Brilliant news!

Talk To Me Technologies

My son’s Chatbox 40 XT was ordered! Not only is Talk to Me Technologies getting us the Chatbox, we are also getting our own copy of Boardmaker, we are getting a laminating machine, too!  We will be able to use everything right away!

The trial period was great, and this is the perfect device for my son.  They had a lot of options but they helped us pick the one that was just right for my son at this moment in time, and one that will grow with him. It is really a fantastic piece of equipment, and we are looking forward to using it, the sooner the better!

We’re really excited. I’m sure Ted will be so happy to get his ‘voice’ back!

8th Month Abortion

Court turns down Chinese man’s asylum claim

I guess this nation being rabidly pro-life only counts within our borders!

Parents are autism’s hidden victims

Parents are autism’s hidden victims

Children have autism, but parents are often invisible casualties. Their child’s disorder ricochets through their lives, breaking up marriages, draining bank accounts and robbing them of sleep. University of Washington researchers found these parents, among all with disabled children, suffer the highest levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, and parenting stress.

I think that everyone who may know the parent of an autistic child should read this.

Moss Acres

Moss Acres - Gardening with moss and growing moss

I wonder if I could do this in certain patches of my yard; I already have some moss growing, and if instead of just having it, I could pick the kind I like and design with it, it would look lovely.

I already planted a LOT of wildflowers, and started with some grasses and other more ‘cover’ type stuff.  I’m tired of pansies and petunias.  My veg garden is 3-4x as big as last year.

The whole lawn thing is getting old.  I’ll still have one, but I need more. I want a garden AND a yard. Not just a yard, you know?

Taco John’s

Taco John’s

Originally uploaded by Kibbles

Doesn’t like disabled people. Even tried to contact management. Got nowhere. Ignored it. Don’t go there, anymore. Would have been nice if they made an attempt to be conciliatory, but they wouldn’t. So, we had to redo Ted’s routine, and find other places for him to have his treats. He likes the walk to Hardee’s, and KFC is next to Taco John’s.

It’s a shame, really, we liked their food, a lot. Now I’m afraid that they would spit in it. I can’t ever trust them again.

I *really* have to find a nearby Mexican place with takeout. I miss it.

A Meme

I got this from a friend, a talented artist and talented art teacher. I broke it up like that because she’s shared, now and again, the work of students, and what she has shared has been inspired and fantastic and wonderful. You don’t do that by handing out paper and crayons to kids, thats for sure!  Oh and I poked around where she got this from, too, this meme has done some traveling.  So here goes!

What I was doing ten years ago:
Living on Ocean Parkway, in Brooklyn
Had just one kid, my daughter was a toddler
Wasn’t sure what I wanted to be when I grew up, or anything, really

Five things on my to do list today:
Study for my public speaking final
Work on one of the 5 essays for psych class
Color my hair (maybe)
Write letter to financial aid office to fix error
Work on figuring out WTF is wrong with NYS and why they won’t give us our refund

Things I would do If I were a billionaire:

Get a staff consisting of nanny, housekeeper, driver, things like that
Help close family members pay off their homes
Start a foundation to teach kids etiquette, including taking them out someplace nice after lessons, and including a bit of a wardrobe update. Have them feel special and important.
New home but still in Dubuque
Start riding horses again

Three of my bad habits:
Biting my nails
Procrastinating
Stuffing my face with junk

Five Places I’ve lived:
Brooklyn, NY
Frankfurt, Germany
London, England
Long Island
Dubuque, Iowa

Five Jobs I’ve Had:
Secretary
Sales Assistant (as in for a broker)
Cashier
Pizzeria work
Journalist/Photographer

Five books I’ve recently read:
A Quaker Book of Wisdom
Articulate! (For Public Speaking)
My Psych textbook
My Biology textbook
Landscaping Revolution: Garden With Mother Nature, Not Against Her!

Ok, five of you do this, my battery is dying.

Remember when?

Remember when you bought a printer, and it came with editing software? And when you got a scanner, it came with text reading software?  Now? Nothing. Just the drivers, and whatever software it has to manage your print queue, and your diagnostic stuff.

Ok, printers aren’t $400 and up any more, but throw me a bone, ok?

Swell

I love the accessibility of computers lately. A nice drop in price, easier to configure.  It’s like they want people to own computers!

And then they kill ya. They kill you with ink prices. They kill you, SLAUGHTER you, with prices for ethernet cable. I just paid $14 for a whopping 3 feet of low end cable from Staples. Apparently, their website is the only place that carries the $8 cable.  I would have asked for help, but the Dubuque store seems to have no employees other than the ones at the register.

Because the cable is so short, I can’t put my printer in the nice little computer armoire I have, but I have to put it on top.   My fault for not spending over $30 on cable, I guess.

Seriously, how can they justify ethernet cable being so bloody expensive? It appears to be nothing more than a glorified phone cable. I can pick that up at the dollar store.

I just hope that the ink lasts a bit. I bought a network printer (hence the need for the ethernet cable) so would like it to last a little longer than one refill and the computer is utter crap and it’s more sensible to buy a new one rather than replace the ink.

A girl can dream, I suppose

Freelance Writing

Some of my readers may be interested in this.

http://www.online-writing-jobs.com/jobbank/

Worth a look, someone who does freelance writing pointed it out to me. I’m not a writer, so I don’t have personal experience with it.

Daffodil

Daffodil

Originally uploaded by Kibbles

After 9/11, a Dutch bulb company has been donating 500,000 bulbs a year to NYC. As of April 2007, the daffodil has been named the official flower of NYC.

For this reason I hated them.

It was similar to why people hate some lilies. It reminds them of death. I didn’t want to be reminded of that, I didn’t want to be reminded of what happened. Couldn’t stand them.

And then I moved from NYC to Iowa.

I was homesick. It is so DIFFERENT here. I like it, but it’s not NYC. Never will be. Couldn’t figure out how to shake it.

Then last fall I was in the store, looking for bulbs. I got a little of everything, except the daffodils. And then I thought to myself, “why not?” I bought a few, and here you go. Daffodils. Well, a daffodil. I have more, but not in this picture.

So the memorial for the victims of 9/11 is now my little piece of home in my front garden. I think I can grow to like the things.