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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Cause I feel like it

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name? Sarah
2. What is your favorite food? Chocolate
3. What high school did you go to? Holyoke High
4. What is your favorite color? blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jason Stathem
6. Favorite drink? Malibu Rum & Cranberry Juice
7. Dream vacation? Australia
8. Favorite dessert? Cannoli
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Interior Decorator
10. What do you love most in life? Family
11. One Word to describe you. Loyal
12. Your flickr name. floreksa




1. Sarah (the Backstage), 2. I ate 6, 3. Reflections of the Past, 4. Berlin blues, 5. JASON STATHAM, 6. peer pressure., 7. 'So what are you doing this Australia Day ?', 8. Leave the gun..., 9. loft bedroom, 10. The Calvo Family - Holidays, 11. A Dog's Best Friend, 12. Mosaic #15 - Playtime

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Vacation Pics


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Vacation Part One - The Drive

7 hour drive isn't bad. We can do that. Massachusetts to Washington, DC NO PROBLEM! We'll just borrow the DVD player, pack some toys and get up at the butt crack of dawn! Heck, she'll sleep for the first few hours. We'll gingerly move her from her bed to the car seat. This is going to be great!

Are we insane?

We started Saturday morning - May 24th at 4am. 4am hurts. I don't like 4am, but if we wanted any hope of making it to DC while it was still Sat, 4am it was. Thankfully we had loaded up the car the night before, so it was just a matter of getting dressed, chugging some Red Bull and getting Ally up and into her car seat where we figured she would quietly go right back to sleep (you can stop laughing now!). We were on the road by 5am. Here we go!

Enfield, CT (approx 20-25 minutes from home) we got our first "Are we there yet?". Oh boy, this might not be pretty. By NYC (3 hrs) Ally was screaming "I don't want to go to Hotels! I don't want to go to Hotels". I have to admit I was beginning to agree with her. A 7 hour drive with a 3 year (who WAS NOT sleeping as we thought she would) was suddenly a horrible, horrible idea.

We stopped for breakfast in NJ, loaded her up with pancakes and got back on the road. She promptly passed out(and I swore I heard angels sing, but maybe that was just DH).

It was pure bliss through the rest of NJ, DE and MD. She woke up right outside of DC and promptly screamed that she could "still NOT see the hotels! WHY couldn't she see the Hotel. Why? WHY? WHY???". Ahhh, my little dictator.

After a LOT of traffic we arrived at our hotel (which was GORGEOUS! - Hilton Garden Inn on 14th), unloaded the car, handed the keys to valet and got into our room.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

"Mommy? I want to go home."

NoooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooo

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

I'm coming back!!

Ok, so I know I've been gone for forever and a day (ok maybe 2 or 3 or 100), but I've been busy lazy boring vacationing for a week now.

You know its been a good vacation when you get home and have honestly forgotten how to set the alarm clock.

Look for a vacation post as soon as I stop being lazy and upload some pics for flicker.

In the meantime, have you seen this awesome FF extension PicLens. I'm completely in love with it and want to have its babies. Drop me a line if you've got other FF extensions that you couldn't possibly live without.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Ummm, ok? I'm Pinocchio

I got this from my SIL. It pegged me 100% besides the fact that if there's one thing I'm not its a liar, so I'm not too sure about this... LOL Unless maybe its counting all the times I've told people "Its ok" or "I'm fine" when I'm not? I'm a good liar there.





Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego?
created with QuizFarm.com
You scored as Pinocchio

Your alter ego is Pinocchio! All you want is for everthing to be real, no fake dreams or things that can't be achieved. Ironic that you are quite the liar.


Pinocchio


69%

Goofy


56%

Sleeping Beauty


56%

Peter Pan


50%

Cinderella


50%

The Beast


50%

Cruella De Ville


31%

Ariel


31%

Donald Duck


13%

Snow White


6%


Wednesday, May 07, 2008

My Pepere

I don't think I'm ready to actually create a post about this yet. My pepere died on Saturday morning, ending his battle with Alzheimer's Disease.

Pepere1

Louis
Louis 1923 - 2008 - Louis, 85, a sixty two year resident, died on Saturday, May 3 in a local nursing home. He was born in Lawrence, MA on January 22, 1923. He retired after forty years of service as a press operator from the former Moore Drop Forge Co. He is survived by his beloved wife of sixty two years, Gisele, three daughters, Jacqueline and her husband Alfred, Denise, and Michelle and her husband Gary, four sons, Robert and his wife Joanne, Daniel and his wife Brenda, David and his companion Theresa, and Steven and his wife Laurie. He also leaves three brothers and one sister. He will be sadly missed by thirteen grandchildren, six great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by two granddaughters, and one great grandson. Relatives and friends are invited to gather on Friday, May 9 for a 10am Liturgy of Christian Burial at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. Burial will follow in Notre Dame Cemetery. There are no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Alzheimer's Association.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Our Night

20 mintues ago - I've got Ally set up with paper and paints. I'm walking to the living room to sit down. "MOM-my, you can't sit down." "Why not Ally?" "Because you have to paint with me. I have no friends" :( "But I thought you didn't like me?" (her fav thing right now is to tell me she doesn't like me) "No,no,no...I just tembering to like you" (gee thanks!)...

