Take THAT, Geek Squad!

(Post being entered by Jay)

May I share with you how I saved $167 by NOT listening to Geek Squad? (And you can too!)

It all started a couple of months ago with a new notebook computer for Joann's school. I made an error in judgment: I told Joann it might be a nice computer for the kids to use too. On their first night of use, the kids managed to do one of these:

"No problem!" I frantically assured everyone as I grabbed Q-tips and rubbing alcohol. Thankfully, I managed to clean out every key and the keyboard was working fine again. Bliss!

The following week, the kids were on the computer again. Although they were told to be VERY careful this time, they quickly managed to do one of these:



This time our home cleaning remedies were not so lucky. Half of the keyboard was acting as if something were on top of it. Like perhaps a 600-pound anvil.

I took it to Best Buy's Geek Squad, thinking this would be a 24-hour repair. But they told me it will be shipped to Kentucky and then I will get a call. ONE WEEK LATER I finally get a call from a Geek Squad representative in Kentucky. He told me that this repair will cost $191.00. ONE HUNDRED NINETY-ONE DOLLARS!!!!!!!!! I kindly asked him if he could explain what part of that cost was labor vs. for parts. He got very defensive and said "Either you want it done or you don't." I told him to cancel the repair.

Having NO IDEA how I was going to fix things, I stumbled across this very helpful website.

Then I searched online for replacement keyboards. Found one for $24, shipped. It arrived before our computer made it back to our local Best Buy, which must have used a shipping route that passed through the rings of Saturn because it felt like forever.

The keyboard snapped in place like a dream. The repair was easier than changing one's socks. Total cost: $24. Total saved: $167. Fight the power!

Some pictures that make me smile.

Becky's pup
Taking my own picture in the hotel I was at for my first business trip, a conference. I feel so grown up! I should. I am almost.... 40. Gosh, that sounds old.

Bonfire at Becky's

Family

The room is dusty but I love this picture of Emily being her happy self at my dad's house.

say what?

Emily came out and wondered why her feet have calculus. That's callouses Emily.

Tara was mad that more people didn't put on their porch light to give out candy. "Why didn't more people parpissapate?" Um. Uh.

Have you already had Halloween?

We just got home from it. The girls actually made the full trek this time without any complaints of headache, backache, neck ache, arm ache, stomachache, leg pain or foot pain. :)
They actually smiled a lot and seemed to get into it. They even helped dress up the dog for the first time, who went as a banana.

When they returned home, they wanted to stay by the door and pass out candy to any remaining trick-or-treaters and asked us to sit back & watch. Not a problem for Jay & me!

I guess sometimes they do grow up quickly

Today felt like a big race to get clothing and shoes to keep up with Tara. She is growing like a weed, right into that hard-to-fit zone between child and adult. Some days you definitely know when your kid is running the show.

Her royal majesty

You know those motivational sayings like "live each day like it's your last!" ? Ummm, yeah that's not really possible as a parent because some of your days will have to be lived in total sacrifice to the needs of your child.

I think today we finally got caught up with all of the kids' clothing needs. Although it is possible Emily is planning to thwart this calmness. She has stayed the same height and size as she was a year ago - remaining in a holding pattern, if you will. What will likely happen is just when we get all the winter outerwear she needs, her body will rise up in defiance against it all by growing a foot taller. Then the entire merry-go-round repeats itself.

But of course this is all said in a spirit of gratitude. Well, actually it's being said in a spirit of exhaustion. but gratitude should be there once we all have adequate sleep.

Real actual websites I visited today.

(Post being entered by Jay)

Fun on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Time to review websites I visited today. Try 'em!

ODDCAST
I had endless fun typing phrases in this and watching
virtual humans say it back to me. Changing the language
won't actually convert what you type but it makes the
person say it with an accent from that country!

CELEBRITY SOUNDBOARDS
Celebrity Soundboards is old but fun. The idea of a
soundboard is to call your friend and press the buttons
so it sounds like the celebrity is talking to them. Make sure
to check all five pages to find someone you like. My favorite
was Napoleon Dynamite at the bottom of page 1.

