So, I haven't posted in months and I'm sure no-one actually reads it but. Here. ;)
I'm running a test to see who's reading my posts. So, if you read this, leave me a one-word comment about your day that starts with the third letter of your LJ USERNAME. Only one word please. Then repost so I can leave a word for you. Don't just post a word and not copy - that's not as much fun!
This year has certainly changed things for a lot of my good friends. I miss being able to chat with you all regularly online. Hope we can still keep up, tho!
Today, DH is in Moscow. Apparently the number of English speakers there is pretty small and he's having an amusingly difficult time being touristy. Let's all wish him luck, because we'd rather like to have him home on time! ;)
I've tried to get myself off of caffeine many times in the past 20 years. I know you all have heard me or heard of me swearing off soda for a time, or caffeine, or being happy I'm off of them. But when it comes right down to it I'm a die-hard soda addict and even if I manage to quit for a little while, I'm inevitably drawn back into using.
It's not like I'm addicted to something serious, but it's just as persistent even without the rigors of physical withdrawal. For instance...
Today, 3 o'clock rolled around. My current resistance to drinking soda/caffeine requires that I don't touch it after noon. That way I can be assured I'll at least get to sleep at a reasonable hour. After noon, it becomes more and more dangerous to my night's sleep. But 3 P.M. rolled around and I was down. I was depressed and exhausted. Or perhaps depressed because I was exhausted (or even the other way around) and since I'm the only one home with two others depending on me, I wandered to the fridge and cracked open an "emergency beverage".
Here we are at 5 P.M. and not only did I manage to keep everyone happy, but I cleaned a good portion of the house, cooked as well and I'm happy. I'm not wanting to curl up in a dark corner and scream at anything that comes near enough to bother me to "go away". I can't afford to do that, and now I don't have to spend all day being surly as I resist the urge. Everyone is happier. I have been a productive, responsible adult.
That's all good until it's time to bed down tonight and I have to decide if I should take a Benedryl in order to get a full night's sleep, or to toss and turn for several hours and be in the same state tomorrow, only much earlier in the day. And, of course, tomorrow I'll needing even more caffeine to keep going.
No, I didn't realize it was Pi Day. I didn't even think of it until I noticed some people mentioning it online.
Yes. I did make pie. Apple pie. I've been promising my daughter for weeks and today was the first time we had enough time to actually make some, and I had the crust thawed (because the last few attempts at crust from scratch have been a disaster and screw it, Pillsbury does a decent crust).
DD: It's Isaiah's birthday Monday! Me: Oh, would you like to get him a card? DD: A present! We need to get him a present. Me: What should we get him? Should it be a.. DD: A BATMAN! Boys like Batmans, so Isaiah should like a Batman. Me: ... Oookay. Can't argue that logic!
I know I don't post much here anymore, but I just had to mention this..
My camera stopped working on me the other day. It was rather annoying. What's funny is that I often run the battery down to nothing because I forget to turn it off, so I had been searching the web for some way to set an auto-off timer (if the camera even has one. I was hoping it did!). I ran into an article that mentioned a problem with a certain run of this model of cameras that suddenly they would stop turning on. I thought nothing of it.
The next day.. my camera wouldn't turn on. Of course, I thought it was the battery. So I charged it. And guess what? It still wouldn't turn on. So I made my way back to the web page talking about that little problem and... my model number fell into the run of cameras with this problem.
The upside is that I KNEW the problem existed. I knew where to find the page to check on the serial number, and now I had free 2-day shipping to get it fixed.
The EVEN BETTER part is I sent in my camera last Tuesday. AND I have it back, TODAY. Just in time for my daughter's "Preschool Performance" (she keeps telling me, quite emphatically, "It's a PER-FOR-MANCE!".. not a pageant or a play or a recital... a "performance").
So we'll get to record it. And Daddy will get to see it. Yay!
Kudos to Nikon. I mean.. you got dinged in my mind for leaving these cameras on the shelf with a known issue. But Kudos, at least, for a blazing fast turn-around. It kept this annoyance from being a real pain.
DH caught us a virus on his computer yesterday. I spent three hours reading up on it and following instructions to rip it out. Mostly successful but ultimately a fail as our internet connection is inconsistent (horribly slow and completely unable to connect to many sites) on that computer now.
I took it to the store that built it for us. They say $65 and 7-10 days. It's the week+ that's unacceptable. So I carefully scanned all files and moved a select few over to our other computer and scanned them again. I was pretty sure the virus is mostly gone. There's probably just remnants left in the registry screwing up the internet.
But I'm taking a sledgehammer to the problem. The drive is reformatting as I type. It is our "good" fortune that DH's computer is only used for playing games anymore. And doing our taxes. So.. the tax files were the ones I saved. Most of which I already had backed up in another location. Everything else is burning to digital dust. Then I will be spending the rest of the afternoon peeking up every 15 min to make sure things haven't hung up on a prompt while Windows re-installs and updates.
I know February gets a lot of people down, but I suppose I have a major pick-me-up half way through the month.
I like Valentine's day--not as a romantic day so much, but as an excuse to go out and love EVERYONE I know (in a platonic way). I love wearing red, handing out heart-shaped sugar cookies and generally being upbeat.
I enjoy my birthday, even as the numbers inch their way higher. It's an accomplishment proving every year I've lived... and hopefully every year I've learned to be a better person.
I also get to enjoy my daughter's birthday, and my nephew's birthday.
As a special surprise today, Kira announced to a neighbor that we were making cupcakes because it was my birthday. That neighbor, her husband and her five children showed up at my door tonight with a card, balloons, and sang "Happy Birthday"... IN HARMONY. I haven't blushed in quite a while, and I swear I'm getting red again just thinking about it. It was one of the sweetest gifts I've been given, and it was especially welcome since my husband has been out of town over a week, and won't get back until Saturday.
All in all, it's been a pretty nice February.
I am minded to repeat a great February quote: “When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn’t imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter.”
aggravated
happy