15 minutes ago - Ally and I are painting a card for Zackie (her cousin in VA). Ally has successfully painted an 8by 8 heart with approximated 16 fluid oz of paint. She then decides it would be more fun to dip the brush into the paint, then straight into the water... "Ally we don't do that. If you're not using the paper, I'm putting it all away" - "no,no,no...Mommy I tembering to make soup" - "that's great Ally, but tember to make soup without using all the paint." Ally then informs me that when she's done painting daddy will either tickle her or play the couch game with her (she runs around the living-room while he throws pillows at her). She "loves her daddy because him is a funny guy".

10 minutes ago - I'm scrubbing approx an inch of paint off the kitchen table, while Ally draws a cow, a silly face and a pillow. The 3 look remarkably alike. The only difference was the cow had an extra circle.

5 minutes ago - Ally is telling her "sisters" that "she can't talk right now because daddy said we had to be quiet, so we have to be quiet, no I can't talk... we need to be quiet. Jasmine you're not being quiet, remember my daddy said we have to be quiet. Him needs to be quiet." (she then breaks out into the "we have to be quiet song"). Screaming from John ensues.

Right now....Ally is tearing around the living room, while John chucks pillows at her. This game can only end in tears. He's already nailed her about 3 times where its knocked her legs right out from under her...Yet she loves it. Oh and he came dangerously close to breaking the ceiling fan...

CALGON TAKE ME AWAY......


The ending - the fan is broken. One light completely ripped out. Home Depot here we come. Little did I know the "can only end in tears" meant my own.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I'll be interesting one day....

but today is not that day.

A is testing our every last nerve. Actually I believe she got to the last one sometime on Monday.

Apparently 3.5 years old is a time of:

1) screaming
2) crying
3) hitting
4) kicking
5) "I do!"
6) deafness
7) utter defiance and stubbornness
8) "no,no,no,no,no....Mommy, mommy, I" fill in with the exact opposite of what I just asked.

and the world favorite

WHINING.

OMG with the whining.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Prayers for Western MA

There were 2 big fires here, less than a day apart.

In one (Spartan Brake and Muffler) a friend of the Bosses' here at work was severely burned and is now in Boston clinging to life.

The other happened just a few hours ago. A tanker carrying jet fuel just overturned on Interstate 91, fell off the highway onto several cars. It took approximately an hour and a half for the foam rescue trucks from Westover Air Force Base to put it out. All we know right now is that the driver was severely burnt (one of our Technicians was on the highway right when it happened and saw a man on fire).

We need some good news out here.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

6 Words Meme

Julia tagged me with the 6 words meme.
The Rules:
1) Write your own six word memoir;
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like;
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere;
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links; and
5) Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I was hoping to come up with something smart, witty and all encompassing. Instead I'm sick and can't think. So the best I've got right now is the current mantra in our house:

Nothing in your ears or nose.

I'm horrible at tagging people. My address book is just not that full.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Lessons of the Day

I learned a few things today. Interesting things. Things you don't really consider before having kids.

1) My child is NOT smart enough to know not to shove a jelly bean up her nose.
2) Jelly beans can go extraordinarily far up one's nostril.
3) Seeing a Jelly bean protruding out the side of your child's nose near her eye is freaky.
4) Being that entirely freaked out will make one momentarily forget that they are currently dying from the flu.
5) Jelly beans will dissolve that far up one's nostril from the temperature and moisture and can eventually (say in about 25-30 minutes) be blown out.
6) Even Pediatricians can be amazed at how far up a nostril a jelly bean can fit.

Friday, March 21, 2008

I'll Never Learn

Seriously, what mad person would tell a three year old that there is going to be a "big party" on Sunday. Its wrong on so many levels. Yet, hello kettle, its me calling you black.

It spilled out of my mouth like a fine, smooth chocolate. It was Wednesday night, 10:30 AT NIGHT and she was no where near asleep.

"Ally if you don't go to sleep RIGHT NOW you won't go to the big party on Sunday!"

And in that instant my life changed. I have now spent every waking moment with Ally attempting to teach her the days of the week and the passage of time.

"Odebody going to the party? All my sisters and brother?"

I love odebody! and don't ask me where she gets sisters and a brother. It's always sisterS and 1 brother. Is she trying to tell me something? I AM NOT planning on more than 1 more pregnancy and it sure as hell better not be triplets!

Back to the party. Every 5 mintues. "Mommy we going to the big, big party now? With the big kids? Now? NOW? I.WANT.TO.GO.NOW!"

I've been reduced to telling her she still has 2 more bedtimes before the party. Its going to be a long weekend.

Friday, March 14, 2008

At least somewhere I'm still in my 20's

Stolen from It's a Mann's World




You Act Like You Are 29 Years Old



You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life.

You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.



You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up.

The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Ever Have Those Days...

