The New Vista Computer

Oh, YAY! I finally got the Vista computer out of its box on Sunday and fired it up. It took me about an hour to unplug everything on the old computer, get that one cleaned up (HOW do they get so dirty back there?) and get the new one plugged in.

Problems: the Vista computer only has 4 USB ports in the back of it (not enough); the Dimension computer had 6, and I used every one of them--but the funny thing is the only thing I KNOW that I've plugged into a USB port is the wireless mouse/tablet... I wonder what else? Also, there is no parallel port for the printer cable to plug in to; and there is no PS/2 port for the wireless keyboard I have.

We went to Office Depot for the cable, PS/2 adapter and a USB hub, but the printer cable was $34.99, the hub was $9.99 and they didn't even have the converter I needed. Since I was going to have to order that online, I just decided to order the rest of it, too. I got everything I needed for $50, and that included shipping. I'm having to use the flat/straight cheapie USB keyboard that came with the computer, but it's usable so that's okay.

Now I just have to install all of our software and move "My Documents" from the 16GB flash drive to the new computer, and we should be all set.

Art Quilt Teaser

This weekend, I'm starting the art quilt for the swap I'm in. Yesterday, I went to Joann's and bought some of their 30% off fabric (Sorry, RyverChyld--I'm not a fabric snob like some of the others in the swap who only shop at quilt stores; I don't mind shopping at Joann's for fabric).

I already know I didn't get enough because I've decided I want to add a small border. I wish I'd decided this yesterday before I went shopping, but I didn't think about it until I got home. I already know the perfect fabric for the border so I'll go back this weekend and get it.

Anyway, this quilt will be pieced, have appliqué on it and some doo-dads for embellishments. I like the design enough that I'm making one for myself, too.

Truman's Second Seizure

Yesterday I wrote about being nervous every time I heard a noise. Well, Truman had a seizure yesterday afternoon. He didn't make any noises, but he did come and stand right next to me. I was a little aggravated with him because I was doing laundry, and he was right under my feet and wouldn't move. Then, I looked at him, and he started to flip over on his side. I scooped him up and got him to the couch before he had a full-on seizure. I held him there until Brian got home with my Mexican pizza, and he could watch him.

Unfortunately, right as I finished eating, he threw up his guts--I don't know where all that food came from, but it was ALOT--and he was laying on Brian's chest (who was lying down on the couch) when it happened so Brian was covered in vomit, and it was dripping everywhere. Yuck. I had to clean up Brian and Truman because the poor dog got it all over himself. Good thing the couch is slip-covered.

After I got them cleaned up, Brian left me to take care of him while he went to the gym. He is so damn clueless it's not even funny.

Truman wanted down, and he stumbled and wandered all over the place. I was afraid he was going to fall down and hurt himself so I made him get back on the vomit couch with me and sit still. Altogether, the seizure, from start to finish, lasted around 45 minutes. Poor, poor dog. It just breaks my heart.

Seizures

Everytime I hear a funny noise, I quickly track down all of the dogs. I'm scared one of them is having a seizure, and every little bump I hear sends me running after them.

Joann's Memorial Day Sale #2

Let me tell you how screwed up I am... I DON'T NEED PATTERNED PAPER! But, I went to Joann's today to check out the box of K&Company patterned paper they have on sale for $19.99 for their Memorial Day sale. Well, guess what? They never got any of that paper. And, you think that's a sign that I definitally don't need it. Yay, I'm off the hook, right? Nooooooo.... not me! I asked if they could special order it for me. No, they can't because they have to have the number (WHICH IS STUPID--THEY SHOULD HAVE THE NUMBER SINCE IT'S IN THEIR SALE FLYER AS BEING ON SALE). So the sales lady very flippantly told me to "just" order it online. I told her the reason I didn't want to "just" order it online is because I didn't want to pay for the shipping. And she said, they have coupons for free shipping. And I said yeah, for $50 or more. Absolutely NO help at all (what's new???--their customer service is ALMOST as bad as Michael's, but not quite).

So... you may ask yourself: WHY does she continually shop at Joann's if they suck so much? Well... I ask myself that, too, and the answer is because I LOVE A GOOD SALE, and as long as I don't have to ask for help, I'm fine shopping there.

But... it gets worse; guess what I did when I got home? I fired up the computer and ordered a not one but TWO boxes of that paper plus two 8x8 pet-related paper packs to make it to $50 so I could get free shipping.

