16 posts from September 2007

Show us a gadget that's on your wish list.

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Anyone have $1700 they can spare? My next big purchase will be this!

I really do question people sometimes. You know, when I get a wrong order at the drive thru or an email doesn't come through to me, I always give the person the benefit of the doubt and note that people (and technology) just aren't perfect. I may make a comment after the fact, but typically, I'm pretty nice when I'm first calling in or making my customer support request. Usually bitching to someone else at home or whatever about the situation. I figure, if I'm nice in my first request then I get what I want in a more pleasant and fast manner. So, why is it that some people aren't that way? They automatically assume you are trying to screw them or are going to be rude to them from the get-go. It is seriously when a customer acts in this manner that I just shake my head and say, "okay, you wanna be that way." LOL - a lot of times I just reply and kill them with kindness and they will, in most cases, be nice back. I have had some people that, in their first attempt at contacting me for some kind of support - usually in the digital scrapbooking world (because photographers are WAY nicer!!!!) just rip me a new one because they didn't get a download or Paypal hung up the processing. You know, the Internet and their connection is always perfect and in no way, shape or form, would there ever be that hiccup that would cause a little problem. So, it's all my fault. I laugh at these people because I tell myself that they must be really miserable people. Life must be terrible for them. Do they have small children and teach them this behavior too? They probably drive terrible too - hee hee. It's sad really...and I can honestly say that it is so predominant in my experiences as a digital scrapbook store owner. Even working retail for years I never had customers act that way. It's one thing I am truly looking forward to leaving behind. I wish people would just stop and think about things before they start typing. Don't get me wrong...it usually only happens a few times a month but it does stand out to me.

Please and thank you go a long way too. I think this is really why kids aren't as pleasant these days. It's like in the movie, Take the Lead - where the kid always said, "uh huh" when the guy said "thank you". It doesn't put out a mature or pleasant experience and can turn a neutral situation into a bad one. Say that to the wrong person - usually someone older - and watch out! Hold open a door for someone that is near you. Wave and say "hi" to strangers.

Little things that take such little effort can really make people feel good and the more we feel good - the better life can truly be.

Just think about it for a bit. Have a great Sunday and THANK YOU for listening to my thoughts and other crap! LOL

It's been such a long day. I should be asleep, but it's only 1 a.m.! Kidding.

I had a pissy fit this morning because I gained a pound. I'm pretty frustrated with going up one week and down the next. Since the beginning of August I probably have only officially managed to lose a few pounds with the constant yo-yo. I know - 36 pounds is still pretty darned good, but I have so much more to go. It seems like I've pretty much wasted the past couple of months with not being so serious more consistently. I should probably do something to shock my system for a couple of weeks and get out of this.

Mom and Jake cleaned the carpets while Andrea and I went to the U City Loop to do a photoshoot. It was gorgeous outside and a fun location. I love that part of town but it sure was busy there. Lot's of people, so we managed to work a few of them into the photos.

We brought dinner home to mom and Jake and then sat on the floor on a waterproof sleeping bag! LOL All four of us! All of the furniture is moved out of there and you can't even get through the rest of the house. My bedroom looks as if a bomb went off in here. I have come to the conclusion that I just have too much stuff. I used to be such a minimalist type of person. Just like my dad - tossing it if I don't need it. Now, it just all accumulates and I have less space to put it all in. Ugh, it makes me sick.

Of course, I should have been cleaning, but instead, Jake, Andrea and I caught a 10:20 show tonight and saw Good Luck Chuck.

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I really liked it and laughed a lot. Now, for those of you not preferring the more crude and a little x-rated talk you wouldn't like it. Think 40-Year Old Virgin and American Pie. Nonetheless, I love Dane Cook. Other than the obnoxious old fart ladies sitting behind me blurting out after each scene what they thought was going to happen next, it was nice to go to a late show and not be so crowded or have to fight the teeny boppers.

Came home to see that Merlin decided to get into the bag of trash that was in the kitchen and get coffee grinds ON THE CLEAN CARPET! For the love of PETE! Looks like another runover of that are with the carpet cleaner is in order before we start dragging furniture back in tomorrow.

Now, I sit here after 1 a.m. blogging - what a loser I am! LOL I just wasn't tired - I needed to wind down. Merlin is snoring. Go figure.

I got tagged! :) Thanks for letting me know because I'm really bad and haven't updated my Google Reader that much since moving to the Mac!

Sarah of Liv Photography tagged me, so here goes.

8 Things You May or May Not Know About Me - and this is a photographer one, so I will have to find 8 photographers to tag at the end.

My 8 things, you may know or you may not:

1. My brother is 15 years younger than me and yes, we have the same parents.

2. I am obsessed with the color, pink - doh, like you didn't know that already!

3. I was a photographer for my University newspaper and magazine at Georgia Southern University.

4. I lived most of my life in the South and wouldn't go back to live there again...southern living wasn't for me although I love Savannah so much!

5. My dad died from cancer in 1993 and my little sister was murdered in 1995 which was one of the reasons we moved to St. Louis from Georgia. I always led a pretty easy going life until I was in college and it has taught me to be a very strong and independent person. I stand for what I believe in and attribute so much of that to my experiences in losing my family members.

6. I tend to rely on Advil or Tylenol PM too much - I can't turn my brain off at night to help me sleep.

7. When I was little I was the shyest kid around - you wouldn't know that today!

8. In the next few days my car will be officially ALL MINE - my payoff is being sent in! WOOHOO (please don't break down on me!)

