My Husband is (Almost) Always Right!

Date Night, some kind of fancy Japanese variety...I think "Chopped Chocolate." We also ordered a mint chip shake to take home to Jake (his favorite) since he was home alone. We're cool parents like that.

I love this man. He is very wise. He knows me well. Well enough to know what my hangups are...and to tread lightly when addressing them. Take my perfectionism, for example. He doesn't roll his eyes and tell me to lighten up or get over myself. He goes about it like this...

Cliff (sweetly): "Can I talk to you about something?"

Me: (thinking, 'uh oh...he's using the voice...what does he want?') "Of course!" (Read: "As long as it's something I want to hear.")

Cliff: "Sweetie, I think people back home want to read about what we are doing now more than they want to read about what we were doing five months ago, just for the sake of keeping the blog in chronological order. Couldn't you just dedicate yourself to starting now to keep up...and then go back as you can to catch up the rest?"

I start thinking, "But that won't work! People won't like that! It will be all out of order! If they aren't subscribed to read it on Google Reader, they'll have to go over to the archives on the side bar and try to figure out what they haven't read and it will be inconvenient."

But then I realized, I'm probably the only one who cares if it reads in chronological order. And if people care enough to keep track so they won't miss a post, they probably already subscribe, even if in secret. (I know some of you do that, and I don't mind. I certainly don't do all this to keep a count of people who follow the blog.) OK, so my mom doesn't subscribe, and she's my biggest fan...but I'm going to teach her so she doesn't have to keep checking here every day, in vain. Love you, Mom!

And for those of you who DO read this in Google Reader, I know that regardless of the date I start the post...in Reader, it will show the date that I hit the "Publish" button. Since that will be confusing, if those dates are not one in the same...I will list the date each post occurred at the beginning of the post. Sound like a plan?

If you like it, you can thank Cliff.

Now I have to go so the shake snake can get on this computer to do an assignment he procrastinated. None of the others will work for his geography CD. I can NEVER get on this computer...and even when I think the coast is clear, five minutes later a kid comes in needing to get on for "an assignment." The irony? It's my computer! *sigh* It's a good thing I love them.

Patrick on the Today Show!

Oh my goodness, they really DID make it on the Today Show!


That's my baby's tongue on National TV!



And I see he purchased an "I heart NY" t-shirt to replace the "I only like NY as a friend" t-shirt I gave him for Christmas.



Here's a clip of the gang chatting with Al. I have watched it over.and.over.

Mrs. Deakins has been sending nightly emails to all the parents, recapping the adventures of the day. In all the other school trips my kids have taken, this has never happened before and I appreciate it so much. It helps me to still feel in the loop, even though I'm not at home, either. Just one more example of why Mrs. Deakins is da bomb! I can't wait to hear all about it from Patrick! I wonder which one of us will get home, first?

Conference Weekend

The past three days have been totally low-key. Our lives have pretty much revolved around Jake's pain medicine schedule. Three days of leg elevation down...three more to go. I feel so bad for him...he gets so uncomfortable having to lie flat on his back. He's tried going to either side, but the cast rubs on his ankle bone. It seems like this will go on forever, but I know it won't.

Jake hates the oral pain meds. He can't stand the loopy feeling. Pssshhh...I wish he could share, I could use some loopy right now! But no, I need to stay conscious to be able to fetch our meals and such. Jake gets really anxious whenever I have to leave. Traffic can be bad and there is nothing close by, so I feel really bad when I have to leave and so I try to rush back, but it still feels like forever to him. Luckily we have a little fridge and microwave. I try to only leave once a day.

I've become addicted to OWN (The Oprah Network). What will I do when I have to return to the world of AFN channels? Oh Oprah, I will miss you. Between her programming and "The Hunger Games" series that Jenn lent to me for the trip, I've managed to stay occupied.



Lucky for us, it is Conference weekend...which really lends itself well to just laying around watching TV. On one hand, we were very lucky to be in a US time zone so that we could watch it live. If we were still in Japan, we would have to wait until next weekend to watch the rebroadcast at church, or try to stream it over our slow Internet connection on the Mac. On the other hand, since we are in the Hawaii time zone, that means we have to get up at 6 AM to watch the first session. Since I'm kind of a night owl lately, that didn't go over too well. I went in and turned on Jake's TV and told him it was on, but I'm pretty sure he slept through both morning sessions. I probably slept through half of them. But I was awake for both of the afternoon sessions and they were great.