I am REALLY nutty in the head (but, I LOVE getting packages so this will be fun to get!).

Photos of all five dogs!

Here are all five dogs together. The first photo is kind of blurry, but I like it because Iggy Pop and Truman are next together, and you can see how much they look alike. The second one is a better picture, but Iggy Pop is kind of way off to the side.

Truman's Dental

So, I called to schedule Truman's much-needed dental. I asked beforehand if we needed to wait until his new dosage of phenobarbital kicked in. The receptionist had to go ask, and came back and told me, no, that was no problem, and he'd be fine. Then she told me no food after midnight, but he's allowed to have his phenobarbital pill in the morning. I asked if it was okay to give it to him with a sliver of turkey? She had to ask. Then, she came back and said "stop the presses." When the vet found out it was me calling for Truman she said NO! She didn't want him to have a dental until after June 5 so his phenobarbital will have time to work (we hope)--which is why I asked in the beginning! She's afraid he'll have a seizure while he's on the table so she'd prefer to wait. He has to have his phenobarbital levels ($75 bloodwork) checked in two weeks anyway, so I guess we can do that at the same time they do the $450-$650 dental.

Joann's Memorial Day Sale

Guess what? I totally DON'T NEED IT (!!!), but Joann's has a box of K&Company patterned papers (300 sheets) on sale for $19.99 for their Memorial Day sale (regularly $39.99). Tomorrow, bright and early, I'll be snatching up at least one box of it, and maybe two if they have different designs.

I've been meaning to go to Joann's all week, but held off because I have a 10%-off-my-total-purchase coupon, and I wanted to see what this box of paper looks like.

Truman's Vet Visit

The vet wants to have Truman's phenobarbital levels checked. I have to go back this afternoon at 3:00 to have his blood drawn. She's very concerned that he is having as many seizures as he's having.

His teeth are so covered with tarter that she can barely make out the fractured molar that he has so she definitely recommends a dental.

And, she could pop off both of his knee caps with no problems. At which point I told her to STOP! because it was making me queasy! Anyway, she recommends joint supplements to help him out because she suspects he has some arthritis in his back legs.

This poor, poor dog. I feel soooo sorry for him. He was petrified while were were there, too. I had to hold him close, and he put his head on my shoulder and clung to me for dear life.

He's in my lap sound asleep right now. I need to get up because he's making my legs go to sleep, but I hate to bother him.

Biggy Iggy Auction: Week 3

The Biggy Iggy Auction started May 3, 2009. Check it out: http://www.biggyiggyauction.com/.

Oh YAY! I forgot that this starts Week 3 of the Biggy Iggy Auction! Three sets of my cards are up for auction! The Birthday Set is up to $13.50; the Thinking of You Set is up to $14.50. The fabric IG cards haven't been bid on yet, but they've been viewed 21 times. Surely SOMEBODY will bid on them? I hope so.

My I♥MyIggy cards and the handmade scrapbook didn't make it in Weeks 4 or 5 either. Weeks 6, 7 and 8 only have a couple of things listed so far so they still need to finish posting stuff for those weeks. I hope my stuff hasn't been overlooked somehow?

The reason I remembered to check the auction was that Alice Espey sent out a nice reminder e-mail with everyone's names who have won items during the previous week and for all of the people who donated items for this week. That was really nice.

Now that I know that Alice is alive, she'd better send me an e-mail about Truman!

Another good night...

No seizures and no midnight potty trips.

However, Truman wandered in circles in the living room yesterday, barely able to control his hind legs. I picked him up and put him in my lap. He was very alert and stayed there until the other dogs started barking, and then he jumped down and took off running like nothing had happened. I don't know what was up with that? Was that another kind of seizure? Or was he just tired? Who knows? He has a vet appointment this morning so I'll have to see what they say about it.

My New Vista Computer is Here!

The new computer got here on Saturday afternoon, but the montior didn't make it. I had some running around to do this morning so I left early to be back by 10:00 (because that's what time FedEx usually shows up).

I opened the box, but I haven't even taken it out of it yet. I did measure the width of it because it looks like a shorter, squater (is that a word?) tower than the one I have now, and I wasn't sure if it would fit in the space on the desk. It is shorter, but it's only 7" wide--the same as the other computer so it'll fit just fine (the space is 10" wide).

