Craft subscription service for kids: Crafting our kids

All I can say is "wow!".  I signed my 7 year old up for a monthly craft subscription service to help with summer boredom - I had no idea I was getting crafts that are keepsakes!!

Her first box is the July box and came right on time - it has 2 crafts - all the supplies needed and great instructions.

The first is Americana wind socks made from solo cups and streamers - she loved it.

But the second one!!  It's an American flag made from paint stirrers!!  It's amazing and she did it all on her own!

Crafting our kids -  a service we will probably use year round!!

2013 gmc Yukon Denali mirror replacement

This post is because we couldn't find the info on the internet anywhere on how to replace a cracked mirror!  This would be the same for a Cadillac escalade or a Chevy Tahoe or suburban.  It has the turn signal lights and the blind zone sensor.

You have to push the old Mirror up really hard to get it off - you will have to smash it to bits.  Here are reference pics of the back of the mirror

You can see the only way it will come up is to jam a screw driver under it and push.

The lip around the motor at the top stops you from pulling it down as well as the 4 anchors.

Gift for child: age 6-10!!

Rainbow loom!!!!  The 2 smaller children love this!!  They have made at least a hundred bracelets!  Tyler puts 2 together and makes necklaces!  Jess is 6 and 1/2 and has no trouble using it and my almost 12 year old has also been caught using it to make a bracelet in his football team's colors!

Hello?? Been a while eh??

Wow it's been a while! Let's see if we can make use of these tools and get things started around here!!!  

Who's in??!! ME!

Thanksgiving is in 3 days, it's going to snow and I've got football to watch!  Since I last posted I've fallen into the football trap and I can't wait to tell you all about it!!

Princess Loves: Bolthouse Farms' GREEN GOODNESS!

It's good for you!

I eat TERRIBLY.  I do not like any (ANY!) fruits or veggies!  I love red meats and potatoes!  I drink too much diet coke.

So the one thing I CAN tolerate is Green Goodness - to me, it's yummy, but my normal food eating friends actually don't like it?

It's full of good stuff that there is NO WAY I could eat on it's own: Kiwi, mango, banana (ok, I could suffer thru one of these if I had to), pineapple, spinach, broccoli, spirulina, barley grass, wheat grass, garlic, blue green algae, artichoke and apples.

Seriously.  It's delicious.

Please VOTE!

I have 2 sick kids today.  I am going to find a way to get to the polls anyway!  Some how, some way.

GO VOTE!

hello?  is this thing on??  Blogger has changed!  Let me see if I can figure out all their new features!!  :-)

Bad luck...

• Last month - upstairs heat pump dies. $200 for temp fix,  $6,000 for new unit
• Kitchen faucet springs a leak and fills lower cabinet - new faucet at 11 p.m. (also not cheap!)
• Truck mirror and door handle break. $200 (thank GOODNESS for the extended warranty)
• Last week: downstairs furnace breaks.  $200 for a temporary fix, HVAC guy suggests $3,200 for a new unit (also, thank goodness we have an HVAC guy in the family or this would be a MUCH SADDER post)
• 10 year old HE3T washer (the first production year) makes an AWFUL noise w/each load but is still washing - is it next??  PLEASE NO!

Today we re-do the boys rooms!

They both want Clone Wars rooms - so we're doing away with the shades of baby blue and off while and going with: Clone blue, black and white.  Also moving beds and furniture!  SHOULD BE FUN!

wow....

it's been a while eh?  Let's start with updating the about me!

Princess Loves: Magic Mouse

So...today I started an Android training class.  I have my MacBook Pro (from work) for programming, but I'm a Windows programmer because that's all the customer lets us use.  So I haven't developed on my Mac in 2 years.  So to do the training, which requires switching from PDF to Eclipse, to the Android Emulator, to the error catcher, to Firefox and coding, it is a PAIN to use the touchpad when you're out of practice.  I texted my hubby, thinking he'd pick me up a tiny mouse from Target...what I got was this:



He is wonderful.  It is a Magic Mouse - it just WORKS with my laptop and you can swipe to control instead of using a track wheel!  It is TEH BOMB, Seriously.  GET ONE.

(this post is in NO WAY compensated.  My hubby just bought me something nice.)

JC PENNY, here comes the bad review!

In the email I rec'd for my DEC 17 order it says "Most items ship from our warehouse the next business day after your order is submitted. Orders containing back ordered items may be consolidated and ship on the back ordered date indicated."

I purchased these items for a CHRISTMAS PROMOTION on Dec. 17, for FREE SHIPPING DAY.  NO WHERE was it indicated that the items would NOT be delivered for Christmas and furthermore, it took 4 business days for my items to get to UPS, meaning they are scheduled for DEC 28 with is DECIDEDLY Not useful.

1. The promotion SHOULD State that even though it is a CHRISTMAS promotion, items are NOT for Christmas delivery.
2. Why did my items take SO  long to leave your warehouse?   If they had left on time, they might have made it.

So now my grandfather, with his wife newly in a nursing home, will not have a gift from me. THANK YOU JC Penny.  I will remember this as well as I will post it to my blog, twitter, and tumblr accounts.

Best Buy made it all GOOD!! YAY! Full post coming soon!!!

Best Buy Update...

They can deliver on Dec. 27.  WHEE.  Only 2 days late.  NOT.  But they're giving me a gift card.  That totally makes up for it. NOT.  If we thought it would fit in our truck, we'd go get it.  Too bad they don't deliver....oh wait!  hahahahahaha

a letter to the CEO of Best Buy...

Mr. Dunn - we ordered a 50 inch tv for my mother, to be delivered TODAY.  We did not receive a phone call yesterday to scheduled delivery so I called your customer service line.

After holding for 15 MINUTES, the customer service rep informed me:

1.  the tv is NOT scheduled for delivery.  Will probably NOT BE delivered in time for Christmas.
2.  they have no idea why the delivery department is NOT CALLING customers
3.  I cannot reschedule it because my HUSBAND ordered it - even though I told her I could answer ANY Security question she might have to verify that I am on the account.

But mostly it is #1 and #2 above - that a TV ordered on Dec. 14 is not delivered, and an attempt to contact us was not made.

What are you going to do to remedy this situation?  I worked for Nordstrom for 7 years through high school and college.  I know what a customer-service dedicated company can do.  Impress me, please.

in these hard economic times....

Please please please tip the people that help take care of you all year: hairdressers, teachers, nail techs, etc.  These people DEPEND on their Christmas tips usually for December bills (my mom uses hers for her real estate tax).  She is noticing a GIANT down tick in tips this year - and I know things are tight all around, but please, remember that these people count on your generosity.

Dear Vending Machine Man:

I am cursing you today.  HOW DARE you move the diet coke label to the bottom, and the Diet Coke with Lime POISON to the top?  Everyone has picked the wrong soda today because you SWAPPED THE LABELS FOR NO REASON.

it took 1 hour...

to learn how ornaments shatter when hit at a high rate of speed.  OF COURSE.

Lowest Ring...

Of my tree has 3,433,223 ornaments hung on it.  The upper 10 rings, 4 ornaments total.  I LOVE IT.

High school Christmas show!!