Nobody will tell on me

if I blog about my great dislike for my new camera my hubby got me for Christmas, will they? I feel so ungrateful for even typing that but this camera is just not compatible with me, or vice versa.

Complaint numero uno, it takes batteries. :( Who still makes a camera that takes batteries? I thought we were in the 21st century. Aren't we suppose to be able to just plug that sucker into our laptops/outlet, and voila?!(In case anyone has noticed the lack of pictures in my project photo-op, you now know why) A friend recommended pluggin it into a potato, she heard that you can power up certain things that way. I only succeeded in ruining a potato and my USB cord. :(
(and yeah, I am that gullible that I tried it)

My second point, not even a nuclear physicist could figure out all the whohaas and doodads that are on this camera. Sure, if I had 2 free years to read the novel sized instruction manual that came with it, I might be able to use it easier. But I don't see that happening in the near future.

And lastly, the functions to take pictures with like, kids, outdoors, low light, suck major butt. Doesn't matter what option you have it on, the pictures all come out the same, very generic looking.
I could be outside on a sunny day and use the outdoors/bright light function and it is the same as being in a dark room somewhere snapping pics.

If you ask M though, I love the camera to pieces and it is just right for me and my picture shooting needs. Hey, its not like I want to be the next big photographer!

The big birth control debate

My oldest daughter, Emma, will be 15 this fall. She has had a few boyfriends in the past and claims to be madly in love with some boy we will name Z. They are not dating, as of yet. My daughter is an easily influenced child and succumbs to peer pressure pretty easily.

Because of this, I would like to take her to my OB/GYN, and have her looked over and placed on birth control. Her father, of course, is not loving that idea. Mark and I are polar opposites on most issues/religion/politics. He believes that if we put her on birth control, it will just be the go ahead she needs to start being sexually active. To me, that is the point. Whether or not we like the idea, Emma will become sexually active and probably before she is out of high school. I would rather her be protected when that happens and not stick my head in the sand and cross my fingers that she will never have sex...well, at least not until she is 30.

Now, this isn't one of those I am right, Mark is wrong posts. And trust me, if you read my blog, you will come across numerous posts of that kind. This is simply a vent post. I don't want to be forced to go behind Mark's back and stick Emma on birth control, but I if that is the only option, then I will do it. Its a quality of life issue. What life is she gonna have if she is pregnant at 16?

I also need to go over the condom speel with her too. You never know who is carrying what out there and I don't want her to feel that just because she is on the pill, she is safe. I can't believe this is my life!

ARGH!

See the toy picture I added? They are called Littlest Pet Shops and they are the crave sweeping the nation! My daughter is on a personal hunt to own every stinking one!

Her Christmas list to Santa is filled with LPS wants. She has over 100 of the colorful little guys already. Its hard to keep track of what she does have and what she doesn't. I do have a small list of ones we haven't acquired yet. Rare or Hot ones like the one in the picture that sell out as soon as they go in stock. It is so frustrating to not be able to find the one thing(s) my kid wants for the holidays.

Tonight, I thought all that changed! I got an email from a friend stating that she found most of the rare LPS sets and sent me a link. I was so excited, I couldn't contain myself or wait til after dinner, which I usually do, to get online. I immediately brought my laptop in my room and sat down to order up a boatload of these things for my girl and my niece.

I click on the link and sure enough, there they all are. But at 6x the price! These little pets go for roughly $4.44 at local stores and on this website, they were up to $26.99 a piece! A mum of four, on a budget, can't afford that!

I think it is unfair that companies can do this. These toys aren't retired, they are still producing them. It is just their way of making more money off us consumers!

Penny for your thoughts

Do you hate change? No, I don't mean life changes. I mean coins, pennies specifically. I hate spending all my time to roll them and make out with maybe $5, when I am through. A friend of mine states that it costs more for the mint to make pennies, than they are worth. She says, they would be worth more as scrap metal than anything else!

What do you think? Are the days of the penny coming to an end? What about the days of the coin and paper money? Electronic money is the way to go in this day and age. If we eliminate the penny, surely the nickel is not far behind, then the dime, the quarter, so on. Our coppered old Honest Abe coin, is a piece of our history.

Which leads me to ask, if we get rid of the penny, what will we put in our penny loafers?