September 2008 Round Up

Blinkie by: Brandy's Blinkies

Monthly Round Up idea borrowed from Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Same as always. Flipped through a ton of catalogs, though, and even spied a few potential Christmas gifts.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
New TV Show Attempts: Fringe - pretty good, but not for me (X-Files fans should love it); The Mentalist - has potential, will stay in the rotation for a while; NCIS - not a new show, but new to my rotation this year. Returning TV Shows: Dancing With the Stars, Chuck, Heroes, CSI: Miami, House, Criminal Minds, CSI: NY. That's everything that has started so far. We had to drop Sarah Connor Chronicles because it conflicted with both DWTS and Chuck. We keep meaning to get caught up online (they stream full episodes), but we haven't yet. The rest of our regular television rotation (CSI and Numbers, plus we'll try Clone Wars) doesn't start until October.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
We visited my my brother's new house and his new office as professor.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
None, because they're all still sitting in my house instead of having been mailed.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
Luke ran a fever for 3 days near the beginning of the month. No other symptoms, besides fatigue and lack of appetite, and he got over it pretty quickly. A few allergy symptoms for him and me, but nothing we can't handle.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Redecorated Luke's room. That's about it. Took Luke to the Mall of Georgia for the first time, but I can't say that was much fun (he didn't behave very well).

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Turtle Pretzels (see original post for recipe), and Gumbeaux's, a Cajun place my boss really likes. Good Cajun food, at least the three bites I had before my mouth caught on fire! LOL

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
All sorts of home improvement stuff; definitely unusual in this house! New kitchen knobs (that don't work), a new overhead kitchen light, a new dining area light. Also art to decorate Luke's room (I've had the bedding for months). Oh, and party decorations! And some new clothes for Luke and me. I'm sure the KFC thinks we've been rather "over-spendy" this month. And Christmas shopping will start soon. Oops!

What were this month's disappointments?
Luke has been *so* frustrating this month, much worse than usual. DH and I are both rapidly running out of patience. The gas shortage has also been really frustrating. And I managed to get some kind of virus on the desktop that I haven't managed to fix.

What were my accomplishments this month?
Getting the kitchen spiffed up with the above home improvement items, and decorating Luke's room with a new Star Wars theme. Bought my first Christmas gift. Oh, and our "log jam" of projects at work has broken loose. They were mostly done, but we couldn't turn them up for service until the software was approved in late August. It has been so great to watch as many as 5 projects turn up every week. Normally, we're lucky if we get 5 or so a month done, so 5 per week has been pretty impressive. We should be back to "normal" with 5-6 a month by January.

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?
Luke drew his first family picture, which was very sweet. They have been talking about imagination at school, and I really think it has helped him expand his. Oh, and he moved from a car seat to a booster seat (guess that should have gone under purchases as well). Had a little trouble the first time he used it with him wanting to "push the button" (read: unbuckle the seatbelt) while the car was in motion. He's been fine since that first day, though.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
My best friend's "baby" turned a year old! Happy birthday to Miss S! And we all survived more than a few hurricanes, Hanna and Ike in particular. Sure made us sweat there for a bit, though. And I joined Facebook, which kept me busy for a week or so, but I've really started slacking off. Probably because someone introduced me to the Bubble Shooter game (WARNING! Bubble Shooter is a *huge* time suck. Click at your own risk! LOL)

Currently feeling: bubblicious

Stupid computer virus

Well, the desktop has caught some kind of virus or something. I wasn't visiting any site that I haven't been to tons of times over the past few years, but I hear that this particular site gets hit once a year or so with someone sneaking in something new, and apparently, we now have it. It's only on the desktop, which is old and creaky anyway. I backed up everything last night. But it is also the only computer that we can get the original Lego Star Wars to run on (won't load on the Vista laptop, and the XP laptop is having trouble reading the controller correctly). I've spent hours (and hours and hours) trying to get it fixed, but it's still there. I have a few more things to try, but I'm ready to give up. Only got about 4 hours sleep last night waiting for some of the new scans to run. Just so tired and frustrated!
Currently feeling: aggravated

A Little Sheepish - A Webshots Follow-Up

Well, I have to admit, I'm feeling a little sheepish and slightly speechless (but only slightly; you know me!). First, I would like to say hi to Jessica, in case she comes back to read my blog again. And I will assume that it is okay for me to quote the comment she left, since she did indeed post it publicly. So, here is her comment on my Webshots post from Tuesday (and I would use the quotes thing, but it honks up the formatting for anything posted after it):

"My name is Jessica, and I am the Webshots editor who wrote that "been busy" email. I am sorry that reading it gave you a guilt trip as I was only hoping to remind you to upload your awesome photos, such as those of Luke, so you can share them with your friends and family. That said, I know we all have a hard time uploading because we are *so* busy, so maybe I will rework the email to speak to that. I also wanted to remind you that we are having a Grand Opening Special at the new Webshots store right now: 50 FREE 4x6 prints! Just enter coupon code NEWSTORE at checkout, where the discount will be applied, and all you pay is shipping. The offer is good until 9/30/2008, so perhaps you'll have some time this weekend in between changing lights (for me, it's hanging pictures!) to get some prints. Cheers!"

