Monday Re-Cap

I know today is supposed to be Wordless Wednesday, but I have a lot to say,
so that doesn't quite work for today.  So I'll just call this 'WordFul Wednesday'.



Monday was quite the day.  Definitely a Monday to put behind me, that's for sure!  It began with an e-mail from a customer whose kitchen has been being remodeled within the past few weeks.  Honestly, it should've been completed by now since they began work on April 9th.  Her e-mail stated she was working from home and the installers still hadn't shown up to work.  This was at 9:30 am.  Last week we had an issue with the installer not showing as well.  I phoned my boss, who was in an interview with a possible new installer, and he was not happy to say the least.  He asked me to phone the installer, whom he had been trying to contact all morning with no luck.  I also could not reach him and just left a voice message.  My boss called me back after the interview to tell me that he's going to have to fire that installer; no surprise to me.  He also said his day was being re-routed because he had an emergency dental appointment in about an hour since he'd been up in pain since 3am.  I reeived another e-mail from the customer saying they wanted a new installer on their job and they were unhappy the job was taking this long.  I spoke with my boss later in the day and he told me he spoke with the customer and that the man he was in the interview with would be finishing the job starting Tuesday.  Okee-Dokey!

I pick up the kids from school and Em starts telling me about the spelling bee they had.  She was upset because she didn't make it and the word that stumped her was 'quiet' (which she knows how to spell.) She said she was nervous because everyone was staring at her, cheering her on, telling her she was going to do great, and then she slipped up on that word.  Later when the class was going out for recess, the girl who did win the bee came up to Em and said something along the lines of 'too bad you didn't win it.'  Em said 'I don't really like spelling anyway.'  (She does, but she was mad at herself and trying not to get upset.)  The girl said something else to her and then gave her a 'whatever'.  This girl a perfectionist and very in your face about it.  Em started crying in the recounting the whole story.  I felt so bad for her.  Then, we get home, she has her after school snack and then it's time to do homework.  'Lo and behold she forgot her homework folder at school.  She starts getting down on herself about how stupid she is and begins crying again.  I have her call two of her friends to get the spelling words for her alphabetical order assignment.  She has two homework passes, so she used one on the worksheet she didn't have.  After dinner she seems to be over her awful day and back to her good 'ol self. 

Fast forward after bathtime.  Kaye tells me her tooth has been bothering her all day in school.  Her right front tooth has the adult tooth in behind the baby tooth.  I've been wondering for some time when that baby tooth would start to get loose.  She hasn't lost any teeth yet.  So we go into the bathroom and I jiggle it a bit.  It doesn't seem overly loose.  I give her a piece of dental floss and show her how to jiggle the tooth around.  She's doing it for a bit and says it really hurts.  I tell her it is probably because the adult tooth is pushing against the baby tooth.  Fast forward 5 minutes later, Kaye comes towards me as I'm sitting on the love seat with my laptop (how appropriate) and says 'Mommy, it came out!  I lost my tooth!'  So we open up the tissue and the tooth is not there.  She must've flung it somewhere in the living room.  So we begin hunting for it.  For about ten minutes.  No luck.  She is upset and crying, saying the tooth fairy won't come because she lost the tooth.  She is beside herself.  I feel so bad for her.    I tell her that she can write the tooth fairy a note explaining what happened and she will probably still leave her money.  "Do you think so Mommy?" is her reply.  I tell her of course.  She is feeling a bit more optimistic about this now. 

That was my Monday.

No comments

Posted at 7:32 PM  |  by Elle

Google RSS Reader Service Ends 7/1/13

I just learned that Google will be ending its RSS Reader on July 1, 2013.

(Read more here.)

I've never really used it a lot, but I did have 50 blogs that I chose to follow through their RSS reader.

I went through them all this evening and either followed them through Bloglovin (if available) or added the blog links to a folder on my desktop to figure out what service I'm going to use to follow those blogs.

This got me thinking.  What is Google up to?

