Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Movin' on Up
Packing schmacking!! Sure I should be doing all kinds of things right about now, but here I sit. Still in front of my computer.
Caroline intrigued me with this whole Wordpress thing. You see... I am on a quest to find a free blogging service that 1. allows me to update my template and 2. has categories. I thought I had found it in Wordpress. But alas... you cannot change the template in any way shape or form. You know that just won't do. Standard templates are boring. And I am certainly not boring.
So, with a little more searching I found what I think may turn into the holy grail of blogging. Wordsome. This little gem is powered by Wordpress, but it has all the features that a blog nerd like me lives for. I can customized my template, I can add categories and if you have the patience the dashboard is relatively easy to figure out. I will say that customizing the template is slightly tricky because they put the code into 4 different pages. Talk about confusing.
So my bloggy friends... I am going to pack up and temporarily move. You can now find me at my new home. Still Life of Elle, just a new host. I'll leave my blogger site up for now. Just in case that whole Wordsome thing doesn't work out. Besides... all the links in the posts link back here.
Sorry I keep moving things around on everyone. Just like to keep you on your toes.
Caroline intrigued me with this whole Wordpress thing. You see... I am on a quest to find a free blogging service that 1. allows me to update my template and 2. has categories. I thought I had found it in Wordpress. But alas... you cannot change the template in any way shape or form. You know that just won't do. Standard templates are boring. And I am certainly not boring.
So, with a little more searching I found what I think may turn into the holy grail of blogging. Wordsome. This little gem is powered by Wordpress, but it has all the features that a blog nerd like me lives for. I can customized my template, I can add categories and if you have the patience the dashboard is relatively easy to figure out. I will say that customizing the template is slightly tricky because they put the code into 4 different pages. Talk about confusing.
Pointing out character flaws one person at a time.
So my bloggy friends... I am going to pack up and temporarily move. You can now find me at my new home. Still Life of Elle, just a new host. I'll leave my blogger site up for now. Just in case that whole Wordsome thing doesn't work out. Besides... all the links in the posts link back here.
Sorry I keep moving things around on everyone. Just like to keep you on your toes.
Saturday, April 8, 2006
Spoiled little girl
Up until the age of 8 I was an only child. I was also a very spoiled child. Despite the fact that my parents did not have much money, I was granted nearly everything I asked for. Of course there were a few things I recall not being granted. They were often overly priced toys that we just couldn't afford. My family somehow always found a way to compromise with me. If you ever meet my Grandfather ask him to tell you the infamous "cowboy hat story."
Spoiled little girls tend to evolve into spoiled adult women. I am the prime example of that. I like brand name things, what can I say. I do carry a Coach handbag. I love shopping at Nordstrom. And I rarely drink anything other that Starbucks coffee.
Of course all that changes when you adopt. All of your money is magically vacuumed right out of your pockets. You are given a choice. Curb your spending or get creative. I have elected a happy medium between the two.
Discount brand names. This comes in the form of places like the outlet mall and Costco.
There is one other thing that I had "given up." I had not bought new contacts is about a year. I haven't had new glasses in about 4. Sure, we have insurance. Our eye insurance covers a yearly exam and contacts every year and glasses every 2 years. The problem is that they won't cover contacts and glasses in the same year. Contact lens prescriptions are only good for one year. So rather than get new glasses I always elect for the less expensive contacts.
However, my glasses have gotten so bad that I can't drive at night when it rains. I live in Washington. I rains a lot here. D said that we were going to have eye appointments and that I was getting new glasses. This was part of our Friday morning.
We head off to our local Costco for eye exams. Why Costco? They take our insurance. I am here to tell you that insurance is a fabulous thing! Not only were our eye exams only $40, but we found out that they cover frames up to $130!!! This meant I could pick any frame they had available and insurance would pay for it.
Costco may not carry designer clothing, but they DO carry designer glasses frames. Dolce & Gabana, Tommy Hillfiger, and none other than Burberry!!! That one little word to a woman who has been unable to purchase something so extravagant in a very long time was like the heavens opened up and angels sang. So yes... I selected a very cute and very trendy set of Burberry frames. I am just way too excited about all of this.
I am soooo spoiled.
