Tales of a Type B Mom

Stupid and Fat

2010-03-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

I am trying hard to understand the obsession our country has on thinness and beauty. I understand that companies market youth and beauty to see their products but why do people buy into it? I read a facebook post today about a woman who writes a furniture blog. She posts a picture of an item from a catalog and then comes up with the plans for it. Then she posts the plans on the internet so others can make the same piece of furniture for a fraction of the cost of buying it from the catalog. She is writing a show proposal and last night told her husband that she doesn't want a show because people will call her stupid and fat. Please tell me what weight has to do with furniture?! WHO FREAKIN' CARES if she is fat and in order to do what she does she definitely can't be considered stupid! She has a skill that people are interested in... What does it matter what she looks like?! Besides, she is a beautiful woman who can't weigh more than 112lbs so why is she wasting brain cells on this unncessary insecurity?!

I just don't get it.

Board book featuring your child...

2009-05-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hello! I know it's been a while since I've posted and I'm sorry about that. I just really haven't had much to say, or rather, the time to really say anything. In the past few months we survived a move to a new city, house, school, etc. and we are still trying to make the adjustment.

Enough about me, how about we get our hands on some free stuff?

A high school friend of mine just launched her new business and to celebrate she's giving you a chance to win two free products. The company is Mine Own Book and they create board books and scrapbooks with the pictures you upload to them. They have a couple of layouts to choose from using your child as the star!

Not only would this be a great gift for your own child but would definitely make a winning gift for all of the other toddlers in your life.

The giveaway is listed on the Mine Own Book blog and ends on May 14th, at midnight, MST. If you want to order a book or several books please go directly to the Mine Own Book website. There you can see what they have and meet my beautiful friend Leslie and her wonderful family!

Good Luck!!!

Free Coffee is Always Good!

2008-12-16T18:39:00.000-08:00

So, I have a coffee roasting twitter friend in Georgia who is known to us web surfers as Barista on Duty. Well, he recently sent me a sample of his house blend in order to test how well ground coffee ships and to try and convert me to his world o' java. So, here is a little pictorial of what I received and what I did with it:

The little bag of coffee was still sealed when I opened the shipping package. He was worried that it might burst but it did not. The bag was pretty full though so I would suggest not filling it up any fuller than it was because the gases did make it expand quite a bit.

This is what it looked like right after I opened it:

I use two scoops to make 4 cups of coffee every morning and afternoon. There's usually a little coffee left that winds up getting dumped out so I am getting a single serve coffee maker in January. Don't worry, I'll buy the adapter so that I can also use grounds if I want.

This is how much coffee those two scoops make. I'm not sure if I'm making it too strong or too weak but this is how I usually like it. The oatmeal is the whole oat kind, I can't stand instant or fast cooking oatmeal. It's what Megan, Lizzie and I have most non-school mornings for breakfast. I would like to get a small crock-pot so that we can have it every day. I read somewhere that you can cook oatmeal with apples and cinnamon on low over night and the house smells really good the next morning.

And here's my scrumptious breakfast! I always drink my coffee with just milk, no sugar. Once in a while I'll buy a bottle of flavored creamer but not very often. Besides pancakes, this is my favorite breakfast!

As for the coffee is was pretty delicious. A little on the robust side and it almost has a slight burnt flavor. I would love to try some of his other blends.

If you want to check out Barista on Duty's other coffee blends or coffee related projects you can visit his website and/or follow him on twitter. He also hosts a coffee forum where you can take a look at pictures of his coffee house and find other coffee lovers to chat with.

My Starbuck's 1st Readers Club Book is HERE!

2008-12-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my previous post I won a book from the Starbucks V2V site. Well, I'm excited to say that it arrived last night! YAY! I can't wait to start reading it today. If you are interested in learning more about the 1st Readers Club or if you want to participate please check it out Here!

Alpaca Sock Giveaway...