My favorite two talks from this conference:

Richard G. Scott-He spoke on the blessings of eternal marriage and developing unity through trials. I have a love/hate relationship with this concept. On one hand, I know it is true. When I look back on the experiences Cliff and I have had in our 20 years, I know that the trials strengthen our bond. On the other hand, sheesh, sometimes I wish life could be a bed of roses. He also told the sweet story of caring for his sick child through the night, and when he died unexpectedly a few months later, how grateful he was to have the precious memory of holding and caring for his son during that night. It made me think of this whole experience with Jake (and the one we had 12 years ago). Even in all the craziness, I'm grateful to have the opportunity to care for him.

Lynn G. Robbins-He started off his talk with the famous question, "To be or not to be" and then went on to talk about "to do or to be" I loved the part where he asked, "Can a child ever be checked off as done?" Sometimes, I can't really think about this concept because it makes my throat start to close up. Parenting is never done...even when you're a great-grandparent. Someone recently told me, "You're only as happy as your least happy child." Oh, this is so true. When I start to think of what the future could potentially hold, with four children raising families of their own, I realize I will never be able to check them off as done. I just pray they make wise decisions...the most important being with whom they will raise their own families. My favorite part was his analogy of "Parenting 101" vs. "Parenting 505." When kids/teens bring challenges with their choices, it's hard not to think of those challenges as a burden. But when he asked, "With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?" It really made me think of things differently. Not that I'm looking to have my patience and long-suffering challenged, believe me!

I look forward to getting the Ensign so that I can read the talks I dozed through. Heaven knows, with no Oprah network, I'll have enough reading time on my hands.

Finals week

School just might do me in this week. My final project is due for my computer class tomorrow night, and it's a doozie. Especially the Microsoft Access part. Can I tell you how glad I am that my life's work does not involve accounting? Just sayin'.

Here, Charlotte is lending moral support for my Power Point presentation. She thinks I need to add more custom animations. I find them annoying, but whatever.

Anyway, as soon as I'm done with this, it's on to my next algebra assignment, also due tomorrow at midnight. Three more weeks until that class is over, for better or worse. If I can average a C, I'll be thrilled. Also glad my life's work does not depend on algebra. It's more of a hazing ritual these days, I think. Personally, I'd rather pay someone the big bucks to take care of any math needs that I may have.

{C'ya later...I'm goin' back in.}

Educational Updates

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this here or not...but Coree decided not to go to eighth grade this year. Instead, she decided to take a semester of ninth grade classes online via BYU independent study. Her goal...to transfer into Kubasaki at the semester. I was all for her doing it. Well, I do have some reservations about her being barely 17 when she graduates. But she's always been on the more mature side...all of her friends are older, and that has usually been the case. And there was no question about her being ready to do high school work. So, we went for it. It was a rough first semester all the way around...for Coree's social life, Dad's wallet AND my sleep. Online classes are very time-consuming. They are also expensive (especially compared to free). For LDS kids, high school=early-morning Seminary. This meant I had to bring her there and back every morning. (Not that I didn't do that the first 2 1/2 years I had kids in Seminary, but it's been nice having such a large carpool since then.)

Well, to make a long story short, she did it! Coree is now a Kubasaki Dragon. She is so thrilled...but at the same time said, "I can't believe I did all that work, NOT so I could be relieved to be done...but JUST so I could do MORE work! (Yeah...welcome to high school, sweetie.) Silver lining for Mom: Since I drove the Seminary carpool the entire first semester, I'm now done for the year. Woohoo! It's funny, she comes home every day with some new tidbit about how high school is so much better. ("Mom...today, one of my teachers GAVE us gum. At Lester, you'd get detention for chewing gum!" or "Mom...today at lunch, I changed tables THREE times....and no one said ANYTHING to me!" Also a detention-earning infraction at Lester. So is hugging of any kind.) It's not that she ever tested any of these rules, or had any trouble with anyone, it's just the overall atmosphere of the school that was suffocating to her. It sounds like she's really breathing easier in a less oppressive environment. I understand middle school is a tough age to manage, so in an effort to keep good order and discipline, they....well, run it like a prison, frankly. It's just that Coree didn't need that. And we had other options.

