A Step Forward

Well, when I last wrote I was pretty down in the dumps. Thankfully, those times don’t usually last very long. After a couple of days the IV effects wore off and I started feeling more normal (no smart aleck remarks now about how normal and me are total strangers).

Otherwise, things are perking along pretty much as usual. I still have more things to do than I can possibly get done, but at least I’m moving forward.

I didn’t realize I’d made any concrete progress until I got the mail today however. I keep track of the major places I do affiliate marketing on blogs, and still mostly big fat zeros on all but one. However, there are some stand-alone products I market, too, and I don’t check those so regularly.

I was thrilled to get a check in the mail from one of them today! I had no idea it was coming. I thought at first it was one of those fake checks, trying to get you to buy something using the check more or less as a coupon off the purchase price. Nope, this was the real deal!

It wasn’t a huge check, but it’s a start. One of my classmates was thrilled to make her first $5 commission, and this was way more than that at least! (Yes, more than ten times that much in fact!)

In class we keep hearing how there seems to be a long, long time before anything happens and most people give up too soon. They also keep drilling in our heads about continuing to build. Cause once the work is out there, someday one sale will become two becomes four becomes more and more. Keep plugging away and let the work build on itself.

So while it wasn’t a lot of money, it was an encouragement. Classes aren't over, but I'm on my way!

Downright Discouraged

Most days I might rant and rave about something, but I keep a pretty optimistic attitude for all that. But once in a while, I get more than a little overwhelmed and downright discouraged.

Today is such a day.

I’m behind on everything. The corollary is I can’t keep up with anything! The house is a disaster. It needs a good cleaning in the worst way. A really deep cleaning, clearing out a whole bunch of stuff cleaning.

With that in mind, I got the bright idea I’d kill two birds with one stone and be clearing stuff out of the basement and pod, and be selling the decent stuff and thus making some extra money to use to pay off my computer.

It’s a good plan, except for one thing. It takes time. Today drove that point home.

I’d advertised a nice wooden futon frame we aren’t using, and agreed to meet the people who wanted it in a nearby church parking lot. Jonathan was going to help me load it into the back of the truck, but first we had to get it out of the pod.

When we did, we discovered there must be a leak allowing some moisture in there, because the wood was coated with a powdery mold/mildew. So I needed to clean that off. Once again. . . it took time.

After we got it loaded, I had about 45 minutes until I needed to drive to the church. Not long enough to do anything much really, but too long to sit around and do nothing. Anyway, the point is that by the time we got this thing out, cleaned, loaded, and delivered, my morning was pretty well shot.

I am behind on doing snail mail this week. Same thing with humor mailings. I need to WORK. Online sort of work that is. I’m way behind there too. I just have many, many things to do, and can't seem to find enough time to get them all done. Worse is so many hours are lost to the chronic pain/ fibromyalgia/ chronic fatigue problems.

Like today for instance. I’ve been recuperating from a 4+ hour trip to Marietta, Georgia, and another 4+ hours back. While at the clinic yesterday I got an IV full of anti-viral stuff, and it’s knocked me on my can. The doctor warned me that might happen. Nothing like feeling like you’ve got the flu to help you get better, right?

She had another blood test result back, too. More discouraging news, but not surprising since it just went along with the other lab results. This was a special blood test to see if the body is fighting infection, and it was ten times higher than it ought to be. That means I need to take an oral anti-viral medication now, plus shots every two weeks. I am sooooo thrilled (read that with lots and LOTS of sarcasm).

And while I’m being so thrilled (NOT!), the doc also told me next visit it will be time to start work on clearing the fibrin out of my blood vessels. Previous tests showed that a likely problem. The short explanation is this fibrin coating on the inside of the blood vessels traps the viruses and bacteria, trying to protect the body. However, at the same time it slows down the oxygen diffusion out to the cells, contributing to the fatigue.

To correct the problem and get rid of the fibrin, thus allowing oxygen to get through easier, means those trapped bacteria, viruses and toxins will also be released. And apparently THAT means an average of two months of feeling WORSE before slowly getting better over the next 6 or 7 months.

Well now, that’s really thrilling. (That's more sarcasm in case you're wondering.)

Have I mentioned I feel downright discouraged today?

Getting Ready For A New Week

The weekend is almost gone, but that's okay. I'm ready to get started on a new week. The only bad part is that I'll only have one day to work, then have to take a day off to travel to the Atlanta, Georgia, area because I have another appointment at the Fibromyalgia clinic.

