CD and DVD Templates

I am lucky enough to have the ability to print right onto my DVDs or CDs that are printable. It is a nice thing to be able to do. I used to have the label stickers that were a pain to get onto the top of the CD correctly and did not look completely professional, but when HP came out with a Print-on-the-disc printer, I asked for one for my birthday a few years ago, and I have gotten my use out of this thing. I love being able to print right on the disc and it looks so professional when I am done. In addition to that, I have really enjoyed printing CD and DVD inserts but there is always the problem of wanting the exact dimentions to the cases so they are nice and snug. At first, I would just measure the case and guess from there, but I just was searching for a DVD Slimline case insert template and found an awesome one on the Neato Website. Neato is a label software, but these templates are great because they let you use either Word or Photoshop and so I have been template download crazy since I found this site.
If you ever have the need to make your own CD or DVD cases, this is the website to download templates from.
http://www.neato.com/TemplatesCDDVDInserts.aspx

"I will go through my life, Penny-less" (BMW Quote)

It is a very liberating thing to have no money to your name. Going through this fraud problem is quite an experience. I have been running on empty on my gas tank these past few days, pretty much since Friday, and had no money to take from until this morning when my 500 I transfered from Amtrust finally became available. So I headed to the bank to pull out $40 for getting gas. I could not do that because my account was frozen. So I talked with one of the reps and she gave me some things to do to make sure my account was being taken care of. After talking with her, I was able to pull out the $40 for gas, luckily. Then I headed straight to the gas station to get a full tank. Nope. I get there and ask to fill the tank (not thinking that it would be more than $40.) and so luckily when I saw it was going to be more than 40 I stopped it at 40ish. I was not right on the dot and so I had to use my last dollar as well and told the attendant that I had 41 and to stop it there. He went a smidge past 41 and asked if I had 3 cents. I had to search my car for some pennies and found a nickel. So, it is official, I have NO money. hehe
But, I am in good spirits after all that. Hopefully I wont have to pay for anything more. until I am reimbursed the $690 that is due back to me eventually.

The Day and Obama!

So I decided to take my own advice and head outside. I first just went out into my backyard to sit on the deck and read. That was nice, but then decided it would be a perfect time to head to a local park and do some filming of scenery- flowers, trees, ect. So I decided to go to the Riverfront Park downtown Salem.... Bad Idea. EVERYONE was there and there was a long line of cars waiting to get into parking spaces. I found it was WAAAAAY to crowded for me to be comfortable, so once I got out of there, I decided to drive downtown to perhaps find another good place. I found the Capitol and that was very vacant. There were a few couples and family and individuals spread out around the area, but I found it to be an acceptable place. So I did some filming of the buildings around and the scenery. It was a good alternative.

On my way back, I was driving home and encountered a printed paper on the back window of someone's car that read "Pray for Obama; Psalm 109:8.  I thought this must be a great verse to say we need to support our leadership and pray for them that God has put in charge. I was thinking along the lines of 1Tim. 2:1-2:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone- for kings, and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

That was NOT what the Psalm reads:
Psalm 109:8-
May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.

Now, I may not be the happiest about Obama being in office and some of what he stands for and what he believes, but I believe that we need to be respectful of him in his position. God has placed him as our leader for these years and if we want to see that change in the future, sure we should work to get the candidates that support our beliefs the most. All I am saying is that we should not be Obama bashing Christians, but REALLY pray for Obama- not that his days may be few.

Get Out and Enjoy!

When i moved to Salem, I just KNEW that I would hate the rain. I was used to sunny weather 300 days out of the year. Central Oregon is nice in that way. I was worried that I would be miserable in this rainy climate. There are very few times that I enjoy the rainy weather and growing up in Central Oregon I was blessed.
So, now after living in "The Valley" for almost 7 months, I have found that I was somewhat wrong. Yes, I am still not into the rainy weather, and there were many more rainy days than there have been sunny/warm days these months, but what I have found is when the sun DOES come out, everyone is out enjoying it. The community appreciates the sunny weather so much more because they don't get it as often. Everyone gets out and works on their yards and enjoys the weather.
I have found myself doing the same. When it is sunny, (Like right now) I want to get out there (with my shorts of course) and be in the Glory of God's  beauty of the spring weather and creation of Grass, Plants, and Flowers.

So, if you have the great weather, get out there an enjoy it while its here, even if you get it more than others (CO readers)

No Wii for me!

I found out last night that I am not for strategy. I just do not think that way. I played two games (well one full one and a portion of another) and I did not do well. I played Citidels and Pirates Cove and was not good at either.
Another thing that I did not totally enjoy about either of them is that they were so complicated and LOOOOOOONNNNGGGGG! The first game took about an hour and a half and then the other I left after probably half an hour to an hour and we were nowhere near done.
I am more into games that can last 30 minutes. Or even games that you can just quit at any time (like Apples) that way you can move on to another game.
I was hoping to Wii before I left, but was so tired after those two long games, I had to just go straight home. Oh well, next time.

