Thursday, September 20, 2012

Technology Is Slightly Fixed

You know how I was complaining last week about all my iDevices revolting against me?

Well, it seems the technology good fortunes have come back to all my fun electronic devices. The problem I was having with my iPhone not showing all the calendars? I finally was able to fix it by LOTS of googling. So many were having the same problem that someone at Google posted a link in a forum to allow which calendars to show on iPhones. AWESOME. This is the link. Once I found that and told it which ones to sync, it magically fixed itself.

Then over the weekend, I found a way to fix the iPad contacts thing. Apparently I have to set up an exchange sync plus the Gmail sync. I don’t understand it, but it seems to be working!

I think I will get all this technology under control, sometime.

But I still don’t have a working iPod shuffle. :(

Monday, September 17, 2012

How To Relax in a Cabin

1. Don’t get scared by the creepily real looking owl on the porch.

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2. Make sure you have a good map.

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3. Confirm that you have a GoPro camera to capture the adventure, and attach it to someone’s head.

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4. Beer. Check.

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5. Find some gorgeous roads to golf cart upon, five people to a cart of course.

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6. Bring along a husband who makes ridiculous faces at the camera.

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7. Don’t be scared by the ridiculously real looking owl on the BACK porch.

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8. Laugh a lot at the speed bump signs along the road. Make the group stop to take a picture of the sign.

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9. After one hike, find a way down to the lake to skip some rocks in the sunset.

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10. Ask for your camera back, because you have no idea what pictures of you were on there.

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11. Some will be amused at the hilarity, and others not so much.

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12. Be romantic in the golf cart and kiss your girlfriend.

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13. Find a gorgeous place to watch the sunset.

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14. Assess your domain… and your hiking group coming up the path behind you.

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15. Enjoy the wildlife around the cabin.

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16. Explore the old sites at the resort, like the cemetery and old barn.

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17. Sleep in and have a wonderful time in the country. I can’t wait until we’re invited back and can spend another weekend out there.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

My iDevices are Revolting!

Technology is supposed to make life easier. Right? Well, my technology is rising up against me.

I pretty much live in my Google suite, so having my email, contacts and calendar with me at all times is one of the main reasons why I got an iPhone a few years ago. Over the past few updates, the Google sync with the iPhone has gotten better – until now. I have multiple calendars on my iPhone, including my main calendar, Hubs’ calendar (so we know where each other is during the day), the birthday and anniversary calendar and the Things to Do in St. Louis one (where we add various things around town that might be fun to do – this way we won’t forget about them!).

I’ve been having some issues with the Google sync, however. It will only show me MY calendar and not any of the others that the Google sync menu on the safari browsers tells me it should be showing. Not quite sure about how to fix this one. I’ve updated Google sync, shut the phone off and started it back up, plus let the calendar load and load and load, hoping it would get the message. NADA. Frustrating.

But that’s only the beginning of the iDevice iDebacle. My iPad is pretty darn wonderful, even if I haven’t found a good free blogging app for it. Maybe then I’d blog more, eh? All the syncing went really well when we set it up, except the contacts. It hasn’t imported or synced any of my Google contacts to the device. When I looked at Hubs’ settings, they were all the same as mine. So yeah, no idea what’s going on there, either.

Finally, I recently found my iPod shuffle (it was a replacement for my original Nano from back in the day that was recalled due to it apparently blowing up). I wanted to use it on a quick walk/run around the park and didn’t want to bother taking my iPhone out of it’s “Jessica-proof” Otterbox case. But when I plugged it in to charge it a bit, it simply wouldn’t turn on. Hours of charging later, it STILL won’t turn on. I have to take it to the Apple store and see if they can fix it.

So all of my iDevices are revolting against me. Maybe I need to go back to cassette tapes?

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Another Year, Another Birthday Celebration

On Tuesday, I turned 29. But, as my family usually does, I celebrated all weekend!

I slept in a bit on Saturday morning, before heading out for a friend’s bachelorette party at a winery that afternoon. On Sunday morning, after lectoring at church, I went to the same friend’s bridal shower. It was a tea party and we had a lovely time! I even got a fascinator. It was the first of two for the weekend!

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On Monday morning, however, Hubs surprised that morning after my work out with my birthday present from the family – a new iPad! I still have got to figure out how to blog from it. Maybe I will post more if my tablet is with me the entire day!

