Smart Phones, too smart?

I got a really cool gift for Christmas this year. Well, I actually got several really cool gifts this year. The tops: automatic soap dispenser, shoe shopping and lunch with my sisters from my dad (coolest gift ever!), car phone charger, True Religion jeans (yes!), and lo and behold: and iPhone 4s!

I should start, however, by disclaiming that I never had interest in getting a smart phone for several reasons. The most becoming reason being it is a huge responsibility. We're going from being a girl who never spent more than $60 out of pocket on an up-for-renewal upgrade, to being the proud (and nervous) owner of a new $300 phone that does everything but shave her legs.

Don't get me wrong, smart phones are A-MAZ-ING! But there is so much more responsibility owning a phone that costs more than all the counter appliances in my kitchen combined (excluding my kitchenaid mixer...another great present from my mother-in-law!)

For the first week I was so nervous with my new phone. I stored it in a ziplock bag as to not get any incriminating crumbs or lint left behind in my coat pocket. After the initial shock of owning the iPhone, I settled in to learning all that the phone can do. And it can do a lot. As my friend Samm demonstrated, Siri can guide you in "where can I stash a body?" (I know, but it was really funny at the time. Siri came up with some interesting solutions.)

The other thing I learned, is pressing the middle button does not end a call. You have to touch on the touch screen, the "END" button. So, a friend got to hear me sing an extended sing-along session with my almost-two year old.

Well, there you have it. The smart phones today are indeed....smart! You just have to learn all the ins and outs [and basic functions] to be a savvy smart phone owner!

Sister's "Friendly" Competition!

http://kellybelly25.blogspot.com/2011/11/sister-brunch-but-who-will-host.html

Vote!

Where's Waldo?

I feel like Waldo, from the popular book series "Where's Waldo", because I have been misplacing everything lately. The objects range anywhere from one of my favorite gloves (the right side one) to hand towels to my craft scissors.

Anyway, I made a list of about 7 or 8 objects that I've misplaced. And, as fate (or irony) would have it, I've misplaced that list of the things I've misplaced.

Don't Eat the Yellow Snow!

We made it through a Halloween this year without any snow! It snowed the week before, but by the time Monday rolled around, we safely walked door to door without any jackets hiding our costumes. Lauren had a blast running in the neighbors' lawns and didn't quite grasp the candy thing; that doesn't mean Jeff and I didn't get our share of the loot though! I swear, when people see a little toddler out trick-or-treating, they get very excited and give double, sometimes triple, candy. Which is funny because of all creatures, those 1 and 2 year olds should be the last ones eating candy!

Two days after Halloween, we got another snow storm and this is what I caught Lauren doing on the back porch the day after that storm:

Yup. That's my daughter!

Sarah's Key

I recently finished an amazing book, "Sarah's Key" by a French author. I love the book. It was well written, it was intriguing, it had emotional elements,and they made a movie about it. My mom, one of my sisters, and I all went to see the movie. I still had about 60 pages left to read so my mom drove. I continued to "speed read" clear up until they turned off the lights in the theater and the previews for upcoming films were played. My mom even pulled out her cell phone to try and give me light!

The movie was great, and I finished the last several chapters after the show later that night. I would definitely recommend this book, but the main reason for the post are the feelings we get from our experiences. I didn't cry in the film, and I didn't cry while reading the book. However, while I was cleaning media this morning at work I came across a book called, "Unlikely Friendships" or something of that nature--and I can't blame any allergies on what became of my watery eyes.

So, there I was at 6:30 in the morning flipping through this animal book, looking at pictures and reading about the different friendships when I thought to myself, "This is ridiculous! Am I really about to let a tear drop over this book?!"

There were two pictures in particular that stood out. The one on the cover, the one that got me hooked, is of a pigeon and a baby monkey. And the other one, the picture that provoked these emotions was one of a dog and a piglet:

I think this one got me the most because I connected it to Sarah's Key. One of the worst and most sad parts of the book is when the soldiers separate the mother's and the children and one of the ways they try to calm the chaos is by telling the lie that no one should worry. That the mother's have to go to Auschwitz first and the children will come a few days later and be reunited.