2008-12-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

So, I've always thought that giveaways on blogs were completely stupid. They make you jump through hoops, which includes subscribing to their blog, in order to earn an entry. I always felt that if I were to do all the stuff many of the contests require then I should be guaranteed a win. I gave into my aversion about a month ago. I simply had to add a Starbuck's employee as a friend on my Starbuck's profile page and if I was one of the first 50 customers to do so I would win a signed copy of their first Starbucks 1st Readers Club books, The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper. Well, I was number 47 so my book should be here shortly! :) The next giveaway I entered was from a blog I already subscribe to but she wanted me to follow her and then write a comment on her blog about a time when I experienced a loss in my life and how creativity, connecting or giving back helped in my healing process. My response won me a childrens book. YAY!

My two wins in a month have convinced me that giveaways on blogs weren't complete time wasters after all, as long as the item that is up for grabs is something that won't just sit in a drawer wasting space for all of eternity. I'll read the novel, my kids will enjoy the childrens book and I will definitely enjoy these warm cozy alpalca socks if I am chosen for this prize. There are several ways to gain an entry so go and check it out. It's easy to enter and if you win you will be prized with warm feet! :)

Here's the link: http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com/2008/12/giveaway-day-8-alpaca-socks/#comment-619

Good Luck!

Getting to Know You, Christmas Edition

2008-12-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Depends on how big the gift is.

2. Real tree or Artificial? We've had a small artificial tree the past few years while the kids were babies but now I'm trying to decide for our big tree what we want. I'll probably go with real because I found out that I can buy a real potted tree and after Christmas a S.F. company will come and pick it up and then replant it elsewhere.

3. When do you put up the tree? As soon as I get motivated.

4. When do you take the tree down? Last year our tree was still up in April.

5. Do you like eggnog? I don't like regular eggnog, Pumpkin eggnog is pretty good but Dulce de Leche eggnog is the BEST! Especially in coffee! :)

6. Favorite gift received as a child? The only one I really remember was my Cabbage Patch Doll. She had orange hair and her name was Yolanda.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My mother. Anything you buy her, gift cards and all, will sit in her car or house for the rest of eternity still in the gift package you gave it to her in.

8. Easiest person to buy for? The girls. They want EVERYTHING! Megan is begging for the Dino Mountain Playset, whatever that is!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? No, I'm agnostic and even if I were still religious Jesus was NOT born in December and Christmas has nothing to do with his birth. Besides, he DID say not to remember his birth but to remember his death.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I WISH I could email them then maybe I'd actually get some out.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I love all of my gifts.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story

13. When do you start shopping? After Thanksgiving

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, I don't think so but I'm not opposed to it either.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies and cookie bars

16. Color of lights on the tree? Multi-colored. I've never understood one color trees. So boring! If you want a one-colored tree then just spray paint the darn thing and save your money!

17. Favorite Christmas songs? How in the world am I supposed to pick just one?

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home! I HATE traveling for Christmas and will probably never do it again.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Probably if I tried hard enough.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Not sure what I want yet.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning. One present xmas eve and the rest the next morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Well... Dare I say it?? Fundamentalist Christians would top my list!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Not sure, I've seen a lot of great ones.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Chinese food, baby! YUM!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I already have it. :)

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Who knows, I'm not even sure anyone reads my blog.

Prop. 8 The Musical! Watch it HERE!

2008-12-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

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An Open Letter to Verizon CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg

2008-12-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

I have used Verizon as my cell phone carrier for a couple of years and I've been extremely happy with their service. After reading this letter, from a personal friend of mine and Paul's, I realized that we've received such great service because we've always been taken care of by people we knew that worked with Paul. We've never once had to call customer support. Well, at the end of the month the Verizon employees that we know will be transferred out of Fremont so we will no longer be getting pampered by them. Paul's contract is up in January and mine is over in August. Paul is sold on the iphone and so he'll be transferring his service to AT&T. I was on the fence because until now I've loved the service I've received from Verizon. After reading this letter that Matthew has written I've realized that after our Verizon store closes I'll have to start dealing with the people described below. Just reading the letter has given me a headache so, I will be leaving Verizon in August and will join my husband with ATT.

An Open Letter To Verizon CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg
Written on December 2nd, 2008 by Matt. Filed under Scribtotum. Tagged with Internet, Personal, telephone.

