Kimberly Nee's Blog, page 9
April 20, 2012
The Case of the Missing E Drive
Computers hate me.
Well, technology in general hates me. I don't know why. Maybe I dropped a vacuum tube in a past life and all technology has sworn vengeance from that day forth. I'm not sure. But I do know that it lives to make me crazy.
My laptop is especially determined to drive me nuts. Last summer, it was the backspace key. This year? It's my missing CD/DVD drive, AKA the E drive.
I don't know what happened. I went to import a CD into my iTunes for the Girl. I opened iTunes, popped the CD in and....
nothing happened.
Tried it again.
Nothing happened.
Okay, so now I'm curious. Why is nothing happening? I'm not computer savvy, but I know enough to look for the drive. It's gone.
Just
Gone
WTF??
How does a drive just disappear?
And how do I make it reappear? I mean, without having to shell out any cash to anyone?
The troubleshooting thingie tells me to reinstall. I can uninstall the drive, but I'm afraid if I do, I'll REALLY screw things up. Because I've found out that when I ask, "What's the worst that could happen?" I usually find out. And it's not pretty.
So if anyone knows if I can just uninstall and then reinstall, please let me know. Although, in the meantime, I'm pricing new laptops. This one is going to die - if nothing else, to spite me.
Wish I knew what I did. I'd apologize and then never, ever do it again.
Well, technology in general hates me. I don't know why. Maybe I dropped a vacuum tube in a past life and all technology has sworn vengeance from that day forth. I'm not sure. But I do know that it lives to make me crazy.
My laptop is especially determined to drive me nuts. Last summer, it was the backspace key. This year? It's my missing CD/DVD drive, AKA the E drive.
I don't know what happened. I went to import a CD into my iTunes for the Girl. I opened iTunes, popped the CD in and....
nothing happened.
Tried it again.
Nothing happened.
Okay, so now I'm curious. Why is nothing happening? I'm not computer savvy, but I know enough to look for the drive. It's gone.
Just
Gone
WTF??
How does a drive just disappear?
And how do I make it reappear? I mean, without having to shell out any cash to anyone?
The troubleshooting thingie tells me to reinstall. I can uninstall the drive, but I'm afraid if I do, I'll REALLY screw things up. Because I've found out that when I ask, "What's the worst that could happen?" I usually find out. And it's not pretty.
So if anyone knows if I can just uninstall and then reinstall, please let me know. Although, in the meantime, I'm pricing new laptops. This one is going to die - if nothing else, to spite me.
Wish I knew what I did. I'd apologize and then never, ever do it again.
April 19, 2012
'Sup?
O hai!
Sorry about the blog silence last week (did anyone even miss me??) but it was Spring Break and whilst the Girl was off having a groovy time in Florida with her grandparents, the Boy and I were stuck in Jersey. So, to make it up to him, I was cramming as much fun stuff as possible into that week. Not that blogging isn't fun, of course **coughcough** but I was outside more than I was inside.
But now I'm back, and I have a few things that have been rattling around in my mind for blog topics. So with any luck, it won't be another eleven days before I'm back. :D
Sorry about the blog silence last week (did anyone even miss me??) but it was Spring Break and whilst the Girl was off having a groovy time in Florida with her grandparents, the Boy and I were stuck in Jersey. So, to make it up to him, I was cramming as much fun stuff as possible into that week. Not that blogging isn't fun, of course **coughcough** but I was outside more than I was inside.
But now I'm back, and I have a few things that have been rattling around in my mind for blog topics. So with any luck, it won't be another eleven days before I'm back. :D
April 8, 2012
Happy Easter!
Or, if you don't celebrate Easter, Happy Indulge-in-a-chocolate-bunny day!
Here are some of the ugliest Easter eggs I've ever seen. And it's okay for me to post them, they're the ones the Boy and I dyed last night. :D
Happy Easter!
Here are some of the ugliest Easter eggs I've ever seen. And it's okay for me to post them, they're the ones the Boy and I dyed last night. :D
Happy Easter!
April 5, 2012
Spring Break
Is almost here. Yay! I'm sooo not a morning person, and having to get up to get the kids ready for school means I have to be up early. Most school years, that means by seven (I know, for some of you, the day's well under way by now. But for me, this is earlier-than-should-be-allowed-by-law early.) This year, the Boy is in kindergarten, which in my school district is run in two half-day sessions, AM and PM. He is in the PM, so he doesn't leave until about noon. My daughter is in the intermediate school (our district does K-4 in the grammar schools, 5-6 at the intermediate, 7-8 at the middle school, 9-12 at the high school. We just LOVE having as many schools open as possible...) so she doesn't have to leave the house until 8:40. Which means I get to sleep in a little later this year. Next year, when the Boy goes into first grade, I have to get up early again (wah) but for now... Sleep is mine.
