When Technology Dies

During one of my days of selling Seussical tickets I had been busy at work before racing to the school.  Since I'd been in my bosses car I didn't have my phone charger.  But I did have a spare battery.  I knew I'd be fine.

When I got to the school I had about 5 minutes to grab the tickets, the money bag, and take my place.  But when I got to the front door of the school I noticed people were standing outside of it.  In line!  For tickets!  Wow.  I started making my way in saying excuse me as I went.  But I wasn't getting anywhere.  People kept telling me that was the end of the line.  So I started saying, "Thank you, I know, but excuse me."  I didn't think I needed to explain myself.  And really, I didn't have the time!  It was still a high school, after all, people could have been coming in to just go to the office.  But still, I wasn't getting anywhere.  Finally I politely tried to get past someone I didn't know.  She turned around and said, "You can't come up here.  Go to the end of the line.  We're all here to buy tickets."  To which I, in frustration and claustorphobia, said, "I'm the one selling the tickets!!" 

Why didn't I start with that?  The line parted like the Red Sea.  Don't mess with me when I'm starting to breath heavily in a closing-in crowd of people. 

Okay, not really.  But it worked.  I should have conducted myself better, but I was overwhelmed. 

And when they realized who I was, they were all suddenly very nice.

I sold tickets for the next two hours and 10 minutes.  Straight.  When the first lady bought 40 I thought I wouldn't survive, but slowly and steadily my line dwindled.  When it was finally just me and the tickets I pulled out my cell phone to relax, and of course, catch up. 

I'd gotten several phone calls and texts during those two hours (many from the director... good thing I love her:) so I'd stealthily changed my battery while still selling.  I know, I have skills.  But since the high school is cinder block walls and I was right in the middle of it, the battery had just drained.  I spent about 10 minutes entertaining myself before it was dead.  And then.....I was alone.  With nothing to do.  Nothing.  I don't know how in the world I passed time before cell phones with apps.  I don't remember being insanely bored.  So I did what I could to pass the time.

I...

Counted all the seats on the auditorium map so I could...
Count all the empty seats for each night and made tally marks on the back of each paper.
Smoothed out all the money and made sure it was in numerical order, and all facing the right way.
Alphabetized all the checks by amount, and then because I was still bored, by last name.
Greeted everyone that walked by.
Re-highlighted all the seats I'd already sold to make sure the map looked correct.
Went through every rows envelope of remaining tickets and cross referenced with the map to make sure my system was working.
Patted myself on the back when I realized my system was in fact working flawlessly.
And I think I might have actually twiddled my thumbs.

When McKinley came in from a trip I grabbed her, held her down, and insisted she take her battery out of her phone and give it to me since it was more important that people could reach me.  And because I was about to start counting ceiling tiles.

So I survived.  McKinley might be scarred for life, but I survived. 

And the next day when Shawn was with me for the four hours, he kept me supplied with batteries.  Love that man!  He was also entertaining in his own rite.  I knew I married well!!

My New Phone!

I have moved up in the world!  When Shawn got his Evo in December I was not envious at all.  Not one little bit...nope...

I liked my small Hero.

It was hand sized.

I didn't need the bigger screen...or the better storage...or the cool kickstand. 

I was fine.

No really.  I was.

But then something happened.  Reagan was invited to go out of town for Spring Break with a sweet family.  Way out of town.  To the middle of no where.  We love and trust this family no matter what but thought it would be nice if Reagan could get a hold of us if she needed to.  Plus her friend got a phone for Christmas and we knew Reagan would enjoy having one to play on also on the car ride.

Blah, blah, blah.

I got an Evo!!!

It's amazing.  Huge.  Tons of storage.  Runs faster.  And let's be honest here, looks cooler.  Shawn has the black one and I got the mulatto one, half black, half white.  It's cooler than his.  But don't tell him that.  He might not be able to handle it.  Mine is so cool and rare that I couldn't find a picture of it.  I did find this though.  Isn't it cute?  I have of course customized all the screens and downloaded all my favorite apps and quite a few new ones.

Daily Ab, Butt, and Arm workouts?  I have that.

Words with Friends (Stefunkc) and Word Feud (Stefunk)?  Of course. 

Cardio Trainer?  Wouldn't be caught without it.  I got a widget that shows the calories I've burned for the week in the top menu bar.  I'm slightly addicted to it.  I better hurry this post up.  I need to go for a run.

Weather Bug?  Love it.  It can tell me the exact wind speed for the day.  That way I can whine about it on Facebook while doing yard work in it.

