For some reason, my mom canceled our Easter get together. I am not quite sure why she did that, but I feel guilty for saying that I was sort of relieved. Maybe I was sending her subliminal negative messages when we were initially planning the celebration. She said it was because they needed to get ready for a wedding they were attending out of town. Which they won't be leaving for until Thursday (4 more days) and will only be gone for the weekend. Either they are just getting old and need more time for planning, or that was a very weak excuse.
Instead, some of our neighbors planned a little celebration at the neighborhood tot park near our house. We each had to bring 10 eggs for each child the night before to the organizer's house. We arrived at the park today at 11, and there were lots and lots of eggs all over the park area scattered around. I don't know if you can count eggs lying in the grass two feet away from each other as being "hidden", but the little kids had fun running around and acting surprised. Everyone was supposed to bring some food to share for a pot luck. Apparently we don't go to pot lucks very often because the girls were baffled as to what a pot luck was. They kept wanting to call it a pot roast. I guess it is good that we are starting to socialize with more of our neighbors.
Today I am blogging for some ideas and opinions from the three of you that read this thing. We are shopping for a couple different things and I am in the research phase. First, we are thinking of getting a Mac. Gasp! I know, moving away from the PC platform is a big risk. I tried to do it in 2000 and ended up selling my iMac on eBay 2 months later. I really want to try this again. I want to use the Mac for photo organizing and archiving (more on this later) as well as web surfing and school work. We will continue to keep our PC, but I want a computer for my very own. Which brings me to the next question - desktop or laptop? I am leaning towards a desktop because if my goal is photo driven then I need the guts that come along with a desktop. However, I did want it somewhat portable so I could surf the internet in bed or on the kitchen island. Lucky for me, the iMac desktop has integrated wireless so I won't need to connect to the wall for internet. It is also basically one cord for power and nothing else. I won't be plugging it into the printer because our printer is on our network. So, if I was feeling brave, I could carry the 20 lb monitor around the house praying that I don't drop it and break it. Strangely enough, this is what I am leaning towards. Ah, but then I see those amazing commercials for the MacBook Air and think that I really have to have a laptop that can fit into an envelope. That thing is so cool and small. I could literally carry it around in my purse like an oversized wallet. So maybe I should get that instead...your thoughts?
Since my goal is to organize all our old photos, I need a new scanner. I have one that is about 8 years old and it is an Epson Flatbed scanner. For the most part it works okay, but the software it comes with is AWFUL. It crashes all the time, overwrites photos it just scanned, and all around makes me want to throw it into a wall. I thought maybe I should look into a new scanner for the upgraded pixels that are available and hopefully better written software. Unfortunately all the reviews are about 6-8 years old and it seems that with each new model, Epson hasn't fixed their software problems. So, if any of you out there have a fantastic scanner (I need to scan photos, 35mm film negatives, and slides in one machine, if possible) I would love to hear it!
I guess that is enough ranting about the Caballero frivilous buying frenzy. On to more interesting gossip and insights into our strange household.
The girls were on Spring Break all last week. About two weeks ago, Felipe mentioned to the kids that he wanted to do something fun with them over spring break and maybe take them to California to Legoland. Unfortunately, there were some big things that happened at SRP and he was unable to take the time off. Wise woman that I am, I foresaw this happening light years away. Back when he told the girls he might be able to take them to Legoland, I told him it wasn't a good idea to get that into their head. He insisted that the kids understood that he said *might* and they wouldn't get so wrapped up in the idea. Uh huh, right. Needless to say, we had to do some damage control since Californ-I-A was off the table. I told the kids that on Friday we could all go and do whatever they wanted for the whole day. We called it an Arizona Vacation Day. We went to new places (so it felt like vacation) and basically let the kids decide what to do. For breakfast we went out to eat bagels and then we proceeded on toward Tempe Marketplace. We had never been there and thought it would be fun to try. It is an outdoor shopping plaza and the day was just beautiful at 80 degrees. As soon as we got there the kids saw the Harkins theaters and decided that they wanted to see a movie. We saw Horton Hears a Who in the Cine Capri theater. I hadn't been to the new Cine Capri, which is a revised theater from the original Cine Capri in Phoenix, but it didn't disappoint. It was beautiful with all the seats laid out in a manner so that everyone had a good viewing angle. The large velvetly curtains made it seem regal and old fashioned too. Felipe didn't have a clue that the theater was any different than any others he had been to, so I guess it didn't make much of an impression on him. Anyway, the movie was adorable. I hadn't seen any previews are any ideas of what it was about, so I had no expectations. I really liked it.