Where you want to post, but just don't have one gosh darn interesting thing to say. Ya, me too. I've been suffering a terminal case of it. It should be called "wheretheheckisspringandwhyamIworking-itis"

So I found this site and it told me to write about:

My 10 Favorite Qoutes


So here you go (I've never been one to rock the boat. I do as I'm told. I'm a good Catholic girl like that).

1)Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
MARK TWAIN, The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

2)In my opinion, we don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks.
Bill Watterson as Calvin

3)You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help.
Bill Watterson as Calvin

4)The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, “You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.
George Carlin

5)I am not the boss of my house. I don't know when I lost it. I don't know if I ever had it. But I have seen the boss's job and I do not want it.
Bill Cosby

6)Technology: No Place for Wimps!
Scott Adams

7)I'm in shape ... round's a shape isn't it?
Source Unkown

8)Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...well, I have others.
Groucho Marx

9)I do benefits for all religions. I'd hate to blow the hereafter on a technicality.
Bob Hope

10)Electricity is really just organized lightning.
George Carlin

Sunday, February 24, 2008

I Want. To Take. A Bath!

Does you kid beg endlessly for a bath? Minute after minute, day after day. Mine does.

"I take a bath now, Mommy? I want to take a bath, NOW."


Its become a mantra. An annoying constant mantra by A and I'm losing.my.mind.

If she's not asking for a bath she's begging for waffles. The kid that wouldn't eat a damn thing for the first 2.5 years of her life can now pack away 6 or 7 waffles a day. She woke up at 5am one morning and after prying my eye lids open announced:
"Daddy said I could have waffles when I wake up! Its wake up time! I want waffles. Mommy its wake up time. See its not dark. Its waffle time.".


I'm waiting for her to request waffles in the tub.


"Now I take a bath?"

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Valentine's Day

We bought A a small v-Day present, comprised mainly of the 50% off Dollar bin at Target and 1 pair of pink camo fake crocs. By her reaction you'd think the girl has no shoes and we send her through the snow, sleet, ice and 3 feet of currently pooling water barefoot.

"Oh.My.God! Shoes! Mommy. Look at MY NEW SHOES"
I apparently hit the jackpot when I threw them in the cart as a last minute decision to round out the rest of the junk.

I was quite proud of myself, if not concerned, by her reaction, until she found the card.

"I get a CARD, mommy? For ME? Just for me? Oh TANK YOU! TANK YOU! TANK YOU!"


Yup my kid was the most excited about the card. The $.50 generic, bargain bin, blank inside frog card with bobble eyes. It's apparently the cat's meow. The only thing she expressed that could've made it any better would have been if it arrived in the mail.


Don't think for a second that I didn't lie.
"Yes, in fact it DID come in the mail. I went out and got it this morning. Just.For.You"

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Stolen from Major Bedhead (how does she find the best quiz's?)



It is eerily me, as I stare at the clock on my phone wishing it to be 4:20 so I can pack up and go home.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

I had to take the test

Perusing my bloglines this morning I came across this post by Major Bedhead.

there's no way I could pass up a nerd test. Let's just say I didn't fail.


I am nerdier than 91% of all people. Are you a nerd? Click here to find out!


Ah, crap...I'm only "Kinda Dorky Nerd Queen" on the extended version.


NerdTests.com says I'm a Kinda Dorky Nerd Queen.  What are you?  Click here!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Sunday Night Heart Attacks

I dialed the phone and gave it to Ally
ring, ring
"My finger's all better, memere. I'm going nah-nites now"


An hour earlier, the scene at our house wasn't so calm. Ally was, we thought, upstairs watching Scooby-Doo. We were downstairs watching the Packers/Giants game until we heard a blood curling scream.

I ran upstairs to find Ally in our bed, her hand covered in blood. I got her into the bathroom and screamed for John to come up. I had her hand under water when DH came up with the band aids and Neosporin. We spent 20 fruitless minutes in there trying to get the bleeding to stop.

Dh, during that time at least got Ally calm enough tell us how exactly she had sliced her finger off laying in our bed. She brought us into the bedroom and that's when DH found them, my razors, scattered throughout the bed. She had been opening all of them (they come individually wrapped). We wrapped her finger in paper towels and brought her downstairs, where DH applied pressure and kept her arm up and I not knowing what to do, frantically Googled "How to tell if you need stitches". Very helpful, I know.

An hour later and the bleeding had slowed enough for me to see what DH was trying to tell me. She basically shaved a layer of skin off. There's nothing to actually stitch. He put a bunch of band aids on it, gave her some chocolate and I put her bed.

Now I feel like the crap-tastic mother of the year. Tomorrow I'll be off buying door locks for the bathroom closets.

Why you shouldn't see Cloverfield



Bleh. The entire movie is filmed in the First Person perspective. An apparently, drunk, epileptic person using a non-stabilizing home video camera. The WHOLE movie. Imagine filming yourself running during an earthquake for an hour and a half and then watching it.

I tried my hardest to watch the movie. I wanted to like it. I wanted to search for those little hidden tidbits that JJ Abrams made Lost famous for. I made it about 1/3 of the way in before throwing in the towel. I kept waiting for it to magically shift to a steady cam "movie". It never did. I had to close my eyes or vomit. I closed my eyes and listened to the rest, wishing for the theater to stop spinning.

