Holidays

Not that I don't enjoy the food and frivolity, I am so so glad that I am finally home and not still at my mom's cleaning up after eating or cleaning up while we're cooking.  It feels good to lie in bed with the laptop and watch a movie.  Plus, the noise level goes from fairly quiet in my house to extremely noisy and that alone makes me want to come right home.

The food was good.  That is about all that is good about the holidays.  The traditional cookies and pies plus the Christmas dinner.  The stuff is good.  You wait all year for it and then it tastes divine. 

Well I'm pooped. In fact, I fell asleep all the way home from my mom's house.  Too much of everything.  Now back to normal.  I say that because we don't do squat on New Year's.

Take care,
M

Never buy from Kodak

Hey everyone,

Did you miss me?  Now this post is a warning to all. Never buy from Kodak.  Totally reputable company, can't solve an issue to save their lives.

The other day I was going to cancel an account I had because I was frustrated with a couple of things. The customer service diva was so good with handling my issues that I am staying with that company.  Now, I will recommend that company.

They say a person who has a good experience doesn't say much but if they have a bad experience, they tell 10 people. Well, I'm telling all of you.  Plus I plan to write a letter to the company (not that it will do anything).

If you can avoid it, don't buy from Kodak. They have misinformation on their website. Then when you call the company about the product you bought, you're transferred 3 times back and forth between two departments. I finally demanded I speak to a manager and he said she would call back within twenty minutes.  It is now one week and two days, no call.

So we found the correct item on another website so I called to get a return slip.  I asked the lady, hey do I have to pay for this?  She said well you ordered it.  So I explained that I ordered it because of what it said on their website. She said to me, "Well ma'am just send it back and then we can talk about refunds for shipping costs."  I said, "Well just send me the return label."  Basically I want to be done with them. I don't care how.

I will never buy another Kodak product. I thought I had a good product but their customer service ruined it for me. I don't know if you have the same philosophy, but when I have a problem with what I buy, I want someone to help me.  If the company won't help me, then I won't buy from them.

My suggestion is don't do it either.
M

The beauty of email accounts

I don't know what it is about receiving an email, but it makes me smile.. It's better than when I was at the U of A and I would get excited for any mail or package.  I check my email several times a day to see if I received anything. I only hope it isn't an advertisement for some odd thing and is a note from a friend.  Right now while I am job searching, they are the only emails I am lookiing for.
M

Falalalalalalalalalala

The Christmas season is a time of year in which I do not always wish to find myself in. Ah, cynical you say.  Not at all. But trying to perform an errand with the traffic and amount of people at the stores; I'd rather stay at home. For some reason, decorating is just something I'd rather not do this year.  To have to take down the regular trinkets in the house and put up the Christmas stuff and then think about having to take it down again is just too much.  I read articles that people are just not putting in the effort or the money this year for Christmas.  I understand why.  To hear Christmas music makes me cringe.  I'm just not in the mood.  Is it because I am getting older or is it becuase I have no money to buy things for people and get excited about watching them open their gifts?  I don't know. I will do my baking and I sent Christmas cards but I can't wait for the rest of December to pass. Let's just get it over with. Perhaps my next entry will not be so frustrated.

I will be going to my mother's tomorrow with my family to make the bread we have Christmas day with our soup. The tradition will be fun but my mother will play Christmas music and that will be annoying.  Oh well, just another day.  Time to try to be in a better mood.

M

Never a good deal

Hey out there,

Let me just say there always seems to be a scam with everything.  Those customer service agents are sure trained not to reveal it to you.  You have to be one handy sleuth to discover the scam before you waste money or time.  Be careful out there people, there are those who are out to get ya!

M

Up Way Too Early

Last night I was up too late crocheting something for a friend and then I realized I have an appointment this morning. So that meant that I had to drag my butt out of bed an hour ago, take the dog out, feed him and give him his medicine (poor baby is sick), and then get ready. I sit here now eating my honeycomb cereal wishing I could go to bed but instead I have to leave in ten minutes. Ugh! The worst part about it is that it's cold and rainy outside. Yuck!  I figure I might as well make it a yucky day all around and run other errands when my appointment is over as well.  Isn't it just so much better to snuggle under warm covers on a cold, rainy day!   Anyway, time to go.
M

The Email Abyss

You know when you apply for a job and you send an email and it goes somewhere far far away and it never comes back to you?  That is how I feel sometimes.  There is a black hole email abyss where emails are not returned and so you keep applying for jobs.  Ah well, someday I will have mail :)

M

Literal Pain in the Neck

Yesterday I had a facet injection in my neck because the doctor is hoping it will help my left arm.  Strang that to help one body part, you have to hurt others.  I have been in pain since. I'm in bed instead of up and around doing fun things. It sucks.  At least my husband waits on me during this time.  That part is fine.

