Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Slow Saturday
Late this afternoon, we did bundle up and go out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. I had the ribs, Emily had a loaded sweet potato, and Mike had the chicken tenders. Yep, we went to a steak house and nobody had steak. The chicken was good though. I tried some. And Mike ate half of my ribs, at my request.
Truth be told, there was something weird in the ribs - it had the texture of a pig knuckle, I guess. I don't really know what texture a pig's knuckle might be. In any case, I was happy to share my ribs with Mike tonight.
After we left Roadhouse, we went to pickup my prescription at the pharmacy. I had asked my ob/gyn to write me a prescription for chewable prenatal vitamins. I'm going to be real with you all. I'd been having a really hard time swallowing the (large, pink, aromatic) vitamins that I take every day.
Really, I'd been having a hard time swallowing any pills. They feel like they get stuck in my throat every time. Mike calls it "pill phobia" and I'm not disagreeing, but it is still hard to swallow them.
I've tried several things to make the pills easier to swallow - drinking milk with them, drinking a pop with them, putting them in applesauce, putting them in pudding, buttering the pills and cutting the pills into smaller pieces.
The chewable vitamins are going to be a lot easier for me to take. AND the prescription chewables are covered by our insurance and they are going to end up being cheaper than the over the counter vitamins. Sweet!
I love it when things work out as they should.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Things Are Looking Up
We have been cooped up in the house for the last couple days and I'm getting a little stir crazy. I'm ready to fix my hair and put on my makeup and go somewhere. Except that it's so cold. And do I really wanted to get out when it's so cold?
And is Emily really ready to get out? She would probably rather stay home and play with her toys. So we might have to wait to get out until tomorrow.
We really need to get busy putting away the Christmas stuff this weekend. We've got stuff everywhere and it's making me feel like my house is a wreck. I've done a lot of work on the laundry and kitchen in the last few days, but there is still lots more to be done.
But first, Emily and I are going to have a snack and watch some television. Ahh, what a life!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Dell-Aware
So I place my order online and check that off my to-d0 list. I did not immediately get a confirmation email, which I thought was strange. Six days later, I finally got an email that said my order had been confirmed and it gave instructions to check the status of my order online. Good deal! So every day or so, I would go online and check the status of my order. It was in production so that sounded good. I knew it should ship soon since it was set to take 5-7 days for delivery.
A few days later, I went online to check my status and the delivery date had changed - to 02/23/2010. February? 23? 2010? Over three months past my original estimated delivery date? Are you serious? Their website said I would get an email if my estimated delivery date had changed. I hadn't received an email so I thought I would give them a day or two.
Two days later - still no email about the delivery date change. So I emailed Dell customer service to check the status of my order. Their website said that most emails are answered within 24 hours. Sounds good. So I wanted one day ... two days ... three days. No email. December 16th came and went. No laptop, no emails.
I sent another email to Dell customer service, again checking the status of my order and questioning my new estimated delivery date. No response.
This time, I called customer service. I waited on hold for about 15 minutes until someone picked up .. then hung up. Not nice! I called back and waited for about 20 minutes and finally got someone on the line.
Dell customer service: Hello, Mrs. S how can I help you today?
Me: I would like to cancel my order.
Dell customer service: Why do you want to cancel your order?
Me: Because you didn't delivery my item when you said you would.
Dell customer service: Well, let me check and see if you have an option to cancel.
(Me, silently: Yes, I do have that option and I will be cancelling this order.)
Dell customer service: Oh, yes ... (pause) ... I do see that your order has been delayed. Since your order has not been shipped, you will be able to cancel this order.
(Me, silently: Told ya.)
Dell customer service: I'll have to email another department to request a cancellation for you.
Me: Ok. Will you please send me a confirmation that you have cancelled my order?
Dell customer service: I cannot send you anything, but you can go online to the status page and it will show cancelled. Give us 24-48 hours to get the cancel processed.
Okay, fine, thank you very much.
That same day, I went to another store and purchased Mike a laptop. It may not be cherry red, but it's still nice. And it's not a Dell! Oh, and it was cheaper.
