Christmas In The Hamptons

Our up and back trip to Fort Worth turned into four days and three nights in the Hamptons.  Well, that’s ThatManILove’s version - Christmas in the Hamptons.

Since the highways were closed due to snow (yeah, in TEXAS!) and the airports were closed as well, it’s not a far walk to figure out he meant the Hampton Inns - one in Hurst and one in Mansfield, Texas.  

He’s comical that way!

We met up with friends for dinner in Mansfield, then went to Euless the next day to meet a friend from TMIL’s past.  They had actually gone to Israel together in 1992 or 1993.  It was awesome to see them reconnect.  (TMIL’s friend brought his 21 year old son with him - what an awesome, intelligent young man!  I so love seeing young people with a plan - Godspeed to this one!) We had a great time visiting with our friends.  While we were at the restaurant, Mother Nature decided to dump a ton of snow and ice on the DFW area, effectively pooping on destroying all our travel plans.    It turned out to be a good year for  Younger Son to be in Ruidoso NM and Elder Son to be in Angel Fire NM!

Yesterday, we spent Christmas Day resting, and then took in two movies - “It’s Complicated” and “Nine”.  We loved both of them.  So shoot me.  Today, we drove back to Mansfield to pick up the power cord to my Mac (I’d left it in the "Hamptons") and had lunch with Mike and Pam.  Fun!  

Oh, yeah...and I was stupid enough today to go into Coldwater Creek, where they were having a 50% off sale.  I had grabbed two armfuls of stuff before I realized the checkout line was all the way to the back of the store and up again.  What’s a girl to do, leave all the stuff she’s gathered it, in a pile on the floor?

Believe me, I’m more polite than that.  Nooooooooooooooo! I stood in line (sounds like y'all might need to call Shopaholics Anonymous) and waited my turn. Have I told you I HATE shopping?  By now, Mike and Pam had arrived and waited, along with TMIL, for me to finish.  Well, truthfully, they went to Hoffbrau and had a drink and waited. (Sots) Sweet, huh?

Now, we’re driving home...gonna stop by my brother Scott and Lisa's, see the kiddos, and have Christmas hugs and stew, since I missed our Christmas.  And then home to Midland to reconnect with the Wonderdogs, who might have a thing or two to say to us about why we left them at home!

It’s been a very good Christmas.

We are so blessed.

A Blessing

It’s Christmas Eve. We’ll hopefully be headed towards home soon, and I’ve been reflecting. Remembering the ups and downs of the last year, the tears and thankfully, the laughter. The blessings that have been showered down upon my life - my husband, my sons and my crazy dogs. Woven between all those strands of the tapestry that is Mi Vida Loca are each of you, my bloggy friends.

I have laughed with you, travailed for you, and cried with you. I’ve celebrated with you, and for you. I’ve prayed with you, and sometimes, have screamed out your name to the Heavenlies because I didn't know what else to do and thought the good Lord might need a little reminder that you needed a miracle. (I know, He gets a kick out of me, He has to - he designed me!)

And you, my friends? You’ve been with me, every step of the way. Traveling with me on my many trips across this nation, making calls with me. Having adventures beyond compare. Never will I forget the support you showed me when I experienced the layoff, or the the way you celebrated when I took another job. Or how you support me when ThatManILove is working away from town. Or how you encouraged me to go away with ThatManILove and take much needed time for ourselves - time that changed us and melded us.

I have been greatly blessed by the gifts I’ve received. Never could have I imagined making friends like you - some of you, I’ve not even met in real life - but God, The Lord Almighty, is good. He gives great gifts...and you are a such gift to me.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. May you be blessed beyond compare in this next year. As for me? I bless you. I bless you with love, life, health, friends - and laughter.

May you hear the music specifically designed for your life...and dance. Baby, dance!!

Much love. Much much love,

It's About Time...

It's late tonight - we've had a full day. And ThatManILove and Younger Son are flying to Dallas tomorrow for a day trip.

I walk into our TV/music room and find them both playing guitars. And finally, Younger Son plays a couple of his songs and sings for us. We've heard him play, but this is a first, him singing for us.

His voice? Beautiful. His lyrics? Awesome.

I'm blown away. I've waited for this for a long time - I knew the apple didn't fall far from the tree - ThatManILove has a tremendous gift in writing and singing. It's sweet to see the manifestation of heritage in Younger Son.

It's a precious, precious thing I'm seeing tonight, and I'm so very grateful to the Lord for his giftings to the men of my house.

