Archive for May, 2009

V is for Vonage, V-phone, and Velda! When I moved to my new apartment and found out I’d only have wireless internet, I was somewhat sad to have to say goodbye to my old Vonage V-tech phone that I’ve enjoyed over the past three years. To make matters worse, after moving in I found out my Sprint signal here is absolutely worthless. So if you’ve been expecting a call from me so I can update you on my life, I’m sorry, the phones aren’t working for me. So send me a note on facebook, or read on to hear the Vonage saga…

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Cute mario party invitations

We’ve decided we’re doing a Mario Kart party this year for both kids as a combined birthday party. Here is the entire oh-so-simple party plan, thanks to some awesome ideas in the Mario Birthday Party Brainstorm and some brainstorming here as well. I love planning parties that don’t really need a party planner to pull off Like this: (more…)

Today at Turning point we had a bit of an eye opening exercise, or at least it was an eye opener for me. I’ve shared the idea with three people so far. Two said “WOW that is amazing!”, and the other said, “hmph, and then what happened?” So at the risk of one third of you thinking I’m totally silly for saying this, here’s what we did… (more…)

I’m going back to college! Granted, I’m not staying in the dorms with my two kids, but I figured I’d celebrate the occasion by posting two student-friendly recipes. For those of you who believe microwaves serve little other purpose than to make popcorn and heat TV dinners, here are two easy tricks we’ve discovered quite by accident.

Before you scoff at microwave food, consider that these sneaky recipes take less time than running out for fast food that was probably microwaved anyway. And they cost less and taste better to boot. So whether you’re a student or not, when you’re in a rush, hungry, and looking to save a little time and money, give these a go and let me know what you think (more…)

Apparently this is a common issue! I am so glad to find that out. First because it means I -may- be able to convince Lenovo to replace the hinge for me, even though I’m a few days out of warranty. Second, if they won’t replace it, I can probably go out and find the part as it seems to happen frequently. And most of all for me, it’s huge a relief to know this isn’t anyone’s undeclared fault.

*UPDATE*

Lenovo’s site has a tool that will let you check your warranty. The date on mine had to have been later than the original purchase date. I called to ask them about it, and they happily sent me a box and had the laptop repaired within about a week. I’d also included my caps lock key with the box; it had fallen off and I couldn’t get it back on. Even though my keyboard was so worn down you could no longer even see the letters, they replaced the whole thing.

I’d had some awful experiences with the warranty service for my HP laptop purchased through the now defunct CompUSA. Lenovo’s support, in comparison, was so excellent, I’m trying to scrape together enough money to purchase an extended warranty through them.

Thanks Lenovo for your excellent support and an otherwise super sturdy laptop!