I know that will be an all-day-long project to get that thing hooked up and all of my software installed on it. I still need to copy my "My Documents" files to the 16GB flash drive I have. I guess I'll work on that today.

Good Night's sleep and more about Truman

Well... we had a pretty good night last night. No seizures and no potty trips in the middle of the night.

I'm going to call the vet and get an appointment for Truman. I'll take all of his vet paperwork and his bottle of pills with me. I'm pretty sure they'll put him on KBr in addition to his phenobarbital. He also needs a dental and a tooth removed. I wonder if they'll recommend that since he's having so many seizures? Or, if they'll recommend waiting until the KBr kicks in?

I haven't heard back from the Rescue Rep since we got him, I don't think--or wait a minute, she might have sent me one that said something to the effect of "Yay! I'm glad you got him." But, that's been it. I sent her his pictures, the petfinder.com description, and a quick biography according to the vet paperwork. I haven't heard anything back yet! That makes me very nervous. I hope he hasn't just been dumped on us!

Oh, no.... Truman is TWELVE YEARS OLD!

Oh, my gosh! I just dug through all of Truman's vet paperwork. According to Kat's vet paperwork, he is 9 years 9 months old. Really... why would you come with the number of months? If it would have been me, I would have just said 9 years old. However... I just dug through the entire stack of vet paperwork that came with him, and he was reported to be 11 years 2 months as of 11/01/08, and this age was consistantly reported throughout the paperwork all the way back to 09/01/2000 when he was reported to be 3 years old (so that makes his DOB 09/01/1997).

He's been having weekly seizures since 12/05/07, but he was reported to have seizures as far back as 06/10/04. He was on phenobarbital since 2004, but his previoius owner declined it as of 11/06/08. I don't think he was on it again until 04/08/09 when he was with Kat.

He was also reported to be 18.3 pounds in 1/11/08! He weighs 10# now--what a huge difference! There is also a notation on 07/09/08 that he has a "left carnasal slab fracture" which I take is a tooth because it was in the tooth section of the report. That was recommended to be removed, but it hasn't been because there is a hole in his mouth with a stub of a tooth hanging out of it (which makes me wonder if it hurts and that's why he's lost so much weight).

I passed all this info on to the Rescue Rep. I feel really sick in the stomach... Nine-years-old was bad enough, but WHO is going to take a 12-year-old seizure dog?

Truman's photos and petfinder description

Heeeerrrrreeee'sssss Truman! The first thing I did is bring out the camera to get some pictures of him. I took a ton, but only these 3 are any good!

He's a scrawny little thing that we need to fatten up. He's a little bigger than Iggy Pop, but he doesn't weigh as much as she does.



It is so funny how much like Iggy Pop he looks! Take a peek:


I'm going to try to get a photo of their faces side by side. Brian had his arm around Truman last night in the bed, and had I not known it was Truman, I would have sworn it was Iggy Pop instead.


He's only been here one day so we're still working out his personality and habits, but I wrote up a really good description for petfinder.com anyway. I e-mailed it to the Rescue Rep. this morning. #1. I hope she gets a move-on and posts it SOON (which is why I wrote it for her), and #2. that it's even good enough for her to want to post it since I spent alot of time writing it!

I wrote part of it from his perspective and part of it from his foster mom's (me) perspectitve.


Unfortunately he had a pretty bad seizure a 2:00 this morning. His last one was Friday so he's having them more than I thought. I'll take him to the vet next week and see what she says. Also, his teeth are awful, and he needs a dental.


The directions that came with him aren't very good. There were TWO bottles of pills from two different vets and each one had different mg of pills! The note said "1 tab AM, 1/2 tab PM". Out of which bottle???? I ended up throwing one bottle away because the pills were expired. Also, the label says 1/2 a pill twice a day; not a full pill in the morning. So, I'm assuming the full pill in the morning is the increase I heard about through the grapevine. The label also says he has to be reevaluated in 3 weeks and there are no refills. Well, there aren't enough pills for three weeks so I'm also assuming the reevalution is due soon. The note says he has seizures every 7-12 days. His note also says "1-5 min warning; 3-10 min Grand Mal; 20-50 min post." Poor, poor dog.


He also came with a thick stack of vet paperwork that I need to read.


I just feel so sorry for this little dog it's not funny.