Inspiration...and Reflection

Last night, we attended a Jubilee party for friends of ours who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful celebration. We saw lots of old friends. It's always a blessing to reconnect with people we love.

We visited for a while with one couple, Chris and Terri. Chris asked, “Do you ever write stories about when you were young?” (Chris and I grew up together in the small town of Big Spring, Texas.)

I thought about it for a second, and said, “Wow. I don’t guess I do. I’ll have to think about that!”

He said, “You know, I know you as two different people - now, and then.”

And, in a way, I guess that’s true. I think what he was referring to is the “then” me didn’t have a relationship with the Lord...and the “now” me does. It’s true of a lot of of people I know, but I’ve never thought about it, until now.

So, Chris, thanks for the inspiration. And I’ll start resurrecting some old stories...which is kind of scary! I’m sure brother Scott will be glad to help me out!

PS - Chris is an acccomplished jewelry designer - you can check out some of his designs here.

Secret Santa - Is Here!!!

CHECK THIS OUT, PEOPLE!!!! Woohoooo!

Does my Secret Santa know me, or what? Burt's Bees...SUGAR DADDYS...a beautiful red jewel ornament/pin...a huge Christmas tree lollipop.

And to top all that off, a $10 Starbucks card!! There was really nothing I could put on my list...(yeah, how do you buy hunting stuff for a hunter? A girl in the oilfield?) Georgie and Amy had to ask me to get more specific.

Let me tell you all - my Secret Santa could not have done any better on my present!

I love my Secret Santa - YOU ROCK!!!! Thank you so very much!

This was so much fun....Georgie, Amy - can I play again next year, please?

Have a great Christmas, y'all!

Secret Santa....As Yet to Be Revealed!

Little mother-son talk while I'm downloading pictures...and I snuck in a couple of shots! "Mammarazzi!!", he says. He cracks me up.

I think I received my Secret Santa Soiree box.

I say I think, because I've not yet opened it.

Tomorrow afternoon, I will, I promise. And I'll post the little Linky thingie.

Elder Son threw a wrench in my plans...by announcing he now has a job at Angel Fire as a ski instructor. And he has to be there...yesterday. Needless to say, when he hit town last night, we got busy. And busier, today.

Here, he is packing his truck, my son of many vocations! Anyone need some ski lessons in Angel Fire, NM? Here's your man!

All is well, he's enroute. And I'm a little sad he won't be here for Christmas - but he's only young once, right!??

Grounded

Yeah.

I would post a picture of my current dilemma, but I cannot.

I'm pinned to the bed. And it's not what you think. Remember, ThatManILove is in North Dakota.

Zanna the Wonderpup is crashed across one leg, all 35 spotted pounds of her. And Zack, the big 75 lb. lug, is snoring across my other leg. I say, "Kennel". They shift a hair or two, you know, like they are in full obedience, and keep on snoring.

Will someone please bring me a bottle of water and a blankie? The rest of me is freezing.

Yummy...

Y'all know the definition of a friend?

A friend is one, when her dad is in the hospital in ICU, who remembers that the hospital deli makes awesome homemade apple dumplings and, with all she has on her mind, brings one home to you. Thanks, Connie!

Want a bite? Yummmmm.

I've been a wee bit busy - please forgive me for my lack of reading/blogging. I'll be back!

On The Oilfield Road Again!

Here we go again.

ThatManILove has received a work assignment in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota. (Why doesn't my industry drill wells in Hawaii?)

So, Thanksgiving morning will find us flying to Denver to spend a couple of days together before he flies up to the beautiful land of North Dakota for his first gig. And it could become sort of his home away from home, like Pennsylvania did last year. One thing's good - he has his cold weather clothes from Pennsylvania. I think it snows in North Dakota!

We’re staying at the Magnolia Hotel Denver . The good thing about booking a hotel on Thanksgiving? They’re having a special! We’re staying in their top room for around $150 per night, and it’s a boutique hotel.

I LOVE it when we find deals like that. I'll post pix, I promise!

I’ll be back home Sunday night - a friend is keeping our dogs and housesitting - and all is well with my world.

Except it’s 10:30 p.m. and I’ve not packed a thing. And our flight is at 7:30 a.m.

Such is mi vida loca!

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

And...happy trails, until we meet again!

My iPhone Needs A Little Charge...

I just flew into Houston.

Walked past all those iPhone/iPod vending machines without a second thought.
Arrived at my hotel room, and unpacked. Clothing, makeup, etc. for tomorrow - check.

