Bad News Gone Good

I was stressed when I walked in the computer store today. I hadn't renewed my anti-virus software, and you know what happens when we surf without protection. That's right - you end up with diseases. And apparently, my computer was a candidate for the ICU.

I must admit - my computer is my bosom buddy. We spend a lot of time together. So she needed quick healing. I heard about a store that would diagnose free.

So I tenderly wrapped up my friend, put her in my tote bag and took her in for some relief from her viruses.  

As I approached the Fix-It Counter, Amy greeted me cheerfully and said, "What can I do for you?" She listened to the symptoms for only a few minutes and said, "Oh, we can take care of this. We deal with this all the time. But, I'll just turn 'er on and see what's happening."

She can help me! That was the best news I'd heard all day.

There is something so refreshing about the confidence of  kids in their twenties when it comes to computers. Not that my generation can't use or repair them, it's just we had to learn about computers. Whereas, I think these young twenty-and-thirty-somethings  were born with a computer chip that helps them maneuver their way through electronics at the speed of light. Which, if they are teaching you, can be bad. But, when they are fixing your computer, that finesse is a good thing.

So here was Amy - young enough I could have given birth to her. She even had tatoos. I knew my computer was in good hands. And, indeed, it was. Less than two hours later Amy had my friend feeling fresh as a daisy.

Amy even explained (very carefully and tediously) some other things about my computer. For instance, I had surfing options. Who woulda thought? I had been surfing with the same browser my entire computer life. But she told me about the advantages of possibly choosing one of three other options.

Amy also gave me her business card and invited me to call her with any and all of my questions. She doesn't know what she got herself into with that kind gesture, I thought. This could come in handy because my very own twenty-year old is moving out soon. I won't have him to whine to when something goes wrong.

 I think Amy, my computer,
and me are going to be a
great team!












  
And, in the meantime, I'm back online and all is well.

Five Things I Learned on Vacation

Several years ago, my family stood in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA just yards from where the US constitution was signed. We were on a vacation that included Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Washington DC. Vacations in that area just reek of education and history. You could have signed us up for Parents of the Year.

"Mom," my son said, "the tour guides just said the constitution wasn't signed on July 4th like my teachers have always told me."

"Well, now you can go back and tell your teachers the correct story of how it was signed months later and all the other things you learned," I responded.

"No way!" He seemed repulsed. "I can't do that. The kids will make fun of me. You're not supposed to learn stuff on vacation."

And, to this day, he sticks to his story of "no learning on vacation."

I, however, differ. Read on.

 FIVE Things I've Learned Over the Past 4000 Miles

ONE:  The best thing my 20 year-old could hear me say is, "Drats! My camera batteries are dead."

TWO: I truly am an athlete. The sign at Niketown in California says so:

THREE:  If, upon checking into a downtown hotel, you are told by the hotel clerk (several times), "Do NOT leave anything in your car," you probably shouldn't leave your room on foot at 7:00 p.m. to shop at a store 1.5 miles away. I witnessed at least two illegal activities (and probably walked through others that my naive eyes did not detect) before returning to the hotel at dusk. Thank you, Son, for that experience.

FOUR:  I also learned that people actually DO steal from hotels. Oh, I've suspicioned this over the years - especially this year when we checked into two different (cheap) motel rooms where they didn't bother to include a clock for my room fee. But, upon checking into a little higher quality room, I saw this sign that confirmed my people-do-steal-from-hotels suspicion:

FIVE:  And lastly, I learned blue plastic sunglasses are NOT appreciated by my children.

But, hey, they were only $4.00 at Fisherman's Wharf. The two sons accompanying me on vacation refused to let me out of the car with my new blue shades. Needing some support, I texted a picture to my other adult children to get a vote on the glasses. Only my daughter-in-law sided with me. (Let's hear it for the in-laws!)

BUT - I also learned what to do with the not-so-popular $4.00 glasses.

Arriving in New Mexico, I discovered my nephew shared my taste in glasses. (His were only ornamental!)




I asked if he would like a matching pair to wear in the sun. So, Mark is the proud owner of two pair of blue glasses. When we left three days later, he was wearing them everywhere. I'm glad the glasses found a good home.

The last 4200 miles were fun. But it's good to be back home in our own little nest.

LOCATED: The Morerods

Well friends, in answer to the question from the last blog of where the Morerods might be sighted on a southern route home from California to Kansas......the winner is BT from OK (Oklahoma, that is!).

We traveled through here:

(border of California)

where the temperature is know to be a little on the warm side.

And then we arrived here:

If you recognized those pictures as the Grand Canyon, you're right, just like BT from OK.

THINGS CHANGE over 18 years from when we were there before. I enjoyed it and appreciated the wonder of it all more this time. Maybe, because 18 years ago, we had five children, including two in strollers, and I probably was saying things like, "Don't get too close," "I know it's hot out here," "We'll go the bathroom soon," or "Yes, we'll visit the gift shop in a minute."

 Due to our travel schedule, we visited at 7:00 p.m. And, since I'm not a professional photographer (where is my daughter when I need her?), I apologize for the not-so-great quality of the pictures. I tried different camera settings, however, I'm not really sure many cameras can capture the beauty and awesomeness of the Grand Canyon.

Although there were a number of tripod-carrying photography buffs trying for their best shot with cameras slung around their necks and lenses that probably captured what was going on back home in Kansas.

