The parents discover internet phone

So I was online in yahoo as usual last night, playing CoH and I hear this faint ringing noise. I looked around and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Oh well, it's not my phone. It finally stopped then I hear it again. I look at the computer and I see an incoming call on yahoo. It was mom n dad. hmm wonder if they know what they're doing. They are not exactly computer literate. I knew the latest version of yahoo has a voice calling feature but I had never used it before. I decided I'd click the accept call button. I put my headset on and said hello? I didn't hear anything. I assume at this point my dad is running for my mom as he usually does when he finds something kewl or messes something up or just wants to show her something exciting he found or did with the computer. I say "hello?", no response.... I say "hello?" a few more times "is anyone there?" I hear a bit of chatter in the background. Then I can hear my mom talking to my dad "how did you do that? what did you do? Is that Paula?" He goes on to show her what he did. At this point I don't think they know I can hear them. I ask "what are you guys doing? can you hear me?" I get a response back this time from my mom saying "yes we can hear you". Now I think they are in total shock and amusement that I can even hear them. She says they have no mic on the computer so doesn't know how I am able to hear them. Mom says dad can't believe and threw his arms up and left the room. Chatted with mom for a few minutes. I think they want to get rid of their phone line now...

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Photo Date: Bellevue Botanical Gardens

Doug and I took a little trip to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens to take pics of their annual Garden d'Lights presentation. I didn't even find out about this thing till last week but they apparently do it every year and it's a fairly popular holiday destination around here. We decided to go last night and lucky for us it wasn't raining. This is only going on for another couple of days so I'm glad we were able to make it. The lights were amazing. I can't imagine how long it took them to get this all put together. I've got my pics up on flickr. Click the pic to see the rest.

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Finally 50!

Woo Finally made level 50 on my City of Heroes Character. Only after a year and a half of playing have I finally reached the max level. Of course I would have gotten there sooner had we not started the Biggles group but that's ok. It wouldn't have been the same without the Biggles.

Took a lil screenie of me leveling up. Thanks to all who have helped me get this far!

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Frosty the...

No not snowman. Frosty the winterfairy has visited my yard. Everything is covered in a thick frost. I took a few pics with my old camera cuz it does macro better than my new one. I still gotta get a macro lense for the new cam. Anywho, I posted up the pics I just took on my flickr account. Which I just upgraded to a pro account so I can make more sets. Click the pic below to see the set.

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beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I don't usually decorate much for Christmas but one day last week I decided to get out all my Christmas decorations and put them all up in the house. I haven't put up any lights other than my spirally green and blue christmas tree. Don't know what made us do it but Doug and I decided to get a Christmas tree, a real one! I think the last time I put up a Christmas tree was back when I was married, maybe 5 years or so. Doug says he hasn't put one up in like 20 years, so he was definitely do. We took Doug's truck to the Safeway lot a few blocks away and bought a $30 Douglas fir from the Boy Scouts. We brought over all my decorations and lights and got it all setup and lookin pretty in no time. I took a few pics and put some up on Flickr. I've also organized my Flickr account into a couple different sets. I uploaded some of my fav pics over the past couple years and put them in a set. I also have a set for my panoramic pics and then one for some pics I've taken with my new cam so far. Christmasy ones are in that last set.

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New Cam has arrived

Woo I got my new cam but I haven't been able to take any new pics with it yet cuz the batteries take for freakin' evar to charge. It is pretty sweet looking though. Can't wait to try it out. I got the 40-150mm and 14-45mm lenses. I'd really like to take a class and learn how to use all this fancy shmancy stuff properly. I ended up going home early today cuz it was snowing like crazy at work. I come home in hopes I'll get here before FedEx man. Well didn't really matter cuz Mr. FedEx man didn't get here till almost 7:00. It appears they would have just left it on the doorstep anyway. I thought they made you sign for stuff. Kind of a pricey item to just leave on the doorstep. Oh well I was home and I'm happy. Got a couple of other packages in the mail. Early Christmas presents from my parents. I was told to not open till Christmas so I have two big boxes in my living room begging to be opened. Must resist opening. Here's a pic of my new toy:

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I want my camera!

I thought I hated USPS and UPS until I tried dealing with FedEx. They might be the worst. My new camera was out for delivery yesterday so I stayed home from work so I could be there to sign for it. Well it turns out they needed extra time because it's a "rural delivery". So the status is out for delivery again today. I called Fedex to see if they can hold it so I could come pick it up tomorrow or saturday. They said ok sure we'll hold it at the Burlington which is over an hour drive one way. I didn't realize it was that far when I told them to hold it. After I found out where this place was I called back asking if they can hold it in Bothell instead which is where Doug lives and would be much easier for me to get to. Well this other person that I talked to said that they couldn't hold it at all. I'm like what? I just talked to someone and they said they could hold it in Burlington. They say sorry we can't hold it. *sigh* so I asked if they can redeliver it on tuesday (my work from home day) They said they can put in a request but they can't guarantee that it will be. wtf? So who knows if I will ever get my package. Stoopid FedEx!

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Victim of Fraud

It appears after receiving my annual free credit report today that I am the victim of fraud. There were two items on my credit report that I have nothing to do with. And one of these items shows up in only one of the three so if you get your credit report I suggest getting it from more than just one because they don't all say the same. One of them even had my wrong current address, which was reported by one of these fraud accounts. The first one that appeared only in the Experian report is a $49 collection from Taco Bell in Great Falls, Montana. Who the hell spends $49 at Taco Bell is what I want to know. It was sent to Check Patrol of Montana at the beginning of the year. I haven't even been to Montana this year. The other account is from Missoula Federal Credit Union which has a $323 overdrawn balance that was sent to Northwest Collectors and was updated as recently as last month. I am calling all these credit report places and issuing disputes. When I talked to Experian they sent me to the fraud dept and they had to issue a special dispute. When I talked to TransUnion they just submitted a regular dispute. I haven't tried calling Equifax yet but I should probably call them too. They also suggested I call the creditors as well. I've been on a training thing all day so haven't been able to complete all my phone calls yet.

If you haven't gotten your free annual credit report I suggest you do. You could be a victim of fraud: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

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