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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
I scheduled the spinal injection for as soon as possible. Waiting three weeks was difficult. I was nervous about the whole thing but I wanted to feel better. We got to the hospital and checked in. I was surprised when I didn't even need a hospital gown. I just laid on a table that has an x-ray machine over it and the doctor injected by back with some local anesthesia and threaded her needle into my spine as she watched the image from the x-ray machine. It was done from start to finish in less than 10 minutes. I sat in an exam room afterwards for 30 minutes to ensure there were no complication and then I was ready to go.
It was lunch time so we went over to Sobelman's and had a Bloody Mary and a burger. It felt good to do something normal after the stress of the unknown from this morning. We went home and I relaxed for the rest of the day. In the morning I could already tell the numbness was going away. I could now feel the top of my foot and only two of my toes were numb instead of all of them. By the following week, I felt numbness free.
Too bad it didn't last. The one thing the doctor did explain is that it doesn't always work the first time. It can take up to three injections to work. It lasted about two and a half weeks so I called immediately to schedule another one. I worried about getting on the schedule and sure enough, I have to wait until November 9. This time I was much more prepared, no fear, no worry, just ready to get it done. Luckily it did work this time. No more going back for a while. It's too bad the running season is over.
It was lunch time so we went over to Sobelman's and had a Bloody Mary and a burger. It felt good to do something normal after the stress of the unknown from this morning. We went home and I relaxed for the rest of the day. In the morning I could already tell the numbness was going away. I could now feel the top of my foot and only two of my toes were numb instead of all of them. By the following week, I felt numbness free.
Too bad it didn't last. The one thing the doctor did explain is that it doesn't always work the first time. It can take up to three injections to work. It lasted about two and a half weeks so I called immediately to schedule another one. I worried about getting on the schedule and sure enough, I have to wait until November 9. This time I was much more prepared, no fear, no worry, just ready to get it done. Luckily it did work this time. No more going back for a while. It's too bad the running season is over.
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.
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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.
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