Out with the Old, In with the New! Well, Kinda.

I'm baaaack!  I know, I know--this post is a few days late, but life is still crazy in the Cook household.  Seriously, I keep recounting my steps from about a month ago, because I'm sure I must've broke a mirror, walked under a ladder, or passed a black cat on the street.  Oy!  Yes, reality sucks sometimes, but that's not why I'm here.  Right now, I want to escape reality for a bit, so I'm going to share a nice, happy, little story with you all :o) 

 First, I'll start at the beginning.  Meet Bessie.

Bessie was a hand-me-down from my mom.  Poor Bessie had been replaced by something younger and faster, and the ole' girl was just sitting around collecting dust.  I knew this, and since writing in the cold basement on the desktop computer was getting old, I made it my mission to get my hands on her.  A barter was arranged--I would make my mom one of those fringed, no-sew, fleece blankets (hellooo blisters); and she would give me her old laptop.

More than two years and two novels later (notice the permanent hand/palm marks on her), Bessie has been replaced--listen quietly and you can hear the sound of "Taps" playing in the background.  Yes, it's sad, but it was time to pull the plug--which already had a short in it, by the way.  Bessie could barely maneuver her way around the internet without coughing and sputtering, and the poor gal would over-heat at the drop of a dime. 

So who was the little hussie who replaced my dear Bessie?

This shiny Miss Thang (yes, that's my goof-ball of a daughter trying to get in the pic).

Miss Thang was an early anniversary gift from my husband.  The part that really tugs at my heartstrings is that he didn't want to dip into our savings, so he did side-jobs at his work the entire month of November just to earn enough money to buy her for me. 

She's purdy, ain't she?  I can now check all my email accounts in less time than it took for Bessie to come to life.  I have to admit, I still have a soft-spot for my old girl and . . . for my Microsoft Word 2000.  Yes, it's true.  I have this fancy shmancy new computer, but I can't bring myself to make the switch to Word 2010!  It's like when your grocery store gets remodeled--you know it's better, but you still crave the familiarity of the old store and knowing where everything is.  Obviously, I don't like change.  I'm actually contemplating downloading my copy of Microsoft Office 2000 to my new laptop *hides face in shame*, though I can totally picture Miss Thang rejecting such an inferior program--in a faux French accent, nonetheless.

Ah, my dear Bessie.  You will be missed.  Thank you for the good times, and I apologize for all the bad times (throwing you across the room was just an empty threat--honest).  May you rest in peace.