So now that I have had my new MacBook for a little while, I thought I would be a little creative and make a calendar in iPhoto. I wasn't sure how difficult this would be or how long it would take to get to me so seeming it would be for a Christmas present I thought I would give myself lots of time.

To my amazement, it was quite easy to do. The hardest part was deciding what photos to use. However, after deciding what format I wanted to use putting it together was quite easy. It also is only supposed to take 5 or 6 business days to get to me.

The prices were quite reasonable as well, even though they are in US dollars.

I am really excited to see how it turned out and if it actually is as hassle free as it appears.

This could be the beginning of a wonderful friendship .......

Last night I was able to figure out, with some help from the internet, (google is great, isn't it?) how to copy pictures from websites. You use the option+click and it brings up a menu kinda like a right click on a PC. So today I have been having fun getting pictures of NASCAR drivers and their cars for my screensaver.

Also, as per halfabee's post, ITunes is now up and running so I was able to purchase some songs that I have wanted to get but was waiting until I got everything set up on my Mac.


YIPEE!!!!!

Today being a Mac was a little frustrating. I was trying to get some pictures from websites and I couldn't figure out how to them. Normally with a PC I would right click on the picture and then save. That doesn't work for a Mac. I was able to get my friend (who owns a Dell laptop) to save them on her system and then e-mail them to me.

However, I then had a tough time getting the pictures downloaded from the e-mails and into IPhoto. I am sure that some of the difficulty is because I am not the most computer savy person out there. Some of the issue also was that whenever I looked into the OS X book or went into help the instructions were given for uploading pictures from a camera or dvd, memory stick, etc... I was never able to see how to do it from a download.

I was able to muddle around and finally figure out how to get them into IPhoto and then even into the correct album.

I now have my screensaver set up using my IPhoto pictures. I'm sure there is probably a shorter way to do it then I did but at the end of the day I now have some pictures in IPhoto, I have most everything set up for ITunes so slowly I am settling in.

Yesterday I became a first time Mac user when I got my MacBook. I have wanted a Mac for a long time. I think in the beginning it was because I wanted to have something different than a PC. However, because I am not an expert computer person, and halfabee is, I always deferred to him when it came to replacing our computers and he had always chose a PC.

For the last year or so, I have been hinting (strongly) that I wanted a laptop. We have always gotten desktop computers but since I got my digital camera and my IPod I have also been suggesting that in addition to getting a new laptop, it should be a Mac. After going back and forth on what laptop to get, halfabee totally surprised me when he said he was tired of dealing with Windows and Microsoft and that he would get us (really me) a MacBook. This decision was made in the spring but then halfabee said that we should wait until the new generation MacBook came out to buy. I asked when that would be and he said that he did not know for sure but that it would probably be around the beginning of August. I thought I could wait till then so I agreed. August came and went then September did the same. halfabee then told me that there was going to be an announcement on my birthday and that it should be regarding the new MacBook.

On the morning of my birthday (Tuesday, October 14) I had to volunteer at my son, Christopher's school and so when I got back I called halfabee right away at work to see what was announced. It was my lucky day, the new MacBook was announced and it was said that it would be available to the stores the next day. When we called the Apple Stores here in Toronto they said they did not know when they would be getting the MacBook in so Eric decided to order it online. It was then going to take up to a week for it to get delivered. I then had to sit and wait. On Thursday I got an e-mail from Apple saying that my MacBook was shipped and they included a link to the FedEx website. What a shock we got when we went to check the status to see that it was being shipped from Shanghai, China. By Friday night it had gotten to Anchorage, Alaska. When we got up Saturday Morning we discovered that over night it had travelled to Newark, New Jersey and then to Mississauga. It then sat in Mississauga for the whole weekend as it was awaiting customs clearance. By Monday morning it had travelled to Scarborough and then went on the truck. I was so excited but I was also a little worried. You see, usually I don't have anything planned on Monday mornings but I had a dentist appointment at 11:00. I was worried that it would get delivered while I was gone. I decided to call my next door neighbour and see if it was okay to leave a note while I was gone to have it dropped off there. She said that was fine, so I left my note and headed off to my appointment. When I got back home my computer still hadn't arrived so I watched some tv and kept an ear open for the sounds of the FedEx truck. At about 2:00 p.m. it arrived. I was so excited and took it out of the box immediately. I couldn't wait for halfabee to get home to help me set it up so I think I must have called him at work 20 times for help. By the time he got home from work I had managed to get a few things figured out and was able to connect to the internet. Christopher had a class at the Thornhill Community Centre so I took my MacBook along to play a little more. When I got back home halfabee was helping me get some things set up and we were playing some more.

