Hi Quark. BTW, you SUCK.

This is an actual chat conversation that took place a few minutes ago between myself and a Quark customer service representative. According to Quark's website they have headquarters in Denver, CO and India. My understanding is that this rep was located in India:

Quark Customer Support...You have been connected to Nimisha.

Nimisha: Welcome to our live chat service.

Leslie: Hi. Did you see my question?  I am wondering how to go about legally transferring the registration on my Quark Xpress software.

Nimisha: Yes, Leslie, as per company policy you can not save your license.

Nimisha: *Leslie, as per company policy you can not sell your license.

Leslie: What does that mean,"I cannot SAVE my license?"

Leslie: Oh you meant SELL not SAVE

Nimisha: I am sorry that was a typing error.  As per company policy you can not sell your license.

Leslie: Yes, I understand that. I'm curious as to why. I recently sold my adobe InDesign CS2 and adobe was great about helping me transfer the license, etc. They made it very simple. Why doesn't Quark have this type of customer support option?

Nimisha: Leslie. it is a company policy that you ca not sell your license.

Leslie: Okay. You keep repeating the SAME information. Can you please explain to me why this is the policy?  Clearly it's not illegal activity because other software companies allow registration to be transferred on their products from one customer to another. It would seem to me that the more people that use your product, the more exposure you get and marketshare you gain in the long run.

Nimisha: Leslie, every company has its own policy and this is mentioned in the license agreement that swelling the license is illegal.

Leslie: Swelling? I assume you meant SELLING. 

<  Connection closed due to network issues >

And that, my friends, is how the chat ended. For real.

Welcome to Dreamstime

In case you don't already know about Dreamstime, let me introduce you to a wonderful stock art and photography resource. I've been a loyal customer for about 3 years and more recently have become a contributor. I stumbled onto them while researching stock images for an annual report I was designing for a corporate client. Dreamstime is a great resource for designers, bloggers, or anyone who has a need to use stock photography, illustrations or video. They offer a free stock images section that I visit often. It costs nothing to set up an account or pull from the free images section. You'll find that the paid images are priced very reasonably, often costing $1 an image for the low-resolution versions. Or maybe you're interested in becoming a contributor. Here's one of the most recent images I've added to my portfolio:

It's very easy to submit your photos or illustrations for consideration. You can customize the licensing for each image individually, even resell the rights if you're so inclined. Dreamstime has impressive customer service and very helpful online information about every aspect of buying and selling there. I'm currently working on building my portfolio and referrals. You can sign up for your free account using my direct referral link. I appreciate your support and hope you'll find Dreamstime to be an essential new tool for your creative toolbox.

Dinnerware Dilemma, Part 2: Would you like some cancer with that?

While searching online for a new set of dishes I came across something quite scary and sobering. I found a set of dinnerware with a warning statement! This set of Cream Dream Dinnerware comes with this warning in the product description - WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity. What!? Can someone tell me how it's legal to sell dishes that contain cancer causing materials? I can't imagine that any manufacturer would knowingly make and sell food-related products that are potentially hazardous. This is really disturbing. It causes me to wonder how many dishes that we use everyday contain these same dangerous materials? Does this mean we're serving up toxins to our family every night at dinner?

I did a little digging and found one article where the CDC warned about dangerous lead levels on dinnerware. Then I found an equally upsetting bit of news on SpringerLink about radiation emissions from uranium-glazed dinnerware. But neither came with an accompanying list of manufacturers. Good grief! I see statements that explain while most agree that high concentrations of lead-containing dinnerware is rare, low-level concentrations of lead are allowable. There's an extensive list of low-lead china patterns, but it's not been updated since 2001. I can't imagine why someone hasn't seen fit to keep this list current. I don't know about you, but I really don't want to serve up a side dish of lead on any occasion! Seriously, does any of us want just a little bit of cancer? Or a tiny hint of neurological disorder?

The Environmental Defense Fund has great information here about lead in china dishes. I'm planning to use their buyers guide as I seek out my new dinnerware set. The buyers guide link also has a list of manufacturer phone numbers to call and ask if the dishware you already own contains lead, uranium or other hazardous chemicals. If you don't see your manufacturer listed here, you can always purchase a lead test kit to see if your dishes are safe.

All this is making me lose my appetite and then some. I'm off to find some healthy alternatives for safe dinnerware. I'll share my findings with you in my next post. In the meantime, I urge you to look into the links above and see if your dinnerware is safe for you and your family. My guess is that your standards, like mine, are alot more strict than the governments when it comes to the health and safety of your family.

