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UPS Delivers a Package

Posted on June 9, 2010 by auburnchick

Yesterday was Rooster’s last day of school.

Not only did he have summer vacation to look forward to, but he, along with the Mr. and myself, were anticipating the arrival of a special package.  The UPS guy looked at me strangely when I told him I could hug him for delivering it an hour earlier than expected…

I called the Mr., announcing the appearance of the UPS guy, with the above box.  He left work a little early in anticipation.

I was a little concerned when I saw the corner of the box smooshed in, but not to worry.  Whoever packed it had left plenty of room inside, filling the top half with packing bubbles…

Upon removal of the green stuff, we saw this…

I pulled out the little boxes and lined them up on the table…

Four Sprint HTC Evo phones.  Rooster had asked for one for his birthday, and Chicky was getting her’s for graduation.

The Mr. and I got our’s because we’re the parents of such wonderful children.

heehee

Since Chicky is out of town at a church camp, it was just the Mr., Rooster, and me…sitting around the table, admiring the unique packaging of our new toys…

After lifting the lid, I saw this…

Ahhh…I just love getting new gadgets. I love the way the parts are sealed in little plastic bags, cords kept neatly wound with twistie ties.

After installing the battery, it was finally time to turn the phone on…

Oh you guys…the smiles that spread across our three faces…well, it was something else, I tell you.

We ooohed and ahhhhed as the HUGE screens filled with images.  The colors are so VIBRANT too!!  Look at how the Evo compares to my old phone, the Instinct…

We went to Best Buy today and bought durable hard covers.  Of course, having the fun personality that I do (no comments from the peanut gallery…i.e. my family…), I did not want plain black, opting for purle instead…

Of course, I used a $10 Rewards certificate to offset the cost.  Rooster also threw in the $5 he had left on a giftcard.  I also have a 10% coupon that isn’t good until the 11th.  The cashier told me I could take the coupon back and get reimbursed for the difference, so in the end, I will have saved almost $25.

Oh, and see the bar going across the bottom on the back?  That’s a kickstand (sorry, no picture of the phone set up that way).  This phone plays music, so you can set it up on its stand and dance to your heart’s content (the speaker is on the back, by the way.

We spent hours trying to figure out how to use the features.

One of the neatest features of this phone is the capability to download apps to it, for the Evo is, in fact, Sprint’s Android phone.

Of course, the first thing I downloaded was Jewels, which is similar to Bejeweled Blitz.

I also installed Papi Jump…

Rooster found another game he knew I’d like…Poke a Mole…

This game is near and dear to my heart.  You see, when I was growing up, my family took many trips to Six Flags in Atlanta.  One of our favorite games to play there was this one.  Each family member welded a mallet and banged the heck out of those little moles!  I was quite good at the game and won several prizes.

The other game I downloaded was Paper Toss…

This is a game everyone plays in real life…all of us trying to ring the basket at home or at work.  Virtually, it is a ton of fun and very addicting!

A very neat app I found today was the Barcode Scanner…

This app uses the camera on the phone to scan the barcode of an item.  It then searches for the product and displays product reviews and prices (making comparison shopping easier).  I have not had a chance to fully test this out, but I did, for fun, scan my Sock Innovation book.  The app displayed a list of six or seven places I could purchase it, along with the prices.  Very cool!

There are just so many neat features of this phone!!  There are several different customizable screens, so it’s a sure bet that no setup will be the same.

It’s going to take me a while to discover everything, so the newness won’t wear off any time soon!

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

Soccer Chick Has to Pay the Piper

Posted on July 8, 2009 by auburnchick

Ir’s 6am, and I’m wondering why in the world I’m awake.

This new schedule I have of staying up late and sleeping in is fantastic.  Except for the days when you’ve got parenting things to take care of.

Just as I was getting ready to head to bed last night, I received an email from my cell phone company.  It was a notice of the bill that will be due in a couple of weeks.

I scanned it, thinking it wasn’t a big deal…just the usual…until I got to the bottom line.

Folks, my bill totaled over $400!!!

This was way over what we usually pay.

I thought that maybe the company had not received my last payment, so I fired up the laptop, which was already grumbling after the long day I’d put it through, and went online to check things out.