I hope the rest of the people in the theater appreciated my sacrifice, because I'm pissed that I paid money to get sick and miss an entire movie.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Don't eat the Yellow Snow

Tinkle, Tinkle Little Star
Wonder how you go
Up above us, in the sky
Tinkle, Tinkle Little Star

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

I'm in so much trouble!

Yesterday morning DH went into Ally's room to get her up for the day. He turned her lights on and opened her door, then left to brush his teeth.

pitter, patter, pitter, patter, click, slam


The door is now closed and the lights are off.

DH goes back, tells Ally its time to get up. Turns the lights back on and leaves her door open.

pitter, patter, pitter, patter, click, "I'M STILL TIRED!!!" slam, lock


She locked her door! My 3 year old LOCKED her door. Locked her loving parents out of her room at 7am because, and I quote "I'M STILL TIRED!". I am not going to survive her teenage years.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Why I hate Monday mornings in New England

Snow1

Even More Snow

Enough with the Snow!

And to top it completely off:
Broken Tree

Yup, tree split in half. DH was out shoveling at 6am when he heard the cracking. The tree, when we moved into our house 8 years ago was a beautiful, perfectly round tree. A tree you could write poems about it was so perfect. About 4 years ago it split in 1/2 during a particularly nasty thunderstorm. Today the 1/2 that was left split in 1/2 again. We'll have to have the whole thing taken down this spring.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Change does a body good

Prompted by a well timed comment, I'll be changing the layout of this blog, hopefully tonight. The Christmas "theme" hurt my eyes. I've learned anger at the current crappy design + no real design plans = One REALLY UGLY BLOG. For now I've ditched the header and the colors, for a plain old design.

Praying to the 3 year old gods that I'll be left alone long enough to design something remotely appealing.

I want to know who you are!


Its De-Lurker day.

If you're out there and reading this mess of a blog, stop by and say Hi! Let me know who you are and where you come from. My blogroll can always use some new interesting sites for me to stalk.

Friday, January 04, 2008

1st Night

Ally's in a big girl (ok toddler) bed tonight - for the 1st time.

We tried once right when she turned 2, yes over a year ago, and we didn't even make it through her bedtime routine before we put the mattress back in her crib and dismantled the toddler bed.

Its taken a year to gather the courage to try again. I'm terrified.

Oh and just to add to the potential death and mayhem, we took her pacifier away too.

I'm scared, very, very scared.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Little Red Riding Hood

Santa brought Ally a new book for Christmas. 5 Minute Fables or Fairytales or something like that. Really the only important part was the "5 minutes". 5 minutes till peace, 5 minutes to adult time, 5 minutes till the end of bedtime routine hysteria.

It all sounded so promising. Until DH read Ally Little Red Riding Hood. In this version the Wolf escapes the hunter's gun. Escapes into the woods, leaving Red and her Grandma and MY DAUGHTER terrified that he'll return at any moment to finish what he started.

Ever since its first reading 3 nights ago, Ally has had to check that the Wolf would not be coming to her house. Each night we reassure her that the Wolf would never come here. Never battle with her big strong daddy or her 3 cats (apparently mommy will just roll over and let the wolf attack).

She is terrified of this wolf. This from the child who loves Scooby-Doo. Begs for Scooby. Wants to fight monsters day and night. Now she's terrified of a Wolf in a story because the damn hunter couldn't aim straight.

This is why you don't mess with the classics, people!! They wolf dies for a reason.

Monday, December 24, 2007

December Photo Project

Ugh, I have a real tough time taking a photo per day. I've tried my hand at the 365 project and failed. A bunch of times.

I'm not sure if I'll call this attempt a failure. Sure I missed a few days, but when you work full time, have a 3 year old and it gets dark at approximately 2pm, you do what you can do. There's only so many things I can creatively (or not so) photograph in my house.

Oh, yeah, throw in the plague on the entire household and you've got yourself a tough project. Tough, but fun. I'll definitely give it a go again next year.

December Day 24


Cookies!, originally uploaded by floreksa.

December Day 23


All packed and nowhere to go, originally uploaded by floreksa.

December Day 22


Freedom, originally uploaded by floreksa.

December Day 21


Cake Making, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

December Day 20


Ally Dentist 002, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Another crappy Treo shot, but my big girl had her 1st dentist visit and did GREAT!!!

She quite enjoyed sucking the spit out of her mouth.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

December Day 19


CHOCOLATE!, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

December Day 18


With the hair, STOP!, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Monday, December 17, 2007

December Day 17


Tree, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

December Day 16


Love&Kisses, originally uploaded by floreksa.

With Weather Like This...

In all honesty, there's only 1 reason for this:

Weather

and it's staying home to make this:

Yumm-o

Pretzels

Batch 1 didn't make it to kick off. Batch 2 is in the works now.

Go Pats!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

December Day 15


Secret Santa 4, originally uploaded by floreksa.

My gift from my secret Santa. I can't wait until my ability to smell returns!

December Day 14


Ally, originally uploaded by floreksa.