Buying in Bulk - Go Green & Still Save Money

Last spring I embarked on an experiment. I had decided that I wanted to shift the everyday household items we used over to organic products. Every year I go a little further to the greener side of commerce and it was time to make the switch for things we used daily like detergents, deodorant, bath soap, etc. The catch was that I couldn't spend more money on these items; in reality I needed to cut expenses. I was concerned about being able to afford the switch to organic products, as I'd found them to be more expensive than traditional ones at local chain stores. So the trick was to go greener and somehow save money at the same time.

I thought about the fact that these items would have to ship to me so I grouped the purchases together in two different orders, as I could afford it. It would save me multiple trips to the grocery store which seemed to offset the shipping given that it's 2 shipments versus probably a dozen or more grocery stops. The UPS man goes down my street every day so no extra trip on his part either. I used my local Whole Foods store as a benchmark for individual prices and found a few of the same items at Target for comparison. But they didn't offer products in bulk or carry Country Save or Canus. I considered signing up with Frontier Coop but they didn't carry these products either.

I took my search online. I spent several hours researching to find the best selection, lowest prices and reduced or free shipping. I was being very conscious about what company I bought my products from. I wanted to be sure I was making good choices and supporting companies that cared about producing good quality organic products from sustainable sources. I knew that buying in bulk would reduce the unit price but I wasn't sure if that really applied to organic products, since I'd never seen organic products available in bulk before.

Enter amazon.com. They had the best prices and Free – thank you very much – Shipping. I spent more up front because I was buying in quantity, but as you'll see from the breakdowns below it's been a total win-win experience for me so far:


Country Save HE Laundry Detergent Powder
80 standard loads, 160 high efficiency loads per box
Case of four 10 lb boxes for $62.15 ($15.54 per box)
I have a heavy-duty top load washing machine and wash for a family of four. I bought this case on March 17th and I'm only half way through the second box. That means each box is lasting about 4 months so this should be enough laundry powder to get me to July of next year, conceivably. Dare I say this was the first time I'd used Country Save laundry detergent and went on recommendation alone. I know, risky move to buy something I'd never tried before in bulk, right? I absolutely LOVE this detergent. My daughter, who struggles with allergies, does fine with this. It cleans wonderfully. It doesn't have a heavily perfumed odor, the clothes just smell fresh and clean. One thing I really like about this is that it's the best detergent I've found to keep clothes feeling soft when line dried outside. It's safe to say I am officially hooked on Country Save!


Seventh Generation Dishwashing Powder
Free & Clear, 75 oz box, Case of 8 boxes for $49.77 ($6.22 per box)
We bought a new energy efficient dishwasher last year. We cook, bake, eat and dirty plenty of dishes daily. Our dishwasher sees action at least once every two days. I bought these on January 31st and seriously I am only about halfway through the 2nd box. I am impressed! I'd used this detergent before and found it was the only one that didn't spot or streak dishes and glassware. It's a wonderful product. I'm averaging about 4 1/2 months per box which amazes me. That means I have enough of this on-hand to last me until January 2011!?


Seventh Generation Dish Liquid
Lemongrass & Clementine Zest (also available in Free & Clear and Lavender Floral-Mint)
25 oz Bottle, Case of 6 Bottles for $18.13 ($3.02 per bottle)
Okay, for those of you that don't know me in-person, doing dishes is not my favorite. I used to hate doing dishes. Now, in a strange way, I find it a little therapeutic; is that wrong? I actually credit this dish soap with the transformation. {Mom, if you're reading this, I'm sure you'll agree it must be a miracle product if it helped *ME* to actually enjoy doing dishes.} It smells so wonderful and for the first time ever I've found a soap that doesn't cause my hands to break out in a rash from doing the dishes. I love it so much I refill our foam pump dispensers in both bathrooms with it and bathe our pets with it. I bought this on March 17th and I am about to finish the 2nd bottle. At this rate I'll have enough to last me until this time next year. Oh Joy! (oops sorry, wrong brand)


Canus Goats Milk Bar Soap
Four 3-count boxes, case of 12 bars for $20.32 ($1.69 per bar)
I've posted about this soap before. I am so grateful for this product, you can read about why here. I have 4 bars left and 2 newly opened ones in use so my best guess is that I won't need to buy more bath soap until April of next year. I think this would have lasted longer but my son was going through a phase of drilling his finger all the way through a bar of soap just to see if he could. We've since curbed that behavior.

So you see, it can be done. I'm a very thrifty girl and unfortunately more economically-challenged than I would like to be. If I can afford organic products, anyone can. I know this isn't rocket science. I just want to encourage you, you can buy healthier products for yourself and your family without spending more money. You just have to do your homework, be thoughtful about the products and companies you're supporting and order from the best resources you can find.