I hope that this works becuase I am going to scream.  And people will hear it. Could it be that I tasted some forbidden fruit and this is my punishment: constant pain? Well I'm really sorry about that.
Heh,  Just rambling on Percocet this evening.
Take care.
M

Pantry Chili

So the other day, I had to make dinner and my cupboards were looking pretty grim after the holidays. I didn't really have much meat either which I usually have a stock of.  I look and I have ground turkey and a piece of round steak. I thought hrmmmm.

So I brown the ground turkey with garlic, sage, poultry seasoning, onion powder (don't even have onions), salt and pepper.
I defrost the piece of round steak and cut into cubes.
Then I cut carrots into pieces (no other veggies than that.
I throw all this into a pot.  I find a can of pinto beans, navy beans, black beans, and kidney beans. I rinse those and they go into the pot. I put tomato sauce, and chop up whole tomatoes and they go in the pot. I add some water. And of course chili powder, salt and pepper.

After a couple of hours of simmering, I made some instant rice and had my hubby get a loaf of french bread.
That was some of the best chili I ever had. 

I highly recommend when you don't really have too many groceries to put together meals, don't be afraid. Be a pantry chef. Throw some stuff together and woohoo, a wonderful meal.

The leftovers were even better.

Maria

Still Job Searching

Hey everyone,

Okay, I realize the job market out there for people to work at home is pretty big, it is hard to find because the employers are looking for specific qualifications or the whole things is a scam.  Everyday, I spend an hour or two searching for work and even have applied for a couple of jobs and have got zip in my email inbox. It's sad. I know searching around the holidays is tough, but sheesh. 

Anyway, so I go pick up a paper today to see if the want ads in the actual paper have something different (which is something I noticed before) and I found Movie extras ads, three of them. (All different). I am signed up with my portfolio on Talent6 and have received jack shit so I am going to call these people and see what turns up.  It never hurts to try.  It won't be long, I'll be applying to everything, even if I know I don't qualify.

Any words of advice?
Maria

Personalized Christmas/Holiday Cards

Today we took the picture with our dog to order Christmas cards through Wal-Mart. It was interesting because there is no one here at the house to take the picture for us so we had to use the timer.  So we ordered the cards and I organized my address list on Excel so I can print labels. It's all a very easy process these days. I even printed labels with our own address with a cute Christmas Snoopy on them.

So can tell me, is it cool to send the personalized cards or is it better to buy the boxed cards? I know that some families write entire novels about what has happened to each of them this year.
Which is better? Would you rather get a card that was personalized or a  generic card with the year's life story of the family written out on stationary for the recipient to read?

Personally, when Jorge and I have more to report then maybe we will try out the latter, but for now it is the former. Hopefully, they'll turn out cute.

Maria

Healing tattoos

Have you ever looked at your healing tattoo? (Well, you should to make sure it is healing properly) Well the tattoo I got on my foot looks so nasty. It is all dry and the skin is tight so the top of my foot hurts!!!! Oh well, the price you pay for beauty I guess.

Why are tattoos so addictive. People say that all the time, well I got my first and since tattoos are so addictive I had to get my second and third and so on and so forth. I heard that from my dentist the other day. Can anyone answer that question? Why is it that if a person gets one tattoo, that they have a desire to get another and another tattoo? This is my fourth tattoo. Yup. Although, I got my first one at 18 and I'm 31 now so it's not like I jumped into the addiction.

Also, all of a sudden my family members are getting tattoos. First my oldest sister (she is 14 years older than me) than my nephew and then my niece and now one of my other sisters. Now my mom said I think a little butterfly would be nice. I was like sheesh. Well, to each his own.

I guess I'll go whine about my throbbing foot.