I've fallen woefully behind. We've got the plague at the moment. All three of us. :(

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Uninspired

Ally's sick, I'm sick, we're all sick. And I chose today to want a new design. So here it is. Totally uninspired. Sorry

Monday, December 10, 2007

December Day 10


Santa.JPG, originally uploaded by floreksa.

December Day 9


Photo Attempt.JPG, originally uploaded by floreksa.

December Day 8


Tree.JPG, originally uploaded by floreksa.

December Day 7


Jewerly.JPG, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Excuses, Excuses

I've fallen woefully behind on my Photo's of the Day. I promise to check up tonight. It will be the LaLaPaloza of photos tonight.

I've been overwhelmed with Christmas Card expectations, or more precisely, my lack of a Christmas Card this yr. I normally design my own. I use Photoshop.
The photoshop that is on my laptop. That's back at HP. Being repaired. For the 2nd time in a month.

I sucked it up. I bought Elements for the mac and after some REALLY ANNOYING installation issues, I was finally able to create this years card.

Happy Holidays!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

December Day 6


Christmas Moose.JPG, originally uploaded by floreksa.

December Photo Day 5


Snowman.JPG, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Getting on Down with her bad self

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Dec Photo Day 4


Life in the Fast Lane, originally uploaded by floreksa.

December Day 3 - My Desk


Desk, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Took this with my Treo, so absolutely no quality there, but figured I'd give a glimpse into where I spend my day surfing and blogging from. Oh, and, ya, working from.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Mermaid - December Photo Day 2


Mermaid, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Hmmm, Coincidence, I think not

Got a CRITICAL UPDATE from HP today. Looky, Looky:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?docname=c01087277&dlc=en&lc=en&cc=us

HP Pavilion dv6000/dv9000 and Compaq Presario V6000 Series Notebook PCs - HP Limited Warranty Service Enhancement



HP has identified a hardware issue with certain HP Pavilion dv6000, HP Pavilion dv9000 and Compaq Presario V6000 series notebook PCs.
If you own an HP Pavilion dv6000, HP Pavilion dv9000 or Compaq Presario V6000 series computer that meets the product criteria listed below and experiences one or more of the symptoms listed below, contact HP to determine whether you are eligible for a free repair....


Guess who's laptop falls right smack in this "Enhancement"?

I hadn't updated our experience with HP yet. Been putting it off, gathering my thoughts.

DH after close to 2 weeks of pure, hellish misery actually got a "Case Manager" to not only call him back but actually AGREE with him that the treatment he had received thus far had been anything but stellar. He refunded our money and extended our warranty (score 1 for us, don't worry score is still like Us 1, HP =1236452537463).

Within 2 days we had a shipment box and approximately a week later we had our laptop back. All shiney and webby and doing all the things a laptop is supposed to do.

That is until this week. It decided it liked its Paperweight life so.much.more.

This time we've got nothing. Nada, not even a beep. The blue lights come on, but folks, no one is home. Its being packed right back up and shipped right on back most likely tomorrow. This repair only took 20 minutes on the phone. Of course the Rep on the phone at the end reminded DH he could have just gone to HP's support webpage to diagnose the problem. Apparently web surfing works different in India, cause here in the USA, it REQUIRES A WORKING COMPUTER.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Dec Photo Day 1


IMG_5963.JPG, originally uploaded by floreksa.

Ally was actually sitting still, so I couldn't pass up.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Kiss It

Round and round and round she goes. The poor linoleum, its never going to be the same. Thank god I hate it. You see, Ally got a Dora! bike for her birthday. Its the end of November, not exactly outdoor biking weather here in the land of the North. So I let her ride it in the kitchen.

She's been riding since we got home, until I heard a loud BANG.

"Ally are you ok?" - you can't exactly expect me to get up, put the laptop down and check.

She walks over, flips her dress up, bends over and tells me to "Kiss it".

Um, no?

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Ally

"Mommy, is today my birfday?"

"No, honey, it was last Friday"

"Oh, is a-morrow my birfday?"

"No"

"Mommy, can I save my birfday till later?"

Monday, November 05, 2007

Hotel Low

I hate packing. I'm always terrified that I will forget something. Overlook some small detail, that when away from home will magnify and threaten your very existence. Normally I forget stupid stuff - deodorant, toothbrush. I always double check my pump supplies, though. I figure if I've got insulin, infusion sets, needles and my tester, I'm good. I can buy anything else.

This weekend, I checked and double checked everything, yet left probably the most important item. I never even packed it. Treatment for a low.

And low I went. At 1am. I had 1 juice box in my bag. It didn't cut it. I laid there, panicking, trying to figure out what to do. I couldn't formulate a plan. Instead my mind focused on all the food in my kitchen, at home. At the bag of Halloween candy that Ally amassed. I remember drifting off into that fantasy world, where I was eating and eating and eating.

Then I woke up again.

I tried ignoring the low. Maybe if I didn't acknowledge it, it would go away. Maybe I wasn't really low. Maybe I was just panicking at the thought of not having something to treat a real low. Maybe...Maybe...Maybe...