Computer, charger - check.

iPod - Two. Two? Yup. Mine. AND ThatManILove's. He's gonna kill me. Oh, maybe not. Earphones - Three. Sets. Again, mine, TMIL's, and an extra he bought me because I liked the color of the earphones. Cord to hook iPod up to radio in room? One. Except, the radio has no iPod hookup. People! What are you thinking??? iPod plug in jack - One. Cord to plug in to iPod and electrical outlet?

None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Charge remaining on iPhone? About 1/8.

Lord - You turned water into wine. You parted the seas. Would you keep my iPhone charged until I can grab another cord in the morning?

'Til then, I respectfully remain...

The Time is Now...

This evening, ThatManILove and I arrived at the house around the same time. We decided to take the Wonderdogs to the park.

Upon our arrival, I noticed a pit bull pup I met way back in August. She had grown so much. Her owner walked up, and we visited. I confirmed that the pup was indeed the same little bitty pup I’d seen in August. She is so sweet, and it was good to see her and her owner.

I had my camera with me, which caused the pup’s owner to ask me questions about it. She asked about pictures, and I told her some of my dog park pix were posted on my blog, and on the Midland Dog Park site. We introduced ourselves, and my last name stopped her in her tracks.

“Are you related to Sherry?”, she asked. “Yes,” I said, “She’s my sister-in-law.”

(I’ll stop there for a second, and give you some background. TMIL is one of 6 sons in his family, 5 of whom are living. Some 4 or 5 years ago, after one of our huge extended family Christmas gatherings where we draw names for presents, TMIL and I suggested to his family that instead of swapping presents between 5 brothers, their wives, and all their chilluns, that we all come together and adopt families for Christmas, through our churches and the Salvation Army. On the night of our family celebration, we would come together, separate the adopted family presents, and all go different ways to deliver presents to those families*. In addition to the presents, we gave the parents of each family a gift card to HEB. Afterwards, we would regroup at TMIL’s mom’s house, and have Christmas dinner.

The family loved this idea, and it’s since become an annual tradition.

Okay, back to the dog park.)

She said, “I will never forget your last name. I need to tell you a story that happened in my life.”

Her sister’s family was one that was given to TMIL's brother, his wife, Sherry, and TMIL's mom for adoption that Christmas. At the time, this young lady was living with her sister, had just given birth to a son, and as such, was a single mom. She wasn’t on anyone’s list, but Sherry and TMIL's mom found out about her, and included she and her son in the adopted family’s Christmas.

I said, “I remember this story! No way would anyone in our family leave you and your newborn son out!”

The young lady said, “I’ll never forget that Christmas. And someday, I hope to be able to do that same thing for someone else.”

TMIL and I both said, “You will. You will.”

She and her son lived at Midland Fair Havens** (an awesome local facility that helps single moms find jobs while providing child care and housing)and she worked and entered college. She is now married, attending college full time, and will soon be entering nursing school. She runs into Sherry from time to time, and always thanks her for that Christmas way back when. She is such a precious woman, and doesn’t even know how much she blessed us tonight by sharing this story.

I wanted to write this tonight because:

The time is now to help someone.

The time is now to contact your church, or your local Salvation Army, and ask for a family to adopt for Christmas.

The life you bless...may be your own.

*Most organizations ask you to buy gifts and clothes for kids up to age 14. When we found this out, we asked for more information for each family...because what if there was a 15 year old in the house? Or a 17 year old? In almost every family, there was extended family including older children. They would have been excluded. It was in the asking for more information about the household that we discovered the situation with this single mom and her newborn son living with her sister, and included them. Don’t be afraid to push for more information concerning your adopted family.

**Right now, if you'd like to donate to Midland Fair Havens, Denver Mattress will match your donation dollar for dollar! If you have an extra $5, $10, or whatever, please go and donate!

Greta and Buckshot, By Request

Y'all remember Buckshot the Visla pup? Well, the unidentified schnauzer in this pix has now been identified! Her name is Greta.

ThatManILove took the Wonderdogs to the dog park this morning. While there, Greta's mom told TMIL that she had heard that I posted a picture of her dog and asked how to find it. TMIL told her to go to my blog and search for Greta, not knowing I didn't know the schnauzer's name.

So, to make her search so much easier, I present for your viewing pleasure, Greta. And, by right of the fact that it is her shot, too, Buckshot the Visla pup!

Where The River Runs

Last weekend, when we were in Pennsylvania, we found ourselves on the banks of the Neshannock River. We were supposed to be shopping, but instead, our friends walked the streets of the small village, and we stayed on the bank of the river and watched the fly fisherman do their thing. We didn't even talk about it, both of us just gravitated towards that water.