Dear Ivan,

For years, I’ve used Verizon for my residential land-line telephone service. For most of 2007, I also used Verizon’s DSL service. In fact, Verizon’s “same price for life” offer on DSL lured me away from the more expensive Charter Communications broadband I had been using since 2002.

Over that time, however, my wife and I noticed our Verizon charges gradually rising until the phone part of our bill passed well above fifty dollars a month. We realized that, given our calling habits and cell phone usage (our cells are handled by a different provider), we just weren’t getting our money’s worth.

We debated dropping our land line altogether, but opted instead to try Vonage. The VOIP provider was running a special — $9.99 / month for three months and $24.99 a month thereafter — that would save us a substantial amount of money. Since we wanted to keep our Verizon DSL service, I did some research.

A very friendly woman with Verizon’s customer service department let me know that keeping DSL would not be a problem, even though I was “porting” my telephone number to a different company. Verizon, she assured me, would change my DSL service to something called “dry loop” DSL — essentially, DSL that isn’t associated with a telephone number. The entire thing would happen automatically and seamlessly — the only thing different would be a slight increase in my monthly DSL bill.

Fantastic! I’d get to keep Verizon’s DSL service, which I’d used without complaint for almost a year, and I’d be cutting my all-in phone and Internet bill by thirty dollars or so.

The lady with Verizon asked if it would be all right if she had someone call me to try and work out a way they could keep me as a telephone customer. I figured, hey, why not, and we set up a day and time Verizon would call me.

That day and time came and went, marking the first of what would be four times a Verizon representative promised to call and did not. Their loss, I thought, and went ahead with my plans for Vonage.

The Vonage equipment arrived; our telephone number was transferred from Verizon’s dominion to Vonage. By the beginning of November or so, we had Vonage up and running flawlessly and the DSL continued as before. I was very happy.

Then, on the 25th of November, I noticed Internet service had stopped. My first thought was a network problem… then I booted up my laptop’s browser and found a splash page from Verizon telling me my DSL service had been suspended.

I got on the phone to Verizon. After some time, I found myself in a very difficult conversation with a gentleman who called himself Mr. Singh. He would be the first of at least three Mr. Singhs I would speak with over the next few days, all with heavy accents and English language skills that lacked the finer contextual nuances so essential to clear conversation.

Once I repeated myself several times to Mr. Singh and managed to get him to deviate from his prepared script (at times the conversation felt like a Turing Test with a very ill-equipped artificial intelligence) I learned my DSL service had been disconnected due to non-payment on our bill.

Except… I had our latest bill in front of me. It had been paid several days before the due date, which was, in turn, several days before the 25th of November.

And so it began.

I’m not going to take you through it step by step like I had to live it; while I wouldn’t mind having you experience the level of frustration and lost time like I did, other people will read this and I don’t want them to suffer. This letter will be long enough, trust me.

After three and a half hours on the phone with Verizon’s Internet, Billing, and Phone departments, my DSL was restored… temporarily. The issue? For some reason, Billing had never communicated the need to transfer my DSL to dry loop service, and so my Internet was shut off. No one could tell me exactly why Mr. Singh thought I had an overdue bill.

There was a larger issue: a supervisor believed I had to have Vonage contact Verizon in order to set up the dry loop. She would not be swayed from this belief, despite what I had been told by the first, very helpful Verizon representative weeks before. Vonage, for their part, were baffled by this request, and could do nothing to help me because, of course, they are not DSL providers and have nothing to do with it.

At the end of the day on Tuesday the 25th, another very polite and sympathetic woman explained that “there are so many laws and regulations involved” that many people at Verizon were unclear on the protocol for porting numbers and keeping DSL service active. I’ll get back to that in a bit.

She explained that there was “some problem” with my order (the dry loop DSL) and that Rob from the “local office” would be looking into it first thing in the morning. He would call me with a resolution.

Rob became person number two from Verizon to never call me. My Internet disappeared on Wednesday the 26th at around 11:30 AM. At first I thought it was simply part of the transition to dry loop DSL. I’m an optimist, I suppose. By two o’clock, though, I figured I’d better call, because the next day was Thanksgiving and I had a feeling people might leave early for the holiday.

