Did you get a bunch of things that use batteries for Christmas this year? Use ones that you can recharge! And if you must use regular ones (or when you have to replace the rechargeables), be sure to recycle your batteries. I had to go online to figure out where to take old ones I found around the house, because I didn’t want to just dump them in the trash and have them end up in a landfill. Turns out that I should be able to take them to my local Walgreens! Yeah!

Now that Mike & I both have new computers, it is interesting to see how we use them from the ground up. The night we opened them, we spent the same amount of time on them - doing very different things. He went right into downloading things, getting it all set up just the way he wanted it. Me? I went right into a web browser, played on Flickr, sent some Twitter messages, and surfed the web.

On Christmas Eve, we took our computers over to my parent’s house, and after all the gifts were opened Jason spent time setting up his new iPod on iTunes, and I finally spent a little time tweaking the Mac. Mike showed me how to install things, and I added widgets to my dashboard.

Since that night, I have spent minimal amounts on the computer. Mike is on vacation this week, but I had a meeting yesterday, a meeting today, and have another meeting this weekend. Also, now that I have some energy back, I’m trying to catch up on housework. My computer time has amounted to minutes spent printing documents for the meetings; my email has gone mostly unread except for the business accounts. I haven’t even set up an email client on the new Mac; I’ve been using Gmail or my iPhone for all correspondence. Mike on the other hand has totally pimped out his machine, or is at least well on his way to doing so. He gets up in the morning and it is the first thing he does - spends time on the computer with his morning cup of coffee. (Served up this morning in the thermal coffee mug with the USB connection to keep it warm.) He has talked about getting Gmail IMAP’ed to the iPhone, and his online to-do list is now set to go there too, tied in to Gmail and Twitter. He has figured out how to take DVDs and get them on the iPhone. He has made everything sparkly and shiny. Me? Lucky I finally figured out how to change the wallpaper on the desktop.

I’m jealous. I want a pimped out Mac too. Although at least I’m not that far behind on the learning curve, and I’ve already done my first Mac OS upgrade!

But there are things to do around the house - we’re finally finishing the painting in the living room! - and this week, that is just more important for me. After the crazy rush of the holidays, I still need a break from the glow of the monitor. But someday, I will be upgrading. What should I put on it? The obvious items - PhotoShop and Lightroom - are a given. But what else? Have any recommendations of what you simply have to have on your Mac?

For YEARS people have said to me, “So, you’re a photographer - so you use a Mac, right?”

Uhm, no? They make all the same software for a PC, and I that is what I’ve always used. I married a PC geek. We have lots of Windows machines in our house. More PC computers than people actually.

And to address the usual comments made:
– No, they do not always crash. I think the Dell Latititude has only crashed once on me. It had a lot of intensive programs open, and it was just too much. Plus, I hadn’t rebooted the machine in 2-3 days. So then it crashed. Pretty much my fault. Otherwise? No problems.

– No, if you have Windows, you don’t need a backup drive because the drive is guaranteed to fail. Mike’s desktop machine is over 5 years old, and has never had a hard drive failure. I’ve had one - on a free PC, no less - over 10 years ago. We do have backup external drives, but that is because I have to backup critical data like client’s photos.

– No, if you use Windows, you don’t always get viruses. You need to have good computer habits and if you have firewall protection as we do - our router blocks unsolicited incoming traffic - you shouldn’t have a problem. I haven’t run a virus software on the Dell in a 14 months, and it has never been a problem. (Shhh, don’t tell. I don’t highly recommend that.) I’ve only ever had one virus, actually - and it was because I downloaded and installed a free screen saver from an unknown source in 1997, and it was infected. I learned. The Mac commercials make me want to scream over this whole virus thing. Oh, and hackers are starting to target the Mac more.

BUT … with all that being said … we went yesterday and bought TWO Macs. I got the MacBookPro (I need the higher specs that it offers for photo editing) and Mike got the MacBook.