Spoiled little girls tend to evolve into spoiled adult women. I am the prime example of that. I like brand name things, what can I say. I do carry a Coach handbag. I love shopping at Nordstrom. And I rarely drink anything other that Starbucks coffee.
Of course all that changes when you adopt. All of your money is magically vacuumed right out of your pockets. You are given a choice. Curb your spending or get creative. I have elected a happy medium between the two.
Discount brand names. This comes in the form of places like the outlet mall and Costco.
There is one other thing that I had "given up." I had not bought new contacts is about a year. I haven't had new glasses in about 4. Sure, we have insurance. Our eye insurance covers a yearly exam and contacts every year and glasses every 2 years. The problem is that they won't cover contacts and glasses in the same year. Contact lens prescriptions are only good for one year. So rather than get new glasses I always elect for the less expensive contacts.
However, my glasses have gotten so bad that I can't drive at night when it rains. I live in Washington. I rains a lot here. D said that we were going to have eye appointments and that I was getting new glasses. This was part of our Friday morning.
We head off to our local Costco for eye exams. Why Costco? They take our insurance. I am here to tell you that insurance is a fabulous thing! Not only were our eye exams only $40, but we found out that they cover frames up to $130!!! This meant I could pick any frame they had available and insurance would pay for it.
Costco may not carry designer clothing, but they DO carry designer glasses frames. Dolce & Gabana, Tommy Hillfiger, and none other than Burberry!!! That one little word to a woman who has been unable to purchase something so extravagant in a very long time was like the heavens opened up and angels sang. So yes... I selected a very cute and very trendy set of Burberry frames. I am just way too excited about all of this.
I am soooo spoiled.
Monday, April 3, 2006
Pre-emptive Retail Therapy
You ever have the inclination that something major is going to happen in your life so you need to just seize the moment? I am not exactly sure if that is what I was feeling this weekend, but it is good justification for shopping.
In my attempt to peel myself away from my fancy new office I agreed to go shopping with Kathou this weekend for orphanage donations. We headed on up to our local mega outlet mall for some discount deals. In all fairness, the last time we went shopping Kathou left with a very expensive handbag and me with nothing more than a pair of shoes. This time I was the "big spender." Ok it is an outlet mall, how much can you really spend?
It started with, "oh lets go into this store!" So we head off to the first store. Then we passed the Eddie Bauer outlet. Ok we didn't so much as pass it by as actually went in. Herein lies my downfall. They had the cutest kahkis for a whopping $19.99. None of that stretch material and they even roll up to flood pants. Very versatile when you don't know what the weather is going to be like. So I bought them.
I will say that I did buy some orphanage donations. 3 sweaters, 5 hats, 4 long sleeve t-shirts and 3 pairs of sweat pants all for $48! I am learning the bargain hunt from the discount queen!
Of course no trip to the outlet mall would be complete without a trip into Ann Taylor. Cute clothes at reasonable prices. What more can you ask for? I had no intention of buying anything in there. That is until I haphazardly looked through the wall of pants. They had the cutest turquoise short pants for $4.99! I have nothing to go with turquoise pants, but they were $4.99 people. I also found a great pair of brown cords for $9.99. They are a little more flare legged than I usually purchase. They really are the kind of pants that when you look at photos of yourself long in the future you will think back and say... what was I thinking? But they are cute now, and frankly that is all that matters.
So I did a little retail therapy. Little did I know that it was going to be a hectic few weeks coming. I may be stressed, but I will look darn good.
In my attempt to peel myself away from my fancy new office I agreed to go shopping with Kathou this weekend for orphanage donations. We headed on up to our local mega outlet mall for some discount deals. In all fairness, the last time we went shopping Kathou left with a very expensive handbag and me with nothing more than a pair of shoes. This time I was the "big spender." Ok it is an outlet mall, how much can you really spend?
It started with, "oh lets go into this store!" So we head off to the first store. Then we passed the Eddie Bauer outlet. Ok we didn't so much as pass it by as actually went in. Herein lies my downfall. They had the cutest kahkis for a whopping $19.99. None of that stretch material and they even roll up to flood pants. Very versatile when you don't know what the weather is going to be like. So I bought them.