So began another three and a half hour stint on the phone with Verizon’s Phone, Internet, and Billing departments. Different departments tried to talk to each other to put all the information together — different departments based apparently in different countries and which apparently do not share call logs on the same account. Every time I was transferred, I had to explain — from the beginning — exactly what my issue entailed and what I needed.

By the end of Wednesday, a gentleman in Tech Support decided that the real problem was with the telephone line coming into my house. He wanted to schedule a technician to come out.

Of course, the next day was a holiday, so I knew that meant waiting at least until Friday for satisfaction. That meant no Internet (and therefore no land-line phone service) for another thirty hours or more. I was very, very dissatisfied with this, since I had no reason (given the conflicting explanations provided regarding the nature of the problem over the last two days) to believe it was actually a technical, on-site problem.

Nevertheless, I agreed that the gentleman could call me back with a scheduled time a technician would arrive. I stressed that no one from Verizon who promises to call back ever does, and insisted he return my call within fifteen minutes. With a tone of great assurance, he told me, “I will call you back in five minutes, ma’am!”

(Yes, after over an hour on the phone with this gentleman, he still had not gleaned from my name or the timbre of my voice that I was not a woman. I let it go. What point in clarifying it?)

Guess what, Ivan? He never called me back.

I spent Thanksgiving with my wife, sister-in-law and her boyfriend. Everyone chipped in to make a different dish. I did the turkey. We watched some football, and a movie. All day, in the back of my mind like bile in the back of your throat, I couldn’t stop thinking that come Friday, I would have to get back on the phone with Verizon. I wondered if I’d gone over my cell phone minutes with all this calling. It was stressful.

Friday.

I started calling at eight in the morning. I began with Tech Support, which had no record of a service call order being placed on Wednesday. I was not surprised. At one point, I was back on the phone with Billing, who assured me they would connect me with the people who could help me — the California local office. They connected me with Tech Support, who not only insisted that Billing was not working today and no one was there, they also were, judging by their Pakistani or Indian accents, most assuredly not the local California office.

Turns out the local California office answers their phones in Tijuana, Mexico. No problem. The customer service rep there spoke perfect, fluent English. The only issue in communication — a common one for all of my telephone interactions with Verizon — was the absolutely abominable quality of the connection. Strange that a telephone company would have consistent static and noise on their lines. Apparently your blue-jacketed, bespectacled spokesperson and his “it’s the network” cadre of Verizon troops don’t bother with the quality of the customer service connection.

In case you’re wondering, Mister Seidenberg, it was not my cell phone connection — that is perfectly clear on all other calls.

Anyway, this last customer service rep tried to get me to the right person, and again, I was left on hold for so long he asked if he could try calling me back on Monday. I said sure, thanks.

Ivan, I don’t know if you’ve been keeping track, but when I hung up with that person, counting Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday all together, I had been on the phone with Verizon a total of ten hours and thirty minutes.

Ten hours and thirty minutes.

Three days.

No resolution.

Guess what I did next, Ivan?

I called Charter Communications. Spoke to a nice guy named Earl, who was based somewhere in the Southern United States. In a little more than thirty minutes, he had my 5 meg cable broadband account set up, gave me a deal on the first six months and arranged for a technician to install it the next day — a Saturday. Twenty four hours later, I had a strong broadband Internet connection and the use of my land line telephone back.

One Charter Communications person did this in a half hour, while a dozen or more Verizon customer service representatives with ten and a half hours could do nothing.

Monday came and went, and of course I received no call back from Verizon.

Allow me to reiterate the specifics of my complaint. Indulge my inclusion of a few things I didn’t address above.