Some Crazy Outtakes

The Good, the Bad, and the Wedding

I had a bad experience today. I get an email notification this morning that I am out of money. This does not make sense because I checked my account a few days ago and was flush (enough) and had not made any huge purchases lately. So, I go online to the my internet banking and find out that $690 was taken from a fraud. I emailed dad asking him to check on it (cuz I was in class) and so they had to suspend my account and let it go through and then research and all that. And that means that I am left without money in my name. I have $4 in my wallet and tried to take some out today and could not because of this problem. So, hopefully, I will get my new debit card in just a few short days. What a pain.

On a happier note, I was looking through all my friends' stati (not statuses) on Facebook and one of my friends had a notification that she was attending a Concert for Kutless in Bend. I checked this out and find that it is a FREE concert. Now, I am a fairly big Kutless fan, and have seen  them about 3 or 4 times before, but I still would go to a FREE concert in Bend. But, Sadly this was a concert in Bend and I am in Salem..... But wait.... this concert is on April 24th- I will be in town on April 24th because of filming a friend's wedding. AWESOME, so because Jordan and Anthony are having their wedding on the 24th, that means I will be there in Central Oregon, and that means I can attend the concert. It should be awesome. I am excited.

Am I Dating?, Good Intentions, and PKs

I went to a friend's church this morning. Heather was involved in the worship team and was up there for a while. She did a great job of helping to lead worship, through song.
When there was the inevitable greeting time, I got up and met some people around me. One of the ladies sitting behind me asked how I was here and if I was related to anyone. I said that I was visiting my friend Heather and the first thing that came out of her mouth- You're dating Heather? No, I am visiting Heather, I don't want to start any rumors.
Its funny how those things happen. I said nothing about dating, but this lady was very anxious to think that we were dating. I have quite a few people at my former church that were that way too. They were on the "lookout" for me to find me a wife. Even my own mother was on the Prowl for me. She had found someone at the church that she thought was perfect for me. Now, I can grant you that a mother has some sort of right to be able to do that a bit, but there are many people who are not asked to search for you, and they just do it. They want to matchmake. Now, they may think this is a nice thing to do, but for those single people out there might not feel the same. It can be a bit of an inconvenience. It can be a bit embarrassing.  My sister got it the most from our old church- one lady was hounding her about trying to find her a guy so much to the point that she was on the verge of making a guy up for a boyfriend just to calm the lady down.
When we got out of church, I told Heather about this experience, and she had already known this was going to happen. She felt bad but, hey, it happens to all of us.
Afterwards, we went out to Ruby Tuesdays. That was fun too. We got to talking about some of those things that us PK's (Pastor's Kids) deal with and some of the feelings that happen along with it. We talked about old times and caught up on current events. It was a good time of catching up with an old friend.
Next time, she gets to come over to Salem and join me at my church and then we will get to go to Olive Garden for lunch.

I Remember "The Farm"

I remember the three hour drives each trip. How impatient I was to get to to the Tree Farm. After hours of waiting in the car, we were finally getting close. I could see it. It was an indicator because of the narrow road. It was an indicator because of all the tall trees hanging around the sides. It was an indicator because we came into the tiny familiar town. "Don't blink or you'll miss it", my parents commented every time we were on approach.

And there it was. I took it literally, and tried my hardest to keep my eyes open. The first thing I see is the church, that old white building, that was a sign saying that we had entered Colton. Next is the Post Office and directly across the street is the Colton Cafe- the place that we would always go for morning breakfasts on lazy days. I can still see the small place, with the light blue boothes along the sides and a few tables in the middle of the cafe. I can smell the morning coffee and the smell of scrambled eggs and various other breakfast items.

As we drive past, I notice the one other landmark of the tiny village- the Market that has groceries and various other items. Then, we take our right-turn onto Hult Road. This road, although only a few miles away from the grand destination, seemed like it went on forever. By this time, the whole family is tired of driving and ready to get out of the car. As my siblings and I look for the landmarks, the interesting houses along the way viewable from the road, the big hill that used to be full of huge trees, and now empty from clear-cutting (most likely now, there are some trees there once again), and of course, the point in the road where you come out of the curves and the forrest into a straight road with tree farms all along the road, we are finally there. We can see the final destination- Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We have to really look back away from the road to see the old farmhouse. As we turn onto the clay-red-dirt driveway, we are so excited that we can't contain it anymore. We are finally there.