After the movie, we wandered around to As You Wish, which is one of those pottery places where you paint pottery and leave it with them to put it in the kiln. Each one of us picked a piece to work on. Sadly, of all four of us, mine looked the worst. I rather expected it, as I am NOT creative at all. Worse yet, I am impatient, which makes for a terrible artist. I think Felipe had the most fun. He is the artist in the family and he really enjoyed spending a lot of time on his project. He is as excited as a little boy to pick up the finished pottery. We pick them up on Tuesday, and if I remember, I will post some photos of our work.
After painting, we went to dinner at a new restaurant and went shopping for toys and clothes. I think we spent at least two hours in one store so the kids could stare at WebKinz to decide which ones to buy. For those of you parents who don't know what WebKinz are, you soon will. And if it isn't a WebKinz, it will be something else.
One super long day, all about the kids. In the end though it was all about our family, because for a very rare moment in time we weren't trying to balance work, answer our cell phones, rush the kids through their projects, or hurry home to do chores. I think we all had a great time.
~cc
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Yawn, it's late but I can't sleep
I couldn't sleep so I laid in bed using Felipe's iPhone on our wireless network to surf the web and catch up on all my friends' blogs. That got me to thinking that I may as well update my own blog. So here I am. I am slightly worried though because it is 1 AM (1AM?) in the morning and it looks like I won't get much sleep tonight. Ordinarily I wouldn't be worried but tomorrow I am supposed to go and see the play "The Color Purple" and I don't want to be caught snoring at Grady Gammage.
This week Felipe has been pretty sick. At first we thought it was his allergies. He went to an allergist about a month ago to be tested for allergies and they decided to start him on allergy shots. He started the shots last week and then did yard work over the weekend, which spurred on some vicious allergy attacks. We thought the attacks just kept recurring, but then he ended up with a fever of 102. Aside from hoping he gets well soon, I am also worried that the girls and I will get sick. I am worried not because of the normal worries moms have, but because I lied and called in sick a couple times last month. I pretended we all had the flu, and now if we really do get the flu, I don't have an excuse for calling out sick. Karma.
I have been watching Clean Sweep on TLC to try and get me motivated to purge and organize. I started on my master bedroom closet today. I forgot just how big my closet really is without shopping bags, shoes, and boxes on the floor. I tried the Clean Sweep method by completely emptying the closet and moving everything out into the bathroom area (adjacent to our closet). Felipe walked into the empty closet (after having maneuvered his way toward me amongst the maze of closet clutter in the bathroom) and said, "Wow, the closet looks great! Let's go to sleep." Very funny that guy. Anyway, we now are left with practically no clothes, just a few pairs of shoes (3 for him, 40-ish for me), and a gazillion empty hangars. I love it. Let's hope it stays that way. Next is the single car garage. We have a 2-car and 1-car garage, of which I am grateful for, because the single car garage stays closed at all times in order to avoid neighborhood embarrassment.
The only other thing I can bore you with is that I registered for a useless gym membership. I hate the gym. Really I do. However, Boeing has a pretty good deal with a gym franchise that just opened a new location right by my house. If I were feeling really ambitious I could jog or ride my bike to the gym since it is pretty close. We just got the membership a couple days ago and I was planning to go in the morning, but now I will probably be too tired. Story of my life.
I can't think of anything else to bore you about, so I suppose I should try and sleep. And *maybe* go to the gym in a couple hours.
Thanks for checking in.
~cc
This week Felipe has been pretty sick. At first we thought it was his allergies. He went to an allergist about a month ago to be tested for allergies and they decided to start him on allergy shots. He started the shots last week and then did yard work over the weekend, which spurred on some vicious allergy attacks. We thought the attacks just kept recurring, but then he ended up with a fever of 102. Aside from hoping he gets well soon, I am also worried that the girls and I will get sick. I am worried not because of the normal worries moms have, but because I lied and called in sick a couple times last month. I pretended we all had the flu, and now if we really do get the flu, I don't have an excuse for calling out sick. Karma.
I have been watching Clean Sweep on TLC to try and get me motivated to purge and organize. I started on my master bedroom closet today. I forgot just how big my closet really is without shopping bags, shoes, and boxes on the floor. I tried the Clean Sweep method by completely emptying the closet and moving everything out into the bathroom area (adjacent to our closet). Felipe walked into the empty closet (after having maneuvered his way toward me amongst the maze of closet clutter in the bathroom) and said, "Wow, the closet looks great! Let's go to sleep." Very funny that guy. Anyway, we now are left with practically no clothes, just a few pairs of shoes (3 for him, 40-ish for me), and a gazillion empty hangars. I love it. Let's hope it stays that way. Next is the single car garage. We have a 2-car and 1-car garage, of which I am grateful for, because the single car garage stays closed at all times in order to avoid neighborhood embarrassment.