I think we needed to breathe. We've been soooo busy.

It was beautiful. The reflections of the trees in the river. The rocks. Beautiful rocks. The river, looking oh so peaceful, but running at a pretty pace. Is it any wonder ThatManILove loves fly fishing?

We have to get away, and go do this one thing. Go fly fishing.

Last time we went, ThatManILove set me up with all the gear, the waders, everything. We were in Denver. In June of a now way-past year. In June, in Colorado, people, the water is cold! But still, we went. And ThatManILove confesses now that he thought I might stay in the water an hour. I stayed in until dark, him patiently teaching me how to cast my line. Him, tying on yet another fly.

I fell in love with it. It, meaning all. The river. The fly fishing. The experience.

And we’ve not been back. Not once. The closest we’ve been happened last weekend. We live in the desert...have to travel to get to water. And lakes are closer than rivers.

But after last weekend, I’ve been thinking a lot about the peace on that Neshannock River, and that quiet place ThatManILove needs from time to time. Creative souls do, ya know. They need to regroup and get their creative mojo back. They need quiet.

I think I’ll surprise him. Set up a trip just for fly fishing, and nothing else. No visits. No business.

Just fly fishing.

And if he wants to fly fish alone, I'll just go down to the river from time to time, be quiet and take pictures. I'll love that. But more than that, I'll love that he's doing what he loves...fly fishing.

Contest Winners for the Pennsylvania Contest

This virus is draining me. I don’t think I have one brain cell left! And I don’t even drink...well, okay, sometimes. Maybe.

I totally forgot I have a contest to award! And it's Friday the 13th, so no matter what the boogity woogities tell ya, it is your lucky day!

Last week, we flew into the PA. I asked you bloggers the following question:

Wait. Did I tell you how much you all rock for even indulging me in this game I call life? Well, you do! Rock!!

We are going to:_______(fill in the blank!).

Next time I’ll be a little more specific, but I knew y’all would be creative and funny. And I promised that the funniest answer gets a $50 gift card to his/her choice of stores. And then, I promised that the closest answer gets a $75 give care to his/her choice of stores.

Who won?

Funniest: Sandy at ibeati. Her answer?

We are going to: Intercourse, Pennsylvania or to see my mother in Quakertown but do not tell her you went to Intercourse first!! (I could just see me telling Sandy's mom - "We did Intercourse this morning, then drove to Quakertown.")

Closest: Irish Gumbo

We are going to: Hellinnahandbasket, a small town not too far from Pittsburgh. It’s warm there, I hear. :)

What did we really do?

We went to: Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, (right behind the Trax Farms) ( a place not too far from Pittsburgh) (see why he won?) to a housewarming party at John and Suzan’s new house. It was hotter than Hellinnahandbasket because so many people were there. And it’s a two story house with a basement, people, plenty of room, but packed, packed, packed with people! A steaming success! Okay, it wasn’t that hot, but it was packed! And fun! And the new house is BEAUTIMOUS! Suzan, Becky, John, Cara all worked their butts off to make this party go down.

And I have to give a third award to VodkaMom, because she threatened me and made me laugh. You’ll have to go back to comments to read it. I’m trying really hard to keep things PG13 here.

So, Sandy, Irish, and VodkaMom (you heifer), e-mail me with your choice of stores, and your addresses, and the cards will be in the mail post-haste!

Congratulations!!! One more question...

Do you think that's enough contests for one month?

I May Live After All

I'm feeling much better today, thanks for your prayers!

I HAD to go into the office today. I touched nothing, infected no-one, and barely saw anyone. I went straight into my office (in my sweats, no less! What a way to impress the people at your new job!), shut the door, and hopped on a 4 hour conference call. I'm the secretary on the board of the National American Association of Drilling Engineers; though I couldn't be there in person, I was there via conference call to take notes, etc. I couldn't talk, so was on IM with a coworker (in OKC) who would talk for me. All in the spirit of teamwork, people, teamwork!!! But because I was sick, I missed this annual event, which is hosted by the National AADE. Waaaah. I mean, who doesn't love Cajun cooking, of wild game and fish? (no store-bought meat for these guys!)

Oh, well. After the conference call, I came straight home and went right to sleep. This stuff is knocking me out!

I think I can see the light...at the end of the tunnel...

Hiatus

I know, I skipped a post.

