This & That

Well I wish I had some interesting jewelry news to write about - but no such luck! I finally got my laptop back & it's working pretty well now. Unfortunately, the "ghost files" they put on my system have totally used up my disc space. So I can't load any new photos until I get that fixed. In order to get it cleared up I need to back up all my data. I'm waiting for a new external hard drive to arrive that has enough space to do this. Supposedly this thing is fast as lighting and is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I have my little boy home sick today, poor guy. So I'm waiting for him to finish lunch & watching "word world" so I can put him down to nap. Then I'll have an hour to myself to work before I have to go pick up the big kids.

What else is going on? Well I went to see Twilight last Saturday. It was really good - very true to the book. I have such a sweet husband to sit through that movie with me!! I still have to finish the 3rd book in the series. The movie has got me very motivated to do just that!

Still Out of Order

Well the saga or my laptop lingers on. I ended up taking it to Best Buy for repair. The HP help desk lady just freaked me out too much. Thought a face-to-face experience would be better. Unfortunately, not sure if that's the case. Without rehashing it all, the kid I was working with was kind of a jerk & was very inexperienced. When I got my computer back last Thursday night I discovered that it still wasn't working correctly. There were several files & applications missing, but the scariest was that all my Outlook data was gone. Archived emails, calendar, contacts everything. In fact, I couldn't get Outlook to open at all! I took it back on Friday & it's still there. Fortunately, I'm working with a tech who is MUCH better than the first guy. They still can't find my Outlook data, but at least they seem to understand the problem & be working on it.

What have I learned from this experience?? Back up your data! I have an external hard drive for backups, I'm just not good about using it. This will change when (if?) I get my computer back. I've also discovered this weekend that you can sync your Outlook data with Yahoo calendars pretty easily. Could kick myself for not doing that!!!

All the time spent on this computer issue has slowed down my jewelry work. Also, I can't post any pics to share with you without my laptop. I made a really cool necklace this week that I'd love to share! Hopefully I'll have better news next week.

Hi I'm A PC

So I feel like that guy in the Mac PC commercial this morning. Unfortunately, I'm not the cool Mac guy. I'm the geeky PC guy whose system has crashed & I don't know what to do. So I wish you could see me sitting here in my orange slippers. My husband's laptop on one side of me - which is what I'm typing this on - my laptop on the other side. I have given control of my laptop to a very nice woman who I beleive is in India. While she's very polite, I'm not fully convinced that she knows what she's doing at all. Her original suggestion was to reinstall my operating system & lose all my data. I talked her out of that - so now she's copying all my files to another folder - not sure why. I'm questioning that too & getting more & more nervous as each second passes. I just don't think she understands the problem. I have a feeling that this is a user setting issue that should be a quick fix. She may be doing more harm than good. AHHHH!

Sickness

Well, the Thanksgiving holiday was a lot of fun. We went to the mountains here in CO with two other families. Utter chaos with 8 kids running around - but no one was surprised by that! We got home in time to relax on Saturday & Sunday. I was all prepared to have a productive week making & posting jewelry & getting ready for Christmas. Then it hit!! The stomach flu is making the rounds at my house. It started with my little boy letting loose all over himself and me yesterday - - in a store. Yuck! Poor little guy is still sick. Not my big girl is getting it too. So, no good jewelry news today I'm afraid. Maybe I'll be able to sneak downstairs and have something for you tomorrow. Stay well!!

New Ideas

Finished 3 necklaces for my nice neighbor this weekend. Two of them are new designs that she and I came up with together. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. Look for them on the website soon. I really like the "washer" style of charm. Not too chatty today. Much to do before the holiday Thursday. Later!

Stuff I Like

If Oprah can do it, why not me? I'm calling this post "Stuff I Like". Do you have little things in your everyday life that consistantly make you happy? Sometimes it's nice to have just one little thing in your day that you can count on to work. I'm trying to make an effort to recognize and appreciate these little pleasures.

Today, I'm writing about Amy's Organic frozen meals. I have a bad habit of not eating lunch, or just snacking on whatever junk is handy. Consequently, when the daily 4:00 onslaught of children, dinner, homework begins - I'm in a horrible, low blood sugar mood. I'm not a real fan of leftovers and I know from experience that I won't take the time to make a decent lunch for myself. Amy's have been a great solution. Let me say that in all honesty, I'm far from a health food nut. Like most of us, I'm trying to eat better. But if it doesn't taste good, I won't eat it for long. Amy's meals are EXCELLENT. I've tried most of them and have never been dissapointed. They're also filling and nutritious with lots of fiber - which helps keep you full longer and helps cure the 4:00 energy drop.

My current fav is the one pictured above, the Indian Mattar Paneer. I probably wouldn't have picked this out on my own - my DH bought it on one of his rare trips to the grocery store. Isn't it funny how other people sometimes know your tastes better than you do? It's fabulous! Very tasty and not too spicy. The indian cheese pieces in it are cool and calm down the other flavor. Give it a try! (The mexican bowls are great too!!)

1st Snow

Well we've finally gotten our 1st Snow of the season here in Denver. This is late for us. Late by about a month. This was the 1st year my kids went trick or treating without parkas on!! It's nice to see the white stuff, although I'm sure we'll be cursing it soon enough.

It's funny to me how differently we act about snow here than where I grew up in the south. When I was growing up, if there was even the threat of snow they postponed or cancelled school. My Mom calls me almost everytime it snows here to ask if my kids have the day off. We have a running joke that the crawl on the bottom of the TV screen here says "It's snowing kids. Get your butts out of bed and go to school!!!"

I've got more necklaces to do today & both of my little kids are home. Not sure how productive I'll be in terms of jewelry making. I have some really cool new ideas I'm just dying to get produced and posted. It's going to be a challenge with the holidays coming up.

Tonight is my book club. The selection was "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I never finished it, but I think I'll go to book club anyway. I did see the movie. . .