Life Lessons + $200 Amazon Giveaway!

I'm still in grad school so it's common for me to feel like information is constantly being stuffed into my head and I'm pretty used to that. Sometimes though, life knowledge is stuffed down my throat in an overwhelming fashion. In retrospect it's a good reminder that no matter how much you know there is always more to learn but in the moment it was an emotional roller coaster.

Things I learned:

Mac Software updates hate me. I was able to recover functionality after Mavericks after a week and Yosemite seemed to update without a hitch, but the bug fixes to Yosemite officially killed my hard drive.

Whatever you do, DO NOT shut down your computer halfway through an update. Even if it has been stuck at 50% for 6 hours, just don't touch it. I know you want to. I know like it seems like it will never finish... but don't touch that power button. In my case that's what put the final screw in my hard drive's coffin although I'm told that it was on it's way out anyway.

Even if you think Time Machine is backing up your computer, it may not be so have a manual back up of important things. It's pretty devastating to have someone tell you your backup isn't anywhere and so all your files are gone.

Some creative thinking can save your files but it takes hours to back it up. Try not to bring your toddler with you to the Apple store if you have to do this since you can't leave your computer while it's backing up (luckily Nate was with me).

Having to watch Every. Single. File. get backed up makes you realize that you might want to clean out your email, trash, and downloads a little more often

It's a bad idea to wear a red shirt in an Apple store.

If your hard drive has to fail, having it fail 7 days before the warranty is up is awesome. Having Apple claim you have massive water damage to your laptop (when nothing has ever been spilled on it) that voids said warranty and will cost $750 to fix is basically the worst thing in the world. Especially when the computer worked perfectly a week ago.

Partially deconstructing a 24 lb turkey is a full workout and requires more anatomy skills than anticipated. While the results were very yummy, I don't know if it was worth the effort.

You can make an amazing GF stuffing

You can burn carrots

Spending one full day at the Apple store and then the next day cooking and hosting Pre-Thanksgiving apparently makes you sleep through your alarm ... and give a test with the answer key still attached...

There are some honest students still out there.

Information OVERLOAD. I also neglected to get any pictures of our party which has happened so many years in a row it has become a tradition right along with the party.

So if your Thanksgiving week is hitting you in the face like mine is, I have an awesome remedy for you...MONEY! Everybody wants a little spending money for Christmas right? Well now's your chance to win $200 to Amazon!!

I’ve teamed up with my blogger friends to bring you a giveaway with an amazing prize for one lucky reader! We’re giving away a $200 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner… and it just might be you.

You can enter daily over the next two weeks and earn bonus entries by sharing the giveaway with your friends on social media. Good luck!

GIVEAWAY

Prize: $200 Amazon Gift Card

Co-hosts: Krystal's Kitsch // La Vie en May // Jenn's Blah Blah Blog // Beyond the Khaki Pants // Beauty in the Mess // Fashionably Lo // Juggling Act Mama // Seesaws and Sawhorses // God's Growing Garden

Giveaway organized by: Oh My Gosh Beck!

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to enter daily. Giveaway ends 12/9 and is open worldwide.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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