That's good/bad. I hate the time and expense, but it's good because I usually learn something new I can do to help improve my health.

We've already got our copies of Ellie's new big calendar. That order was processed really quickly! I would guess they don't have a lot of calendar business right now, but come the latter part of November and all of December, and things will move a lot slower.

Anyway, I think the calendars look pretty good and am pleased at how well they turned out. Now I'm waiting to see what all the smaller desk calendars look like, as I have an order placed for samples of those also.

I'm still learning the quirks of my new laptop. Sometimes it zips around and does something I didn't really mean for it to do. The touchpad and buttons are pretty sensitive. That's good most of time, but sometimes it's also annoying.

I was telling Jonathan about how cool my laptop worked for my webinar, and that I thought the picture was even better than my desktop computer. He got that "Well, DUH..." look and said, "Mom, your laptop has an HD screen, and you're using a CRT with your desktop. Of course it looks better!"

Then he wanted to know if I'd thought about trying to watch an online movie from Netflix. It doesn't cost any extra to watch movies online. It never occurred to me, cause it's sure not something I could have have done with my old laptop, but since he mentioned it. . .

Well, of course, I had to try it. First off, I found an episode of Law & Order SVU and got it going. And oh yeah, it works. Almost too well, because gee, what a temptation! This weekend I've watched Sherlock Holmes episodes, and old Star Trek episodes and. . . I'll have to be careful or I'll have some "time users" of my own, ha, ha!

Otherwise, it's pretty much same old around here, and that's not all bad. We're plugging away, and doing well for the most part. So that's the news for now from our part of the world!

New And Improved!

Tonight's class just finished up. I listened/watched it on my laptop. ON. MY. LAPTOP!!!! I made Jess come and look, cause it was just AWESOME. The clarity of the picture was tack sharp wonderful, with full, vibrant colors. And the sound was right on, with that Aussie accent sounding like he was right here in the living room with me. There was no delay; no time lag. It was just so freakin' cool. I've NEVER been able to attend a webinar on my laptop before.

Of course, this is on my NEW AND IMPROVED laptop! Brand new! Improved a zillion fold! Okay, that might be a tad bit of an exaggeration, but seriously, it's like going from an old Atari to a Ninendo Wii. From little stick figure gunfighters shooting at each other to 3-D in your face real looking soldiers blowing stuff up.

This will be so nice. It's going to be a big help to me not to be tied to the desktop computer for all the intense graphics work, or webinars. To be able to lean back on the couch and use my computer here is a real blessing. It should help me work a little longer, because the chronic pain will only allow me to sit in an office chair for so long. And it's not long enough.

Of course, my desktop is still the hub, being a major storage center. It has a 2nd internal drive Richard installed for me, plus an external hard drive that is now filled up, so I have a new external hard drive ready to hook up and start acting as a back-up.

Yes folks, that means I now have 4 hard drives. The internal drive that came on my desktop is used for programs and My Documents. The second internal drive is for photography. The first external drive was for back-up, and the second external drive will pick up where that one left off.

What can I say? Pictures take a lot of space.

Also NEW AND IMPROVED this year - I have calendars done! I think this is the first time I've finished them before Thanksgiving. I wanted to have plenty of time for people to order, so we will hopefully get more orders.

Not only is the timing new and improved, but there are more calendars to choose from! I finished the big Ellie calendar first, which is mostly for family. Then I did a smaller, desktop version that is more suited to selling as a fundraiser. Considering we get about the same amount of profit from the big ones vs. the small ones, and the big ones are $30 vs $12 for the desktop size . . . well, I think most people are more apt to go for the cheaper calendar.

And in case you're wondering, the sales page for Ellie's calendar is here.

But wait! I said NEW AND IMPROVED means MORE calendars, so besides the Ellie version, there are two more! One has flower photos on the pages, and the other has pictures of critters from around the farm.

The Rural Ramblings Floral Calendar is here, and the Rural Ramblings Critter Calendar is here.

Don't let the names throw you; the profits still go to the Ellie surgery fund. Because in case you missed reading/hearing about it from one of us, or on Facebook, or on some of the other family blogs, Ellie is having surgery January 5th, getting the SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy). They have to travel to Vancouver, B.C. for that, clear over on the west coast of Canada.