Today I have been playing some more but I still do not have my photos or ITunes moved over from the PC. I am waiting with eager anticipation over what IPhoto will be like. I have heard good things and I hope they are at least mostly true. I am sure that ITunes will be pretty much the same as it was on the PC but I am hoping that being more mobile will mean that I can organize my photos better. My thought is that while I am vegetating in front of the tv I can be working on things like photos. Then of course, by me having my MacBook that means that I will no longer be taking over halfabee's work laptop which I am sure will make him happy.

So far I have not found the adjustment to the Mac a difficult one. There has been a little bit of an adjustment with how things are laid out and I have also noticed that there are not as many "OK" buttons. I keep thinking that my changes will not work because there is no "OK" button to press to confirm my changes, but they do. I also like how thin the MacBook is. It is half the width as halfabee's Dell. The only problem is that I was planning on using one of Eric's old laptop bags but it is way too big for the MacBook. So my next adventure is to go out and get a laptop bag. I want to keep it small and light but it seems, from the brief look I made online last night that small laptop bags don't seem to exist. I guess I will have to try my best.

This morning I had an ortho appointment. I had impressions taken for my retainer and a slight adjustment.

My next appointment is in three and a half weeks, can you guess why???


TO GET MY BRACES OFF !!!!!!!

YIPPEE!

I am having a Pampered Chef party on Saturday and as a result, this week has been dedicated to cleaning and tiding the house.

For the most part, our house is actually clean, disorganized, yes, but not dirty (other than the dishes in the kitchen).

After nine years of living in this house, you would think that we would have systems for where things go and what to do with things that we bring home, but no, we don't. I have made a few baby steps, like having a shoe rack in the closet for our shoes so they don't pile by the door, and for the most part everyone knows the system and it works fairly well.

The family room is not spotless, but that is where Christopher has his toys and his desk. We have a section for his toys and games and they stay mostly organized. I would ultimately like to get (or make) some type of cabinet to put his stuff into, and we have looked into options, but for now, piling neatly will have to do.

My problem area right now seems to be the dining room. The table and hutch seems to be a dumping ground for everything and anything. The newspapers, magazines, school work, mail and so on...

Our dining room is not big and so even though we have a newspaper rack, its in the corner next to where I sit, but halfabee is the one who reads the papers, not I. As a result, they get left on the table. When the mail comes in, it either gets dropped on the stairs or on the table. I do get rid of any junk mail before it comes into the house.

When Christopher brings school work and art work home from school, I like to keep it out until halfabee comes home to look at it and then it goes into a stack for me to go through at the end of the year and determine what should be kept and what should be chucked. I also leave things for halfabee to look at and review at his place at the table.

Now, I know I am not perfect when it comes to keeping the house tidy. I can be downright horrible, to tell the truth, but I have found that one a system is in place that everyone understands and helps with, its a lot easier.

I have been thinking that maybe I need a table at the front door for the mail, but I am weary that it may actually be more of a hindrance than an help, and that still only addresses one of the problems for the dining room table.

I need a way that so that we can deal with things that get brought through the door that keep the dining room table for eating.

I have thought about taking the leaf out of the table. There are only three of us after all, we really don't need a table for 6 on a regular basis. That way, we will have more space, and may be able to get a better system going.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

(By the way, thank you very much halfabee for all the work you did tidying this weekend. I just wish I could find a way to be as productive)

So, I just got back from my ortho appointment and everything is looking really good.

There are a few little things they are fine tuning and if everything goes well on my next visit I can get fitted for my retainer.

YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so going to wear my bands, religously and do everything in my power to make everything go well before June 13th!

halfabee I just wanted to say a great big THANK YOU!!!!!

You did an excellent job this weekend of letting T and I do our scrapbooking, uninterrupted by Christopher.

It seems like you and Christopher had fun and I tried to intervene to make peace or give you a mini-break when it seemed to be needed.

I know that the house is a mess and that our weekend errands need to be done, and I will work on these over the next day or two. I also know that pampering will also be required by you, and will try to accommodate where possible.

Once again, Thanks a bunch!

P.S. I did put my time to good use and have almost finished my curling scrapbook and I also completed 10 pages in my family scrapbook.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! :-)

Goodbye Acclaim, it was really nice knowing ya. You have served our family well and well worth the $10,000.00 we paid for you.

I hope you enjoy the scrap yard in the sky (I am pretty certain that is where you are going).



I am really happy that we are getting a new car. However, I am a little sad that our "first" car is going to make way for the new one. I know cars don't last forever and that I may be a sentimental fool, but it is still a little sad. I guess, that is how things must be.

Now, I wonder if I can really convince Eric to let T and I borrow his new car tomorrow to run our errands? :-)

I am sure that halfabee will do a more complete post, but last night we bought our new car. Yipee!!!

Its a Toyota Corolla. We were not actually going to buy last night, we were only going to test drive. But, after a little time, we realized that there was no point in waiting.

I am happy with halfabee's final choice. The funny thing though is that way back at the very beginning of our car search, I thought that the Corolla would be the perfect choice. halfabee then did all his research, and we tried out various cars for fit and then ended up with the Corolla.

I am not saying that halfabee's research was for naught, it is the way he works through large purchases. Its just funny that at the end of the day, we still ended up choosing the same car.

On Sunday halfabee, Christopher and I went planting trees (part of the 10,000 trees) here in Markham. We did it partially because it was earth day and then partially through Beavers.

We had lots of fun and planted between 15 and 20 trees. Some were itty bitty and we had to put two or three in a hole. At the end of the day it was tough to remember exactly how many went into each hole and how many holes.

After we finished planting trees, it was lunch time so we decided to go to Licks as a treat. While we were enjoying our food, we were also getting amused by the speeders that the police were pulling over at the speed trap in front of the restaurant.

At one point halfabee looked at me with a very serious face and said "look at the car that just got pulled over, its a Yaris! Well at least we know that it is capable of speeding" and then started to giggle.

After our experience with the wimpy Fit, it made me laugh as well.

In July Christopher will be going to Newfoundland with my mom. He will be there for almost a week before halfabee or I arrive.

I know that we should put something in writing to give my mom permission to have Christopher (especially since she will be flying with him) but a friend told me that I actually have to get this done through a lawyer.

Can anyone help clear up how we are to handle this? Also, are we just giving her permission to have Christopher or should we be granting her temporary custody for that week?

I just want to make sure that his visit with his grands and great grands is fun and doesn't get all tangled up by things that could have been avoided.

Yesterday I got my "new" iPod delivered. When I first looked at it, there appeared to be wiped clean. However when halfabee came home and worked some magic, he was able to retrieve almost 17 megs of data.

Now, I know that my music taste is very eclectic but this iPod takes the cake.

halfabee actually suggested that I look up eclectic in the thesaurus because it does not adequately describe the music selection.

So far I have found Eminem, Queen, Tony Braxton, the Killers, Van Morrison, Hall & Oats, the Clash, Snoop Dog, Cinderella, G'N'R, Jimmy Buffett, Ray Charles, the Eagles, Violent Femmes, Justin Timberlake, and on and on....

I have enjoyed some of the songs that I have discovered however I think I will be weeding through a lot of noise to find a few songs I enjoy.

Hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

This morning I had an ortho appointment. Everything is going well. My bite in the front and back is perfect and all but one gap is closed up in my teeth.

However, the bite on the sides still needs to be closed up (top to bottom). As a result, I have a new elastic that is itty bitty and has to go around a different tooth configuration on either side of my mouth. These elastics are so tight that it is difficult even to open my mouth just a little.

I am trying to stay optimistic and tell myself that the more I wear them, the sooner the gap will be closed and the sooner my braces can be removed.

