A Berry Good Smoothie

I ran across a fantastic (and easy and cheap) recipe for a smoothie. It is so incredibly good for you, too! I need to jump back on the "healthy" bandwagon, so I tried it and now can't get enough.

1 cup of fat-free vanilla yogurt (use the store brand)
1 cup of fresh strawberries, cut into thirds
3 cups of ice
1 Crystal Light Singles packet (you know, the ones you put in bottled water - also, feel free to use the store brand. Oh, I used Wild Strawberry flavor)

Holy Cow - it's so good!!! It made enough for two tall glasses. I drank one for my dinner. The other serving I put into a Ziploc freezer bowl and popped into the freezer. This morning, I'm having it for breakfast. As it thaws it's like an Icee. Or, if you are a Disney World fan, think Strawberry Dole Whip. Super yummy!

So, try this recipe this weekend - it's Summer Perfect.

Vertically Challenged and other random happenings

Let me start by saying what an incredible weekend that I had. I was by myself for three straight days - no husband, no kids. I honestly can not remember the last time that happened. I'm fairly certain it was prior to June 9, 2003. As much as I love my family, I needed this time by myself. I went shopping on Saturday for Miss Piper's bedroom accessories. It was so nice being able to go from store to store at my own pace. I spent 90 minutes in Hancock Fabrics looking at every fabric in the store. Able to examine the width, the print, the detailing ... I loved it. But, not half as much as being able to spend nearly 4 hours in Hobby Lobby. I went down every aisle. Even the ones for crafts that I know nothing about ... just because I could. I ended up with some great things for Piper's room, and minus a large vertical picture for one of her walls, I think we're done!

Speaking of Piper, she says the funniest things. One of the things that she looks most forward too is being a Mommy. She is always saying "When I'm a Mommy, I'm gonna ...." This is usually followed by "drink Diet Coke", "sleep in a big bed", "name my baby Barbie Redford", "drive a car with no top" (aka a convertable) ... or something of similar nature. Anyone that has children knows that using the bathroom by yourself after you have kids is impossible. Regardless of whether you close the door when you go in, some little child is sure to wonder in while you are there. One day, Piper said "When I'm the mommy, my feet will touch the ground when I use the potty." I remember laughing at this, thinking it was funny that she would notice that.

I hate to disappoint her, but while using the bathroom today at work, I noticed that my feet don't touch the ground in our stalls. (Sorry for the TMI.) At the moment that I realized that, her comment immediately popped into my head. Being as petite as she is, I'd say that the chances of her being any taller than me are pretty slim. All of the other mommy things, I'll encourage her to do and with her will-power, there's no doubt that she'll be able to do them all ... except have her feet touch the ground in EVERY potty!

Great Link on Houston Pastors

Fabulous link on some of Houston's best Pastors ...

http://www.chron.com/channel/houstonbelief/photogallery/Houstons_Celebrity_Preachers_.html

The Water Heater

Our water heater is in our garage. I remember very specifically the day they installed it during the building process. It has a sticker on the front - you know the one, with the red X indicating not to touch because it might be hot. I remember Avery asking what that sticker said. I'm foggy on what my answer was. Whatever it was I'm sure that it went something along the lines of "don't touch, because it might be hot ... even Mommy's and Daddy's can't touch it."

Now, every time that we pass the water heater, every time that anyone passes the water heater ... be it us, friend, repairman ... Avery and/or Piper (I've heard it in stereo many times) say "Only God and Jesus can touch that!!!" They are very committed to that.

It's a funny balance trying to teach the kids about God and Jesus, and just religion in general. During Christmas, it's hard to distinguish between God and Santa - both can see you all the time, both love you very much, both want you to share and be good all the time ... Jesus, since he was a man, is easier to teach. But, when I hear them say "Only God and Jesus can touch that!!!" I know that at least they understand that God and Jesus have powers far beyond what us, as humans, do.

I pray every morning that they will understand the power that God holds over their life, and that they will always trust him to guide their path. That same thought speaks to my favorite scripture:

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

... and that future holds, at least for now, not ever touching the water heater :)

No More Click Babies

All my babies are grown. It's a sad realization. Gone are all the cribs ... gone are all the toddler beds. The kids now both have twin beds - beds that they could sleep in for the rest of their lives if need be. It really is amazing how time flies.

Piper's baby box was under her toddler bed when we moved it out of her room last week. Last night, I opened it to look inside at all the treasures that I had kept. There was a newborn sized diaper. I kept one from both kids as a reminder of how fast they grow. It was unbelievable to me to think that she really was once that small, and now I've blinked my eyes and both kids are - for the most part - completely self-sufficient little people. They have their own opinions and their own wants and needs.

As cliche as it is, I know that I will blink again and they will be in college. What a scary and sad thought. I'm clinching tight to these precious preschool years. The innocence is so teaching. I hang on their every sweet thought.

... and look forward to every coming moment to see them grow even more.