Reflections on Julie & Julia

Julia Child's Kitchen, image courtesy of wikimedia commons

Yesterday one of my best girlfriends and I went to see Julie & Julia. It was a wonderful movie spanning modern and traditional themes, with insight into lives lived decades apart. It will no doubt strike an intimate chord with anyone who watches it. I left the movie feeling a warm sense of admiration for both women and for their accomplishments. They lived out their passions and pursued their dreams. They didn't let setbacks or snags stop them, at least not for long. I also, like many of you I suppose, left wanting to go home and cook like a fiend!

For me there was another specific revelation. Neither Julie or Julia had especially large or fancy kitchens. The magical work spaces where the creativity of both J's came to life were pretty unimpressive. Think about it, a tiny kitchen in a cramped apartment and a moderately-sized kitchen lined with pegboard and hooks like a tool shed. No custom-tinted countertops, Italian tiled backsplashes or islands with built-in twin sinks. The exception for Julia, IMHO, was her Paris kitchen because I'm thinking anything in Paris is inspiring! On the contrary, they both had excellent tools and appeared to use the best quality ingredients. But the kitchens themselves were fairly basic.

My husband used to be a kitchen designer. He designed many impressive kitchens with beautiful stone countertops, stunning hardwood cabinetry and top-of-the-line appliances; all customized to near perfection. And most of these kitchens were huge. He would tell me about whatever kitchen design he was working on at the time, often during dinner. There we'd sit, in our undersized eat-in kitchen, talking about dream kitchens. Other peoples dream kitchens.

I used to have a larger kitchen; not particularly fancy but spacious. Not my dream kitchen, but it had potential. Back then though, I only cooked for survival. I enjoyed experimenting sometimes but at that point in my life, cooking was mostly a means to an end. Now, in comparison, we live in a house with the least impressive kitchen we've ever had. It's dimly lit, lacking cabinet and work space, and very small.

Despite my humble setting, I now have a growing passion for cooking. Yes, I have found passion in the mundane! I want nothing more than to stay home and cook, cook, cook. It's not about the space I'm in anymore. It's about what I do with it. I seek out cookbooks and ingredients like a woman possessed. I have a running list of gadgets like Le Creuset stock pot and Silpat that I carry around in a small notepad to every thrift store I go to. Hoping against hope that I might find them there. I come up with recipe ideas before I go to sleep at night and end up turning on the light a half a dozen times to write them down. Once I find a recipe that I want to try, it gnaws at me until I try it. I'm finding the more I enjoy the process, the more I enjoy the outcome.

I still fantasize about my dream kitchen, but it's not particularly large or fancy. It's in an old farmhouse with big windows, a walk-in pantry and well-worn vintage furniture. Maybe even a windowsill deep enough to cool a pie on. Turns out it's not about the style of cabinets or what the countertop is made of. The kitchen of my dreams looks a lot like my Aunt Maude's kitchen. My dear Aunt Maude was a precious woman with an amazing heart and a true gift for cooking. She had a very hard life, one that most wouldn't survive in. My memories of times spent with her when I was little are priceless to me. There, in her large farm kitchen with sunny light glowing through the tall windows, I witnessed something amazing; a woman truly happy in the moment. Despite the terrible things that she'd been through in her life, she was a woman of great faith and inner joy. She made simple food that was simply incredible. She would spend most of her days cooking, baking and serving her family. It may have looked to an outsider like a life of indentured servitude; but I believe she loved the process as much as she loved being a true servant of unconditional love and great food.

I'm grateful for the special people in our lives that teach us more than they intend to. I'm glad to be reminded that our circumstances don't define us, but that our passion and sense of purpose does. And I'm thankful for a leisurely Sunday matinee that brings all of this into perspective.

A Tale of Two Cookbooks

This is a story about two cookbooks. One that I really wanted for Christmas last year, but didn't receive. And another that I'd never seen before but found on the library cart on my way out the door. You know the old saying, never judge a book by it's cover? It is SO true...


First, the hefty beauty, The Golden Book of Chocolate. The cover is alluring, with a shiny gold wrapper and a chocolate bar imprinted on the cover. It looks like you're picking up a giant candy bar. (Score one for the design team!) The book starts with a rather indepth history of chocolate, which is interesting but reads a bit more like a textbook. There are nice full color images of each recipe. Being a visually-oriented person, I like to know what I'm shooting for before I start. Beyond that, I found the book to be lacking in charm and not very user friendly. There are no referential lead-ins to the recipes or details about ingredients. It's starkly organized: just the ingredient list, the recipe and photo. I think the Drink and Basic Recipe sections are the best this cookbook has to offer. I was disappointed in the book overall which really surprised me. The Nobake Cookie bars were really awful tasting. It's the first time we have ever thrown out chocolate in my house. Seriously, in the trash, because no one would eat them. That's sad. This book is worth perusing, if for nothing more than the dishy photos, but I'm sure glad my husband didn't shell out $30 on this for my Christmas gift!