As always, Grandma and Grandpa have been looking out the window and when they see us driving down the path (and they hear the dogs barking, proclaiming that someone has arrived) they get up to meet us in the yard.

I can still see the old farmhouse inside and out. I remember the huge window in the front room that gives a vast expansive picture of "The Farm". The wood stove that the shoes go by. The hat rack next to that, of which is filled with caps from everywhere. The stairs leading up to the door entrance to the two extra rooms. The kitchen that has a table at the end of it and a small 13" TV on top of the refrigerator. The patio that is off of the kitchen that has all sorts of cool things inside. I still remember the gates between the patio and the front yard and the backyard. (the gate to the backyard is actually a regular door). This was the place that the dogs were kept when no one was home and it was nice outside.

I remember the two upstairs rooms. The one on the left that had the bright blue walls. The bookshelves that had many different things on them. The room to the right had quite a slanted ceiling so a tall person would have to be careful when they stood up from the bed. And then there was the best part of the upstairs- the middle attic space that was just begging us to explore. Of course, except for getting a few games that were stored up there, this space was off limits for us, but it sure was asking us to explore it.

I remember spending the night in this house. Of course, I had the couch in the living room because mom and dad had the upstairs left room and my twin sisters had the upstairs right. So, it was just me and the coo coo clock and the grandfather clock, both of which would chime/coo on the hour every hour waking me to remind me that I was at my grandparents house.

You like the cook styles I am wearing??

Alas, we do not go to "The Farm" anymore. Grandparents moved to a place closer to town, but I still have fond memories of that homestead and will not forget the trips to Camp Kirkman, with Swimming, Strawberry Picking, and playing on the farm.

Vacuums SUCK

So, I decided after a million years, I needed to do some vacuuming in my room. I was all alone at home so I would not bother anyone. I set out in search of a vacuum. I looked all throughout the house and could only find a vacuum in the Garage. Not a good sign. If you have a vacuum, you do not store it in the garage unless you think it is broken right? Well, anyways, I figure I will get it up to the room and try it out. Sure enough, I start it up and it stinks. It smells like burned rubber or melted plastic. Anyways, I turn it off (and unplug it like I should) and open it up underneath to find, that indeed I do need a replacement belt. I get the belt off and find the part number. It is a Hoover 035 belt. I call a vacuum shop in Downtown Salem and they have the part. I get it and get home and install it. Simple enough, problem solved right? Nope. I get it on and still smell it and it is making bad sounds again. Bummer. I get it back apart and see what the problem is... the belt seems like it is not the right one. I take a look at the actual vacuum to find it is a Dirt Devil. Geez, what a dope. So I call back the place and ask if some Hoover Products can replace Dirt Devil belts. He says alot of belts work in the place of other ones. I ask specifically if this hoover belt I just bought is supposed to work on this Specific Dirt Devil Vacuum. He comes back and says that NO, they are very different belts.
I am just about to go and get yet another replacement belt and find that my homeowner is back. So, I ask if he has a vacuum. He did. So, this vacuum that was in the garage will work perfectly fine  once it has a Dirt Devil Belt, but there is a newer model of vacuum, so it saves me another trip downtown to get another replacement.

April Fools Day

Well, I have never been one for fooling people on April Fools. I have never been into it. I guess part of it stems from the problem that I am not good at fooling people. Whenever I try to trick people, it just goes terribly wrong. I try to make these elaborate inventions of my imagination work, and they don't. I am not good at lying (which I guess is a good thing) but when trying to trick someone, it just does not help when you are telling them something false and you are smiling and trying not to crack up. Does this happen to anyone else? Or perhaps it is just me.

Another major problem with April Fools is that I am made a fool easily. I consider it my nature to trust people and then I just get totally fooled. People try to fool me and I trust whatever they say (except for the occasional way-out-there-ideas and comments) There have been a few April Firsts that I don't get either. Ya know, once I had a friend show up with a cast on. Was this supposed to be some sort of wonderful evil-laugh prank? I just don't get it. I would think that sort of prank would be just annoying to the person pulling the preverbal casted-arm, because you would just get lots of people come to you and say "Oh, No, What did you do?"  Or "What Happened". Wouldn't that get EXTREMELY ANNOYING? I think it would for me.
Then there's those that place on their Facebook status changes such as Relationships and whatnot or even just bogus postings. I don't get it. Then you just get people asking questions and might even get those who are so concerned that they go and call you up for the scoop. What do you say then?  "APRIL FOOLS"

WOW, thats stupid. I guess you will just have to put my down for someone who is not going to be doing April Fools Joke/Pranks/Status Changes/Whatever.
I also do not laugh so hard when they are pulled on me. Congratulations, you GOT me, not that hard. You don't even need a special day to pull that on me.