CUTE OVERLOAD
Nothing but cute animal pictures! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

JACKSON POLLOCK
Make your own Jackson Pollock painting! Clicking your mouse
will change the color of your paint.

FALLING SAND
Falling Sand Game. Wait for it to load then go ahead and draw
things to divert the falling sound. Very pretty. I still don't understand
what the options at the bottom do (wall/fire/water/oil) but it looks fun.

WORD FIND
Free word find! Click 'New Game' and everything is done with your mouse.

CHURCH SIGN GENERATOR
Oldie but goodie. Put any words you want on a church sign! After you select the
style, you have to type in what you want it to say using the boxes on the left.

Danse avec les étoiles

(Post being entered by Jay)

Joann is watching Dancing With The Stars. I am not.

What more proof would you ever need that she is female and I am male?

Anyway, in playing with translators to write the title of this post, I thought it would be fun to do the old trick of viewing the blog in different languages. So for our massive international audience out there, here you go:

This page in French

This page in German

This page in Italian

This page in Polish

This page in Arabic

This page in Hebrew

This page in Japanese

On a MUCH lighter note

(Post being entered by Jay)

I was glad I could cheer up Joann the other day. I found a web page that makes your page get interrupted by rapper Kanye West, just like he did at the recent VMA awards. You simply put http://kanyelicious.appspot.com/ in front of your webpage URL, and voilà!

This is what made Joann chuckle:
http://kanyelicious.appspot.com/http://www.joannc.blogspot.com

Update on the family

(Post being entered by Jay)

Sadly, Joann's mom passed away on August 7. This should at least explain the lack of updates here on the blog. We knew that her mom (Faith Scriver) had been getting more ill, and all of this on top of the stroke she had 14 years ago. However, we're still grieving over how much it hurts to have her gone. We miss her laughter and her warmth. She really had a way of making everyone feel good. We miss you Faith.

The Kitty

I'm still here

Emily's note to the Easter Bunny.

• My mom is a constant trooper. She has been very weak but still with us. She even came over for Mother's day and saw Millie, which is what she said she wanted for the day.


• I am waiting to see if I still have a job for next year. I'll know by the end of next week.


• The girls are doing well. Both are getting bigger. Tara grew two shoe sizes this year alone!


• Emily went to camp and told us about getting a tick and being rained on.


• Tara had a barium test today at Children's hospital to rule out stomach troubles. The latest theory is that her stomachaches are a result of 1 in 5 girls getting stomach pain as a result of rapid growth. We just want to know how to make her tummy feel better.


• I think about my blog but don't have the energy to make it nice right now.


• Jay is fixing the tractor as I type this. I wish I could just buy him a new one.


• Our new cat is a wonderful addition to our family. She is, however, ornery as all get out.


• I still want to paint my living room. I settled for painting my nails.


• One day at a time.


• I am excited to start summer, hopefully with a job intact. If I'm still gainfully employed, we will go to D.C. and show the kids the museums, monuments and the White House.


• Stream of consciousness.


• It's hard to get the students motivated at this point in the year. During testing week, I had a student exempt from some tests so we worked a little and played a lot of board games. It was so fun.


• The cat just walked in front of the computer. I hope I am typing correctly.


• Now she is licking my fingers and laying across the desk, keeping an ever watching eye on Millie. Millie would like to play with her. Sheba would like to hiss and try to scratch Millie. It's quite a zoo around here.


• Dancing with the Stars jumped the shark a little for me.


• Tara will be 8 in a couple of weeks. She wants to go bowling. Isn't that cute? When we bowl, we use the bumpers and Emily weakly rolls the ball. SLOWLY the ball inches to the pins. Every time, we have to hit reset because the machine doesn't register that anything has happened. That makes me laugh.


• Well that's it. My head is empty. ha ha

One night of fun

It's usually true that it's not what you know but whom you know.

Thankfully, we are friends with Jenny Stika, who works with the road manager of singer Steven Curtis Chapman, and recently she COMPLETELY surprised us by setting us up with concert seats AND backstage passes to Steven's current tour which also features none other than Michael W. Smith!

