TV: The Final Saga...

Our TV is here! AJ called the repair shop Tuesday and they reported our TV is in! Apparently, it's been in since Friday, but the "Exchange People" have been out on vacation. For Shame!

When the shop rep went to take the TV out of the box she discovered it was put in upside down (the box can only be opened on one end), this was first time she's ever seen that. When she righted the TV she heard a rattle inside.

I got a call 10 minutes before leaving work to pick up the TV on Tuesday from AJ. He told me of the rattle and that the repair shop wanted to test the TV before releasing it to be sure the rattle wasn't fatal. I was crushed! All my patience already gone, I didn't know if I could put up with another "indefinite" testing period.

But happily, when AJ called on Wednesday they said it was set to go! So we picked that baby up and played Wii and watched movies last night!

I will include a picture of our new beauty soon! Stay tuned Viewers...

Mom's Visit

Every year Mom does a Sisters' Retreat with her sisters. This year she came to visit her girls afterward! We had a next generation Sisters' Retreat...sort of.

Friday, June 6th we had a BBQ at my place with the whole gang minus Dad. That night Marcus, Erika, and Olivia slept over. We played the Wii and talked!

Saturday, June 7th we got up early to run a stake 5k race. Everyone ran/walked it but Erika and Livvy. Our neighbors Lindsay and Dallin walked and ran with us too. That morning was rainy and wet so we all thought it a great idea to warm up in Kneaders with a little breakfast.

We cleaned up and the girls + Johnny got together to visit UVU's Da Vinci exhibit while the guys went to the movie "21". The Da Vinci exhibit was really cool with interactive replicas of his ingenious inventions. We then went to the mall where we all found knee long shorts with cargo pockets, a must have this season. (Just kidding, I don't know if it is a must have, but I know I had been looking for some.)

That night we went to Brick Oven and then met back at Monica's apartment. My cousin and her husband and three daughters came to visit. She recently adopted little twin girls and they are cute! We got to play with them and Livvy wasn't sure about not being in the lime light but warmed up to her little second cousins (?) quickly.

After Erika and Marcus left Monica and Mom and I settled in for a little TV. We found a Celine Dion concert on PBS! So we jammed out to some good Celine music while AJ and Johnny played Xbox in the next room.

Thanks for coming Mom! We had so much Fun!

Daddy!

My Dad is the biggest hero! He is the strongest, smartest, best Dad ever. That's what I thought when I was a little girl and I still do.

Walking home on that bright sunny Father's Day this last Sunday, AJ and I talked about Dads. "When I was little," I began, "I thought my Dad was the strongest man ever!"

"And now you know that's pretty much not true," AJ laughed

"No... it is still true," I said, in my I'm-still-not-ready-to-admit-any-imperfections-in-my-Dad voice. I know logically that for one AJ is probably stronger than my Dad, but I still can't bring myself to that reality confrontation. He is still superman to me.

These are some of the things I love about my Dad:
He dad pulls me back to reality when I freak out.
He has sent my to my room for being "excessively happy".
He noticed me when I felt forgotten.
He is always ready to listen and has time for me when I need advice.
He always included me and my sisters on big family decisions like moving.
He debates with me (I have an intrinsic need to argue).
He gave me a priesthood blessing any time I needed one.

Jewel - Perfectly Clear

Jewel's newest album came out yesterday! As an avid Jewel fan I have been a loyal follower since the first single, "You Were Meant For Me" back in 1997(?). I have all of her albums except 0304 which I thought of as a "Sell Out" album but I am thinking of buying anyway just to make my collection complete.

Thank you Jewel for producing creative, entertaining, and different music!

Breaking News: TV Update

Thank you for tuning in. When our TV adventure left off we found that the standard definition inputs and audio were out. AJ and I took the TV to a repair shop whose clerk said we would get a call in 24-48 hours with the results of the initial trouble shooting.

AJ got the call yesterday. The repairman reported that the part needed to fix the standard definition inputs was on "indefinite back order" due to "unrest in China". The repairman already had 6 TVs like ours waiting for that part for as long as 6 months. Our audio part was also "hard to get" but obtainable.

Let's think through this a minute...Is it absurd to assume that RCA has only one avenue for purchasing a necessary part? Either RCA's TV production and repair are at a complete stand still or this repair shop does not have alternate vendors.

So I came up with three ideal solutions:
1. RCA can obtain and ship the needed part to the repair shop.
2. RCA can fix just the audio and then credit us for the amount necessary to purchase HD devices (DVD player, HDMI cables...).
3. RCA can replace the TV.


After a culmination of 3 hours on the phone with RCA today AJ called me with, "I have great news!" It turns out an RCA rep gave the "OK" to replace our TV! So if RCA can follow through they with have a couple of very happy and loyal customers. Thank you RCA!

Clearance! (Almost as Good as Free)

My Mom called Friday with a long list of family news! There are many new life events in store for my cousins. Congratulations to everyone! AJ and I are very excited for you all. (I am being vague on purpose. I don't know whose news is "official" yet and whose isn't. I don't want to be a spoiler!)

But what my Mom didn't know is that we had our own piece of news...

It all started Friday night. AJ asked me earlier in the week if I wanted to go to the ward's Fathers and Sons campout with him, a very thoughtful gesture. However, seeing as how I am neither a father nor a son I declined, while laughing. So AJ asked our neighbor friend to join him.

I decided to sleep over at Erika's since AJ would be gone Friday night. Erika and I watched an informative show on the History of the Axe and Man vs Wild while Marcus played WOW. The next day we ran to Walmart to pick up some groceries...a seemingly routine visit.

Placed directly in front of us as we entered the store were 4 TVs. No one thinks much of these things, it looked like some kind of special clearance but I wasn't really in the market for a TV. I kept my eyes open for a good deal but "good deal" was never much better than $700 for the kind of TV I sought. Not this time...

As we passed by I saw:
42", 720p, LCD, HDTV, RCA....$400

Whaaaaa? a few steps later I thought I better call AJ. It took only two words from him, "Get it," and some internal struggle on my part, "Do we really need a TV?" before the decision was final.

Too good to be true? Well, yes it was. We took it home and tested it. There is no sound and the VID 1 and VID 2 imputs don't work.

But again I ask, "Too good to be true"? No, not really, since we bought it Saturday it is under warranty and repairs are free! So $400 and a repair center visit later we'll have a TV that retails for $1000!

(Pictures to come tonight, whoops I mean later this week. I forgot to take a picture before AJ and I brought it to the repair shop tonight!)