Do you know the way to Jose?

Last night I had this great idea. Beware of great ideas.....especially at night. Brian was at Boy Scout Camp and I thought it was the perfect time to update my Norton AntiVirus, SystemsWorks, CounterSpy whatever program; well not really update it because I had already paid for the renewal but I had this sneaking suspicion that they had my money but I didn't have their product.

I was right. They emailed me the receipt, but for some reason my computer wasn't syncing up with there's and the upate hadn't transferred and it was a mess.

Even though I am pretty computer illiterate, I embark on these projects with confidence. How dumb can I be? I'm pretty smart. I can predictive text. I can set my oven for time bake. And I have this blog that I created! So see! I should be able to follow a few simple instructions.......................no.

Right away, it was apparent that it wasn't going to work. So I turned to help on their website. Option 1 - Phone a friend for a mere $9.95 or Option 2 - chat in their chatroom for free. I like to chat, especially for free.

So start your clock! It was 10:21 when Ravi greeted me. I knew immediately he was from India and we hit it off right away. I rapidly agreed to turn my computer over to him. I pretty much didn't care if he drained my bank accounts and walked away with my facebook password. Just work your magic Ravi!

He uninstalled all the Norton software and then shutdown my computer and then.................we were disconnected. I was without any kind of firewall protection. Do you know what happens when you go without firewall protection, even for just one night? Yeah, me neither. But I felt a sense of urgency to reconnect with Ravi and get him to upload the new software.

Back online I can't find Ravi but then I welcomed into the chat room by Jose. Hey.........wait a minute! Jose isn't Indian. Am I communicating with Mexico now? Are there big call centers in Mexico. But then his whole name came up on the screen: Jose Rajesh Dhanasekaran. Phew, I felt better.

But I never did get comfy with Jose. I mean, he did fix everything but we just didn't bond. As I watched him control my cursor, it didn't move across the screen with the same spunk as Ravi had. I just had the feeling that I was interrupting Jose in a poker game with all of his coworkers in their cozy cubbies in New Delhi. Maybe I was wrong. Or maybe it was the fact that it took us until 12:39 to get everything running. Well it took him until 12:39. I was watching.

So if you every go to the free chatroom at Norton, ask for Ravi!

Maroon Bells

Parker is at Scout Camp. Trammell's in the MTC. So that leaves Garrett and Brian and I. To entice Garrett to come along on a short day trip, we offered up bike riding down the ski slopes at Beaver Creek, the alpine slide in Winter Park, or a hike to Maroon Bells.
Because he swears that his back is broken from moving slate and granite at work, he opted for the less physical hike to Maroon Bells.

So we got up early and headed up to the Continental Divide, then down into Aspen and over to Maroon Bells.

It was an incredibly beautiful day. The weather was great! (a minimum of 10 degrees cooler than in the city). And the scenery was breathtaking. A good time was had by all!

I am NOT compulsive!

After staying up way too late and getting up way too early, I was exhausted. I went into the bathroom around 10 pm to get my pajamas on and start winding down. Somewhere between getting my contact case out of my makeup drawer and brushing my teeth, I took a wrong turn.

Suddenly, 20 minutes later, I've emptied the makeup drawer out and am sorting through shades of eye shadow I haven't worn in three years.........or maybe I never wore them. I don't know where they came from.

In addition to mascara and blush and concealer (which is a staple), I'm finding a Fisher Price pocket knife and a ceramic heart necklace made by Garrett when he was in first grade. Everything must come out. It's a treasure trove. It's more than a makeup drawer. There are buttons for blouses that have already been given away, scout pins, notes from small children who don't even live here anymore, a baggie of ibuprofen, etc. I empty it all onto the counter.

The drawer is wiped clean and then I start to put things back. Should I organize the drawer alphabetically: blush, concealer, foundation.....wait...eye shadow comes before foundation. Or maybe I should organize it in order that it goes on: concealer, foundation, blush. Or maybe I should organize it by color or at least put the five items I use everyday in the front. Hey do you think the Container Store is open now? Whatever!

Once everything is out away and I've filled a plastic grocery bag with buttons, nail files, cotton balls, and samples of perfume from 1985, I move on to the next drawer. WAIT! It's 10:30! Seriously, what am I thinking? How did I get involved in this? I wake up from my compulsive coma and realize that there are at least 192 drawers, cupboards and closets in this house. And 190 of them need to be cleaned out. And guess what? Now is probably not the time to delve into this project.

I shut the jewelry drawer and turn off the bathroom light. I shut the bathroom door so I don't get lured in again. A good nights sleep will surely cure me of the desire to clean.

What am I thinking?

I'm giving in to peer pressure! After months of stalking other bloggers and being hounded by friends with blogs.......I'm giving in.

I sat down to create my own blog with high hopes. Everyone has assured me that it is really easy. With just a few simple clicks of the mouse, I was.........confused. So I started whining. I'm really good at whining. I've pretty much perfected whining and it did get the desired results.

Garrett offered to set up my blog. I only had one requirement.........it has to be cute. Garrett is good with girls, so he knows exactly what I mean. He understands lip gloss, ribbons, stuffed animals and the importance of cute.

So....he told me he would set up this blog on his next day off and that it would be cuter than any of my friends! Na na na na na!