"It's a Mac," I thought. "It'll restart." After several failed attempts and a panic stricken phone call I took my beloved lap top to Best Buy. The verdict? A crashed hard drive. Nick from the Geek Squad presented several steps/plans of action but quickly discovered that due to the type of failure that had occurred, I'd have to send the hard drive off to their data recovery center. This made me incredibly nervous, but was, as I saw it, my only hope.
I have been so down in the dumps about this. Three years of my life are on a 4 by 5 inch hard drive that is currently at a recovery center several states away. I may lose everything I have worked so hard to create. I absolutely realize that this is not a life or death situation, but I am crushed at the thought of losing so many documents and files that mean so much to me. Sometimes I absolutely hate technology. Let my misfortune be your lesson: back up your data!!!
A ray of hope: last Friday afternoon I talked with a technician, who (after an initial test of my hard drive) said that my chances of getting almost everything back are very high. I will one of the happiest people on the face of this earth if they can recover my stuff, although I will have accumulated a hefty bill... : / I guess you can't put a price on memories, so I'm hoping for a happy ending.
In other news, my sweet family came to Columbia recently for a couple days of fun. First on the agenda: assembling a bed. When the old one in our guest room finally kicked the bucket, did I go to the nearest furniture store? Oh, no, my friends. I knew immediately who to call: my mother. You see, she has kept what seems like every piece of furniture my family has had through the generations. If I need something that so much as resembles a piece of furniture I have about a 99% chance of getting it for free out of our attic. I keep threatening to put one of these in their yard...
How many Carlsons/Moodys does it take to assemble a bed frame? Clearly only four, as I was in picture taking mode as usual. Besides, I figure I'm more in the way than anything, and I'm probably right.
I actually cooked the night they came (after notifying all the nearby hospitals for a potential food poisoning situation). On nights when I don't want to eat a lot I make macaroni and cheese, which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. I find this method to be very effective.
If I were making chocolate chip cookies, however, half of the dough wouldn't even make it into the oven...
A visit from Mama usually involves some sort of impromptu organization. Case in point:
I can 100% guarantee that on any given occasion or holiday my mother will ask us to clean out a drawer, cabinet, or closet in lieu of a gift. Since she seemingly enjoys it so much, I have no problem with her whizzing around like a fairy on a cleaning spree when she comes to my house for a visit. Take that, dust bunnies.
The next day we had lunch with Nanny, Papa, & Uncle David to celebrate their 60th anniversary! Nanny shows everyone the place mats from Ryan and me.
Later that evening the whirlwinds of fun aka Daniel McLaurin and Dean Shuttleworth came to town and spent the weekend with us. After a movie and delicious meal...
we had some extra energy that needed to be used. Daniel and I spent the next half hour like this...
If a picture says a thousand words, a video must say a million. Watch at your own risk...
Our dancing selections included Rhianna and Britney, along with many more classics. The goal is to put together a half time show for the upcoming football season. Our tour dates are TBA.
The next day was JK & Erin's engagement party! It was great to see everyone, and we are so happy for such a great couple... : )
What's the best way to end your weekend? Going to church on Sunday!
Last week I stopped in a business to give them my card. A typical "cold call," right? Well, to my delight, this was actually a STORE!!! And it had some incredible items. Look at all of those things! I could hear Ryan's voice in the back of my head as I blissfully pranced around the store,"You don't need that. It's a dust collector. A glass parrot; really, Katharine??"
Would you look at this dog bed?!? If/when I ever have a dog, it must sleep in this little piece of fabulousness.
And you can't forget the matching food bowls that are equally as classy...
I did end up finding a Christmas ornament in there that I couldn't resist. I am probably the only salesperson in history who entered a business to sell something and walked out with a purchase. Oh well, I'm always breaking the mold, anyway. Why stop now.
Now I would like to introduce you to the newest member of my family: Siri. I had my old iPhone for a little over a year, and it was getting so slow to operate and was almost completely out of space. Well, a trip to Verizon will fix that.
In the words of Beyonce, "Let me let me upgrade ya."