Now for the second cookbook, Here in America's Test Kitchen. The cover may not be sexy (no offense) but it's what's inside that counts. I must confess that this is one of my favorite food shows on PBS. But this cookbook really does deliver to the foodie-geek that I am! Each chapter consists of a theme, equipment corner, science desk and testing lab all focusing on the recipe theme of the chapter. For instance Chapter 12, American Casseroles. It talks about why we American's love our casseroles. It describes each recipe in-depth giving well-rounded information on history, ingredients, etc. Then the recipe, in this case Macaroni and Cheese (cue the angels singing). Just following the recipe is the testing lab where they tell you how ingredients, such as different brands of cheddar cheese, fared in taste tests. This information is organized in a handy chart explaining why something was or was not recommended. Equipment corner explains what tools are best for the job, prep, baking, etc. In my opinion, if you're going to make mac and cheese, why not hit it out the park? I love making ordinary foods taste extraordinary and I'm impressed by all the testing and tasting that these folks put into their recipes. While it's not loaded with tons of recipes, it certainly gets down to the nitty-gritty on the recipes it does contain. This book was published in 2002 so it's also very affordable. Check out the great deals on amazon if you're interested or borrow one from your local lending library. It looks like they've published over a dozen cookbooks from this show, wowza. Guess what I'll be looking for the next time I'm at the library?

The Power of Nice

I know I've mentioned this before, but I really love libraries. The idea of cooperatively sharing books and knowledge -- for FREE -- is just so perfectly utopian. I've been a card carrying member of our library for 11 years now. Lately I've been purposely seeking out small reads, little books that pack a big punch. A good book that I can easily read in one sitting, or two, at the most. On my last visit I found this little treat, The Power of Nice, by Linda Kaplan Thaler & Robin Koval, which I read in an afternoon. It's a great little book with a main message of considering every interaction, situation, chance meeting, etc. as an opportunity. An opportunity to share, be helpful and in general, be nice. You never know when a chance encounter might become your next big opportunity. And consider that opportunities go both ways; maybe it's your turn to help someone else discover something big. It's not rocket science really, just simple principles. Much of it stems from biblical teaching, though it does not directly mention that as the source. The Secret and countless other purveyors of universal truths all understand the same principle: Give and it will be given back unto you. Though this book is directly written as a business how-to, it clearly crosses over to much more personal territory. It's a concise reminder of the things that most of us already know. The golden rule revisited. I love how, when you read or study something, you start to see the things around you measured by that knowledge. This week, as I mentioned in my last post, my family was treated in a very rude and uncaring manner by someone we trusted. For a business, this is the kiss of death. For an individual such behavior will quickly poison relationships and dry up opportunities. How hard is it to be nice really? Not fake or fluffy, but truly nice. Maybe we don't have the answer someone is seeking, but we can help them find the answer rather than just turning them away. Consider how your responses can affect someone, whether good or bad. Reading this book won't change your personality but it will remind you of what your missing out on when you chose not to be nice.

Good Samaritans

Let's face it, not every day is a banner day. Look at the rap that Monday gets...it's not Monday's fault, Sunday's just a hard act to follow. And while we all want to focus on the goodness in life, there are surely weeks where tough stuff prevails. This has been one of those weeks for us. Our dog has been very sick since Monday. She is having her 2nd bout with IVDD in 6 months, this time losing the use of her back legs almost completely. Our veterinarian of two years gave us the runaround and did nothing to help. I was shocked that our vet and her staff would actively chose to makes things worse in a crisis situation. They even refused to give over our xrays to share with another vet, though they finally relented. I was so angry and confused by their lack of compassion and professionalism I wasn't sure what to do. Thankfully I had a contact at Dachshund Rescue of North America, Jane, who has been absolutely fabulous. Her advice, compassion and help have been priceless! She made a few calls, with the help of some other caring local DRNA folks, and found us a local vet that saw us right away. Commonwealth Vet Clinic was wonderfully caring and professional with very prompt service and reasonable fees. Bunny will be crate resting for several weeks, taking meds and hopefully improving. It's interesting in a crisis situation that a stranger is so willing and eager to help, when someone you know well may do nothing to help. Reminds me of my favorite Bible story, The Good Samaritan. The story is a reminder to all of us to help one another, have compassion for one another and to have the courage to reach out and take action on someone else's behalf. I chose this particular youtube clip because it's my kids favorite. Gotta love storytelling with legos! Plus it helps me to smile a little in a week that's not given me much to smile about.