A) Ritz didn’t offer me a size option on the filters online, not that I saw anyway.
B) I am a dumbass and assumed (you know what they say about assuming) that because it popped up after I got the lens that they would send the right size, like they did *last* time I ordered a lens and grabbed some filters after the fact. M hm, nope, didn’t happen.

So, I figure I’ll just buy a step down ring. I have a set of step-up rings, but it would be too easy for them to just be reversible. Yep. Too easy.

So I hop on ebay and Ritz and some other places to price them. Not too bad, but no one has a set of them, they come in large jumps. Fuckers.

So I decide to go in to the local Ritz Camera to see what I can see. The guy is super helpful, but it turns out they don’t have a jump in the sizes I need. He suggests checking Ritz online or B&H.

So I get home and decide to just call Ritz and see if I can exchange or return the offending filters. Turns out I can’t exchange them because I paid via paypal (what is *that* about?) But I can order new ones (at a higher price, I bet that is what that was about!) and return the others for a refund. So I did.

The guy on the phone was super helpful, and now I just need to run to the post tomorrow to return the ones I have that are the wrong size.

Why yes, my new ones are arriving in the correct size!

Yesterday I had a tiny quirk come up with how some of our settings were, well, set. Up until now you had to pay for your transaction when you made it (so you were paying site fees at the time of listing, etc..). This morning we’re switched over to “account mode” which operates more like eBay where you run a tab for the month and pay at the end.

Right now we have a 20$USD limit for your tab, but we are willing to raise it if the low limit causes problems. The minimum invoice value is 5$USD, so you don’t have to pay your tab until it is at least 5$. Good deal!

If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. If I can’t answer right away, I’ll ask someone who can.

Thanks for supporting Punky Moms and The Alt Bazaar! Don’t forget to advertise your shop or your auctions, and don’t forget to list away! We can’t grow without you.

We are currently offering a 1$USD site credit for new signups! That’s half a small shop!

Jenn
http://AltBazaar.com
http://PunkyMoms.com

I took Sara shopping this morning. I need to get to Michael’s and get some basting tape to take her new pants up a bit. Yes, it’s cheating. It’s also quick and easy. While we were there I got two new shirts, so two old & not worn shirts will be finding a new home shortly. I also picked up a multipack of hair clips. My hair is stupidly long, longest it’s ever been, and all I can think about is hacking it off. I don’t know what I want to do with it though, so for now, it’s just being held back our of my face.

I got a new bag last night… it’s a Transformers backpack. I love it. I’ve been wanting a new bag, and nothing I’ve seen quite fit the requirements, and while we were out last night I spied the backpacks, and figured I’d get a cheap one to carry my stuff in. After perusing a wall o pack for probably fifteen minutes, Michael holds up an Optimus Prime kids pack. That’s it. That’s the pack! It had a pocket just sized for my day planner, another smaller pocket for my collection of pens, plus the large interior (which currently holds my medical book for the kids, wallet, wants book and some misc. stuff) plus two small pockets on either side (holding misc. stuff that always winds up at the bottom of my bags). There’s room for wipes, snacks, drinks, a change of clothes, camera, it’s a go! (purchases like this are totally why I don’t have money laying around for things like the cookbooks in the previous post)

We’ll be getting the boys swingset next week. So excited! My dad is weary now, he wants a fence, and seems to think there are insurance issues… feh. It’s a swingset! What’s the big deal? I know some people with trampolines have had insurance issues, but a swingset?

I bought some soap from LusaOrganics.com, and I’ll let you guys know how it is once I’ve sampled it. I got a ten pound box of it! Yay for soap!

Malachai had therapy yesterday and he didn’t want to leave! He did great. They are working on his trunk strength, so he did a lot in the prone position. He wasn’t too happy with it   They are also working with him going up and down stairs. Up he does ok, down not so much. He sort of does this controlled fall thing. They had him doing reciprocal legs going down a couple of times yesterday, but he isn’t doing it at home. They also worked on his balance in the swings and let him do so fun stuff. We go back tomorrow afternoon. We’ll see how it goes. So far I like this place, which translates into they are good with my kid and I don’t feel they are completely inept. Score!

School starts next Monday. Michael and I will go Friday to see who the teachers are. The boys aren’t going as they have a part at camp that day and I don’t want to pull them out (I think I am already keeping M home tomorrow b/c it’s easier on me… not fair to him, I know   ).

