I made a HORRIBLE MISTAKE! Our big TV shift lasted one evening. I was so miserable with no TV in our room that I didn't sleep at all Saturday night. I LIKE curling up on the bed and watching a movie. I LIKE having the cats curled up next to us on the bed. The only real problem I had was once I was ready to read and/or go to sleep I DON'T LIKE having to listen to the TV. Why all of this didn't occur to me before we paid the Direct TV service call charge I'm not sure. It almost seems like I had to have it taken away before I realized how much I needed it.
So Jav spent part of his Saturday with the service tech while he moved everything around, then we spent two hours Sunday changing it all back. What a waste of time, effort and money. But I'm very impressed that the two of us got everything working again. And Jav had the great idea of switching TV's so that he can use his wireless headphones if he wants to watch after I'm reading. (My old one we had been using in the bedroom didn't have a jack to plug them in). So the planets are aligned again, we relaxed and watched The Office last night, in our bed with Zoe curled up with us, and all was right with the world.
I'm really lucky to be married to someone with a never-ending supply of patience. And understanding. And TV/DVD technical skills.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Customer Service - dos and don'ts
We had the Direct TV guy come today to move our DVR (no more bedroom TV watching - sob). This guy was quiet, quick, efficient, and even came up with a way to save us a little bit of money. I was very impressed, seeing that the last episode I had with a service technician in the house was a disaster. I meant to do a post about it when it happened, but I may have blocked the episode out for awhile.
The guy poorly trained in Customer Service worked for our A/C and Heater service company. He was supposed to come twice a year, once in the spring to check out the A/C, and once in the fall to look at the heater. He had already been here twice, and had managed to piss me off both times. He had a very smug demeanor and was constantly talking about the fact that he just KNEW he had been in our house before and remembered our unit, but never about anything substantial, like how said unit was working and holding up. The second time he was here, he noticed we had a wasps' nest on our back porch and offered to spray it for me. I know he was trying to be nice, but I like our wasps to be around. I may be weird, but I like not disturbing the ecosystem of our yard. We don't bother them, and they don't bother us. So I said, no thank you, I'd rather he not spray them. He pressed a few more times, and I politely held my ground. And he left.
So the last time he came, I should have remembered this exchange and watched him closer. First off, he kept complaining that we had a faulty thermostat. I told him what the trick was to set it, but he just kept complaining about it. So when he was almost done, I asked him what should I do about the faulty thermostat. He said that I should probably get a new one. Well, you can't pay for advice like that, my friend. Not a word about how or where, or that they didn't sell them but I could go to Lowe's, or anything.
THEN as he was walking back inside from his truck where he had written up my bill, he noticed our wasp nest on the front porch. He then took it upon himself to spray a mother lode of pesticide all over the nest and anything else within a 10 foot radius. He then proudly told me what he had done, and I was so mad I could only look at him. Which is the thing that really made me the maddest, that I couldn't lay into him like I really wanted to that this was MY house and how dare he do something like that without asking and that we never use chemicals around the baby, etc.... No, I just sat in stunned angry silence and signed the service agreement then watched him drive away, as he probably thought to himself what a wonderful person he was for helping out a helpless female who didn't even know she had a huge wasp nest on her front porch.
Needless to say, Jav is currently looking for a new A/C and heater service company. And I need to work on not being afraid to shout at people if they deserve it. Except for if it's my husband.
The guy poorly trained in Customer Service worked for our A/C and Heater service company. He was supposed to come twice a year, once in the spring to check out the A/C, and once in the fall to look at the heater. He had already been here twice, and had managed to piss me off both times. He had a very smug demeanor and was constantly talking about the fact that he just KNEW he had been in our house before and remembered our unit, but never about anything substantial, like how said unit was working and holding up. The second time he was here, he noticed we had a wasps' nest on our back porch and offered to spray it for me. I know he was trying to be nice, but I like our wasps to be around. I may be weird, but I like not disturbing the ecosystem of our yard. We don't bother them, and they don't bother us. So I said, no thank you, I'd rather he not spray them. He pressed a few more times, and I politely held my ground. And he left.
