iPod Nano (1st Generation)

Recently Apple started recalling the iPod Nano (1st Generation). Apparently there was a problem with the battery that caused them to catch on fire. My cousin had given me her old one years ago and my sister gave me hers when she upgraded to an iPod touch. I submitted the serial number of the one my sister gave me to see how it went. I mailed it back in January and waited for the replacement. They stated 6-8 weeks and it finally came in today. Instead of sending me a refurbished iPod nano which is what I expected, they sent me a new 6th generation Nano. It's a little smaller than I'm used to but it's twice the size - went from 4GB to 8GB. I was very excited to get it in the mail today. I can't wait to start playing around with it.

Old iPod Nano (1st generation)


New 6th Generation iPod Nano

Vera Bradley Discussion

Last Month I was contacted by a Marketing group asking if I wanted to be part of a Vera Bradley discussion group. At first they asked me some questions and said I didn't qualify. Then they called a few weeks later and asked a few more questions and then finally accepted me. They ask question about Vera Bradley products and you give your opinion on new products and buying techniques. They compensate you with free Vera Bradley products. So far I have had two assignments. They haven't been too bad. About 20 questions that you have to give your opinion on. This week I received my first Vera Bradley product. I received the All Wrapped UP which is a travel jewelry case in Suzani - View the item. I can't wait to see what else they send me :).

Update 1/20/12- over Christmas I received a Holiday Tote in Suzani and a calendar. This month I received a compact mirror in Camellia. Can't wait to see what I get next!

Busy Couple Months

It has been a busy couple months. I have had someone visit me every weekend in September and October so far. As of right now I don't know of anyone coming this weekend :).

My mom came up for my birthday in mid-September and we spent the day in Helen, GA. We walked around the town, played putt-putt, and hiked to Anna Ruby Falls. It was a fun day. Here we are at The Troll Tavern and Restaurant.



The following Weekend was the Clemson/Auburn game which was our first real game of the season. Clemson was able to win 38-24. My sister came up for the game. Here we are with our Orange Tigerdream cones.



The last weekend in September was the Clemson/Florida State game. Clemson won 35-30. It was also the weekend of Becca's, my cousin's, 20th birthday. We got to celebrate with her with dinner at Outback friday night and then during the tailgate on Saturday. My sister came up again and my Cousin, Jed, stayed with me too.



The next weekend was the first away game for Clemson. They played at Virginia Tech and won 23-3. That weekend I had a lock-in with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade kids at church. At that age they sleep so I didn't have to stay up all night :). Then a friend I work with came up for the day and we went to the Pendleton Fall Festival and hung out in Clemson. It is nice to go to the stores downtown when no one is around.

Oct 8th was homecoming at Clemson and that weekend my parents and sister came and stayed with me. My mom's family owns a house in Highlands that they have been renovating for the last few years so we went up to check on the progress of that on Friday. There is still a LOT of work to be done before it is ready. The leaves had started to change so it was a nice view on the way up there. PSA had a lunch on Saturday and it was good to see some of the alumni that stopped by. Dad was feeling bad all weekend so he missed out on the game but Clemson won again against Boston College 36-14.



On Oct 13th my friends, The Rollers, came for a visit. They have a 6 month old, Olivia, who is a lot more alert and active then when I saw her last at 6 weeks. Another friend that lives in Greenwood, Jonathan, came up for the day on Friday and Saturday. We hung out in Clemson Friday and then enjoyed the Fall Festival in Greenville on Saturday. My cousin's band, The Soulfeathers, played at the festival and they did a great job. It had been a while since I had heard them play and they had definately improved since then. We came back to my house and watched Clemson beat Maryland 56-45.





This past weekend was the Clemson/North Carolina game and my friend, Michael, came up for that. He got here on Thursday and then we went to Simpsonville for a free screening of The Three Musketeers movie in 3D. I don't mind 3D movies but I don't like wearing the glasses the entire time. I thought the movie was great. A lot funnier than I thought it would be. I probably would not have seen it in the theater but for free it was a great deal :). Then on Saturday Clemson won against North Carolina 59-38. That makes Clemson 8-0 and we are number 5 in the BCS Rankings.



I'm nervous about the Clemson/Georgia Tech game this weekend. We don't normally seem to do well against Georgia Tech. We did win last year when we played them. I'll be cheering them on from home at 8 Saturday night. Go TIGERS!!