* Verizon undoubtedly has many customers who wish to port their telephone numbers to Vonage or another VOIP service and still maintain Verizon DSL service. Based on the several conflicting sets of instruction I received from different Verizon representatives at different levels of authority, Verizon has not trained their staff on the correct way to handle this. Verizon is a telecommunications company. Figure it out. You would have kept me as a customer if proper training was in place.
* Verizon does not link a customer’s account from one department to the next, and Verizon’s customer support representatives do not share call logs for a customer from one department to the next. This results in a frustrating game of — you guessed it — telephone — when reps from one department try to explain things to another. It also causes your customer to repeat themselves innumerable times in the course of seeking satisfaction. Ridiculous. Coordinate and link your departments.
* I do not begrudge the right of people in other countries to work for Verizon. That said, Verizon would do well to make sure foreign-based representatives are fluent in English. The quality and efficiency of the customer service experience diminishes a great deal when on the phone with Verizon’s outsourced foreign labor.
* Without direct call-back extensions for each and every customer service representative, there is zero accountability to individual customers. Four times, a Verizon representative promised to call me back, and four times, they did not. Why should they? I have no way of reaching them, and the odds that I will be connected to them by calling the toll-free number are so low, they have no fear of ever being called to task. Zero accountability means no personal commitment to each customer’s satisfaction. That’s unconscionable.
* The quality of the connection on hold and during conversations with customer service representatives is terrible. Static, background noise, flanging effects and other line noise make communicating with a representative — and being clearly understood — very difficult. Add to the mix a representative for whom English is not their native tongue and Verizon’s ability to deliver excellent customer service is reduced almost beyond the point of redemption.

Mister Seidenberg, as you can tell, the experience of last week has upset me.

Do you know what ten and a half hours of my time is worth?

I’m a freelance new media and social networking consultant. If you were my client, ten and a half hours would set you back almost $850.00. In fact, I fell behind in my responsibilities for a client because my work depends on reliable high speed Internet and I was on the phone with your company for… say it with me… ten and a half hours. I’m not even considering the other freelance work I could have sought and contracted in those ten and a half hours.

According to Forbes, you make $11.5 million dollars a year. Assuming a forty hour work week, ten and a half hours of your time is worth $58,052 and change. Would losing that hurt you? I don’t know. I do know that the time I lost hurt me. Think about that. I hope it matters to you.

Ivan, you not only lost a customer, your company provided such poor customer service and operated in such an inept, disconnected (ha ha) and disorganized fashion I’m sharing my grief with the world. This letter includes the words “Verizon” and “customer service” so often, I’m confident it will appear high in the results at all the major search engines.

I’m putting a Creative Commons license on this so people are encouraged to re-post it and spread it around. I’ll be posting it on Twitter and encouraging my 1,000 followers there to spread it around to their connections. I’ll post it to the 650+ friends I have on Facebook. And of course there’s the five thousand or so people who read my blog every month.

Maybe, just maybe, the result will be that fewer people choose Verizon for their telecommunication needs. Perhaps… just perhaps… another result will be that you will read this and instigate a sweeping reform of Verizon’s customer service operation. Maybe. Frankly, I’ll take either one.

Am I being vindictive, Ivan? You might think so. Here’s my perspective: Before my career in information services, I spent twenty years as a customer service specialist in a retail setting. All that time has made me a strong advocate of the importance of excellent customer service. I know what it takes to do it right. Therefore, I have very little tolerance when it is done wrong… especially when a company with the resources and depth of experience Verizon possesses gets it wrong.

Honestly, there’s no excuse.

Make it right. It’s your job.

Best,

Matthew Wayne Selznick

Creative Commons License
An Open Letter To Verizon CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg by Matthew Wayne Selznick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
You are encouraged to re-print and distribute this blog post far and wide so long as you do not change it, provide attribution, and do not profit from it. The illustration accompanying this work is not covered by this license. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.mattselznick.com/contact/.

Cheap Date

2008-11-14T21:36:00.000-08:00

Well, most of you know that I am the princess of thrift store shopping, my step-mom is the Queen and she taught me well. :) Anyway,a couple of the moms in my daughters kindergarten class are going through some tough economic times, as many of us are, and so I suggested to them that they try shopping second hand. One of the moms took my advice right away and has gone back to my favorite thrift store several times however today another mom asked if I'd take her this morning. Fortunately Paul didn't have to leave for work until way after I had to pick Megan up from school so the three of us did an impromptu shopping spree. We had a blast! I tweeted about my bounty and Dawn asked if I blogged about my findings. Well, I had never considered it before she mentioned it so here you go... Here is what I found for $8 total after tax:

Orange hoodie with pink, purple, and white stars: Size 5T Brand: Sprockets
White long sleeve tshirt: Size 5T Brand: Okie-Dokie
Blue sweats with heart bling: Size 6/6X Brand: Cherokee
Red sparkle sweats: Tags were cut out
Blue jumpsuit: Size 2T Brand: Lands' End
Pink Sleeper: Size 2T Brand: Okie-Dokie
Green long sleeve turtle neck: Size 2T Brand: Gymboree

Sorry the pics and descriptions aren't together. This is the first time I've added pictures to this blog. I'll have to figure it out just don't feel like messing with it tonight.