A lot of the news articles I read online boast that Google Reader is one of the most cherished readers out there.  So why close it?  Just because numbers are down?

This also gets me thinking about their Blogger service, which is where this blog is hosted.

Will they suddenly decide Blogger isn't making them enough money and then 'Poof!'

it will be gone too?

So, I started to do some research on other blog services.

  (Believe me, the last thing I want to do right now is uproot my blog to a different location!  Time is not on my side right now.)

Most say that Wordpress.com is the way to go.  Tumblr seems pretty simple, but may not have the 'blog' feel I'm looking for.  I've read some cool things about Weebly and may check them out.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  This is just me thinking out loud right now.

What are your suggestions?

I've been quite busy and haven't blogged for a few days.  I was doing quite well with daily blogging, but with all the outside work and inside Spring cleaning, places to go, people to see and so on, blogging may take a back seat for a bit.  Heck, I haven't even been reading much lately and I truly miss it.
Time to get my ducks in a row and figure some things out!
If you see me blogging intermittently, this is why.

No comments

Posted at 2:02 PM  |  by Elle

Thursday Tantrums: Bunched Socks & Photo Proofs?!?!?!

Tantrum #1

Bunched up socks!

When you take your socks off and put them in the hamper, do you bunch them up in a ball and throw 'em in the hamper?  I do not, but the rest of my family does.  The worst culprit is my husband.  I have told him about this countless times throughout our 17 years of living together.  Maybe if he EVER did the laundry he would understand the 'why' behind the anger I have for bunched up socks!

  (In case you've never done laundry and do not understand the 'big deal' behind this pet peeve of mine, it's because 1. the sock can't be properly cleaned in the washer all bunched up like that and 2. it will take forever for a bunched up sock to dry in the dryer.   And no, it will not un-bunch itself in the washer or dryer!)

Tantrum #2

Bad School Photo Proofs

School picture proofs so small and with bad pixelation  (is that a word?) that you can barely make out your child's expression on their face.  If you want me to purchase 'Spring photos' through your company, at least create a proof that I can look at online that is clear which will possibly make me WANT to buy a photo package of my children.  Geez!  

Last year was the first year the girls elementary school started this 'Spring Photo' thing.

The company that takes the school pictures in the Fall also supplies all the children in the school with a day planner that they use to write down their school assignments for the year.  This is 'free' of charge.  In exchange for these planners, the company comes back in the Spring to take photos of the students wearing more 'hip' clothes and with background props.  A less traditional school photo.  I scanned these from the order sheet because that is all I have to go on.  For Em I am ordering A & D.  For Kaye defintely, but not sure on the others.  You see, Kaye has beautiful dimples, as do I.  In these photos she is not giving her 'normal' smile.  It is so forced and fake, but yet I am purchasing 2 poses of her sister and feel guilty if I don't purchase 2 poses from hers as well.  

Tantrum #3

Messy Bedrooms 

 My daughters bedrooms to be exact.  When they clean up their rooms they just put things that don't belong together away so that it's not on their floor or in sight.  In the process they ruin books (pages bent/torn in sticker books and craft books), storage containers get ripped and ruined (as is the case with a netted laundry hamper thay was being used to store baby dolls, but Kaye put her baby diaper bag in there and it bulged so much that it tore) and then they can't 'find' things because they don't put things where they belong and get upset when they can't 'find' them.  

Tantrum #4

Too Much Stuff

Do you ever hear yourself saying that they have 'too much stuff that they don't play with'?  Then when I try to get rid of it all of a sudden they have an interest in playing with it again.