TRUMAN!

The IG Rescue Rep. got back to me, and it's totally okay to call Truman, Truman! She said he's in the system as Truman because that's the name he had when he was surrendered. I can't believe his first foster family would try to change his name to Carlo since he was Truman for NINE YEARS! That is ridiculous!

Brian called at exactly 10:00. He had Truman and was on the way back. He said he's a smidge bigger than Iggy Pop, but he looks EXACTLY like her. That is too funny. I can tell by looking at Iggy that she's a girl because she's so girly. I can't imagine what a little boy dog looks like who looks just like her.

The Rescue Rep. (Alice) doesn't know the specifics of Truman's vet care, and that I'll have to get with his first foster mom and get all the details. She (Kat--the foster mom) should have sent all of his records with him, and I can review all that and find out what's been done to this point. Alice thinks he did have a thyroid check already, and that he hasn't been on his upped dosage of phenobarbital for that long. However, Brian said the Dahl's told him Truman had a seizure yesterday. I guess I just have to see when his next seizure is before worrying about putting him on Potassium Bromide.

Biggy Iggy Auction, Weeks 4 and 5

The Biggy Iggy Auction started May 3, 2009. Check it out: www.biggyiggyauction.com

I just checked out weeks 4 and 5 of the Biggy Iggy Auction. Neither my I♥MyIggy cards or my handmade scrapbook made it during those weeks. WHEN are they going to post them??? I can't wait to see if anybody bids on them.

The other sets of cards aren't getting that many views. It really is going to be embarassing if nobody bids on them.

Carlo/Truman

Carlo will be here by noon this afternoon. The rendevous is at 10:00 this morning in Biggs, OR. I'm not going because we don't like to leave our dogs in their crates for that long.

It took many e-mails to coordinate this trip. Two Iggy Ambassadors are bringing him. The poor dog was in foster care with Kat who is leaving on a trip today so he spent the night with Krista who is dropping him off this morning to Patti and Gaylen who are bringing him to us. I hope he's not too confused.

Too Funny!

The post I wrote yesterday about my new haircut got three hits (I know that's not that many, but I find it amusing that people are actually Googling "my new haircut").

New Haircut

Oh my gosh! I am soooo happy! I finally found someone who can cut my hair!

I haven't been pleased with how the girl who has been cutting my hair has been cutting it, but I felt kind of guilty going any place else. Then, she lost the lease on her chair and went to another salon so I figured that was the perfect opportunity to jump ship and find someplace else. Problem was, I didn't know where!

Then I heard on the radio that the spa up the street from us had a full service salon. I did not know this... So, I called and made an appointment, and I got Joe! He did a fabulous job! It's $40, but I've been miserable with my hair so I guess it's worth it. And, I don't have manicures or pedicures so I don't think paying for a good haircut is a bad way to spend money on myself.

The only thing I don't like about my new haircut is that he flipped it up when he dried it. It looks cute, but I'd rather it go straight instead. Also, he kind of made my bangs hang straight in my face, and I pulled them back with a bobby pin when I got home to get them out of the way.

Carlo will be here tomorrow...

Well... the Iggy Ambassadors came through and someone is meeting us 1/2 way between here and Portland so we can pick up Carlo. I am totally dreading him being here. I hope his seizures aren't that bad. Poor dog.

My first projects with him are pictures and a description for Petfinder.com. I can't believe he hasn't been listed yet considering he's been in foster care for 2 months now--they felt that confident that the home who wanted a special needs dog would work out for him (and it, obviously, didn't).

I hope that my dogs get along with him alright. That would suck if he made it all the way here and then got into a fight... Surely that won't be the case. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

May SewConnected block

I finished my May quilt block for the SewConnected group. I had a really hard time with this one because she wanted a 15" finished block but she didn't send all that much fabric. Another girl posted her leftovers so I thought I would, too. My block is very simple. It's a 5-1/2" center block surrounded by 32, 3" squares. It came out to exactly 15-1/2". I hope she likes it.

Oh, yeah. I had to piece together two of the little squares to even have enough litte squares to make up the block. I hope she doesn't mind that either.

Biggy Iggy Auction: Week 3

The Biggy Iggy Auction opened on May 3, 2009. Check it out: http://www.biggyiggyauction.com/.

I'm so excited. Three sets of my handmade cards made it to Week 3 of the Biggy Iggy Auction.