Why the switch? When I used to ask Mac owners why I needed to switch as a photographer, I would get responses like, “It is just better.” That doesn’t make me justify a computer purchase. However, it was finally explained to me that the Mac operating system handles memory paging better than Windows. So if you want to have 10 photos open in Photoshop, you can. The Photoshop actions that bog down CS2 there don’t do it on the Mac. I finally had a valid reason. I edit a LOT of photos, and I need the speed. My clients will thank me.

Mike went with a Mac for his FIRST laptop that he has owned himself - not counting all the work laptops he has had over the years - because he likes the eye candy factor of the operating system over Vista, he likes the form factor of the MacBook, and is willing to admit that he is not the hard-core l33t gamer that he was when I met him back in 2002 when he first purchased the (then) kick-ass Dell PC tower that we own. Also, Mac now runs linux underneath it all, something he is comfortable with, and if he wants, he can get software to allow you to run Windows inside the Mac. Matter of fact, the fastest Vista machine on the market? A Mac, according to PC World.

Mike probably would have inherited my old laptop, except Jason enjoys 3D modeling and other things such as that, and my Dell Latitude was pimped out when I purchased it a year ago, and has a lot more memory, a faster processor (Intel Core 2 Duo) and a Nvidia graphics card in it that will help make his computing experience better. Plus he is a gamer, so it will help with that too. We decided that it made more sense, since Mike is a lighter computer user now, mainly using a browser and email, to give Jason my PC and for Mike to get a new one. As soon as Jason found out I was getting a Mac, after asking for the 24″ iMac himself, he then started asking for my PC laptop.

We realized this morning that I am a bitter, snarky Mac users though thanks to the Mac commercials we’ve seen over the years, and the comments people have made. ANY time something happens that counters the commercials, we mock it.

“All you have to do is plug it in, and it just WORKS.” Uhm, no. Mine didn’t just work. I had to install 19 updates, and only had Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger on the laptop when I fired it up, so now I get to do my first Mac upgrade all by myself to get OS X 10.5 Leopard on it. It didn’t just work.

“They never lock up or crash.” I was just using Safari last night, while my 19 upgrades happened in the background, and suddenly found myself watching the pretty spinning colorful wheel. Sure, it was pretty. Nice design, good eye-candy. I was pretty amused that within 2 hours, it had happened to me. Don’t tell me they never lock up. That is a little unrealistic.

“It is just so easy to use.” Again, no. While typing this post, I hit a key on the left by mistake, I have no idea which one, and BAM! My window was GONE! I had to hunt around the monitor to find it, only to discover it had rolled up to the top and was hiding up there. I got it back, but things like that are confusing if you have been using a PC for over 15 years. I know I’ll get more comfortable using it, but I’m *so* not there yet.

All in all, they are pretty and shiny and sparkly, and we’re happy. But I’m not ready yet to say it is sooooooo much better than a PC. Talk to me after I drink a bit more of the Kool-aid and I might change my mind.

But Mike & I both laugh like crazy EVERY time we watch this video. We had been watching YouTube for it to show up, so it was a special treat to watch it tonight for the first time on our NEW Macs! (Uhm, yeah, more on that later! First post from the MacBookPro!)

Dr. Has a Clue also gave me the green light to live a normal life again. She then sent me over for a CBC, Iron, Ferritin and something else blood test to see how my iron is currently and if I have any iron reserves yet. Because a month ago, my ferritin levels were at a 3. Meaning I had absolutely no iron reserves - normal starts at 20. I should have those results by Friday. I don’t have to go back in to see her for 6-8 weeks.

And on a positive note, I’ve lost 8 pounds since my visit to her office 5 weeks ago. I pointed out that they removed the giant killer uterus, and they pointed out that that didn’t weigh 8 pounds. It did, however, weigh 0.46 pounds - versus the 0.15 that is much more normal. So that accounts for at least a little bit.