Lo and behold, the company did receive my last payment.  We had simply gone over our plan’s minute allotment.

I have the all-inclusive plan…1,500 minutes and unlimited data.  It’s definitely a luxury, but it’s been very convenient and fine up to this point.

Trying to be a good mom, I allotted the kids 100 minutes each, per month, of the regular daily minutes.  It doesn’t sound like much, but they have unlimited texting and can browse the internet without extra charges.  Plus, their nights start at 7pm.  Between texts, landlines, and the ability to email from their phones, you’d think they’d stay within their budgets.

Think again.

I used to monitor the bill very closely; however, lately I’ve gotten slack.  I figured if we didn’t go over, it wasn’t a big deal.  However, in doing so, Chicky has also gotten lax.  She’s taken advantage of my being distracted and talked her little heart out.

Way back when the kids got their cell phones, they were given a  stern warning that if they went over their allotted amounts, I would charge them what my cell phone company charges me…$.40/minute.  Chicky has argued about this, claiming it’s not fair because if the household doesn’t go over the total amount of minutes in the plan, why should she bother paying.

She’s missing the point, as a lot of kids do.  Kids tend to think in the moment.  Wise parents plan for the future.

If she doesn’t learn to stay within a budget now, when will she ever learn?  This is the time for training…for developing good habits.  Learning to manage money is probably one of the most important skills we must teach our children, before they head out the door for good.

Because I haven’t been checking the bill lately, I suspect that Chicky’s “allotment” has grown.

This month it affects the household.  With me out of work and money being scarce, it’s like a slap in the face.  Chicky has been working, though.  Lucky for her and us.

So, Chicky had to pay the piper.

Do you know how much her extra 466 minutes cost her?  If you do the math (I used a calculator), it comes out to $186.40.

No small change.

Did I actually make her pay it, you might ask?

You betcha!

Chicky is 17 years old and thinks she’s ready to tackle the world.

She’s almost there…but not quite.

Filed under: children | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

My Not-So-Fun Morning

Posted on December 7, 2007 by auburnchick

Yesterday, my son came home and asked me if I knew where his cell phone was located. “Uh, isn’t that kind of your responsibility???” Besides, after having to remember nearly all bits of information pertinent to keeping this family running, my poor little brain just cannot contain such odious tidbits such as where AuburnChick’s son’s cell phone is currently residing.

“No, son, I do not know where you last put your cell phone.”

From the glassy-eyed look on his face, I knew this was only going to get worse.

But, as moms are supposed to do, I kept a positive outlook — after blasting him for being irresponsible. I mean, it’s not like it’s the first time something like this has happened. I am, after all, the mother of a child who came home from PE with only one shoe. All because the child shared his shoe with a classmate who did not have their own pair that day. So they each wore one sneaker and one flip-flop. This event made me question the parentage of my child that day. I mean, I’ve never done anything so, uh, strange. But, I digress.

Getting back to my story…

Son lost his phone, so the first logical step was to go by the office. Too easy. Of course. “Mrs. AuburnChick, is this your son’s phone?” Of course it’s not. It belongs to the boy who hasn’t discovered he’s lost his yet. On to the gym, where the coach greets us at the door.

“Hi, Mrs. AuburnChick! I remember you from last year when I called you about finding your son’s phone!”

“Um, I think you have me confused with someone else. Surely my son has not done this before!”

“Oh, yes, right before ____ tryouts.”

I hang my head in shame. Yes, it’s quite possible…

He unlocks the door to the boys’ dressing room, and I start getting nervous. You mean, I have to actually go in — there???? I’m scared.

Son and I go in and casually look around. Nope…no phone lying conspicuously on the floor, where we can easily find it.

“Ok, son, you take one half of the lockers, and I’ll take the other half.”

Surely not, you say! Yes, I opened every locker that did not have a lock. Lockers that had been opened by grimy, slimy, sweaty hands that pick boogers and who knows what else, because — let’s face it people — boys are just gross.

To my credit, I did not rummage through the clothing located inside. If that phone is buried somewhere amid the jock straps, underwear, and socks it will just have to stay lost.

Of course, we did not find the phone. I slipped out to my car where I de-funk-i-fied my hands several times before going to work. At least I think I did…

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

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