RIP Washer

Last Monday I was washing some clothes when my washer stopped in the middle of a cycle and wouldn't continue. I tried moving it to the spin cycle but it would just make a noise and would not spin. I called a repairman and he said it was the motor so it was time to look for a new washer. I have been in my house almost 9 years and the Washer/Dryer came with the house so I really don't know how old they are. They were a Kenmore but I went down to Lowes and purchased a Maytag. Lowes came and installed it on Thursday and then I was all set to wash clothes again. Good thing, because I had 3 guest the weekend before and I hadn't washed any of the sheets/towels yet. I like the new washer but it will take some getting used to. The lid locks when the load starts and it also takes a lot longer than my old washer to run a cycle.




This past weekend my Cousin and Sister came and stayed with me for the Wofford game. Friday night Clair and I went to see Our Idiot Brother. It was a funny movie. The game was fun. I wish Clemson would start playing a little better. I'm really worried how they will do against Auburn this weekend. It's a noon game which will mean an early start on Saturday. My mom is coming up tomorrow to spend a couple nights with me. I'm still trying to decide what we should do Wednesday but haven't come up with anything yet. I thought about maybe going to the Mall of Georgia but we may just stay around Clemson - any good day trip ideas? :).

Design with Wine

A few weeks ago I went to one of those places where you paint a picture while drinking wine. I went with a friend from work and we did the Blue Ridge Mountains painting. You look at their calendar online and pic a date based on the picture you want to paint. I figured that would be an easy picture to start with. An instructer stands up in front of the class and tells you what to paint when and tells you how to mix up the colors. You paint on a canvas that they provide. I probably would have done a few things differently but I think it turned out ok. It was a fun couple hours and I would do it again.




Last weekend I went and saw The Help. It was a very good movie. They left a few things out from the book but it is already a 2hr and 17min movie so you can't really make it much longer. I went with my greenville book club and then we went to Mimi's Cafe afterwards for dinner. It was a fun night.

A little over a week until the first Clemson home game. I can't wait! My cousin is bringing me a parking pass this weekend since my extended family is not coming up next weekend. My sister is coming up on Friday to go. I've got to decide what kind of tailgating we will do since there will not be many of us. I may use my new Fire and Ice Grill that I got at an auction a few weeks ago. Have a great weekend and GO TIGERS!

Book Club

I have been a member/organizer for about 3 years of a book club in Greenville but this January I also joined one in Clemson that consists of mostly stay at home moms.

The book club in Clemson meets at different houses each month and the person having the meeting chooses the book. They also provide food/drinks for the people attending. I hosted this months meeting this past Thursday and choose The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. It was a quick, fun read and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I provided some wine, chips/dip, watermelon, and peach cobbler. It was a very small group since it is summer and some are out of town.

The book club in Greenville I organize through meetup.com. It's called A Novel Bunch. I have been organizing it for a little over a year. Every 4 months members nominate books to read and then the group votes on the next 4 books. We limit the group to 24 people so that everyone can talk and have close to that at every meetup. We always meet at Books-A-Million and go out to dinner after the discussion. The person that organizes the group with me is moving to China in August with her husband and baby to teach at a British school there. Since Jude is leaving I hosted a cookout Sunday for her and some of the members. I provided the burgers and fixings and others brought sides and desserts. We had a smaller group than expected but had a good time. This Tuesday we are meeting to discuss The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It was a long book and it took a little while to get into but I really enjoyed it.

Tubing

This past Saturday I went tubing for the first time. My friends Jonathan and Susan joined me and we went to Saluda, NC to tube the Green River. It was a fun and relaxing day. It was good to just lie in a tube and get some sun. We did have quite a few rapids to get through and got stuck on a few rocks, but overall it was just leisurely floating down the river in a tube. We also kept drifting to the side and getting caught up in the trees on the side. I have a long scrape on my upper back from one of them. We did the 4 hour tube ride and ate our lunch along the way. We even stopped at one point and Jonathan did the rope swing. The weather was perfect and it was a great day to be in the cold water. I definitely want to go again. After tubing we went into Greenville and had dinner at Wild Wings and then came back to Clemson for dessert at 3 spoons. It was a fun Saturday.

Tubing info:

http://nctubing.com