The only other thing I can bore you with is that I registered for a useless gym membership. I hate the gym. Really I do. However, Boeing has a pretty good deal with a gym franchise that just opened a new location right by my house. If I were feeling really ambitious I could jog or ride my bike to the gym since it is pretty close. We just got the membership a couple days ago and I was planning to go in the morning, but now I will probably be too tired. Story of my life.
I can't think of anything else to bore you about, so I suppose I should try and sleep. And *maybe* go to the gym in a couple hours.
Thanks for checking in.
~cc
Saturday, March 8, 2008
I'm a Rock Star!
I just had to post this really quickly because I want to share the latest fun experience we have had! We went to Sam's Club to get steaks for dinner tonight, and ended up walking out with the coolest game for the kids (and me). They had a set-up near the electronics section for Rock Band on XBox and all these kids were waiting in line to play. Our kids of course wanted to try it out, so they did. Watching all these kids pretend to play electric guitar and the drums made me want to try it too. Before Felipe knew it, I threw the game (for the PS2) into our cart. It comes with the guitar, a microphone, and a little drumset. We got it home and it took about 5 minutes to set up, and we have been playing it for about an hour. Between Jessica, Alisa and myself, we all get to be lead vocalist, drummer or electric guitarist at one point. So maybe my kids won't be classical pianists or excel at a band or orchestra instrument, but at least I can say we can rock out to Bon Jovi's Dead or Alive pretty well. What is also cool is that the vocal track to all these songs is the original, and not some silly karaoke wanna be.
So if you are up for some silly family fun, and don't have a "real" guitar or drumset, this is a pretty cheap way to do it. We paid $149 at Sam's Club and so far it looks like it is worth the money. The only downside is the limited song selection, but hopefully that will grow as time goes on. In the meantime I am satisfied singing Bon Jovi and Weezer.
So if you are up for some silly family fun, and don't have a "real" guitar or drumset, this is a pretty cheap way to do it. We paid $149 at Sam's Club and so far it looks like it is worth the money. The only downside is the limited song selection, but hopefully that will grow as time goes on. In the meantime I am satisfied singing Bon Jovi and Weezer.
Friday, March 7, 2008
March Madness
How does one manage to be considerate to every person that might possibly read this blog and at the same time use this blog to vent about frustrations with those same people? Not that I have anyone in particular to talk about.
I am taking a statistics class right now that is pretty tough. Not necessarily because the class material is difficult (which it is) but mostly because the professor isn't very good. It really is true that doing well in class is limited to how good of a professor one has. I have a decent enough textbook, but if I wanted to learn straight from the textbook I would have taken the online version. From what I heard it is pretty easy to get an A in this class because the professor grades on a pretty easy curve (or is it a steep curve?). More importantly than an A however, is to feel like I actually learned something when this class is over. Wow - I must really be an adult student to worry about what I glean from school more than the final grade. At least this upcoming week is spring break and I get to rest for a week.
We are currently doing one of those movie channel trial periods with our TV. I had to put the end date on my cell phone so I don't forget to cancel and inadvertently end up paying for movie channels I don't want. Today I caught part of the movie Higher Learning (1995). I forgot how good this movie is. It used to be one of my favorites. I love how the movie is so subtle about some of the really big social messages it portrays. I was also surprised to see that the guy I watch every week on House (Omar Epps) is a main character in this movie. Here is a more elementary observation: Tyra Banks claims that her breasts are real, and yet in this movie she is very flat chested. How does one go from being an A cup to a D cup in just a few years without plastic surgery?
Another older movie that I was able to catch on afternoon HBO is The Princess Bride. This used to be one of my favorites in high school. I watched it with the girls a couple weeks ago and they loved it too. What is really funny is I heard them quoting the movie the other day. They were saying, "incontheivable" and "mawwiage". Too funny that even at 8 and 10 they are beginning their own list of cult classic movies. What's next? Office Space?
This week Felipe and I switched cars (he needed the extra seats for carpooling to a conference). I drove our Toyota Prius and became very spoiled because Boeing allows you to park in carpool parking if you drive a hybrid vehicle. Walking in 3" and 4" heels was much more bearable when I am able to park closer to the building. Next week I will have to go back to my normal parking -practically a mile away from my building. I looked into getting a bike permit to ride a bike from my car to the building, but apparently I am not the only one who considered that because there is strict verbiage in the bike permit that prohibits precisely that. I was just kidding, but I guess someone else must have been serious in order for them to put the prohibition into print.
