We got today (Friday) off, making the Memorial Day weekend a four-day weekend; I've got my annual doctor's appointments and tests on Tuesday, so I won't be back to work until Wednesday. I kind of feel like I need a break, so I'm grateful for it, but being away from work always makes me feel nervous, like things are going to blow up while I'm away. I do my best to avoid that, and usually (always) check my email to be sure that things are going smoothly, but it still makes me anxious. I've been out quite a bit lately. I was at a conference for three days last week, then a one-day all day meeting on Wednesday. I've got "Word Camp," the Wordpress user group conference, next weekend, which I'm not thrilled about, but they always have them on weekends, I'm not sure why.
Anyway, I've felt like I've been away a lot, but I've also been learning a lot, so it's a good tradeoff, I guess.
I had a manicure first thing this morning. I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow, and I had originally planned to do them both on the same day, but my manicurist's son is in a track meet on Saturday in Jefferson City, so she asked if I could switch my appointment to today. That was fine, except that she wanted to do it at 9:00 a.m. Which didn't actually turn out to be a problem, because I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep . . . That seems to happen a lot lately. I usually don't have any trouble going to sleep, but I wake up several times during the night, and inevitably I will wake up at 4:30 or so, lay there for a half hour, and finally get up, giving up on sleep for the rest of the night.
Maybe it's just a part of getting older, I don't know. And also, I lie there and worry, and everything seems so much worse in the middle of the night . . .
So, I had my nails done, got a quick lunch at Einstein Bagels, and came home and worked on some website projects. I was talking to the manicurist this morning about work, and said, what I need to do is write another book. She said, "you need to write another 'Fifty Shades of Gray.'" And I said yeah, or another "Twilight." It could happen.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Interfering
I stopped at Chipotlé tonight on my way home to get something to eat. This restaurant is on two levels (just a couple of steps up, I guess), with an outdoor patio outside the upper level. I got my food, and went up to the upper level to eat. As I got there, I saw a little boy pushing open the door to the patio. I looked around, and there was no one on the patio, and no adults anywhere around.
I'm not good at estimating age, but this guy was little, maybe three years old. I asked him, "where's your mom?" and he just sort of gestured vaguely, and kept on pushing the door. I said, "You shouldn't go outside by yourself," and he said, "I get to pick the table." I said, "Well, you need to wait for your mom or dad.". He ran off, back to the main part of the restaurant, and I looked over and saw him being picked up by a man. The boy looked upset, and who knows what he said to his father. I thought I should say something, so I caught the man's eye and said, "I'm sorry, I just told him he shouldn't go outside by himself," and the man said, "no, no, you're absolutely right," but the woman with him, the boy's mother, I assume, kind of glared at me.
I felt kind of like I shouldn't have said anything, but there were several things that could happen to a little kid in the five or ten minutes it could take his parents to get through the line and join him. He could get his fingers crushed in the heavy door. He could fall on the concrete patio and split his lip. He could run into the street and get run over. And the one I was thinking of when I stopped him from going outside, he could get scooped up by someone who wanted a little boy, and no one would have any idea who happened to him.
So I don't actually feel guilty about saying something, but it did feel a little weird, and I was glad when they finished their meal and left. But not as weird as I would have felt if he'd been snatched, of course.
I'm not good at estimating age, but this guy was little, maybe three years old. I asked him, "where's your mom?" and he just sort of gestured vaguely, and kept on pushing the door. I said, "You shouldn't go outside by yourself," and he said, "I get to pick the table." I said, "Well, you need to wait for your mom or dad.". He ran off, back to the main part of the restaurant, and I looked over and saw him being picked up by a man. The boy looked upset, and who knows what he said to his father. I thought I should say something, so I caught the man's eye and said, "I'm sorry, I just told him he shouldn't go outside by himself," and the man said, "no, no, you're absolutely right," but the woman with him, the boy's mother, I assume, kind of glared at me.
I felt kind of like I shouldn't have said anything, but there were several things that could happen to a little kid in the five or ten minutes it could take his parents to get through the line and join him. He could get his fingers crushed in the heavy door. He could fall on the concrete patio and split his lip. He could run into the street and get run over. And the one I was thinking of when I stopped him from going outside, he could get scooped up by someone who wanted a little boy, and no one would have any idea who happened to him.
