This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

 

So, if the fries are made with organic potatoes does that negate the frying or is that like having a double cheeseburger, large fries and a diet Coke?  Just curious.

 Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

MAJOR Frustration...Also Known as XBox Live Customer Support SUCKS!!!

I am going to warn you now, I am getting ready to go on a MAJOR rant and it may not be pretty, so I appreciate your patience.

Number Two Son has an XBox Live account.  This account allows him to play games online with his friends. We pay an annual fee for this service and while it's not crazy expensive, it ain't cheap either.  Because he is a minor, I am the "co-signor" on this account.  Whenever there are changes to Term and Services, I have to agree to them. I log into this account about once in a blue moon, so it's not surprising that I forgot my pass word.  No biggie, or so I thought.  WRONG.  The email address associated with that account is an email account I know longer have because we changed  ISP. So if I try to reset the password they send the request to the old email address.  Being the logical person that I am, I decided that I would call tech support to rectify the situation.  BIG MISTAKE.  I explained the situation to tech support and they sent me an email to reset the password and it says it will send the email to reset my password to....the old account.  I have had this conversation with tech support no less than 5, that's right I said FIVE, times. and they still don't get it.  I have spent well over four hours of my time on the phone repeating myself to no avail.  I have a folder full of emails, each of them totally useless.  I have three trouble tickets, none of which have been resolved, but two have been closed out.  I have been sent emails that I was told to reply to and have gotten the response back that this is a "non monitored alias" and that no one will respond....Really?  That was probably the most honest answer I've had through this process that has lasted over a month and a half.

Tonight, as I sit here waiting for a return call, yet again, I have reached the point that the people at XBox Live are going to detest my name. It's the principle of the matter now.  It might of been just $60.00, but the frustration that has ensued has far surpassed that....

Oh yeah, now the brilliant people sent me a customer service survey...."How'd we do?" Do you really want to know?  Yeah, I didn't think so, but I'll spend a little more time on it just so so they really know how I feel.

Update: The call was returned and their "computer system" hung up on me before I spoke to a person.  Then I received another call and as I explained the situation again (without yelling or cursing, I might add) the customer support representative hung up on me.  I went to bed.  The saga will continue tonight. I know you get more bees with honey, but I'm feeling full of vinegar right now.

Plugging Back In

Hello Everyone!  I hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving!  I have so much catching up to do.  I unplugged Wednesday evening and pretty much stayed that way until this morning.  I decided that I wanted to be totally in the moment with family and it was so worth it...even if I did forget my camera....duh!

We were able to spend a lot of time together getting to know this young lady...Number One Son's girl.  It is so obvious to me that he adores her. She is very sweet and patient and as much as I love my son, I know these are qualities she needs to possess.  We are a loud, trying group and we like to pick.  She didn't back down and has a wonderful sense of humor (another must with this crew.) She'll be back again at Christmas and we are looking forward to it.

The other frequent guest at our house was Number Two Son's girl.  She's new...as in they made everything "official" this past week. They are "in a relationship" on Facebook, so it must be real...right? Seriously, she also seems to be a sweet girl with TONS of personality. We are still getting to know her, but she can hold her own as well.

Should I even talk about the food?  It ranged from smoke salmon to country style steak and ham, green beans to broccoli salad, pumpkin and pecan pie to chocolate cake....all of it was delicious and I enjoyed EVERY bite...and then some.

And this year, something new happened.  My mother-in-law came to my mother's house for dinner....this is the first time that I have had a Thanksgiving meal with both of them at the same table in the 20 years I've been married to this man of mine.  I can see that a relationship is finally building between them, dare I say slowly but surely? I hope this is a preview of things to come.  One can hope.

I'm off to catch up on some reading...seeing how everyone enjoyed their holiday.  Thanks so much for your kind words last week and letting me vent.  Sometimes all I have to do is get it off my chest and I feel better.  Have a great Monday!!

Testing

I thought we had past this, but I am being tested.  My boundaries, his maturity, my patience...just how far can the envelope be pushed?  How far, before this mama blows a gasket?  How loud will it get when she lowers the boom...or will she be really calm?  Calm is prevailing, but not without a lot of counting to ten.  Patience is quickly dwindling and just when I think it might snap, I get a "Thanks Mom.  Love you." He knows what buttons to push. And then I remember how quiet it's been.  I remember how much I've missed him.  I remember that while I still see him as my child, he is trying his best to grow up.  Some of the ties loosen a bit, but not all of them....some lines just can't be crossed...yet.  In time, but now just isn't that time.

With that being said, I am so glad to have my family and guest home.  We, as parents, are learning a new dynamic as they mature and we are learning a new place of letting go.  Not always easy, but the rewards are amazing. It's nice to know that there are times when I'm still needed even though my rules seem ridiculous, because they know so much more than I do...right? But we are all learning, so that is a step in the right direction.  This growing up isn't easy.