I decided to create a page on Facebook. It seemed like a cool idea until I realized that I have no friends. To highlight this fact, Facebook actually prints a count of how many friends you have. At first it was zero and it has slowly crept up to around 5. Most of those people are related so I don't know if I can truly count them as separate friends. Technically it should be just 1. So, if you are reading this and you have not registered a profile on Facebook, you should. And the first thing you should do is add me as a friend. Pretty please.
We had a guest spend the night here last night and we have another guest coming tonight. Next week we have a different guest, so I will be pretty busy washing sheets and cleaning the guest bathroom. I guess I better get to work. If you are so inclined, feel free to come and join our guest book! We have a downstairs basement that has slowly turned into guest quarters.
~cc
I am taking a statistics class right now that is pretty tough. Not necessarily because the class material is difficult (which it is) but mostly because the professor isn't very good. It really is true that doing well in class is limited to how good of a professor one has. I have a decent enough textbook, but if I wanted to learn straight from the textbook I would have taken the online version. From what I heard it is pretty easy to get an A in this class because the professor grades on a pretty easy curve (or is it a steep curve?). More importantly than an A however, is to feel like I actually learned something when this class is over. Wow - I must really be an adult student to worry about what I glean from school more than the final grade. At least this upcoming week is spring break and I get to rest for a week.
We are currently doing one of those movie channel trial periods with our TV. I had to put the end date on my cell phone so I don't forget to cancel and inadvertently end up paying for movie channels I don't want. Today I caught part of the movie Higher Learning (1995). I forgot how good this movie is. It used to be one of my favorites. I love how the movie is so subtle about some of the really big social messages it portrays. I was also surprised to see that the guy I watch every week on House (Omar Epps) is a main character in this movie. Here is a more elementary observation: Tyra Banks claims that her breasts are real, and yet in this movie she is very flat chested. How does one go from being an A cup to a D cup in just a few years without plastic surgery?
Another older movie that I was able to catch on afternoon HBO is The Princess Bride. This used to be one of my favorites in high school. I watched it with the girls a couple weeks ago and they loved it too. What is really funny is I heard them quoting the movie the other day. They were saying, "incontheivable" and "mawwiage". Too funny that even at 8 and 10 they are beginning their own list of cult classic movies. What's next? Office Space?
This week Felipe and I switched cars (he needed the extra seats for carpooling to a conference). I drove our Toyota Prius and became very spoiled because Boeing allows you to park in carpool parking if you drive a hybrid vehicle. Walking in 3" and 4" heels was much more bearable when I am able to park closer to the building. Next week I will have to go back to my normal parking -practically a mile away from my building. I looked into getting a bike permit to ride a bike from my car to the building, but apparently I am not the only one who considered that because there is strict verbiage in the bike permit that prohibits precisely that. I was just kidding, but I guess someone else must have been serious in order for them to put the prohibition into print.
I decided to create a page on Facebook. It seemed like a cool idea until I realized that I have no friends. To highlight this fact, Facebook actually prints a count of how many friends you have. At first it was zero and it has slowly crept up to around 5. Most of those people are related so I don't know if I can truly count them as separate friends. Technically it should be just 1. So, if you are reading this and you have not registered a profile on Facebook, you should. And the first thing you should do is add me as a friend. Pretty please.
We had a guest spend the night here last night and we have another guest coming tonight. Next week we have a different guest, so I will be pretty busy washing sheets and cleaning the guest bathroom. I guess I better get to work. If you are so inclined, feel free to come and join our guest book! We have a downstairs basement that has slowly turned into guest quarters.
~cc
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
In-Laws, Craigslist, and Plasmas, Oh My!
Okay, so I missed my January posting. I have lots to catch up on. I also admit that I am really bad at taking pictures so I have no interesting photos to include.
Things have been going well around the Caballero house lately. Starting in January I started a new job with Boeing as an Intern. Once I finish my Master's I hope to secure a permanent job with them. I am a "Human Factors Engineer" which basically means I help test and provide feedback for new designs on the Apache helicopter that Boeing creates for the US Army. We are working on the newest production of the Apache which probably won't be out in the airfields for another several years, but has some really exciting additions. Even though I am a lowly Intern, they have been giving me tons of responsibility (the pay isn't too shabby either).