It was on a weeknight, and we weren't quite sure how we'd do this since we needed someone flexible enough to watch our kids. Well, that's when another Jenny stepped up to the plate to help us: Thank you Jenny Walls!

The concert was way fun and the seats were perfect. Then after the concert we got to go backstage. This was the first time Jay or I have ever had backstage passes to anything. Out of the 2000 fans in attendance, only 12 had backstage passes and we were among them!

The official pass

Jay said it felt like we had the Golden Tickets from Willy Wonka.

If there were only one low point of the night, it was when Jay accidentally dropped our digital camera before the concert. He felt TERRIBLE because the camera ceased to work. He's still trying to get it repaired but it may be destined to go to that great camera resting place in the sky.

So we had to buy a disposable camera from a nearby store, which is why our pictures are far from perfect. But at least the memories are.


Here is when Michael & Steven were on the stage together. Sorry they look so small (disposable cameras have no zoom), but at least you can see how close our seats were:

At the end, we were ushered to the backstage through this secret passageway thingy that was way cool. Geoff Moore, a great singer in his own right, greeted us warmly and talked with all of us for a few minutes, then Steven Curtis Chapman came out. He was SO friendly to Jay and me, and asked us about where we live and about our kids and what music they like, etc. One of Steven's daughters passed away last year in a tragic accident, so it seemed very big of him to discuss kids with us.

Here are pictures of our meeting with him. Clearly Jay couldn't believe he was really there:

Michael W. Smith could not make it to the meet & greet, as he was getting ready to rush off to Washington D.C. to meet with senators about some music education issue. But that was okay. Our evening was perfect, wonderful and unforgettable.

The new normal

I got my mom an MP3 player and she was rocking it out on Friday.


After surgery with animals to keep her company

new pajamas

There is a sadness to the days- but there are still happy days to be experienced. I had a good spring break. Mom is doing ok. She is losing her hair in big clumps but has cute little caps to wear. She has her ups and downs. We are happy to have her as long as we can.

The girls went to the YMCA for date night. It happens a couple of times a year where they will watch your kids for a few hours. Jay and I went to a great Japanese Buffet called ICHIBAN. mmmm is not even good enough to tell how good it was. But then we went to the mall while talking about the kids and bought them clothes and pajamas. I guess that's what parents do. They talk about the kids on dates.

The one photo of my mom was after one surgery where my dad put her stuffed animals on her chest so that she would know we were there when she woke up.

When going over Em's paperwork for school there was a BIO page.

Here are the highlights. After reading Em's I asked Tara the same questions. Tara wants to be a hair stylist and live in Poland. What I pray is the fascination with Poland?

Back to Em....

Three adjectives to describe you. She said "ten, tall, animalish";

Wishes to: "verterinarian"

Dreams of: "Being the world's best veterinarian and making people get me stuff and getting rid of bullying."

Wants to: "I want to go to Poland"

Who wonders: "I wonder what I will look like when I'm 72."

Who fears: "I'm scared of spiders and going up eskalators."

Who likes: "Salt and tomatoes and getting new webkinz and getting out of the state."

Who believes: "I believe in God and aliens." mmm better get back to church.

Who loves: "My dog and stuffed monkey that is 23 years old".- I guess there's no love for the mama and papa.

Who plans: "living in Poland or Switzerland." Yah, good luck with that.

The towel I made for mom

Tara cheers me up

My mom is out of the hospital and has had a chemotherapy treatment. She's had quite a few complications including blood clots and fluid buildup.
She is weak but hanging in there.

On a lighter note, I missed my blog and felt like remembering some cute things Tara said lately.

When visiting my mom in the hospital, Tara took a play doctor kit and began working on my mom's stuffed animals. At one point she loudly proclaimed "Quick the bunny is sick; we need to give it VCR!"

Then yesterday Jay bought the girls some Sunny D with the pull and sip tops. Tara was so excited and didn't know what to call the top thingy and said, "OOOh Daddy, you got the sucky kind of juice!"

what you fear the most

This blog was originally created to be a lighthearted way to keep in touch with friends and family and to keep a record for my children. Well, I have not wanted to write what I've found out but since I started telling you about my mom, I owe it to my friends to tell you what's going on.

