Phone Went A Swimmin'

So, today my phone decided to go swimming. She had tried to do this a few times before but never quite made it all the way in.  This time she slid right into the potty at TJ Maxx!

Now before you question why I was using my phone while going potty, I wasn't!  I had her safely stored in my winter coat pocket, but she somehow snuck out and before I could catch her she was diving in feet first.

I quickly rescued her, said a couple swear words, (I'm sure the person in the stall next to me wondered what was going on), and hurried out of the stall.  I was planning to stick her under the hand dryer but there wasn't one so I grabbed a couple paper towels, toweled her off and hurried out of the store.

I was scared to even look at my phone because I knew it was toast so I just turned it off.  I remembered hearing if you ever drop your iphone in water you should put it in a bag of rice to help absorb the water and hopefully save your phone. I drove to Wal-Mart and sprinted to the rice aisle.

I had a decision to make. I didn't know what kind of rice I needed to get:  brown rice, white rice, organic...I decided to go with the old standby and grabbed an 84 cent bag of white rice.  Definitely my cheapest trip to Wal-Mart ever!  What's even more funny is I did self check out and picked the machine that would only take credit cards so I now have an 84 cent charge on my credit card. Justin will love that.

I opened the rice in the parking lot, pouring half of it out, and shoved my phone in the bag.  The only problem was I didn't really know how long I needed to leave the phone in the rice.  Plus, dialysis units and my office use my phone to get a hold of me during the day so I couldn't leave it off the rest of the day.   Of course I had no idea what the phone numbers were to these units so I could tell them my phone wasn't working...Who memorizes phone numbers anymore?  And what phone would I use to call them with?  Dang, what did we do before cell phones?

So I went to plan B.  Since I was out near Jordan Creek I ventured to the Apple Store.  They told me it would be an hour wait so I was FORCED to shop for an hour while I waited for them to look at my phone.

Finally an hour was up and the friendly Apple employee went to work on my phone.  Ten minutes later he returned saying everything was working except my phone thought the headphones were plugged in so I couldn't hear anything unless the speaker was on.  Hmm, well at least it was functional but I wouldn't be able to have any private conversations.  He said the phone could be replaced for $299.  Since it was still functional, I wasn't ready to give up on it yet!  He recommended leaving it off and in rice for the rest of the day to see if that would help.

I hurried to my car and shoved it back in the bag of rice before heading back to work.  After a couple hours I decided to turn it back on.  It still wasn't functioning correctly.  While at a dialysis center I had searched online "my iPhone thinks the headphones are plugged in" and surprisingly had numerous recommendations on what to do to help it.  (What did we do before the Internet?)  One suggestion was to suck really hard on the headphone jack. I did this and wouldn't you know it, all my sounds came back on and my phone is as good as new.

Whew, I didn't want to have to listen to the wrath of Deb, our office manager, who would not be happy when I told her I needed to have my phone replaced!

Another thumbs up for this Apple product. I have always stood behind my iPhones and iPads and have never had any trouble with them.  This just shows that maybe they are indestructible.  We've had  our original iPad for 6+ years now without any issues.  Each child has dropped it a number of times yet it still keeps going.  Ironically, the screen did crack last month but no child is to blame for it (ahem, Justin).  A nice guy in Madrid repaired it for a decent price and it's back to working just fine.

Don't worry, I sanitized my phone with about 100 alcohol wipes :).  Sorry Apple guy, I didn't sanitize it before I handed it over to you.  Oops!

Our Rose Bowl Experience

We never expected to make two trips to Southern California in 2 months but we just couldn't pass up this opportunity.

5 years ago when we were vacationing with my family in California, we decided to get tickets to the Rose Bowl with my brother and his wife.  I doubted our Hawkeyes would ever make it to this prestigious bowl game so figured we might as well see a game here while we can.  We cheered on TCU and Wisconsin, taking in the amazing atmosphere.  Justin and I mentioned that if Iowa ever DID make it to the Rose Bowl, we would be there. 

We aren't spontaneous people.  In fact, many people would be annoyed at the degree of planners we are.  From planning our meals every week, to planning our weekend 6 days in advance, we like to know what's going on and hate NOT knowing what is going on!  So planning this trip in a few hours the day they announced the bowl games was way out of our element.  

Weeks leading up to the game we didn't mention to many people we were going, for a variety of reasons. I did chit chat with one of my dialysis patients who was part of the Hawkeye team in 1959 who won the Rose Bowl.  He is one of the oldest living NFL players, (and quite stubborn), but a joy to talk football with!  

