112 33 http://www.jennyandjeramiah.com/images/theme_images/rss_logo.jpg http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/blog/ The Family website of Jenny and Jeramiah en jeramiah@jennyandjeramiah.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-04T17:30:27+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/what_goes_around_comes_around/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/what_goes_around_comes_around/#When:17:30:27Z I had made a complaint to our HR department concerning my boss' policies and mistreatment of not only myself but others in the office before I left. Just the other day it seems that a state agency has made a complaint about him as well to our corporate headquarters which never happens so you know it's bad. After I got my review, my boss told me that HR sided with him. Now I know that was a lie. Just today one of our greatest developers put in his two weeks and from what I gather, there are at least two more that I know that are soon to follow. Everyone's jumping ship to escape his oppressive rule. HR, in fact, CORPORATE, have investigated his policies and found them "completely unacceptable." He was forced to call a meeting (after I left of course) and inform everyone of his shortcomings and dealings with corporate. I heard he got bitched out all morning by corporate. This is great news. It's a tragedy because that portal could be so much more, but my boss has ran it into the ground. And while not all of us got a single raise in three years, those who did all got the same - 3%, which doesn't even cover the cost of inflation. You're welcome for all the hard work! It's looking like his ego is getting the better of him. Oh, that and maybe him being a sociopath as well as bi-polar. Dude's messed in the head! So many developers and designers have had great ideas but since they weren't his ideas, he shoots them down and then criticizes you. You think I'm joking? No other portal experiences 40% turnover every year... it's just unheard of. This portal has managed to accomplish just that and now he's coming under fire. I've personally witnessed him belittle and patronize not only his own workers, but the client as well. In fact, we receive complaints often about him. Too bad they're never forwarded on to HR. Blogging 2010-03-04T17:30:27+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/9_month_check-up/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/9_month_check-up/#When:03:16:51Z Riley went to the doctor today to get her 9 month check-up. She weighed 20 lbs 6 oz and is 28 inches long. Their computers were down, so they didn't have exact percentiles, but she said Riley was around 75% for weight and 50-60% for height. She's dropped a bit from 90% for both at 6 months, I guess the mobility thing is slimming her down some. It's interesting that her height has slowed down some, neither of us are tall, so it's weird that she was in 90th percentile. They also checked her hemoglobin and it good at 12,5. They just pricked her big toe and she didn't even cry! We saw the PA rather than the doctor that we usually see (who I wasn't too fond of). We saw the PA when Riley was first born and we really liked her, so it was nice to see her this time. I think I will schedule her next appt. with her. Luckily, she had no immunizations at this visit. She was pleased with Riley's developmental progress. Riley is now able to clap hands, just by me saying "clap hands" and not having to clap my own hands. She also claps her hands when I sing "pat-a-cake". I haven't decided whether to teach her how to "roll it" (in pat-a-cake) or teach her how to wave. They say pick one or the other as far as clapping and waving goes and she's been clapping for a while, so I want to teach her how to wave 'bye-bye' next. Blogging 2010-03-02T03:16:51+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/mobile_version_2.0/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/mobile_version_2.0/#When:16:30:18Z With version 2.0 of our site, the entire goal was to streamline content and make things easier to get to so I figured that the mobile version should also be constructed like that. The previous version just had way too many links and wasn't setup to easily navigate on mobile, plus some content was way too big and you had to scroll. This version eliminates that. This new version which includes a script to expand to full screen if you're on an iphone or android phone which has a big browser, also allows the full access to our website (minus the videos) that you would expect including commenting, and logging in / registering. You can check it out by going to www.jennyandjeramiah.com on your mobile device. Blogging 2010-03-01T16:30:18+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/wii_curling_fail/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/wii_curling_fail/#When:18:48:12Z Depending on the angle, and who you're doing this with, you could be arrested. Blogging 2010-02-27T18:48:12+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/valleymarketblog_and_maricopanewhomes/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/valleymarketblog_and_maricopanewhomes/#When:06:02:30Z I've completed two sites for a close friend of ours. Take a minute and check out the designs and content. If you're curious about the market conditions here in the valley, I'd bookmark these sites; If anything bookmark them for the model home sales. Maricopa New Homes Valley Market Blog Blogging 