But the last few months have been especially hectic, so I am really looking forward to having the next week off. The Girl is flying down to Florida with her aunt and her cousin to spend the break with her grandparents, and since the hubs is working, it'll be just me and the Boy. It should be a fun week, since I've got a few things planned for us to do. But mostly, we get to just go out and play (if Mother Nature cooperates, of course) and that's the best part of hanging out with him.
This year is going by so fast, it's hard to believe we're up to Spring Break already. Next is Memorial Day, and then summer... yikes. Where does the time go? It's April already. Wasn't it just Christmas?
Ah well, the next two days will be nuts, but then, vacation... can. not. wait. :D
But the last few months have been especially hectic, so I am really looking forward to having the next week off. The Girl is flying down to Florida with her aunt and her cousin to spend the break with her grandparents, and since the hubs is working, it'll be just me and the Boy. It should be a fun week, since I've got a few things planned for us to do. But mostly, we get to just go out and play (if Mother Nature cooperates, of course) and that's the best part of hanging out with him.
This year is going by so fast, it's hard to believe we're up to Spring Break already. Next is Memorial Day, and then summer... yikes. Where does the time go? It's April already. Wasn't it just Christmas?
Ah well, the next two days will be nuts, but then, vacation... can. not. wait. :D
April 3, 2012
RIP, Kindle Fire
I'm never the first one on the block to own the latest (and coolest) technology. My laptop's 4 years old and missing keys, I finally broke down and bought a Kindle (the basic, least expensive one. And I LOVE it!), my BlackBerry's a POS. (Can't WAIT to get an iPhone. July, get here already, will you??) I finally broke down and bought a classic iPod last summer. I don't own an iPad. See how uncool I am?
Well, after Christmas, I treated myself and bought a Kindle Fire. Love it almost as much as I do my ordinary little Kindle reader. I play Angry Birds on it. All the Angry Birds. I read the USA today every day. I have subscriptions to magazines. Wait, I might love it more than my regular ol' Kindle.
My Kindle Fire went up to that big Amazon cloud in the sky.
Okay, that's not entirely accurate. It works. I just can't use the power button. I have to plug it in as if I'm going to charge it. Then I can use it.
This is not good.
I don't know what happened to it. It worked fine this morning. I came home from getting my hair colored (I LOVE being a brunette, btw) and went to read the USA Today and when I pushed the power button... nothing.
Well, say what you want about Amazon, but when I called them, their response was to send me a new one to replace this one. That's it. None of this "Ship it to us and we'll fix it and it'll take six months" nonsense. They're just sending me a new one and I'll sendI back the dead one.
This is so sad, but I'm really hoping my Angry Birds games don't get wiped out in the transfer, but I have a feeling they will. If they do, oh well. I did them once (twice, really, as I pulled a bonehead move that resulted in my uninstalling the game and reinstalling it, thus wiping out what I'd already done. And two of the levels I'd actually completed. Rats) and I'll do them again.
Well, after Christmas, I treated myself and bought a Kindle Fire. Love it almost as much as I do my ordinary little Kindle reader. I play Angry Birds on it. All the Angry Birds. I read the USA today every day. I have subscriptions to magazines. Wait, I might love it more than my regular ol' Kindle.
My Kindle Fire went up to that big Amazon cloud in the sky.
Okay, that's not entirely accurate. It works. I just can't use the power button. I have to plug it in as if I'm going to charge it. Then I can use it.
This is not good.
I don't know what happened to it. It worked fine this morning. I came home from getting my hair colored (I LOVE being a brunette, btw) and went to read the USA Today and when I pushed the power button... nothing.
Well, say what you want about Amazon, but when I called them, their response was to send me a new one to replace this one. That's it. None of this "Ship it to us and we'll fix it and it'll take six months" nonsense. They're just sending me a new one and I'll sendI back the dead one.
This is so sad, but I'm really hoping my Angry Birds games don't get wiped out in the transfer, but I have a feeling they will. If they do, oh well. I did them once (twice, really, as I pulled a bonehead move that resulted in my uninstalling the game and reinstalling it, thus wiping out what I'd already done. And two of the levels I'd actually completed. Rats) and I'll do them again.
March 31, 2012
Spring?
