Low Tech Time

I came to the conclusion that I simply am on a computer way too much. At work, I cant get away from it. I test software so generally that involves using a computer. When I come home however, there is simply no need to use one (except to update the old blog). After playing wayyyy too many games on Facebook today, I decided that I was going to do one low tech, non computer related activity each evening after work. Let see how long I last.

Today, I did do some painting, my daughter is officially too big for her little girl room, so we had to tween it out a bit. Tween is such an odd word. Sounds like you are trying to squeeze something into something to small and you have to tween it in order to fit. Slang is a great thing.

But I digress... More low tech activies soon.

Howly Cat

Howly cat torments me every morning. I thought having kids was what would get me up at the crack of dawn. Not so. The kids have met their match is a tuxedo kitty named Fitz or Puddle Cat as she is sometimes called (she lays down and flattens out into a puddle looking cat). She finds joy in beginning the meowing at 5 am. I try to get up early, but not that early. She is also somewhat senile, so after I feed her, she starts meowing again if she facing the wrong way and no longer has the food in front of her. That part is funny. It would probably be funnier if it wasn't 5 am. Maybe it if were 7 and I had my coffee, but no. It has to be 5 on the dot. I need to start getting used to waking early, but so far after 4 months, no dice, I hate the sound of a howling cat at dawn. Good thing for her I love her to bits.

Humidity

So desert living has me spoiled. I spent 5 days in Orlando on a business trip. Considering it has been in the upper 90's in Phoenix, I figured 85 would be a delight. Then I got off the plane and tried to breathe. Ah humidity...it all came back. Walked to dinner - HUGE mistake. We picked the restaurant solely because we needed to get some air conditioning. Luckily it was good. Feeling is like I need 3 showers in one day just to not feel completely disgusting is not for me. Now dry heat is awful and when it is windy it feels like you are walking into a blow dryer, but humidity is the worst. I never thought I would be happy to come back to 100 degree weather, but hot is definitely better than hot and disgusting.

Fun with Telemarketers

Yes, it has been a while, I know...but this was funny and I must share.

So, like everyone we get our fair share of calls from various organizations trying to sell us their snake oil. My husband has a knack for saying just the right thing to get us removed from their call lists. Sometimes he will tell this long winded sob story. Other times it is unrepeatable. He enjoys thinking of things to get them person on the phone to feel uncomfortable and want to hang up. Then he gets a good chuckle and moves on to something else. The other night, I think he had the best response to a telemarketer yet. Here in our part of the Phoenix area we have two newspapers; The Arizona Republic and The Tribune. The Arizona Republic is a huge monster of a daily paper with monthly delivery fees. My husband hates this paper. Apparently their sports section does not report on hockey close enough to the front page because our local team is terrible. The East Valley Tribune is a much smaller paper, less stories, but decent enough reading. They also recently turned to a 4 day a week paper that is delivered free due to budget. I assume they make their money on ads. Even though they are smaller, one of their reporters won a Pulitzer prize for a investigative story about our ridiculous county sheriff (who is an ass, but that is just my opinion, but he completely is one).

So getting back to the telemarketing...the phone rang the other night and my husband answers. There is silence for a minute and then I hear

"..until you can give me a free paper and a Pulitzer...I am simply not interested...hello?...hello?"

The Arizona Republic was not amused. I was cackling.

Awesome Cubicle Cartoon

I feel like saying this at least once a day to someone at my office.

Feast One Hundred & Ninety

Appetizer
When someone smiles at you, do you smile back?
Of course!

Soup
Describe the flooring in your home. Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix?
I have tile on most, concrete where I decided I hated the carpet in my bedroom and carpeting that will soon be leaving my house in the rest of the bedrooms!! Can you tell I am anti-carpet!

Salad
Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name.
Cindy's cat circled cautious crows.

Main Course
Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption?
I have a friend who is in the process of trying to adopt a baby. I never knew how much the agency's require before they even begin to match you with a birth mother.

Dessert
Name 2 blue things.
My children's eyes. I guess that is 4.

I got tagged...

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 or more people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers.
5. You don't have to randomly italic or bold answers, as Blogger has done for me.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was living here, working at a crappy document company and I had just moved into my first house.

2. What are 5 Things on my To-Do List for today:
1. Take a training class at work
2. Play with the kids
3. Go for a walk (yes, I did it!)
4. Make flowers for Teacher Appreciation Day
5. Relax (still working on this one)

3. Snacks I Enjoy:
I really love chips. I think I could eat any variety of Poor Brother's Chips. They are the very best ones.
I also enjoy eating fruit (I know - nerd), but I can eat fruit all of the time.

4. Things I would do if I were a Billionaire:
1. Pay off everything.
2. Pay off quite a few friends mortgages.
3. Dump tons of money on my family to allow them to do what they will.
4. New Dream Home
5. Vacations
6. College for Kids, plus trust funds.
7. Set up a philanthropic organization to help non profits, medical research, animal rescues and to provide grants for businesses and the arts.
8. Probably a ton of things that I havent thought of.

5. Three Of My Bad Habits:
1. I am neurotic about leaving the house on time for plans (other than work).
2. I interrupt people too much.
3. Checking email too often.

6. 5 Places I have Lived:
1. Wappingers Falls, New York
2. Plattsburgh, New York for college
3. Mesa, Arizona currently
4. Denver, CO.
5. I spent a summer in Michigan and Illinois.

7. Jobs I Have Had:
1. A shoe salesperson for Thom McAn (with Linda).
2. Managed a cool toy store called Learningsmith
3. Web Designer
4. Guidance Counselor's office assistant
5. QA Manager for software company (currently)

8. 5 People I Want To Know More About:I Am Tagging:
Apparently, I dont know enough people with blogs, so I am going to have to pick the 2 that I have:
Diana
Aunt Kathie