Shazam?  But of course.  That has helped me out so many times.  I hear a song, Shazam it, download it from my free music app, and add it to my running playlist.  My life is complete.

And Reagan's is too.  I don't know how though...her phone is so small and has such limited storage:c)

Times Are A'Changing

Growing up across the street from my current house meant I was here all the

time. 

Plus, the only kids in the neighborhood lived here. 

And I was a latch key kid. 

And I was bored a lot. 

And, they had a pool. 

So basically, I was here all the time playing with Jeff and John. 

Oh, and Harold, my second Dad, made amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies.  And Martha, my second mom, would set a place for me at the table with no question or invitation needed.  The only way they could keep me away was on sauerkraut night.  I could smell it at the porch and would just head back home.

I played basketball, rode bikes, skateboarded, and just about anything else to pass the time in their extra long driveway.  But what two of my girls and a neighbor friend did over the weekend never happened when I was growing up here.

Makes me wonder what their children will be doing in the driveway.  Not that my girls will ever be allowed to grow up and get married....

This Just Happened

Through texts.

Shawn:Just now settling down to start our second case. (This is at 8:45 pm when he's normally home at 5. A doctor wanted to do two head cases and they started at 1.)

Me:Holy cow balls! (Sorry for that. It just seemed to fit the situation.)

Shawn:I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but uhhh...cows don't have balls:-):-D:-D

Shawn:Neither do steers:-):-):-):-)

Me:What?? Then how do they make baby cows?

Shawn:Only bulls.

Me:Well then holy bull balls! (Again I apologize.)

Shawn:This concludes our bovine lesson of the day.

Yep, that's the type of conversations we have.

Through texting.

While he's at work.

I love it!

He Did It!!!!!!!

It took three tries, but my laptop is back together and working perfectly!! My cute little pink laptop is now back on my lap where it belongs. I've missed my little keys, my smaller screen, my cute e-mail program, and my touch pad. And my pictures! Hello to all my folders of pictures!

I have to say how much I love and appreciate my amazing husband for being able to fix it. Just the purchase of the screen and free labor. I of course will reward him in my own way;)

Stay tuned for the finish of my San Francisco trip. Remember when I went there?? It's been more than a month!

But for today I have been requested as the official photographer for a group of freshman girls who are going to their first high school dance:c)

I of course will blog about that soon!

Two reasons

I just have to share why I love my DVR.

I have two favorite buttons, and pause is one of them. How else would I capture these? And while we're chatting, can I tell you how much I love my cell phone and it's camera? They're always there when I need them:)

Why I Love Texting

Thursday night I was out with 14 friends celebrating our friend Lisa's birthday. She celebrates every day of the year but we only give her presents for one of them. Since I'd left the girls at home for a little bit before Shawn got there I had my cell phone on the table next to me.

Oh who am I kidding, I do that no matter what. I need to always be connected! Someone must have known that fact about me since I received this text.

Is my wife with your group? If so, tell her to bring me home some carrot cake and to answer her cell phone;) ~john

I passed my phone down the long table full of friends and we all had a laugh.

I sure hope John got his carrot cake:c)

Stinking Technology-2

My baby was out of state yesterday. My oldest baby, McKinley. She had a show choir contest in Dallas and after the contest they spent the rest of the day at Six Flags. Since I am still in surgery recovery Shawn was blessed with the joy of taking her to school at 3:15 in the a of m. Luckily she got to ride home with a friend and her dad so neither one of us had to go pick her up at school at 2 am.

I was not feeling well so at 9 last night I was already out. I woke up shortly before 2 and asked Shawn if she was home. I am a nervous mother and needed to know she was safe. Shawn told me she wasn't home yet but could track her through her cell phone. He went to the office and looked up her location. When he told me she was on our street I ran to the front door. The porch light was on and someone had locked the door that I'd purposefully left unlocked. I quietly cursed Shawn for locking our daughter out of the house and went out on the front porch and looked down the street.

No cars. No headlights. No anything.

He joined me and we both waited.

After about 5 minutes I asked him where it had said she was. He told me it said she was 102 yards away. Even in my drug induced sleepy state I knew that meant she should already be there. A football field away at 25 miles per hour....meant she should already be in my arms.

I asked him to check again. Into the office he went with me at his heels. This time the locator said she was at our house!

As I turned to run back to the front porch I noticed something...her bag...at the foot of the stairs. Yep, she was home. In her bed. Safe and sound.

I turned around and lit into Shawn. How could he make me think my baby wasn't home when she was safely asleep upstairs??

Apparently he'd been crashed on the couch while I was crashed in bed.

And we all know we can't trust technology...