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Of course, we had to go old-school for the present as well. Hubs got me the most beautiful edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. It will start our fancy book for nice book shelves in the living room collection we want to start.

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We spent Monday afternoon shopping for my wedding planning emergency kit. It’s an exciting time around our house! Don’t you wish you were me? ;)

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That night, we went out to the in-laws for dinner and cake. This was what I was waiting for. My cake. It was white almond cake with raspberry filling, from a local bakery, Lubeley’s. Oh. My. Goodness. It was AMAZING.

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Of course, my in-laws wanted me to have something to open that night so I got my second fascinator of the weekend! This was one I was drooling over a few weeks ago at the craft festival in St. Charles. I want to wear it to work, but I wonder if it’s a bit over the top. But come the right event, I will actually pull it off! I promise.

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The best present of all was my precious nephew in a onesie I gave him – stating that his auntie is the best. Which she is. I am. :)

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Isn’t he getting so big? He was four months old on my birthday. Seriously, it’s like light speed! He needs to stop growing.

On my real birthday night, after a very long day of work and meetings, Hubs took me to Vin de Set, a wonderful French restaurant that we hadn’t tried before. It quickly became one of my favorite restaurants that we can go to for special occasions! YUM. The scallops were amazing, the trout was perfect, the wine was lovely (and expertly chosen by Hubs) and the crème brule was not only yummy, but complimentary for my birthday. Fabulous on all points!

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So my 29th birthday was officially a success. It’s a little surreal having completed the last birthday of my twenties. When I turned 20, I was in college, dating someone who I thought I would marry, when I planned to be an actor. Turning 29, I am married to the love of my life, in a job I adore, friends in person and online who are pretty darn amazing and I’m happy with where I am. Hopefully this next year will be just as amazing as the last!

Monday, September 3, 2012

A Potential Weekend in Sin City

In Hubs’ law school career, we have been lucky enough to meet some amazing people. Truly, the students that started law school with my husband are some of the smartest, funniest, craziest kids on the planet. We have a blast when we hang out with them.

When most of them graduated this past May, and starting making plans to take the bar in states other than Missouri (how DARE they!), we were a little bummed. Ok, a lot bummed. When some of the close friends sent out emails for their going away party, we were downright upset. People moved to Florida, Texas and many other states that ARE NOT MISSOURI. Not ok.

Since one of them moved to Texas for their job, she also moved there for her fiancée. They live in Houston and they are awesome. We knew right away when they announced their engagement that we would be heading to Houston in February to attend their wedding. They are that kind of friend that we couldn’t imagine not being there. So I started looking for flights and I’ll get the hotel reserved soon. It will be so much fun! Even if it happens to be two weekends before Hubs takes the bar – whoops!

Because of the timing of the wedding and the bar, this means we won’t go down for a mini vacation like I had hoped, to see the “sights” in Houston as they are. I mean, they have museums and shopping. That would have been fun. But basically, we’ll be stuck in the hotel while Hubs studies for the bar. And that’s ok! Because I want him to study!

But that has bearing on my dilemma. A few weeks ago, I got the first email from the bride-to-be announcing the bachelorette party.

In Vegas.

In the middle of December.

And I don’t know what to do.

Hubs suggested I could ask for the trip for Christmas and I think my awesome mama is thinking this could be a possibility. I’m still waffling and trying to decide if I want to go. It means another day off work, and two weeks before I take a week off for spending Christmas with my mama in Texas. Which I’m REALLY looking forward to. I have the vacation but I always worry about being gone – but there aren’t any events on the horizon at that point.

It’s also kind of expensive – over $430 for the flight and about $200 to share a hotel room for two nights. Plus dining and shopping and tickets to a, um, show club thing of some kind. Although the bride-to-be has said that as ladies, we’ll probably get in free for many of those clubs.

I have never been to Las Vegas. I’ve never been on a destination bachelorette party. Hubs doesn’t really have a desire to visit Vegas for a while, since gambling isn’t our thing. I’ve always sort of wanted to go, mostly to see the theatrical shows and concerts and the glitz. I think when he graduates and we move on in our lives, this kind of thing that might not be possible due to schedules and money and other things that might need my attention more than girls’ get away trip.

What would you do?