And I may skip a few more, because I'm sick. After all my prevention methods and running away from sick people, I now have the runny nose, running fever, deep cough, chest-hurting version of the flu. I've been to the doctor and I'm taking meds. I can barely stay awake, so I must take a break and rest. And yes, I'm staying out of the public, so...you're safe. From me, anyhow.

Shots From Pennsylvania (Yes, Tami, I Was This Close!!!)

Covered Bridge Road near New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. (I was so close to Tami of Pennsylvania Wild Woman but we were unsuccessful in meeting! Oh, well, I'll be back!)
The Elephant and Castle Pub at Grove City, Pennsylvania...and a subsequent bar shot.
Jerry, a fly fisherman from Clarion, PA, showing his cast, on the Neshannock River. I just started taking pictures, and we visited a while. He didn't seem to mind that I was taking pictures, and I promised to send them to him. For you fly fishing enthusiasts, he has a fly fishing blog named Streamside Tales!

We're heading home now, awaiting our Southwest flight at Chicago Midway. Y'all have a great day!

Ask a Question...

We have an engagement this evening, so I'm writing this post a little early (or late, depending on when you read!).

I'm going to open this one up to you...

Ask any question you want* about me** (keep them relatively clean, please) and I'll answer it. I promise. So have fun!

For now, I'm going to dry my hair, get dressed, and we're hitting the streets of Cranberry, PA!

* excluding contest question

**added later because Bare-Eyed Sun asked "what numerical expression using only three instances of the numeral "4" yields "55"? and immediately made me a liar...'coz that's one I can't answer...immediately, anyway!

We're in Pennsylvania! (Yep, Another Contest!)

After leaving the house at 5:30 a.m., ThatManILove and I finally in Pennsylvania after a full day of flying.

We are going to:________________(fill in the blank!). You must leave your answer in the blog comments.

The funniest answer gets a $50 gift card to your choice of stores!

The closest answer gets a $75 gift card to your choice of stores!

Be creative! Contest ends Monday night at 6 p.m.

Excluded from this contest: SKA, JKA, BAM, KAB. TG, BD and CD. You know who you are and you know I love you!

Tragedy at Fort Hood - Ways You Can Help!

You probably know that there were lives lost today at Fort Hood. If you're in close proximity to Texas, click on the link to see how we can all help.

Our prayers go out to those wounded, as well as to the families and friends of those who are grieving for their lost ones. May the Lord, God of ALL comfort, pour over them all during this time.

God bless you all.

Neighbor Update

My neighbor, Jeanine, returned home from the emergency room at midnight Tuesday night. All her vital signs had stabilized, and the E.R. had her return to her normal doctor Wednesday.

Her doctor has done a total body scan, MRI, blood work, EKG, the entire drill. They can find nothing, but this doctor isn't stopping until she finds out what's going on, which I think is cool! Our neighbor is fit as a fiddle, or has been until this happened. Doctor put her on a monitor to see if she'll have another episode (she's been having them every three days or so, and then Tuesday night was her second in two days). Like Bob said on my comments yesterday, the doctor's even checking to see if it's an inner ear problem, or what. What's really worrying everyone is the dizziness, headache following, and also, a form of sweating and clamminess immediately after each episode.

Thanks for your prayers, and please continue. I'll keep you updated. Jeanine's a sweetie, and we wanna keep her around for a while!

Prayers Please, for My Sweet Neighbor

Tonight we came home from an election party to find an ambulance parked in front of our house.

People, let me tell you, that’s more than a little unsettling. (And even more so, one night last week, I dreamt that there was an ambulance in front of our house. Now that’s weird.) Turned out, it was our sweet neighbor, who had experienced several dizzy spells. She’s the epitome of health, and a real go-getter, so I’m sure this is no big deal. They’re at the hospital now.

So, instead of my usual story, picture, or contest, I’m going to ask you something...

Will you please pray for my neighbor and her family? I'd sure appreciate it.

And The Winner Is......

May I have a spin of the rolodex please? Janie's contacts are listed below, and the total number of contacts is:

Say-rah (that's Texan for Sara) (well, maybe not Texan,

but we can dream!) at SSP said...

oh my god - i hope you use a blue tooth, girl, you are going to give yourself a brain tumor!! (yeah yeah, i know, urban legend, but STILL!!)...OK I am so in...I guess 4913.

Well, she was only 7 contacts too high. So, Sara-girl, send me your addy and I'll be sending you a Starbucks Gift Card for $49.06 + a $50 kicker, because that's how I roll!

Stay tuned for the next contest, and of course, thanks for playing along! Y'all were all so close!

