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5.31.2008

Wii mania and the end of school

School's out!! WOOHOO! I am much looking forward to some summertime.

I called Gamestop and said "Do you have any Wii's?" He said yes.

When we got there, he had just sold the last one. Grr. 4 stores later, we were able to purchase a Wii for a slight markup from retail.

So, I now have my Wii. It is even more fun than I thought it would be. We are currently playing Mario Galaxy, we also have Wii Sports that came with it. Donald really wants Zelda.

Between my iPod Touch and my Wii, I am feeling quite Techy.

5.29.2008

For the ladies only

Men, seriously, this is not applicable to you (I hope...)

Ladies, Fashion Bug is having a buy 2 get 2 free bra sale. The bras are $19-$21.00 normally, meaning you can get 4 for $40 right now. That's an awesome deal and they are cute bras, not plain ones. If you need bras, nows the time!

I had not bought any in almost 3 years, so the 4 I bought were much needed!

Amazingness

After reading a billion reviews and visiting a ton of stores, I purchased my new MP3 player tonight.
My research led me to narrow it down to 4 players.

The creative zen v:plus, the iRiver Clix, the Zune and the iPod Touch. They met the specs I was looking for, so I set out to search the stores. The only downside is I was unable to find any decent players that were blue. Alas, I was going to have to settle for another color scheme.

The creative zen v:plus was immediately knocked off the list because the all plastic body felt cheap and easily destroyable (and I tend to be rough on things, just ask my cell phone). Compared to the metal body of my old zen micro photo, the v:plus just felt flimsy.

The iRiver Clix is no longer available in stores in America, so bye bye iRiver.

Donald forbid the Zune, on accounts of screwy things microsoft is doing with the zune and their music store. The lady at circuit city seconded that saying a lot of zunes are brought back because they have a tendency to lock up and freeze frequently. They have a reset button inside just for that problem. (Which makes me wonder why they installed a fix it button instead of just fixing the problem...oh well.)

I got an iPod Touch. It is freaking amazing. I'm kind of in love with it, to be honest.

I was never in the iPod camp, because I thought their products were priced higher than others without offering anything better, just a jacked up price based on brand name recognition. I still feel that the shuffle and nano are easily not the best in their price bracket and you can get something with the same features cheaper. The classic I've never really researched, since I have no need for 60-80GB of space. However, the Touch is completely different than any other player out there...and far cooler. It's basically an IPhone without the phone and camera. I can play music, movies, store pictures, surf the web using wifi (which I did tonight just for fun), get directions from google maps, or check the weather in my area.

And it seriously has the most awesome interface in this universe to date.

5.25.2008

Recommendations?

In June, I will by purchasing an MP3 player, as I lost my beloved blue Creative Zen Micro Photo in March and have seen no trace of it since. I can only assume my bad habit of not zipping my purse led to its disappearance. I would be more than happy to just buy another one, but they are no longer making the one I had.

Now I need to figure out what to get. So, tell me what you are using, along with the pros and cons (or what you think I'd like to use).

Must be at least 4 GB (that's how much space I was using out of the 8GB from the last one).

Would most likely not buy an Ipod, unless it truly is the best choice.

Would really prefer it be blue.

Other than that, I'm wide open.

**Update**
I've been reading tons of reviews and here are my thoughts.

The one I like best is iRiver Clix, but it is not sold in stores only direct from iRiver. Blah.

Ipod Touch looks awesome but costs way more than a lot of others.

Cowon D-something or other looks awesome, also, but is operated entirely by stylus, and I'm not sure I like that.

Creative Zen V:Plus is looking like the best of my options right now.

5.19.2008

almost summer

It's getting close. Only 8 more school days left.

And then I will go to sleep, open my eyes and it will be August. It seems that way every year.

But, I look forward to some time with Donald, time with mom and time with friends. Summer is a good time to feel unpressured.

I'm ready.

5.15.2008

Ranting time

I saw an article today, "First plus sized model takes home top prize on America's Next Top Model." I don't watch the show, but clicked on the article, as I was amazed they'd give it to a "plus sized" girl. Here are her photos. I am peeved that they are calling her plus sized. She looks great, healthy and normal. We wonder why little girls think they are fat and eating disorders ravage teenagers. Maybe because they are calling this "plus sized." Why? Because she has boobs and hips? That's not plus sized, that's called being female. I applaud this chick for going on a show where she was the largest one there, but I wonder how much it must have hurt her each time she heard herself referred to as "the first plus sized contestant." I'm glad she won, we need more normal sized models in the world.






5.13.2008

laundry issues

So, whenever I use my dryer, it is fine unless the clothes get dry and the dryer is still running (because I do not know they are dry yet). At that point the apartment fills up with...steam? vapor? I don't think it smoke, since it does not smell. It is just a visible haze in the air.