About a month ago Kaye was nagging me to get all of the Fisher Price Little People sets down form the attic.  About 6-8 months earlier I had packed up all the Little People and the sets really nicely in the attic.  I am saving them for one day when I hopefully have grandchildren.  (Do not laugh at me, my kids actually play with toys my Mom saved from my and my sisters childhoods and my kids love them.)  So I finally caved and got down the big box with all of the nicely wrapped items.  Kaye played with them for 2 days and Em actually played with them 1 day.  Now they sit in my living room in the save Rubbermaid bin they had been in for a year or two without either of them touching it.  I want to pack it all away again, but want to see if either of them even attempt to play with the Little People again.  Maybe I'm too much of a pushover.   They have a lot of toys to play with and it seems they get in a mood where they play with something for a few days and then it seems like months until they even look at that particular toy again.  I always tell them that birthdays, Christmas and Easter there will probably be less and less toys from Santa/Easter Bunny because they don't play with half of the things they already have.  I also remind them of less fortunate children and sometimes that is when they come forward with the toys they really don't want anymore.

I think I'm done with my rantings for today.  

I hope that whatever you're doing today that you can let off some steam and have a good tantrum!

No comments

Posted at 2:10 PM  |  by Elle

Book Review: The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose The Weight by Meg Galvin

The Sparkpeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight by Meg Galvin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This cookbook gives a lot of useful healthy information in between the recipes. I know there are some recipes that I would not like, but I never expect to like every single recipe in any cookbook. I would definitely recommend checking out this cookbook.

I actually own the Kindle version of this cookbook, but I borrowed it from the public library so that I could page through the physical book and write down the pages of the recipes that I would like to try.

No comments

Posted at 12:00 AM  |  by Elle

WordLess Wednesday #4

(P.S.  This dog 'looks' like our dog, but this is not him and this is not our door.

Our dog did, however eat through our basement door when he was a year old.  

Not quite as bad as this, but bad enough.)

Here's a video to make you smile on this dreary PA Wednesday.

Hope it's a beautiful day wherever you live!

No comments

Posted at 9:35 AM  |  by Elle

Boston Marathon Tragedy

I had a different blog topic planned for today.  I wish I could be writing about printers, mail-merging and office software instead of the tragedy that occurred in Boston yesterday.  But I can't brush this aside.

I am not a runner.  I will never be a runner.  I am acquaintances with a handful of people that are enthusiastic runners and thoroughly enjoy this sport.  If I had a family member that was involved in this sport I would support them and be out at their races cheering them on.  What happened yesterday can happen anywhere.

It's disappointing that our world is becoming a place to be more and more fearful of.

A friend of Martin's mother shared a photo on Facebook of the 8 year old boy who was killed while waiting for his father at the finish line yesterday.  The caption of the photo read:

"This is Martin, 8. He died in the Boston bombing yesterday. He was at the finish line with his family, waiting for his dad to cross. His mother and little sister were catastrophically injured. He was the student of our dear friend, Rachel Moo. His message resonates powerfully today. My prayer is that we all live by Martin's words, paying tribute to his too-brief, but immeasurably valuable life by following his example. "

This child was at a marathon supporting his father.  It was supposed to be a happy moment, and instead this boy lost his life, along with two others, 17 others in critical condition, and 176 casualties.

(See this ABC News Report for more information.)

Before I started typing out this blog, I did not know that "Richard’s mother, Denise, suffered a brain injury in the blast, and his 6-year-old sister reportedly lost a leg. William Richard, the father, told a local official that his daughter would have died if not for the heroic efforts of first-responders."

I'm distraught by the violence that is becoming all too common in our world.  

Senseless acts of violence.

This is an interview of  the Richards family's neighbor.  

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Please see more on this story here.

This is a short blog post from a mother who is a runner.

Her post describes what its like to be a runner and how yesterday's tragedy has affected her.
Please read Running Strong.

A friend I graduated high school with posted this on his Facebook Timeline: 

"Kind of an eye-opener...scroll down to the link for recent years and look at how Boston's tragedy yesterday is an almost daily occurrence in some parts of the world. Innocent citizens...children...mowed down by terrorist groups and unstable people. Nearly. Every. Single. Day.