So here we are over 3 weeks after the call to Dell customer service. They have still not answered any of my emails to customer service. And, frustratingly, they have STILL not cancelled my order.
Let this be a warning to you - in my experience, this company has not acted reputably. And their customer service stinks!
Have you had a similar experience with Dell? Have you had a positive experience with Dell? Either way, I would love to hear from you.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Sugar Plum
The next morning, she mysteriously had some "sugar plums" in the pocket of her pajamas. She gave those to me and I kept them with me all day.
Every morning since then, Emily has had sugar plums in her pajama pockets for me. Many days, there are hundreds of them! But now the sugar plums are getting silly. Sometimes they are dirty and need a bath. Sometimes they get lost. You just never know what's going to happen with the sugar plums in the morning.
Today, my sugar plum is not feeling well. I got a call from the school around 11am that she was running a fever. Mike went to pick her up and then rested in the living room all afternoon. She threw up one time. I hope it does not turn out to be a long night for us. Either way, I will stay home with her tomorrow.
It is supposed to be a very cold day tonight and tomorrow. The biggest school district in our area has already cancelled classes for the rest of the week due to the cold temperatures. So far, no word from Emily's school. She probably won't be there the rest of the week in any case.
Well, Emily's calling for me so I better run!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Blessed Beyond Measure
I had been feeling dizzy several times a day, several days in a row. I thought that was awful strange. It's not something I even occasionally experience.
A few days later, we put up and decorated our Christmas tree. During all this, Mike said it would sure be nice if we were bringing home a new baby this Christmas. I had been thinking the same thing.
That same weekend, I took down the crib that had been in Emily's room for the last 4 1/2 years. We were getting ready to get new furniture for Emily's room and it just seemed like time to take down the crib.
The next day - the very next day - I woke up and just had this feeling like maybe I should take a pregnancy test because there were all these signs. So I did. And it almost immediately looked like a big + sign. So I did the only sensible thing and called Mike into the bathroom to look at it. "I think there's a plus sign." "Yep, it looks like a plus."
I intended to wait a few days and then call the doctor. But I didn't. All the people in my office seemed to be gone from our office for a bit that day. So I took that opportunity to call the doctor's office and let them know. They wanted me to come in to do some blood work. Yep, I'm pregnant.
Wow.
Blessed beyond measure.
This morning, Mike and I went in for an office visit and an ultrasound. Baby looked like a tiny gummy bear. His or her heart was galloping at 176 beats per minute. Wow!
Everything looked good. We'll go back in a month.
God is so good!
We are blessed. Beyond measure.
More details later. Thanks for your prayers!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Hello 2010
I've been waiting so long for you. It's a new year, a new decade, a new chapter in my life.
Out with the old ...
In with the new.
I celebrated the New Year just like I always do ... snuggled warm and cozy in my own bed. We got up very early on New Years Day to drive down to visit my parents. It was our family Christmas/New Years celebration. We had a really good time, ate a lot of really good food.
We didn't get to play outside much because it was soooo cold. The kids did get to go outside and ride their power wheels for a bit though. They were all bundled up in their coats and hats and gloves. Sooo cute!
Tyler was a pro at those power wheels cars. Emily had a lot of trouble keeping hers out of the mud and Carter just kept driving his little car in circles.
Carter was so so so excited to see Emily. He just kept smiling and giving her love pats and following her around. I'm not sure if Emily knew what to think at first. She knew that Carter liked her, but maybe not that much.
We had to come home on Sunday. I was prepared to come home to see all the snow melted, but that was not the case. We still had a lot of snow ... a lot of snow everywhere! And it was so so cold by the time we got home.
It's supposed to just get colder the rest of this week. That's not what I want!
We've got some fun things going on this week. But more about that later.
Hope you have a great 2010!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas Recap and More Snow
After Nanny and Pops left, we all sat down and opened the gifts that Santa left for us. Emily got a Nintendo DSi, in pink, of course. She also got some games for it, a couple books, a Perfection game, an Uno Moo game, a baby doll, and some other things that I can't recall right now. I think Emily was very happy with the things that Santa left for her.
Mike got a laptop, a new electric razor, an OU t-shirt, and a few other things.