So where did spring go? Two weeks ago, it was eighty degrees and bee-yoo-tee-ful. Today? It's forty-three degrees and awful. What happened to spring and who do I have to bribe to get the bee-yoo-tee-ful weather back?
Ahem
Anyhoo, I'm still working on the fourth McKenzie book (still untitled, which sucks because I hate not having a title for it and I hate that I can't think of one. Grrr...), but this weekend I'm not writing anything. I'm going to read instead.
I bought The Hunger Games trilogy for my daughter. She read the first book in about a day, and just started Catching Fire. Tonight, I'll give in to the peer pressure and start it tonight. She loved The Hunger Games, so I have pretty high expectations for it as well.
Yesterday, when I went to get her the second and third books in the series, I found a copy of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. I loved this book when I was a teenager (my original copy of it had the cast from the movie on the cover. I wonder if I still have it somewhere...) so I bought it again. Read it in about three hours and although I still loved it, it struck me as being a little sadder than I remembered. There is so much tragedy in it that I didn't remember, and it seemed to me the book was a lot more powerful than when I was 13 or 14 and reading it for the first time. But it was still great.
Oh, I'm also reading Stacia Kane's newest, Sacrificial Magic. It's good so far, but I still have to reread some of the dialog. I don't get why some characters speak normally and others seem to have their own form of English, but it's a minor annoyance for me and doesn't really ruin the read.
So, I've got a nice quiet, word-filled weekend ahead and I'm looking forward to it.
Ahem
Anyhoo, I'm still working on the fourth McKenzie book (still untitled, which sucks because I hate not having a title for it and I hate that I can't think of one. Grrr...), but this weekend I'm not writing anything. I'm going to read instead.
I bought The Hunger Games trilogy for my daughter. She read the first book in about a day, and just started Catching Fire. Tonight, I'll give in to the peer pressure and start it tonight. She loved The Hunger Games, so I have pretty high expectations for it as well.
Yesterday, when I went to get her the second and third books in the series, I found a copy of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. I loved this book when I was a teenager (my original copy of it had the cast from the movie on the cover. I wonder if I still have it somewhere...) so I bought it again. Read it in about three hours and although I still loved it, it struck me as being a little sadder than I remembered. There is so much tragedy in it that I didn't remember, and it seemed to me the book was a lot more powerful than when I was 13 or 14 and reading it for the first time. But it was still great.
Oh, I'm also reading Stacia Kane's newest, Sacrificial Magic. It's good so far, but I still have to reread some of the dialog. I don't get why some characters speak normally and others seem to have their own form of English, but it's a minor annoyance for me and doesn't really ruin the read.
So, I've got a nice quiet, word-filled weekend ahead and I'm looking forward to it.
March 23, 2012
Oh, hai!
Yes, yes, I know... bad blogger is bad. Again. And I have no excuse. Well, I do, actually, as the weather in these parts has been absolutely beautiful. Eighty degrees? In March? I like.
But as a result, I'm outside more with the kidlets and at the computer less. When I finally do get to be in my office, it's about 9:30PM, I've just gotten the kidlets to bed, and now it's time for me to write. Which means something's gotta give, right? Bet you can guess what that something is...
The story, still untitled (curse you, title gods) has slowed a bit. I'm having a rough time getting Julian and Emma into bed. They need to do this in order for the story to progress, but they are being stubborn as mules about it. I don't get it. They both want to, they've got the perfect opportunity. So why aren't. They. Taking. Advantage. Of. It??? Grrr...
And that means that, where I was writing 1.5-2k words a night, my productivity is down to about 100 words a night. Not. Good.
So, to keep me from ripping my hair out, here's a Friday Funny. Enjoy!
It's NSFW, so you might want to turn the volume down.
But as a result, I'm outside more with the kidlets and at the computer less. When I finally do get to be in my office, it's about 9:30PM, I've just gotten the kidlets to bed, and now it's time for me to write. Which means something's gotta give, right? Bet you can guess what that something is...
The story, still untitled (curse you, title gods) has slowed a bit. I'm having a rough time getting Julian and Emma into bed. They need to do this in order for the story to progress, but they are being stubborn as mules about it. I don't get it. They both want to, they've got the perfect opportunity. So why aren't. They. Taking. Advantage. Of. It??? Grrr...
And that means that, where I was writing 1.5-2k words a night, my productivity is down to about 100 words a night. Not. Good.
So, to keep me from ripping my hair out, here's a Friday Funny. Enjoy!
It's NSFW, so you might want to turn the volume down.