I was low though, and going lower. I suddenly remembered that the lobby sold candy bars. I just had to remember how to get there.

At close to 2 am (1am for the 2nd time?), I dragged myself down the hall, down the elevator and into the lobby and bought myself 2 candy bars. 1 to treat, and 1 for insurance.

I remember my sister asking me where I was going. I don't remember answering her. I don't remember going and I don't remember getting back. I know I went. I know I ate a King Sized Twix bar and bought a King Sized Snickers. I remember the panic.

I HATE LOWS.

NaNoWriMo

Why, Oh WHY did I sign up again? Why do I have a husband that won't let me quit 4 days into it? Why? Why? Why?

I'm a glutton for punishment. I can't write. I hate reading descriptive writing, how the hell am I suppose to write?

My writing - its leaves a lot to the readers imagination.

"She climbed the stairs. Scared. Dead people" There, done - Fill in the rest. How does one write a zombie novel (oh for the love, I know, but its the easiest thing I could think of, back off...) without describing the zombies? They're dead right? You've seen the bazillion movies, picture it yourself. That doesn't work though. Doesn't really up that word count to 50,000.

And 50,000 folks, that's A LOT of words.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Hewlett Packard (HP) Can Suck My....

Holy ever lovin shit. I have never, NEVER seen DH as pissed as he was last night, 30 minutes AFTER hanging up the phone.

Our laptop you see. Not so much a laptop anymore. Its forgotten its purpose in life. It thinks it a paperweight that beeps. The video. Its gone. It gave up 4, yes 4 days after the warranty expired. Folks, this ain't right. The fix? A $400 dollar part. The laptop cost $600.

DH has been "talking" with HP (as much as one can hold a conversation with "Mike" from India) for a week straight now, trying to get something worked out with them. Cause seriously, if you're listening HP, 4 fucking days past the end of the warranty is BULL-SHIT. 4 days out of warranty makes me want to find Mr. HP, take my laptop, shove it up his ass and twist it.

Each phone call to HP requires 30 to 45 minutes of hold time. 20 minutes explaining the problem, 10 minutes of "please hold" time while whoever is on the other end jerks off, then a transfer of the call which inevitable ends with them hanging up on you. At which point, the entire process begins anew. For.a.week.now DH has been doing this.

FINALLY yesterday, he was told (by 2 different Customer Care Representatives) if we purchased a $99 HP Extended Service Plan, a part of their "award winning Total Care" protection package AND a $20 Software protection Service Plan we could extend our warranty have this fixed. HP LIES.

They have our $99 right now. The $20 was never processed because after being transferred to that Dept (and subsequently hung up on), DH was told that the promise of help was a BIG FAT BULL SHIT LIE. The $99 "Award Winning" Extented Service Plan....That does not cover parts, which again is over $400. Its a "phone service" plan.

A "Supervisor" is suppose to call DH today. We're not holding our breath, since we're still waiting for the promised call from a week ago. It will be another 2 hours of phone calls tonight.

Its funny, talking with just 5 people this past week, I've come across 3 who have had their HP laptop die within a month of the end of the warranty period. What does that say to the average life expectancy of the parts HP uses to build their products?

Between this issue and the whole Vongo debacle, I will never, EVER again purchase a Hewlett Packard product. Never. Ever. Never. I'm 30. I'm a techno-geek. I'm the head of the IT department at my employment and purchase all computer hardware. There will never be an HP product purchased again. That my folks is a LONG LINE of missed sales opportunities now. Sure, what difference can I make....Maybe not alone. But I doubt I'm alone out there. Folks, if HP has screwed you over, please leave a comment. I'm just about the #1 hit for "removing Vongo", I'd love to be the #1 hit for all Hewlett Packard complaints. One day they will have to listen.

HP likes to announce that "The Computer is Personal Again". So fucking much for their Customer Service.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Trick or Treat, Throw it away

When I was little, I had a favorite song. At first it was Wicked Dots. "Wicked Dots, Wicked Dots, Wicked Dots all over the ceiling".

I realized on my own that wasn't correct. Silly me. It was, of course, Wicked Ants.

Hey, I'm from MA, everyone says "Wicked", right?

I can not adequately describe the anger I felt when my father explained it was not Wicked Dots, nor was it Wicked Ants, but in fact it was "We Can Dance".
A la Men Without Hats, "The Safety Dance".

Now, my daughter, she has much better taste in music. Granted, she goes for the odd Elmo CD or 2 or 1,000. Given a choice though, right now she chooses "her" song, Trick or Treat, Throw it away

Amazing taste. It is currently one of my favorites.

Although, my lyrics are somewhat different.

I bleed it out,
Digging deeper just to throw it away.
I bleed it out,
Digging deeper just to throw it away.
I bleed it out,
Digging deeper just to throw it away,
Just to throw it away,
Just to throw it away.

-----Linkin Park "Bleed it Out"

I'll never tell her, though. Never correct her. We will forever sing the song together.

"Trick or Treating, I throw it away,
I give it out,
Trick or Treating, I throw it away...."

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Yesterday

So let's see...