Should I be worried?

5.12.2008

oh what fun...

I took my class miniature golfing today. They had a blast, even though most of them had no concept of the fact that the ball should end up in the hole at some point.

However, on our way back to school, 3 blocks away, the city bus we were riding got rear ended. We had to sit for almost 2 hours waiting for the police and city utilites to make their reports and let us go. Our kids usually eat at 11:50, today they ate at 2:00. They were starving and cranky. The most frustrating part was being so close to school and not being allowed to leave the scene and take them back to school.

5.11.2008

Biblical names?

Today there was an article about 2007's most popular names in America. Emily is #1 for girls for the 12th year, and Jacob #1 for boys for the 9th.

They go on to say Biblical names are big for boys, with James, Michael, Joshua and Matthew all having made the top 10.

After that they say the other names on the list are Ethan, Daniel, Anthony, William and Andrew.

I think they need to do a bit more Bible study, as most of those names also appear in the Bible, most notably Daniel, who has an entire BOOK named after him and Andrew, who was one of the 12 disciples. Ethan is also in the bible a few times, although more obscure than the other two.

I do not remember William or Anthony in the Bible, but the others are definately there.

For the curious, other girls names in the top 10 were: Isabella, Emma, Ava, Madison, Sophia, Olivia, Abigail, Hannah and Elizabeth.

Abigail, Hannah and Elizabeth are all Biblical, too.

For all the "unique names" we see in education, it appears most people are choosing quite traditional, almost old-fashioned names. None of the boys names are "trendy" and the only non-classic girl name on the list is Madison, which while not being an old name, is still quite mainstream.

P.S. I have a hard time typing Hannah with an "h" on the end after all my years of friendship with Hanna.

Kid quotes

Today in Sunday School, I helped the kids make gifts for their mothers. They had to tell me things they were thankful to their moms for. Some were standard issue answers like:
You read me stories.
You cook my food.
You love me.

One of my favorites was:
You stay home with me now, so I don't have to go to the mean baby sitter anymore.

Other highlights, however, were quite off the beaten path:
You buy me balloons in cages at party america that I can blow up myself.
You take me to picnics where there aren't hot dogs.

and the funniest:
You showed me how to make two worms by cutting up a big one.

hard day

Today is a hard day for me. Pray for me. That's all I'm going to say about it.

5.08.2008

Accomplishments

If I've done nothing else this school year, I can at least claim these  accomplishments:

1. ALL of my students are fully potty-trained (maybe an accident every blue moon, but otherwise trained and in "big kid underpants").

2. I've had 10 school days in a row with no restraints, the longest spurt yet, and cause to celebrate.

3. I've helped a third grade teacher learn how to help a third grade boy who so desperately needed it.

5.07.2008

The eyes have it




I've always thought this woman was gorgeous, ever since I fell in love with Mad About You. I still think so. But right now, I'm very proud of her. I watched her on Letterman the other day and was struck by the fact that, despite her career requiring women to not age, gain weight, or do any other normal human function, she is aging (beautifully) and letting it happen. She looks so natural. There is obviously no Botox, and I would say no cosmetic surgery, either. I LOVE the laugh lines around her eyes. They look adorable. Helen, keep it up!

The only other woman I can think of in Hollywood who is doing this as well as Helen is Susan Sarandon, and I think she is beautiful as well.

(On a side note, I recently realized one of the people I know that are my age has the beginnings of laugh lines in the corner of their eyes, and I thought, "Oh, that's cute!" Someday, I hope to have proof that I've led a happy, joy filled life. Although, if my mother is any indication I may not have wrinkles until I am much older. She still doesn't have them.)

5.06.2008

another new word

This one's for Hanna.

A child just showed me a picture of Barbie dancing and said, "Look at the twirlerina!" I said, "Oh, a ballerina!" She replied, "No, no! Twirling twirlerina!"

So there you have it, on the authority of an 8 year old, you were once a twirlerina.

5.03.2008

Ole!

My husband, after months of saving, was able to buy his beloved XBOX 360 yesterday morning. He's been happy as a clam ever since. He has a few games to play for now. He even bought me a game. It is Viva Pinata. Hanna said I'd enjoy it and I really do. Its like Sims for pinatas. I expecially like Mousemallow pinatas. (I still would like a Wii, though...someday.)

Also, for Cinco de Mayo, Qdoba gave away free tacos tonight. Donald and I, plus Hillery and her kids took full advantage of free chicken and steak tacos! We also decided next year, Donald and Joey are participating in the burrito eating contest. We've seen them eat burritos faster than the people who competed tonight.