Funny Door Mats and FL's Spanx Experience

We were walking the drag at Fredericksburg this weekend, and our friend Rick pointed out these mats to us. I know, Wine Commonsewer, you're going to want this first one, aren't you?

Okay, so I'm easily amused. So shoot me. Which is your favorite? (You might get it in the mail!)

PS - for one of the funniest posts I've read about Spanx in a while, go visit Fragrant Liar. Make sure you have no liquid in your mouth, and that you've been to the bathroom first.

Somebody's Watching You

Tonight, we ran through the Starbucks en route to Fredericksburg.

ThatManILove pulled up to the speaker to order, and the barista begins to speak.

“Welcome to Starbucks! Would you like a pumpkin spice latte? Or could I interest you in a caramel macchiato or pumpkin coffee cake?”

I might not have her spiel right, because I was laughing so hard at TMIL I couldn’t hear her.

You see, the entire time she was giving her little Welcome to Starbucks speech, he was wagging his head and mocking her. And it cracked me up.

And then, she said, “Don’t be wagging that head at me and making fun of me...you know I can see every move you make!” And then, she cracked up. We could hear all the baristas laughing in the store.

I wish I’d had a camera.

I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. ThatManILove got a kick out of it, too!

Free Starbucks Gift Card - Janie's Contact Contest

I've been TRICKED.

I killed my iPhone today. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t drop it. I didn’t go swimming with it. I didn’t even cuss it overmuch before or after it cratered. So, no, it didn’t get its feelings hurt. iPhones are sensitive, but manhattan!! This was too much.

I could call out, as long as I was on my bluetooth in my truck. When I tried to make calls without the aid of any devices (and yes, before you ask, my household has arrived at that point in technology today.) I couldn’t hear who I was calling.

They could hear me, mind you, especially when those vibrant words started coming out of my mouth. Okay, the only one that could hear me was ThatManILove, because that's all I called. I was SO frustrated.

But, I have the special, whoopteedoo, bells and whistles Best Buy Geek Squad replacement plan made especially for smart phones. The one I pay $14 a month for, on our phones + my boys phones. That way, we can drop them, go swimming with them, etc., and get our phones replaced for free. (Did I just say free? I mean $14 a month on top of all the other goofy charges.)

But, hey, it’s better than the Apple Care Plan. Which has NO replacement warranty.

So, I bop into Best Buy. When we bought MY iPhone (which was, by the way, after we bought our sons’ iPhones) , we had the Best Buy guys go over the replacement plan.

As I understood it, I bring my phone in. If they have to send it off, and if they have one, they’ll give you a loaner iPhone. And your phone will be back in, say, 5-8 days. The quick return plan.

That’s not what happened today. And they don’t give out loaner iPhones. Nor will Best Buy’s loaner phones handle my massive amounts of contacts. Maybe I should have discussed that in more detail prior to buying the iPhone.

My options:

Take their loaner phone and wait on my phone to be returned.

Don’t do anything, and just rely on “devices”. That won’t work, it’s a business phone.

Buy a new phone...at full price. Oh, yeah. I’m hopping on that - that’s a horrlble idea!

I thought about it. Hard. And then, I realized - 3/4ths of this family has iPhones with replacement plans. (ThatManILove still hasn’t given up on his crackberry, and I’m beginning to realize why.)

I bought the new phone. And this time, I got the iPhone 3GS (Woohoo, Yeah!) but, no, I wasn’t looking for an excuse to upgrade. Don’t go there. I couldn’t even work the one I had!) Now, should the boys or I crater another iPhone, we’ll have a replacement within the family to have while we wait on Best Buy to send us a new one.

ThatManILove says our favorite fix when anything is broken is to throw money at it. We’ve found that solution most often isn’t the correct one.

Hopefully, this time, I did the right thing? Anyway, during all this drill, I thought of a contest. (It helped me keep my cool at Best Buy, I promise.)

Here’s the contest for you:

Guess how many contacts I have in my iPhone and I’ll send you a Starbucks Gift Card with exactly that much money on it! Each contact will have the value of a penny...so, if I have 2678 contacts, you’ll get a Starbucks card worth $26.78.

Hint: Top number has been 5237, but I’ve cleaned up my act a quite a bit. Bottom number is more than 4850. Pick a number between 4850 and 5237 and write it in the comments!

Contest will end Monday at 6 p.m. Closest one to the number by 6 p.m. wins the Starbucks Gift Card. You must enter by commenting on the blog (no e-mail entries!).

Have fun!