My mom had a biopsy done when her drains were put in. They incidentally are still in more than a week later. They were supposed to come out in 2-3 days. The biopsy was just a formality. It took a long time to come back. That should have been our first clue.

The hard horrible truth is that she has incurable cancer. It has spread from probably the lungs to her heart and maybe beyond. The oncologist said it can't be cured but there may be chemo that can be given to extend her life for some time. I worry that they can't do that if the drains are still in and also her pneumonia isn't gone.

So much has happened to our family in the last couple of days. I try to be strong around my mom, my dad is devastated and my kids are too young to get that she will not be with us - at some point. Who knows how long she has? The oncologist was grim and gave a direct but slightly shockingly cold form of NO HOPE to my mom. That's what mom has internalized. My dad had to tell her and he said that looking into her beautiful blue eyes and telling her was the hardest thing he's ever done. Dad is brave.

She is in pain and now may have a clot or problem with an arm. It never ends. The doctors think they see spots on both lungs. The bones and other organs were tested and we're awaiting the grim results. I feel as if a car has hit me right in the gut. I'm watching the world keep moving when I want it to stop. It was exactly the feeling I had after her stroke.

They may do chemo to give her some time. But they can't until the drains come out and they can't because they are still draining, probably due to the cancer. When I'm with her I try to match her mood. Light hearted then serious then light hearted. Bless her heart she looked at my shirt and said she wanted it. I said it wouldn't fit her tiny frame and she said "But I'm dying." Morbid humor but it's my mom's and my way together.

I don't know how much time she has left but it probably isn't long. That is breaking my heart. But oh how this must be horrible for her. She has been handed a death sentence with a band aid treatment that may extend her life. But she still has weak lungs and drains and.....

My dad can't imagine life w/o her. Hell, neither can I. I worry about him. I took him to urgent care the other night because HE got really sick.

She told me to take care of my father. I almost cried. I never cry there. I cry alone. I don't want to scare her or the kids. She has been at death's door so many times that we all got comfortable with the fact that she'd bounce back from even the worst illness. This one is too formidable. I hate cancer.

I hope she lives long enough to leave the hospital and have some fun times at home surrounded by her things, her cooking shows, my dad's cooking (even though she says she doesn't like it, I think she secretly does) and us.

Hospitals are not a place to die. But they are often a place to die.

I probably won't update much. It's too painful and sad. So I may not be on my blog for a while.

more surgery

There will be more surgery tomorrow. This time it's to put in a sort of drain in her vein to block her blood clot from hurting her. I spent the better part of this evening with her. She was doing well although she still has her drains and has been poked more than a pin cushion. Poor thing. I'm thinking of you mom.

Update

Mom is in a lot of pain; so much so that she had to be sedated my aunt said. She also has two blood clots in her leg that may lead to another procedure. Her drains are still in both lungs and heart. But still she is a tough lady. Her oxygen is down but that is to be expected for someone with pneumonia. I didn't feel good tonight and didn't want to give her my germs. But tomorrow I want to go see her and hope she is out of the extreme pain. Even morphine hasn't taken away the majority of the pain.

My friend at work said at 4 am on Saturday, she woke up from a sound sleep and felt compelled to pray for my mother, whom she has never met. That is at the same time my mom was starting to fail and needed her surgery moved to that morning. It's an interesting timeline for sure.

Surgery a success!

It's been a wild couple of days for my mom. She had good times and then very scary spells where she couldn't breathe right. During those times, she was suddenly surrounded by doctors, nurses and machines and my dad and I were told to leave the room for a little while.

Then she'd get better and the ventilator order was cancelled and the order to go to ICU was cancelled. The doctor said she had a very large amount of water around her lungs and heart. It could potentially kill her instantly. The surgery was scheduled for Monday. MONDAY!? I thought they should do the surgery that very second considering how serious it was. But that's not how hospitals work. I've learned a lot about hospitals lately.