Well, all that {unimportant} academic stuff aside...let's get to something that really matters. Fashion. Coree could not be expected to carry a middle school backpack to high school, could she? Well, I thought it would be fine, but evidently, it's just not done. Coree scoured the Internet and found something more acceptable at Urban Outfitters. For $80. Fat chance. I agreed to go halvesies. Deal. Here it is:


So what do you think...is it sufficiently high school enough?

Leaving me with the cast-off middle school model. Pssshh...I have no shame, I'll take a backpack that won't cost me additional money any day. It's still in perfect shape. In your face, middle school. Why do I need a backpack, you ask? I've gone back to school myself. Two classes:

Does this look familiar?



How about this? Does this make your chest tighten as much as it does mine? If I survive ten weeks of college algebra, it will be a miracle. At this point, all I care about is passing with a C. Anything else would be overkill. I'm also taking a computer class (information systems management) which is not so bad. I tell you, I'd take ANY class over college algebra, any day. But it's a necessary evil. Mostly just evil.

And Jake? He's still playing the mad professor at home.



He made this pontoon boat through instructions in his Supercharged Science program. He got tired of waiting for me to order a bunch of the parts, so he started stripping old electronics he had in his room. Would you even know where to start? I wouldn't know what part does what or how to remove it. Jake makes it look easy.

Here it is in action. I can't wait to see what else he can do. Although, I'm thinking I'd better order him some new parts or my electronics might start disappearing.

Far East Drama

Patrick has another great opportunity to travel off island for a performance competition. He tried out and was selected to go to the Far East* Drama competition in Seoul, Korea. It's been several months of practice every day after school, in addition to the other community theater production he's practicing for every week night...not to mention the talent show rehearsals he squeezed in there, and the Madrigal dinner before that. Oh, and Scouts (on occasion...lately!), and early morning seminary, and piano, too. And he's keeping up the required A/B grades in order to be allowed (by us) to participate.

I worry about him taking on so much, but Patrick feels like life isn't worth living if he doesn't have an opportunity to do what he loves....and school is not what he loves (it's just a requirement) never mind it's what allows him to participate in most of these cool opportunities. Anyway, being in the spotlight is what he loves, and he's sure had plenty of opportunity for that.

He left Saturday and will be gone for a week. We're so excited for him. Thursday night, they had a preview night for family and friends to come see the pieces they are taking to competition. All of the team is performing in the one act play (which is about 3o minutes in length) and then each of them also had to prepare, practice and perform either a monologue, duet or trio dramatic or comedy piece for the smaller competitions. The team got to vote and choose 2 of the smaller groups to represent them in competition, but the coach won't announce the results until they are on their way, so we won't know if Patrick is just competing in the one act, or if his dramatic duet will be chosen for competition, too...until he gets back, unless he calls us sooner.



Anyway, I am including the video of his dramatic duet here. I'm not going to lie, it is a little on the disturbing side...but not in the way you might think. If you are brave enough, you'll have to watch and see. I've seen Patrick in many comedic or otherwise over-the-top performances...but this is the first truly dramatic work I've ever seen him in...and I think it's really good. I was really impressed with all of the subtleties that went into making his character believable. I really hope he gets the chance to perform it at competition, even though I'm quite certain they'll choose the funnier, more lighthearted pieces. We'll see.

I do have most of the one act on video...except that the memory card was full with almost ten minutes still to go. I won't be including that here, mostly because the five minute video you see above took three hours to upload with our lousy Internet speed here. Can you imagine a 25 minute video? Also, who's going to watch a video that long? Besides maybe my parents? (Not that it wouldn't be worth it just for you guys, mind you...if it weren't for the impossible Internet situation.) Anyway, just trust me it's funny and really good. If I can figure out a way to just include a clip of it, I will. If I was filming, I would have stopped and started the filming several times to break it down into smaller bites (or bytes...hehe) but Jake was filming since I had to duck out the door before it was over to get to my computer class. (By the way...did you know you should capitalize Internet? Yep. Because there is only one. I learned that in my computer class last week. Cool, huh? Now if I can just master Access and Excel, it will be money well spent.)

Break a leg, Patrick...you're awesome! And have fun! But not too much fun. I don't know how much humor those Koreans have. Just sayin', K?

*Far East is a program which allows Department of Defense Education Activity high school students to compete in different events, such as drama, show choir, Model United Nations, photography, football, wrestling, tennis, baseball...you get the idea. Kind of like "State" or "Regional" competitions back in the USA. Our students travel around the Pacific to places like Guam, Singapore, Korea, mainland Japan, or here on Okinawa. The school pays for the travel and competition, we pay for the lodging and food. Definitely one of the perks of living here.


