Guilty, Again...

The guilt has become a bit, overwhelming. Remember how I talked about Barnes & Noble screwing me over? It took them three whole days to get back to me, and the only answer I was given was that I could take back the tablet, but it had to be that day. The closest B&N to me is over 100 miles away, and I was at work. I wasn’t even going to attempt to make it. So there I was stuck with a tablet that I didn’t want.

Well, my mother took a look at it, and told me if I could jail break it, she would buy it off of me. To my surprise, N2A finally released a card to jail break the tablet without voiding the warranty! Score! So, currently we’re in the processes of getting one ordered, and I deregistered the device for my mom. I told her not to worry about how soon she paid me because it would be awhile before I could save up the other half of the money to buy the Galaxy tablet.

Then, I remembered about the money I had gotten back from school! I asked my husband on Saturday, if I could use some of the money to get the tablet NOW, and then once my mother paid me I would just put the money back into the account, along with whatever I had saved up. He said yes, and off I went to buy my tablet on Sunday.

Originally they were $499.99 ($540.00 with tax). When I had checked them out on Saturday they were $449.99 ($490.00 with tax). So, I was pretty surprised when I went on Sunday to buy it for $399.99 ($425.00 with tax)! Everyone keeps telling me it was a really good deal, but I still feel like that’s a lot of money. Last night, I thought about taking it back (I have 14 days). I could have spent that money on something else. I could have saved it, or waited till I myself had gotten all of the money saved up. But, I was too excited, and spent without really thinking. I felt the same way when I bought my laptop. So guilty.

It’s not like I’m depleting our savings, or like we’re completely broke. It’s just that ever since I had Emery, it’s been really hard for me to spend on myself. I always feel guilty and then I can’t even enjoy what I bought because of that guilt. I end up having to talk myself out of returning whatever I bought. Boo! Thankfully, my husband doesn’t mind and he’s been enjoying it enough for the both of us. :) And hey, I'm putting the money back, right? 

Barnes & Noble, You Got Me!

So, you know that Nook Tablet, that I was talking about the other day? Well, I was talking with my husband about it and he told me to return it. He said to take it back and he’d get me the Samsung Galaxy, in a few weeks. My Nook, is a really great e-Reader. But, once my husband tried it out, he was a bit bummed at the lack of applications. I started researching developers, and realized that it didn't seem very likely that the app store at Barnes and Noble would be expanding. Ever. So, after some thought, I decided to go ahead and return it.

Well, yesterday when I called about having it returned, they told me I couldn’t return it. That’s when I asked why on the packing slip it said I had 14 days from the date of delivery, if I really didn’t? The man on the other end said my last chance to return it had been on the 27th of January. So, I told him, “Well, that’s 14 days from the day I placed my order. Not from the date I received it. Your statement is misleading.” All he said was “Ma’am, I wish I could help you more, but we can not accept the return. The system will not authorize it. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

So now, I’m pretty much stuck with it. I’m a little disappointed in Barnes & Noble. Unless, I’m completely stupid, shouldn’t they honor the “within 14 days of the delivery” statement? And unless I can’t count, wouldn’t my last chance be tomorrow? I guess I just expected more. I expected them to help me out. Instead they took my money, and when I wasn't satisfied, changed the time frame on me. Maybe that’s not exactly what’s going on, but that’s what it feels like.

If I were technologically able, I’d root the damn thing. But, since I’m not, I really don’t want to risk bricking it. Then it would really really be useless. And so far these guys haven't come out with anything for the Tablet. So, I’ll just be making the best of it. Enjoy what I got because not everyone gets to have these things. And, I’ll just slowly build up my own little “side-savings” so that maybe by my birthday I can get a real tablet. This is my way of looking at the bright side of things. 

My New Toy

I would love an iPad 2. Or maybe even a Samsung Galaxy Tab. Seriously, who wouldn't? But, I really hate their price tags. With our current income, and even with our tax return coming up, I can’t bring myself to spend that kind of money, on a tablet. Every time I would think about saving up for either one of those, I’d start to think about how that money could go towards something else? Bills? Diapers? Medical Expenses? Car payment? My parents? So many other things! So, even though I’d love to have one, I could never bring myself to pay for one. At least not in our current situation.

Well, when we got back from vacation we checked our account and noticed that we hardly spent ANY of the money set aside for the trip. So, my husband bought me a Nook Tablet.

