A New Computer

It is true. I got a new computer. A Gateway laptop. You may remember that I had a LOT of problems with the old HP computer, including a hard drive crash (thankfully under warranty). Most recently the problem was that I would plug in the computer to use it (since the battery would last all of five minutes if I was lucky) and it wouldn’t realize that it was in fact plugged in. I could turn the plug and sometimes it would work but as soon as I moved or one of the Littles tapped it just right, no power. I tried a new power cord to see if that was the issue but sadly it was not. The problem is with the inside part of the computer where it plugs in. Unfortunately that computer is no longer under warranty and at almost three years old it was not worth the cost of fixing it. So I went on a mission to find a new computer. Honestly I don’t know that I got the best deal out there but I am happy with my purchase and there is no reason to lament over what could have been. (For example many friends thought that I should get a MAC but sadly a MAC was not in the budget.)

My new Blue computer!

There are a lot of adjustments with the new computer. First off, the layout of the keyboard is different. The new computer has a numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard. This is not a big deal and probably won’t get much use but it makes the keyboard off center. Also not a big deal, just something that will take some getting used to. There is also a touch pad, instead of a mouse or trackball, which I did have on the last computer but this one is different. I seem to be hitting it with my hands while typing often and it messing things up but I’ll learn. It is also a multi-gesture touch pad. This means you can magnify the screen, scroll, among other things that I haven’t discovered yet I’m sure.

This computer also has Windows 7. Now I’m sure you have seen the commercials sharing how great the new Windows 7 is and I’m sure it is but I just don’t have it all figured out yet. Thanks to my friend Joe, I have actually been able to find out a few things and download items that would make things easier. Hopefully a bit more practice and I will have the new computer mastered.

The bad news…my old computer still will not turn on. On a good note, my pictures were all backed up on the external hard drive. On a bad note, all my favorites and blog feeds are now lost in the computer. I am slowing adding my blog feeds back in (I had over 200 blogs in my reader…..maybe time to not have so many I suppose!).

Want To Make List 4!

I know I probably don’t need to be writing another “Want to make list,” since I haven’t started any of the other items on the list. Since I am getting a new computer (I can hardly wait!), I thought I better put some more ideas down into my blog so that I don’t lose them or have to transfer over even more links. If you would like to see the other lists, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Onesie Dress

How cute is this dress? I really want to learn to make dresses for Little Monkette. This one seems pretty easy. The hardest part is probably settling in on a fabric that I really like. There are tons of options with fabrics and images. (The tutorial I’ve linked to has three!)

Bandana Shirt

Over at the Perkins’ Place has a great tutorial for making shirts and skirts from bandanas. These shirts and skirts are for adults too! (Usually you see bandana crafts for kids.) She found some very fun bandanas too. The skirts look really quick and easy and the shirts don’t take much more work. Imagine the possibilities!

Kid Bandana Dress

This is more like how you normally see bandana crafts. I think it is adorable. It seems pretty easy…the only concern I have is the shirring…I haven’t done it before so I’m not so sure about it. I’m almost wishing they made really big bandanas so I could make this dress for me!

Handprint Kitchen Towel

I think this idea would be great for remembering when the littles hands were so small. (Grandparents…don’t be too shocked if you end up with something like this one day. That is IF I ever get to it!)

Reversible Skirt

I saw this skirt and thought, I should make that. (I seem to think that a lot.) This one is made for a little girl but it could easily be adjusted for an adult too. Two skirts in one. What a great idea!

The Red Couch

Recently we decided to start looking for a new couch. There wasn’t really much wrong with our old couch except that Roland liked to sit up on the tops of the couch and watch out the window. We didn’t really like this practice because it also meant that we would go crazy seeing something (people, squirrels, birds, who knows what) and then we would end up with nose prints at the very top of our windows. We thought if we got a different style couch, we could at least keep him from sitting on the tops, and from reaching the top of the windows.

So far the new couch has mostly worked. He’s not sitting up on the tops of couch because there isn’t enough space for him to do that. He still likes to sit in the window and watch the world pass but he can’t get to the top of the window anymore Now it is mostly just the bottom half of the window. I can handle that.

We found the new to us couch on Craigslist. Amazingly, we were able to get the entire thing in the back of Big Monkey’s truck with some of the cushions/pillows inside. It was a scary adventure driving  We really like it so far. We are trying to train Roland to only lay on the ottoman. It’s working…when we are home to enforce the rule. I’m pretty sure when we are not home, he’s sleeping on other parts of the couch. The new couch is a sectional so if we get tired of this set up, we can just move the pieces around a bit and have something new.

The Red Couch!

You’ll have to excuse some of the mess in this photo. Right now we are using the rug we had before….it doesn’t really go with the red couch but it will work until we find a great deal on something we want. On the back wall you can see a corner piece, seat section and another corner piece. Next to that is the ottoman in front of the window and a table. The final seat section of the sectional is next to the table and comes up by the front door. In this photo, you cannot see all of it and there are pillows stacked up on it! We were just trying to get stuff settled. (You also see Big Monkey’s backpack sitting on the middle seat section.) We are happy with it and hope to get lots of life out of it. What do you think of our red couch?