Have a great weekend!!!

Pumpkin Nirvana

2008-11-08T16:51:00.000-08:00

I've had several cans of pumpkin sitting in my cupboard for far too long and decided it was time to use it or throw it out. I wanted to make muffins because they would be an easy, nutritious breakfast on our rushed weekday mornings. My search led me to the Muffin Top blog. I chose this recipe because it was simple and didn't call for anything I didn't already have on hand, such as buttermilk and cream cheese.

Unfortunately, when I was getting ready to make these muffins I realized that I was out of muffin liners so I had to deviate from the plan. I dumped my batter in one of my silicone bread pans and set the timer for 30mins. longer than the recipe called for. The result has sent me to pumpkin nirvana and I don't think I will be returning any time soon! The pumpkin bread is so moist and tasty my 2yo who doesn't like bread ate a whole piece herself! My MIL is coming later tonight to have a piece and I might have to bake another loaf just so there's enough for her. I will have to buy some muffin liners tomorrow so I can stock up on muffins for many happy mornings to come!

Here's the recipe if for some reason you can't access the site above: I also used the whole can of pumpkin for added taste and nutrition and I think it helped keep the bread moist.

RECIPE FOR PUMPKIN MUFFINS
From Gourmet November 2006
Adapted from the American Club
Makes 1 dozen
Active time: 15 min.
Start to finish: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15-oz can) (I accidentally put the entire 15 oz. can in, with no ill effects at all)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
1.25 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Equipment: 12 foil or paper muffin liners; a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

DIRECTIONS:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1.25 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

2008-10-24T10:54:00.001-07:00

It doesn't matter what you think of of the presidential candidates, you have to admit that seeing Ron Howard go old school with a couple of his old cast mates is priceless!

Enjoy,
Kim

My New Best Friend...

2008-10-23T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hello all... I'd like for you to meet my new best friend, Twitter. Twitter and I had a rocky relationship at first. We'd meet up once in a while, chat briefly, then would spend hours, days, and at one point months before we'd reunite. Well, a few months ago our intermittent relationship took an unexpected turn. All of a sudden, out of the blue, we started spending more and more time together and recently we've been communicating everyday. Twitter has introduced me to over 150 of his closest friends with whom I'm developing some pretty cool relationships. I have been exposed to blogs and websites that have given me great knowledge, provided me with an abundance of laughter and which have brought me to tears. My Twitter friends have also exposed me to music, poetry, and visual arts that I never thought I'd be interested in. Twitter provides me with the adult conversation that I lack during the days I spend with my 5 and 2 year olds. There's just so much Yo Gabba, Gabba and Charlie and Lola I can take. Playing horses and kittens is fun for the first, oh, ZERO minutes and then it gets down right booooring! Twitter allows me a break from mind numbing tea parties whenever I need one as my Tweeps are there for me 24/7 since they live all over the world! My only problem with Twitter is the physical distance between me and my Tweeps. I would love to attend one of @epodcaster 's podcamps, help @baristaonduty come up with coffee blends, commit voter fraud with @hollyk, or cheer on @DMular during one of her races. I would love to just be able to share a cup of coffee and a chat with any one of my followers/followees! But, those experiences will just have to reside in my imagination until someone invents the teleporter. Until then I will lounge on my TweetDeck and enjoy the view!

2008-09-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

From the Mouths of babes.... Enjoy!

