The Beauty and the Mess

Okay, I have a confession to make. I don't know how to link to music - like if I wanted to post a playlist. Say, a Christmas mix or a 2007 mix. I don't understand how a Sendspace account works, or why people put "hxxp" in the link instead of the actual link. I'm even in a mix community (belikemercury), but can't participate because I have no clue about the logistics.

Can someone please explain? Please use small words and do not be all Nick Burns, Your Company Computer Guy.

Thanks. :)

Okay, I know I'm stupid for having to ask this, but can someone explain how to download a (free) font from a website? All fonts are zipped now, it seems, and I don't know how to unzip them. I've tried opening them, extracting them to the fonts folder, and everything else I can think of. They never show up in Word. I need some weddingy font choices for my invitations and at this rate I'll have to use Arial. Please reply and use small words. Thank you.

Yesterday was not the greatest day. We're in the midst of a mind-numbing data entry project at work, which has caused my tendonitis to flare up again from all the tabbing over. Tendonitis is one of the most annoying sensations I know of. It's not so much a pain as a sort of nonstop painful itch inside my arm. I can't be wimpy and beg off the project, so I just have to put up with it. I have my arm brace on, though, and it's helping a little. At least I have a nice long computerless week coming up soon.

On the positive side, we booked a fantastic photographer last night. My mom and I met with him and are both very excited about him. He's very talented and organized. Now all we need is a florist. God is really bringing this wedding together. Yay God! :) After the photographer meeting, we met up with my dad and Evan for dinner, which was a nice surprise. Then Evan and I went to the library. To my excitement they had Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities, and I'm already about halfway through it. I am simultaneously fascinated and disturbed, and feeling more thankful than ever that I didn't go that route.

The weather is absolutely amazing. Today's high is 79. I have never gotten an early fall as a birthday present before, but I'm loving it. :) Also I'm having lunch with my friend Kristin today, which might help alleviate the restlessness I've been feeling all week. Evan feels similarly bored. I don't know what's wrong with us. We have a nice action-packed weekend coming up, though! I'm so excited about the Olympics starting tomorrow. I love the Olympics. I still have a tape of the 1998 figure-skating long program with Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski. I think I'll tape the gymnastics this year since it's my favorite of the summer events. Go USA!

Everyone's already said it, but Happy Zero Birthday to little Emily Christian, daughter of Rebecca and Steven! I'm so excited for you guys.

Dont' forget it's National Day of Prayer today. I went to an excellent lunchtime service at Second Pres; the sermon was on I Timothy 2, about how the most important thing in ministry (or anything else) is prayer.

Last night I made a mix CD of my favorite RUF songs and a few other worship-y songs from other sources. I've been wanting to do that for a long time. When I listened to it on the way to work this morning, the sound quality was noticeably bad (I use Media Player to rip songs- .wma). Now I'm kind of bummed. Anyone know of a free mp3 ripping program? I'm so dumb when it comes to computer things.

So it's Friends finale night! We're having a small party with pizza and Friends Charades. The Dateline special last night was so good! I cleared a tape and am taping all the finale stuff, editing out the commercials, and Kathy's mom is going to put it on DVD for us. Oh, and can I say again how great it is to have Kathy back? Really back. The change in her is amazing. After seeing what her, and Lauren, and Jonathan have gone through in getting their masters, I don't think I will ever go to grad school. Ever. Then again, you guys have something to show for all your work. I have no accomplishments. I fear this is my destiny. :P

A lot of you have made very meaningful posts today that I wanted to comment on, and I have other things I wanted to say here, but the work keeps coming. Maybe I'll have more time later.

So last night I finally tried the Ouidad Starter Set that I ordered in December: shampoo, conditioner, spray conditioner, and gel. My hair looks about the same as on any other decent hair day, but it feels much lighter, like there's nothing in it at all. It's also a little shinier than usual. I didn't use much of the products, either, because I am almost afraid that they'll work great. I can't afford to get hooked on that stuff. This set will be for special occasions, I guess.

