cord cutting

We entertain the notion of ditching cable on a pretty regular basis. We just haven't committed yet. Forbes says that 33 million households ditched cable last year. Mostly, I would guess, because the're unhappy with cable pricing. Oh, and younger people don't watch traditional TV. I used to work in the cable industry. Here are some things I learned; the cable company has been talking about ala cart pricing for decades. While the consumer finds that very appealing, the cable company doesn't always have a choice on what networks they want to and can broadcast. for instance, the cable company wants to provide you with HGTV.  Discovery Inc. owns HGTV and they say, sure, we'll give you the rights to broadcast HGTV but you also have to broadcast Velocity, OWN, Food Network, TLC, etc. Now the cable company has to pay the fee for allll of those instead of just HGTV.

I think cable gets a bad rap sometimes. They're essentially just the middleman. But I get tired of paying for cable for a few reasons...One is that you can get all the network channels for free, with an antenna. Another is that there are a 1000 channels with very little on that the average viewer is watching. And the ADS!!! Holy crap! A one hour television show has 22 minutes of ads! And how about when they take 3 hours to broadcast a 90 minute movie?? Ugh. Lastly, I hate all those insignificant channels they're forced to give you. You know the ones...they show the same movie 3 times a day for 2 weeks. They have to do that because they don't have enough programming to fill 24 hours. And how many news channels do they think we need? There are about 30 of them right now. It's so ridiculous.

More isn't always better. Sometimes it's just more.

color by God

Sometimes in the morning when I leave for work and the sun is just starting to peek over the horizon, there's a truly magical color in the sky. It's kinda of a pink, coral, rosy, violet, cotton candy color. It's not a real color. You can't duplicate it and it doesn't photograph well. And if does photograph well, you're sure when you look at it that it's been photo shopped. I tried to take a picture of it;

See, it didn't turn out well. I bet you know what color I mean though. When my fella and I were in DC and went to the art museum, I looked for it. Some artists, clearly gifted artists, are so skilled at painting the sky/clouds/sunshine, but still, they don't get the color right either. I looked. It's a magical color. 

Peeps!

If you love sugar, Peeps are for you! Did you know though, that Peeps come in flavors!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Holy WOW! Sign me up!
Today, a co-worker and I had our very own Peeps buffet :-)
It was sweet. We tried the first six, below. Our favorites? Orange Sherbet and Root-beer. The only other one that sorta had a flavor, other than the regular Peeps flavor, was the pancakes and syrup, and that was mostly because it did sort of taste like maple syrup. We're still open to trying other flavors though, because...PEEPS!!!

It's the little things.

Where have you been?

To; YLUB, Chuck's daughter and my honey, I'm still here!!

I know it's been awhile. After my last post, for several weeks, I felt like every time I wanted to say something, it was just negative. And I don't want to be a negative person so I just skipped saying anything. 

What could you be negative about? you ask? Well, I didn't like turning 60. It stinks. Mostly, I'm over it now but dang. It was tough for me! I was feeling blue and sorry for myself. It was awful. I'm still having little spurts of blue but it's ok. I'm trying to get back into the groove :-)

oops

I commute. Total, about an hour and 45 minutes, every day. Every single day I see drivers act like they're the only one on the road. Every single day, I see drivers doing their worst! Oh, ok, maybe not every day. But a good 4 out 5. Frequently, and by that I mean several times a month, I think to myself...I've been so lucky. I mean statistically, I'm bound to get into an accident sooner or later!
Uh huh. My day came. You know that horrible feeling you get when you look in your rearview mirror and for a split second you think, they aren't gonna stop? Yeah, that feeling? Ugh. It's worse when they actually DON'T stop!!! I just knew it too. I had been watching him for a couple miles because he'd get right up my ass, then back off. 3 or 4 times. Then, when traffic ahead of me was stopping, as I started to slow down I looked back again and thought, he's not gonna stop. So I stopped a little further back from the car in front of me, just in case. Then I looked back again and thought, yep, and closed my eyes. BAM! Jackhole. I can't even tell how ANGRY I WAS! Boy did I chew him out!!! I know that was kind of dumb - he could've been a real jerk, or on drugs! But I was SO ANGRY!!! whew!
There were a couple brief moments when I felt bad for him, but they passed quickly. Here's the front of his car

My car will need a new bumper and right tail light but I think that's all. I love my car. I figure I'm good now for another 20 years :-) Thank heavens. That was so stressful!

