My world revolves around...

my COMPUTER!!!!!! I bet you thought I would say my daughter, huh?!



Well that is true as well, but you would not believe how much your life revolves around something when for a 24 hour period it is taken out of your life!



Yesterday evening, while trying to look something up on Google, my computer just froze and then turned off. It didn't really bother me too much since this has happened before (I should have known then that when this happens, it is a sign of things to come~ and not good things)! I just pushed that little blue button and expected that it would come back on without any problems.

Boy, how wrong I was! Aside from my computer taking 10 minutes to boot up usually (hence the reason it never gets turned off and has become Alyssa's nightlight), last night it took close to a half hour. A half hour! Something is very wrong with this picture! And I sat there and waited, patiently, while my computer tried to boot up.



And waited...



And waited...



And waited...



Finally, there she was, in all her glory (Alyssa as my desktop background), smiling at me as I sat hopeful that I would be able to check my email, look up the book that was recommended to me by my step-mom, check on my friends on the parenting board, and check on the Amazing Trips before heading out to play min-golf with Luke and Kelsey. This task in itself (depending on the length of the different posts and emails) usually only takes 10-15 minutes. Not last night!



Heck had I been able to get on to the internet or get past the black screen that my desktop turned to (no more Alyssa smiling at me), I doubt I would have been able to do a single task in 10-15 minutes let alone all 4. I was getting annoyed, especially since I knew that this computer was just about ready to crash and then what would I do?! I seriously use the computer for everything in my life!

But the daunting black screen yelling "Your computer is in danger..." in bright red letters made me get off my lazy bum and go tell Luke what was going on. Once I got to his office, I noticed he was also having problems. He was having problems because our wireless router is connected to my computer! The thought of just how important my computer is to US, not just me, did not dawn on me at that exact moment. In fact that thought didn't even cross my mind until this morning as I lay in bed going through withdrawal of my daily morning routine!

Anyway, Luke in all his infinite wisdom of computers tried very hard to figure out the problem, but eventually gave up when he could not even click out of the programs that are supposed to help restore your computer and the programs that are supposed to destroy viruses. He needed a break!


I needed a distraction...




And Kelsey (being 12) needed something to do to keep her from being bored so we went mini-golfing (putt-putt for some). And you are all probably wondering where Alyssa was in all of this... well, fortunately my sister stayed over last night so she was there to watch Alyssa as my computer died right there in front of me help! And what a great help she was; hence the reason we needed to get out and do something "different" (of course I say different because Luke and I haven't gone mini-golfing since last summer, so it is different for us).



And what a great distraction the night was! In fact it was so much of a distraction that I even forgot that my computer was not working properly. On the way home, I was thinking how I wanted to check this and that out, and it did not even occur to me that I wouldn't be able to.

Or, maybe it did...

But I was in such denial about it. Maybe I figured that once I got home that whatever was wrong with it before we left would have miraculously cured itself. I knew that one of the things I wanted to do was type out this great post on our adventures in pushing a large stroller through a 27 holes mini-golf course that is not made for strollers to be going through. Don't worry I still want to post about that but I have to forge upload the pics of it! (Would you believe that with everything going on with my computer, I managed to leave my camera sitting on my computer desk)! Yes well, life happens!

My worst sense of withdrawal came last night after putting Alyssa to bed. I knew that my computer time would be limited last night since Kelsey was staying over, but I didn't know that I would spend that limited amount of time cursing at my computer, threatening to throw it out the window, getting irritated with the fact that we were still stuck where we were 4 hours before.





So, I decided that I would just give up on that computer and I headed downstairs. Thinking I am a genius, I pulled out Luke's laptop and turned it on with a little smirk on my face like a child who thinks that they have just outsmarted their teacher or parent about something. I thought "Ha ha computer of mine, I will just trade you in on a better version! how great it would be to finally be able to post on the blog, check my email, check out that book, and check on my friends.



Apparently my computer or my husband was laughing right back at me because after a couple seconds a sign-on came onto the screen and would you know, that my dear, sweet, trusting husband has it password-protected from his own wife! I asked for a hint and it said "4 12 inch subs" (stereo language, I don't speak it... anyone else?)



So there I sit, completely going through withdrawal! I felt like a drug-user would feel while going through withdrawal in rehab, trying to find a way to get that one last hit. I even went as far as to call Luke and beg him to call his brother to come fix it that night. Yes, you heard me right, last night (it was close to 11 by this point). My computer, if I haven't mentioned it before is in Alyssa's room, but yet last night, I figured it would be ok if his brother came over and fixed it! Seriously, what does that say about me?

Defeated, Kelsey and I went to bed around 11:30. I woke up this morning with one thing in mind... "Maybe my computer has worked out all of its problems being turned off for the whole night." I walked in the room, turned on the blue switch, and went through my usual morning routine (of waking Alyssa, changing her diaper, putting her outfit on, cleaning her ears, etc.) in hopes that by the time I was done, it would be working.

No such luck!I hit a few keys, waited a second or two and figured that computers work much like the boiling water theory "A watched pot never boils" and decided to take Alyssa over to my bedroom and sit there with her and Kelsey for another half hour. I went back and checked... still nothing! This is when the thought that Luke will not be able to do much if my computer crashes because of the wireless so it is very important that this thing gets fixed, and NOW! I called my 39 weeks pregnant sister-in-law and asked her what she was doing today. She told me she could help and about 2 hours later we headed to her house.



After 2 hours, many "Wow, I have never seen this much on a computer before", and a sleeping baby later, I had my computer back! And working better than ever! I am sure that I have mentioned it before, but Ang is awesome! And if only I could have taken pictures of her very pregnant self climbing underneath of the computer desk to plug the appropriate cords into the appropriate outlets, I would have made this posting complete! But again, my camera never made it any further than my computer desk!



So... what are 4 12 inch subs called?