Then at 4 am this morning, my dad called to say that she had taken yet another bad turn. She was taken to the ICU and the surgery would be performed today. The surgery appeared to take a long time. My dad was really beginning to worry. But she came through the operation very well. The doctor said in his 25 years of doing this surgery, he'd never seen the amount of water my mom had. He said it should cure her and her shortness of breath should subside. He took samples to test just to make sure. I could have kissed him right there. She's in MICU for a few days until this water drains and she's sewn back up. But it's done and I feel a hundred pounds has lifted. I was so worried she'd die. And now it looks like she'll be as right as rain soon. My mom is amazing. Thank you for praying.

so sad, heavy heart

My mom is in the hospital with double pneumonia and water around the heart and lungs needing heart surgery to remove the fluid. I found out at work that the doctor called my dad at home early telling him of a surgery needed for her and what does he want to do? Hurry Hurry. Tell us now. What does he want to do? Um, has anyone asked my mom what SHE wants to do? He wanted the surgeons to tell him the risks before making a decision. Did that happen? NO.

I left work today after hearing this news, not caring if it would "look good". Personal day. No notice. Sorry. The school will have to understand.

What makes me so sad is that surgeons who are supposed to see us don't. Dad and I and poor mom waited all day. People came and went. A cat scan was taken. We were told nothing. I asked questions to everyone who entered the room. Most only gave me the smallest of information and little interest in her condition. It's serious. Oh yes, Mr. S. But we don't have a plan. What? Do they think she's a lost cause? Do they think it's not that serious? How busy can a doctor be? And if he's so busy, how about getting someone who can help her? SOMEONE DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN TAKE HER VITALS!

I keep wondering.. is this the end of her life? Is this how I will lose my precious mother? Or will she get the water removed from her heart and lungs and bounce back. In my heart, I hope so. In my heart, I don't know. In my heart, I fear. I love her so much. I hate to see her suffer. She has suffered more than a person should.

Where is God? Does He even care about my prayers? Does it matter if I pray? Will what happens, happen anyway?

I wonder if she is lonely in the hospital tonight? Can she reach the nurse button? Can she rest, through her labored breathing? Will the doctors please just fix her? Will she finally get peace from pain and suffering? She worries about how we are, when she is sicker than I've ever sensed before. It's ironic because she isn't even in intensive care and yet I have never worried more about her. Is she in congestive heart failure? Will she be just fine? WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE US SOME SOLID INFORMATION?

I don't know if I will keep this entry. It isn't one that I'll want to remember. But it's the real, raw feelings. I'm really sad. But it isn't about me. It's about my wonderful mom who is suffering beyond what anyone should. It's not a fair world. It's not a pretty world. It wasn't a good day today. My hope is that tomorrow will be much better. But right now the cynic in me says, "don't count on it".

I have to try and pray. I will try. I will try to have faith.

Shopping would be great if...

...the cashiers would take the dang security tags off the clothes after I PURCHASE them. I was in Sears today buying clothes for the kids. I have been burned with the ink filled tags left on my clothes before, so I asked the lady if all the tags were off. She looked at me, kind of annoyed and nodded. Guess what!!!!!!!? THEY WEREN'T ALL OFF. So after getting home and discovering one still on, I called and they said a weak sorry into the phone and told me to bring it back. Driving all the way back to Chapel Hill is not my idea of fun. That's why I had Jay go. Bad me. Bad me. It gave me time to wrap his birthday presents. I know there are worse things to happen than an ink filled tag left on, but sheeesh, this is annoying to me.

On a lighter note, Mom should be out of the hospital tomorrow. She's been in nearly a week. She has nine lives. I just wish her lives were easier ones.

For Tom to see my creations :)

my potholder that is also a barbie blanket

Experimenting with holes

Webkinz need to keep warm in this weather!

Collar

bookmark made into a Sunday hat.

I don't know what it is yet, but it's long and pretty

Please excuse my weird look. I am getting over a cold and I'm a sneezy red-faced mess.

another "creation"

The fan pull in Emily's room.

My crochet creations debut!

no school but not the fun snow day way.