I wanted to be sure and quote her entire comment, so I am leaving the bit about the offer (which I just might avail myself of) that I might normally remove.

Jessica, I don't know if you'll actually see this, but I'm going to post it anyway. Thank you for leaving me a comment, and thank you for caring so much about your customers. Let me say that I love my Webshots accounts, all of them (I think I have 3; one in regular use, one with infrequent use, and one I don't remember touching in ages). The account in regular use is a pay account, the other two are free. I love the service and the ease of use, and I routinely recommend them to friends when people ask about online photo hosting sites. So no worries! I am a very happy customer.

I also think the reminder email that I referenced is just fine, so please Jessica, don't change it just on my account! I was, to a certain extent, joking about the email making me feel guilty. What actually happened is that I was (am) *already* feeling guilty about not having taken many pictures lately (I am a wannabe "wannabe photographer," if that makes any sense). I've had intentions to take Luke to the park for weeks now, both just to let him play and in the hopes of getting some good pictures, and somehow the weekends keep slipping away without any photos or trips to much of anywhere. Photography sites are always extolling the virtues of just picking up the camera and taking pictures of your everyday life, but unless something "noteworthy" happens, it doesn't occur to me to photograph it! (Which I guess makes me a very lousy wannabe photog, LOL!) I just don't have the "eye" to make good photos out of random everydayness. Yes, I know you have to do it to develop such an eye. I'll get to it one day....

Anyway, my point is that the email didn't make me feel guilty. I was already feeling guilty. What the email did was make me realize just *how* long it had been since I had uploaded pictures (I've taken a few, but not many, since my last upload session). So instead of just saying that, I used the email as a platform to express my guilt about being so busy that I haven't bothered taking any photos worth uploading lately.

Rereading my post, I can definitely see that it can sound much more serious than I intended for it to be! Jessica, I can only imagine what it was like to do a search on Webshots, something you clearly care about, and have *that* title pop up. I am so sorry if anyone thought that I was truly upset! Just another lesson in "be careful what you say and how you say it, especially online." It is so easily to misunderstand things without tone of voice and body language to rely on. I *know* that. I've been part of an online community for years; I know how easy it is for that to happen. I didn't think anything of it because most of the people who read my blog actually know me, and (I think/hope) most of them know I was being a little sarcastic and self-mocking. Nothing I said is really inaccurate. I was feeling guilty at the time, and the email did make me feel just a *smidge* guiltier, but it would not have bothered me if I wasn't already feeling guilty when I received it. Am I making any sense, or just babbling? (Never mind, don't answer that.) Anyway, so, to Jessica, everything is fine! Really, the email is fine. In fact, I have received that very same email more than once (bad mom, LOL! (I'm kidding, I'm kidding!)), and never had a second thought about it. My friend Christine commented that the emails do make her feel guilty sometimes, too, so I'm not completely out of my mind. But Jenny said it had never occurred to her to feel guilty when she received the email, and like her, it had never bothered me until Tuesday in particular. ::shrug:: Just some interesting points to ponder.

And can I just say that it is really awesome that Webshots does searches on the web to see what their customers are saying about them to try and improve service! Jessica, I don't know if that is officially part of your job or just something you do on your own, but it's really an incredibly astute business practice. People are a whole lot more likely to make comments about things (good and bad) on their blogs and such than they are to actually contact the company. It's just such a good idea! So, well done! I hope Webshots continues to rely on customer feedback, both formal and informal, to keep improving their already fabulous service.

So, definitely feeling a little sheepish that the author of the email felt I was upset by something she wrote, when I really wasn't. So sorry about that! But also feeling rather amazed that she would both leave me a comment and consider changing the wording just because of something *I* said.

Isn't the internet amazing!!
Currently feeling: *who* left me a comment?!

School Portraits - Fall 2008

Actually, I do have pictures! Just not pictures I took. And I just got them, so Webshots is going to have to live with being neglected for a little while longer. Here are Luke's school portraits for Fall 2008. I still can't believe he's going to be 4 in less than two weeks.



Currently feeling: where did my baby go?

Webshots makes me feel like a bad mom

So I check my email, and I see the following email from Webshots: "Somebody's been busy! We bet you've been busy: spending time with friends and family, jetting off to foreign locales, perhaps even trying out a new activity. Now it's time to upload to your Webshots account and share all the great photos and videos you've taken."

