Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Toys

A Cat’s Office Work Is Never Done?

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by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Spent my day off yesterday working in my home office. Hallelujah! Not only did I find the top of my desk, I also managed to sort papers to start taxes. My goal this year is to make my C.P.A. faint by turning in my taxes early. One can hope.

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Spec Ops Cat hard at work doing the office grind. 

 

While I was slaving away sorting tons of paper and later out trimming my roses, Spec Ops Cat had the tough job of trying to find comfy places to sleep. You can see from the photo he managed to cozy up on his pink blanket on my desk for an afternoon sun nap. Sometimes he got up and tried to rearrange my receipts or step on the computer keys; a cat’s work is never done.

When he wasn’t messing up my keyboard the tech Gods did shine on me and I managed to get the photos transferred from my Samsung Galaxy SII phone to my computer by using the card reader I blogged about earlier. Of course it did not go smoothly, since at first I was trying to upload pics from my SIM card, but once I figured out I had to use the tiny SD card, it worked much better.

Accomplishing this task also shed some light on my email phone problem. Once I started to delete photos on my phone, emails began to appear. Odd. Dawned on me it is a memory issue. Turns out the mini SD card in the phone has a whopping 1G of memory. Really? Must go buy mini/micro whatever it is with more memory.

Everything needs accessories and more memory! Including me.

Got phone memory issues? Got helpful office cats?

 

Tech Gadgets: Tools Or The Devil’s Spawn?

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by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Know how to blow the mind of a young salesperson? Tell them you don’t want to upgrade your smartphone. Shopping at Target last Saturday I wandered into the electronics section to try and find a gizmo that is supposed to read the card in my smartphone and download the pictures to my computer.

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Galaxy SII meet Card Reader 1. Let’s have a clean fight.

 

Normally this would not be that big a deal, but my computer is eight-years-old and my Galaxy Skyrocket II is a bit past its prime – they refuse to talk to each other. I happened upon the gadget in the store and tried to figure out if it was the right doohickey. Up walked the salesperson.

“Can I help you find something?”

“Yes,” I replied. “Will this download the pictures from the card in my smartphone to my computer?”

“Are the pictures stored on the SD card?”

“Got me,” I said. “I’ve never put one in it.”

“What kind of phone do you have?”

“Samsung Galaxy Skyrocket II.”

“Do you have your phone with you?”

“Yes.” I promptly handed it over to him.

He proceeded to strip it naked from its pink plastic cover and pop off the back. “It’s an SD card,” he said. “This card reader will work.”

“Great!” I snatched up the gadget.

“You know you can upgrade your phone and get a $200 Target gift card,” he said. “They have the Samsung Galaxy S6 now.”

Obviously the dear boy thought I’d been living under a rock and did not know that. Trust me, I do and I’ve seen the price tag. My little phone is paid for and as long as it works, I’m using it until it drops dead.

It’s one of those math story problems; paid for phone + $200 gift certificate – new phone of $600 = $400 more bucks I have to shell out. Not happening.

But it was fun to watch his staggering disbelief that I didn’t want to upgrade. Sometimes being a downgrade is a very good thing. This is the year of tech for me. Glamorous 2015 involved replacing a fence, buying new car tires and a mattress.

Now I have to deal with my aging computer, swapping out my old DVR for the new DVR and figuring out why I can read emails on my phone but can’t send any. It has to do with some extra security setting I think. Or global warming. Or the presidential elections. Or Gouda cheese. I’ll figure it out. Right after I restock my dark chocolate supply.

I promised myself I’d finally deal with my tech issues in 2016. Yes! Right on! I’m on my way…..

It must be time to go work on my taxes.

Got persnickety tech gadgets?

 

 

It’s Time For Minion Shopping!

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

Ever since Hollywood missed out on marketing stuff for the film “Top Gun,” it seems each new blockbuster ends up with more “products” than stars in the sky. Some of those items are fun and a bunch don’t make much sense, but obviously they make somebody money. Case in point, the run-up to the opening of the “Minions” movie this Friday.

Don’t get me wrong, these little yellow guys are too cute. Yes, I’ve been haunting www.happymeal.com to see when the new toys were released – yesterday! But I don’t quite understand the other products offered. I’ve seen everything from paper towels to dusters with the Minions on them. Now if I had a battalion of Minions who used dusters at my house, then we’d have something.

I’m a sucker for cartoons and especially “animated movies.” When you add in the fact that these little yellow guys bear a striking resemblance to Twinkies, their allure is unmistakable. I understand there are even Minion cupcakes you can make by slicing a Twinkie in half and plopping it on a cupcake. I bet you can find that on Pinterest! My problem would be making sure I didn’t eat half of the Twinkies in the decorating process.

So with us Oregonians on day 14 of a potential 17 day heat wave above 90 degrees, my mind turns to mush and then to Minions. Since I spent the weekend afternoons indoor rotating between fire watch and viewing Hallmark Christmas Movies – yes they were on tv – it seems anything involving cake and humor is right up my alley these days.

So in case you are among the two people on the planet who do not know the “Minions” movie opens on Friday, I have two pieces of advice.

Get your Happy Meal Minion toys now.

And it’s time to start hoarding Twinkies!

Did You Ever Get Your Favorite Toy?

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by Kimberly A. Cook         (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Last Friday’s post I talked about playing in the dirt with my Matchbox car and travel trailer and I wondered; where is my little yellow convertible? I discovered it several years ago in Mom and Dad’s kitchen junk drawer and promptly airlifted it home with me.

Dived into my box of Happy Meal toys and assorted “must have” fun items I rotate on my desk for entertainment and inspiration. Ta da! There it was, beat up and intact. Checked Google and found www.toycarcollector.com in Vancouver, Washington had all the Matchbox cars for sale.

My fabulous Pontiac convertible survived the kitchen junk drawer, barely. Matchbox cars are tough!
My fabulous Pontiac convertible survived the kitchen junk drawer, barely. Matchbox cars are tough!

Found out mine is a model 39b9 Pontiac Convertible Excel from 1962. Didn’t realize they were made in England. Granted, the windshield is missing on mine, but it looks pretty good. The travel trailer disappeared many moons ago, but the trailers on the toy site didn’t look the same. I’m sure my memory is perfect. Ha!

My little excursion into toyland reminded me of my favorite Christmas toy gift. Okay, there are two. First was my Chatty Cathy who chattered until her voice box broke. Shipped her back to the factory. I remember the trauma of seeing her shipped off in a cardboard box, hoping and waiting until she’d return. Chatty came back in the box and talked for a while, then nada.

The second toy I got at age 21. Barely home from the Army for the holidays, having driven through a Wyoming ice and snowstorm to arrive two days before Christmas, I opened presents at my folks house on Christmas morning. I got an electric train. I cried with happiness. I’d always wanted an electric train. Since Dad worked for the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad, then Burlington Northern for 38 years, one would think an electric train would have been in the house.

Sometime that summer the topic of toys had come up and I’d recalled how I never got an electric train. Dad made sure I had one. At 21. He crafted a special round green wooden platform for the train to run on, from his rail inspector and roadmaster days I’m sure. Still have both and think they are coming out this holiday season.

We did have a wooden train set growing up that snapped together, complete with tracks. Wonder where that went? Time for another toy quest!

Have you gotten your favorite toy after a long time or bought one for someone else? Do you still have a favorite toy? What is your toy story?