Computer issues (AGAIN!)

(For those of you who follow both my blogs, I apologize for the double post in your streams!)


A quick note (using an old rickety laptop with a usb keyboard since the laptop is missing half its keys) to mention computer issues....again. My laptop crashed for no apparent reason, and R's laptop (same model as mine) is also broken-the power pin ripped out when he unplugged it. Awesome. Mine had that problem on three separate occasions. We are not happy campers, and plan on raising a fuss to have the laptops returned and our money refunded. We bought the laptops in April of this year, and this will be the 4th time mine is going in for "repair." It wouldn't be so bad if the customer service rep didn't try to tell us it's our fault every time. "Oh, your power pin snapped off? You'll be charged for that!"

Apparently, one is never ever ever supposed to unplug a latptop. Ever.

Crankypants.
If R's desktop (from the same company as the laptops) hadn't crashed a few months back, this would be slightly less of a crummy situation. He's only had the desktop for a couple of years, and it's DOA. Guess who we're never buying computers from again? These guys! Ranty blog regarding how crappy this company is, coming soon! When I have a better functioning computer to use, that is....

If only MAC's weren't so expensive, and could run our sizeable collection of games & software without needing to shell out even more $ for software compatibility programs.

Fortunately, I have a smart phone and can at least access email (though, sadly, not Etsy at the moment) so I can keep up with any sales and mail out packages quickly. Just no fancy pants printed invoices at the moment. Grumble!

So Close

I feel like a neurotic Jack Russel Terrier hyped up on caffeine pills! Yes, that anxious. And, yes, I relate most things in life to dogs. You should know better.

My love is coming home SOON! So soon. Not soon enough, but, I'll take what I can get. This week has been a flurry of activity! Cleaning, chasing dogs down for baths/grooming, trying to stop said dogs from rolling in dirt, getting the car serviced, personal spiffing up, etc etc I am one lazy housekeeper if nobody's around, apparently.

An amazing WONDERFUL neighbor that I wanna hug until her eyes pop (in the happy, cartoon way of course) came by yesterday to help out with a few things, and I ended up monopolizing her whole day with car issues. Thank goodness for Sears Auto, lemme tell you. The dealership wanted $180 to replace the car battery. Before tax. I dun think so. Sears saved me a lovely little hunk of change which will go straight to the "beer n pizza dinner night" fund. Ok, I lie. It'll probably go towards the dogs...but, still! That's a lot of treats.

Now that I have the official date & time for his arrival, it just can't get here fast enough. I'm nearly finished with my to-do list, and the rest of my time will be taken up with obsessively detailed cleaning, trying to vacuum off a dog (hey, YOU try living with a Husky in Texas!), and/or playing computer games to pass the time. Oh, and planning the short-notice Thanksgiving dinner for 15 ish people. Wooohoooo! Good thing I like cooking :)

Bah Humbug

Halloween is my favorite holiday (next to my birthday). I have never skipped a year of dressing up and being a little ridiculous. Until now. I just don't have the energy, or the inclination. Of course it doesn't help that the 4 people I know in the state already have out-of-town plans, or are too busy to celebrate, and the fiancee is all deployed n stuff. So, bahhumbug! I barely put up some half-assed decorations this year (though I did score a pretty sweeeeeet entry mat from target!).

It's glittery and has rats...how could I resist?

I don't even have the excuse of handing out candy, to dress up. Without a large, strong metal gate blocking off the entryway, there is no chance I could keep the beasts from barreling towards the door and barking their heads off every time the doorbell rang. By the time I would be able to usher them into a room and answer the door, the poor kids would probably have fled.  

Which, I'm ok with. Past experiences of handing out candy show that kids are rude little monsters. A few times they've tried stealing the candy bowl from me! 

Which reminds me...I should probably bring that awesome mat in before tonight.....

Happy Halloween, folks!

Crafty bits

I admit, I'm a little wedding-obsessed. Instead of focusing in on the dress though, I'm all about the decor. I'm also a little too cheap to pony-up and by the schmancy pre-made stuff. So, in a fit of madness and mostly boredom, I started in on way too many projects. One of which has great results, but is taking forever. I am not a patient person, so it's slow going on this right now. I also kinda suck at taking photos of the whole process...my bad.

Materials:
Fine grit sandpaper
Container (Glass votive, old drinking cup, etc)
Sticks of varying length & width
Glue gun & several glue sticks
Branch snippers


Start with a container. In this case, I'm using a cheapy paint can. It was used as a flower pot in a previous life...

Grab some fine grit sand paper and give your container a once-over with it. If using glass, skip this step. Whatever you use, make sure you give it a good wash & thorough dry before hand.

Warm up the glue gun! I like to use sticks about an inch longer than the container itself. Make sure the bottom of your sticks are cut level with the ground, then go wild! I'm using dried branches from the sunflower jungle I finally cut down. 

Grab a stick, then look at where the stick meets the container, and put a dab of glue on the top & bottom of the container to secure. When placing the following sticks, put dabs of glue along the sides as well as the top & bottom. Hold in place until fairly secure and move on. 

It should like zis.

There comes a time when you may find yourself with a gap, like so.

Grab a wonky little bit of branch, and snip the top at an angle to match up with the gap.

Glue in place, like zis. 

Then cut to length, like zis!

You may notice the sticks tend to lean after awhile. You can fix this by going around and gluing them straight up and filling the gaps in later, like above, or just go with it. 

Which is what I did below...

Did I mention I was bored, and a little crazy? Yup.

Continue until it's covered all around with those larger sticks, then go back over it and fill in the gaps with the smaller bits left over from trimming. If you have a lot of stringy bits left over from the glue, take a hair dryer set on "high" for a quick blast to melt 'em away.