A couple weeks ago we were having dinner at a neighbor's house and Felipe tells our neighbors (much to my surprise as well) that his parents are arriving from Mexico in 3 days. My excitement must have been obvious because our friends broke the long awkward silence with a tense chuckle, "Sounds like this is news to you Christy." I nodded trying not to choke on my dessert while we all proceeded to finish our homemade ice cream. From the shock of unannounced in-laws I felt a sudden urge to shop. Having just finished spooning homemade vanilla ice cream into my mouth, I had the perfect idea. My very own ice cream maker. Now I could drown my stress by spending and eating. I did some research and found that there is a Kitchen Aid ice cream maker that attaches to my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. This is the perfect solution to my desire for a high quality ice cream maker, and my low tolerence for the shrinking space in my kitchen due to infrequently used appliances. By the time you read this I will have already made vanilla ice cream, and it turned out excellent. The attachment was extremely easy to use and the ice cream was much better than any premium ice cream I have ever tried. I put a little malt flavoring in it to make it "vanilla malt" flavored and it turned out as well as I had imagined.
All my moaning and groaning about my in-laws coming isn't really about the in-laws themselves. I love them. I really do. (Just in case they are reading this). It's more the fact that I don't have enough time to get the house perfectly ready to impress Felipe's mom. I want the cereal boxes alphabetized and the linen closet shelves labeled with bows around the towel sets. For this visit I was very fortunate: I had only 2 boxes of cereal to alphabetize. On the morning The In-Laws were to arrive I called Felipe every 15 minutes for their arrival status. When they arrived, I greeted them with my hair in a 1980's scrunchie, sweat pouring down my face, and a one-armed hug while pushing a vacuum and hollering hello over the noise. If the house wasn't going to be clean, I was at least going to pretend that I was trying. My mother-in-law arrived with a wonderful gift for me from Mexico. She brought me an authentic handmade tortilla press. It was carved from beautiful caribbean wood. I am not a big fan of corn tortillas, but homemade corn tortillas are simply amazing. They are even better than flour tortillas, which is saying a lot. I was pleasantly surprised to find that making corn tortillas is incredibly easy. All one has to do is buy a masa mix (sort of like flour), mix it with water, roll it into balls, and set it on the press. We have been having some wonderful meals with homemade corn tortillas. I actually made my very own tortillas from start to finish while my mother-in-law watched, and I think I finally made her proud. Unlike the gift she brought me last year, which currently is a beautiful decoration above my kitchen cabinets. Last year she brought me this amazing copper pot for cooking carnitas. Recently I went to Williams Sonoma and found a pot not as well crafted, 1/3 the size, and costing several hundred dollars. Now that I have been able to see it is worth something in Williams Sonoma's eyes I might be able to consider its value and utilize it.
A few months ago our TV started to go kaput. It started with flickering into black and white mode, and we merely tolerated it. Then it went completely black and white and we considered limiting ourselves to old movies on the A&E network. Finally it reached its death by giving us great sound and no picture at all. The biggest disappointment was that we purchased the TV in 1999 and at the time it was the best of the best. I expected it to last us 30 years. You know the drill - in 10 years Jessica and Alisa will still have to point an ancient cancer causing remote control at the TV while everyone else telepathically controls the television. Similar to me in 1992 manually dialing into UHF mode while the rest of the country used remote controls. But I digress. After some research on CNet I decided that a 50" Panasonic plasma would be our best choice. For those of you who haven't yet discovered CNet, I suggest you check it out. It is great for reviews on electronics, and not only do you get professional reviews, but users like The Jones's will post their particular experiences with high priced gadgets. I count on reviews from the regular Joe Schmoe even more than those from the professional Techie Geeks.
Things have been going well around the Caballero house lately. Starting in January I started a new job with Boeing as an Intern. Once I finish my Master's I hope to secure a permanent job with them. I am a "Human Factors Engineer" which basically means I help test and provide feedback for new designs on the Apache helicopter that Boeing creates for the US Army. We are working on the newest production of the Apache which probably won't be out in the airfields for another several years, but has some really exciting additions. Even though I am a lowly Intern, they have been giving me tons of responsibility (the pay isn't too shabby either).
A couple weeks ago we were having dinner at a neighbor's house and Felipe tells our neighbors (much to my surprise as well) that his parents are arriving from Mexico in 3 days. My excitement must have been obvious because our friends broke the long awkward silence with a tense chuckle, "Sounds like this is news to you Christy." I nodded trying not to choke on my dessert while we all proceeded to finish our homemade ice cream. From the shock of unannounced in-laws I felt a sudden urge to shop. Having just finished spooning homemade vanilla ice cream into my mouth, I had the perfect idea. My very own ice cream maker. Now I could drown my stress by spending and eating. I did some research and found that there is a Kitchen Aid ice cream maker that attaches to my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. This is the perfect solution to my desire for a high quality ice cream maker, and my low tolerence for the shrinking space in my kitchen due to infrequently used appliances. By the time you read this I will have already made vanilla ice cream, and it turned out excellent. The attachment was extremely easy to use and the ice cream was much better than any premium ice cream I have ever tried. I put a little malt flavoring in it to make it "vanilla malt" flavored and it turned out as well as I had imagined.