So the last time he came, I should have remembered this exchange and watched him closer. First off, he kept complaining that we had a faulty thermostat. I told him what the trick was to set it, but he just kept complaining about it. So when he was almost done, I asked him what should I do about the faulty thermostat. He said that I should probably get a new one. Well, you can't pay for advice like that, my friend. Not a word about how or where, or that they didn't sell them but I could go to Lowe's, or anything.
THEN as he was walking back inside from his truck where he had written up my bill, he noticed our wasp nest on the front porch. He then took it upon himself to spray a mother lode of pesticide all over the nest and anything else within a 10 foot radius. He then proudly told me what he had done, and I was so mad I could only look at him. Which is the thing that really made me the maddest, that I couldn't lay into him like I really wanted to that this was MY house and how dare he do something like that without asking and that we never use chemicals around the baby, etc.... No, I just sat in stunned angry silence and signed the service agreement then watched him drive away, as he probably thought to himself what a wonderful person he was for helping out a helpless female who didn't even know she had a huge wasp nest on her front porch.
Needless to say, Jav is currently looking for a new A/C and heater service company. And I need to work on not being afraid to shout at people if they deserve it. Except for if it's my husband.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Local eating isn't actually so local after all
We try to buy our produce from the Haltom City Farmers' Market whenever we have the time to get over there. It's been there forever, and seems to be a very efficiently run business. I have been slowly getting to know the ladies that ring up my produce over the last couple of months (they love flirting with Gabriel), and finally asked a question that's been on my mind for awhile now. I wanted to know if most of their inventory was produced locally. I made the assumption that if it didn't have a label or sticker on it saying, "made in Chile" or "California grown" or whatever that it was locally grown. Well, I was wrong. She said it just depends, and that during the winter alot of stuff is shipped in from all over, and it might not necessarily be labeled.
That truly bites! Here I am thinking I'm supporting local farmers and purchasing food that hasn't traveled very far, and I now feel like I've been duped. But the thing is, I LOVE shopping there. I guess I need to check out a couple of the other Farmers' Markets and ask my question again before I decide whether or not to go back.
That truly bites! Here I am thinking I'm supporting local farmers and purchasing food that hasn't traveled very far, and I now feel like I've been duped. But the thing is, I LOVE shopping there. I guess I need to check out a couple of the other Farmers' Markets and ask my question again before I decide whether or not to go back.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A radical shift
Next weekend we will embark upon a household shift of such massive proportions it may feel like an earthquake has hit us. We have decided to remove the television from our bedroom (insert dramatic music - Dah, Dah Dum Dum.) I have been wanting this to happen for a long time, but never had the nerve to ask Jav about it because I never thought he would go for it. He is the one who likes to get sleepy with the TV on. I think having the TV on makes me have a much more restless night, and I would rather read to get myself sleepy. So when I was half asleep one night I mentioned how nice it would be if we moved our DVR to the living room TV and watched in there, and then the bedroom would be a much more restful place. He was ok with it!
So a week from Saturday we have the Direct TV person coming to move our DVR. We'll also be switching TV's because the color on the living room set has been going out for two years now. Then we're going to rearrange our bedroom, removing the TV armoire for good. We already rearranged our living room so that we'd each have huge comfy spaces to watch TV (before all I had was a very cold and uncomfortable leather couch.) I have been wanting to enjoy my oversized red chair since we purchased it almost two years ago, but so far it has mostly been used for cat beds. But the cats better watch out, because my butt will be taking over now. I'm sure unwinding in the living room will take a little getting used to, but I also am hoping it will lead to more reading and less TV for both of us. What it will cut out is the late-night channel surfing, when your brain has already turned to mush so much that you don't realize you need to be asleep.
I guess it could also turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. We'll see.
So a week from Saturday we have the Direct TV person coming to move our DVR. We'll also be switching TV's because the color on the living room set has been going out for two years now. Then we're going to rearrange our bedroom, removing the TV armoire for good. We already rearranged our living room so that we'd each have huge comfy spaces to watch TV (before all I had was a very cold and uncomfortable leather couch.) I have been wanting to enjoy my oversized red chair since we purchased it almost two years ago, but so far it has mostly been used for cat beds. But the cats better watch out, because my butt will be taking over now. I'm sure unwinding in the living room will take a little getting used to, but I also am hoping it will lead to more reading and less TV for both of us. What it will cut out is the late-night channel surfing, when your brain has already turned to mush so much that you don't realize you need to be asleep.