Right away, Sarah seems to know this is a lie. She can't trust the soldiers. The chapter then goes on to describe all the crying children anywhere from a few months old to ten or eleven years old. Sarah, who is ten, tries to comfort some of the toddlers who feel abandoned, hungry, and have no idea what is going on besides the fact that they are alone and their mothers and fathers are no where to be found. After a few days some have already died. She sings to them, holds their hands, and hugs them. This is just a fraction of the book, one small chapter, but the most emotional for me.

The picture of the older dog comforting that tiny piglet in some way reminds me of that part in the book where some of the older kids tried to hold and comfort all those babies and toddlers who were ripped away from their mothers.

There's not much more I can say, besides the connection I made and how it nearly made me cry in the book section at Costco this morning. I think it's good to read about history tho, even if it makes us sad because we always need to remember where we came from, this world's past, and how we can move forward. It's a good look at the best and worst of human nature.

What does Employee of the Month look like?

Well, usually Employee of the Month pictures at my Costco look like a regular head shot photo of the person smiling. Month after month, my coworkers got Employee of the month and some of my friends pictures were put up. For the past year (or so....) I have day dreamt about what I would do, should I be chosen to receive Employee of the Month.

Well, June came and went, and the first week of July I was informed that I had received Employee of the Month for June, 2011! I was ecstatic! I was so enthralled with what I would do for my picture that I didn't even bother to ask how or why they picked me. (Later I guessed it might be because they ran out of people to give it to! I'm always running in at 5:15 am trying to make that 3 minute window, I ask at least a handful of coworkers what they did on their days off before starting work, I'm always chewing gum, and I stock clothing pretty high to most every one's standards but don't really notice because I, myself, am in fact pretty giant in stature!)

Anyway, I was SOOOO excited, and this is what Employee of the Month should look like when you're as excited as me:

Side note: a supervisor later congratulated me and said he was amused by my picture, only, he also pointed out that I really didn't jump that high...only lifted my legs as high as I could! Who cares?! I've never gotten Employee of the Month!

Second side note: No, no parking space, no gift card, not even a free hot dog :( But again, who cares?! I've never gotten Employee of the Month and now my picture will be up for an entire year!

Boy! Am I glad I didn't pay a dollar for that!

I have a brother-in-law who checks consumer reports for just about anything from clothing, to restaurants, from cars, to toys (for big kids and little kids). Sometimes, we give him a hard time about it and tease him for constantly tuning into consumer reports.

I can only remember a handful of times where I was mad about paying for something that wasn't worth the price tag. #1, Jeff and I spent $30 for dinner at Johnny Rockets at the Cherry Creek Mall and I was a little more than disappointed and a little less than ticked off. Case in point, no food that unappetizing should be more than $4 for the entire family.

Anyway, I'm not the type to check out consumer reports, I usually just shop the best deal or greatest discount, that way if it's a bust, I'm never that mad. I recently visited Target to get soda and Peanut Butter M&M's and I don't know how, but on my way to or from those aisles, I passed the 75% off summer sale rows. I got a few pool toys for Lauren and a fridge water dispenser for me. Let me break it down:

1) Fridge water dispenser thing, normally $6.99 (I paid $1.75)

2) Bubble 3 pk, normally $1.99 (I paid $.50)

3) Cool fish bomb pool toys 3 pk, normally $3.99 (I paid $1.00)

4) Water guns 3 pk, normally $1.00 (I paid .25 cents.)

Today we experimented with the water guns. (Disclaimer, I know I have a little girl, but every time we go to the pool she's always trying to steal the boys' water guns!) Two of the three are great. Excellent accuracy, high range shooting, tasteful really in a kid's squirt gun. The third, however, leaks out the bottom. Needless to say, I sure am glad I didn't pay an entire dollar for the water guns! Really tho, it's a way of me saying that I really do enjoy getting a good deal--and, I suppose I have an underlying understanding that the item might not reach my expectations and I get what I pay for.

There are some things you don't skimp on, and that is up to the consumer to decide. In my brother-in-law's mind, he could put that quarter toward a $20 powerful super-soaker, deemed to bruise a kid's gut. I, on the other hand, am okay with spending a fraction of the cost on a super cheap toy or two that my kids will inevitably break anyway!