I’m a lover of books. Recently, I started reading more because it's something I felt like I wanted to get back into. And literally, this has to be the best e-reader out there. Followed closely by the Kindle Fire. I read so many reviews about both, but the things that originally won me over were that the Nook had an SD slot so I could expand my storage, AND because I could side load books from Google Books (sometimes books are cheaper there), where as you couldn’t on the Kindle. Despite all of that greatness, a lot of reviews about the Nook talked about how the app selection wasn’t that great. Well, I’m a big app person. They’re great, convenient, and fun! So, when I read that it had access to “thousands” of apps, I just assumed that it just wasn’t as big of a selection as Apple’s. Well, from all of the reviews, I should have guessed that “thousands” was pretty misleading. The Nook has less than 2,000 apps. And the chances of you coming across any that are free, are slim to none. So far this has been the only draw back, and my only complaint about it.

I really love the design, and the e-Reader features. The pictures and videos look crisp and clear. I’ve already side loaded some books, and music. And I know that they say they are constantly adding new ones, but it doesn’t look like many developers are wanting to take the Nook App Store on and create applications for it. Fortunately, I still have my iPhone so I still have access to apps. :-)

Now, don’t get me wrong, if you can look passed the limited app selection, this "tablet" is worth every penny! I’m really not trying to complain either, because I’m lucky to have even gotten this in the first place. And despite the few drawbacks, I really do love it. So, I thought I would just let you know what to expect/ my thoughts on the Nook Tablet in case you were looking into getting an eReader. 

My Addiction

I am without a camera (except for my phone) for a whole week. Eeep! This is going to be hard. LOL! Can you imagine a whole week of capturing NOTHING your child does? *serious face* Yea, I’m not kidding. My camera is pretty much glued to my face. But, last week my sister-in-law asked if she could borrow it, because she and some friends were going to see this K-POP show in New Jersey. I said yes. Then I thought about it, and started kicking myself in the ass for it. My camera was about to go to New Jersey without me, and to a concert. A pretty huge concert. The idea of my camera being tossed, or possibly trampled on by a bunch of girls dressed up like dolls...oh crap. Still, I had already said yes. So, on Friday morning, I dropped it off for her. Now, it’s not like a Canon Rebel, or a Nikon but it was a gift from my brother (and it was a bit expensive). This is the second one my brother has given me, the first one was stolen, so I’m a bit protective over it. But, my husband told her to take care of it, and if anything happened to it she’d either have to pay for repairs or replace it. Hopefully this will be a good lesson for me. One that involves me not being so attached to material things? I dunno, I just hope she takes care of it.

Speaking of material things, and what not. I know social networking sites aren’t “material” but they do take up A LOT of my time. Before, I used the excuse that we didn’t have internet at home, so I wanted a snazzy phone that would keep me “up to date”, and “in the know” of all things cool. I also wanted to keep refreshing my Facebook page just to see what everyone else was doing. Stalker, much? In my defense, it was my only connection to the outside, social world at the time. Still, I became addicted (you probably are too, admit it) to all of these social sites and blogs. Twitter, tumblr, blogger, wordpress, google +, parenting communities, Facebook, instagram, etc. etc. I realized, not too long ago, that quite a few things were really taking up a lot of my time. The above mentioned, definitely contributed to this. Well, now we have the internet at home and my phone is still getting the majority of the use. Laziness is the reason. I would rather check my phone than turn on my lap-top and log on. This has been a pretty big excuse for me to NOT delete any of my social networking accounts AND to not get rid of (but continue to want to upgrade) my already snazzy phone. So, I’m going to put myself through a test cleanse. I deleted my apps from my phone. *GASP* I will either have to use my mobile internet or actually log on to a computer to use them. After a month, the ones I use the least (if at all) will be the ones to go.

Don't get me wrong, I love technology and I love keeping up with everyone. I love blogs and reading about how others are living. I like posting on people’s walls, and getting to see new pictures! And I absolutely LOVE seeing what Rome has to say on a daily basis. He’s my secret husband. Shh! But, some of these sites I don’t use nearly enough to really justify keeping my accounts. Not only that, but it's taking time away from my family, from working out, and it just puts more of our information out there. I won’t be giving up my phone anytime soon, although we are down grading on minutes because we don’t use nearly as many as what we’re signed up for, but I will stop using it as much. If I’m not willing to get on the computer to check it, then I really don’t need it. And if I don’t use it, or miss it, I can probably go without it. Here's to my cleanse!

Enjoy your Saturday everyone!!

p.s. I'm replacing some pictures, and taking others down.

Hoping to have all of my images on one site, 

so I don't have to use photobucket, and picasa anymore. :-)

Sorry if some of the images disappear in the mean time. 