I guess it could also turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. We'll see.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Why I love old houses
You would never find this attached to a built-in garage workshop area in a new house. 
So you would never have these.Saturday, January 12, 2008
A few belated holiday pictures
Tito showing off his new hat, and Gabriel showing off his Christmas belly.
Santa brought him a new sandbox, but forgot the sand. Bad Santa!
We started a new tradition last year of going to River Legacy Park for a walk on Christmas Day. Gabriel was feeling tired from all the excitement of the morning. But Molly was happy and raring to go!
My neice Macy was sweet enough to let Gabriel play with her activity table. She's SOOOO cute and so sweet - I may steal her one day.
My nephew Cade, all grown up now. He turned 6 a few weeks ago. He really got into Christmas this year, especially considering Santa visits him at 3 or 4 different households. What happened to that fat little baby boy?
Friday, January 11, 2008
You can't beat a good old movie
Last night I got hooked on a movie on Turner Movie Classics called The Clock. It starred Judy Garland, who I just finished watching in Meet Me in St. Louis. The movie was about a soldier who was on leave in New York City for 48 hours, was set up on a date with Judy Garland's character (they met under the clock at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, hence the title), fell in love and got married just before he shipped out again. I was so wrapped up in this movie it was ridiculous. I think Judy Garland is just about the best crier as far as actresses go (it makes you wonder just how tragic her actual life really was). There's one scene where the two have become separated, and she doesn't even know his last name and realizes she has no way to find him... Well, suffice it to say she had me reduced to a big puddle of tears. Sometimes it feels good to have a good cry while watching a movie. And it had a good ending-at least I thought so.
The proof that I am a cooking geek
While my husband was getting his last steroid shot to (hopefully) relieve the pain from the herniated disc in his neck, I was browsing the nearby Half Price Books to spend one of my gift cards from Christmas. I got one used CD (Brazilian classical guitar - but I'm kicking myself for not getting the Best of Elvis Costello - the early years), two books for Gabriel that he absolutely loved from the get-go (go Mommy) and one cookbook. It's called "Best Ever Three and Four Ingredient Cookbook" by Jenny White and Joanna Farrow. I was so excited about finding this book. I've been looking for some simple, relatively healthy recipes that don't use a gazillion ingredients, to save both money and time. This book is exactly what I've been searching for. I stayed up late two nights in a row to read through the whole thing, and I don't give up my sleeping hours for many things. I knew this book wasn't published in the U.S. (it's from Australia) because they use "aubergine" instead of eggplant, and "rocket" instead of arugula. But that just made it all the more interesting. I can't wait to try some recipes out now.
I also bought the cheery little recipe box pictured above from the Children's Art Project at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. I know I will never have time to copy my favorite recipes onto 3 x 5 cards, so I'm using instead to plan dinners for the week. I changed the main index card titles to match my categories of dinners - Pastas, Sandwiches, Soups, Pizzas, Slow Cooker Favorites, etc... Then I sharpened my pencil and got to work adding my favorite recipe titles and what cookbook to find them in. There's plenty of room to add new ones, and extra index cards if I think of more titles. I have had such great pleasure in working on this little project. Anything that has to do with cooking doesn't seem like a chore to me.
I also bought the cheery little recipe box pictured above from the Children's Art Project at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. I know I will never have time to copy my favorite recipes onto 3 x 5 cards, so I'm using instead to plan dinners for the week. I changed the main index card titles to match my categories of dinners - Pastas, Sandwiches, Soups, Pizzas, Slow Cooker Favorites, etc... Then I sharpened my pencil and got to work adding my favorite recipe titles and what cookbook to find them in. There's plenty of room to add new ones, and extra index cards if I think of more titles. I have had such great pleasure in working on this little project. Anything that has to do with cooking doesn't seem like a chore to me.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Starting over
I have a tendency to jump into things and want to be good at them right away. Cooking, tennis, guitar lessons... the list could go on and on. Most of the time I get frustrated and either quit or never learn the right way of doing the thing and stumble along trying to keep up. Cooking is one of the few things I stuck with through the hard part of learning and trial and error, and now I'm getting pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.