March 14, 2012
Ooops
It's been a few days, hasn't it? Sorry about that. I can't really even blame being sick, since I started feeling more like my old self a few days ago.
Part of it is that I've written and rewritten a post several times over. I haven't posted it because it's very strongly political and I've tried to keep my political views out of this blog. I've tried to keep this blog kind of light and fun to read (and hopefully I've succeeded) and so I'm not entirely sure I want to drag politics into it. Let's just leave it at politicians are making me sick. I can't wait for this election season to end. I can't believe all the nonsense surrounding birth control and women having access to it and when the hell did we get zapped back into the 1950s?
Ahem.
So, since I'm not so sure I want to bring politics into the mix, I'm going to blame my short absence on writing. I've been chugging away at the fourth McKenzie book (although my Musa editor doesn't know about it just yet.) This is Emma's story (she's Drew and Garrett's sister) and so far, I'm loving it. I'm a little over a quarter of the way into it and have already been pleasantly surprised by a few events that I didn't see coming until the words were on the screen. Yay!
What I'm not loving about it is the title. I don't have one. It's been Untitled since I began it a few weeks ago. I hate having it called Untitled. By now, I usually at least have a working title. Not this time. No title and I can't seem to come up with anything. Rats. I'm not good at titles to begin with and this has been driving me crazy. I hate coming up with them. I'd rather write a synopsis than think of a title. Wait... no... that's not entirely true. But you get how much I hate coming up with titles, right? (Not to mention how much I seem to just really like the word 'title'. Yeesh.)
But since the story is flowing like crazy, I'm not going to go too insane over it just yet. It'll come to me. I hope.
Part of it is that I've written and rewritten a post several times over. I haven't posted it because it's very strongly political and I've tried to keep my political views out of this blog. I've tried to keep this blog kind of light and fun to read (and hopefully I've succeeded) and so I'm not entirely sure I want to drag politics into it. Let's just leave it at politicians are making me sick. I can't wait for this election season to end. I can't believe all the nonsense surrounding birth control and women having access to it and when the hell did we get zapped back into the 1950s?
Ahem.
So, since I'm not so sure I want to bring politics into the mix, I'm going to blame my short absence on writing. I've been chugging away at the fourth McKenzie book (although my Musa editor doesn't know about it just yet.) This is Emma's story (she's Drew and Garrett's sister) and so far, I'm loving it. I'm a little over a quarter of the way into it and have already been pleasantly surprised by a few events that I didn't see coming until the words were on the screen. Yay!
What I'm not loving about it is the title. I don't have one. It's been Untitled since I began it a few weeks ago. I hate having it called Untitled. By now, I usually at least have a working title. Not this time. No title and I can't seem to come up with anything. Rats. I'm not good at titles to begin with and this has been driving me crazy. I hate coming up with them. I'd rather write a synopsis than think of a title. Wait... no... that's not entirely true. But you get how much I hate coming up with titles, right? (Not to mention how much I seem to just really like the word 'title'. Yeesh.)
But since the story is flowing like crazy, I'm not going to go too insane over it just yet. It'll come to me. I hope.
March 8, 2012
Still Sick
Last week, I started with what I thought was a cold, caught from the Boy because he just loves to share. Sore throat (ugh. I despise sore throats with every fiber in my being. I heard that if you have your tonsils out, you never, ever get sore throats again. I'd voluntarily have them removed if it meant I never had to have another sore throat. I'd probably voluntarily give up just about any body part, if it meant I never had to have another sore throat again.) Cough. Stuffy nose. Watery eyes. It. Sucked.
And with the hubs working the way he is, I didn't have any chance to really rest. The kids were really good about not killing each other, but the Girl's only 11 so she's not really ready to cook meals yet, and they still needed to eat, and I still had to get them off to school and all, so just hiding under the covers until the Ick went away just wasn't an option.
Well, by yesterday, not only was I still sneezing and coughing, but my right ear was starting to bother me. It felt all clogged and uncomfortable and since I'm prone to ear infections, and usually can recognize them, I caved and called the doctor.
Turns out it wasn't an ear infection yet, but there was fluid trapped down there and it turns out I have a sinus infection that probably would have morphed into an ear infection if I'd waited any longer. Sigh. So now I'm antibiotics and Mucinex-D (which you need a driver's license to get. Thanks, meth-heads, for ruining everything. A-holes.) With any luck I'll actually be able to breathe through my nose very soon. I don't like being a mouth-breather. Not one bit.
Spring can't get here soon enough.