All my moaning and groaning about my in-laws coming isn't really about the in-laws themselves. I love them. I really do. (Just in case they are reading this). It's more the fact that I don't have enough time to get the house perfectly ready to impress Felipe's mom. I want the cereal boxes alphabetized and the linen closet shelves labeled with bows around the towel sets. For this visit I was very fortunate: I had only 2 boxes of cereal to alphabetize. On the morning The In-Laws were to arrive I called Felipe every 15 minutes for their arrival status. When they arrived, I greeted them with my hair in a 1980's scrunchie, sweat pouring down my face, and a one-armed hug while pushing a vacuum and hollering hello over the noise. If the house wasn't going to be clean, I was at least going to pretend that I was trying. My mother-in-law arrived with a wonderful gift for me from Mexico. She brought me an authentic handmade tortilla press. It was carved from beautiful caribbean wood. I am not a big fan of corn tortillas, but homemade corn tortillas are simply amazing. They are even better than flour tortillas, which is saying a lot. I was pleasantly surprised to find that making corn tortillas is incredibly easy. All one has to do is buy a masa mix (sort of like flour), mix it with water, roll it into balls, and set it on the press. We have been having some wonderful meals with homemade corn tortillas. I actually made my very own tortillas from start to finish while my mother-in-law watched, and I think I finally made her proud. Unlike the gift she brought me last year, which currently is a beautiful decoration above my kitchen cabinets. Last year she brought me this amazing copper pot for cooking carnitas. Recently I went to Williams Sonoma and found a pot not as well crafted, 1/3 the size, and costing several hundred dollars. Now that I have been able to see it is worth something in Williams Sonoma's eyes I might be able to consider its value and utilize it.
A few months ago our TV started to go kaput. It started with flickering into black and white mode, and we merely tolerated it. Then it went completely black and white and we considered limiting ourselves to old movies on the A&E network. Finally it reached its death by giving us great sound and no picture at all. The biggest disappointment was that we purchased the TV in 1999 and at the time it was the best of the best. I expected it to last us 30 years. You know the drill - in 10 years Jessica and Alisa will still have to point an ancient cancer causing remote control at the TV while everyone else telepathically controls the television. Similar to me in 1992 manually dialing into UHF mode while the rest of the country used remote controls. But I digress. After some research on CNet I decided that a 50" Panasonic plasma would be our best choice. For those of you who haven't yet discovered CNet, I suggest you check it out. It is great for reviews on electronics, and not only do you get professional reviews, but users like The Jones's will post their particular experiences with high priced gadgets. I count on reviews from the regular Joe Schmoe even more than those from the professional Techie Geeks.
Of course in order to have such a nice new TV in the house, we had to change our furniture in the family room. We had formal sleek shiny leather which boded well for dog hair and popsicle spills, but not great for loafing around and watching movies. One night, at a little after midnight, I tiptoed through the house, turned on the lamps in the family room, took some photos of the couches and posted them on Craigslist. We awoke the next morning to phone calls of awaiting buyers, much to Felipe's surprise. Unfortunately I had no plans for a replacement so for the next week or so we sat on barstools facing the TV. In order to eliminate the barstool scenario ASAP, I had to limit my sofa shopping to stores with stock on hand, which is basically Costco or Sam's Club. Luckily I found a theater style sofa that I really liked at Sam's. The ottomans lift up for storage or pinching small fingers in the hinges. I love that feature.
Okay, well I better save some good gossip for the next posting. Hopefully I'll be able to make it for March.
Thanks for tuning in.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
"Christmas is coming the geese are getting fat..."
I figured I should make an appearance before Christmas comes. Once again, I did NOT do a Christmas card, and I feel terribly guilty. Maybe I can somehow manage to mail out a New Year's letter. Oh, who am kidding?
Things are wrapping up for us gift wise. The girls are excited for Santa to come. We went to the mall and picked names off the tree to buy gifts for the needy. I was explaining to the girls how fortunate they are and that the gifts we were buying for our "angel" might be the only gifts those children receive. Alisa corrected me that the kids would receive gifts from Santa. Hmm, I had no response for that. It made me wonder how less fortunate families explain that Santa doesn't bring their kids the same Playstation 3, motorized scooters and designer clothes that he brings other families. It made me sad, and very thankful for what we have.