I Got It! I Got It!

Woot! Random Crap Mail!

Shortly before we were going to walk out the door to go see The Pioneer Woman yesterday, this arrived at my house! I was SO excited to get it for a couple of reasons. 1. This is the first Random Crap I have ever managed to snag from woot! It is usually very hard to get one and the servers usually crash. 2. Even though you might get actual crap, some people have reported some pretty great things on the message boards.

With Random Crap, you are supposed to get a bag and three items of crap. Well, I ended up with three items total, two of which are bags and really the third could be considered a bag. While some people have emailed woot! and received replacement crap, I’m not sure if it is really worth the hassle. Overall I think it was fun and while I don’t really NEED any of these items. I can probably use or giveaway all of them. Joe let me know that woot! happy hour was going on the evening that I snagged the Random Crap, so he says that I must share with him some of my winnings. I must say that I would be willing to share with him if he wants.

woot! Crap

I got:
1-Pinnacle Studio Drawstring Backpack
1-American Tourister Camera Bag
1- Collapsible Picnic Basket

While I ponder about emailing woot about my missing item, I have to say that it was fun and entertaining. I would do it again if I had the chance and had money in my paypal account. I liked watching other people post what they got in their boxes and hope for something as great or better. Some people got some things that were worth way more than their $8 investment. (Digital picture frames, wine fridge, remote control webcam toy, gps units, deep fryer, etc.)

The Pioneer Woman! Book Tour

Today, Little Monkette and I went with Amy to meet The Pioneer Woman. She was on a short book signing tour for her cookbook. The Q&A session and book signing was scheduled to start at 6pm. We decided that if we were there around 4, we should be very close to the front of the line. Well, about 2:30 we found out that some people had been in line since 1:30. Oh my. This was going to be an interesting day. We still left about the time we had planned and got there just a bit before 4. We ended up being about 25-30 people back in line. Not too bad.

The wait in line wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We met some interesting people and had fun people watching. There were definitely some interesting characters there. We started to wonder if we were crazy and weird like all those people too. We decided we were definitely more on the normal side for sure!  There were plenty of people who brought her presents (as did we-some flip flops, since she didn’t own a pair and a coffee cozy from Two Florida Girls). One lady even brought a tiny puppy pug that she kept in a basket. It was so weird. We were so afraid she was going to try to leave the dog with her as a gift but thankfully she didn’t. Little Monkette did a great job the entire time we were there.

Once she arrived, The Pioneer Woman headed to the in-store Starbucks for a drink before coming upstairs to meet everyone. Her daughters came with her. They were too cute, so was The Pioneer Woman. Seriously. Very real, very humble, very sweet and very gracious. During the Q&A, Little Monkette decided that she was getting sleepy. She even tried to fall asleep on my legs. After taking a few questions, some very random things, she decided it was time to sign books. (Probably a good idea considering there were hundreds of people there-not sure on a final head count but they closed the upstairs and made people stay in a line downstairs that weaved in and out of the rows of books.) We were about 30 people deep and just trying to keep Little Monkette awake and happy. The other babies before us had all fallen asleep when they met her! Little Monkette had a special shirt on for The Pioneer Woman and we wanted to be sure she saw it. (Amy made it for her and brought it to me to sew. It wasn’t perfect but it was so cute!)

I heart PW

When it was our turn, we went up and said hello. We gave her our gift and let her know what it was. She said thank you and that she didn’t have any flip flops. We knew this and that is why we got them for her…if you are going to be a Florida girl, you must have flip flops! She signed the two cookbooks Amy had, one for her and one for Chad. The Pioneer Woman thought it was funny that a boy wanted her to sign a cookbook for him. It was all too funny.

Three Florida Girls meet The Pioneer Woman

I’m glad we went. It was fun and she is a very nice person. She didn’t try to sign your book and push you out. She took time with everybody (at least this was the case while we were there). She liked Little Monkette’s shirt and even took a picture of it! Maybe Monkette will be famous and be published on her blog! (I will be sure to let you know if that happens!!!)

Pepsi Refresh!

Pepsi Refresh is a program that is giving away grant money to the top ten voted on projects. Project Legacy is one program that is looking to get grant money. They have applied for the program but only the top ten ideas get grant money. This is where you come in. You can vote each day for the idea you like best. Just head over to Pepsi Refresh to vote. If you would like to help out Project Legacy, you can use this link to vote! Currently Project Legacy is ranked 150, so we have a long way to go to get the grant money. But, with your help, it is possible.

Project Legacy Information (from their Pepsi Refresh site):

This ongoing effort we call Project Legacy brings the business community & citizens together combining our efforts & resources to improve our whole community. We want to improve the lives of everyone in the area especially children. Our organization has begun fundraising to improve the state & safety of local schools, raised scholarships for youth to participate in sports & after-school activities. We hope to continue & expand our efforts to these & raise funds to give scholarship opportunities to youth in the community & help other groups including Kiwanis & Rotary clubs to improve the community in their own individual ways. Our goal is to combine the efforts of all causes in our community to improve our area as a whole rather than piecemeal. With the help of Legacy Week & local businesses we have been able to do 5% days & other fundraising to furthers our cause & allow local businesses to flourish in a struggling economy.

