A New Project

I'm always in the mood to try a new craft, and at Christmas time I had the idea to do this....

I have painted linolieum mats before, but recently decided I wanted to attempt to personalize them. I love the stick family graphics, so that's what I decided to use. I made one for some friends at Christmas, then just had an order for two more a couple weeks ago. Here is the final product.

Sunsets

My newfound love for photographing God's amazing wonders...

Computer Update (as if anyone cares)

I took my computer back to Best Buy and they had it for three days, running it through the diagnotic process.  When they called back, I was told that the heating element is corrupted, causing it to overheat, and the hard drive is going bad.  Excuse me, WHAT?  I took it in because it wouldn't burn a CD, now the entire laptop is about to crash???  Yes, that's right.  I should have figured it, seeing as how I have the absolute worst luck with electronics. 

The part that annoyed me the most is when I asked if they would put all my pictures and music on CDs before I lost my hard drive, their answer was sure...for $100.  Am I crazy, or should they not take care of that for me? They did, after all, sell me a product that isn't quite living up to its expectations.  It's the manufacturer's problem, NOT mine.  But no- no can do.  I had to go and pick up the computer, save my pictures to a flash drive, and now take it back.  It has to be shipped off for repair and I won't get it back for two weeks.  Perfect.

Come on, ITunes!

I've been thinking lately of investing in some computer classes just so I can save a bunch of time and money when it comes to computer repair.  It seriously seems like everytime I turn around I have an issue.  I know Macs are supposedly much better and I should get one, but this financially challenged gal just doesn't have the funds for that at the moment.  I have to make do with what I have....which is a HP laptop that's only about seven months old!!! UGH!

I love to download music.  I especially love to search for new artists and discover new songs that no one has found yet.  I always ask for I-tunes gift cards for my birthday and Christmas so I can spend time doing this...on someone else's dime!  I was downloading some new songs a couple weeks ago when I noticed that I-tunes had a Norah Jones song available for FREE!  Of course, I wanted to take advantage of this offer.  However, I was notified that I had to upgrade to the latest version of I-tunes in order to do so.  I thought, "No big deal.  I probably need the newest version anyway."  BIG MISTAKE!  Once I upgraded, I was all of a sudden told that I-tunes now had no disc burning software.  What do I do?  I go online and try to fix the problem myself.  Usually, I'm pretty successful.  This time, not so much.

I un-installed/re-installed about ten times.  I downloaded some additional drivers, then un-installed them when I saw they didn't work.  I took the stinkin' thing to Best Buy since it's under warranty.  The guy did something to it and said he fixed it, and all I needed to do was un-install and reinstall again.  I told him I'd done that, but he re-assured me he thought it was fixed.  You guessed it.  It did the same thing.  What makes it ever worse is that I can burn a CD using Windows Media Player, so that tells me it's not the disc burning software, it's something else.  I took it back to Best Buy yesterday and the guy has no idea what's wrong with it.  I was told that if it's a problem with I-tunes that their warranty only covers programs they installed, and I-tunes isn't one of them.  I do understand that, but it's not like I-tunes has a Geek Squad and I can take it and have it repaired.  Who is responsible for this?  NOT ME!  I left the laptop there and they are doing an entire diagnostic test to see if there are any software issues that could be causing the problem.  My concern is I'm afraid I will be out some money here.  That isn't a good thing.

Why am I devoting a blog to this?  Because I am lost without my laptop!  I can't use my new Photoshop program that I got for Christmas that I LOVE, I can't burn a CD that I've wanted to burn for two weeks, I can't check Facebook or Twitter, or People.com to see what the celebrities are up to!  I can blog (obviously) at school when the kids are gone, but I don't have time to do any of the above unless I stay after school.  Who wants to do that?  This is a big deal for me!  Plus, what do I do if they can't fix it?  Never burn CDs again?  Stay tuned to see what happens.  I'm waiting for the Geek Squad to contact me as we speak....

Introducing...

Book Club Blog

I decided to make a separate blog for my Book Group!  If you'd like to join us, visit me here.

http://www.amysreadthinkshareclub.blogspot.com/

Here's to a new year! Bring it on, 2010!

It's that time of year! We're all making resolutions and crossing our fingers we will keep them at least until April and not March like last year. :) I've decided this year, that all of my resolutions can be summed up in two words....

NO REGRETS

Whether in my walk with God, my relationships with others, my diet, my words or actions, whatever it may be, I want to have no regrets. I pray to think before I speak or act and to make wise decisions in all the above. I feel like these two little yet powerful words encompass so much and if I can live by them, my life will be one of joy and peace.

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!..." Isaiah 43: 18-19

P.S. On another note, I have decided that for 2010 I want to attempt to read one book per month. I've always thought the idea of a Book Club would be nice, but who really has the time to meet with once a week to talk about it? I'm going to try to conduct a virtual one. Anyone interested? I plan to choose a book and reveal it the beginning of each month. I may post occasional blogs on what I'm/we're reading and then ask for your comments as we go. When the month is over, we'll exchange thoughts on the book and prepare for the next. Some books may be purely for entertainment, some for our spiritual growth, etc. I welcome auggestions. If you're interested, please comment and let me know. I'd love to know who's on board!

The first book will be "Fearless," by Max Lucado. I don't know about you, but I spend way too many minutes/hours of my day worrying about the uncontrollable and dwelling on this fear or that. The few pages I've read so far in this book have already spoken to me and I can tell that it will definitely be a blessing. Here's an excerpt.

"Fear, it seems, has taken a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversize and rude, fear is unwilling to share the heart with happiness. Happiness complies and leaves. Do you ever see the two together? Can one be happy and afraid at the same time?....Imagine your life wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, and doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, absent the dread of failure, rejection, and calamity. Can you imagine a life with no fear? This is the possibility behind Jesus' question, 'Why are you afraid?'"

If you, like me, wish to experience a day without fear of the unknown and the uncontrollable, I hope you'll join me in reading!

Happy 2010, everyone!