The set of I♥MyIggy cards and the handmade scrapbook still haven't been posted. I SO hope somebody bids on all this stuff.

"Movin' Carlo"

That was the title of the e-mail I got from the IG Rescue Rep this morning ("Movin' Carlo"). Looks like he's coming to stay with us for a little while (at least I HOPE IT'S ONLY FOR A LITTLE WHILE!). Shesh! I need another dog like I need a hole in my left temple.

I'm totally not sure what's up with his other foster mom. She flipped out when he had a bad seizure and then didn't want him and then changed her mind and DID want him and now she doesn't want him again. However, the Rescue Rep told me last month they (the foster family) thought he was only going to be a short term foster because there was a home that wanted him. Well, the home that wanted him just wanted a special needs dog in general (not just him, specifically), and there were three dogs for them to choose from.

BUT... that whole situation turned sour because the person who was supposed to do the home visit drug her feet so long that the family got a cat instead, and said "screw IG Rescue." I don't know exactly what happened in that situation, but it's very hard not to be judgemental. Finding a family who is open to a special needs dog probably doesn't happen very often, and that was truly a missed opportunity.

Anyway, Carlo (who was Truman for NINE YEARS--I can't believe they changed his name!) is having a seizure a week despite being on phenobarbitol. He may need to be put on potassium bromide, too. I guess we'll have to see when he gets here. I hate to do that if he doesn't need it because it's expensive and has to be compounded and that will just make him that much more undersirable to alot of people. At least phenobarbitol is cheap (I think).

The Rescue Rep told me that she doesn't even have him listed yet because she was pretty sure he was in the bag with that adopting family. That means I get to write up a little blurb about his personality and get some pictures to post for petfinder.com. I'm pretty good at that. I've already got a good idea about what some of it should say, but I'll have to meet him and find out what his personality is like before I actually sit down and type anything out. She said that sometimes, the harder luck the case, the more adopters actually come crawling out of the woodwork. Let's just hope and pray that is that the case with him!

Oh dear... Truman/Carlo...

Just got an e-mail to see if we'll take 9-year-old seizure dog, Carlo (AKA Truman). Brian said yes, but he's not the one who's going to be here to take care of the dog. I told the rescue rep that I was very reluctantly saying "yes", but that I'm afraid at his age and with special needs he'll never be placed.

Mini art quilt

My new mini art quilt partner filled out a great questionnaire. I can't wait to get started on a quilt for her! I already have an idea of something she may like. I also know what size I want to make it. I'll check my fabric stash, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to go shopping for more. Here's a teaser: I know I need white-on-white and maybe some pink since that's her favorite color (not sure about that yet).

Joann's doesn't have a sale on their quilting fabric for this ad so I'll probably wait for it to go on sale if I can't find anything in my stash that will work.

I'm worried about the actual quilting part of it. I quilted my cherry tree mini quilt with an all-over meandering design that looked pretty good, but that's the only quilt I've ever quilted, and I'm not confident I can do it again! I would absolute HATE to mess up all my hard work with crappy quilting! I need to make a practice sandwich and practice, practice, practice. Maybe I can do some echo quilting? I'm just not sure?

Easy Transfer Cable or not? Geek Squad help or not?

So the new Vista computer is going to get here this week or next week, and I don't have a clue how to EASILY transfer my documents and settings from this computer onto the new one... I read about an Easy Transfer cable, but it gets a very solid 3-stars. There are the exact same number of people who rate it 5 stars because it works perfectly as there are who rate it 1 star because it won't work at all.

I just spent $35 on a 16GB flash drive. I know all of my My Documents files will fit on that, but is that a good enough way to move all of my documents over to the new computer? I'll still need to move over my Internet Explorer Favorites and my Outlook contacts, but I already read how to do that. But is that good enough? And if not, why not?

I guess what I'll do is keep both computers running for a week or so before retiring this one to the garage. That way if I find something else that I need off of it then it'll be easy to retrieve it. (That is IF this one can survive for that long).

Also... what to do about this computer and the one in the garage? Do I take them both to Geek Squad. I want the hard drive on the one in the garage erased. Only problem is that I'm not sure I have the right XP re-install CD (I found one, but I think it's for this computer--I'll just have to find out). I called about having the hard drive wiped out and it's $129 which is pretty steep considering there's "KillDrive" software "out there" for free. I just don't know how to go about re-installing the disks, though, once it's wiped clean. So I guess $129 is a fair price when it comes to idiots like me.