I was something like 90% raw yesterday (I had some sushi – cooked rice) and so far today I am 100%. Let’s see how it goes I pulled my camera out today, maybe we’ll go outside this afternoon and I can get some new shots. I wanted that camera so, so, so badly. I am ready to ebay it and buy tattoo equipment. Michael is gonna tell me no. I love my camera. Love it. Maybe once school starts I’ll have more time to just go tool around with it. Take Shiva to the park, stuff like that. I’m not selling it yet.

Need to go to the post today and the UPS drop box. I think we’ll go to the salad store… though I can make my down damn salad at home. The other night I had some baby greens, mushroom, sunflower sprouts, avocado and balsamic vinegar. It was tasty. I need to make some more cucumber salad too.

I really want an iPhone. Anyone out there have an older model they are willing to part with cheap? I’m on AT&T so it doesn’t need to be unlocked. I don’t need the new 3G one, and I can’t afford 400$ or 500$ to get one through AT&T anyway (I’m not up for contract renewal so I can’t even get one for 200$ + a new signed contract right now). I see them cheap on eBay, but they wind up at 300$ or so. I just want one of the old 8gig ones. I’d be willing to spend 100 – 150$ on a used one. Apple doesn’t have an refurbs last time I checked.

We’re getting the boys a swing set for their birthday this year. We’re 1/5 of the way to being able to pay cash for it (it’s a big wooden one that is a stupid amount of money but wont rust or be blown away) so I am hoping Michael can put away the rest in tips (how we have what we have so far) to get it by mid-September. I picked up a couple of cheap MP3 players (Target clearance for 15$ each instead of 60 or 70!) to give them on their actual birthday because I don’t expect to have the swingset until closer to Dorian’s birthday or possibly slightly after. So Mal gets his in August and Dor will get one in September

I phoned, and missed the number to press, so then Michael phoned our pediatrician so we could take Dorian in. He has plantar worts on his foot. We successfully treated a single one last year with apple cider vinegar, but this was a little daunting. So the doc froze three of them, and the other three we’ll plaster with some OTC stuff (three were medium sized, the other three he said should clear up quickly with the OTC stuff). Dorian was fantastic for it. We got some lunch, threw out his nasty shoes, picked up some sandals, hit target for new shoes and the OTC stuff and some misc. other stuff, and dropped him off at school.

While at the doctors office I phoned, and rephoned, and rephoned again Florida Kid Care. I finally got through to someone and not hung up on. After explaining what was going on, she tried to tell me the application is only good for 120 days and I have to send in another and a bunch of other shit. I did raise my voice, and she fucking scoffed at me. I handed the phone to Michael because the dumb bitch on the other end was *not* listening to what I had to say or not understanding or something. Out of my beloved mouth came “but 120 days is four months, the date you just gave me was two months ago.” That seemed to be the turning point of this conversation, along with explaining that we faxed the Medicaid denial letters two – three weeks ago becase FKC said it would speed things along. Apparently One of my children was approved two weeks ago, and the other is active as of today. Now I am waiting on the insurance cards. Why the fuck do they waste so much postage and money sending things that don’t need to be sent (you know, like papers saying we have to apply again and another application)? It is so wasteful. Oh, and why I couldn’t get online? The system was down. No shit! That does not explain why I kept getting hung up on by the automated phone system. Bah. So I am waiting on the US mail system now I guess. I am stupidly excited to be able to take my kids to the dentist.

That’s about it. We got home and I was gonna work on a melon that has been ready to go for at least a week now, but the tube I was using was a one piece, so my new grip can’t be put on it. Michael told me I sounded disgusted and he was sorry we didn’t look at it before ordering the grip. The problem wasn’t that. The problem was I had an hour that he could sit me with, we could do this, and something else came up. It’s just frustrating, and I feel like it’s never gonna happen. None of my stuff sold either, so my DSLR probably isn’t gonna happen either. I am not getting it till I get rid of this other stuff, and oh well if it doesn’t happen. I don’t want to deal with ebay. Know anyone who wants a camera, vsmile, serger or embroidery machine? Send em my way!

