Exceedingly Mundane

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Archive for January, 2009

Jan
15
Posted by Stace

Inventory

Do any of you keep an inventory of certain items in your home? Do you have some type of inventory system, or a video recording, of your possessions in case of theft or fire? We did this years ago, but really need to update it.

I also want to do an updated inventory of some of the things we own, like books, movies and games. Years ago, I downloaded a free movie inventory system, since we had started buying quite a few VHS and then DVD movies. When I got my laptop a couple of years ago with Vista on it, I never could get that old program to run on it. So, me being the procrastinator that I am, I never got it updated and never got it running on my new computer. I decided this week that I would work on rectifying that. I found a free program online to download, and I downloaded it last night to my laptop. I don’t know if I will like it or if it will work for us, but so far it looks pretty good. It can keep track of books, movies, games and cd’s. I am keeping an inventory of the books we own at GoodReads.com, but I am going to try to get this program updated with our movies and games (since we got the Wii last year, we’ve bought a few games). It’s that time of year, you know. I always get a bit of the organizing, cleaning up, throwing out, decluttering vibe going this time of year, in January 😀

How about you? Do you have a listing of any of these at your house? Whether in a Quicken inventory type system, on a video recording for insurance purposes, or just a list in Word or Excel? Or are you not like us, and you don’t have a lot of books, movies, games, and music CD’s peeking out of every corner of your house?! Leave me a comment and let me know. I’ll be busy entering books, movies and games into my new inventory system 🙄

Have a great day 🙂

Jan
13
Posted by Stace

Beau Video Fest

I gave Tim a new gadget this year for Christmas – a Flip video camera. It’s very small, and it was really sort of a selfish gift – I think I’m going to use it as much as Tim! Tim is always wanting me to tape his golf swing. He analyzes it on the computer, and then works on his swing with various clubs. I have an older Kodak camera that takes MPEG’s and we have a very old handheld camcorder, that uses Hi8 tape (so of course, he can’t use that with the computer). I got him the Flip Video because it is really small, and it has a nice little pop-out USB connector on it (which plugs right into the computer, or we can use the cables to hook it up to the plasma tv and watch the videos on the big screen). However, as I said, it was sort of a selfish gift. I thought I *might* use it sometimes to take videos of Beau. And of course, at family get-togethers and birthday parties and such. So, really, it was sort of a gift for both of us. 🙄

Guess what I have more videos of than anything? Yep, you guessed it – Beau. I only uploaded a couple, and I’m hoping they work. I have steadfastly refused to setup an account at YouTube so far, but I may have to do that soon. I’m trying to get these to work from Google Video. Please let me know if you have any trouble viewing these videos. If you even want to look at them. After all, he’s just a dog. He’s our furry child, but he is just a dog. 🙂

These are a LOT more pixelated and blurry looking online than they are on my computer. Oh well, you get the general idea. First, here’s Beau playing in the leaves a few days after Christmas. I uploaded it but forgot to post it!

Beau playing on his old bed, rolling around like a crazy dog. He does this a lot! (Note: Longest Video)

Beau playing with his new new Wubba (and Tim!) – he uses all his paws. Only fair!

P.S. My blog buddy, Desert Songbird, requested new photos of Beau, so I thought I’d try this. I can post photos of him too though. I still take tons of photos of him. Poor thing. He’s getting old. I found the first couple of grey hairs on his muzzle the other day. I nearly cried. I don’t want my puppy dog to grow up and grow old 🙁

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Jan
10
Posted by Stace

Books, E-Readers and a QOTD

I know a lot of bloggers aren’t avid readers, but I am one of those who is. I read a lot more since Tim took up golf, LOL! I ended up reading 88 books last year (get it, 88 in 08?!), and will once again shoot for 75 or more this year. 2007 was my highest year ever, when I read 104 books. I’m not sure I’ll top 100 ever again, but it was nice to do it that time.

Anyway, I’ve read a whopping one book so far this year. 😀 We are staying pretty busy and I haven’t had much time to read. We have gotten some new games for the Wii lately, plus it’s hunting and football season (Tim’s other hobbies besides golf). Maybe once the Super Bowl is over, I’ll have a little more time to read.