And, then, how much should I pay to have this piece o' crap worked on? I checked out their fee schedule, and it can get expensive pretty quickly: a diagnostic is $69; a check-up is $99 (what's the difference???). Oh! I just found what I need: "The Diagnostic and Repair" which will fix any operating system issues such as blue screens; that's $199. Ouch!

Bailey 828 at Camp Wolfgang

Chris had to put Boo Boo to sleep last week, and now he's "in the market for" a dog. There's a dog he heard about (an 8-month-old Border Collie) that he's waiting for a return phone call about, but... YOU KNOW how good I am at dog shopping, right!? So I couldn't resist rooting around Petfinder.com until I found some good leads.

This is totally my personal opinion, but Chris, you don't NEED a puppy--they're too high energy and they have a tendency to chew things up until their adult teeth come in. So... I eliminated puppies from my search. I also seached for medium-sized builds and I searched specifically for "housebroken" in their descriptions. I only found a handful.

One of the ones I found is a SPECTACULAR black German shepherd named Bailey. Bailey's description didn't say she was houstrained, but she was listed as special needs (and I'm such a sucker, I had to see why--it's because she only has 3 legs). She is BEAUTIFUL, and I couldn't resist not showing him the picture of her.

Anyway, Chris, made contact over the weekend with two of the dogs that I'd e-mailed to him. Bailey's contact called him back this morning, and directed him to Camp Wolfgang in Ennis, TX. He was out doing some running around and asked if I'd call to find out the status of her so I did. She's been there for 4-1/2 years. She's considered undesirable #1 because she's black and #2 because she only has 3 legs. Can you imagine? That is EXACTLY what makes her priceless in my book!

Bailey does really well with calm kids and loves to be brushed and have her belly rubbed, BUT... she is a dominate female so she probably won't get along with Penny, the local alpha female. So that won't work. She's also depressed and needs to be exercised to help her lose weight (which he can't do).

I called Chris back, and he asked me if she was housebroken, and I'd forgotten to ask so he called back. He's very disappointed, but is convinced Bailey and Penny won't get along with each other so that won't work. However, the lady told him of another dog, Tyson, who IS housebroken and does well with all other dogs. Chris asked me to call her back again and get e-mailed pictures of Tyson. So, I called back, and she told me there were two other dogs she thought of that might work for him: Harriet and LaCoda. LaCoda is only 2 and is very hyperactive so he may not work out since Chris just had knee surgery, but she'll show him all three dogs (Tyson, Harriet and Lacoda) when he comes out for a visit on Wednedsay.

The application free is $300. Can you believe that? For a FULL BLOODED GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG! The Human Society wants $250 for the dogs they're adopting. I'm not knocking that at all because everyone knows I think animal rescue is a very worthy cause; I just can't believe you can get a pure-bred dog for as little as a mutt dog..

Craftster.org Mini Art Quilt swap

Oh, yay! We got our mini art quilt swap partners last night! How exciting! My partner filled out a GREAT questionnaire, and I have a TWO really good ideas about something I can make for her without even having to do any stalking.

I am NERVOUS, though, because she's an intermediate/advanced quilter. I wrote that I am an intermediate (?) quilter because of the number of quilts I've finished (however, none of them was particularly challenging so maybe I should have said "advanced beginner" instead?). Anyway, traditional quilting and art quilts are two totally different things so maybe we'll all be on the same playing field.

Since I love to blog about what I do during the week, it's going to be particularly difficult on me to keep silent about what I'm doing with this project. The send date is July 10th so I've got a l-o-n-g time to be silent! Shesh! Can I last that long?

Happy Mother's Day cards!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom and Rose!!!

Brian mailed their cards last Saturday which I thought was WAY too early; however, mom's didn't get there until Friday (I was expecting them to arrive on Wednesday so I'm surprised it took that long!). I don't know if Rose got hers or not because she doesn't seem to be talking to us anymore.

The card I made for my mom is based off of a card made by Katie Anderson in Cards magazine. The nitty gritty of that one: I used some K&Company patterned paper; American Crafts ribbon; my cuttlebug "Stylized Flowers" embossing folder; a Prima flower; and a Jesse James button. All of the cardstock is from PaperAccents.

