Category Archives: Brain Dump

Hmm, I’ve just noticed that this new theme posts dates in European format, day, month, year instead of month, day, year.  And the only settings I can find are set the other way around.  I also would like to change my header graphic so the sun is smiling.  I edited it on another blog I do with this theme, and yet can not for the life of me figure out how to do that again either. 😉

Posted by Kristen in Brain Dump

From the number of “hair” boards that I have to unfollow on Pinterest, its apparently a great area of concern for a lot of folks. Fine, i get that – not everyone is as unconcerned with it as I am. But what I don’t understand are the styles pinned. Am I the only person in the world that thinks fishtail braids are hideous?  The only on that thinks creating a heart shape with hair is weird?  The sole person that thinks asymmetrical hair styles makes people look lopsided and like they will fall to one side?  Apparently so 😉

Posted by Kristen in Brain Dump

I usuallt try to avoid cliches, but sometimes it’s an idea that’s just engrained and there are no better words for it.

pinterest just went to a “new look” and for me, it probably heralds the end of my using it (pretty much what happened with polyvore).  I can handle learning the new layout.  It looks fine to me (not that there was anything wrong with it before IMO) but I no longer have the ability to right click and “open in new tab” from any board (including my “home” which is basically the “board” of all the new pins from those whom I follow).   I’ve always gone through my new pins daily (or more than daily ;)), opening likely looking pins in new tabs.  I absolutely WILL NOT re-pin something until I verify that the pin is actually linked to an appropriate source.  Sometimes what I thought looked interesting is less so once I look more closely.  Either way, I’ll browse through my new pins, opening tabs as I go to look at once I have scanned through all my new pins.  Not anymore.  This loss of functionality is crippling to me.

I also can’t right click and open up the board that a pin came from (linked at the bottom of the pin).  When I am doing a search and get a screenful of pins, I frequently want to open the whole board (in a new tab!), not just the pin.  Can’t do it.  I have to click into the board in my main browsing screen.  Then if I want more details on a pin, I have to click into that as well.  Now I am 3 deep from my initial search result.  When I finally get to hit back, back, back, about half the time the search has reset to the top of the screen and I have to scroll back through to find my place.

I generally dislike the whiny complainers who post on game / company forums and think so much of themselves that they think thier “This sux and I will no longer be a customer” comments carry any weight with said company, so I have refrained from whining to pinterest, other than filling out a polite feedback form.  So that’s why you got to listen to me now 😉

R.I.P Pinterest?

Update:  They did fix the issues I was having, FYI =)

Posted by Kristen in Brain Dump

Is it really *that* hard to click on the individual blog entry when linking from a blog to pinterest?  It’s quite annoying to click a pinterest link that looks so very interesting to discover you are at the blog home page, or on an archive page, in either case, no idea where the original post is located.  (or to a tumblr feed, or a google search page, etc).  Almost as useful — linking to an embedded picture, so the pinterest link pulls up some bp1.blogspot.com address, instead of the actual blog where you might find information about the picture.

You really gotta wonder if people are actually trying to access the links they are re-pinning.

Only pin / re-pin to an original source!

Posted by Kristen in Brain Dump

What’s new?

Kidlet officially has Asperger’s with major sensory processing issues (not that we didn’t already know that for months).  I will leave it at that un-emotionally changred sentence for now.  I assure you, reality is far from un-emotional.

Kidlet informed me some time ago that cute bento lunches were not appropriate for his age (whatever!).  I still pack his meals in laptop lunchboxes or bento boxes, but they aren’t worth photographing.

Baby L is no baby!  Not quite 3, but way “too” bright.  I have struggled with tot school because her knowledge exceeds her age. Far exceeds it.  She has known her alphabet (and not just singing it, but being able to identify letters at random, upper and lower) for a year and knows the sounds of most letters, counts to 30 on her own (and rocognizes, in random order written numbers to 20, plus the 10’s to 100), can tell you how many objects are in a group without actually counting them, up to 5 easily, knows all her colors, all the basic shapes, can expand on patterns, sorts by at least 2 different criteria (round & blue for instance), and on and on.

Her motor skills are age 2, so much writing isn’t possible (although we have been doing various pre-writing activities and fine motor activities with tweezers and eyedroppers, etc to prepare her), and she certainly isn’t holding writing utensils correctly, or able to use scissors.  And emotionally she is 2.  She isn’t ready for more advanced “work”, and it’s been VERY challenging for mom to find activities that will interest the 2 year old who has the”academic” knowledge of a 4 year old and are actually doable by said 2 year old.

Emotionally, I am a wreck, and physically, there hasn’t been a lot of change.  I’ve lost maybe 15 pounds since Baby L was born.

Posted by Kristen in Brain Dump

We’re alive and kicking. 

Mostly been packing regular laptop lunches or having hot lunch.  I’m quite sad about that, because I’m missing opportunities for Halloween bento, which are by far my favorite to do!

Tot school goes on, but Baby L and I have been sick for 4 out of the last 5 weeks.  We’re really sick for a few days, then just a little sick, then it lingers on a few more — and then we get sick all over again.  L is getting tot school time, but I’m not planning ahead very well, and I’ve not been documenting what we do, so no posts there.

I’m spending ridiculous hours a week on my volunteer jobs at Kidlet’s school (this is the last week of intense work for one of them thankfully).   I’ll still be spending about 4-6 hours a week volunteering in the classroom, and the Art Lit coordinator job I’m doing does take quite a bit of time in prepping the lessons, teaching the parent class and then presenting it to my son’s class, but we only do a new artist/culture every month or so, so it shouldn’t be as time consuming as the volunteer coordinator job has been in finding people to chair events, and filling holes for classroom helpers, etc.

Posted by Kristen in Brain Dump