Yep, it's a little tedious if you're a fan of quick results. But, the results are pretty killer. So far I've stuck-it to a tea light holder, plastic nursery pot, and a little olive jar. I'm pretty stoked on how these are turning out, especially the plastic nursery pots! Our recycling center doesn't accept the recyclable pots (uhm, cuz that makes sense), so I have an ever growing collection if these babies just hanging out. The vague plan in my head is to eventually cover all those babies, and have a prettified stash of container we can use for the wedding and beyond. 

Fundraiser goodness

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm holding a fundraiser via crowdrise for my birthday. Rather, using my birthday as an excuse to raise money for The Nature Conservancy.

So far, I managed to raise $90 of my $200 goal! 45% of the way there, folks! Thank you, again, if you're one of the three awesome folks to have already donated!

I admit I'm pretty bad at pushing myself out there-I don't want to be annoying with all the "HEY! Donate! NOWWWWW!!!!!!"

I do totally want you to donate, though. Pretty please? I don't want to be annoying, I really don't. All the money goes to a GREAT cause, and it's tax-deductible! Hey, if I can get 22 people to donate JUST five dollars, I would meet my goal! Awesome, right? It's all really easy, too. Just follow the crowdrise link to go directly to the donation page. A great quirk of crowdrise, is the writing is a little snarky. I like snarky.
It's just a few simple clicks to donate any amount ya want. Want to find out more about The Nature Conservancy?
Here's their home page. 

For followers of either of my blogs (and anyone you refer!) there's an extra incentive to donate! Anyone who donates any amount of five dollars or more to the fundraiser will receive a coupon for free shipping on orders from my etsy shop. $20 donations also receive a coupon for 10% off your entire purchase! $40 donations will receive free shipping, 10% discounts and a free pair of beaded earrings in your choice of colors! $50 and up gets all the previously mentioned goodies, plus custom earrings from a selection of styles, and a whole bunch of yet-to-be-determined goodies, depending on interest and preferences... If you like cookies, there's a darn good chance I'll make some for you.

Want to "join the team" and help promote the fundraiser further? You can do that! Check out the donation page for more info. I like teams, teams are fun. Hop on board the fundraiser-wagon, and we can raise even more for TNC! And I'll even let you think it was all your idea. Promise.

Just comment on this post after donating, to get the goodies rolling. If you'd rather not make a fuss on the webz about your donation, go ahead and drop me an email instead. Don't forget to share this post with friends! The more you refer, the more treats I'll send your way. I'm already stockpiling them. So, go go go!!

On gushing & roses

May I have a moment to gush like a fool? Kthx

This afternoon I received a rather unexpected package from UPS. If I had the sense to take pictures of it before tearing into the long, slender box, I would have. Know what comes in long slender boxes these days?

Two dozen long stem red roses. That's what. And a super sweet note from R that had me grinning, crying a little, and saying "no freaking WAY" all with my jaw firmly planted on the ground. I guess you could say I was a tad surprised. I thought flowers like this only got sent as a sweeping gesture to that impossibly flawless pretty girl in romantic comedies.

This pretty girl got 'em, 'just because.'
 If I had been wearing socks, they would have been simultaneously rocked and knocked off.  I'll be moving the vase around the house so I can look at these gorgeous buds all day long. When I wake up in the morning. when I make my coffee. When I spend entirely too much time on my computer. All day long.  R is pretty much the best, but I kinda knew that before the roses. I think this guy might be a little fond of me, and I'm definitely keeping him around.

Have I mentioned this guy is amazink? I'm still rather giddy. 24 red roses. Who does that? While deployed? Love this guy.

end gushing. for now.

On birthdays & nature

Since I'm several states away from 99.9% of the people I know, this year's birthday & the following holiday season is going to pass quietly. I'll probably find a lovely bottle of wine, get some gourmet cheese, and make myself a big ol' Italian dinner. There will likely be a B-rated movie, and couch-cuddling with as many beasts as I can get on the couch at one time. And that is perfectly fine with me.

Okay, fine, I'll probably have a cupcake, too. 

Especially since last year, R was the only one to remember my birthday....and it's not an event I am ever quiet or subtle about. I was already struggling with adjusting to the move and some massive disappointment with people I was close to. Having absolutely nobody remember my birthday (when usually it's a loud, populous affair) had me...well, kind of pissy. R remembered, of course, and was pretty much the only thing that anchored me down to sanity and non-crankyness.

So this year, my expectations are firmly set for a yummy dinner. I'm still making a big fuss about my birthday, in a different way.

 October marks the 60th anniversary of The Nature Conservancy, a rather stellar organization that I've been a member of (off and on) for about a decade now. They've done so much for preserving wild habitats around the world, it's a bit overwhelming. In the best of ways. To honor TNC's 60th anniversary, and all the awesome things they do, I'm holding a little fundraiser via crowdrise.  The donation goal is a modest $200.

In lieu of gifts or cards, I'm asking that folks check out the fundraising page and make a donation. I know a lot of folks out there are struggling with finances, and I'm certainly not one to be all judgy about donation amounts. If my etsy shop was selling, I would have donated more already. So, there.
 If 15 people donate $10, I'll meet my goal! If I manage to raise more than the initial goal of $200, then honestly, that would be one heck of an amazing birthday gift!

As an added incentive: Donate any amount via the crowdrise page I've set up, and you will receive a coupon for my esty shop in your inbox, as well as a complimentry "thank you" gift with your order. I'm whipping out something special to send to donors, so check it out! 

A friend is skipping one coffee drink a week, and donating the money she would have spent on latte's. It's an awesome idea, and makes me wish I spent money on latte's so I could do the same thing. Considering how addicted she is to coffee, I'm trilled she's willing to forego her fix to donate!

Won't you help a gal have an amazing birthday this year?