All posts in geekness

Busy Moms Choose Coffee

And don’t try to tell me they don’t. Ok, well, I’ll accept some form of caffeine, but I’m telling you, that’s a consolation prize. Coffee is where it’s at.

It’s been 5 months since I became a mom to two. I think—keyword *I*—I’m doing a pretty decent job thus far. I imagine it’s easier for someone to go to two/three/four kids while the kiddos are still young and you’re not out of diapers for quite a few years or set in your ways with various other aspects (like sleeping through the night). However, I will say that this here cutie pie to the left has been sleeping through the night for the past two or three months now. *phew* She even goes to bed on her own! That’s right, she lays down in her crib while awake and goes to sleep. AWESOME. And the best part—knocking heavily on wood—is that she goes to bed about 9:30/10:00 and sleeps until about 8:00/9:00. Yep. That’s right. Now you can see why *I* think I’m doing a pretty decent job so far.

Now, one would think that since I’ve got a ten-year-old and a five-month-old who both sleep through the night I’m functioning at 100% or even better during the day. Au contraire, mon frere (well, mes amis, actually). Half the time it’s like the walking dead around here, and believe when I tell you that’s not so big a compliment for zombies.

I think I’ve just been super swamped since August. We had something every weekend in October and November was pretty packed as well. Funny enough, we’ve only got one thing planned in December.

We did manage to squeeze in buying a new tree this year. Our current/old one is 9 years old and one of the ones you have to put each branch on one-by-one by color codes. No lights either. Pain in the butt. Christmas shopping is just about finished as well. And thanks to our annual trip to Hershey, the baby made out like a bandit with winter clothes.

Unfortunately our dryer is on it’s last leg. It’s not heating up all the time. I called the repair place and they suggested taking the vent tube off and running a cycle without anything on it. I did that and nothing but cold air shooting out. Broken. So it became a game of buy a new one or fix this one (5 years old). We chose to buy a new one. Only, we bought a dryer and a washer, lol. But you can’t beat 50% off! So now I’ll have one of the fancy front loaders with all the buttons and bells and whistles. Geek heaven. Too bad it won’t arrive for 4-7 days. So we’re looking at Wednesday the earliest.

AND I was just told that we’re in charge of crafts for the holiday party. I’ve got something up my sleeve and will be sure to share once I work it out. :)

Now, where’s that 4th cup of coffee?!

Love Thyself


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Over the years my self-esteem has plummeted. Of course that goes hand-in-hand with my fight with weight gain (thanks to two kids!). But I’m slowly coming to love the person I am.

Yes, I’ve got weight to lose. But that’s not the sum of me. I’m a great mom to a kid who sometimes could make Mother Theresa run for the hills. I’m great at my job. I can multitask like no one: feeding the baby while instant messaging and answering emails. I love my hair (not in the above photos, lol) and have great fingernails. I’m loyal and do unto others (even though they don’t do unto me). I know, how could anyone not love me? *snicker*

Seriously though, if I can come up with some self-likes that easily, why do I find it so hard to think that others can’t see past my weight?

So my goal for (at least) the rest of the year is to post twice a week about something I like about myself, be it something I accomplished at work or how well I handled something at home.

Wish me luck!

Cross Pens: Edge Nitro

A couple of weeks ago the mailman brought me one of the best packages I’ve ever received—my first ever Cross pen.

Being as I’m a huge pen hoarder enthusiast, I’ve been eying up Cross pens for a while, but haven’t ever made the leap as I’m also a huge pen displacer. And now that I’ve been using a Cross pen (the Edge Nitro Blue) I’m in h-e-a-v-e-n.

What I love about this pen:

  • The Size. It’s a bit shorter than a full sized pen when closed, but it’s the perfect size when opened.
  • It’s Capless. No messing with or losing  a cap.
  • Changeability. Go from rollerball to ballpoint by changing the refill.
  • New Mom Friendly. With the innovative slide-open technology, writing out thank you notes just got a whole lot easier.

The only downside I experienced was with the ink itself, which happens. I experienced skipping after a week of constant usage. Once I replaced the ink with a refill I was good to go again.

All in all, this is one fantastic pen and I’m definitely hooked on Cross. If you’re holding out due to the price, it’s well worth it. WELL worth it. From insurance forms to thank you notes, Cross pens have you covered.

When Cocoa Disappoints

pumpkinspice

So, not the best photo, but I used the iphone and an app called camera+. Anywho… I saw this stuff last year at Home Goods and then again this year and since I’m all for things that contain pumpkin spice, I couldn’t resist again. BIG mistake. I can’t even say exactly what kind of flavor it is. It’s definitely chocolaty-cocoa, but I don’t know where the pumpkin spice is. There was something added to it, but not pumpkin spice. Not even pumpkin. Even when it was still in the container, before it met my hot milk, there was an off smell. The stuff is good until 2012 and when you pop the circle top off the can there is an inner foil seal that you have to break. So the stuff was “good” in that it was fresh. Wasn’t so good on the taste buds.

At least I now have a tin with a pop top like the old International Coffee tins (I think it was International Coffee). I remember we use to keep the Lite Brite pieces inside of one. Ah, memories. :)

Otrib.com Handles Facebook When You’re Gone

At 32 years old, it’s not something I think about often, but as a mom, it has crossed my mind. I’m a big time Facebook user so Otrib is something that makes sense to me.

I know quite a few people who have had loved ones pass away and their Facebook accounts are stuck in a limbo state; either because no one knows the password or no one knows how to handle it. It’s not a lovely feeling when you get a reminder to poke a loved one who is no longer alive. You also don’t get that fluffy feeling when Facebook asks you to reconnect with Aunt Mary—when she passed away 5 months ago.

As a bzzagent I got a chance to look at and learn more about Otrib.com and their Facebook app, it really is an easy way to handle what happens to your account when you’re gone. No need to worry about upsetting people or having people trying to figure out how to stop people from posting to your wall.

Sign up, supply your information, your heir information (they’re sent an email to accept/deny) and your digital wishes. It’s that easy.

And for me, with a completely computer illiterate family, this will definitely give me one less thing to worry about.