Then it's down to the Orlando, Florida, area so Ellie can go to the recommended place for daily therapy for 4 months. Fortunately, since Richard can telecommute, he can work from there. (Chrystie is still working out details to see about her job.) But that means renting a house down there and more expenses.

So while we're hoping this will mean a NEW AND IMPROVED walking status for Ellie, it's obviously going to be costly. Which is why I wanted to get calendars done sooner. Although I know those sales are not likely to come close to covering all the expenses, I figure every little bit helps.

Well, guess that's all my news for now. Let me cruise a little on the internet with my NEW AND IMPROVED computer (it's got a backlit keyboard! It has a Soundblaster sound system! It's got a big, bright screen! It's . . . awesome.)

Whew, all this NEW AND IMPROVED is so cool...

My Laptop Is Coming!

It's another rainy day here, with all the extra pain that entails, but today I just don't care. I got an email this morning saying my laptop has shipped! In fact, they estimate it to arrive . . . (drum roll please!). . . TOMORROW!!! Wow!

The little netbook is still "in production", but that's okay. I can wait for it, but I'm in desperate need of a laptop! I wiggled and jiggled and tried to get those wires to connect to power my old laptop all weekend without success. I just hope I can get enough juice to it at some point to make sure I've got any data I need off there.

Fortunately, I don't think there's much on it that isn't already backed up to one of the hard drives connected to my desktop computer. I did periodic back ups of "My Documents" from the laptop but it's been a while.

Today I hope to finish up all the calendar stuff. I got the big Ellie calendars done and ordered copies for the Great-Grandpas and us yesterday. It was the last day of their 25% off sale. Even better, I got another 18% off for a multiple sale. Even with the cost of shipping and handling included, the price per calendar was only $16.25 - which I think is decent for such a huge calendar.

I've also got a smaller desktop calendar done with Ellie pics, plus one of flowers, and plan to finish up the one with farm critters today.

Of course, I also need to do some snail mail today. So I've got a lot to get done and the morning is pretty well shot. I'd better get with it, cause I need to get back to work tomorrow!

Mother Nature Hates Me

Okay, Mother Nature doesn't really hate me. I know there really isn't any such thing as "Mother Nature" and the creatures are just doing what creatures do. So maybe it's my body that hates me.

Anyway, yesterday I was taking Toby for a walk in the woods, getting our daily exercise. I had on a pair of old gray gym pants, a gray long sleeved shirt, and my old black tennis shoes. (I tell you this not as a fashion statement, but because it's pertinent to the story.)

We didn't get very far into the woods until something started buzzing around my head. I thought it was a horse fly. I thought wrong.

I slapped at it with my camera strap (who goes walking in the woods without their camera, right?). I don't know if it was the same buzzing bee or a different one, but something nailed me on my foot, between my shoe and the bottom of my pants! I hot-footed it out of there (in more ways than one!).

In about 5 minutes I was feeling the effects. We were at the edge of the woods by then, so I took off my shoe and something flew out. The thing was IN MY SHOE!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good look at it, and don't know if it was a yellow jacket or just what. I reckon it wasn't a honeybee since it was still living and flying after stinging me. Also, I read yellow jackets like dark colors and often nest in the ground. They also get meaner as it gets colder and food gets scarcer, and their nest was probably a little flooded from all the rain. So I figure it was a yellow jacket and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time wearing the wrong clothes. Go figure.

I hobbled around to finish chores and then on into the house. I wasn't feeling too spiffy by then. And I've got to say, I'm getting tired of the attacks on my right leg and foot. Earlier this summer I ended up with a bleeding bite after walking in some weeds beside our pond. I think it was a spider bite, but have no way of knowing for sure.

What I do know is that it took weeks to heal, and for a while there I was afraid I was going to have to get radical and ... GASP! Go to the doctor.

Then there's the ants. A few years ago I was taking pictures of a cotton field for an online magazine and walked out into the field to get some better shots. What I didn't realize and couldn't see was I ended up standing right in the middle of a fire ant nest. After a sting or two I went zipping out of that tall cotton and frantically brushed the ants off.

Those stings didn't bother me that much. But it happened again a couple of weeks later. And now it's to the point it doesn't have to be fire ants to give me problems. Even bites from black ants raise a blister. I've told Jess I'm probably going to be the first person in the world who has to carry around an EpiPen for ant bites.

