Weekend Randomness

I mentioned a few posts back about my photo booth crashing.  My highly technical brother determined that one damaged cable was all we would have to replace to hopefully fix the problem.  I called Best Buy and Radio Shack, but neither carried the cable.  He found it online so I ordered it right away.  After more than a week, it was getting extremely close to my next event.  I tried calling the company I ordered from but they were closed for the day.  Our mail arrives early so I watched and waited.  No package.  I called the company back again and was told that the cable was on back order!  I had to work very hard to control my temper.  My job was the next day and I had a broken photo booth and a cable on back order.  I told the customer service representative that I should have been notified!  She said they emailed me.  I went back and checked all my emails.  No notification of back order.  Then I opened up the invoice they emailed me.  In very small font at the bottom of the email, it said that the item had been back ordered.  I didn't even read the email, I just viewed the attached invoice.  Don't you think a back order status deserves its own email?

Anyway, I called Hubby in a mild panic.  I asked him if he knew of any local computer stores I could call.  He said he was delivering to a big computer store in a bit and he would ask them.  So I provided him with the part number and crossed my fingers.  They actually had 2 in stock!  It was only $20 and it fixed the problem!  I exhaled for the first time in two weeks!  The booth is back up running and I've had several successful jobs since then!  Whew!

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Another update:  we finally purchased airfare to New York City!  AirTran ran another special, this time for $49 each way!  The bad news, the dates of the special were past Hubby's vacation week.  They pick vacation for the following year in July, so we were forced to purchase the tickets blindly in hopes that he'll be able to secure the week we booked!  Yeah, that's just a bit nerve wracking!   

Last time we went to New York, I left my printed map and itinerary on the desk at home.  We more or less wandered the streets of Manhattan, looking for the best sights.  This time, I'm going all OCD on this trip!  I found a lovely site called Tripomatic.com that feeds my planning obsession.  You can choose all the things you want to do, organize them into days, and it maps them for you.  It even tells you how long it takes to walk from one activity to the next!  I LOVE that!  

Just in the middle of writing this post, I took a break and booked my hotel!  I was having a hard time deciding what to do, as we have another couple with us.  I didn't want to book something too shabby or they'd think I was an animal.  On the other hand, I didn't want to choose something too expensive, which is nearly impossible.  Hubby suggested checking out Groupon.  I did and found a deal!  We're booking  3 1/2 star hotel for the same price as the 1 star hotel I was leaning toward!  Ha!  Hopefully all that will work out!  I plan on calling the hotel in a day or so to confirm our booking so there's no problems when we arrive.

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We had an absolutely perfect weekend!  Rain was forecast continually, so I was prepared to be bummed out.  We had our church picnic Sunday after church.  We got just a couple sprinkles and pleasantly cool weather the rest of the day.  Our July 4th picnic is usually sweltering and uncomfortable.  Afterward, my brother's family came over for pizza and fun.  Son #2 made us brownies.  He's becoming quite the baker.  I spent some time with my niece and nephew, whom I can't get enough of.  Saturday was filled with being lazy in the morning (my ultimate favorite), a birthday party in the afternoon, and a bit of shopping in the evening.

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The shopping was for bedding for Big Sis.  I've been trying to get my life caught up enough to change around their rooms.  At bedtime prayer, Baby Girl says, "We hope we get to change our rooms..."  I think everyone is tired of me talking about it and ready for some action.  The boys will be split up and the girls will share the big room.  Son #1's room will be first.  But since Big Sis learned all 191 of those verses, I wanted to do something special for her.  I've been secretly looking for bedding for a while, unable to find anything I can afford.  If I'm going to redecorate 3 bedrooms, I surely can't spend $125 to $250 on a bedspread!  This is the "look" I'm going for (thanks to Pinterest), obviously adapted for a big girl room:

I managed to find bedding very similar at TJ Maxx and she said she loved it more than anything.  $39.  Score!  I also found her a darling little mirror that she couldn't live without at Hobby Lobby.  70% off!  Double score!  I can't wait to actually get started on these rooms.  I also want to incorporate a little bit of this look, without so many bright colors:

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I'm planning on painting #1's room a light gray with a more industrial look.  I would love to frame architectural photography in black frames.  I'm thinking about taking my good camera to New York with me....good idea or bad?

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What's randomly happening in your life right now???