Ally woke up middle of night. Thankfully, she just wanted to pee and went back to sleep, but I still woke up and was pretty much up after that. Got up a little later and got a big jump on the day.

Later, DH gets Ally up, who proceeds to FLIP OUT that she "wants to go back nite-nights, wants her crib, no daddy no, I want to sleep". To the point that she keeps gagging because she has a cold and is all congested. I contemplated calling in because she was so upset, but she calmed down, at least a little, when I put Little Bear on.

We go to leave and she cracks her head on the car door. Screaming ensues again. More chocking and gagging.

Get almost to daycare when my cell phone rings. Its my sister. My sister has Wends off. She asks if I dropped Ally off yet. I say no. She asks if I talked to my mom yet. I say ya, this morning, why? She proceeds to FLIP OUT and all I can get through her hysterical crying is "dad" and "ambulance".



I spin the car around as fast as I can, and try calling my mom, as of right now, I have no idea what's going on. Of course at first I get the answering machine (which is my dad's voice) and start bawling thinking this is the last time I'll hear my dad's voice. I call work. Not sure if they understood what I told them, but I called in.

Tried my mom again. She answered hysterical and I just kept asking "Is dad breathing? Is dad breathing?" She's was doing nothing but crying. Thankfully by the 4th time I asked her she just yelled "He's not himself, he's incoherent, I can't understand what he's saying" then I hear her talking to the paramedic and she hangs up on me. Ok.....at least I know that dad's breathing. That's a start, I guess.

I call my sister back, all the while swearing at the traffic (trying, unsuccessfully not to freak Ally out). I want her to go over (she lives across the street) and see what the hell is going on, but she's useless with things like this. She's barely holding it together enough to feed her son breakfast.

I get to her house, right after the ambulance left. Thankfully her husband is a firefighter, and the Deputy brought him up to the call (even though a different station was the actual responders - the fire dept here is 1st response). So he lies to her and tells her Dad's not that bad. They think he's having a panic attack.

We pace around for a while when my mom FINALLY calls. A little back story. My dad, for almost 2 weeks now has been fighting the Norwalk Virus. On Monday, the Drs gave him a prescription for Compazine, apparently the worst drug ever made (go head and read the side effects. My dad had almost every one). The reaction basically looks like a person going through drug withdrawals. He was sweating profusely, gray, hallucinating, passing out, didn't know the day or at times who he was. His BP was through the roof.

They've got him on some medicine right now to get him through it. But they said its going to take a few days for the other med to get out of his system. What sucks is he can only take it every 6 hours and it wears out around 4 hours, and all the symptoms come back (hopefully each time a little less violently).

He said at one point last night, he looked up and saw stuffed animals hanging above him and couldn't figure out why my mom had hung them there. Then he realized that that wasn't right, they really weren't there, but he said that didn't make them go away.

BIL, later said he was pretty bad when he got there. He was on the floor, passing in and out, kind of convulsing. His BP was 180 over 100. Rambling on about weird things, covered in sweat. Not good.

Monday, October 01, 2007

One month shy of 3

...and I'm already ready to run screaming from the house never to return.

Who is this person and what have they done with my daughter? I don't know if I'm gonna survive 3. If this is three, can I just skip over to 4?

I've been home for 1 hour. One.Hour. She's spent over 1/2 of that in her crib. I don't want to use her crib as a place of punishment, but what does one do when your child flees the corner and locks herself in the bathroom? Oh, how she's gotten good at locking doors.

I set a timer for 3 minutes. Go in and ask if she's ready to listen. Her response "NO! YOU LISTEN" So I leave. She screams.

3 more minutes "Are you ready to listen?" "NO"

3 more minutes....and on and on and on we've gone. She made it out of her crib once, at around the 20 minute mark. Apparently her sole burning desire was to get out of the crib and throw her sippy cup at me.

Heaven help me.

Of course now, now when I'm full of rage, trying to calm my every last nerve, she's sitting next to me (freed by her father), holding her blankie, and giving me kisses.

sigh....

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Static

Static

Shhhhh!! We're Diaper Free!



This is a non-announcement. Its a whisper of sorts. A passing thought. This is NOT an announcement. I'm sure if I was to make an announcement the pee fairies will come and smite me with the puddles and the messes.

We have been accident free, diaper free since Friday night.

You didn't hear this from me though. OOoooh, no, no!! A passing birdy told you. Not me.

That birdy would also tell you how Friday, she was doing great. Until the 1st miss. We made it to the bathroom, but not the toilet. Then the second, which was less of a miss and more of a "Let's watch the puddle get bigger", and "BONUS mommy's crying - YES!".

Seems after that though, it all clicked. I send her to daycare and she comes home with the same pants on. We even braved a Costco trip. With the exception of tons of tears, we were dry, dry, dry.

My baby wears Big Girl Pants!! *sniff, sniff*

Wait, what am I thinking! Hip, Hip, Hooray!! What should I spend all that freed up cash on.....

Friday, September 14, 2007

Day Care Started It

I had given up on potty training. Whats a pull-up here? A diaper there, if it meant a clean house and one less living thing puking/peeing on my floors (don't get me started on the cats). It wasn't happening. Ally won, I was starting my email campaign to Pampers to create college sized pull-ups. I was done.