2008-09-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

Adopt a Classroom is a nationwide program that allows individuals and corporations to support our teachers so that they can provide the best education to our children. As a daughter of two elementary school teachers I know first hand that teachers spend a lot of their own money each year on the materials they need in order to provide a well rounded education to their students. It seems that whenever there is talk of state-wide budget cuts, the classroom one of the first place administrators turn to. In an already tight economy it's no wonder there is such a high teacher turnover rate in the country when a big chunk of their personal income goes back into their classrooms.
As most of you know, my husband works for Office Max which is one of Adopt a Classroom's biggest sponsors. They allow their employees to donate any amount to the classroom of their choice and they will match 50% of that amount. My husband has just recently adopted Megan's Kindergarten classroom for $5 a paycheck. Since he gets paid twice a month, Megan's teacher will receive $15 per month from this program. $5 per paycheck is nothing for us to donate since I spend more than that at Starbucks in a two week period, but think of all the resources that $15/month can provide for that classroom!
If your company doesn't/won't make a contribution match then you can make a one time donation to the class room of your choice. If you don't have any school-aged children in your life but would like to make a donation anyway then the website can match you up with registered teachers in the area of your choice. You don't have to worry about any of your money going to administrative costs because 100% of your donation goes to your teacher. Also, you can log on to the website and monitor what your teacher is buying with your dollars. Teachers are not just given a check to do with what they please, they are given an online credit account where they can shop at approved online stores.
Please check out the website and read about all the good this program has done for classrooms around the country and to make a donation if that's where your heart leads.

The Roses in Da House

2008-09-16T21:28:00.001-07:00

My sister and her family have just left after a wonderful 4 day visit. Here are some pics with commentary. Enjoy!

Fart Filters... No Joke!

2008-09-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

I honestly have no idea what to say but here they are.

I actually know a few people I'd buy them for but I'd rather not get punched in the face... LOL

Free GPS System Upon Moving to Oregon

2008-09-10T11:33:00.001-07:00

Oregon Proposes to install GPS devices on every car. Higher gas prices = less driving which means less tax money for road improvements. They want to track how many miles you drive and tax you accordingly... Uh, does the ACLU know about this? GOOD LUCK! What's next, a pedometer so they can tax us on the number of steps we take? Oooohhh... This is America so their best bet would be to tax how many calories we consume. Talk about a windfall!

All FOURS

2008-09-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

4 things about me:

Four jobs i have had in my life:
Mom
Payroll Clerk
English Answer Point
Dish Washer

4 places I've lived:
Salinas CA (Prunedale, CA)
Monterey, CA
Sacramento, CA
Newark, CA

4 places I've traveled:
Europe
Canada
East Coast
Pacific Northwest

4 of my favorite foods:
Fruit
Chocolate
Coffee- Although it's not a food
Lasagna

4 places wish to visit:
British Isles
Australia
Alaskan Cruise
Costa Rica

4 who will respond:
Niffer
Stacie
Sherri/Bobby
Vicki

Please copy this and answer on your own blog or just in an email to me. :) Thanks!

TAG!

2008-09-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

Knowing what a sucker I am for these things my big sis tagged me. Here goes... Enjoy...

20 Years Ago. . .
1. I was a member of the last 8th grade graduating class at Prunedale Elementary School.
2. I started high school.
3. I was in the color guard.
4. I was 14 years old.

10 Years Ago...
1. was the beginning of my religious experimentation.
2. I worked for AT&T.
3. I got a breast reduction.
4. I had the coolest roommate ever!

5 Years Ago...
1. I got married.
2. my first child was born.
3. I lived with my mother in law.
4. we were given a house in Redwood City to live in.

3 Years Ago...
1. Paul's best friend died.
2. Dad's healthy drastically declined.
3. I got pregnant.
4. All in the same month.

1 Year Ago...
1. I lost my dad in January.
2. I took my girls on lots of picnics.
3. we had season passes to The Children's Discovery Museum.
4. I couldn't wait for Megan to start school.

So far this year I...
1. got a minivan! HURRAY!
2. turned 34.
3. have gone on a purge mission to declutter my house.
4. have made a promise to buy local as often as I can.

Yesterday I...
1. took Megan to school.
2. drank a LOT of coffee.
3. picked Megan up from school.
4. drank a beer.

Today I...
1. got rid of 6 kitchen garbage bags full of stuff from my closet and bedroom.
2. cleaned my bathroom.
3. cleaned my bedroom.
4. watched 3 movies.

