New Toy

Elphie says hi. See?

Sure, this isn't a great photo. I'd argue that it isn't even a good photo. But I took it with the webcam built in to the new netbook.

The netbook, a.k.a. "vacation computer," is tiny. The keyboard is cramped, though positively enormous compared to attempting to type on my cell phone. The screen is big enough for casual web surfing or video watching, though I wouldn't want to have to actually work on it.

Anyway, you should be glad that all you have is a still picture of Elph...it could've just as easily been a video of Scott and Milo asleep on the couch! Perhaps I should take one of them to bed now. G'night!

Houston, We Have a Problem

Cute little ducklings, right? Sadly, we may never know how cute, because the only photo editing software that came with this computer was PAINT!

It's not really a crisis. I mean, it's not a crisis at all. It just means either I'll have to throw myself on the mercy of online photo editing software or find the CDs that are probably in the closet in this very room. The printer came with a program that lets you do layers and all sorts of fun stuff. Not it's just a matter of finding it!

Anyway, thanks to Scott for taking this picture while I was trapped at work. He thinks, given their extremely small size, that the nest must be around our pond somewhere. If that's the case, I worry about their chances of survival, considering not just the alligator(s), but the hawks and eagles in the area as well. I count at least 6 of them up there... it'll be cool if they stick around and I get to watch them grow up. Plus, Scott really has an affinity for the ducks. They might be his favorite of all the pond birds.

VISA: Secured

You know your credit card has good security features when you make a big-ticket purchase and they are calling you before you even leave the store to make sure your credit card is still in your possession!

Actually, we made two big-ticket purchases. We finally bought Scott's Man-Grill (when you see it, you'll understand the title). And we finally replaced our slow-beyond-comprehension PC.

The grill is assembled. (I won't tell you about the DRAMA of going into Lowe's to find it's out of stock, and then finding out it's in stock, and then finding out it's not really in stock, and then finding out it's in stock but not put away correctly, and then finally getting it and forgetting to use the $25 off coupon in my purse, and then finding out it wouldn't fit in Scott's trunk...or back seat, and then having to rent a pick-up truck for the 20 minutes it took to drive round-trip and unload the thing! That part is better left unspoken.)

But since I'm still in the painstaking process of saving old files to CDs and jump drives, the new PC is still in the box. But it's so new... and the flat-panel monitor is so pretty...

sigh, sometimes it's so hard being a grown-up!

I burned two final music CDs with random tunes taking up space on the hard drive (don't tell me that's what makes the computer slow. la la la, I can't hear you over my pretty new monitor), I burned two photo CDs, and after I save my 2010 (the year, not the number) photos onto the jump drive, I think the last step is to go through folders and look for things I want to rescue.

You know what I'm not going to be able to rescue and it breaks my heart? The 8 "I VOTED" stickers stuck around the edge of the monitor. That's 4 elections' worth! My Obama sticker... my Obama primary sticker... my John Kerry sticker... my John Edwards primary sticker... (hey - I'm 2 and 2 - it could be worse! and when you include Scott's stickers, our winning percentage is even higher!) There are 7 other stickers on the monitor, too. Each is a different Chiquita banana sticker. My favorite says "place sticker on forehead. smile." Words to live by, right?

So, enough of my sentimental journey through stickers. I've got an exciting new box of stuff to play with!