The weather has finally cooled off and we can start to wear sweaters. It is nice to have the cool crisp air to keep the smell of pollution to a minimum. The kids go off to school bundled in mittens and scarves and at the end of the day they ride their bike home with everything stuffed in their backpacks because by late afternoon the weather has reached warm temperatures. At this point their backpacks are only used for transporting coats and scarves.
2008 will mark a turning point for me. I have been offered a new job as a Human Factors Engineering Intern at Boeing. This is a great opportunity because I will finally be able to utilize my exact undergraduate (and graduate) degree. The internship is for the duration of my Master's program and then I hope to be hired as a regular employee. I have been with the Air Force Research Lab for 5 years now and will be sad to go, but it is definitely time for a change. I have decided to use this opportunity to focus on school, and work solely part time. The sooner I finish my Master's the sooner I will be hired on as a regular employee so it is in my best interest to focus on school. At the same time I hope to be around the house with the girls more, which is something that I haven't been doing in the last year or two. I am very excited for this turn of events!
So far that is all that is newsworthy. I'll write more after the holidays...Thanks for checking in.
Things are wrapping up for us gift wise. The girls are excited for Santa to come. We went to the mall and picked names off the tree to buy gifts for the needy. I was explaining to the girls how fortunate they are and that the gifts we were buying for our "angel" might be the only gifts those children receive. Alisa corrected me that the kids would receive gifts from Santa. Hmm, I had no response for that. It made me wonder how less fortunate families explain that Santa doesn't bring their kids the same Playstation 3, motorized scooters and designer clothes that he brings other families. It made me sad, and very thankful for what we have.
The weather has finally cooled off and we can start to wear sweaters. It is nice to have the cool crisp air to keep the smell of pollution to a minimum. The kids go off to school bundled in mittens and scarves and at the end of the day they ride their bike home with everything stuffed in their backpacks because by late afternoon the weather has reached warm temperatures. At this point their backpacks are only used for transporting coats and scarves.
2008 will mark a turning point for me. I have been offered a new job as a Human Factors Engineering Intern at Boeing. This is a great opportunity because I will finally be able to utilize my exact undergraduate (and graduate) degree. The internship is for the duration of my Master's program and then I hope to be hired as a regular employee. I have been with the Air Force Research Lab for 5 years now and will be sad to go, but it is definitely time for a change. I have decided to use this opportunity to focus on school, and work solely part time. The sooner I finish my Master's the sooner I will be hired on as a regular employee so it is in my best interest to focus on school. At the same time I hope to be around the house with the girls more, which is something that I haven't been doing in the last year or two. I am very excited for this turn of events!
So far that is all that is newsworthy. I'll write more after the holidays...Thanks for checking in.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Tis the Season
Hello,
I noticed that I last posted on 11/5, so I guess I am keeping up with my once a month promise so far. Not bad.
We had a great Thanksgiving, just my mom, dad, brother and sister were in attendance. Lots of leftover turkey since I made a total of 26 lbs for just the 6 adults. For the first time I tried a 12-hour brine solution, and the turkey turned out very juicy. I will definitely do a brine solution every year from now on. I must say it smelled pretty disgusting and I almost lost my appetite when I was rinsing the turkey the next morning, but I managed to control my gag reflex. Felipe actually enjoyed the smell and thought it smelled like a solution that needed some gin or vodka. And people wonder why I don't enjoy alcohol. Adding alcohol to a "s0lution" that smells like some combination of vomit and mold to make a tasty cocktail just doesn't do it for me.
The next day my sister and I decided to brave Black Friday. I wonder if it is called Black Friday because you are waiting foolishly in line in the pitch black of night to save a couple dollars on some crazy toy. I thought the girls were old enough that I didn't need to do Toys R Us, but I saw something in the ad that looked promising. Since Toys R Us opened at 5 AM we decided to get there at 6 AM in hopes of passing the departing crazies while we entered. No such luck. At 6 AM the line was wrapped all the way around the building. Once we got in line we felt we couldn't leave, so we were stuck waiting outside for about an hour to save about $20 total. Hmmm, needless to say, I doubt I will be doing that again (I say this every couple years). The Mesa High School orchestra and choir had a great fundraiser though. They sold donuts, coffee and hot chocolate to everyone waiting in line. The prices were cheap for those of us waiting ($1), and I bet they made some good money. What a great fundraising effort!