**BTW...if you normally read this in Google reader, I did something funky with Troy's Eagle Court of Honor post. It's a boring story, but basically I published the post before it even happened (for about 5 minutes) while I was making his slide show back on February 2nd. Then I erased the slide show photos I had posted there, but since I kept the original "shell" of the post, it published it back on February 2nd, even though I didn't actually post it until this morning. Get it? So, if you desire to read it (it's a good one) you'll have to either go to the actual blog, or look it up in your feed. And I knew all of this, because I received a friendly blogger tip to "follow" my own blog. This way you know how things look in the reader. So try it with your own blog. You might be glad someday that you did!

You Might Be A Redneck if...

Your laptop is held together with camo-ribbon and duct tape.



One of the hinges to my laptop was already broken and held together with duct tape. This allowed it to stay open just fine, it just couldn't close.



Coree came home from her first day of high school, excited to tell me all about it. (I'll tell you all about it in another post. It's exciting stuff.) Then, as she hefted her 50 lb. backpack, back onto her shoulder, she bumped the corner of the screen and the other hinge snapped, laying the whole thing out. It was kinda funny, but not. I tried duct taping the other hinge, but without anything to support it, it wouldn't stay up. Coree came up with the idea of attaching string (or ribbon) to the corners as a brace.



So there you have it...360 degrees of my redneck laptop. I will use this thing until it's last, dying breath, I swear. This is it ladies and gentlemen. This is where the magic happens. Well, the writing, anyway. I upload the pics from the iMac. When I can get the kids off of it.

Japanese Cell Phones

Our two-year contract with our cell phone company (AU) was up in December. Even though they have the most reception on the island, they are also the most expensive. We were paying upwards of $200 a month for 5 cellphones...for minutes we never used. We just don't use them that often, but really don't feel comfortable not having them, especially since they have saved the day on so many occasions. Things get complicated when kids get their own lives, I tell you.

Anyway, I took a scientific (Facebook) poll to find out what my other options were, trying to find the cheapest, workable alternative. We ended up going with Softbank, the biggest carrier on the island. They have a reputation for a lot of dropped calls, but we will be paying 1/4 the price, with free calls 24/7 to each other, and free calls to any other Softbank user during the hours of 2 AM to 9 PM. (Huh?! So any of you who wanted me to call between 9 PM and 2 AM, sorry...I'm too frugal.) Anyway, we don't typically need to call at length...most of our calls consist of a child saying, "I'm ready to be picked up."

The kids were all ecstatic, because this means they can call and text all their Softbank friends now. (Yippie.) We all went in on the happy day to pick out our new phones. There were several free phone options, in a variety of colors. I figured I'd stick with pink. I looked at all 4 pink options and settled on the coolest looking one. Troy chose a metallic blue (which will end up being Jake's when he leaves this summer, because it didn't make sense to do another 2 year contract for Troy when he'll only be here 6 more months). Coree chose a gold phone and Patrick chose black. After filling out the paperwork, we left so they could program the phones, and I came back alone several hours later to pick them up.

When I returned, they had the phones all boxed and bagged. I pulled mine out and had to laugh!



Yes, this is my phone!



There was no indication by the display model that my phone had anything to do with pouty jelly beans in panties.

The funnier part? Patrick picked out this same phone in black. He just tossed the box before I could get a picture.

Supercharged Science

Since we are back in the land of the home-schooling, we must always be on the prowl for resources. Back in the days of our glorious home-schooling charter school (Thank you very much, state of California...at least your schools have THAT going for them) we were able to attend curriculum fairs and peruse the latest and greatest. Now I have to be a bit more creative. My least favorite way to find resources is by thumbing through the phone-book-of-a-catalog that Rainbow Resource puts out. Firstly, there are very few pictures (and I need visuals), secondly, the print is so dang small and crowded. Thirdly, they have a "religious bigotry" section...and I hate supporting companies who peddle garbage like that, if I can help it. I use them if I can't find something I need elsewhere.

My MOST favorite way to find resources, is tried-and-true recommendations from other home schooling families...or friends who are/were teachers (because if they are my friends, they are cool...so they have cool recommendations).