I was in Sam’s Club last weekend, stocking up on a few things, and I went to check out the books. Being an avid reader, I look at the book section in any store I go to (Walmart, Target, Sam’s and of course bookstores). I was really surprised to see that Sam’s is now selling the Sony E-reader. I was also surprised at its size. Not only is it smaller than I thought, but that thing is thin. I think the product info said it is 1/3 of an inch thick. I held my iPhone up to it and it is bigger than that, but it’s still a very manageable size. I guess seeing these things in person, as opposed to online, really makes a difference. I’ve heard so much about Amazon’s Kindle but I have never seen one in person. I have been thinking off and on, for a while now, about whether I would like one of these one day or not.

I’ve had a blog post brewing in my head for months, about the pros and cons of printed books versus electronic books. About the way things will go in the future and if these things will even be around in 10 years. Or if the way of the printed book is going to some day be like trying to find a coin-operated pay phone.

I, for one, am not sure that I’ll ever be able to transition from printed books to a digital reader. I think I like holding a book in my hand and turning the page. But I do know this, I think I could convert to a digital reader a whole lot quicker than audiobooks. I’ve tried those, and they just don’t work for me. Hearing someone else read to me just doesn’t work for me, I like to read myself and “hear” my own voice in my head. If that makes any sense at all. However, I must admit, after seeing this e-reader in person, it makes me think that on some level I might really like it. I certainly love all of the other electronic gadgets in my life and have adapted to them quite well. One of the biggest drawbacks for me, I think, is not being able to get books free from the library, but having to always pay for them. If my library ever starts offering free downloads to a digital reader, that might really propel me into getting one.

OK, so, if you’re a reader, or even if you’re not, I’d love to hear what you think. Today’s Question of the Day is – do you have a Sony Digital Reader or an Amazon Kindle, and if not, do you think you might ever get one? Do you think digital books will be the way in the future, or do you think printed books, bookstores, libraries and the like are here to stay for our foreseeable lifetime?

Leave me a comment and let me know! Happy Reading!

Jan
07
Posted by Stace

Railroad Crossing

On my way to the grocery store today (you remember me, I’m the weirdo who actually loves to go grocery shopping!), I had to cross the railroad tracks. I always, always, slow down and look both ways before I go over these tracks. It’s in a fairly high traffic area, and I’ve always noticed that most people don’t stop. There are bars that come down and bells that ring when the bars lower, but I never like to trust my safety to that mechanism. So, I slow down and look. I think there’s probably 15 or 20 trains that come flying through here on a daily basis.

I actually had the person behind me blow at me today! I guess they were in a big hurry, and I, of course, was not. I looked in my rearview mirror and the guy had thrown up his hands, I guess to say, hurry up lady, you’re slowing me down. I got a little aggravated. I mean, after all, isn’t it the law to slow down at railroad crossings? I know I see school buses do it. I always do it. But apparently most people do not.

I have tons of pet peeves about driving and other drivers (tailgating, people texting or talking on their cell phone, women applying makeup while driving, people pulling out slowly and making me slam on my brakes, etc. The list goes on and on!) Normally this is not one of them, railroad crossings, but today it got on my nerves. Or at least that other driver got on my nerves with his reaction.

So, let me know if you fly over railroad crossings, trusting that the bars and bells will come down to stop you if a train is coming. Or let me know if you’re like me and slow down before you go over them. I guess I really am turning out to be a little ole grandma kind of driver!

Jan
05
Posted by Stace

Another year, Another jigsaw puzzle

I really like doing jigsaw puzzles around the holidays. They’re cheap, they’re fun, and they are really good for someone like my darling husband (who is very driven, and likes to work on things until they are completed. In other words, type A) 🙂

Here’s the one we did this year. It’s a 1000 piece puzzle, and I must admit that Tim did way more than half of it. It took us a little longer than normal to finish, since we were gone a couple of days over the long holiday weekend. It felt like a big achievement when we finally put in the last piece yesterday!

Isnt it pretty?!

Isn't it pretty?!

So, how about you? Do you enjoy puzzles of any kind? Jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, Sudoku, or any other kind of puzzle game? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Jan
04
Posted by Stace

Chick-Lit Challenge 2009


I’ve decided to join the reading challenge at The Twiga Blog, the 2009 Chick Lit Challenge. The rules are:

Back by popular demand, the 2009 Chick Lit Challenge has been expanded for the whole year! From January 1 through December 31, 2009, read at least 10 chick lit books. Books can overlap with other challenges and you can change your list at any time.