weather

At the beginning of the week, forecasters and prognosticators said, 8 - 12 inches of snow on Saturday (today). The next day they said 3 - 5 inches. Then they said 4 - 6, 5 - 8, and 3 - 5 again. We decided to shop early this week, to avoid the panic and rush on french toast; eggs, milk and bread. So we went Wednesday night at 8:00...PM. We walked in, looked at the lines and came home. Seriously, everyone in town was there, 1/2 them at the registers. Oh brother. It's SO RIDICULOUS! I mean really, even if it DID snow 12 inches, how long do you thing you would be stuck at home? A day, 2 at the MOST. Good grief. So my fella went at 7:00AM on Thursday and it was deserted. Nice. Last night I was really looking forward to all that new snow, being all cuddly and warm today watching it snow all day. It's noon and so far all it's done is rain!! sigh 

music in my ears :-)

Today I'm listening to music at work, in my ears. I'm trying to finish up these reports that I HATE doing. It should only take me a couple hours every two weeks. Instead, it takes me the whole two weeks. sigh Anyway, my goal is to finish it this week, for the last quarter of 2018. Good grief. So far I'm doing pretty good! I'm listening to 80's country music. So fun. Conway Twitty, Ann Murray, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Merel, Willie, Hank Jr., The Judds, Dolly, Eddie Rabbit, Sawyer Brown, Don Williams. I started listening to country music in the 80's so this feels kinda nostalgic for me. I dig it. Just now, there was a song called Tight Fittin' Jeans, by Conway Twitty, which he couldn't record today! I was smiling the whole time. They sang about sex differently in the 80's. It wasn't so blatant. It was much more subtle. I think that made it more fun. All those innuendos, using your imagination and wondering. It's making my morning A LOT more enjoyable!

All the world's a stage

Nobody ever uses that statement the right way. Shakespeare wasn't talking about a stage that actor's do their thing on. He was talking about the stages of life. Did you know that? Anyway, there are a lot articles out there about the stages of life. This one is pretty good;

http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2016/the-four-stages-of-life/

I was thinking about all of that because, by the end of the month I will have entered a new decade. Usually, that kind of thing doesn't phase me. This year though, I HATE IT. It's taken me a little bit by surprise, that I don't like it. To be honest, I'm actually depressed. Isn't that dumb? Ugh. I think that some of it is that for the first time ever, I'm feeling my mortality. I'm truly passed middle age now and on the back side. That's new to me. Also, I'm not happy with the person I am. That's new to me too. Maybe it's just years of being bombarded with that whole stupid, narcissistic idea of being the best version of yourself and self love. (a different discussion for sure). Kind of like when my mom said that she hated turning 30 because she grew up with that idea that "you can't trust anyone over 30."
It must be a "stage" of reflection. You know, what have I done with my life, what have I contributed/accomplished, blah blah blah. And I don't need anyone to bolster my self confidence or anything. I know I'm ok, I don't need a list. 
I'm feeling very sorry for myself I guess. I know I'll get over it but damn! It sucks right now.

Lists!

I love lists! I love reading them and I love creating them...all the time!

Here is Amazon's Best of 2018 list;
* 2 Billion product ordered around the world for delivery in one day or faster.
* Most purchased item - Fire TV Stick
* Top pick for kids - Play-Doh 10-Pak
* Go-To-Gift - Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes
* Beauty bestseller - Mario Badescu Facial Spray
* Fastest Deliveries - 9 minutes
* Most binge-watched original series worldwide - Jack Ryan and Homecoming
* Most streamed artist - Justin Timberlake
* Most requested song via Alexa, globally - "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey
* Favorite album of the year - Telling All My Secrets, Mitchell Tenpenny
* Most borrowed books - Harry Potter, the Handmaid's Tale and the The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
* Most read book of the year - Say You're Sorry, Melinda Leigh
* More than 50 million free games were downloaded
* Most awarded original series, which won more Emmys than any comedy series has ever won for a single season - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
* Prime member bought enough organic apples from whole foods market to bake 350,000 apple pies

Science + technology + ethics + a whole lot more

This is a fascinating article!!!

http://time.com/5492642/dna-test-results-family-secret-biological-father/

It's about the results of one of those take-at-home-dna tests! I know some people that have done it and thought it was completely worth it and interesting. I'm going to do it. I think it's so cool. But if you think you family has secrets, you might not want to! I'd still do it. I want my husband to do it. I think his kids would be interested to know those things about him, later. My mom's going to do it too. Her great grandchildren will probably think that's cool, in about 30 years. 

By the way, welcome to a new year, full of things that have never been.

fa la la la, la la la!