My headache is coming back. The more I look at the computer, the more my eyes hurt. When I came back from lunch an hour ago, I was fine. :( I went to Target to buy a wedding present and also came out with Moulin Rouge, on sale for $7.50- my impulse buy of the week! I'm in one of those dangerous moods when I just want to buy stuff (not necessarily for me). Target just released a Friends Party Pack which is only being sold there. It has a DVD with 7 "party" episodes from different seasons, a CD of party music, a few trivia cards, and some Central Perk coffee. I was sooo tempted. Maybe for someone's birthday?

My webpage redesign is almost ready for publishing, but the links are baffling me. I'm using WebDwarf and whenever I insert a link, then close the text box, the link is gone. What I need is a brain download of web design skills, so I could do it myself. Like Trinity "learning" to fly a helicopter.

Adjectives that should be on the LJ mood list: flustered, headachy, panicky, expectant, impatient, mushy, scholarly, procrastinating. Have they ever added anything to the moods list? I know you can fill in your own, but it's less fun without the little square face (or whatever you use).

♥Brenda and ♥Evan

Will never conceive a pair of beautiful children. Choose not to hold hands periodically. Have developed gills for extended kissing.

Orchestrated by ianiceboy

Last night I had a low-blood-sugar crash such as I have not had in years. On my way out the door to Kroger, I noticed that my arms and legs were a little shaky. I figured I was tired from wearing heels all day. About fifteen minutes later, I felt so weak that I could hardly push the shopping cart. It wasn't until I saw a frozen lasagna, and instantly craved meat, that I figured out what was wrong. I bought a package of beef, which I have never done in two years of apartment living. I went through the U-Scan and my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn't scan a head of lettuce. As soon as I got home I wolfed down some pretzels, which helped enough that I was able to cook a beef Stroganoff. Evan came over and ate with me, and we had a restful evening. Today I feel better. I guess a meatier, proteiny diet is in my future. I don't know how hypoglycemics are supposed to lose weight. :P But I'd rather weigh a little more than have these sugar attacks. They're scary, especially when they come out of nowhere like that.

Inspired by stacye13's tidy yet personable cubicle, I've been making my own cube less cluttery. Today I made a shelf for my Homestar Runner figurines out of tacks, paper clips, and part of an Office Depot box. Look out, MacGyver.

I have decided to make a deliberate effort to watch less TV. After a thousand replays of Justin and Janet, and total immorality on 90% of existing shows, I have finally had it. Evan and I have started reading together, which I think is a great substitute for trying to find something among all the filth on the air. He doesn't even want to watch the news anymore because it just makes us upset. So, excepting the few shows we do enjoy, I'm going to live more like Thoreau. :)

How many Hotmail users are on the friends list? Have you guys had a lot of problems with the free e-mail? I have weird problems that their staff refuses to address. I can't receive mail from Yahoo addresses. I can't send mail to AOL addresses. Evan has sent me several nice e-mails that I never received, and he's a Hotmail user too. It's getting very annoying. I'd just switch to my Yahoo address full-time, but I don't like the way their page looks. Yes, I am superficial when it comes to e-mail. Anyone have thoughts?

For some reason my friends list is scrolling horizontally. I don't see any big pictures or anything, so I don't know what's causing it. In the meantime I have to scroll back and forth for every sentence. It is very annoying.

To borrow a Jessica device, I am Typey Typerson today. I can thank God and my ergonomic keyboard for my complete lack of wrist pain. Yay! I have had zero pain since I got this keyboard. This morning a sort-of co-worker saw it and demanded to know when I had gotten it and why. Now she's getting one too, even though she doesn't have tendonitis or anything. She also demanded to know why my boss wasn't here today, even though she does not deal directly with her in any way. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Gandalf is being such a good cat, suddenly. The last time he was this nice was when we first brought him home as a tiny kitten. Since the tree incident, he has been affectionate and well-behaved. I'd think it was just a ploy so he could cause more destruction later, but I don't see that devious glint in his eyes anymore. It's weird, like an alternate-universe Folgers commercial. We have switched Brenda's regular cat with a much sweeter, calmer cat. Let's see if she notices.

I am still working on a rehaul of my website, which will not look any more professional than my current website because I can't do tables or anything remotely fancy. But at least it'll have different colors, different graphics, and better content (most of this time has been spent adding to my quotes database). It would be nice if I could get it up before the end of the year, but who am I kidding? I'm currently working on three assignment-and-assumptions of hotels by myself. That means nothing to you, but trust me, it's a lot.