Okay, now to tag 8 more photographers:

Andie
Kristy
Tracie
Dennis
Tisha
Lisa Marie
Andrea
Lu

Okay, there, you have it! I have a shoot at 4:30 today in the U City Loop - so catcha later!

Too funny, huh? Pirate came over for a visit with Jake and Andrea and we sat out by the fire outside.

Kissin' Cousins

1 comment

I need it, but it's too cold to get out from under my covers right now and go make it. Even Merlin is all balled up. We're hitting lows of 50 or 60, which is nice, but makes me chilly in the morning! Coffee would help, but that means I have move from my cozy feeling.

I do love coffee - so much. Back before I started back on WW I couldn't drink it because it gave me horrible indigestion. I mean, I would drink it in the winter but not the rest of the year unless it was a special thing like I ran next to a Starbucks or an after-dinner type coffee with dessert somewhere. Now, I have it every day. I like it UBER strong and I love me some Fat Free French Vanilla Coffee-mate. I indulge with that and suck down points with it. But, you must still do what makes you happy. Right?

Every Saturday we go to Starbucks after weigh-in. I've gotten my mother hooked on venti White Chocolate Mochas - I take mine with soy and no whip. I don't venture outside of that. It's my happy place.

Yesterday, my Tickle Me Elmo TMX arrived. Now, I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, "Holly doesn't have kids". No, I don't. But, Part of what makes me feel good is when I laugh. I think it's important that we laugh more often. I saw this commercial for Elmo and I laughed so hard. I knew right away that this was something I had to order and it would be my "go-to laughing thing". You know, you're having a bad day and you tell yourself, I gotta laugh! I mean, belly-aching laughs. It's so adorable. It has three rounds of laughing and the third is high-larious. So, laugh at me if you want, I still get the last laugh! Here's a You Tube video of one.

I have to finish working on the final newsletter for My Digital Muse. Yep, the very last one. Sad, but good. It just means we're all adjusting to the big decision and we're still enjoying the last few days with each other. I mean, we still have a full month left so don't give up on us yet! Cathy is planning Hybrid Week and there is one more Grab Bag weekend left - heck, I may even have something for it! SHOCKER! I keep getting comments from people about "when you come back to designing". I giggle, I can honestly say I won't be doing digital scrapbook designing again. I just have too much going on with my business in graphic design and photography. I have even started moving away from it all because I have been unsubscribing from newsletters. I can't believe how much stuff I was getting in my emails. Ugh. Crazy! It's for real if you have any doubts!

I have a fun session scheduled Saturday as well as two other sessions next week. I'm glad because a couple are parts to help me get my marketing materials prepped and a part of the changes to come with my photography business. It's happening! My lack of patience is moving toward patience and gratitude. It all comes in due time. Just have to live in the moment and work with the time we have. That's hard to train ourselves to do. Go practice it!

Here's to a great weekend ahead of us! Have fun!  

Who's the coolest culinary celebrity?

I am not really into cooking or the food network or anything like that - so I'll go with who my gram's loves and that is Paula Dean. Gotta love a Savannah woman! :)

(P.S. - this is another fun feature to Vox - their question of the day to help you blog about stuff)

Finally, some beautiful weather! For the past three days, the weatherman has been teasing us of rain and storms...though it got cloudy and dark, it never did anything - at least not in my area of town. Today, it's about 80 degrees and clear skies. Love it.

Did you watch Dirty Sexy Money and Private Practice last night? I did - digging the shows. Really. I wasn't sure about the DSM show, like I thought maybe I shouldn't watch it because lord knows I don't need another show to get hooked on. But, I did and I laughed. It makes me chuckle, yes. I enjoyed Private Practice too - it was a little more "grown up" from Grey's Anatomy - which I still love. Looking forward to that. Although I think I'm going to hate the competition between ABC and NBC now. Tivo and Moxi are my friends!

I have a very busy couple of weeks ahead of me. Things are coming together for me with my business plans and it seems I have tons going on in the first two weeks of October. I can't fit one more thing in there or I will probably flip out. Now, just gotta figure out how to make it all work smoothly too. No time for procrastination!

So, I was thinking I would explain why I love Vox - and why I went with it. Well, for one, it's free. Can't beat that, right? And two, I think it's cooler, more hip and fun than Blogger. It has these questions of the day, I can add my friends to my "neighborhood" and if they post on Vox too I can see if they have updated via when I log in. Like an instant RSS feed. It hooks right up to my Flickr and other accounts. It's just fun. It is owned by Six Apart - the same people who bring you Typepad. But for me, the personal side doesn't need to have the cost thrown in. And, I am LOVING when my commenters put pictures as their profiles! I can put faces to names now! YAY! If you're looking for a good blog home, I haven't got much in the way of complaints so far. I just can't seem to separate links into groups or categories. So, other than that - it's fun here.

Alright - gotta get back to work!

ATT1368485

This is soo funny. My mom sent me this email about getting a speeding ticket and it said, "I got pulled over speeding the other day and I thought I could talk my way out of it until the cop looked at my dog in the backseat."

Merlin has this thing where he wants his back feet on the backseat and his front feet on the console between the two front seats. His legs aren't that long and if I make a turn too quickly he goes sliding off the seat. Like a fish out of water, he twists and turns to try and get right back up into his same position. I keep saying I need to look into a seatbelt for him - if we're required to do it shouldn't they be too?