Santa brought me a Kindle e-book reader, a cover and book light for my Kindle, some bubble bath (my faves!) and some other fun things.
Santa was good to all of us this year!
After we opened presents, we had a non-traditional Christmas supper - BBQ meatballs with cheesy rice. I think I prefer the traditional Christmas dinner - turkey and dressing, sweet potatoes, hot buttery rolls and more!
On Saturday, we got out and went over to Mike's parents house for the traditional Christmas lunch with the family. After lunch, we did a white elephant gift exchange. Mike got some Christmas mugs, Emily got a small candle, and I got a large pink croco purse/bag. As you can see, it was a lot of fun.
On Sunday after church, we went back over to Mike's parents house to open presents with his family. We normally do this on Christmas Eve, but of course we were snowed out.
It was a busy and unusual Christmas weekend, but we are so thankful to have family close and so thankful that we were able to spend time with them.
This weekend, we'll go down to celebrate Christmas with my family. Lets just hope the weather holds out! We're getting a couple inches more snow tonight on top of all the snow that is left over from the Christmas Eve blizzard. I have had enough snow! I am ready for some warmer weather and some sunshine!
At least we're headed SOUTH in a few days. Hopefully it will be warmer down there.
Hoping ...
Friday, December 25, 2009
Unexpected Christmas
Since Emily is not here to open presents, Mike and I decided to go for a walk in the snow. I wish I had taken my yard stick with me to see how high some of the drifts were. The south and east sides of the house were some of the deepest areas.
Someone had been walking in the snow before we got there. Maybe a bunny?
The snow collected on some of the cedar tree branches. The snow and high winds broke off the top of one of our small trees in the front yard.
It was so so cold outside this morning. I think the TV news guys said the wind chill was something like 7 degrees. So we did not stay outside for long.
We came inside and warmed up. Not much we can do until Emily gets home so I thought I would write a long, long blog post to take up some time. Ha!
This is really not how Christmas was supposed to be. Mike and I had it all planned out. We have some nice surprises for Emily and cannot wait until she opens her presents. Christmas morning without our child is just not right.
Yesterday was the same way. It was hard just watching the snow and not knowing how we would be able to get Emily home. I spent most of my day keeping busy - cooking, cleaning, wrapping gifts, and making Christmas cookies.
I swore I was not going to make all those cookies by myself, but what else did I have to do? I could not find my Christmas cookie cutters so I made all the cookies round. The decorating was all me. Isn't it lovely?
I think our Christmas dinner with the family is going to be postponed so I don't know what we'll have for Christmas lunch. Probably sandwiches, devilled eggs and sweets. I don't think I have anything more gourmet than that.
I can't wait until Emily gets home.
Merry Christmas everybody! JESUS is the reason for the season.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Happy Birthday
All in all, it was a great weekend filled with fun, family, and great friends.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Would you do me a favor?
Would you go to her website and leave her a message?
Her name is Heather Chandler. She's a young mother with two children. Lets lift her up while she's going through this tough tough situation.
Here's her website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/heatherchandler
Thank you all very very much!
Red Velvet Cake Balls
All you need to do is make a boxes cake according to the package directions. I used a 9X13 cake pan, but it doesn't really matter. After baking, let the cake cool about 30 minutes crumble the entire cake into a large bowl. Mix an entire can of frosting into the crumbled cake and mix well. This will be the filling for the cake balls.
Next, cool the mixture for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Then use a cookie scoop to form into small balls. Then dip into white chocolate - I used almond bark. Also, I put the balls onto a cookie sheet and stuck the balls into the freezer until they were firm before I dipped them. I think this is important because it is very hard to dip the balls when they are soft.
Cool the dipped balls on waxed paper. Enjoy!
See? Simple and so yummy good!
You can use any combination of cake and icing. Red Velvet cake and cream cheese frosting sounded good to me, but you could do chocolate cake and chocolate frosting or white cake with chocolate fudge frosting.
Have you ever made these? If so, what cake/frosting combinations did you use?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Buttery Peanut Brittle
So this time, I got out the candy thermometer and jumped in with both potholders.