How come when you are home sick from work, all you do is think about work? Let's see I'd be in 1st period right about now. I sound like Darth Vader so I thought I might keep my cooties to myself today. achoo.

Out with the old/ In with the new

Guess which one is new. I'll give you a hint. Look up. :)


My new one. I haven't had a working oven since before Thanksgiving.
We did have a toaster oven from my aunt, so we weren't totally w/o heat.

A Mystery!

There is a very sweet person in Tara's life. Tara has received three books about making friends in the mail. One each day has arrived addressed to her. There is no note or return address, other than the company that sent them. They are really nice books, too.

Tara has been struggling to make new friends in her new school. So I thought maybe her teacher ordered them for her. Her teacher says she didn't buy them. Tara asked her classmates. Noone has claimed this wonderful act of kindness. Tara has been reading them and it has really uplifted her.

I want to thank the person who sent them but I don't know who it is!? Is is you, Aunt Dee? Aunt Georgia?

On a side note, I am going to take pictures of my crochet creations to post. Right now I'm just trying to relax after work and get over a toothache... long story...

If you are the one who sent the books, let me know so I can thank you!

People really are kind in this world.

learning to crochet

The last few weeks I've been trying to learn to crochet. I have gotten better, but that's relative. I've gone from making a knotted mess, to a more organized knotted mess. It's not actually that bad. Now I know how to make single, double and triple crocheted things. I don't understand the books so I just experiment until something takes a form I like and then I "make" it into that. I've made potholders, bracelets, countless Webkinz collars and sweaters ( no sleeves), a bookmark, and one Barbie purse. That one was fun. But the girls keep coming in and exclaiming that they'd love to have what I made. So now the potholder is a Barbie blanket and the book mark is in Tara's possession. I figure I'll get better eventually. But eventually might take a mighty long time. Ha ha.

2 posts in one day!

Inspired by sweet Rebecca, here is my list:

names you go by
-Joann, Jo, JoJo, Joannshi, Mommy, Snowy (by Jay), Bananny (by my dad)

Three things you are wearing right now-maroon shirt with beads around the collar, blue sweats, socks

Two things you want very badly at the moment-a snow day and my crochet stitches to get more even

Two things you did last night-laundry and goofed around with my kids

Two things you ate today-spaghetti and a yummy doughnut (Don't tell my dieting buddies at school.)

Two people you last talked to on the phone My dad and Nancy

Two things you are going to do tomorrow-Turn in my forms for my new licensure to the Ohio BOE and Work

Two longest car rides-I drove to CT all by myself from Ohio on a college break. I was proud of that 12 hour drive. My family and I drove across America from LA to New York and down south in one several week trip!

Two of your favorite beverages-Diet Pop and Fresca

People to tag My buddies.

my room at school and my mom

My room at school is so nice. I like it a lot. I wanted to share a couple of pictures. Also, I like the picture of Emily with my mom. She is really weak right now and I am really worried about her.

My aunt and uncle were in town from New York on Friday and I got to see them for a few minutes.

The kids are watching Grease right now. That cracks me up since I watched it when I was their age, too. I guess it is timeless.

I love you my first born to the moon and back.

Emily is 10

Playing with her balloons in her new uniform. I love this photo.


Build a bears once again.


Her new Girl Scout uniform


My beautiful birthday girl.


Their new pierced ears.


Right after her shower in her mismatched jammies.

We celebrated her birthday early yesterday and today. Tomorrow she will get an ice cream cake after school. She got her ears pierced. She didn't want to do it alone so Tara got hers done, too. Then it was off to spend birthday money getting lotion, a webkinz and another build a bear. I hope it's her last build a bear. They are really expensive.

They were troopers getting their ears pierced. They picked out their own earrings. Emily wanted me to be quiet and not make a big deal out of it, yet she still wanted me near her when it was being done. Poor thing was shaking. Tara just sat there and took it. Emily also wanted her girl scout uniform since she graduated out of Brownies into Junior scouts. She looked adorable in her uniform and it was special to me, since I also got a Girl Scout uniform for my 10th b'day, too.