But on the bright side, I've started work on another McKenzie book. As of right now, this will probably be the last one. Then again, I thought A Perfect Lady was going to be the last one, so never say never, right? I'm about 50 pages in, still don't have a title, but it's going well. Or, at least I think it is. We shall see. I've made it beyond the first thirty pages, and that's usually when I hit the wall, so I'm pretty optimistic about this one.
And with the hubs working the way he is, I didn't have any chance to really rest. The kids were really good about not killing each other, but the Girl's only 11 so she's not really ready to cook meals yet, and they still needed to eat, and I still had to get them off to school and all, so just hiding under the covers until the Ick went away just wasn't an option.
Well, by yesterday, not only was I still sneezing and coughing, but my right ear was starting to bother me. It felt all clogged and uncomfortable and since I'm prone to ear infections, and usually can recognize them, I caved and called the doctor.
Turns out it wasn't an ear infection yet, but there was fluid trapped down there and it turns out I have a sinus infection that probably would have morphed into an ear infection if I'd waited any longer. Sigh. So now I'm antibiotics and Mucinex-D (which you need a driver's license to get. Thanks, meth-heads, for ruining everything. A-holes.) With any luck I'll actually be able to breathe through my nose very soon. I don't like being a mouth-breather. Not one bit.
Spring can't get here soon enough.
But on the bright side, I've started work on another McKenzie book. As of right now, this will probably be the last one. Then again, I thought A Perfect Lady was going to be the last one, so never say never, right? I'm about 50 pages in, still don't have a title, but it's going well. Or, at least I think it is. We shall see. I've made it beyond the first thirty pages, and that's usually when I hit the wall, so I'm pretty optimistic about this one.
March 6, 2012
One of My Favorite Places
Since yesterday's post was a little on the -- ahem -- bitchy side, today's is going to be the opposite. It'll be nice and warm and fluffy. Okay, maybe not fluffy, but not nearly as pissy, either. :D
Every day, the hubs and I stop at the best coffee shop in the entire world, Main Street Bakery and Eatery. I LOVE this place. Seriously. Love, love, love it. If I'm in a lousy mood and I stop here, I guarantee, I'll leave feeling a zillion times better.
A little backstory - the hubs and I drove past this place every day for the longest time and I kept saying some day, I'm stopping. It's in this little town called Kingston, which is about 10 minutes south-ish of Princeton. If you're at all familiar with Nassau Street in Princeton (and all of the awesome shops along it), let me tell you, Kingston is a lot like it, only not so... ivy.
So anyway, this shop is in an old house and the people who work there are some of the friendliest you will ever meet. I believe it's family-run (two of the women who work there look very much like sisters, and both bear a strong resemblance to the woman who actually owns the shop, but I could be wrong) and everything there is absolutely delicious.
Really, you walk in and it smells just wonderful, especially on a cold day. The floors slope and creak, the stairway is narrow, and in the winter, a fire crackles on the hearth in the dining room. Everything is made fresh, and I've yet to find something I don't like. They make what's probably the best hot chocolate anywhere.
I like going somewhere where the people who are working there don't make you feel as if you're a huge inconvenience to them. That's one of the reasons why I prefer smaller, family-run businesses to big box stores or chains. Maybe it's corny, but I like it.
Every day, the hubs and I stop at the best coffee shop in the entire world, Main Street Bakery and Eatery. I LOVE this place. Seriously. Love, love, love it. If I'm in a lousy mood and I stop here, I guarantee, I'll leave feeling a zillion times better.
A little backstory - the hubs and I drove past this place every day for the longest time and I kept saying some day, I'm stopping. It's in this little town called Kingston, which is about 10 minutes south-ish of Princeton. If you're at all familiar with Nassau Street in Princeton (and all of the awesome shops along it), let me tell you, Kingston is a lot like it, only not so... ivy.
So anyway, this shop is in an old house and the people who work there are some of the friendliest you will ever meet. I believe it's family-run (two of the women who work there look very much like sisters, and both bear a strong resemblance to the woman who actually owns the shop, but I could be wrong) and everything there is absolutely delicious.
Really, you walk in and it smells just wonderful, especially on a cold day. The floors slope and creak, the stairway is narrow, and in the winter, a fire crackles on the hearth in the dining room. Everything is made fresh, and I've yet to find something I don't like. They make what's probably the best hot chocolate anywhere.
I like going somewhere where the people who are working there don't make you feel as if you're a huge inconvenience to them. That's one of the reasons why I prefer smaller, family-run businesses to big box stores or chains. Maybe it's corny, but I like it.