Tomorrow I will...
1. take all of the above mentioned bags to the thrift store.
2. buy cat food at Bogies Discount Pet Supply.
3. go to the farmer's Market for our weekly supply of locally grown fruits and veggies.
4. take the girls to the beach in Aptos.

In the next year I will....
1. continue to get rid of crap in my house so that there is more room for the humans.
2. continue to eat more fruits and veggies.
3. try and walk 3 miles/day five days a week.
4. try and keep school interesting for Megan so that she doesn't turn out like me.

I tag Jennifer, Stacie, Vicki, shawno and kninsa

PMS Rant

2008-09-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

Q:
How many women suffering from PMS does it take to change a light bulb?

Woman's Answer:
One!
ONLY ONE!!!! And do you know WHY? Because no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb! They don't even know that the bulb is BURNED OUT!! They would sit in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it out.
And, once they figured it out, they wouldn't be able to find the #&%!* light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CABINET for the past 17 YEARS! But if they did, by some miracle of God, actually find them, 2 DAYS LATER, the chair they dragged out to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE WRAPPER THE FREAKING LIGHT BULBS CAME IN!!! BECAUSE NO ONE EVER PICKS UP OR CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!!!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE A FOOT DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE!!
IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS PLACE! AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WHO CHANGES THE TOILET PAPER ROLL !!

I'm sorry. What was the question?

"I can see you are concerned about torture" a video by Joseph Dougherty

2008-08-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

Well, this put me in a somber mood today:

http://vergeofla.com/video-joe-torture.html

Obesity as Proof that there is No God...

2008-08-25T12:53:00.001-07:00

Hello All,

I'm reposting this blog I wrote on my myspace.com page. I am no longer dealing with the crisis of faith, I've decided to call myself Agnostic because I really don't know the answers, nor do I really care but the rest of the post still rings true. I find myself again at the point of having to lay back on my bed in order to button up my fat pants... Will it EVER end??

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Obesity as Proof that there is No God...
Current mood: Fat

Many who know me well are aware that I am currently going through a crisis of faith and even considering the theory that there really isn't a God. There are many reasons why I'm considering the lack of God philosophy and today I was able to add another one to my list. Obesity. When I put on my fat pants today and they were too tight I thought about how cruel it is to give a person a sweet tooth, surround them with decadence and then sit back and laugh as they stumble through the guilt and shame of failing to resist the temptations that will only lead to larger waistbands. I guess the same could also be said of alcoholism, drug addiction, etc. but those aren't my vices, sweets are. Whoever this God guy is, if he exists, could have at least countered my addiction with an addiction for exercise but, nooooo... He made me as lazy as they come so working off the calories is as difficult, if not more so, than staying away from the sweets in the first place.

What kind of loving, just God would put anyone through that?? It's just pure evil!

What's so Bad About That?

2008-08-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

Nobody could ever accuse me of having a Type A personality. Messiness doesn't bother me, deadlines are merely suggestions as far as I'm concerned, and I'm more apt to sit down with a good book than tackle my ever growing ToDo list.
My laid back attitude also shows up in my parenting style. My kids play in mud on a daily basis, if a piece is missing from a toy I shrug it off and figure we'll find it during our next crisis cleaning session, and the sofa and bed are not just for resting but also serve as trampolines and balance bars.
It's tough for me to relate to many parent's magazines that cater to more militaristic parenting styles. Consider my delight then when I read in the September 2008 issue of Parents Magazine that "Jumping-whether off the couch or on the playground-may be a critical component in building stronger bones..." WHAT? Did a parenting magazine that caters to Type A "Must Have it All" moms actually condone jumping off of the sofa? I was shocked!

Now, I must say that although my parenting style is very easy going I am a stickler about respect and politeness. Although jumping on furniture is allowed at home it is NOT allowed elsewhere and my kids, even my two year old, use their Please and Thank You's without having to be reminded. I have actually had older couples walk across a restaurant to compliment me on how well behaved and quiet my children are. So, maybe by picking my battles very carefully and allowing them more freedom at home I can avoid the title of Nag and enjoy happier, better adjusted kids.