Here's the recipe:
Peanut Brittle
2 c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1 c. water
2 c. raw spanish peanuts
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. baking soda
2 large greased cookie sheets
In a heavy 3 qt saucepan, over medium heat, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook until 234 degree is reached on a candy thermometer. Add peanuts and salt, stirring constantly up to 305 degrees.
Quickly stir in butter and baking soda. Pour at once onto cookie sheets. Spread very thin with spatula. Break up when cool.
And that's it ... simple as that. *wink*
If you follow me on twitter, you might remember the tweets about the candy thermometer and how I sat down for one minute and suddenly the nifty candy thermometer was 15 degrees over where it should have been. Yeah. Don't do that.
Well that's all for today. Come back tomorrow to see what other goodies I'll be sharing with you.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
A Week of Traditions
Pilgrims and Indians
A Big Star
I've been looking at my Southern Living magazine to see what new recipes they might have. They always have SUCH good desserts. I've been looking at the Pumpkin Pie Spectacular which has pecan streudel and maybe the Caramel Pecan Bars. They also had an idea for a tabletop decoration - Caramel Shopping Bags. Anything caramel is good in my book, but that shopping bag they had made was so cute! If only I was so talented. I love my Southern Living magazines!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A Beary Fun Day
The kids got to pick out an animal ... Emily picked out a bunny with soft pink ears. Then they picked a heart for their bear and went through a ritual where they rubbed it on their cheek, touched it to their ear, and kissed it before putting it inside their new friend.
Then they got to help put stuffing in their animal - they got to choose how soft or firm they wanted them.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Feast Is On
Okay, fine, no problem. I have never made a pumpkin pie in my life, but how hard can it be? I could go the canned pumpkin route or I could use those little pumpkins that we got at the pumpkin patch the other week.
But you know these are four-year-olds we're talking about. I'm pretty sure they are not going to care much what the pumpkin pie tastes like as long as it comes with whipped topping. I may just pick up one at the grocery store. It just depends on how much time I end up with.
I usually make my homemade cracker jacks around Thanksgiving. This year, I am looking to find a new kind of popping corn to use. When we were at the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago, they were selling kettle corn. The popcorn had these huge puffy kernels. I wish I could find some corn like that for my cracker jacks.
I have not decided on anything else to fix for Thanksgiving. Note to self - maybe I should ask Mom what I need to bring. Wait, she'll read this before I even get a chance to ask. Love you Mom!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Piggly Wiggly Flu
I asked her to show me a model's pose and this is what happened ---->
Hehe, so cute.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Vroom Vroom
Sometimes I feel a little guilty when the Roomba vacuum is running because it's working and I'm not. I love how it gets under furniture. It's so easy just to let it work while I do something else. It really does a good job too. It picks up all kinds of dirt and debris. My floors have never looked so good.
I use the Roomba on the carpet in the living room and bedrooms and the vinyl flooring in the kitchen. I've also used it on bathroom rugs and an indoor/outdoor rug in the laundry room. I've used it several times in Emily's room, but only once in my bedroom. Sadly, my bedroom floor hasn't been clear enough to run the Roomba since then. Just being real with ya'll ...
I got the 530 model which goes back to its charging base when it finishes the cleaning cycle or the battery gets low. It's such a nice feature. My Roomba "sleeps" under an end table and I don't even have to put it away when it's done cleaning.
That's my kind of cleaning!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Picture Day
... with a white shirt ... and white pantyhose. I picked an older pair of tights because I had this feeling that Emily would get a hole in her pantyhose ... which she did. BUT ... the hole was not nearly as big as I'd imagined ... and not nearly as noticeable. I thought they would be ripped to shreds. Ha!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Pre-K Halloween Party
The kids had pizza, veggies and dip, and cookies at their party. Then they played a game where they put their hands into a tub of "goop" and try to find a centipede. If they find it, they win a prize.
When I got to the classroom, one little boy was already in time out by the door. Another one was laying face down on the floor and didn't get up the entire time I was there. One of the teachers eventually picked him up and moved him to a corner instead of the middle of the floor. I am wondering if this was typical for a day in Pre-K.
I think this was the first 3-D movie I had ever seen. We all had a good time together.