Before I get the hate, understand I'm not minimizing what happened in Boston at all. I'm "maximizing" the suffering experienced by people outside of the US and hoping more Americans realize that we ain't special, this is not somehow worse or more devastating just because it happens somewhere with a Zip Code. This is a global reality and we've been...as a country...very fortunate to not have this happen within our confines as much as it could.

Look at images of these other attacks. The only differences are skin color and clothing. The pain, disbelief and loss are just the same.     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents "

             I agree with him in that there are many other atrocious instances happening in our world. 

I don't like that any of these senseless acts of violence occurs anywhere.  I feel for any human being that has to live in fear.  I want world peace as much as the next person..  How do we do this?  It's been 

 'the' question for countless generations.  How?  I believe it must begin with one person at a time and within that, we as United States citizens, should be able to live as an example to others.  The U.S.A. is obviously not getting better with all of the tragedies of the past decade.  I do not need to list them all, but just to name a few: 9/11, Columbine and most recently the Newtown, CT murders.  

Here is an article interviewing a man who ran the Boston Marathon yesterday who is from Newtown, CT.

"“It’s very sad. This is one of the most popular marathons in the world and now they’re talking on the news here about whether they will have it again next year,” he told Patch. "This has been ongoing for 117 years, and they are wondering whether this will put an end to it." 

Back to my high school friend's post.  He's getting some slack on it from one of his friends.  Basically the friend is saying that human nature is that we feel more connected to a tragedy that happens closer to home, than one that say happens overseas.  That does not make it less of a tragedy, but due to proximity you'd feel more loss, sadness, and disbelief for the the incident that is closer to home.  Also, the news spotlights more local and regional incidents than it does worldwide.  That's not to say that you can't watch a world news report, but you know as well as I do that they don't cover everything that is going on.  Media outlets 'choose' a lot of what they're going to report on.

Feel free to comment on this post below with your thoughts on this topic, as it is a lengthy one.

I'd like to leave you today with a few good thoughts:

"As runners are stopped....the GOOD of Boston shows up"

No comments

Posted at 2:53 PM  |  by Elle

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

For the 2nd night in a row the dog woke me up in the middle of the night to go out to do his business.  Last night however, I had an extremely difficult time getting back to sleep.  I usually have an air cleaner running in the Spring while I sleep but Jay asked me not to run it last night because it was making him stuffy.  I went down to our basement around 5:30am because I still wasn't falling back to sleep after about an  hour and half.  At 8am Kaye comes down and says that Em and her want to go to Sunday school.  They get dressed, have breakfast and Jay takes them to the church.

 Jay asks me to cull the coupon box because he needs to make a run to the grocery store today.  I do that as I eat my breakfast.  I then realize that although Em now has shorts and shirts, she still needs new sandals and sneakers because she is growing like a weed.  I decide that when I pick them up from Sunday School we will head over to Kmart (which is close to our church) so we can check if they've gotten any new styles in since before Easter (which was when we were there last to get shoes to match her dress.)  It took my girls about an hour of trying on shoes, but Em got a pair of sneakers and Kaye a pair of sandals.  Em also got some small earrings because she got her ears pierced 4 weeks ago and tomorrow is the day she can take her earrings out.  She's very excited about this.

We get home, eat lunch and then I start to think we'll head out to a few more stores in search of shoes.  Then I start to feel extremely exhausted.  I decide we are not going anywhere else today.  The rest of the day is going to be a lazy Sunday.  Jay isn't feeling well, I'm exhausted and sometimes you just need to take a day to just be.  Today is that day.

I'm planning on checking out blogs from the UBP13 Linky list and doing some organization on my computer.
I'd also like to start reading again.  I've been in a slump lately and miss picking up a book to take nme away to someplace else.  Tonight there's a special on National Geographic channel called The 80's:  The Decade That Made Us.  It's a 6-part miniseries event narrated by Rob Lowe and begins at 8pm EST.  If you grew up in the 80s like I did, this miniseries will be a nice walk down memory lane for you and your kids will probably get more than one chuckle out of watching it!  Here's a little sneak peak:
http:/channel/the-80s-the-decade-that-made-us/videos/the-80s-the-decade-that-made-us-trailer/embed/
                             
                                                           Enjoy the rest of your day!