Evan took me to lunch today. I love to be with him, even if I'm just sitting there watching him program numbers into his new phone. :)

Christmas cards take a very, very long time to write. I finally accepted that I am old enough to send my own cards to family, which means about 25 more cards than before. If I only send to certain relatives, other relatives will find out and get huffy. Sometimes I envy people with small extended families. :P The postage is going to kill me. I like to make sure I include a little message with each one, so it takes me a lot longer than most people. Evan is baffled as to why I do this at all. Do most guys think Christmas cards are stupid?

Happy birthday mszimbolist! I hope you have a day filled with love and cake. I noted while reading USAToday earlier that Jimmy Fallon shares your birthday. Very exciting. :)

Hey, I need two recommendations from you guys:

1. A free/cheap, WYSIWYG web design program. I was using Page Mill, but it's discontinued now and I can't get it to install on the new computer(s). I wasn't thrilled with it anyway, so it's no big loss. But I want to redesign my web page, and I'm not good enough at HTML to use a straight HTML editor. Thank you. :)

2. Are there any legal music download sites anymore? I have WinMX, but now I'm afraid of the Whitecloaks...er...RIAA coming after me (they just got 14 people from Memphis. I'd rather not risk my life savings for two songs). Ryan told me that imesh.com is legal because it's based in Australia, but I didn't see any statement of that on the site. I know there are plenty of sites offering music I've never heard of; I'm talking about songs I actually know. Help.

Speaking of music, I'm all loaded up for my drive to Nashville. I have plenty to sing along to, like my Schoolhouse Rock CD, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, and the always-entertaining Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The only good thing about driving by myself is that I can listen to whatever I want. :)

It's going to be weird now being away from Evan all weekend. He has to work, anyway, but I'm still a little sad about it. It continues to amaze me that he actually wants to spend time with me, is willing to rearrange his schedule and forsake truck activities to be with me. Me! When I think about that, I just smile and smile. I honestly couldn't remember, before, what it was like to be wanted. It's wonderful. :)

Okay, I have to go throw an office birthday party now. Have a great weekend!

Thanks so much for all of your birthday wishes! :D My birthday weekend was excellent. ( Lots to tell. )

:D

You guys are awesome. I came in today expecting a pretty typical day, and then I saw my Birthday Snap Cup. I can't tell you how happy that made me! I'm so touched. Thank you all so much! You are wonderful and you're blessings to me in your own unique ways. I am so happy to know you all and I hope someday I can be as great as you guys think I am. :) My cup runneth over.

To add to the excitement, I also got cool postcards yesterday from Jonathan and Jenn! Two postcards in one day! I mean, when does that ever happen? Thanks, guys. :)

Tonight we're having a big Build Brenda's Computer night at my parents' house. The guys are coming over to help my dad and his techie friend, and we're going to order pizza. It's going to be a fun, relaxing time. I'm looking forward to it. We have decided to give my old computer to my grandmother; my parents just gave their old computer to her, but she's having trouble with it, so maybe mine will be more straightforward.

I am very glad to hear that our Northeasterners are okay. What a crazy situation. My dad is angry and refuses to watch the coverage. "Did their cities get destroyed? Did they have people dying and power lines down all over the place? No! They just lost power!" He has a point. This morning I watched Katie Couric interview a power company official, asking, "So do you think the power will come back on today?" I hope all the other Memphians watching got as big a laugh out of that as I did.

Happy birthday, danialand! And happy late birthday, imaginarylove! And welcome to the friends list, kiwiria! When I stopped to think about it, I realized that Maria was my first online friend. We met on an L.M. Montgomery mailing list when I was in college. She just started a journal, so let the fun commence. :)

Does anyone know of a good, relatively inexpensive CD burner program? Kathy and I both have Adaptec programs and are having a lot of trouble with them. Hers can't even burn mp3s. Surely there must be something better out there.

We went to see Finding Nemo last night. It was wonderful- and very emotional, for a fish movie.

I have an impromptu interview with my prospective new boss at 3 pm. Please pray. It's a good thing I wore businesslike clothes today and not a sundress like I wore yesterday.