I looked on ebay and they are going for anything from 100$ to 240$. Amazon has it new for 320$ I am asking 200$, priority shipping included for the following:

Canon S3IS
AA-size battery (x4)
SD Memory Card SDC-16MB plus a 128 meg Lexar SD card
Lens Cap
Neck Strap NS-DC4
USB Interface Cable IFC-400PCU
Denali camera bag (currently holds my personal battery charger, plus the camera, plus the chord, plus room for extra batteries, cards, etc..
English instruction manual

I do not think I have the disk it came with, but the drivers can be downloaded from the canon site (linked below) but I’ve never needed anything that was on the included disk. If I find it, hey, added bonus The camera is totally plug n play and as soon asyou plug it into your machine to transfer the images, your machines default program will open.

I love this camera. You guys have heard me tout how fabulous it is almost everytime a camera thread come sup, and frankly, I am probably going to have sellers remorse right up until I buy a brand spankin’ new DSLR. I spent about as much (new) on my new camera just last month as I did on the S3IS when I bought it, and judging by the auctions and sites I found selling the S3, 200$ is a steal. The camera is used, but has zero scratches or any other imperfections. It works beautifully, feels great in my hands and I actually was tempted to buy the S5 instead of the Panasonic I bought. Michael talked me out of it because well, I already had a Canon S-series lol

You can see the specs better laid out here: http://www.newegg.com…N82E16830120043
and here is the company page: http://www.usa.canon.com…p;modelid=13077

This camera has the following features:
#
Specifications
Type of Camera
Type of Camera
Compact digital camera with built-in flash, 12x Optical / 4x Digital / 48x Combined Zoom
Image Capture Device
Type
6.0 Megapixel, 1/2.5 inch type Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
Total Pixels
Approx. 6.2 Megapixels
Effective Pixels
Approx. 6.0 Megapixels
Lens
Focal Length
6.0-72.0mm f/2.7-3.5 (35mm film equivalent: 36-432mm)
Digital Zoom
4x
Focusing Range
Normal: 1.6 ft./50cm-infinity (WIDE), 3.0 ft./90cm-infinity (TELE)
Macro: 3.9 in.-1.6 ft./10-50cm (WIDE)
Super Macro: 0-3.9 in./0-10cm (WIDE)
Autofocus System
TTL Autofocus (continuous/single)
Viewfinder & Monitor
Viewfinder
Low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color viewfinder
LCD Monitor
2.0 inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD with variable-angle function
LCD Pixels
Approx. 115,000 pixels
LCD Coverage
100%
Aperture and Shutter
Maximum Aperture
f/2.7 (W) – f/3.5 (T)
Shutter Speed
15-1/3200 sec. (settable in Tv or M)
Exposure Control
ISO Sensitivity
Auto, High ISO Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800 equivalent
Light Metering Method
Evaluative, Center-weighted average, Spot** Metering frame is fixed to the center or linked to the AF frame
Exposure Control Method
Program AE, Shutter Speed-Priority AE, Aperture-Priority AE, Manual; AE Lock is available
Exposure Compensation
+/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments
White Balance
White Balance Control
Auto, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash), Custom
Flash
Built-in Flash
Auto, Auto w/ Red-Eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On w/ Red-Eye Reduction, Flash Off
Flash Range
Normal: 1.6-17 ft./50cm – 5.2m (W), 3.0-13 ft./90cm-4.0m (T)
Macro: 1.0-1.6 ft./30-50cm (W) (when sensitivity is set to ISO Auto)
Recycling Time
12 sec. or less (battery voltage=6.0V)
Flash Exposure Compensation
+/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments
Shooting Specifications
Shooting Modes
Auto; Creative: P, Av, Tv, M, C; Image: Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Special Scene (Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Indoor, Night Snapshot, Color Accent, Color Swap), My Colors, Stitch Assist, Movie
Photo Effects
Vivid, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Custom Color
Self-Timer
Activates shutter after an approx. 2-sec./10-sec. delay, Custom
Wireless Control
Not available
Continuous Shooting
High-speed: approx. 2.3 fps
Normal: approx. 1.5 fps
Image Storage
Storage Media
SD Memory Card, SDHC, MultiMediaCard
File Format
Design rule for camera file system, DPOF Version 1.1
Image Compression
Still Image: Exif 2.2 (JPEG)
Movie: AVI (Image: Motion JPEG; Audio: WAVE (Stereo))
JPEG Compression Mode
Normal, Fine, SuperFine
Number of Recording Pixels
Still Image: 640 x 480 (Small), 1,600 x 1,200 (Medium 2), 2,272 x 1,704 (Medium 1), 2,816 x 2,112 (Large), 2,816 x 1,584 (Widescreen)
Movie: 640 x 480 (30 fps/15 fps) / 320 x 240 (60 fps/30 fps/15 fps) available up to 1GB or 1 hour for each file size