I found Supercharged Science through the blog of one of my favorite home schooling families. (No, I don't know them...but I followed a link to them one day a couple of years ago and have been checking in on them ever since.) This is a nearly-perfect resource for us, as Jake's curiosity of science in insatiable...and I can't keep up. He is able to watch the classes on line and do the experiments with little assistance. I say it is "nearly perfect," because it's pricey. We bought in to the high school level (since Jake is needing that kind of challenge), so at $57 a month for one kid, we are shelling out some serious bones. And the monthly fee is just the beginning. You should see the running shopping list. Luckily, he's been saving me some money by stripping old electronics for parts for projects like his hovercraft and crystal radio.

Anyway, there are several videos in the "getting started" department to get kids excited about science. In other words, stuff that makes a mess and/or blows up. Jake had to remind me a couple of times before I remembered to bring home a bar of Ivory soap.


I should have taken video...or at least a "before" picture.



While this looks like a pile of shaving cream, I assure you, it's as hard as a bar of soap...



Because it is a bar of soap. Or it was, rather.

Jake could tell you the science behind it. I just know he still has my platter in his room...and his whole room smells like soap.

Shopping here is never dull

Doing a little shopping (I know...shocker) and found this. These little video screens are actually all over the stores...grocery stores, department stores...and they play the same advertisements over.and.over.

This one has to be the cutest I've seen so far, though.

Whipped out my trusty camera so I could share.

You're welcome.

Piggy Promise

So, this really has nothing to do with the post...but I just had to tie this picture in some how so I could share it with you. Mmmm...aren't you hungry now?

Anyway...now that I have a new computer (and Photoshop for Mac, no less!) I promise you that I will be a more faithful blogger. No more letting weeks of posts rack up in my drafts so I don't lose track. I can't promise daily posts...but I will do my best within a day or two.

Thanks for being loyal readers! I appreciate all of your positive feedback and efforts to keep in touch with us.

*HUGS*

Tender Technology

Don't you just love Facebook? I do...I can't even count the ways. I mostly love how I can get little glimpses into people's daily lives that I wouldn't have otherwise. How else would I know what my cousin is having for breakfast...or which team my former boss is rooting for...or how many potty training accidents my friend's son has had? That's golden stuff, I tell ya!

Well last night, Facebook entered a whole new dimension of awesomeness for me. I usually check Facebook in the morning when I wake up and then again at night (usually when I've climbed into bed) and sometimes (if I'm lucky) somewhere in between, too. Last night while doing my typical news-feed scan, I saw that my brother had taken his wife to the hospital, and that my aunthood was eminent. I was SO excited, I could barely breathe.

I spooned with my laptop all night long, refreshing the screen in between dozing to read my brother's updates. Occasionally, I chatted with others (like my Mom) also maintaining the vigil. We guessed what we thought it was, I observed this was my first Facebook baby, etc.

Then, at some point, I dozed off GOOD...and missed it! I woke up to see the main event had occurred about half an hour earlier. And I was wrong with my prediction. {Not that I mind in the least.}

So, to make a short story long, I present to you...

Evey Aliza Parks

6 lb. 4 oz.

19 in.


And I pronounce her....gorgeous!

I can't wait to meet her. I can hardly STAND it!

Foundation for a Better Date

I almost forgot to share this with all of you! Patrick needed to do this for an honors class...and his friends came to the rescue. Enjoy!

(Dating had nothing to do with the assignment...I don't even think making it a video was required...I'm kind of sketchy on the details, and heaven knows Patrick isn't one to give too much info about ANYTHING...but the assignment was called a "personal product". Whatever that is. It was for English class.)

Flashback Friday...Tell me a story, Daddy

Oh, how this picture melts me like butter. I love this man! He is such a good daddy!


Like her two older brothers, Coree knew from an early age that books are worth more than gold. In this very room (before this red toddler bed that I shortly painted pink), when she was old enough to climb out of her crib...she would go to this bookshelf to the left in this picture, empty all of the books off of it, toss them one by one into her crib, and climb back in...where we would find her happily "reading" to herself.

Lately, since Coree's daddy has been deployed, she's the one "telling" him stories. Thanks to the world of Webkinz, Coree has become interested in writing about animals. Her specialty seems to be wolves...and she has quite the imagination for fantasy and amazing details as she delves into the minds of these packs. She emails her dad a few chapters at a time, which is a good thing, because while I can be a "report what I see" kind of writer...I have NO imagination for fantasy. Cliff's creativity and English degree help him to give her more valuable feedback than I could provide.


This is where the magic happens...