Today I am by myself at home while the girls are out with my sister buying gifts for the disadvantaged and Felipe is off buying my gift. Supposedly. I say supposedly because we don't usually exchange gifts. Very unromantic, I know. I strongly hinted that I would like some upgraded diamond earrings, but I doubt that Santa or Hubby will bring those this year. Sigh.
Our 2 year old Dell computer completely crashed a couple weeks ago. According to Dell, our motherboard and memory needed to be replaced. The good thing was that Felipe managed to salvage our hard drive (it had all our pictures). Then Dell did something really surprising and just sent us an entirely brand new computer. It is the latest and greatest and we are so excited! I will definitely buy a Dell computer again. We bought the computer at Costco.com and it automatically came with an extended manufacturer's warranty for 3 years. Dell sent a technician out to us when it initially crashed and eventually they determined to replace the entire unit. It's nice to have a technician come out and work on it because even though Felipe could have done it, it would have taken him several hours on the phone with tech support while they ask him questions like, "Are you sure the computer is plugged in?". Here's a question for you computer/itunes geeks out there (you know who you are). Do any of you know how to "unauthorize" a computer that no longer exists?
The weather today is beautifully cloudy, windy and rainy. We have been desperate for some rain, so it is a good thirst quencher for our state. The bad thing is that since the dogs have been getting wet our bedroom smells like a bunch of dirty gym socks. So romantic. On that note, I think I will go and make some hot chocolate and curl up with a good book. Thanks for checking in.
Love to all,
Christy
I noticed that I last posted on 11/5, so I guess I am keeping up with my once a month promise so far. Not bad.
We had a great Thanksgiving, just my mom, dad, brother and sister were in attendance. Lots of leftover turkey since I made a total of 26 lbs for just the 6 adults. For the first time I tried a 12-hour brine solution, and the turkey turned out very juicy. I will definitely do a brine solution every year from now on. I must say it smelled pretty disgusting and I almost lost my appetite when I was rinsing the turkey the next morning, but I managed to control my gag reflex. Felipe actually enjoyed the smell and thought it smelled like a solution that needed some gin or vodka. And people wonder why I don't enjoy alcohol. Adding alcohol to a "s0lution" that smells like some combination of vomit and mold to make a tasty cocktail just doesn't do it for me.
The next day my sister and I decided to brave Black Friday. I wonder if it is called Black Friday because you are waiting foolishly in line in the pitch black of night to save a couple dollars on some crazy toy. I thought the girls were old enough that I didn't need to do Toys R Us, but I saw something in the ad that looked promising. Since Toys R Us opened at 5 AM we decided to get there at 6 AM in hopes of passing the departing crazies while we entered. No such luck. At 6 AM the line was wrapped all the way around the building. Once we got in line we felt we couldn't leave, so we were stuck waiting outside for about an hour to save about $20 total. Hmmm, needless to say, I doubt I will be doing that again (I say this every couple years). The Mesa High School orchestra and choir had a great fundraiser though. They sold donuts, coffee and hot chocolate to everyone waiting in line. The prices were cheap for those of us waiting ($1), and I bet they made some good money. What a great fundraising effort!
Today I am by myself at home while the girls are out with my sister buying gifts for the disadvantaged and Felipe is off buying my gift. Supposedly. I say supposedly because we don't usually exchange gifts. Very unromantic, I know. I strongly hinted that I would like some upgraded diamond earrings, but I doubt that Santa or Hubby will bring those this year. Sigh.
Our 2 year old Dell computer completely crashed a couple weeks ago. According to Dell, our motherboard and memory needed to be replaced. The good thing was that Felipe managed to salvage our hard drive (it had all our pictures). Then Dell did something really surprising and just sent us an entirely brand new computer. It is the latest and greatest and we are so excited! I will definitely buy a Dell computer again. We bought the computer at Costco.com and it automatically came with an extended manufacturer's warranty for 3 years. Dell sent a technician out to us when it initially crashed and eventually they determined to replace the entire unit. It's nice to have a technician come out and work on it because even though Felipe could have done it, it would have taken him several hours on the phone with tech support while they ask him questions like, "Are you sure the computer is plugged in?". Here's a question for you computer/itunes geeks out there (you know who you are). Do any of you know how to "unauthorize" a computer that no longer exists?
The weather today is beautifully cloudy, windy and rainy. We have been desperate for some rain, so it is a good thirst quencher for our state. The bad thing is that since the dogs have been getting wet our bedroom smells like a bunch of dirty gym socks. So romantic. On that note, I think I will go and make some hot chocolate and curl up with a good book. Thanks for checking in.
Love to all,
Christy
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)