Since this the season of gratitude, I have so much to be thankful for...healthy, some what well adjusted children :), a loving husband, a roof over my head and food in my stomach.  And really, that's saying a lot. I have so much more than so many others. I have friends and family who love me and I have you.  So this Thanksgiving I recognize that I am truly blessed and hope you are as well.  Thank you for all your kindness, friendship and support.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Saturday Morning

A good start to the day...

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

Thursday....

I can't believe it's already Thursday.  This week has flown by.  I am starting to feel much more like my old self.  THANK YOU so much for all your well wishes.  You are such a sweet group!!  I'm sure the kindness you all sent my way has definitely improved my health!

This year, SAFF was so wonderful.  Tons of laughter and friendship.  I always look forward to this trip and I'm glad to say it doesn't let me down. I mean seriously, how can you go wrong with Cosmos, Mudslides, yarn and wonderful friends?

Last year, my focus was on all the yarn....so much yarn!! Malabrigo, Miss Babs...these favorites were there this year and of course were purchased.

This is the Malabrigo.  If you have never splurged on this stuff....do so.  It is heaven. So wonderful to work with and the colors are AMAZING! I haven't decided what this will be when it grows up, but I know that it will be gorgeous.

This is Miss Babs Yowza...phenomenal Merino.  I do have plans for this. I want to make the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and selfishly, I am making it for me...but not until after the holidays. I guess you could say it's my gift to me.

This year, while the yarn was gorgeous, I kept gravitating to the fiber...tons and tons of glorious fiber of all types and colors.  I thought I went on overload last year...Ha!  A whole new door opened for me and I dove in.

I bought a pound of undyed wool to spin and practice dyeing techniques with it.  I've decided that I will dye it after I spin it as I don't know enough to dye the fiber before hand.  I did buy some already dyed wool.  There was so much of it and if I were a rich woman, I would have brought home a lot more. Here's what I did buy..

I almost don't want to spin this because it is so glorious as it is.  Rachel, one of the girls in the group came back to the house with this and I knew I had to have it.  Pictures do not do it justice.  I managed to get the last one.  See, it was meant to be...even if I just stare at it for a while.

These two are from the same vendor.  He had the most vibrant colors.  I will admit that I can't wait to spin this up because of the variegations it will create.

I'm still learning about plying, so I'm not sure what I will do there, but oh the possibilities!

I might have to see if Rachel and Fru want to come visit for a bit of spinning time to help a girl learn. Rachel was able to finally teach me how to use a spindle successfully.  She makes it look so easy!

So there you have it.  My SAFF purchases. I was very pleased with them....Oh wait!  Forgot something :)

Sock Monkey tape measure! Cause everybody needs a little something silly to make them smile.

Hope you enjoyed your glimpse into my trip to the mountains.  This is just a tiny bit of it and while it's wonderful, it doesn't compare to the ladies I spent the weekend with....the ones I've known for a while and the new ones added to the fold.  They make the whole trip worth while.

On The Mend...

For the most part. I can honestly say that I hope nobody gets this bug I had.  It's miserable. It affects EVERYTHING...your stomach, your head, your sinuses.  Ugh.  A co-worker said that she didn't think I've been this sick in the seven years I've been here.  I think she's right.

I went back to work yesterday. And came home exhausted.  I mean seriously tired, as in crashing hard tired.  My mother in law showed up with chicken soup and cornbread...God love her!  We ate, I sat down on the sofa and promptly fell asleep.  Woke up a bit later and went to bed.  The worst part is that I woke up this morning tired. I wish I still bounced back like I did when I was younger.

Obviously, not a lot was happening while I felt like I was close to death was sick. Here's a picture of the start of a hat for Car Guy.

Just a simple ribbed hat in some scrummy Berroco Loft. Please ignore the glasses that made it into the picture (I don't know who's those belong to...ahem) and notice the gratuitous chocolate shot.  That is the chocolate that Car Guy brought back from Ecuador - delicious stuff.  I think it's deserving of a hat, don't you? Confession time - I've finished the hat and just haven't gotten around to taking a picture.  I mean that requires getting the camera and then forcing Car Guy to model for me. And in all honesty, I just don't have the energy right now.  How pathetic is that?

You know what else is pathetic?  I still haven't showed you SAFF pictures.  I'm feeling very lazy right now. Hopefully I'll get over it soon.  Like tomorrow.  I have to get up at the crack of dawn and get Car Guy to the airport by 6:00 AM for his flight to Bogota, Columbia. Hmmm....maybe a nap is in my future.  You thing anyone would notice?

This Moment...ack..

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

Yeah, about that...I've spent this week at home with the flu...I think. I haven't left the house since Tuesday when I voted. I won't go into the details other than it hasn't been fun. I am starting to feel like I might be rejoining the human race...as soon as I can ditch this fever...soon please.

So here is some yarn I spun and plied before I got sick. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

Hope You Did Too!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

Just a little silliness for a Friday...drive Monkey!

Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

Quick note:  Monkey was made by my very talented friend Dawn and Monkey went to SAFF with us. He was a great navigator.