Why Not To Buy An iPhone ... just yet

Dear Ms. McKezel,

I just spoke to Dana XXX on your customer service line. She indicated that I needed to fax items to you to initiate an adjustment on my bill. Please, however, let me give you the background to this so that I can inform you of how incredibly aggravated I am with this situation.

I received a call yesterday from the manager at the Apple Store at First Colony Mall. We are on a first name basis because I was in their store for over four hours on July 11–the day the iPhone 3G debuted. (This does not include the three hours that I waited in line outside!) I received a letter from AT&T (attached) saying that if my account was paid in full (receipt also attached) that I would be eligible for the iPhone on July 11 at a price of $199.

Once I was able to get inside the Apple store, I realized that they were not equipped to do price changes, therefore they promptly called AT&T to have them do a price reduction on their end. They said that they did, and let us off the line. We did this process a total of four more times - to no avail AND never having it succeed when my purchase was rung up on the register. Finally, we tried for a sixth time, and to the misery of us all ... the customer service rep activated the bar code on the phone that I was trying to buy. This meant that I was now in a two year contract with AT&T, but had no phone. Since the phone was activated by AT&T andyour computers on loan to Apple, it wouldn’t accept the bar code to be scanned for payment, because the phone was already activated and made it look as if it had been paid for when in fact it hadn’t! Forty-five minutes later, we were able to get a customer service manager that was able to back out that phone and let us start all over again. However, with starting all over again, it meant that we were back to square one with the activation date issue again. Finally, we asked to speak to the highest-ranking person at the call center and got Ms. Shawanna XXX. Ms. XXX was able to get the activation issue resolved, but could not override the AT&T issue with the price from her end. We were approaching the four-and-a-half hour mark on this issue, and resolved that I would pay full price for the phone and in turn, AT&T would give me a $200 credit on my monthly bill. I agreed to these terms as presented by an AT&T manager (Ms. XXX).

As of today, I am still showing a balance on my account. There is no sign of a $200 credit being applied. I am asking that this is taken care of immediately. I have already received my August bill, and will not be making a payment as it is less than $200.

The call I received yesterday from the manager at the Apple Store was to tell me that my name had appeared on an error report for their store and that if I did not contact AT&T within 24 hours my service would be terminated. After living through the ordeal that I described above, I’m sure that you can only imagine how angry I would be if my service was interrupted.

After this nightmare, I can tell you firsthand that, as much as I love my iPhone, I am telling people NOT to purchase one. I am highly impressed with Apple, but I am completely dissatisfied with AT&T and how this company has handled themselves. Given the circumstances, if I had it to do over again, I would have waited until August 25, switched my entire family to Verizon and bought a Blackberry.

At this point, I am asking two things:

(1) I want the $200 credit issue resolved immediately. This is a major point of contingency that I was told by the AT&T rep was handled before I left the store.


(2) I want a personal phone call - 713.XXX.57XX - from someone in a management position that can let me know that this has been taken care of.

I have been a customer of AT&T (through all the name changes) since 1993. I look forward to having a restored relationship with this company.

Thank you for your diligence,
Stephanie Click

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Miraculously, about 45 minutes after I faxed this, I got a call and the issue is now resolved. For today anyway ...

.

Question of the Day

I had a wonderful time in San Antonio at the DCI show. It's always great to catch up with friends and former students - this show is one of the highlights of my year for that exact reason. A lot of times, for me, it's totally refreshing to be with familiar friends.

It's definitely summer in Texas. I think it was 98-degrees yesterday. Saying it was hot would be an understatement! However, I noticed that everyone kept asking me, "How do you stand the heat down here? It's so (add adjective here) hot!!!"

Here's my answer friends ... I don't make a practice of standing out in parking lots or on asphalt much. I retired from teaching marching band when we moved to Houston for this reason! I go from my air conditioned house, to my air conditioned car, to my air conditioned office that is so cold on a daily basis that I run a space heater 365 days a year!!! On a non-work day, I go from my air conditioned car to the pool. Standing outside for prolonged periods of time isn't on my daily to-do list, therefore it's really not much of a thought.

Here's a comparison from about 10 minutes ago between Nashville and Houston:

Temperature - Houston: 95 degrees; Nashville: 93 degrees
Humidity - Houston: 34%; Nashville: 40%
Dew Point - Houston: 63 degrees; Nashville: 65 degrees
"Feels Like" - Houston: 97 degrees; Nashville: 95 degrees
UV Index - Houston: 3; Nashville: 1

As you see, it's not a lot different from home! People at work are always saying "How are you dealing with the humidity?" I try to explain that Nashville has high humidity too (today it's higher THERE!) ... people look at me with disbelief when I try to explain that we have a true summer in Tennessee. The difference in weather comes not in summer, it's in winter! While we're enjoying weather in the high 60s in February, people in Nashville are bundled up to the hilt!

So, to answer the question once more ... "How do I handle the heat?" My answer is ... "the same way I have for the last 34 years!"