I purchased a huge set of PEC cards via eBay the other day, and the distributer said they could be sent in to the school for use as well (can’t be resold/passed around willy-nilly, but I can print them out for use here and school, etc..) so I burned them to disc to send in so the teacher could print/laminate the ones they need. I am hoping it helps.

He isn’t non-verbal and his language itself isn’t suffering, he just can’t speak in a manner conducive to anyone other than basically me and the speech teacher understanding him most of the time (and like I said, there are days I have trouble, usually when he picks a topic out of left field and I have no clue what the topic at hand is – if I know the topic I tend to know what he is saying). It is impacting his schooling b/c he went from one of the top reading groups to sliding down towards the bottom, and it seems to be happening across the board from what I understood from the teacher today.

I am hoping the PEC cards help as they not only have the picture on them, but have what it is written below. Once our printer is up and running I am going to print and laminate them for home use as well (my original intention for getting them).

I was mighty pleased with how quickly my order was processed. They are running a buy 12 get one free (the Fuzzy Dozen) type special (the 12 has to be the same type of yarn, but can be multiple colours) so I bought two more (you know, cuz I love yarn) and opted for a surprise ball (equal value or more) instead of one more of the same.

I ordered 12 balls of Elsebeth Lavold Chunky Al, and got one ball of K1C2 Paint Box for free.

New Shipping Rates (U.S. and Canada):
$2 shipping on orders up to $20.00; $4.95 shipping on orders $20 to $99.99
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS $100 or over.

That’s all. Nah, not getting a kick back. Just really pleased with the customer service and quick shipping.

I finished that snood, I messed up the brim (you know, the one I couldn’t figure out) but it came out ok in the end. I plan on using my new yarn for the marsupial bag from stitch n bitch. I might decide on a bag out of felted! instead, but I’ve been eyeing that bag from SNB for a while now, and bought the yardage I needed for that particular bag.

My birthday just passed. I got breakfast in bed, lunch and Makinos and dinner at The Melting Pot. Michael was trying to surprise me with La Vie en Rose, but they are closed on Mondays (which, I suspect, is why after years of wanting to go there, we still haven’t). My entire day was lovely. I bought myself those new earrings, which arrived last week, and I got some goodies from Sephora which will arrive tomorrow.

Today the schools were all put on lock down due to a police shooting. I’m not exactly sure what that has to do with the schools being on lock down, however, it’s been lifted.  I have to pick Malachai up at 2:30, rush to pick up Michael from work, and head down to Dorian’s school for his parent-teacher conferance about his work. Nothing bad (I hope!), just that time of year.

Malachai has decided it’s time to stop doing his work, which is aggravating. When I ask him why, he tells me he is bored. He is way too young to heap more work on to combat the boredom, so I’m not exactly sure what to do just yet.

I bought a lot of 45 books for Dorian to read. We have a metric ton of books, but most jump from baby to just past early reading. So I bought this huge lot of early reading books. Not bad, even after shipping they were less than a buck a book (compared to 5$ – 25$ a book).

Hm, that’s all I have right now.

We went to the gym this morning. Michael was sick last night, so he didn’t do anything other than soak in the hot tub. I did 10 minutes on the treadmill, 20 on the bike and five more running. I tried to sit in the steam room, but another woman sprayed the fuck out of it with eucalyptus and I couldn’t breath easily, so I jumped in the shower and left.

We’ll be going back tonight with Sara. I want to try the elliptical machine, and if that isn’t cool, I am treadmill bound. I need to remember to stretch. It’s funny, I hate walking, and I hate running, but I am all about that fucking treadmill. Weirdness.

I splurged, and bought myself a CHI hair straightener off of eBay. It’s smaller than the cheap Conair we got Sara for Channukah, and I don’t see a difference. I guess we’ll see. I got a great price on it, so I’m not out a bundle like I would be at retail if I had gotten it from the store.