Guitar lessons were sort of like piano lessons way back when. The lessons themselves were fun, but I never wanted to practice. Same thing when Jav and I took two-step lessons. So everything I learned has fallen completely by the way-side. Gabriel has shown a real interest in my guitar, though, as it sits gathering dust in our family room. He never misses an opportunity to strum it as he's barreling by. This has made me want to review some of the things I learned, but not enough to actually act yet. I have at least learned in my old age that if you do not want to learn something for yourself, it will probably be tedious.
Tennis is a bit different in that I think I have potential to get pretty good, if I will ever get off my high-horse and take some beginners lessons. I never learned how to place my feet correctly, or how to hold my racket correctly, or how to serve correctly, or really anything. Despite all of this I still do pretty well whenever I play. I heard a story about how you can really improve your game (not just in tennis, but in all sports), if you visualize yourself playing really well. I think this works for me. But I know I would be just so much better if I had some good form. Maybe one day.
Yoga is something I jumped into also, just to add something different to my workout routine at the time. I only thought about how it would help me physically, and started doing an intermediate tape at home. Which means, once again, that I skipped over some pretty important basics about yoga. Like form and breathing techniques and the whole meditation thing. BUT since it's something I started learning more about, I have decided to see if I can completely start over at something and learn it right for once.
Jav's family got me a wonderful book called "Essential Yoga: An Illustrated Guide" by Olivia H. Miller for Christmas that is helping me do this. It is very simple to follow, and has great illustrations of breathing techniques, warm-up stretches, poses and meditations. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to give yoga a try. I'm starting off very slow with breathing and warm-ups, which I NEVER did before. Then I do a few poses, just like the book shows, and end with some short meditations.
I don't think I will now ever give up on yoga like I have on so many things. I has become a very important part of my life, and I am really starting to feel the differences. Not just in my toning, flexibility and balance, but in a calmness I feel that I've never felt before. I'm actually starting to pay attention to whether I'm taking short breaths (especially when I'm stressed out about something) and if so I try to slow myself down by slowing my breathing down. I'm also not having as many negative thoughts as I used to, which can make you feel so much better about life. It feels good to know I stuck with something this time, and it's really making a difference.
Guitar lessons were sort of like piano lessons way back when. The lessons themselves were fun, but I never wanted to practice. Same thing when Jav and I took two-step lessons. So everything I learned has fallen completely by the way-side. Gabriel has shown a real interest in my guitar, though, as it sits gathering dust in our family room. He never misses an opportunity to strum it as he's barreling by. This has made me want to review some of the things I learned, but not enough to actually act yet. I have at least learned in my old age that if you do not want to learn something for yourself, it will probably be tedious.
Tennis is a bit different in that I think I have potential to get pretty good, if I will ever get off my high-horse and take some beginners lessons. I never learned how to place my feet correctly, or how to hold my racket correctly, or how to serve correctly, or really anything. Despite all of this I still do pretty well whenever I play. I heard a story about how you can really improve your game (not just in tennis, but in all sports), if you visualize yourself playing really well. I think this works for me. But I know I would be just so much better if I had some good form. Maybe one day.
Yoga is something I jumped into also, just to add something different to my workout routine at the time. I only thought about how it would help me physically, and started doing an intermediate tape at home. Which means, once again, that I skipped over some pretty important basics about yoga. Like form and breathing techniques and the whole meditation thing. BUT since it's something I started learning more about, I have decided to see if I can completely start over at something and learn it right for once.
Jav's family got me a wonderful book called "Essential Yoga: An Illustrated Guide" by Olivia H. Miller for Christmas that is helping me do this. It is very simple to follow, and has great illustrations of breathing techniques, warm-up stretches, poses and meditations. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to give yoga a try. I'm starting off very slow with breathing and warm-ups, which I NEVER did before. Then I do a few poses, just like the book shows, and end with some short meditations.
I don't think I will now ever give up on yoga like I have on so many things. I has become a very important part of my life, and I am really starting to feel the differences. Not just in my toning, flexibility and balance, but in a calmness I feel that I've never felt before. I'm actually starting to pay attention to whether I'm taking short breaths (especially when I'm stressed out about something) and if so I try to slow myself down by slowing my breathing down. I'm also not having as many negative thoughts as I used to, which can make you feel so much better about life. It feels good to know I stuck with something this time, and it's really making a difference.
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