And, in case you're wondering if we took advantage of the new glass bottom walkway that juts out over the Grand Canyon, the answer is .... ummm - NO. It was in another part of the Canyon, and since we didn't know if we had what it took to step foot on it, we decided not to venture there. If you want to see what I'm talking about and if you'd like that experience, click here.


I was going to save this next picture for the next blog on WHAT I LEARNED ON VACATION, but I will share it now since this learning experience happened at the Grand Canyon.

I learned that there IS something that can raise my blood pressure and body temperature higher than any mid-life hot flash. And that is this:

One of those crazy people that has ventured out onto a precarious, death defying, scare-your-mother-half-to-death cliff is son #4. Just inches from the toe of his Nike is the drop-off to the bottom of the Canyon. I am pleased to report, though, that both he and I lived to tell about it.

But I'm here to testify that no hormonal hot flash has anything on the temperatures my body soared to as I watched him take off and hike into this compromising location. My apron strings WERE NOT long enough. He didn't even ask my permission.

I recovered and we had a good time. Even #5 wanted in on the action. This is as daring as he and I get:

I look forward to chatting next time when I will report on WHAT I LEARNED ON VACATION. 

Leave me a comment and tell me this: are you a rock-adventurer, pushing the bounds of sanity OR one that is content to watch from safety and OK with not knowing what you missed by peering over the edge?

And the Answer Is . . .

Well, apparently hotel shampoos weren't high enough stakes to get very many guesses on Where Were the Morerods. If you still want to look at the pictures from a previous blog and take a guess before you scroll down for the answers, click here. 

Thanks to those who did guess, though. Some of you were really close guessing where the pictures were taken. But, here are the official answers.

PHOTO #1: 

This is the beautiful Salt Lake Temple. This was a first visit for me, so this building was fabulous.



PHOTO #2: 












This was taken at the:

Sometimes this is called the Bonneville Salt Flats. These salt flats were used for racing and breaking all kinds of speed records. You can read about it on the internet if you click here. Nope, hubby didn't let me loose in the car on the flats.

PHOTO #3:

This is just one wonderful view of Lake Tahoe. Not sure you can get a "bad" view at this beautiful lake. If you haven't been to California or Nevada to see this (it is in both States), put it on your "Places to Go on Vacation" list.

Here is another noteworthy place to visit. It boasts of things like this:

AND

I won't make you guess where this is because I've decided I'm going to keep all my hotel shampoos. This is Yosemite National Park. You can swing over there after you visit Salt Lake City and Lake Tahoe! Yosemite is even where I tested my video finesse.

Check out this video:

Complete with dramatic narration, huh? OK, OK, I'm sure it lacks some professionalism - but we all have to start somewhere, huh? Let me know if you think I should keep my day job.

One more place to visit. Would you like to guess where we're going? If we're heading out from California, and taking a southern route to Kansas, what natural beauty do you think we'll stop to see?

Leave me a comment and then check back to see where we went - and if you were right!

Caption These Pics

What captions would you put on these vacation photos?

PHOTO #1:

PHOTO #2:



PHOTO #3:

That's all  -  comment with your captions!



Where Were the Morerods?

As promised from yesterday, below are three pictures of places we've been to on vacation. Let's see who can be the first to guess where/what they are.

BUT...before you see the pictures, let me give you a clue. The three places below are somewhere between Kansas and Kyburz:

What? You've never been to Kyburz? Maybe you have - but you sneezed and missed it.

SORRY!

Anyway....here are three pictures. The first person to comment and correctly identify any of the photos will be the proud recipient of all our accumulated complimentary hotel shampoos. 



PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

(two of the same location to give you extra help)



PHOTO #3

(again....two vantage points of same location)

Play fair, though...if you were one of the few who happened to actually know where we went, just comment, "I know! I know!" and let the others get their chance at winning the free shampoos.

Let the contest begin . . .



The Un-Vacation

Into every vacation some "un"s must fall. After about 1500 miles, this is what we've experienced:

The unexpected:

Yep - a hailstorm just four hours into our trip. Who woulda thought?

 

The unusual:

After seeing this, our youngest asked, "Where does the driver sit?"

He's our concrete, sequential thinker.

 

The uncontrollable:

Actually, we didn't run into this creepy crawley construction traffic until 1200 miles into our trip. It made me long for the other construction zones we went through that just had orange cones randomly placed, absent of construction workers, and a reduced speed zone that, when you exited, left you wondering, "What was that all about?"

And, last - and my favorite: the unannounced. But first, remember my last blog? (click on that to read it if you haven't....) And how grown boys feel about family pictures in public?

Anyway, here is our first family vacation picture:

A couple questions:

#1:   Do I look a) triumphant,  b) mischievous,  c) thoroughly enjoying getting a family picture, or d) all of the above?  

#2:   Does son-in-foreground look like he's thinking a) "I'd like to crawl under this table,"  b) "I can't believe Mom did this,"  c) "This is so embarrasing," or d) all of the above?

How did I sneak in a family picture without a lot of resistance? Simply get boys distracted with food, nonchalantly sit camera on table, secretly observe people around us and plan my attack. The first young 20-something that comes by, I say, "Excuse me, can you take our picture?"

"Of course," they oblige - as son looks at me, totally caught offguard with a stare that says, "I can't believe you're doing this." The picture is snapped. After our photographer leaves, son says, "This is why I should have stayed home."

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of my photography tactics!

Stay tuned for next blog where I'll post pictures of a few landmarks to test your knowledge.