Day Care - Not so much.

She stripped Ally down, put on the last pair of underoos I had given her months ago, and let Ally have at it. Ally went almost all day diaper and accident free.

I wasn't ready to take this plunge. The carpet, its everywhere in our house. Day care forced me into this corner. The girl likes her princess underoos.

"Ally, do you need to go pee-pee?"
"no"
"how about now?"
"no"
"now?"
"now?"
"now?" I ask like an addict waiting for its methadone hit, carpet cleaner in one hand, bathroom door knob in the other.

We've already had a close call. Oh lord was it close.


Please let this work. The carpets can't handle anymore mystery stains.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Vanishing Friends

My life is almost completely lived on the internet. I'm not sure if I should be proud or ashamed. As such most of the people that I would consider some of my "best" friends, I know solely online. They are a screen name and if I'm lucky a photo. Some I've been "talking" with for 5+ years. They know things about that no else does. We've celebrated, we've cried, we've always been there.

Having internet friends is an amazing facet of this digitized world. People I would have never met before are suddenly available 100% of the time. If I have a problem - I write it, post it, and suddenly I've got advise from people with different backgrounds, different perspectives, different attitudes. On the net, oil and water can mix.

Internet friendships have a very serious downfall though. People disappear with no way to track them down. You wonder, you worry, there's nothing you can do. There's no door to knock on, no phone to call. You're left wondering if something in the friendship went wrong. What did you say? What did you not say? Are they ok? Did something horrible happen? You may never know.

There's also times when you want to be able to reach out and hug a friend whose life has taken a horrible turn. To be there, to support them, to touch them. Words on a screen can never replace the power of a hug. Words are not enough at those times, yet that is what you are left with. "I'm sorry" looks empty, blank, vacant on the screen.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Randomnie Randomness

Thanks Catie!

The Rules: 1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts. 2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. 3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!) 4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. 5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1) I've always wanted a little brother.
2) I threw shot-put in high school.
3) I lived on campus at UMASS for approx 4 weeks before moving back home.
4) I started college as an Engineering Major and ended an Econ Major.
5) I can spend hours reading recipes, yet never make a single one.
6) I've never broken a bone.
7) I've always wanted a "real" blizzard to hit us. As in 4 feet of snow or more.
8) I'm finding myself very uninteresting right now (part of my blecky issues).

I don't know who to tag. I'm a party pooper. Drop me a line if you want to be tagged.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Blecky Blahs...

I've been suffering from the meanest case of the blahs lately. The house isn't selling. We're in a perpetual holding pattern. I haven't bothered to look at houses, since what's the use. The market is so horrible, I doubt ours will ever sell. No sense in drooling over what will never be.

I'm also suffering from "Everything we own is in fucking storage" syndrome.

Wanna make cinnamon buns? - sorry rolling pin's in storage

Make some nice pulled pork for sandwiches? - Crockpot = storage

Let Ally play with any of the 13 bazillion toys we bought her last yr. - no problemo!...after a short ride and an hour or two of searching through miscellaneous boxes.

"Ugh....Sigh...Blech" Its been my moto lately and I can't shake it. I hate when I get this way. I've tried new hobbies. They mess the house up, and oh, ya there's no where to store them, that doesn't make the house look cluttered, which makes selling the house that much more difficult. How is it OUR luck, that we decide to sell, gussy the house up, get it on the market and no lie, 2 weeks later, report after report after report are released outlining the dismal state of the housing market. Grrrrr-fucking-eat!

The monotonousness (is that a word?) of each day is getting to me. Wake, wash, dress, eat, work, home, cook, eat, bed, rinse, lather, repeat until I want to run screaming from the hills. I need to shake things up, but I have no idea how.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

My First Time

No, not THAT first time. Get your mind out of the gutter, people.

It was my first time actually driving into the city. Well, that's a lie. DH drove into the city. But we'd never actually driven in, ALL the way in. We parked at the Prudential Center.

It was my first time eating at Cheers.

It was my first time navigating the T, without a local friend with me.


It wasn't my first baseball game, but IT WAS MY FIRST GAME AT FENWAY!

It was an amazing night. My first Sox game, a NO HITTER. Ortiz hits a bases clearing (as in ALL of them) double. Youk hits a homerun. Buchholz throws a no hitter. The crowd was insane. Buchholz.throws.a.NO.HITTER.

A father and son were sitting next to me. The boy couldn't have been older than 8. His 1st game also. During the 1st inning dad said they'd leave at 9pm. It was a long ride home. After Ortiz's hit in the 4th, he said they'd leave before 10. By the 6th, when it was looking like a no hitter, Dad was just making sure he wasn't too tired and by the 9th he was hugging him trying to get him to understand the momentous history he was witnessing.

My throat is killing me. TV does NOT adequately express the volume of the stadium last night. 36,819 fans all screaming, clapping. Its loud. Its contagious. I'm not a "yell out loud" kind of person, but there I was in Section 8, row 5, seat 16 screaming my head off.

My first game. Wow.