I will say that I did buy some orphanage donations. 3 sweaters, 5 hats, 4 long sleeve t-shirts and 3 pairs of sweat pants all for $48! I am learning the bargain hunt from the discount queen!
Of course no trip to the outlet mall would be complete without a trip into Ann Taylor. Cute clothes at reasonable prices. What more can you ask for? I had no intention of buying anything in there. That is until I haphazardly looked through the wall of pants. They had the cutest turquoise short pants for $4.99! I have nothing to go with turquoise pants, but they were $4.99 people. I also found a great pair of brown cords for $9.99. They are a little more flare legged than I usually purchase. They really are the kind of pants that when you look at photos of yourself long in the future you will think back and say... what was I thinking? But they are cute now, and frankly that is all that matters.
So I did a little retail therapy. Little did I know that it was going to be a hectic few weeks coming. I may be stressed, but I will look darn good.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Internet browsers
For those of you still suffering with Internet Explorer let me open your world to a whole new kind of internet. You may have heard me mention Mozilla or Firefox. If not, you just weren't paying attention. This is a way for you to reclaim your internet.
If you have yet to download this little gem I highly suggest you do it right NOW!!! Fewer pop-ups, better security and killer add ons.
The other little bit Mozilla has to offer is that my blog designs show up the way I want them to. That and you can change the theme of your browser. Currently my screen is the iPox theme. The home button is a little iPod and it is just darn spiffy.
As for add ons. Well I have a tool bar called Rubnub for your Yubnub. Sound odd. Well it is. It is like a search bar. You type stuff into the tool bar and it takes you exactly where you want it to. So for instance. I have it set that if I type the word "blog" it takes me to the Blogger Dashboard. The other feature is if you type the word "Simpsons" it gives you a totally random Simpsons quote. Completely useless, but fun.
Of course there are other add-ons. Take for instance the one D found last night. It is called Security Level or something. It puts a little box in the lower right hand corner that tells you what the current national security threat level is. Again totally useless, but somehow D thought is was funny, so he installed it. I can tell you that the current national security threat level is yellow (or elevated for the dummies like me.)
I must not have enough to do if I am posting about the wonders of Mozilla. But seriously... download it. You'll thank me later.
If you have yet to download this little gem I highly suggest you do it right NOW!!! Fewer pop-ups, better security and killer add ons.
The other little bit Mozilla has to offer is that my blog designs show up the way I want them to. That and you can change the theme of your browser. Currently my screen is the iPox theme. The home button is a little iPod and it is just darn spiffy.
As for add ons. Well I have a tool bar called Rubnub for your Yubnub. Sound odd. Well it is. It is like a search bar. You type stuff into the tool bar and it takes you exactly where you want it to. So for instance. I have it set that if I type the word "blog" it takes me to the Blogger Dashboard. The other feature is if you type the word "Simpsons" it gives you a totally random Simpsons quote. Completely useless, but fun.
Of course there are other add-ons. Take for instance the one D found last night. It is called Security Level or something. It puts a little box in the lower right hand corner that tells you what the current national security threat level is. Again totally useless, but somehow D thought is was funny, so he installed it. I can tell you that the current national security threat level is yellow (or elevated for the dummies like me.)
I must not have enough to do if I am posting about the wonders of Mozilla. But seriously... download it. You'll thank me later.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Play Day
Today is my first "day off" in a very long time. The past few months I have been consumed with Godspell costumes, adoption paperwork, church work that I have fallen behind on and other various projects that I have created for myself. I can say that today I have none of those to do. My only need to do task for the day is to make our house look somewhat presentable. Considering it hasn't really been cleaned since St. Patrick's Day this may be a bigger task than I imagine.
I think I might even attempt do break in my new Laundry Mate 5000.
I have a whole day to sit around, play with my little craft projects, work on some blog/website designs and eat bon bons (oh that's right I don't snack.) I am sure I won't be lacking for anything to keep me occupied.
I can't tell you how great a feeling this actually is.
I think I might even attempt do break in my new Laundry Mate 5000.
I have a whole day to sit around, play with my little craft projects, work on some blog/website designs and eat bon bons (oh that's right I don't snack.) I am sure I won't be lacking for anything to keep me occupied.