And here she is, in her early computer training. Who could have known ten years ago, what a familiar sight this would become! Yesterday, feeding virtual dogs newspapers and slippers...today, exposing their inner-most thoughts.

Oops, I did it again

I know, this is getting to be an annoying habit. I am actually working on 8 postings between this one and the last one I published. I don't know why I let it happen. Well, I do...but it's no excuse. I do the writing on my laptop, which is SO easy to curl up with in bed (especially since it's the only company I have lately) but the pictures for Flashbacks have to be scanned (a grueling process with our dinosaur scanner) and the digital pics I upload from the Mac, which is (a) clear down the hall in the living room and (b) usually in use by some poor pubby (public school child...as opposed to "homey", a lucky, home-schooled child) for an insane homework assignment.

SO...if you are interested, this week you can look back between this post and the last one and see how I've been holding out on you!

As always, thanks for reading...and thanks for your comments. I'm really, honestly not narcissistic (much) but I do love to feel connected, even if only virtually!

A little out of sorts...

Please bear with me as I attempt to bring this blog up to date. I never would have thought that 2 computers is not enough...but we are on top of each other here! The older 3 kids need the computer quite a bit for their schoolwork, and since the Mac is where I upload all of my pictures, I have to wait until it is available to post them to the blog.

Sooo, I have been blogging on my laptop, and saving the drafts for when I have an opportunity to post the pictures. Troy and Patrick just turned in the website they were designing for their National History Day project...so that should free up some time for me to get on here. Otherwise, I'm having to stay up REALLY late (like I am right now) to get some availability!

Anyway, the reason I tell you all this, is so you will understand why some of these posts are showing up out of order...Blogger saves them in the order that you started them, not when you officially publish them...so, if you wouldn't mind, over the next few days, scrolling back through the posts to see what you may have missed.

Thanks...hope you like them!

A New AND IMPROVED Look!

Can I just tell you how over the moon I am for this new layout? My VERY multi-talented friend, Amy Lemon did it. She made the offer to spice it up (in a very tactful way that didn't offend me AT ALL. I knew it was lacking, though, so I would have deserved it, anyway). Anyhoo...I was SO thrilled because her blog is SO dang cute!

She asked what I was looking for...I told her that I wanted something patriotic, but subtle. I think she hit the mark, no? She even took the little "blooming where we are planted" thing off of our calling card and I hadn't even THOUGHT of putting that here. (I'm usually slow on the uptake like that.)

I feel like I can go sort some more stuff now...cheered by the thought that even though I have to leave about half of my nativity sets in storage, I can always get some new ones. They have Christmas in Japan, right?

A New Look!

The "Scribe" template just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I'd been shopping around for a new one for awhile, actually, but just couldn't decide (and didn't really have the time to dedicate, either).

I am sick in bed, so the time presented itself. I started getting sick on our trip...and now I'm just praying that this isn't my annual Fall sinus infection. It sure has all the makings...

Back in Business...

Hello Everyone! I am SO happy to report that the power supply was the only thing that was wrong with our iMac. It is now replaced, and everything else is still intact!

Cliff and the older boys just left this morning for Boy Scout camp, and I'm so bummed out. I know it's only a week, (and that pretty soon Cliff will be deploying again regularly for months at a time) but I hate for him to be gone even for a night. I am so undisciplined...I still need someone to tell me it's time for bed. I remember Cliff's first big deployment. I fell asleep sitting on the couch every night. I'd usually wake up during the show after Conan (can't remember the name) and drag myself down the hall. It didn't make for a very restful night! Anyway, now I don't even know how to operate the TV (too many inputs), so there is no danger of that. Now, if I can just drag myself away from the computer at a decent hour...

Technical Difficulties...Please Stand By...

Hello Everyone,

We will have to take a brief blogging hyatus, as our iMac is in the shop. The power source needs to be replaced. Not bad, considering it's the only difficulty we've had with it in 5 years. Anyway, talk about a sick feeling, when you go to start up your computer...nothing happens...and you suddenly realize you have hundreds of $ of iTunes and thousands of priceless photos on this machine, and almost NONE of it backed up! When I confessed this to the iGenius at the Apple store, he calmly informed me that it would be a good idea to do that right away. Ya think? Not to mention, I have a spread sheet that tracks when our bills are due, etc...do I have a paper copy? Of course not! Why would I need that when it's always at my fingertips? Sheesh, I'm in iDiot!