I love Christmas lights. 
ALL of them!! 
I wish we could have Christmas lights up all year! 
I love the colored one, warm white, cool white, big bulbs, tiny fairy lights, the cool new LED lights, the old ones that are faded and the red looks more like the color of tomato soup and there isn't any purple. I love the icicle lights and the new dripping lights. I love the net lights that people throw over their bushes and hedges. I love big lighted reindeer. I love them when they twinkle and when they don't. I love the tiny little colored fairy lights around my work computer right now, that are battery operated. I love it when people wrap lights up their tree trunks. Seriously, you don't have to do much to participate either. Just throw a strand on a bush! Put one around your door. Oh! I love the 10+ story apartment building when lots of residents put lights on their balconies. I love it when the Christmas tree is in the front window and it's all lit up. It's so cheerful!!

art

My fella and I watched an old movie a couple weeks ago about Michelangelo starring Charlton Heston called, The Agony and the Ecstasy. It was alright. This past weekend we started watching the Vincent Van Gogh movie called, Lust for Life, starring Kirk Douglas. We didn't watch the whole thing. Van Gogh was kind of a nut. Anyway, there was a line in the movie where another character asked Van Gogh what he wanted to do. He said, I want to paint something that moves people and inspires them. He wanted people to look at his painting and think, he felt deeply and tenderly.

Have you ever been moved by art? Excluding music/theater/movies. I mean, art...a painting, a drawing, a sculpture. What does it mean, to be moved by art? I don't think I've ever been "moved." Mostly when I see art, I'm captivated by that person's talent. It never has to do with the subject of the painting. Is that weird? But I've never laughed or cried or felt a personal connection, to art. 

I just can't...

I know there is A LOT of material out there for political fodder. But there just shouldn't be so much material for religious fodder! Alas...

Ok, here's the latest;

https://www.wthr.com/article/pastor-defends-giving-wife-200k-lamborghini

My gripes don't even have anything to do with the car though! But first of all, when the people that you "pastor" live paycheck to paycheck, why on earth would post on social media, how rich you are? Could you be anymore insensitive!?!?!? Holy wow!
Next, pretty sure most people feel like being a priest is some kind of calling. At the very least, a passion to serve God and/or people. Yet here you are saying straight out, I am a husband and a father first, and don't confuse what I do with who I am. HYPOCRITE!!! Seriously!?!?!?!
And how about that comment, it is especially important to honor his wife because none of the men born into his family properly modeled how a husband should treat his wife. "One of the things that I was always afraid of is that I wouldn't have what it took to be a good husband, to be a good father because I never saw that." So you believe that in order to be a good man, husband and father and treat them properly, you need to provide them with expensive cars, etc.? Well, all you've really done is proven once again that religion is all about power and control. I would've thought after Jim and Tammy Faye that the public would have had enough of people like you. Ugh

ho ho ha ha

PUBLISHED: DEC 13TH, 2018 - 7:01PM (EST)

UPDATED: DEC 14TH, 2018 - 8:37AM (EST)

A Santa Claus for a new generation may not look like himself - or possibly herself - at all.

A survey of 4,000 people in the United States and United Kingdom by graphic design company GraphicSprings asked respondents what a "re-branded" Santa would be like.

More than 29 percent of Americans who answered the survey said they thought 2018 Santa would be female (10.6%) or gender neutral (18.6%). The UK response was similar.

Among other popular changes, voters thought the new Santa would have an iPhone (9.2%) and wear sneakers (8.3%) as he traveled in his flying (13.8%) or electric car (10%).

And forget the elves: 16.5% of survey respondents said Santa should use Amazon Prime to fulfill the wishes of children around the globe.

The new-look St. Nick would also be a tattooed (7.35%) beer drinker (6.2%) with a new haircut and a better diet.

While the dream of a different Santa is a fun one to envision, more than 70 percent of those surveyed prefer him just the way he is

torture

When your kids were little, were you overly concerned, or even slightly concerned that your kids would get into the aspirin bottle? Or the prescription drug bottle? I don't think I was. I understand that there are a lot REALLY curious kids out there. Also, a lot of irresponsible or disengaged parents. But does everything have to be child proof??? Do you know how hard it is to press down and turn sometimes? Or squeeze in and turn? Especially in the middle of the night when you don't want turn the sun on to see what you're doing! Or these packages;

This is an Rx for migraines. Do you KNOW HOW HARD these are to open?! OMG! As a manufacturer, WHY would torture someone who is in extreme pain like this??? I hate these.
Dear drug makers, trust me when I say, if you're going to charge me $42 a pill, I can absolutely promise you that NO ONE is going to be able to get to these but me! Please let me!!! Why can't you make them like this?

You can get these out, even in the dark, pretty easily. Humph. I'm going to write a letter :-)