She liked the fact that I said that my plan for 2008 is to hire a trainer. That was actually my plan for this fall originally, but then all this stuff got in the way. I need to find someone that will work with me to protect my funky shoulder, and will be more than just a counter. I can count for myself - I need someone that will actually work up a plan for me and keep me on task. Anyone in Houston know of a trainer on the north side of town (near Willowbrook or Spring-Cypress/290) that they recommend?

I went in for my four week post-op appointment yesterday, and got the “all clear” from my doctor. Yeah! My incision is healing well, and I am cleared to do almost everything now with the exception of a few six week items like heavy lifting. I even got to drive this past weekend! Wheee! Man, it is nice to be formally and officially driving again. I’m still supposed to take it slow and let my body and energy levels (which are still low) guide me as to what I can and can’t do.

I’m about to head out now for my post-op appointment with the cardiologist. She will be running the lab work to see if I am still anemic, which I suspect that I am.

The official pathology on my uterus was that a normal one weighs in at 70 grams, and mine was a whopping 212 grams! Three times the normal size! I did not have normal endometriosis (because really, I can never be normal), I had something similar although not the same - severe adenomyosis, where “the tissue that lines the uterus (endometrium) grows within the uterus’ muscular outer walls.” They have no idea what causes this to occur. While there are treatments that can help with they symptoms, a hysterectomy is the only cure.

So my worries of “did I do the right thing?” are over - it is obvious that I did. There really were no other options.

And I’ve been asked the same question several times, so I figured I would address it here. Once they did the hysterectomy, all bleeding stopped immediately because the source was removed. Without a uterus, I will have no more periods. (I will obviously have no more children too - unless we adopted.) So yes, the bleeding stopped the day of my surgery. Yeah!

Off to find out if I’m still anemic and to get the all clear from Dr. Has a Clue!

Is it a wonder that people think that Americans are idiots? Goodness, what ARE they teaching in schools now? Or at least at Kellie Pickler’s school — someone needs to go find her former teachers and give them a headsmack too. Good God.

By the way - who the heck is she? Other than the local idiot? “I don’t think France is a country.” I want to weep.

[via Jeff, finder of all good things on the internet.]

At 2:45am, the home phone rang. Immediately giving me a heart attack, because it could have only meant something bad had happened to someone. Mike answered; no one there.

Then my cell phone started to ring. I didn’t get it answered in time.

Then the house phone rang again. I answer. It is some guy, who knows that I am Christine, and tells me that he is Paul … you know, who I met at the bar tonight. You know, I gave him my business card. You know, Paul. (He kept saying, “you know” over and over - ignoring my very obvious confusion.)

Whathuh? I went to dinner with my parents, my husband & my son. I came home and finished editing a wedding. No bar was involved in any of this.

So he hangs up - and calls back on my cell phone to prove that I really did give him my business card. Otherwise, how would he have both numbers? I told him - AGAIN - that my HUSBAND and I were HOME and I was not at a bar. He told me to *bleep* off and hung up on me.

Of course, now I’m wide awake. It is 3:15am. And I am REALLY annoyed that some chick out there claimed to be me and gave out my business card. WTF? Grrrrrr….

From the Flickr Blog:

“Stats, stats, baby!

We’ve introduced a new feature for our pro members: stats!

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you — we’ve launched another of our most often requested features. Yay!

We’ve designed stats on Flickr to give you all sorts of insight into how people arrive at your photos. If you’re a pro member you can activate your stats now.”

If you haven’t done it already, you can head on over to here to activate them!

I truly, truly, value your feedback. Right now, I have my portfolio site set up using the a template that I really like. However, it is limited on the number of galleries I can have, and it doesn’t have a calendar on it. I really want unlimited galleries and a calendar. Just recently, a new template was released. I love it. It is called George, which always amuses me.