An hour later I emerged from Verizon with a brand new companion. Siri is amazing, and that's no understatement. She may just get her own stocking on our fireplace this Christmas. It is almost scary how much she knows... By just speaking I can send texts, make phone calls, find stores, get directions, and the possibilities are endless. I say with no shame that I did nothing but ask her questions for a straight hour after leaving Verizon.
Note: do not try this at home if you are not equipped with the right electronics.
"Siri who??? I think you have the wrong number."
Out of all the amazing "apps" out there, the best one has yet to be invented. I am waiting for a "find me" application to be released. I am not exaggerating when I say that I lose my phone at least ten times a day. Because I use it for almost everything: talking, texting, internet research, emailing, pictures, etc., I am carrying it around 24/7 and leave it in every imaginable and even unimaginable place. I need to be able to yell across the house, "Where are you, Siri?!?" followed by, "I'm in the pantry beside the Cheetos where you left me, Princess." Now THAT I would pay dearly for. No more runaway iPhone.
This past weekend was awesome!!! On Friday evening Jay made a corn chowder concoction:
This kid even makes his own croutons! He could survive in the middle of a desert with an old sheet, water bottle, and a single match.
My baking project of choice were these cookies, and they did not disappoint!!
Later I challenged Jay to a dance off. He won- point wise, anyway!
Truth be told, we both had our fair share of wins and losses...
Annnd, here we are playing catch phrase over the weekend. Whoever was on my team would always request to change people the next round, usually because I have a problem paying attention. Who knew??
Squirrel!
Okay, back to reality. Saturday night was action packed. Out of nowhere I decided that we were going to have tacos for dinner and that I was going to make them. I should have quit while I was ahead. Within five minutes of beginning the task I smelled something burning and looked in horror at the frying pan sizzling and crackling with BURNED PAM. That's right, folks, only I could burn cooking spray.
My first orders were to turn on the exhaust fan. The next damage control step: Mama furiously scrubbed the pan in hopes of salvaging it. I found it quite ironic that for a "non-stick" spray, it wasn't budging.
The Carlson home has a secret ingredient that we add to each meal to ensure maximum flavor and spice: it's arguing. Taco night ended up being a success, but Mama is going to hide the Pam from me next time...
Saturday evening I watched some baseball with Ryan's family, visited with Lauren, and topped off my evening with a fun trip to the Lewis's! Bennett suggested that we make Sundaes! That took no persuasion whatsoever. They were delicious!!
My bowl. Do you want some ice cream with those sprinkles? I went back and got more later.
Sunday was Father's Day!!! I love Daddy so very much and was thrilled to spend time with him and the family this weekend.
After church on Sunday at the wonderful First Baptist of Dillon we headed to a Father's Day cookout with Ryan's family. My father-in-law modeling one of his new shirts:
Well, hello, Jamie!
Beautiful Lexie and Carrie, fresh out of high school! Goodness, time flies...
This must be one of Ryan's new favorite faces...
After the cookout we had gift time for Daddy. He really racked up this year!
I usually create some sort of art work on the card's envelope. This year's included: books, eating utensils, a hammer, malted milk balls, a game piece, a sausage, and a computer mouse. Congratulations if you guessed all of those items at first glance. You win an imaginary prize.
Reading his long and humorous card.
One of the first gifts he opened was this hat. He put it on and said that it was "too shallow" and wouldn't sit all the way down on his head. A few minutes later we realized why...
He left the paper inside of it. Oh, Daddy.
Then he opened a pair of new shoes. Did you know that footwear comes with rules? His did. Mama said that these were "not for yard work or running; these were for nicer occasions." I'm not exactly sure what would fall into the nicer occasion category- a trip to Food Lion perhaps?
Next up in our world of confusion: he opens this gift, and I yell, "Mama, you wrapped mine!!! That's my shirt; not Daddy's!" He would have definitely gotten a few stares if he had worn that around town...
All in all he had a wonderful Father's Day!
Daddy and his "kids."
I will be forever grateful to have grown up in a home with two parents who raised me in church, taught me about Jesus, and loved Jay and me more than they love themselves.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
This house is going to be grand central station this week. We've got a lot going on, and I wouldn't have it any other way! Have a splendidly wonderful week, my friends : D
Siri's Master,