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/6217819/?claim=2x4b8vgfw88">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

No comments

Posted at 2:40 PM  |  by Elle

Disappointment

Wow am I tired today.  Did some laundry, put a lot of laundry away, vacuumed, cleaned off my dresser, went to Goodwill and and bought Em some shorts, shirts and a Spring jacket.  Then we went over to WalMart and bought her some shorts and shirts.  Kaye was at a gymnastics birthday party while we did all this.  I tried on some shorts at Goodwill and was just plain disgusted.  Not with the shorts, but with myself for how much weight I've gained.  I gotta get my act together.  

The thing is I had a difficult enough time trying to fit in my fitness time before I started my new work-at-home job.  Now I need to figure out the when and how of it in between everything else I have to do.  In hindsight I should've lost all this weight by now, not gained it all back.  I'm the heaviest I've been in my life, except for when I was pregnant.  It always hits me most when I try clothes on in the store or try clothes on when switching clothes in and out for the season.  I'm miffed  that a lot of my Spring pants just don't fit.  Just angry with myself for quitting on me.

Last April I posted a blog entry about SparkPeople.  Please take a look back at it here because there is a lot of great information in that post about the SparkPeople site.   I need to get back into 'sparking' and challenge myself with a 10 minute a day workout plan.  Start small and work up to more time because I am so out of shape.  Finding new meal plans, recipes and snack ideas is also a priority.  Like everything else in my life I need to make the time.  Hopefully I will find the time, energy and willpower to move forward and get fit and healthy once and for all.  This has been the struggle of my life and I want to end the struggle.

I hope your weekend is less depressing than how mine has been going. 

 Enjoy the rest of it folks! 

No comments

Posted at 7:42 PM  |  by Elle

Weekend Plans Anyone?

It's Day #8 of the Ultimate Blog Party 2013!

The FINAL Day Already!

Here's a Toast to all of my new followers & friends!

If you're visiting from the party, please visit here

so I can properly welcome you to my blog~Thanks!

It's Friday and it has been a long week.

Kaye has a birthday party from 5-7pm this evening and a gymnastic birthday party Saturday afternoon from 3-4:30pm.  I'm planning on taking Em to the store to buy some shorts and Spring shirts while she is at the gymnastics party because she has outgrown all of her 10-12 shorts and shirts.  She also needs a few pairs of Spring shoes, which we had a difficult time with when we went looking for sandals to match her Easter dress.  She has a narrow foot and a lot of the sandal straps do not lay flat against her foot.  

Jay has a seminar he's attending all day Saturday, so not a lot of together time this weekend.

I have a measurable amount of housework to catch up on, so I'm hoping to make a dent this weekend.  

So what are your plans this weekend?

I hope you have a great one and maybe even fit in some

 blog party hopping, even though the party is ending.

No comments

Posted at 12:00 AM  |  by Elle

Thursday Tantrums

It's Day #7 of the Ultimate Blog Party 2013!

If you're visiting from the party, please visit here

so I can properly welcome you to my blog~Thanks!

Tantrums are normally associated with toddlers

 but I believe adults need to to have a time and place to vent as well. 

 Thursday Tantrums will be that time and place for me.

       Tantrum #1

The Ultimate Blog Party is almost over and I've barely visited any of the

 blogs, Twitter accounts or Facebook & Pinterest pages.

Time has not been on my side with beginning my new work-at-home job

and trying to juggle all my normal Mom duties.  I'm hoping to the Linky

lists stay up on the 5 Minutes For Mom site so I can make some time to 

find some new friends.

Tantrum #2

My 6 year old has been more high-energy than usual.  I'm not sure if

it's Spring fever or what, but she's just been so annoying to everyone in our family.