Well yes, actually, I *have* been busy, which is precisely why I *don't* have any photos to upload. It's all been boring stuff like replacing the kitchen light, replacing the dining room light (apparently shiny gold-toned fixtures are very out of style, so we now have a brushed chrome one that matches *nothing* in the house), and cleaning. Not much picture worthy there.

We did take Luke to the Mall of Georgia this weekend on the great long-sleeved shirt hunt. I got a few shots, but not many, and I haven't had a chance to upload them yet (see earlier post re: Facebook). Those were taken before the mall opened, and he was so ill-behaved from that point on that no additional photos were taken, primarily because we spent the rest of the trip separated. DH took Luke to walk around (and gee, go figure, they stopped in a Game Stop to see if they were demo-ing The Force Unleashed (not for Luke)) to try to both keep Luke busy and keep me from strangling him, with the occasional stop into whatever store I was in when paged via text message for a "drive by try-on session." (I love consistent sizing; he wears anywhere from an XS to a M, depending on the shirt.)

So yes, Webshots, we have been busy! And no, that hasn't yielded many photos. I understand you're feeling a little neglected, but stop with the guilt trip! I'm doing the best I can.

Currently feeling: out of focus

Virtual Gridlock

Well, I definitely think that was the worst traffic I have ever been in in my entire life. I don't know what happened really, but Atlanta's world-famous Spaghetti Junction was shut down this morning. Not the whole thing, I don't think. There was a truck overturned on I-285 North/West (something about chicken and a fire is all I know), just after the merge with the I-85 South ramp. So, 285 backed up past my house (that's 8 miles at least), and I-85 South backed up to 316 (not sure how far that is, but it's pretty far). It had been shut down since about 6 AM.

DH thankfully called me this morning to let me know. We don't take the interstate to school, so other than just being a little slow, it didn't occur to me that there would be a problem. I figured an hour to get there instead of the usual 30-40 minutes. Ha ha ha! Captain Herb, the helicopter traffic guy for WSB 750 AM, said to also avoid a bunch of back up roads. He named Chamblee-Tucker, the road Luke's daycare is on, and Henderson Mill, the road we use to get there. There is literally NO way to get to the school from our side of town without taking Chamblee-Tucker or Henderson Mill. His center is literally 1/4 mile from the bridge that crosses over the I-285/I-85 interchange, right in the heart of the chaos this morning. Traffic was moving pretty well, until I tried to get onto Henderson Mill. I wasn't even *on* Henderson Mill yet, and I wasn't moving at all. Okay, that's not true. I quite literally moved 3 car lengths in 8 minutes. I moved 2 car additional car lengths in the next 10 minutes. I "only" had half a tank of gas, which I knew would not be enough to get us to school at that rate!

It wasn't worth it. I turned around and came home (once I got to a good place to turn). So, Luke is home for the day, once again the day I have 3 conference calls. Guess one more day of rotting his brain with hours of television won't kill him. It's better than being stuck in the non-moving car with me for hours!

Currently feeling: going no where fast

The Shirt Pile Grows

Thanks to Charisse for suggesting Old Navy. I don't know why I never think of it! I guess because I don't shop there, it just doesn't occur to me to check there for Luke. (Same with Gap, Kelli, but just the thought of shopping there grates on my nerves for some reason. Maybe because it was so "in" back when.) Old Navy had a good selection of the type of thing I was looking for. The problem is that he is in between boys and toddler sizes there. Not all of the styles are available in XS (or they were all sold out, which I suppose is possible). I did find a couple of good ones, though. I should have some items coming in to Wal-Mart to be picked up this week (car seat boosters; free shipping if shipped to your local store for pick up), so I'll check there as well. Sometimes they have good stuff.

So I've done all the usual suspects: JCPenney, Sears, and Target. I also checked The Disney Store (out of his size for the two things I liked), The Children's Place, and Gymboree. Those last two made my head swim with some of the prices, but having hit so many places with only 8 shirts to show for my efforts, I might have to rethink my price point. (I am considering Land's End jeans to see if they will last longer in the knees, and trying not to faint at the thought of spending more on jeans for him than I do on jeans for me or DH.) The guy at The Children's Place said they would be doing a large "floor move" in the next week or so, so they should have more long sleeved selections soon. Even he admitted that it was pretty late in the season to have such little selection in long sleeves, and most of the others were so similar to what I already have that it wasn't worth it.

Anyway, the hunt continues! There's still time. We're at least a few weeks off from having to wear both jeans and long sleeves. We are at the stage where it is a big decision whether to have him wear shorts or jeans with his short sleeves, and does he need to wear a jacket? Lows around 60F/15C, but highs above 80F/27C, and he gets hot pretty easily. Decisions decisions!

Currently feeling: confused with the weather