Take care for now,
Maria

Comments

If anyone is visiting the site, please leave a comment. I'd like to see what the world out there thinks.
Thanks

Farmville

If you know what it is, you know how addictive it is. Why? All you do is sit and harvest crops. I know there is more strategy than that otherwise my husband wouldn't be addicted to it. Now they have Cafe World where you make food. What is the point of that one? People can waste hours on these games. Good ol'Facebook.

Maria

Black Friday

Okay okay, I admitted in my last entry that I never go shopping on Black Friday (or did I?), but my husband has wanted a grill for-e-v-e-r! He has been looking at this one at Home Depot for a while and we have been watching the sales on it. Well we prepared the backyard for it and everything so when I woke up today I called there and asked if there was a special deal on the grill. What a deal! $300 grill for $179. I can deal with that. So I raced over there to pick it up. Then I thought, well I'm working on a scrap book I need to stop at Wal-Mart for some supplies. Oh boy, I got there just before their 5-11am sale was over and it was nuts at the registers.

It's best to stay home, even if the husband really wants the deal on the grill. But I'm a thoughtful wife, what can I say. :P

Maria

By the way, I will never stand in line at 4 or 5am for the sales. That is just not me.

Thanksgiving

This is the holiday that we should all think about what we are thankful for.....

Has your mother ever asked you to go around the table and say something you are thankful for this year before you are allowed to eat. The whole time other people are talking you're thinking well I'm very hungry so I better think of something quick to say. Oh I know, I'm thankful for my family and friends. Sometimes I hope that my mom will not make us do that because with our numbers, it takes a while and the food gets cold.

No, really. It's a nice tradition.

This year, I am thankful that I am not having an anxiety attack two or three times a day due to some awesome meds. I am also thankful that it is just going to be my husband and I at our house this year instead of too many people and too much noise.

However, since my father passed I am not thankful that he is not around to celebrate. But most importantly this year, I am not thankful that my mom is going on a cruise and I won't be able to see or talk to her for several days. I know, what a whimp right. Our family is splitting up this year and I will miss her the most. Oh well, Jorge and I will have the little turkey breast I bought to roast with the sides and be comfortable in our home especially since we don't have to entertain anyone. Nice and stress free. That is what I need this year. Oh and I cannot forget our puppy Shadow.

Besides, we can be thankful for what we have that is good and what we don't have that is not good everyday anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving to the people the might be reading these. Happy Thanksgiving to the empty space of the Internet if no one is reading them.

Remember your mother, she works hard to put the meal on the table. Don't go crazy on Black Friday.

Maria

Torture on Purpose?

Hey everyone out there. I would just like to say that we are all fortuitous that tattooing was invented. However, when the tattoo artist warns you that the tongue, the feet and the hands are the worst place to get a tattoo, you should listen to him. I thought, "I have a high threshold for pain and my other three tattoos were just fine. Bring it on."

Whoa boy. If I could have changed the place for my tattoo while I the torture was going on, I would have. However, once he started, it was keep going or have an odd picture on my foot.

Three weeks ago, I went in for my outlining. That healed and yesterday I went back for color and shading. HOLY CRAP!!! I have never experienced that much pain and I have had back surgery. Every time he had to go over the same area with a different color I wanted to scream. Mind you, this was really toward the end. I held my own during the first hour or so. But then I felt like a woman in labor: just breathe and focus on something.

Now it's healing time for the colored part. I have three other tattoos and I have never had a tattoo artist have a person wash, put stuff on it, and bandage it up for three days and then not put lotion on it. However, I am diabetic number one so the foot is some concern. Number two, the method he uses for healing works. I didn't have any scabbing or major loss of the outline so we pray that as I am using the same methods that all goes well. If not, he offers free touch-ups.
Oh boy, bring on the pain again?

Perhaps when it is healed, I will post a picture. It is a daisy and it is surrounded by blue sky basically. In the sky you can see a few stars. When I told the tattoo artist, who by the way I recommend to everyone who wants a tattoo, I think he thought I was strange. But here is the story: My favorite flower is a daisy. When I got married, we had these plastic and wooden Chinese fans for the centerpieces for the tables. Well to dress them up a bit, my father spent oodles of time adding constructs to the bottom of the stands for the fans and then glued artificial daisies to the fan stands. He did so much for me always including spending hours completing this mundane task. Well he passed a couple of years ago and I remember how hard he worked. So on this tattoo, the daisy is for all the things he did for me and the stars represent the heavens where he is today.