Last night she had a time out in her bedroom  and all I heard was

 "if you let me out of my room I promise I'll listen to you."

My response was "you haven't been listening to me since I picked you up from school and that was three and a half hours ago.  So no, you're going to spend some time in your room."

I took a shower and when I get out Jay had let her out of her room. 

We start watching American Idol and Em says she has a headache. 

She is almost at the point of crying, so I give her some medicine and put her to bed.

Tantrum #3

The yellow tulips I bought myself for Easter, that I didn't even get to plant, 

are losing their leaves due to the hot, humid weather we've had over the past few days.

And this unseasonable weather change has me miffed because Em doesn't have more

than three pairs of shorts and I haven't even got most of my Spring clothes out yet.

I could go on and on but three tantrums for my first Thursday tantrums is enough.

No comments

Posted at 12:00 AM  |  by Elle

WordLess Wednesday #3 ~ Basement Desk

It's Day #6 of the Ultimate Blog Party 2013!

If you're visiting from the party, please visit here

so I can properly welcome you to my blog~Thanks!

And some music for you on this WordLess Wednesday...

Michael Bublé - "To Love Somebody"

No comments

Posted at 2:02 PM  |  by Elle

Headache Of A Day :-(

It's Day #5 of The Ultimate Blog Party 2013!

If you're visiting from the party please visit here

so I can properly welcome you to my blog~Thanks!

Now for today's blog post....

Wow, was yesterday was busy!  We had no milk in the house so Kaye and I had to run to the food store in the morning and of course pick up a few more things other than milk.

Came back, boss called and told him I'd be at his house for training after I dropped

Kaye off at Kindergarten.  Then I spent two hours with him going over sales leads, 

watching him call to make appointments, talking about the customer care letters

we'll be sending out and so on.  Before I knew it, it was time to pick up the girls from school!  It was a beautiful day, so Kaye went in the backyard immediately after school and Em followed when her homework was completed.  I had to dig out the bags of Spring/Summer

clothes because the temperature is supposed to reach 80 bytomorrow!  It's crazy, 

because the temps have been super cool and windy and we all know that this gorgeous weather will be short-lived her in Northeastern PA.

Then after dinner Em had her final Girl Scout meeting for the year and earned her 5 year membership pin.  During the entire day I had this enormous headache that would not go away.

 I think it may be from the sudden change in the barometric pressure, allergies or both. 

 All I know is it makes me feel miserable and its hard to concentrate on all the things that are going on!

I attended the UBP13 Twitter Party Monday evening, but didn't win any prizes.

Congrats to all of you who did though! 

 I hope to look over all of the tweets from party-goers and get some ideas and tips for my blog.  

Tonight is the Google+ Party.  If you still haven't RSVP'd for that, you can do so here.

Hope to make some more new friends from the party tomorrow!

No comments

Posted at 12:00 AM  |  by Lisa E.

One Tiring Weekend!

It's Day #3 of the Ultimate Blog Party 2013! 

If you are visiting from the party please visit here

so I can properly welcome you to my blog~Thanks~

Now for today's post....

I worked with my boss this weekend at a local trade show for homeowners.

The arena was filled with home remodelers and any other business related to home improvements.

I worked 6pm-10pm Friday, 5:30-9pm Saturday and 12:45-5pm Sunday.

 Most of that time I was on my feet trying to draw in prospective homeowners looking to remodel their kitchens, bathrooms or other remodeling jobs.

 I felt a little 'green' as I couldn't always answer everyone's questions, but most of the time my boss was there to help answer questions that I couldn't. 

 We probably landed around 70 sales leads this weekend.  

This will give me a lot of at home work, as I will be the one contacting the prospective customers to set up appointments so my boss can go to their home to see what kind of work they would like to have done and work up estimates for them.  

Saturday evening my husband stopped out with the kids and Kaye felt like it was trick-or-treat with all of the businesses that had bowls of candy, pinwheels, pens and other trinkets to give away.