But, its hard to hear my brain when my mouth screaming at me!!!

Tomorrow we are going to Brampton to celebrate my step-mom's birthday. We always let Christopher pick out his own gift and this year he decided he wanted to give Nanny Viv a cake.

Today we went to the Bulk Barn to pick out which design we wanted, to rent the pan and get supplies. He decided he wanted to make Cookie Monster.

He did help, but I did most of the work. That's okay though because I think it turned out pretty well. We did have some stumbling blocks, like when it looked as if the cake would not come out of the pan, and when Cookie's head broke off.

Christopher did help with telling me when the colours were right as I was adding colouring and he also helped (actually I helped him) with the letters.

I have never done much cake decorating, even though I do have a Wilton kit with several tips and what not. I have not attempted to decorate a cake since long before Christopher was born. I always think I will do one for Christopher's birthday and then change my mind. However, after seeing how this cake turned out, I just might change my mind.


( and here's cookie )

I was in my bedroom starting to get dressed when I looked out the window and there he was, sitting by the back gate.

I ran downstairs to grab my flip flops and go get him but by the time I got to the back door, I couldn't see him anymore. So, I then got his treats and started calling his name.

As I did, he came running and sprinted in the door. He headed straight for his food dish so I guess he was not that full this morning after all.

I am not sure whether he had fun outside or not, but I hope he doesn't try that again any time soon and remains inside.

YIPEE!!!!!

I was awoken this morning by halfabee telling me I had to get up because Charlie escaped.

Now, Charlie is primarily an indoor cat with some supervised outdoor visits allowed. We he escaped before he usually could be scooped up at the bottom of the stairs or across the laneway in our neighbour's back yard.

Well, today he is gone. He probably has a full belly because he gets fed in the morning. halfabee says to just sit still (we have already searched around our block some) and he should come back home. He also told us to walk around again a little later as Charlie could end up on another door step thinking it was ours.

One time this winter when he escaped while halfabee was taking out the garbage and no one noticed, I went downstairs about an hour later and there he was meowing excessively at the front door, so I guess that is a good sign.

Unfortunately, Christopher, I think a little bit because of Daisy, thinks that Charlie may have already died. I am staying optimistic but, it is Friday morning and there are a lot of cars moving....

Today Christopher and I had a play date with a friend in Alliston. It was a lot of fun. There were approximately 20 kids ranging from 6 weeks to about 7 or 8 years and they all seemed to play together quite well.

When I was coming down the 404 however, a cop car pulled in front of me and then flicked his lights. The car in front pulled over and I just continued on my way thinking everything was okay for me. I then stopped at the lights at Woodbine and Major Mac when another cop car turned in front of me and then proceeded to follow the car in front of me.

I wasn't speeding, I wasn't breaking any rules but I all of a sudden felt very guilty. I have never had a cop flash his lights around me so I wasn't sure exactly what the protocol was but I was sure that if I had done something wrong they would let me know. It spooked me enough that I got off Major Mac and proceeded home on 16th Avenue and even then half expecting a cop car to be waiting at my front door.

I have been home for over a half hour and everything is quiet, so I guess it really really wasn't me after all.

I really hope this does not become a normal occurrence or I may just stop enjoying driving so much.

Because it was a nice day today, Christopher and I planned to go to the Zoo. We got there about 10:30 but it took us at least a half an hour to get parked. It then took us another 15 or so minutes to get through the gates. We saw some animals and tried to have lunch but the crowds were just way too much. We left about 1:30 and decided to go to Licks for lunch.

We did have a good day but I think everyone in Toronto decided that today was the day to go to the Zoo. When we came out of the main parking lot (which was overflowing with cars), I noticed that the road up to the overflow parking was crammed with cars and also both sides of Meadowvale Road from the Zoo to Old Finch.

All in total we saw only a handful of animals because after the first pavilion, I decided that there were way more people than I felt comfortable dealing with. Also, we have a pass for the Zoo so we can go back at a time when it is less crowded and actually enjoy our visit.

Christopher is now relaxing and watching Looney Tunes and I am going to crash also.