It is my way of remembering him. Of course, I guess I could have picked a better location but maybe it was life's way of showing the pain he went through.

Anywho, time to take care of it.
Take care of yourselves and sleep well.

Maria

The first poem

Dominoes

Take the power from the
control freak,
And what are you left with?
Uncertainty.
Anxiety.
Depression.
Fear.
Loss.
Who knew someone or something held that much influence over a person,
just because
they were so accustomed to
total discipline.
A disruption in that person's
schedule,
Any kind of change at all,
Even for a day,
Can make their dominoes fall.
And then watch the person
Crumble.
The most severe case will
seek professional help.
But someone in the right mind
frame,
Just needs
A hug.

Maria
April, 2006

The Grind from Home

When you want to search for a job and keep your butt in the house, it is 10,000 times more difficult than regular searching!!! I don't know if you have done this but there are so many scams to watch out for that just when you think you found something that will work, bam there is a fee to sign up. Or maybe you don't know there is something weird happening behind the scenes and then the worst imaginable can happen to you.

It's pretty damn scary out there. Why do I want to work from home? Well I've been going through something pretty damn scary too. Thinking about going out into the workforce just when I am making progress gives me the heebie jeebies. I don't want to have to deal with scheduling doctor appointments with a 8-5 schedule again. Nope, sitting in this chair for a few hours a day is perfectly fine with me. Plus I can make sure my puppy doesn't poop all over the place.

So the search continues. Right now, I'm finding out about this Talent6 gig. I don't know about this one. But, I'll find out.

In the mean time, I can continue writing.

See ya'll later, Maria

Adding my cds to my Ipod

What a time consuming project! I have many CDs and I figure I never listen to them because I always have my Ipod with me instead. So why not put the music onto ITunes. Except it takes way too much time. I'm really picky and I don't want each song from each CD that I own so I guess that takes even more time. I only got through a few CDs tonight and then I grew bored. In fact I figured it was time to harvest my crops on FarmVille (whoa do I spend too much time there, even got the husband on it). So I guess I will carry on my project another day.

Also, a random thought. We are switching around the second bedroom so that my husband can come work from home (do I love that idea?). We need room for a new desk and his equipment for his sales job. So today, being the weird project person moved around the bed, filing cabinet, bookcase, and arranged our closet. Did I mention I have had back surgery and I have been walking around with a sprained ankle? I swear sometimes I am stupid.

Right now I will wander off to watch Stardust, which is the cutest fantasy movie, while I take my painkillers. Hope I can walk tomorrow....

I shall leave you with the words of an important person of the past:
The great art of life is sensation, to feel that we exist, even in pain.
Lord Byron (1788-1824) British poet.

Sleep well, Maria

Reason I don't have time to read

In the previous blog I mentioned that I don't have time to read. The reason this is so is because we just recently got a puppy. He is four months old and taking up so much of my time. As soon as I snuggle into bed to read my current book City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (good young adult literature), I read a page and fall asleep. Perhaps by the time the book is due at the library I will have a chapter read. As I type, I am pondering trying to read some more so I shall continue my adventures tomorrow.

Maria

No time for reading

Hi everyone,
For those who read these, let me first introduce myself. My name is Maria and this blog will generally have the most randomness possible. I intend to discuss items that are of interest to me, and possibly you like books and movies. I will talk about what is currently on my mind that is bothering me. I will write some poetry, however bad it might be.

This blog is for me to spew (forgive the word) all the junk that is in my brain so that I might be able to focus. You see a few months back, I found myself in a situation where I struggle with concentration; I will spare you the story. I hope that writing down some random thoughts in here, and hey maybe a story about a great recipe too because I have some pretty funny blunders in the kitchen, that clarity might come to my mind. However, because the world is full of chaos, perhaps the randomness will continue to swirl around in there.

I hope you enjoy. If not, don't read it. I'm sure there are a million other things you can do with your time. I just ask that your comments are not too rude--even if you think I am crazy.
By the way, I already think I am crazy.

Maria S.