So…The ice storm wasn’t. Well…that ice storm wasn’t….at least not for my area. We are expecting more of a wintery ice mix tomorrow. We seem to be just at the right temperatures that freezing rain is always an issue. I hate this time of year when spring is trying to happen and just can’t quite come.
Enough weather report and onto today’s topic…my computer woes.
Today is my tax appointment. UGH. I hate all things book work and taxes. I passionately hate it. You know how Superman has kryptinite as the thing that puts him under…well for me, mine is book work. Even worse, I have to try to keep all my “businesses” separate. As far as the IRS is concerned the blog is business as is my website Making Learning Fun and the quilting stuff Kelli and I publish AND my childcare…oh, and Hubby’s little antique selling hobby. UGH. Who can keep all of that straight??? Impossible.
I am especially TERRIBLE at keeping up with it. About four times a year I work on it and I hate every minute of the time.
Well this week was my big push to finish up whatever was left because..yep, I didn’t have them done yet. (This is going to seem unrelated. Bare with me.) So Tuesday a guy came from Alliant our electric company. He was putting new boxes in outside of the houses. He knocked on the door and told me I might want to power down anything electrical. I told Karl to turn the computer off and thought nothing of it.
Well when nap time came I went to turn on the computer. My plan was to try to clean out my email inbox. It was terrible…and then work on taxes. The computer wouldn’t work. The computer came up, to the screen BEFORE the sign in screen. After trying and trying Kalissa, Craig, and Karl eventually looked at it, we couldn’t get it to do anything beyond that screen. The computer quit recognizing my USB ports.
The more we worked to fix it the more frustrated I got. I HATE that pile of computer cords that are plugged in with no way of knowing what cord it what. What a mess. I’ve FOREVER hated dealing with computer cords.
I was devastated. My tax appointment was three days away and all of my spread sheets were in the computer. AHHHHHH!!! I’ll be honest. I was crying. People often think that I know stuff about computers because I blog…and have a website. NOPE. Not true at all. I know NOTHING!
That’s when Karl reminded me that there might be a copy of my taxes in my Messenger program that is accessible through my phone. (technology, I still don’t understand it all!!)
See back in January when Karl first started living here again, I knew he was short of money so I asked him to help me with my taxes. I had the Excel record on my PC and he wanted to work on it via the laptop so he sent it through my Messenger program. Once he was done with the new entries he sent it back to me. I had done nothing with it to alter it so it was still there!! I quit crying….but still I had computer woes. What do I do with it frozen. Everything we could see about it on the internet said that there was no fix.
At this point I was sad but at least the taxes were okay. I could get them done.
Hubby said-just get a new computer….I was so tempted. He told me I deserved one with all the computer stuff I do. Oh I was tempted.
I told Kalissa and Craig to look on Amazon and I’d order one. Well they sent me a recommendation and then Wednesday morning she called and said “Did you order a computer yet?” I said no. She explained that she was going to Waterloo and was willing to go to Best Buy and purchase one….I said YES! So she stopped by and got my credit card and at the VERY last second I said, “Buy me a laptop too”….and off she went.
Later she called me and asked me why I was getting a laptop. I explained that Hubby was using the computer a lot more than ever. I am sick of sharing when I want to be on it to write blog posts or check a recipe. We’ve had a laptop but I’ve never warmed up to it. It’s been slow and I don’t know how to fix it. It’s so different from the desktop that each time I use it, I feel like I need to relearn it.
That’s when I realized I better clean the computer desk. WHAT A MESS!
So at 4:30 she came home with my new computer!!
Can you believe that in three hours she had the desk top…and the laptop both up and running?? My email was working. Google Chrome was installed. My pictures had transferred. The computer already felt like mine.
…and the good news, the laptop looks EXACTLY the same as the desktop. All of the programs ar ethe same. (HUGE sigh of relief) Hubby will be able to do his computer stuff on either computer. I can’t tell you how happy I am.
I have NEVER had such a great new computer experience. NEVER!!
The new computer also offers some new great features. The pictures I take with my phone transfer to my computer immediately. I don’t do a thing. WOW!! I always say that technology can stop right where it’s at and we don’t need a single more thing new. I would be wrong as that feature is AMAZING!!
SO…I am a HAPPY GIRL. I don’t even mind paying the bill! My computer woes have turned into computer HAPPINESS…
By the way, my taxes did get done. The appointment is this afternoon. Now hopefully I don’t have a big tax bill. Fingers crossed.
When I read about people who hate to do their taxes, it makes me sad. I’m a CPA, and I love to do personal tax returns. And as far as keeping track of all those expenses for various business entities, I love that even more. It’s my idea of fun.
I’m glad you got the new computer up and running so quickly. Yeah for your smart kids who keep your electronics humming!
Aren’t children wonderful? My children help with my electronics too, couldn’t manage without them. I don’t see how you can get by with only working on your books 4 times a year. I know you are busy but you’d have a lot less stress by doing them at least monthly , weekly would be even better. Next spring you will be so glad you spent the time. The information will pull together so much easier and you’d have a lot less stress.
I am not one to buy a lot of electronics (she said while typing on her phone) but they are tools that can really, really make life easier. Afterwards I always feel they are worth every penny.
I apologize, I didn’t mean to come down on you so hard. Accounting is so important to any business. I may not be able to do the physical work my husband does on the farm, but my job as bookkeeper is just as important. Perhaps you should talk to your accountant about a bookkeeping program you could use on your computer to simplify your bookkeeping.
We shut my computer off while on vacation. But it would not turn back on! So we ended up getting a new hard drive. I have to put in new addresses now cause we could not transfer anything. All my saves are gone.
You should also plug everything into a surge protector, and I unplug my sewing machine when finished sewing…every time! Too many electronics are ruined if there’s a power surge, let alone an outage. Small price to pay for some peace of mind.
Can Kalissa come to my house? Gosh I wish I had computer savvy kids!
Hooray for Karl and Kalissa coming to the rescue! Computers are great when they work! You might like using the laptop now that you’ve got it. That’s all I use now and I love it.
Glad to hear that you are up and running and it all went smoothly! My youngest son, Dan, is my personal computer person! I would still be using a pencil and snail mail and would never have met my Bestie, if not for him. Thanks a million, Dan!
We also have a “COMPUTER IT” child in our family. It is so easy to have them fix something and it usually only costs a home cooked meal. I have even had her help me while she is driving home from work just by talking me through whatever disaster it is. Love these kids.
So glad all is fixed. You are truly an amazing woman. All the things you get done and still remain sane! I love your posts.
I’m in your pocket with the anything technology- it just doesn’t connect for me. The other day I “finally” realized I can send an email from my phone…amazing to me. I’m sure most people figured that out ages ago. Have fun with the new computer and fingers crossed for you on the taxes.