I had serious buyers remorse for weeks as well.  I am such a saver and HATE spending money. I rarely buy something unless it is on sale and really dislike spending money on myself.  Talking to many friends and co-workers leading up to the trip helped me realize that this was a trip of a life time and you only live once, (or YOLO as my BFF would say!).  

I also felt horrible that we were leaving our kids again in the hands of the grandparents who were probably still recovering from the last time we ventured to California, (which was like 5 weeks ago!).

Many people made the trip to CA just for the game. We decided to make the most of it and spent 5 days in this sunny place.  We were so lucky to plan our flight when we did because it snowed the day before and the day after we flew out. We had no trouble with our travels but did have to sprint in the Dallas airport to catch our connecting flight.

Our fight to LA

We spent two nights with my cousin Sheila, her husband, Thomas, and their daughter Grace. Grace is a phenomenal swimmer, (we're talking Junior Olympic champion and possible 2020 Olympic hopeful!).  I have always wanted to watch her swim so we watched one of her practices the second night we were there.  Outdoor high school swimming pools are just not possible in the Midwest!  

Having family there was a bonus as Sheila could tell us exactly where to go and what to see.  Our first day we ventured to Malibu and after seeing a couple beaches, we had lunch at Malibu Seafood. I ate here when I was in 7th grade, (22 years ago). It was special being able to bring my husband here.  After seeing a couple more beaches we went to the Malibu Winery for wine tasting. This winery was adorable with tons of seating and great tasting wine. Many locals brought in their own picnic basket of little snacks to eat with their wine.

New Year's Eve day we headed to the Port of LA where the USS Iowa is.  This was an amazing experience.  We arrived shortly after it opened and quickly saw the line was a growing.  It would have been an hour and a half wait to get on the boat where we were in line.  Ironically, we spotted a neighbor from 98th Street who we were able to join in line.  Shortly after that we were touring the boat.  

Seeing this battleship was quite an experience and I easily would have waited an hour and a half to tour it.  I loved viewing the living conditions, where meals were prepared and eaten, and FDRs bathtub.  This had to be installed before his trip across the Atlantic to meet with Winston Churchill and Stalin.  However, I was most excited about meeting Ernie, a WWII Vet who was actually stationed on the USS Iowa during the war.  I have a special place in my heart for our WWII vets, and proudly shook his head after viewing his pictures and memorabilia from his time on the boat. 

New Year's Eve was spent in Marina Del Ray with one of my best friends and her husband-it felt like college all over again!  

We were up early on New Year's Day to head to downtown LA. We decided to take the metro to the stadium to avoid the game traffic.  Surprisingly with all of the driving we have done in CA recently, we never had traffic issues and we both felt pretty comfortable driving in this state.  However, with thousands of fans traveling to Pasadena, we didn't want to risk anything.  The train ride was smooth and it dropped us off right near the parade route. 

We didn't get tickets for the parade for numerous reasons but I wanted to see at least one float live so we watched for a few minutes, taking in the whole experience.  We then started our walk toward the stadium which took us through beautiful neighborhoods with stunning homes before seeing the stadium and the golf courses that surround it.  This is all quite a site, especially with the mountains in the background. I remember being blown away the first time I saw it and just as much the second time. 

Two other couples we knew and us decided to purchase the tailgate package to avoid having to find a grill/cooler, etc for a tailgate.  The tailgate was well organized with yummy food and great beer and wine.  Looking back, it was quite pricey but again, YOLO!  I also was able to participate in a game of Bubble Ball soccer, which was something that always looked like fun!

A few hours later it was time to head into the game. With the recent shooting at San Bernardino, security was increased so it took a little longer to get into the game. I was impatient and snuck ahead in the line, leaving Justin in the dust. I wasn't about to miss the kick off of this game!

Yeah, the game stunk.  Honestly, all Iowa had to do was cover #5 like white on rice but apparently they didn't practice that!  At least the Stanford fans were classy, (much unlike their band!). It was still amazing to be there watching OUR team at the most prestigious bowl game there is! 

Our final day in CA was spent exploring Hollywood and Southern CA beaches (Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan).  After walking along the boardwalk for an hour and a half, watching a beautiful sunset and eating sushi, we headed to the airport for our red eye flight home.  Lesson learned:  A red eye flight home when you have three little ones to care for is NOT a good idea!  We spent the rest of the week catching up on sleep! 

I love a fresh churro!

What I loved most about the trip was seeing Hawkeye fans everywhere we went:  Malibu, Marina Del Ray, Hollywood, and all the beaches.  There was always a sea of yellow and black wherever we traveled which made us feel a little at home.  What a fun trip!