Debi (aka Twiga) has set up another installment of her popular reading challenge. I didn’t participate in 2008, but I wish I had! I read a lot of chick-lit in 08, and I’m having a hard time finding books left to read for the challenge this year, LOL! Mostly because I’m trying to read books I already own before buying more or going to the library. However, I don’t have enough chick-lit books here in my TBR pile to complete this challenge, so I’ll have to do one of those to finish the list at some point.

Here’s what I have so far:

1. The Potluck Club by Linda Evans Shepherd & Eva Marie Everson – read June 09

2. The Potluck Club Trouble’s Brewing – read June 09

3. The Potluck Club Takes the Cake – read July 09

4. She’s All That (Spa girls 1) by Kristin Billerbeck- read February 09

5. A Girl’s Best Friend (Spa Girls 2) by Kristin Billerbeck- read March 09

6. Calm, Cool & Adjusted (Spa Girls 3) by Kristin Billerbeck- read March 09

7. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner- read April 09

8. Crazy for You by Jennifer Crusie

9. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (not sure if this is chick-lit???) // Changed to:
9. The Convenient Groom by Denise Hunter – read July 09

10. Happily Ever After by Susan May Warren – read January 09

Thanks to Debi for sponsoring this challenge and I’m looking forward to reading lots of chick-lit this year! 🙂

I participated in the first “What’s in a Name” challenge last year and had a great time picking and reading the books. So, it was a no-brainer that I would join again!

Annie is hosting again this year, at a new blog place (here). The rules are as follows:

*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a “profession” in its title. Examples might include: The Book Thief, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Historian

2. A book with a “time of day” in its title. Examples might include: Twilight, Four Past Midnight, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

3. A book with a “relative” in its title. Examples might include: Eight Cousins, My Father’s Dragon, The Daughter of Time

4. A book with a “body part” in its title. Examples might include: The Bluest Eye, Bag of Bones, The Heart of Darkness

5. A book with a “building” in its title. Examples might include: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Little House on the Prairie, The Looming Tower

6. A book with a “medical condition” in its title. Examples might include: Insomnia, Coma, The Plague

*You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don’t use the same book for more than one category.

I am struggling a bit with books in one of the categories. I’ve already tentatively chosen the following books for my picks, but I might substitute one or two along the way if I come across a book that looks better 🙂

My choices:

1. A book with a “Profession” in the title – The Broker by John Grisham — Read in February 09.

2. A book with a “Time of Day” in the title – Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy or Four Seasons by Mary Alice Monroe — Read “Nights of Rain and Stars” in January 09.

3. A book with a “Relative” in the title – The Preachers Daughter by Beverly Lewis

4. A book with a “Body Part” in the title – The Amethyst Heart by Penelope Stokes — Read November 09

5. A book with a “Building” in the title – A Painted House by John Grisham — Read March 09.

6. A book with a “Medical Condition” in the title – Survivors Club by Lisa Gardner or Life Support by Tess Gerritsen — Read “Life Support” in January 09.

Thanks to Annie for hosting again this year. Happy Reading!

Jan
01
Posted by Stace

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a great New Years Eve celebrating, and hopefully it was a safe one. We stay home on New Years Eve. I don’t like to be out with the crazies 🙂 I grew up working a jigsaw puzzle with my sister Suzanne during the holidays, and have carried that tradition over to me and Tim. We pull out a jigsaw puzzle on New Years Eve (or sometimes the day before, but this year, it was NY Eve evening before we opened it) and then work on it until it’s complete. This year it’s a 1000 piece so it will take a few days.

I haven’t had much blogging mojo lately with the holidays. I hope that disappears soon. I realized a few days ago that I’m coming up on my four year blogging anniversary. I really and truly often feel that I have run out of things to say! 😀 Hopefully I can think of something soon to blog about 🙂

I hope to be back after the long NY holiday weekend and talk books a little. I completed 88 books in 08. Love the alliteration! I am contemplating joining two reading challenges for 09, but I have to check to see if I can even still sign up now. I had it all in the back of my head, but with the holidays, I haven’t done a thing about signing up, or picking books.

Hope you’re all having a great holiday and are off to a fantastic start to 2009! Take care and have a great holiday weekend!

P.S. If you’re not seeing the new blue theme, with a snowy cabin at the top, please look on the top right side of my blog. There’s two “skins” to this theme, and the summer one is green. Click on the winter one to see what I wished it looked like here! 🙂