And wouldn't you know, our last day at the beach I was taking pictures and some ants found me and I got 3 or 4 bites. They're slow to heal, so now my right foot and lower leg look like this:

My nature inflicted wounds may not look like much, but the scar is somewhere between the size of a dime and a quarter. The ant bite at least doesn't hurt any more, but the sting I got yesterday is a different matter altogether. It looks better but feels worse. Much worse.

I know, I know, in a way it's all darkly humorous. Who gets all these bites and stings anyway? But it sure puts a damper on working in flower beds or wearing sandals or walking through the woods without a care in the world.

I think I need some battle armor.

Now About Those Emails

After ranting and raving about spammy emails yesterday, one landed in my inbox this morning that was so perfect, it made me laugh out loud. Without further ado, I hereby present it to you...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just want to thank all of you for your e-mails over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery. I no longer open a public bathroom door without using a paper towel or have them put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.

I can't use the remote in a hotel room because I don't know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels.I can't sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.

I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking ones nose (although cell phone usage may be taking the number one spot).Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of Trans fats I have consumed over the years.

I can't touch any woman's purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.

I MUST SEND MY SPECIAL THANKS to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.

ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave them to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's Novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

THANKS TO YOU I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

BECAUSE OF YOUR CONCERN, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put 'Under God' on their cans.

I no longer use Saran Wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face.. Disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or Fed Ex since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore and Uzbekistan ...
I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

THANKS TO YOU I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

AND THANKS TO YOUR GREAT ADVICE I can't ever pick up $5.00 dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!

I can't do any gardening because I'm afraid I'll get bitten by the brown recluse and my hand will fall off.

And I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because water splashes over 6 ft. out of the commode.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician...

Oh, by the way...

A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mail (and blogs) with their hand on the mouse...

Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late.

Spammy Emails

I got an email today. You know, one of those kind that people pass around that are usually wildly inaccurate. The kind of email that gets passed around because it says what people WANT it to say, because it accords with their beliefs, not necessarily because it's has any basis in fact.

Too many people adhere to this philosophy - "Don't confuse me with facts."

Well, if my computer had a speed dial, I'd probably put in Truth or Fiction and Snopes, because if I get an email that half-way interests me, the first thing I want to know is HOW ACCURATE IS IT???? Is this for real, or a bunch of bull?

As it turns out, part of the one I got today was totally real. Well, actually, that's not so unusual. Whoever cooks these things up likes to take a nugget of truth, and then add their own version of truth along side. Then you have to pick out what parts are true and what aren't.

Today's email would have been fine if they had put the author's signature under what he actually wrote, and then left the part they added on as from an anonymous source or something. Instead, it was signed at the bottom:

"My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully, Ben Stein"

I don't think it's either honest or respectful of people to put words in Ben Stein's mouth. Or anyone else's mouth. I don't care if it's religious, political or whatever kind of email. . . let's stick to the truth. And if what you're sending out is just your opinion, let's have the guts, indeed, let's just have the courage of our convictions to say so. Otherwise, just don't bother saying it.

Yeah, I'm tired of these emails that fill up my in-box that have no relationship to the real world. I'm tired of hearing that Harry Potter books have given rise to Satanism in kids, the latest flu pandemic we aren't being told about, the ACLU has filed a suit to have all military cross-shaped headstones removed,the FCC is removing religious broadcasts from radio and tv, look out for dangerous spiders under toilet seats, Bill Gates is the Anti-Christ, Disney & Microsoft will pay you to forward emails, send this email 10 times and something great will pop up on your screen, and then there's all the obvious Photoshopped Fauxtographs - give me a break!

Before you get all bent out of shape about the information in an email, how about making sure it's true and worth getting in a dither about?

I mean, what are people thinking to believe all this stuff!???!
Oh yeah, that's the problem. . . who's bothering to think?

What Ben Stein Really Said

In case you're wondering what was in the email supposedly by Ben Stein I ranted about that was actually TRUE, it was a piece he wrote during the Christmas 2005 season. Here's what Ben Stein actually wrote:

"Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:

I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to."

Updates, Skype & Laptops

Well, it’s sure been a while since I’ve written. I hardly know where to begin. Guess it’s a time for a quick “summing up” of what everyone’s been doing.

The guys have been busy at work. Jonathan works pretty much full time, which is good. And since we’ve been back home from vacation, Jess has had a good bit of work, so no time to employ a lot of his “time users”! He’s got some work for tomorrow, but after that, he may be idle. Or he may get lots of work again. He just never knows.