I really like the one I made for Rose, too. The flowers are from Oriental Trading Company. I usually doubt the quality of anything I buy from them, but in this case, the flowers are really nice! The patterned paper is from K&Company and the brad is also from OTC. The card base is Die Cuts with a View. I really don't like the DCWV cardstock because it has the white center and when you fold it the white shows through. I had to lightly sand the edges to make the white at the fold look like it was supposed to be there.

Here are the cards:

CorelDraw X4

Hmmm... now I'm a little nervous about upgrading to CorelDraw X4. I read a couple of bad reviews on Amazon.com. I wasn't familiar with the functions the people were complaining about, but I wonder if there will be malfunctioning aspects that I DO use that won't work? That will stink.

I'm mostly worried about the printing interface because I want to MAKE SURE I can print to the laser. I hope that's not impacted in a bad way.

More new software books

I just ordered The Missing Manual for Windows Vista because I got on the Polaroid My Memories Suite website to see if it is Vista compatible, and it says "yes, as long as it's run in Administrator mode" (now what in the heck does that mean???!!!). That book is about 850 pages thick so there must be ALOT of new stuff with Vista.

While I was ordering books, I also got a how-to book for CorelDraw X4. I can't remember the name of it, but X4 books seem to be very rare, and I had to spend $30+ to get it. I am VERY proficient in version 12, but I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff that I don't know since I'm self-taught (all by punching buttons like mad until I quasi-figured out what to do).

Doesn't it figure that I've bought all these books for Adobe CS2 and Dreamweaver 8, and I won't be using those anymore because of my new Vista computer. I guess I can donate them to the library. I'm glad I bought them used and didn't spend too much money on them.

Shesh! Me and all my software books! I'm totally running out of bookshelf space!

Craftster.org Mini Art Quilt Swap

Well... I did it! I signed up for the mini art quilt swap. I'm excited and nervous all rolled into one since I'm not so confident about my crafting skills. The send date is July 10th so I've got plenty of time to work on it, I think (and I'll probably do TWO at the same time so I can keep one myself).

YMCA Website

The EO of the YMCA where I used to work got back to me and told me he'd like the website to look like the Danville website. That's a very, very simple (looking) website so maybe this is definitely a design that I can emulate.

New Dell Inspiron computer is on the way...

So yesterday I broke down and bought a new PC because this one that I'm working with now keeps blowing up with the dreaded blue screen. I've tried all of the fixes Microsoft suggests, and none of them has fixed my problem. And, despite keeping the computer cleaned up and defragged and up-to-date with SpyBot and Norton Anti-Virus, it just keeps getting slower and slower and slower. And, it locks up all the time. Sadly, it's just reached it's expiration date--afterall, it is 4 years old, and isn't that about as long as a computer seems to last?

Anway, what I'd like to do is take this computer to Geek Squad and see if they can fix it for me and then I can put this computer in the garage to run the laser with, and I can take the garage computer and have Geek Squad clean it off so I can donate it to a school or church (or to my older brother).

So, back to the computer buying part: I bought a Dell, and it comes with Microsoft Vista. After I made the purchase, they sent me an e-mail confirming all of the specs I ordered, and guess what it says: "While a 64-bit operating system allows your system to contain more memory and run faster, it may not be compatible with older software programs and accessories. To learn more or check if your software programs are compatible click here." Nice (I mean crap)... I did not know this...

Thankfully, Quickbooks Pro2008 is compatible, but Dreamweaver 8 and CorelDraw 12 aren't. I don't know about EQ6 or Polaroid My Memories, and I don't remember what other types of software I have to load? I HAVE TO HAVE CorelDraw no matter what because that's what I use to run the laser. So, today, I had to spend $180 on the upgrade to X4. I contacted tech support (via chat) and the guy let me know I can go directly from 12 to X4 without having to go through X3 (thank goodness!).

I also contacted the YMCA to let them know Dreamweaver 8 isn't going to work anymore and I'm going to be stuck until July when they can order me that new software suite I want. The EO is going to contact TechSoup and see if they'll waive the limit considering my computer blew up. I wonder what they'll say??? I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.

All of this means, too, that none of the how-to books for PSCS2 and Dreamweaver 8 that I've ordered will be any good considering I'm having to upgrade and get new stuff--I'll need newer books now for sure. And so I'm also thankful that I've only bought used books and didn't spend that much on them.