Em wasn't feeling too well due to her allergies, so they didn't stay for too long.  Today Jay took the girls to the park and when I got home they looked liked they had a great day of play outdoors due to how dirty they were!  Kaye was a bit cranky, but I think shes still a bit miffed that I was away for most of the weekend.  These trade shows are three times a year, three days at a time, so it's not bad at all, but I am glad it is over because it gets a bit monotonous. 

 If I hadn't been at the trade show I probably would've done some outside work, more laundry and played outdoors with the kids.  I also would've checked out blogs on the UBP, but now I will have to make my rounds during the week.  Looking forward to meeting new friends this week and hope to see more of you on my blog soon!

No comments

Posted at 8:48 PM  |  by Lisa E.

A New Cellphone For Me

Day #2 of the Ultimate Blog Party 2013!

If you are visiting from the party, please go here

so I can properly welcome you to my blog ~Thanks!

Now, for today's post.....

A few days ago my brother-in-law posted this article on his Facebook page and his remark was “Lets hope this catches on...”

The article basically points out how outrageous the cellphone industry is,

the rip-off plans that get you to pay more and more money and how they make it

next to impossible to get out of a contract with your carrier. T-Mobile is

breaking free of the industry standard and we can only hope the other big

cellphone companies follow.

I must tell you that I'm probably the last person on the planet who knows

about the way these plans work. You see, I received my first cellphone

as a Mother's Day gift from my husband back in 2009. I didn't really want it and felt

I didn't really need it. The reason he bought it for me was so that I could leave the house

when Em started Kindergarten that Fall. Basically, to have it in case of an emergency

while she was at school. I've seldomly used that phone over the past 5 years on a

pay-as-you-go basis. No plan. If I add money to the phone every 3 months, I keep

the money that I have added to it since the beginning. I currently have a balance of $95

and that is over a 5 year period with adding $10 (the minimum you can add) every 3 months.

Pretty cheap. I think the phone cost my husband $40.

A few months ago Boostmobile, the company my cellphone service is through, sent

me a notification that the type of phone I was using will no longer be

supported on their network. It is an IDEN phone, which you can read a little bit about here.

The phone will stop operating on June 30, 2013. So my decision had to be made.

Would I lose that $95 I have with them and switch to a different carrier, or just get

another cheap pay-as-you-go phone and continue with them.

Two days ago the answer was clear. I could get their cheapest model phone for $20

by ordering from Kmart online (pick-up-store option) and keep my balance.

So last night I set the phone up and am really happy with it. It has a built-in camera,

which my other phone did not have, but that really wasn't something I needed; kind of

a perk for me. It's smaller than my other phone and is just a nicer phone all around.

Basic is all I want and need. Not to mention keeping it inexpensive as well.

I've been a SAHM since 2002 and really only use my cellphone when I am shopping

and need to ask someone a question or in an emergency situation. I don't need a

phone to check Facebook, play games, text message, etc. I'm home for a good part

of my day, so I can just get on my laptop for that.

So all of you out there with state-of-the-art phones, please don't laugh at me for sharing

pictures of my old and new phones.  

So all of you out there with state-of-the-art phones, please don't laugh at me for sharing

pictures of my old and new phones.  

This is my old phone that I will be mailing to BoostMobile so they can properly recycle it.

Here is my new phone, the Samsung Factor.


Almost everyone I know has a super-dee-duper phone. My husband has one only because it is paid completely by his employer. My husband was talking with my boss about cell costs and he told him that he spends $3,000 a year for his family's cell services. What!?!?!?! For my boss, yes, he needs a cellphone because he is running a business and goes from job-site to job-site, appointment to appointment.  His wife works at a desk in a bank and he has a teenager and a pre-teen.  My daughters are in for a rude awakening if they think they are going to have the latest cell-phone when they get to middle school!  Most likely if they do get one, it will be quite similar, if not the same service I have and they will

be instructed to use it wisely or else it will be taken away.  For Em, I'm thinking
maybe another year or two she may need one if she stays after school for activities
and what not.  I just want her to have a way to get in touch with me when I need
to pick her up from school and things of that nature.  Not for social use.  In my
opinion she can use her laptop that she got as a birthday gift two years ago for that.
(Truth be told, she doesn't use it all that much!)