As for me, it's the usual madhouse of housework and farm stuff, with school and internet work thrown in. Right now I've got "classes" Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and again on Saturday morning. Homework and regular work in-between.

Then it’s been raining and cooler here. The cooler part I like. The rain is a different matter. Like today . . . I felt fine this morning, though I slept in late this morning. However, by the time Jonathan and I finished grocery shopping and home again, I was done in. Jonathan carried in all the groceries while I put them away, we all had lunch, and then I napped. I seem to have a lot less stamina and a lot more pain during rainy weather.

But there was some pretty FUN stuff going on today!! For one thing, I had a Skype call with Richard and Ellie. She was in a silly mood, bouncing around like kids do sometimes, and didn’t want to talk. I went and got the two little orphaned chicks I have inside and showed them to her. Wow! She was instantly still. I’m not sure she knew quite what to make of these little peeping critters.

Then we got into the “I’ve got a present!” game, and she was sending me imaginary presents . . . I got an apple and toys and cookies and Lego’s. And she sent Sussern Papa a toy car, and Uncle Geek got some Lego’s. What an imagination she has!

Other happenings, well, my laptop is dying. It’s actually been on the way out for some time but I keep babying it along. The last couple of years I’ve replaced parts of the LED display, upgraded the RAM from 256mb to 512mb, and other things. But it’s so slow, has more problems, and only has a 30GB hard drive.

Of course, I’ve had this computer for 6 years! Which I think is pretty good for a laptop and the way it’s been bounced around in airports and on car trips. But it’s got a puny processor and is just all over puny compared to today’s systems. In 6 years, computer technology has come a long way baby! (Yeah, I tried seeing how much I could get for this computer on a trade-in, and the best I could find was $84.)

The latest problem is the laptop won't stay connected to power. I’ve already replaced the power cord once, and I think the problem is actually the wiring on the inside. I have to jiggle the wires trying to get it just right so the power connects, then make sure I don’t move the laptop . . . which kind of defeats the purpose of a laptop!

I’d decided to get a little netbook to tide me over, because I wanted to wait to get a laptop until I was making more money and could get a really nice one since I use it a lot. (I can’t stay sitting in a chair at the desktop for extended periods of time.) And I figured a netbook would sure be nice when we’re traveling – especially flying somewhere. Soooo much easier to carry around since they only weigh 2 1/2 pounds as compared to my heavy old notebook.

But then Jonathan showed me a flyer he got from Dell. Oh my. There they had this uber laptop on sale which included a little netbook with it. This little netbook has 1GB RAM and 160GB hard drive compared to the 512MB RAM and 30GB hard drive on my present laptop. Oh my indeed! What clinched the deal is the fact I could get both for less than the normal retail price of the laptop, and have a year to pay them off WITHOUT interest.

Sweet.

To make a long story shorter, after days of looking over these laptops, getting technical advice from Jonathan and Richard, and a “Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday” from Jess. . . this evening I ordered a new laptop.

I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!

Of course, for a while this evening I wasn’t sure the deal was going to go through. To get the 12-month deal, you have to get approved for their credit, and it popped right up that we were, but after I placed the order, I got an email saying it was on hold because they couldn’t get the approval from the credit department and to call them.

I tried. I listened to elevator music for 45 minutes until the battery on my phone died.

Then I tried again on a different phone. After a while I actually got someone, and she said, “Let me look up the order,” and. . . the phone went dead.

So I tried once more, and fortunately, 3 times was a charm. I got through, she looked it up, and turns out they just needed to call me back at our home phone number and verify the order. We hung up, she called and asked if it was me (it was), and if I’d ordered a new laptop for such and such an amount (I had), and that was it. Mission accomplished.

I asked her if they did this because of the previous problems we had with someone using my credit card to buy stuff, and she said this was just routine. That’s great with me! They ought to do it for ALL purchases, not just the ones using their credit line. Then some idiot wouldn’t have been able to spend over $700 buying MP3 players using my name and stolen credit card info.

Other news! It turns out our traveling isn’t over, and we’re headed to Florida over Thanksgiving to visit the Sanfords, and Randy will be there too, so it should be a great visit. We always have a lot of fun there.

Well, it’s getting late, and the bird needs covered up and put to bed, so I’d better finish this up. Maybe I’ll actually get back on here sooner next time.

But for now. . . did you know????

I’M GETTING A NEW LAPTOP!!!!!!

Sweet.