I told the EO that I can still read the older books and while I won't have hands-on training at least I'll know what I'm doing in theory.

My new (used) Dreamweaver books are here!

How exciting! My used Dreamweaver books got here yesterday. They were shipped media mail from VA so I wasn't expecting them until next week (or later), but it only took a week. I got Dreamweaver 8: Design and Construction and Dreamweaver 8: The Missing Manual. The second one is HUGE!

I started on the first one last night because I don't have the vaguest idea of how to design a website. I've already learned the difference between a static website and a dynamic one. The book suggests a static website for a first attempt because they're easier to create, however, I know the YMCA wants a dynamic one because they have log-ins and shopping carts. I SO hope this is something I'm going to be able to do!

Yesterday, I also bought 2 more used Photoshop books (and I haven't even made it all the way through my One on One book yet!). One of them is Photoshop CS2 for the Web--4-1/2 stars on Amazon (new on Amazon for $37.11; but I got used from BookBrothers1 for $8.24). The other is Adobe Photoshop CS2 Studio Techniques--5 stars on Amazon ($6.96 vs. $37.53--I am REALLY liking used books!).

Craftster.org mini art quilt swap

There's a new mini art quilt swap on Craftster.org that I'm debating on joining in on. The deadline is May 13 and the send date is July 10 so there's plenty of crafting time, I'm just not so sure of my artistic capabilities. I've never made an art quilt before, but it, like Photoshop, has been on my New Year's Resolution list for the last two years. I just worry that the themes I know I can execute won't match my partner's interests.

I have several more days to decide...

2009 Biggy Iggy Auction

The 2009 Biggy Iggy Auction opened, May 3, 2009: http://www.biggyiggyauction.com/

None of my donations made it during the first 3 weeks, and the auction goes for 8 weeks this time so I may have a l-o-n-g time to wait before I make that scrapbook I'm so excited about (that is if someone bids on it--please, please, please!).

I've been getting tons of Biggy Iggy Auction hits on both my blogs (the birthday card entry is the #1 Google result when I search for "biggy iggy auction") so I updated each blog entry (and my Flickr photos) with the date the auction opened and the website. Maybe that helps a little bit and will drive people to the website.

Photoshop One-on-One Training

So, I've been plugging my way through the lessons in the Photoshop One-on-One book. I'm enjoying myself EXCEPT for the fact that I am just following along with everything he's telling me to do with no real clue HOW he came up with the numbers he's telling me to poke in! I guess he figured it out all by trial and error, however, there's SOOOOO much to learn, I don't think I'll ever figure it all out!

He gives explanations on why we're doing a specific step, too, but I totally don't understand half of what I'm reading. And, I know none of this is sticking because I can only get a handful of the questions right on the tests at the ends of the chapters (and thank goodness they're multiple choice or I wouldn't be able to answer them at all!).

Yesterday, I did a lesson on the "Paint, Edit and Heal" tools. If my pictures suck, they just suck. I don't think I have the patience to do much editing (and that includes any of the color balance corrections or highlights, midtones and shadows corrections from Lessons 2 and 3). And, I don't have any old photographs to resore so I doubt I'll use any of the new tools I learned yesterday. However, I had a GREAT time working on the exercise. We had to take a scratched up photo of an old man and remove the scratches and heal some of his age spots. He had a gnarly old eye (I actually think it was missing) and we got to use his OTHER eye to make him a new one. I e-mailed the before and after pictures to my brother and he thought it was pretty cool that I did all that.

Greyhound Garden Statue

I am SOOO excited! I've been looking for a greyhound garden statue to go outside our front door. I found several online, but I didn't want to pay around $500 to get one!

Well... I found the PERFECT one on abetterabode.com. It's called "Greyhound on a Pillow" (see first picture below) and I LOVE it. It was $99 (which I don't mind paying). Only problem is: it's discontinued!!!



So... back to the drawing board... Well, I found another one that I like (though not as well as the first one). I found it on eBay from a dealer called Statue King. They're located in Ohio and make the statues as they're ordered so it'll take a couple or three weeks for it to arrive. It was $65 with $45 shipping. It's big, too, 30" tall by 9" wide by 12" deep, and weighs 35 pounds. I think it will look perfect by the front door with some pots of ivy going down the steps! Can't wait for it to get here!