Attack of the Garage Door Opener

*Sigh*

After living in our house for almost 10 years our third garage door opener will be installed tomorrow. It seems like our openers have only worked for about 95% of the time we have lived in this house. I feel like there is some kind of poltergeist ghost responsible for causing all our mayhem.

Mind you, we live on a very steep hill. Our driveway is vertical and that's not an understatement. The skate board kids in the neighborhood call it the "professional" hill. It is not an option to park anywhere else but the garage. My minivans' emergency brake can't handle the incline and the very narrow street is too tight. It's also against our association to park on the street anyway.

Anyway, I am hopeful the installer will cast away all the problems we've had in the past with our openers. If not, at least I can call the technician to come back....

Hit Refresh

This is so refreshing! I have moved my office upstairs to the guest suite and it's sweet!

It feels great to clean out files and start over again.

New place, new projects, new perspective! Just like hitting the refresh button on the computer, I have hit refresh on my office.

It's Here!

After my very long wait, my baby is here! I have so much to do with transferring files, loading software and bookmarking the new browser. Also, the RAM I ordered online is not correct, so it will take about another week to send the wrong RAM back and get the new installed. Oh well, I'm happy with the way things are and it will be interesting to see how much faster the computer will be with 2 more Gigs of RAM. 

Pins and Needles.... !

FedEx finally updated their tracking site and my new baby is finally in Charlotte! Time will tell if it actually gets delivered tomorrow. Torture!

Anticipating

I am on pins and needles!

My new laptop is on the FedEx truck and was supposed to be delivered today, but the FedEx website says it's still "in transit" from California. It's not like I don't have plenty to do, I am very busy right now with work, proposals and possible clients. I'm just terribly distracted. It won't get any easier once my computer arrives because I'll want to play with it and get all the software set up!

O.K., back to work!

Thinking Green

In my most recent quest to reduce our family's landfill waste, I have decided to discontinue (mostly) the use of beloved ziplock bags, or "baggies". We are a long time lover of these flexible plastic containers we've used for lunches, leftovers and backpacking. So versatile and functional, but I have come to the realization that they are wreaking havoc on our landfills.

I have also been taking our vegetable leftovers/cuttings and saving them in a container to be dumped into our yard waste trash container. We don't have a place for a compost bin, so I think this is a very good alternative to either using the disposal or throwing in the regular trash bin. Our roll away trash bin is usually 1/3 to 1/4 full most weeks, so I think we are doing a good job. Of course, we can always be better recyclers!




My latest project is a sandwich "wrapper". I used fabric remnants from my local fabric store. The outside is a colorful cotton fabric, inside is plastic coated tablecoth material. Although it is commonly used for covering a table, I'm not sure if it's "food grade", so I use a sheet of wax paper to separate it from the sandwich. The wax paper can be used several times before it can be recycled, it breaks down easily in a compost bin.

The sandwich can be easily wrapped up like a burrito and then it's fastened by a simple velcro "dot". The entire wrap also acts like an insulator and keeps the sandwich fresh for a few hours. I've also used this wrap for pretzels, chips and other snack foods.

Ash Wednesday

Today at 3:15, I'll be going to the school to pick up the kids and get them a treat at Starbucks. After that, we'll be going to the church to participate in their first ever Ash Wednesday service.

The last time I went to an Ash Wednesday service, I believe I was in 6th grade and attending St. Anthony's School. I remember I went to church by myself and walked home afterwards. It was a somber time and I mostly just felt alone. I did not have the support of my parents. They did not take me to church, they told me to go, so I did. Catholic guilt ran rampant in our house. Most of the time I didn't even know or understand what it was that I should feel guilty about.

My hope is that I can teach my children about tradition and reflection during this lent season. They have yet to decide what they will give up, but I have one thing in mind. No arguing! What a peaceful house we would have if there was no bickering, complaining or finger pointing.

Personally, I will be giving up alcohol for this lent season. It should prove to be very challenging and I hope rewarding at the same time. I will be praying for strength and support during these 40 days!