So there's my take on cellphones.

  Not the most popular opinion I'm sure in this very social online world.

I guess I'm old school when it comes to leaving the house and having someone

leave a message on my home phone while I'm out.  

And yes,  I do know a lot of people don't have

land lines anymore because their cellphone is their main phone line.

  Personally I don't want to always be tracked everywhere I go.

If it is really important, okay.  Call my cell.

  If it can wait, leave a message at the beep....

No comments

Posted at 12:00 AM  |  by Lisa E.

Welcome 2013 UBP Visitors!

  visitors from the 2013 Ultimate Blog Party!

This is my 3^rd year participating in this fun-filled party and

I can't wait to visit blogs and meet new friends!

If you are a current reader of my blog and wondering what this 'blog party' is about please take a look at this nicely constructed video from our host, 5 Minutes For Mom.

My name is Elle and I am the voice behind 'All Around The Circle'.

The name of my blog came about because that is how I felt most days; like I'm in one of those hamster wheels doing the same things day after day.  Sometimes it's a drag, other times not as much.

My family consists of my husband 'Jay', whom I met in September 1995 and married in September 1998. In March 2000 we bought our first home and then adopted a German Shepherd/Beagle mix who we renamed Sandler. In December 2002, we welcomed our first daughter 'Em' and in October 2006 welcomed our second daughter 'Kaye'.

Life is ever-changing and this year that is true more than ever.

At the end of February 2013, my husband Jay nonchalantly mentioned to the man who remodeled our kitchen two years ago, that I could 'help him out' with his business. At the time he was coming from a trade show and was inundated with sales leads, had a lot of sales appointments to meet with and was feeling a bit overwhelmed. For the past month I've been training with him to learn about the suppliers he uses, ordering techniques and preparing for this weekend's upcoming Spring Home Show.

It's sort of bittersweet stepping back into the business world after being in my 'at home' world for the past 12 years, but I think I am ready for it. I will be working from home, so that will be a bit challenging during the summer with my daughters off from school,

but next school year Kaye will be in 1^st grade, so no more ½ day Kindergarten days to deal with (½ day afternoon Kindergarten leaves me with very little time to do much nowadays!)

Over the past year my blog has mostly been reviews of the books I have been reading.I've been trying to read a lot of the books that I've purchased from used books sales that have been sitting on my TBR (to-be-read) bookshelves for too long now. I've also been

putting my books on Paperbackswap so that I can use the credits to buy books for my daughters book interests. For now Em and I are the big readers, while Kaye is just beginning to read (exciting!) and Jay continues to be just a newspaper/magazine reader.

Some other things I can tell you about my family:

• Both Em and Kaye are Girl Scouts. Em is a Junior and Kaye is a Daisy
• Em just started playing violin this year and she is doing very well with it
• Both my daughters sing in our church choir
• My husband is an electrician
• I have an Associate's Degree in Travel & Tourism and worked as a Youth Counselor on board a cruise ship in the early 1990's

  
  
  

  Now that you know a bit about me, I hope you will follow my blog by clicking on the Google Connect or Networked Blogs logos on the right hand side of the page.  You can also subscribe through your favorite RSS reader.  Please feel free to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and my CraftWithKids Facebook Group.  All of those icons and links are found in the right hand column of my blog as well.

  
  

  Feel free to grab one of my blog buttons by clicking on the

  Blog Button Exchange Tab at the top of the page.

  
  

  Enjoy the blog party everyone!

  

   

6 comments

Posted at 12:00 AM  |  by Lisa E.