So I don't actually feel guilty about saying something, but it did feel a little weird, and I was glad when they finished their meal and left. But not as weird as I would have felt if he'd been snatched, of course.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Icon
I made a new custom icon so if you bookmark my site on the iPhone or iPad, it will have a cool little icon. :)
Here's how to do it: when you're viewing a site in Safari on the iPhone or iPad, hit the little bookmark icon (the square with the arrow in it) and choose "add to home screen." I'm not sure why (at least on my phone) the text label comes up as "Willa's Jour," but you can modify the text to be anything you want.
Here's how to do it: when you're viewing a site in Safari on the iPhone or iPad, hit the little bookmark icon (the square with the arrow in it) and choose "add to home screen." I'm not sure why (at least on my phone) the text label comes up as "Willa's Jour," but you can modify the text to be anything you want.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Birchbox
I can't remember where I first heard about Birchbox. It's a subscription service that mails you a box of beauty samples for $10/month. I love samples, so I thought I'd try it. You have to get on a list, you can't just immediately subscribe, so you don't really have any control over when your name comes up. You have to claim your place within 48 hours once you're notified, so I guess if you don't, you can get on the list again.
My name came up for the May box, and after I signed up I saw that it was going to be a "Gossip Girl" box. That didn't interest me, and I wasn't real thrilled, but I figured I might as well try it anyway. It arrived last night. I hadn't seen what the boxes actually contained, so I thought maybe some other people would be interested in seeing an actual box. It was very nicely presented, like a gift, which I liked.
The product samples were:
Miss Dior Eau de Parfum
Kerastase Age Premium Bain Substantif (shampoo)
Algenist Firming & Lifting Cream (moisturizer)
Dior Extase Mascara
Kerastase Age Premium Masque Substantif (conditioning treatment)
Notecard
I haven't tried any of them yet, but I'll definitely try the shampoo and conditioner. I'm a skincare snob, though, and never put anything but Clinique on my face, so I'm not sure if I'll try the moisturizer or not. It's a good-sized sample, maybe I'll try it on my hands. I almost never wear mascara, so I'm not sure if I'll use that or not. It will probably go in my drawer with all the Clinique mascara samples I've gotten over the years.
So, I wasn't terribly thrilled with this box, but I'm going to give it another month at least, and see what I get next month. For $10, it's kind of fun to get a surprise in the mail, and its interesting to see and try new things that I wouldn't otherwise know about.
My name came up for the May box, and after I signed up I saw that it was going to be a "Gossip Girl" box. That didn't interest me, and I wasn't real thrilled, but I figured I might as well try it anyway. It arrived last night. I hadn't seen what the boxes actually contained, so I thought maybe some other people would be interested in seeing an actual box. It was very nicely presented, like a gift, which I liked.
The product samples were:
Miss Dior Eau de Parfum
Kerastase Age Premium Bain Substantif (shampoo)
Algenist Firming & Lifting Cream (moisturizer)
Dior Extase Mascara
Kerastase Age Premium Masque Substantif (conditioning treatment)
Notecard
I haven't tried any of them yet, but I'll definitely try the shampoo and conditioner. I'm a skincare snob, though, and never put anything but Clinique on my face, so I'm not sure if I'll try the moisturizer or not. It's a good-sized sample, maybe I'll try it on my hands. I almost never wear mascara, so I'm not sure if I'll use that or not. It will probably go in my drawer with all the Clinique mascara samples I've gotten over the years.
So, I wasn't terribly thrilled with this box, but I'm going to give it another month at least, and see what I get next month. For $10, it's kind of fun to get a surprise in the mail, and its interesting to see and try new things that I wouldn't otherwise know about.
Moo!
Did you know you can get a free pack of 10 sample business cards from Moo? You can choose from a couple hundred already-created designs, or upload your own photos, and you don't have to stick to just one image, you can get a pack with ten different ones if you want. I got mine yesterday, and I love the design I chose. They're from a UK designer named Natasha Newton. When you're ready to order more cards, you can use this link to save 10% off the regular price.
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