2010-02-25T06:02:30+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/making_my_own_pasta/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/making_my_own_pasta/#When:00:30:23Z What do you get the cook that has everything? Well I certainly don't have everything when it comes to cooking but if you know someone who does, I would say this: Atlas Original Italian Pasta Machine. Got it for Christmas from Terry. Today I ventured into making my own linguine and found it was super easy. The cool thing is, I'll be making pasta with it for the first time for Terry tomorrow. It is not hard at all with this machine if you follow their simple instructions. The dough? Wheat flower and eggs. That's it. After kneading it you simply use the machine to form the desired width of the slap, and then roll it through the second part of the machine which cuts the spaghetti or linguine. They say let it dry at least an hour but it will keep up to 3 weeks in a cool dry place. This is such a cool device! I documented my progress. Blogging 2010-02-21T00:30:23+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/good-bye_corporate_america/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/good-bye_corporate_america/#When:15:39:21Z I quit my job the other day. In this economy most people might not think that's a good idea, but when you feel sick just thinking about going to work, that's not healthy -- and it's been that way for quite a while. Plus, conditions at work pretty much forced my hand. So many people tell me they make more money contract than they ever did full time at a company. I believe that, and I've even had employers tell me they get more productivity out of contractors thusly paying more to contractors. I think it will be a short time until I can make what I was making here at work and then I totally see myself surpassing that number. My first step is to get the office upstairs ready. My company was nice to give me my laptop and a month of insurance. I'm so happy to think that I'll have my life back. I'll be spending a lot more time with my family and none of it on the road in traffic commuting or forced to come in on days off etc... I can do my job from anywhere; I can go up to showlow and not worry about being back Monday morning. I'm also looking forward to staying up as late as I want and then also waking up at a decent hour, like maybe 7 or 8 am instead of 5:50 am when I was tired all week long and then just repeating the same thing week after week. I'm looking for creative control in my web design and I just wasn't getting that at work. Some of that was from our own management but most came from the State level where people who are not web designers are dictating to me what I need to do. Can you imagine... you go to college, spend years gaining knowledge and then you just become a monkey told what to do. The running joke here is that politicians design websites. It's like if I came to your work and told YOU that what you're doing isn't correct, and then forcing you to do it my way even though I have no idea how to do your job... which my way goes against everything you've learned about your job but because that's the way it is, you had to do it. I'm gunna miss some of the people here at the office, but I'm excited about the extra time I'll have with my family the most. Time for a new chapter! Blogging 2010-02-19T15:39:21+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/horseback_riding_on_valentines_day/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/horseback_riding_on_valentines_day/#When:05:42:46Z Today we went horseback riding which was very cool. Our guide is a true cowboy and took us on a three hour excursion deep in canyons away from civilization. It was both our first time riding horses but we picked it up fast. It was easier than I thought actually and it was amazing how much power those horses have going up the mountain. Our guide, Steve, said that he had purchased a few of the horses for 75 bucks... some 100 bucks. That is crazy! That horses go for so little. I know the up keep is expensive if you get more than one horse, but damn I've purchased many things for more than the cost of a horse and it seems like they should be worth more. I was thinking more like 3 grand or something. He also said that there are places that give them away where you can adopt them. I think we'll do this again, but next time, we want to do the sunset ride! We got some video and pictures of the day. Check 'em out! Here's a video of Jenny getting on the horse: Blogging 2010-02-15T05:42:46+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/crib_camera/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/crib_camera/#When:04:35:16Z I got an IR camera for Riley's crib. Eventually it'll be apart of our security system. You can see it by going to the webcam link on Riley's page. At night you can see her in the crib and during the day, in her play area. I'm trying to make this as close to the movie "The Truman Show" as possible. Cameras in the bushes and telephone poles are next. Blogging 2010-02-12T04:35:16+00:00 http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/snowboarding_over_the_weekend/ http://jennyandjeramiah.com/index.php/site/snowboarding_over_the_weekend/#When:17:40:10Z I added pictures from our latest skiing trip to the gallery: Snowboarding In Show Low. I tried to broadcast live also, but after two years of not boarding I discovered I wasn't up to the challenge to hold a camera and board down the mountain at the same time. Blogging 2010-02-08T17:40:10+00:00