hey, at&t, i think we can be friends again...

Have you ever had those mornings when you wake up and know right off the bat it's going to be a bad day? That was me today. I slept in, missing my spin class, I felt overly exhausted, poor Will was upset about having alphabet cereal yet AGAIN, Ethan stayed in the bath for over an hour because he didn't want to wash his hair, Jon needed a ride to school early, and to make matters worse, it was cold and cloudy. Yeah, doesn't sound that bad to me either, but it was at the time.

Anyway, the rest of the morning went similar to the start.

After a few hours of moping around, I figured it was time to get going. After paying some bills online, I quickly pulled up my cell phone usage for the month. Imagine my frustration when I saw a huge, red line screaming "OVERAGE" at me. Great? Seriously?

Apparently, while Jon was in India last week, he racked up a huge bill in data usage on his phone--just checking a few emails, or so he claims. Turns out, while you are overseas, you can't actually use your iPhone for free. Hmm, who knew?

Ok, only kidding, of course we knew that. But, before doing anything web related on his phone, Jon DID take, what he thought were the correct steps to turn off the roaming on his phone, preventing any unnecessary usage.

Clearly, it didn't work.

After seeing the gaping red line glaring me in the face, I called Jon in a panic (secretly fretting over all the things I could have purchased with the money), ate a couple cookies that were supposed to go to the neighbors (comfort food, I guess), and practiced my stern, yet calm speech I was about to give to the, "I know our cell service is horrible, but I can't do anything about it", " just waiting for my shift to be over", over-worked and under-paid, rep at at&t.

To my surprise, it was all a bunch of wasted energy. The guy on the phone was totally cool. The fees: gone. I know, unbelievable. (and to be fair, they have waived activation fees, given me three free phones, waived call overages, and let me out of a two-year contract.)

While they most definitely do NOT have "more bars in more places" and absolutely do NOT have "fewer dropped calls", their customer service was certainly spot on today.

And in other good news, I did end up getting to spin tonight, where I won a free Jamba Juice.

Aubry went home on The Biggest Loser.

Oh, and I'm on day number 24 of driving on an expired license plate, ticket-free.

I'd say, it turned out to be a pretty good day.

caution: domestication in progress...

On more than one a occasion, I've been referred to as one of "those domestically challenged girls". Whether it be a justified statement or not, I won't go into. I will admit, I do leave a bit to be desired with my typical dinner: colorful, curly noodles and a can of diced tomatoes (sometimes, if my family is lucky, I even throw in a few veggies, and on really special days, pine nuts). Forgive me if sweating away in the kitchen, or hurting my fingers trying to mend clothes, and getting blisters on my knees from cleaning doesn't quite conjure up an image of excitement in my mind. (ok, a bit dramatized)

"I don't have the right tools", has always been my excuse (and it is not so much that I don't like these things, but more that I'm simply not good at them).

Apparently, by the time Christmas rolled around this past year, everyone was tired of hearing my excuses. From my dear husband, I received a Kitchen Aide (think "Father of the Bride" blender wedding present. Seriously.) and my sweet, adorable 11-year-old niece gave me a sewing machine (more to come on this later). However, I'm still waiting for the perfect "tool" to help with the whole "blisters on knees" cleaning problem. Any ideas? Maybe you could just give it to me for Christmas.

Unfortunately, having the right tools around has not magically improved my life. A couple weeks ago I tried to make something with my sewing machine, but I can tell you that if Jon's reaction to my creation is any indication, I am NO seamstress. Unless of course I'm going for the zig-zag stitch, in which case, I've got it mastered.

Seeing as how I haven't found much success (yet) with the sewing machine, I figured it was time to use the neglected, monstrous mound of brushed silver that has taken up permanent residence on my counter top. The poor thing hasn't seen much use- *ahem*- alright, ZERO use.

Until now.



Turns out, I'm not nearly as pathetic as you've all assumed.

The guilt from the neglect was eating at me and because I had a few bananas that were beginning to look more like something you avoid even driving over, I got ambitious and made banana bread. For real (and it was even healthy and edible). Now, I understand to some of you, alright, most of you, this is a simple, possibly even common event. However, for the rest of us--the less talented--the task is a bit daunting and overwhelming...

but most of all: blogworthy.