Project Legacy has applied for the $25,000 grant. Here is how they plan to spend the $25,000 should they get it:

$10,000 to improve safety measures and playground equipment for elementary school
$3,000 for scholarships for Lady Lake Little League Baseball Association
$3,000 for scholarships for the Lady Lake Soccer League Association
$9,000 to fulfill needs of the Lake County Education Fund

If you have a few seconds to spare today, head over and vote for Project Legacy!

I Won!

Washcloths

Yesterday I got these cute washcloths in the mail. I had won them from Honey Bee Buzz. I love both of the colors and can’t wait to use them. The one on the top, browns/neutrals also has little knobbies on it to help scrub dishes. Check out Honey Bee Buzz’s blog and while you are at it, head over to her Etsy shop too!

What Do You Want To Know?

I’ve done this before with limited response but I thought I’d try again. I need some blogging material. I do have a few things I can post but I have to get the pictures together and get to writing. So maybe you all have some other ideas too.

What do you want to know? Is there something I’ve written about that you would like more about? Anything?? Come on folks…I know you are just dying to know SOMETHING! Let me know and I’ll get to writing, hopefully!

Blog Material

Do you notice that you either have LOTS of blog material or none at all? I seem to have a few things in my head right now to write about but no real time to write them in. I decided that I would make a list here so that maybe it would help me remember what I wanted to write about and eventually, when I do have the time, I will sit down and write!

• Book review of The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
• Money lesson at Target with Little Monkey
• Roland’s Bone Hiding
• Crafts I want to make
• BabyWearing
• Diaper Comparison

I feel like there is more that I had floating around in my mind that I want to write about but if I remember it I will add it to the list. Hopefully I will find the time to write soon and actually have something worthwhile for you to read!

Beautiful Blogger Award

Cheryl, from Take a Second Glantz, recently gave me this award, The Beautiful Blogger Award.

Here are the rules for accepting this award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for the award.
2. Copy and paste the award on your blog (Done above).
3. Link to the person who nominated you for the award (Done above and below).
4. Share seven interesting things about yourself.
5. Nominate your own seven Beautiful Bloggers.

1. Thank you Cheryl! I appreciate your kind comments!
2. Done.
3. Done.
4. Seven things?!?!?! Oh man…I’m not sure how interesting I am.

1. I seem to be losing some hair. Well, of course after having Little Monkette, my hair has been falling out at a rather rapid rate. It doesn’t seem to really be noticeable in the overall amount of hair I have but I lose a TON everyday and every time I wash my hair. But that isn’t really what I was meaning to refer to. I appear to have somewhat of a receding hairline. I’m not liking this.
2. When I worked, I would unintentionally steal pens throughout the day. I usually had my hair in a ponytail and I would use a pen and then stick it in my ponytail. At the end of the day I would often find at least three pens in my ponytail!
3. I am “training” for a 5k. My first (and maybe only) 5k. I am running in Disney’s Royal Family 5k in March. My sister, Amy, will also be running it, along with quite a few of our friends. I am just hoping to finish! I am sure that once we are there and have many people all running, it will help give us the adrenaline to get through it. Hopefully I don’t pass out afterward!
4. I just finished reading a book, The Unlikely Disciple. The first book (beside kid books) that I have read completely in at least a year, if not two! It was good-maybe I’ll write  a review of it soon.
5. I like to eat sugary kid cereals. I’ll eat the regular stuff too but if it is something like Rice Krispies or regular Cheerios, I will add sugar to it. I wonder if this is because we weren’t allowed sugary cereals when we were growing up.
6. I have a VERY long list of crafts that I would love to try but most of the time they just remain on the list. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to be crafty all the time! (Just yesterday I added three more items to the list!)
7. Probably much to the dismay of some of my family, I have multiple piercings and a tattoo. I have my belly button pierced (which I was going to take out when I was pregnant with Little Monkette, but Big Monkey asked me to keep it, so I am.) as well as three holes in my right ear and four in my left. I very rarely wear any of my earrings anymore because it just seems too much of a hassle. The fourth hole in my left ear is closed up but I can put earrings in all the others if I want.

5. Seven Bloggers? I don’t know if I “know” seven bloggers! I’ll give it a shot though.

1. Amy -My sister and co-owner/creator of Two Florida Girls.
2. Joe -Glad you are back to blogging!
3. Katie -She takes GREAT photos and is now doing some artwork too.
4. Hmmm, well yes. I do READ a lot of blogs but I don’t actually know most of those people and if I did nominate them they would probably think I’m some crazy stalker!

Just a couple of days after Cheryl gave me this award, Amy also gave me another award.

Thanks, Amy.

The rules of this award:
1. Put the logo in your post or within your blog. (Done.)
2. Pass the award onto 12 fellow bloggers. (Not Likely, sorry!)
3. Link the nominees within your post. (Done.)
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blogs. (Done.)
5. Share the love and link to the person who gave you the award. (Done.)

Here’s the deal. Since I don’t have enough blogger friends…I am just using the same folks from above for this award. Feel free winners to write about either, both or none!