But just because *I* like it doesn’t mean that the end user would like it. So I want YOUR opinion. Which one do you like better? Why?

As always, your help is GREATLY appreciated!

So Google is at it again. A few weeks ago, I noticed a sudden drop in my Google pagerank on this site. Seems Google didn’t like that I had text link ads on my sidebar. Now? If you do a search for something that should bring up ScriptyGoddess as a result, you get to see it in the result list, but when you click the link it gives you a big, scary warning that ScriptyGoddess is bad and is distributing Malware!

She finally found a comment on the site with embedded HTML that may lead to something evil. But ScriptyGoddess isn’t distributing malware at all! Grrrrrr, Google! *shakes fist in the air* She submitted the site for review and hopefully they will get it fixed. Meanwhile? ScriptyGoddess is alive and well! (Please spread the word.)

Looking through Amazon tonight for something - I don’t even remember what lead me there - and I just froze when I saw it.

Barry Manilow has released a CD with the Greatest Songs of the Fifties, and followed it up by the Greatest Songs of the Sixties. Now he has released the Greatest Songs of the Seventies.

This totally amuses me. If you asked me to list the greatest songs from that time period, it would be mainly the Bee Gees and Barry Manilow. How can one of the greatest artists of the time period do a greatest of CD like this?

Check out the track list:
1. The Way We Were
2. My Eyes Adored You
3. Bridge Over Troubled Water
4. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?
5. It Never Rains in Southern California
6. You’ve Got a Friend (Duet With Melissa Manchester)
7. He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
8. Sailing
9. The Long and Winding Road
10. (They Long To Be) Close to You
11. If
12. Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
13. Mandy (Acoustic)
14. Weekend in New England (Acoustic)
15. Copacabana (At the Copa) (Acoustic)
16. Even Now (Acoustic)
17. Looks Like We Made It (Acoustic)
18. I Write The Songs (Acoustic)

Six out of 18 songs are songs that Barry Manilow did - now in Acoustic form. And the thought of him singing the Bee Gees, Simon & Garfunkel, or The Carpenters really freaks me out. That would just be so wrong. (Update: Ok, his version of Close to You was ok. The rest? WRONG. SO VERY WRONG.)

Speaking of the Bee Gees, where is Jive Talkin’? Or How Deep is Your Love? Come on, how can you do a Greatest Hits without those songs?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a Fanilow, although I’m not a card carrying member. But this CD just cracks me up!

It is a few days later than I had originally planned, but more photos are posted now over on the post with Mercedes & Tim’s slideshow. They are just such a beautiful couple, I had to share more of them!

Jenn sent me a link the other day that I finally got to read today about Kyle David Miller, a 3 year old who was riding in a booster seat in a car and the seatbelt failed during a major crash. He was thrown from the car and died due to the crash. I strongly encourage every parent with a toddler to consider a safe 5 point harness car seat - full car seat, rated for a child up to 80 pounds - over a booster seat after what I read today.

Minutes after I read that site, I visited Mercedes’ (the bride in the slideshow below) Xanga site to leave her a comment to let her know the slideshow was online. When I went to leave my comment, I saw other comments about her accident. Accident? I had a strange sinking feeling and called her right away. I got her voicemail and left her a message that probably sounded a bit odd, but I was very concerned.

Tonight, one of her friends (Becky) sent me the link to Mercedes’ mom’s blog post with the photos of her car after the accident. Or what used to be a car. It is truly, truly a miracle that she is alive. More than that, alive and without major injuries or broken bones. Just looking at those car photos made me cry. I mean … whoa. It really is a miracle. Especially when I read the most recent post and saw that she doesn’t always wear her seatbelt - and it is what saved her (before it failed) on Friday night.

I said earlier that Mercedes & Tim impressed me with their strong faith. I believe it will carry them through this difficult time. Please keep them in your thoughts & prayers! No matter what your faith is, I know all the positive, healing thoughts we can send her way will help her.