Fixed It!!

Last week, my phone took a tumble and my screen was barely readable. It was pretty much white, but I could make out some of the letters. Now for a girl who has everything logged on her phone, this is very bad. So, I looked around at some repair places, and a lot of them were a $50 minimum. That’s not including parts. Then a friend of mine said he could try and take a look at it but he was so swamped it wouldn’t be until September before he could attempt to fix it. Did you read that? SEPTEMBER. Well, that was just crazy talk! So, I started doing my research and looking at tutorials on how to fix it myself. On Friday I ordered my screen for $40 and a toolkit for $2.00.

They arrived early, and I got them yesterday!! So out went my plans to clean up or exercise. I WAS ON A MISSION. I took everything off, connected the new display together and patiently waited. Nothing. I felt as if I had been had. I cursed at the online shop that sold me this bunk display, and I was pissed. So, I disassembled it and put the old screen back on. Nothing. I went back and forth for a little while and I tried to make sure I hadn’t broken anything. That was the last thing I needed. After a few hours I sent my friend an SOS text.

Turns out all I had to do was let it sit for ten minutes and then power it off for a few minutes. Viola, new screen! No scratches, no glitches, and I could see the display! Yay!! And I only spent $45 including shipping! Yea, I felt pretty proud of myself. Unfortunately, my neck and back hurt from being bent over the damn thing for a few hours last night. But alas, it is a small price to pay. I KNOW HOW SAD THAT SOUNDS.

Anyway, that was my Monday. I’m also on day 5 of my “No wash. No product.” for my hair. Ew, I know, but it’s actually really good for your hair. Every 2-3 months I take a week and I don’t wash or put anything in my hair. This gives it a break from all of the heating tools and chemicals. Plus, it cuts down on how many trips I make to the salon because my hair stays healthier. Thankfully, Tresemme has this new line called Fresh Start and they have this odor neutralizer that I spritz on once during this week to keep my hair smelling nice. Still, I’m pretty excited I get to wash it tonight! LOL! Ahh, the little things.

Other than that things have been pretty boring at home. Chores are never exciting. This weekend I’m taking everything out of the closets and cleaning things out. I’m so tired of the mess! I haven’t been able to go out and take pictures of Emery which bums me out a bit. The past weekend we finally got some rain!! Emery played in it, and I still haven’t uploaded those from my camera. I’m lagging, sorry. I promise to pick it up, soon. And that's all folks! I've got nothing new for ya unfortunately. I’m in a bit of a funk so I’m hoping things pick up a little bit. I hope everyone is doing great though!! Now, I leave you with a completely random picture of California (because I miss it) :

Breathing

First, let me start off by telling you that I went to the dentist today. I had to have a filling. Boooo! Those suck! I felt like I had a huge fat lip all afternoon, and I bit it once trying to eat afterwards. But, the numbness is slowly going away! 4 hours later. I can eat something now!! So excited! LOL!

Next, we are due for upgrades on our phones, and since my husband has gone through 5 phones within two years, I was told that I could get the new one and he’d keep my old one. Which is in WONDERFUL condition, since I took care of it really really well! But both AT&T stores had NO iPhone 3GS. Surprise, surprise. So, I think I’m going to order mine online if I don’t get a call by Friday. Until then, I’m using a little tiny, barely gets reception phone. And it’s driving me up the WALL!!! Blah! Oh well.

Now, on to my main point. My daughter is sleeping soundly. Has been since 5:30! I was sitting here watching her. Making sure she’s breathing. I’m amazed that I still do this. Reminds me of when we first brought her home. Beau and I would alternate, and we’d check every hour to make sure she was still breathing. Sometimes at night, I still pull her close to me and put my hand on her chest, just so I can feel her heartbeat. Or I’ll tickle her nose so that she’ll make a movement. LOL! She hates waking up like that. And it amazes me that one day she’ll be all grown up, and I won’t get to do that anymore. Makes me kind of sad. I wish Beau were here. I hate waking up to an almost empty bed. I loved when all three of us would get to sleep in. I have my arm around Emery and Beau has his arm around both of us. That only lasts until we were all fast asleep and then Emery end up with one leg under the cover and the other one over. I’m on my back and Beau’s facing the wall hogging the covers. All of us snoring. Yes, Emery only being 6 months, snores. They’re little snores, they skip around, but Beau and I have both heard them. Lord, I hope I never stop getting those wonderful gifts. Just being able to wake up. Seeing them breathing. That alone, makes EVERYTHING worth it.