd think they could find $20 to put down some salt, wouldn't you?
Fortunately, we had borrowed Dad's truck to bring the stuff home (did I mention that the coffee table isn't the only thing I bought? Oh, yeah, that'll be discussed in tomorrow's post) because the back of the truck was filled to the point where we had to tie stuff down so it wouldn't slide out. And the stupid salesman assured me that I'd have no trouble fitting it in my minivan. Idiot!
Heather helped me put the coffee table together. She was a tad irritated that I insisted on explaining the difference between a locking washer and a flat washer, but hey, she needs to know these things, so she was forced to listen.
The table is gorgeous. It matches the cherry wainscoting (which you can't see in this picture because of the couch) and cherry woodwork. See the little drawer down at the bottom? Perfect for our abundance of remote controls.
How cool is that?
Oh, apparently Melody and Harmony like it, too.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Finally Back Home
So Many Blogalicious Moments...So Little Time
I'm behind on my blogging, thanks to work.
I'm not, however, behind on my eBay scavenging. I've been a busy little bidder.
It all started with the previously-mentioned redecorating of the living room. Since Heather volunteered to put back all of my Stephen King books into the bookcase, I printed out the chronological list of King titles. Yeah, I'm anal when it comes to my books. Paperbacks go in alphabetical order based on author's last name, then by title. King hardcover books (which takes up way more than one double bookcase) go in chronological order. Which isn't as easy as it sounds, thanks to the rather prolific spewing from Stevie-baby's typewriter. Some years he published two or even three books, so you can't just go by the copyright page.
I printed the list of all of his books and Heather diligently placed them in the proper order. After placing the Green Mile on the shelf, she saw that "Six Stories" was next on the list. Beside that title, I had drawn a little frown face because this was a signed, limited edition book I bought back in 1999 for $135 (original price was $85 the previous year), but after money got really tight, I chose to sell it in order to pay some bills. I made a nice profit because it ended up being sold to some guy in Italy for $600. But still...every time I looked at that bookcase, I knew it was missing something.
After Heather finished putting the books back in their proper home, she came to me and said that she wanted me to take all of the rest of her Christmas money (about $35, I think) and use it to bid on a copy of Six Stories that she had found on eBay.
I smiled at her and said it just wasn't possible to get it. First of all, the copy she found was $800, and secondly, that was just the bidding price, not the final price. It could go way up. She understood.
But, of course, that book just sat there digging at the foggy corner of my brain saying "c'mon, DiAnne! You've been working hard. You deserve this!"
The sensible side of my brain rightfully took one look at the auction online and said emphatically, "NO!!" I'm happy to say I did not buy that book.
I bought a different one instead. :)
Yeah, I kept checking auctions and all of a sudden one came up with a "Buy It Now" price of $550 with free shipping AND it had the special hard traycase that was a $200 special order after the book was published. Hell, that meant that the whole thing cost less than what I had sold it for a few years ago. Most of the time, the book with the traycase sells for about $1,000. I had to buy it, right? Hell yeah!
It arrived a few days ago. Every time I walk by my bookcase, I smile. It's complete, again.
I've taught my kids well. If you don't blow your money on cigarettes, booze, and gambling, you can buy $1,000 books at bargain prices. Woo hoo!!
Here's Beth peering ever so carefully at the signature page.
Her boyfriend, whom I not-so-affectionately call "Captain Hormone" took one look at the book and said, "Why'd you pay that much for a book you can't even read?" And Beth questions why I say that he's totally wrong for her. Hmmph!!
I'm behind on my blogging, thanks to work.
I'm not, however, behind on my eBay scavenging. I've been a busy little bidder.
It all started with the previously-mentioned redecorating of the living room. Since Heather volunteered to put back all of my Stephen King books into the bookcase, I printed out the chronological list of King titles. Yeah, I'm anal when it comes to my books. Paperbacks go in alphabetical order based on author's last name, then by title. King hardcover books (which takes up way more than one double bookcase) go in chronological order. Which isn't as easy as it sounds, thanks to the rather prolific spewing from Stevie-baby's typewriter. Some years he published two or even three books, so you can't just go by the copyright page.
I printed the list of all of his books and Heather diligently placed them in the proper order. After placing the Green Mile on the shelf, she saw that "Six Stories" was next on the list. Beside that title, I had drawn a little frown face because this was a signed, limited edition book I bought back in 1999 for $135 (original price was $85 the previous year), but after money got really tight, I chose to sell it in order to pay some bills. I made a nice profit because it ended up being sold to some guy in Italy for $600. But still...every time I looked at that bookcase, I knew it was missing something.
After Heather finished putting the books back in their proper home, she came to me and said that she wanted me to take all of the rest of her Christmas money (about $35, I think) and use it to bid on a copy of Six Stories that she had found on eBay.
I smiled at her and said it just wasn't possible to get it. First of all, the copy she found was $800, and secondly, that was just the bidding price, not the final price. It could go way up. She understood.
But, of course, that book just sat there digging at the foggy corner of my brain saying "c'mon, DiAnne! You've been working hard. You deserve this!"
The sensible side of my brain rightfully took one look at the auction online and said emphatically, "NO!!" I'm happy to say I did not buy that book.
I bought a different one instead. :)
Yeah, I kept checking auctions and all of a sudden one came up with a "Buy It Now" price of $550 with free shipping AND it had the special hard traycase that was a $200 special order after the book was published. Hell, that meant that the whole thing cost less than what I had sold it for a few years ago. Most of the time, the book with the traycase sells for about $1,000. I had to buy it, right? Hell yeah!
It arrived a few days ago. Every time I walk by my bookcase, I smile. It's complete, again.
I've taught my kids well. If you don't blow your money on cigarettes, booze, and gambling, you can buy $1,000 books at bargain prices. Woo hoo!!
Here's Beth peering ever so carefully at the signature page.
Her boyfriend, whom I not-so-affectionately call "Captain Hormone" took one look at the book and said, "Why'd you pay that much for a book you can't even read?" And Beth questions why I say that he's totally wrong for her. Hmmph!!
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