For the Love of an iTouch

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who like Apple® and those who don’t.

I’ve always been a proud member of the latter category and even went so far as to marry a fellow member. We lived in ignorant bliss until just a few months ago.

Last year my husband announced it was time for him to get serious about studying to take the bar. A few hundred thousand dollars later, my husband relayed to me the shocking news: personal bar studies were only available through the use of an iTouch or iPhone.

My first thoughts were not pleasant ones. The words “disgusting monopolistic garbage” may or may not have floated through my mind.

But we had to do what we had to do.

And now... I’m a believer.

So why devote a blog post to such a topic? Just this: I’ve discovered another device that has saved my life. And I know several other mommas who just might be tempted by what I’m about to share.

Our iTouch now joins with our iRobot Roomba, Mosie, (which I could swear I wrote a post about but I can’t seem to find it now) as a couple pricey, but well-worth-the-money technologies.

Though my iTouch has allowed me to significantly increase my ability to maintain a social presence (through facebook and email), most importantly it has helped me stop wasting time on the internet.

It’s nothing new. I’ve mentioned internet addictions in the past. And I’m sure many of us mothers continue to have some moments each day that we’ve blithely tossed into the internet-surfing void.

And that’s precisely where the iTouch comes in. I’m able to manage my blog subscriptions, check and respond to email, browse and update facebook, and be consistent with devotions all through the use of this handy... TINY... device. I emphasize tiny because that is precisely what keeps me from over-doing my internet time. I mean, who wants to stare at such a small screen with such small font for more than 5 minutes?

My point exactly.

Blogs and facebook are browsed while I’m nursing, after devotions. Email is check multiple times during the day, but only long enough to see what’s new and if a timely response is needed. I’m more organized and MUCH more attentive to my girls this way.

And that, for the record, is what works for me!

What works for you?

Search Rewards? Search No Longer

A few months ago I started hearing about a search engine called Swagbucks. Supposedly this search engine would combine the powerful returns of Google and Ask Jeeves, but also offered points, or swagbucks, for your internet queries. These bucks can be used to purchase gift cards, books, movies - pretty much anything - from the Swagbucks store.

I'm not too into things like this, but one random afternoon I decided to give it a shot after hearing of so many others who had success with it.

I'm so glad I did!

I've been a member since the first of the year and already have enough bucks earned for a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card or a $15 Starbucks card. Can't beat that!

So if you're interested in taking my word for it and giving it a shot, feel free to try it out! You won't be disappointed! (To sign up, you can either click the link above or the banner at the bottom of my blog.)

A new outlet for self-expression?

I stumbled across a new collaborative web-publishing site today and fell in love. Not quite sure what to do with this new-found interest, but it certainly could be promising. :-) Anyone ever heard of iScribd before?

A Night Away...

Gosh, a night away with my best friend sounded like so much fun! And so many of you agreed with me that the Mandarin-Oriental DC hotel looked like just the place to kick back and relax. Boy, was I wrong. Let me share our weekend with you...

We arrived at the Mandarin around 2:30pm after a leisurely morning browsing the stores at the Pentagon City mall. We had reserved a premiere waterfront suite with a view of the Jefferson Memorial. Our view was definitely beautiful, but our room looked very little like this picture that represented it on the website. It was nowhere near this large. Here's what our room actually looked like:
And what the picture fails to show is the lovely set of railroad tracks directly under the windows. Every 30-60minutes your room starts vibrating when Amtrak thunders past. Great fun. And the furniture was pretty ratty.

As I mentioned, the view was lovely, but the windows were so dirty I couldn't take any good pictures through them. Major bummer. Here's the best one I was able to capture:

The bathroom was very classy, but the marble in the shower had rust stains and the wood vanity was scratched and smudged a great deal. Not the thing you would expect when staying at a five-star hotel and paying an arm and a leg.

We had called in the morning to schedule our reservations for dinner at the hotel's well-known restaurant, CityZen. Having not heard back from them upon check-in, we inquired if we could make a reservation for the evening... and were practically laughed out of the hotel. Apparently that restaurant's reservations fill up approx. 2 wks-2 months in advance. Oh.

I really can't tell you how disappointed we were. I had purchased a special Chinese dress (from Shanghai) for the occasion and, well, there were many other factors this hang-up complicated as well. I admit, at this point I started pouting. Big time. But after a lot of strange events (it would take too long to recount them all) we ended up being given a table for the 6:30pm seating. Thank you, Lord!

The food at the CityZen was delicious (though not even comparable to the stuff we raved about in St. Lucia)! Perhaps the most notable event was that I ate rabbit for the very first time. And it was really good! We did enjoy our time there, although our waitress left a lot to be desired (lots of fun stories there, but I'll save it for another time). But hey, it went with the theme of our weekend. :-) I wasn't able to capture any good pictures of us or the dress, but this kinda shows the artistry of the silk cheongsam. My husband adored it... which was all the mattered to me. :-)

On the whole, we would heartily discourage anyone from going to the Mandarin. I've left out a bunch of stories about the poor service and all the ways they nickle and dimed you out of your money. Probably the real breaking point for us was learning they had a $15 per 24 hour fee for wireless internet. Uh, come on! Even Super 8 motels have that for free. We had a far better experience (and far better suite - a bedroom, kitchen, and living room!!!) at the Reston Hyatt where we spent our wedding night. And it was half the price.

But should you think my weekend tale is over, it's not. On Sunday morning we found out that my mom had experienced some troubling symptons similar to retinal detachment with one of her eyes. Long story short, we had to head home early so she could make a visit to the ER. (Good news, it was a vitreous detachment, and not as much a cause for alarm.) So that definitely brought our already awkward weekend to a dramatic end.

::Sigh:: I need a weekend to recover from my weekend. :-P

Toys for the Housewife

(Get your mind out of the gutter)

Otherwise Entitled: Ode to My Swiffer Duster

I can't believe I'm actually dedicating precious time and energy to blogging about this, but allow me to say: I love my new Swiffer Duster!

I bought one at random last night as part of a huge (but inexpensive) CVS purchase and I haven't stopped swiffering (is that a word) since I opened the box. Unlike other dusters that simply push the dust around, the Swiffer really does pick up all the little dust particles. It's perfect for any type of dusting job.

But the best part of all is that it's incredibly fluffy and soft. It just begs to be pet between jobs.

Ok. Did I really just say that?