I can't tell you how great a feeling this actually is.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
The Laundry Mate 5000
As discussed in the past I hate to do laundry. I almost would rather just go buy new clothes than have to wash the ones I already own. I have a bad habit of leaving clothes in the washer for days on end. And if I have to wash socks... well we all know what happens then.
The worst part is I let the laundry pile up until it is overflowing from the hamper. Of course the bottom 1/4 of the hamper is full of stuff that either needs to be taken to the dry cleaners or handwashed. So the hamper fills up quickly. When I can't stand it anymore I finally sort the laundry into my multitudes of baskets. What happens to the baskets? They stack up in various places around the house. Usually the wind up in Pickle's room.
Since the door to Pickle's room is shut I can't play my usual shove and stuff of dirty laundry. My MIL was even so kind as to bring the baskets that were in there out so I could was the towels and sheets. Pa-Sha I say. There are baskets in the laundry room (which is also the bathroom I use during the day) and in our bedroom.
The piles of laundry are even wearing on me. I had a fantastic idea on how to solve my laundry problem. I would buy a segmented laundry hamper. This way I can fit more into it, I don't have to sort the laundry and I could just roll it down to the laundry room when I ran out of underpants.
Therefore I now own what I affectionately call the Laundry Mate 5000. It is a 3 compartment rolling hamper. It is the neatest thing ever!!! D told me that I now actually have to do the laundry. We'll see.
The worst part is I let the laundry pile up until it is overflowing from the hamper. Of course the bottom 1/4 of the hamper is full of stuff that either needs to be taken to the dry cleaners or handwashed. So the hamper fills up quickly. When I can't stand it anymore I finally sort the laundry into my multitudes of baskets. What happens to the baskets? They stack up in various places around the house. Usually the wind up in Pickle's room.
Since the door to Pickle's room is shut I can't play my usual shove and stuff of dirty laundry. My MIL was even so kind as to bring the baskets that were in there out so I could was the towels and sheets. Pa-Sha I say. There are baskets in the laundry room (which is also the bathroom I use during the day) and in our bedroom.
The piles of laundry are even wearing on me. I had a fantastic idea on how to solve my laundry problem. I would buy a segmented laundry hamper. This way I can fit more into it, I don't have to sort the laundry and I could just roll it down to the laundry room when I ran out of underpants.
Therefore I now own what I affectionately call the Laundry Mate 5000. It is a 3 compartment rolling hamper. It is the neatest thing ever!!! D told me that I now actually have to do the laundry. We'll see.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
My kids
Yeah, yeah, I know the comments aren't working. Sorry about that. I guess it is what I get for trying to modify a blogger template. I'll get them working again soon.
I thank all of you for your words of encouragement. I needed that.
You would be surprised at what actually lifted my mood. My kids. No, I don't have kids of my own. D and I volunteer with our JR and SR high youth at church. And of course you have heard me ramble on about this production of Godspell they are doing. Well the show opened last night. Of course we had to be there for opening night. I saw the show Tuesday at the dress rehearsal, but I wasn't really paying attention.
Let me just say that these kids are AMAZING!!! They range from 6th to 12th grade. They put on a full production of Godspell. Of course Godspell isn't my most favorite musical, but this production was outstanding.
By the end of the show I walked out with a huge smile on my face. This was a huge about face from the Elle that snapped at one of the kids for complaining to me about his bio in the program. Hey man, logical consequences for not turning in your bio sheet on time.
It truly is astounding what young people can do. Thanks kids. I needed the boost.
I thank all of you for your words of encouragement. I needed that.
You would be surprised at what actually lifted my mood. My kids. No, I don't have kids of my own. D and I volunteer with our JR and SR high youth at church. And of course you have heard me ramble on about this production of Godspell they are doing. Well the show opened last night. Of course we had to be there for opening night. I saw the show Tuesday at the dress rehearsal, but I wasn't really paying attention.
Let me just say that these kids are AMAZING!!! They range from 6th to 12th grade. They put on a full production of Godspell. Of course Godspell isn't my most favorite musical, but this production was outstanding.
By the end of the show I walked out with a huge smile on my face. This was a huge about face from the Elle that snapped at one of the kids for complaining to me about his bio in the program. Hey man, logical consequences for not turning in your bio sheet on time.
It truly is astounding what young people can do. Thanks kids. I needed the boost.
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