WordPress 2.5 Upload Error Fix

If you recently upgraded to WordPress 2.5 and are having difficulty uploading pictures, try putting this in your root directory’s .htaccess file, directly after the “END WordPress”:

<IfModule mod_security.c>
<Files async-upload.php>
SecFilterEngine Off
SecFilterScanPOST Off
</Files>
</IfModule>

This worked for me and I am very grateful. This last version of WP had some very dramatic changes. I’m not thrilled about all of them, but the picture upload issues were my most immediate frustration. Original fix source is here.

Salem Falls

Salem Falls, by Jodi Picoult

\"Salem Falls\"

I bought this book a few years back, started it; abandoned it. But recently a group of us PTA moms needed an excuse to get together after our end-of-the-year planning committee had commenced. Why not a book club?!! Salem Falls was the choice of the hostess. I had a slight bit of dread, honestly, because I knew I had abandoned it before and was worried I’d need to struggle through it.

I put off reading it until the week before Book Club. Started it Monday, finished it Wednesday. It wasn’t so bad.

Newly released prisoner (convicted of statutory rape), settles in small town, takes job at diner, meets up with quirky loner-type owner… gets paths crossed with some teenage girls that are “witches” and is, once again, accused of a sex-offense. Courtroom drama ensues (Picoult style), love triangles flying all over the place… connections made between characters. Yeah. It was most definitely a Picoult book.

All in all, it was alright. Should bring up some interesting discussion.

I would not re-read this book and would maybe recommend it to a friend if they like Picoult. Probably not one of her best, though.

1/2

Finished: June 2008

Me And My Dad

I’ve spent the last few days cleaning, organizing and rearranging the boy’s bedroom. I know it isn’t as exciting to hear about it as it is to see it, but I can’t help that right now. DT’s got my digital camera with him on his school’s trip. I don’t realize how much I love using my camera until I don’t have it.

Monday my dad and I spent the day putting in laminate flooring. We used a brand called Tarkett in Walnut. For a couple years now I’ve wanted to rip out the carpet in their room. I was just grouse. Four boys in the same room for years and years, you almost want to wear shoes when you’d walk across the floor. Hello?

So, since the younger boys were going to the cabin with grandma and DT was going on a week-long trip with school, I prepared for the Carpet Out, Laminate In. I thought I’d do most of it myself, but… involve my handyman dad in anything and he’s bound to take over. I was his apprentice for the day. We measured, cut, dropped, grunted, tap-tap-tapped the floor into place. After stopping for doughnuts and coffee 1/3 of the way through, dad got even more gung-ho and was tap-tap-tapping some of the planks with such exuberance that we chipped an entire case of them. Thankfully we used them as cut pieces.

I enjoyed working alongside my dad. He can get temperamental, but even when I was young I felt pride when I could hand my dad a tool, assisting him in whatever project he was working on. Just me and my dad.

Thoughs for next time: The tap tool came in handy. A small, 6-inch grooved piece of plastic that fits over the end of the plank so you can tap it into place without (for the most part), ruining the plank. Then also a big shoe-horn looking doohicky that cradles the end of the plank so you can tap them in place horizontally. And soap. If the planks weren’t fitting in, we soaped them and generally that did the trick (dry soap rubbed along the edge seam of the plank).

After the floor was in, we put the twin beds in place. New beds (simple, frame+box spring+mattress). Comfortors from Target. Some closet organizers. A rug from Wal-puke. I found 2 white shower curtains at Target on sale for a little over $5. I’ll use those to cover the closet (we took out the sliding doors years ago). It’s been a long-needed change for the boy’s room and I’m happy that we are able to provide them with that. It feels good to accomplish some spring cleaning, too.

I’ll take pictures when I’m able. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, just organizing and fitting everything back into place. And then painting, which I basically detest. But it needs to be done. No point in going to all that work on the floor and leaving the grungy walls as they are. I swear we just painted those darn things, too.

Grocery Shopping

I’ve spent way too much money on groceries the past couple days. With 3 main stores I shop at (a local “warehouse” superstore Woodmans, Sam’s and Copps). Each have their own advantages. The local store’s produce is not great, but the dried goods are well priced. It is a good “stock up” store and carries a good selection of ethnic foods, organic foods and has the best selection of all stores. Sam’s is nice for bulk shopping, but I have to be careful there because bulk is not always cheaper. Copps is a chain store that has weekly advertised sales, decent meat and decent produce. Some of the Copps stores are better than others. Copps isn’t as large as the superstore, but it has many incentives to shop (free gas, money back, etc.)

I’d say I do most of my shopping at Copps, then Woodmans, then Sam’s (with random stops at Whole Foods and even rarer adventures to Aldi’s). If I had to choose one, I’d choose Copps, although sometimes I cringe when I know an item would be cheaper at Woodmans. My ultimate shopping adventure would be to get certain items at Copps, bulk up at Woodmans, and pick up some extras at Sam’s. But, I’m rarely mentally and physically prepared to do that. I could probably save myself a nice chunk of change, though, if I did.

At the Bratfest this year, I picked up 3 of their reusable shopping totes. I wish I had picked up more; they’re great.

Picasa


Mission Tortilla Chips
. Mmm. We eat a lot of chips and salsa, chips and guacamole…

Picasa

Below is part of my haul from Sam’s. We usually get our big bag of Pistachios there, some meats, shrimp, cheese, frozen blueberries. Today I have some feta cheese, asiago, sliced cheddar, pluots, Emeril sausages (can stretch those for a couple meals, will mix with rice tonight), yogurt, and a jell-O from yesterday’s shopping trip. They had some wonderful organic instant oatmeal once, but it was a special buy and they no longer stock it. I did find some at Woodman’s though. The kids love oatmeal and I like the ease of the instant kind, but Quaker puts too much sugar and fillers in theirs.

Picasa

With summer coming, the costs of food rise in our house. Since they’re home for lunch instead of school, it is one more meal to make sure to stock up for. With me at work during part of the day, the kids tend to eat through the food with slightly more abandon than if I were home. So I really need to be more diligent about meal-planning, making a shopping list, cooking ahead, etc. It is amazing what I can shave off our monthly grocery bill just by doing that. But on the other hand, $150 goes a lot longer at the grocery store than it does at a restaraunt. $150 is barely 2 meals out for our entire family at a place worth eating out at.