2007 Revisited

I found this in my files from 2007.  After revisiting this list, the answers today would be mostly different, yet some would be the same only for different reasons.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

I got my motorcycle license and I did a triathlon.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t remember what my resolution was so I’m going to say no.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No new babies this year.
4. Did anyone close to you die?

Too many funerals this year. My Aunt Millie died, my Uncle Bob died, and my friend Arlen died. My friend’s sister died and an acquaintance also died.

5. What countries did you visit?

No other countries this year, hardly even went out of state.
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

More money.
7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Nothing stands out as memorable.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Completing a triathlon.
9. What was your biggest failure?

Inability to get my budget under control.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Not this year.
11. What was the best thing you bought?

Fabric to make a fantastic quilt.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My kitty cat who loved me unconditionally.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

My own when I complained about my awful boss.
14. Where did most of your money go?

Paying bills.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The idea that I might be an empty nester soon.
16. What song will always remind you of 2007?

Anything from Three Days Grace.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? sadder

b) thinner or fatter? no change

c) richer or poorer? no change
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Traveling.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Complaining.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

At my sister’s and dinner at home, just as always.
21. Did you fall in love in 2007?

Yes, again and again.
22. What was your favorite TV program?

The Office.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

My new boss, but then I did not know him last year so does that really count?
24. What was the best book you read?

None were that memorable.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Frank Zappa.
26. What did you want and get?

A cleaned out dining room.
27. What did you want and not get?

A new computer.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Shrek the Third.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

My husband took me out for dinner on my 49^th birthday.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Being out of debt.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

Status quo.
32. What kept you sane?

Running and quilting.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Tommy Lee Jones will always make me swoon, but Christiana Amanpour made me proud to me a woman.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

The Iraq conundrum.
35. Who did you miss?

My friend Rosie.
36. Who was the best new person you met?

A consultant at work, her name is Theresa.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.

I can live without credit cards very easily.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

All I need is a miracle, all I need is you.

Windows 2007 Upgrade

We upgraded our computers to Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 10 this weekend.  It was really a pain but it made finally back up all my files.  Which is very important and I've put it off for a very long time. We bought an external hard drive a year ago and it't been in the box ever since.  So I finally took it out and connected it to my laptop.  It was amazingly easy to use and it made me wonder why I didn't take it out of the box sooner.

The plan of attack was a bit complicated since we were going from 32 bit to 64 bit version of the operating system.  That meant all files supposedly would be lost.  So I did a full back up of all the files and made a list of all the software I would have to reinstall and made sure I could locate it.  Since some new software was in a link in my email and I would lose email access after the new os install, I emailed the links from my Outlook account to my portable Gmail account. 

The file backup took 4 hours.  We went out for a fish fry while it was running.  After it finished, I made sure the files were really on the drive then I loaded Windows 7. It took about an hour and was uneventful. So I upgraded Internet Explorer to version 9 as well.  It got late so I figured I would finish in the morning.

When I got up I immediately opened IE and downloaded MS Office 10 from my Gmail account.  It went a lot faster than when I loaded it on Jeff's PC.  I don't know if it was because it was early in the morning and the internet connection was speedier or what.  I finished with Office 10, loaded Quicken, Paint Shop Pro and iTunes.  Then I discovered that Windows 7 made a file called Windows.old that contained all my files that I backed up.  This will be easier than I thought. 

It wasn't easier.  Between reloading music, photos, and my quicken data, it was time consuming and boring.  It got annoying when I discovered that my .pst files weren't there.  At least I had my external drive back up data to draw from. But when I went to reload the files from the back up, it was impossible because the hard drive was fill. I had to get rid of Windows.old.  That was scary since it contained so much that I needed.  So I backed that up to my external drive before I deleted it.

After two days and lots of computer time, all I had left to do was re-load my MS Frontpage software.  Only I couldn't find the software.  I looked for the whole weekend and gave up.  Sadly, I needed that more than the rest. 

A week later I still didn't have my Frontpage software so Jeff got me the new Web Expression 4 that replaces Frontpage.  It looks a little intimidating but I look forward to learning it when I'm not sick of looking at my laptop.  I also discovered that my iTunes playlists are gone. Now that will be fun to rebuild since I wanted to do that anyway.
All in all, it wasn't terrible to upgrade, it just took time and some planning.  Everything seems to be running ok now.

A winter view

It's a gorgeous morning.  We've had so little snow that this is unusual this year.  It doesn't hurt that it's Saturday and I don't have to drive in it.

Christmas 2011

I realized when viewing photos from Christmases past, the tree generally looked the same.  Yes, there were always new additions to it, but the same garland and mostly the same ornaments were on there no matter which year's photos were viewed. Luckily, we differentiated each year by putting something unique on the top of the tree.  We all took turns picking the tree top and it made every year special.  But this year I decided to get all new ornaments for our tree. To commemorate the change, we had no tree top this year.  It was a lot of fun picking out the new ornaments and gave me a renewed reason to celebrate the season.

Black Friday

We like to spend Black Friday in Milwaukee's third ward.  There are no big mobs of crazy shoppers, no getting up in the middle of the night to get the deals, just a nice, leisurely walk through the downtown shops where they offer cookies, cakes and even mimosas to customers while they shop.  This year we started our venture with a bloody mary at the Wicked Hop.  We went through many awesome shops where we found deals on ornaments, kitchen wares, accessories, and other little trinkets.  We ended our trip with a stop at Milwaukee Cupcake where we got these. 

I took this photo because this year was very different.  Jeff got up before 5 and headed out.  I didn't know what he was up to but when he got home, he handed me a Canon Rebel EOS.  Wow, what a surprise!  He didn't want to wait until Christmas to give it to me, he preferred that I had some time to figure it out before the big Christmas holiday. So this is my first time trying it out.

Trip to San Diego

BJ had an extra ticket to the Packer game in San Diego.  And on a whim, I took him up on the offer to use it.  I booked a flight and found us a room for the weekend.  He had to work in SD the day I flew in so it worked out really well.  He picked me up from the airport after his workday was done. 
It was raining when I got there but the temperature was nicer than home.  As I sat in the airport, it was incredible to see flight after flight full of people wearing the Packer green and gold.  So many fans. BJ made plans with his co-workers to head to the Gaslamp district for the evening.  We stopped at a really good restaurant called Lou and Mickey's for a nice dinner then headed over to Whiskey Girl where the place was hopping.

Saturday morning we went for a drive and stopped at a roadside bazaar where I did some shopping.  The view of the ocean was incredible and the weather was perfect, high 60s and sunny.  We drove the coast for a long time.  Since we had no real plans I talked BJ into stopping at a Harley dealer where I bought myself a souvenir shirt.  Then we did the most amazing thing, we went to Quilt in a Day.  Yes, he took me to a quilt shop! And not just any quilt shop, Eleanor Burns' shop!  I was in heaven.  BJ was incredibly gracious about the whole thing and I think he even got a little interested when he noticed that her television studio was in the room next to the store.

After that, we drove back to the hotel all the while in view of the Pacific Ocean.  What a great city.  We got to the hotel in Oceanside in time to watch some college football and hang out in the local bar which was also on the water.  The views were fantastic no matter where we were. 
Sunday was the best day ever. Perfect weather and a parking lot filled with Packer fans.  Qualcomm was impressive but not pretty, not like Lambeau at all. This place was all cement and little character, where Lambeau was all history.