Aging

When did I become an old person? Older person. Oh, a "mature" person. A senior citizen. What? I've started getting mail from our benefits department about my milestone birthday. Hold up there people!! I know they do that to prepare for you for getting ready for retirement and Medicare. It's still weird.

A long time ago I saw a little sign that said, How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are? That's a fun question. I think I'm still in my 40's somewhere. In my head. Now, my body is a different story! My body says, yep, definitely not 40's! I guess this is when things start to wear out. I'm ok with that as long as it doesn't hurt. I suspect that's why some 'seniors' are grumpy...they have chronic pain. That would suck. I injured my back putting up the Christmas tree, and for 2 MONTHS it hurt me. It's exhausting to be in pain all the time. 

It takes longer to do things. Physical and thinking things. I saw some dumb humorous story about old people and bird watching - that when you're younger you could care less about the birds in your backyard. Then I realized, well of course! When you're young, you're busy making a life for yourself...taking care of your kids/spouse/partner. You don't have the time to watch the birds, or smell the roses.  That's the part of getting older that I like. Now I have the time to do those things. Watch the birds. Watch the snow when it falls. Take leisurely walks. Spend more time cooking and trying new recipes. Reading. Learning new hobbies.  

My brother said he misses all his friends getting together and the big parties at holidays and game days. Now everyone has moved away or they just don't do those kinds of parties anymore. I told him, of course not, they're all old now! You've already had that kind of fun. You can't party forever. It's a pain in the butt. Move on! "Fun" becomes something different when you get older. Lots of mature people find out that they like things they never knew they liked! Like reading, or doing puzzles, or cooking, or sewing, or gardening! Lots of mature people find out that doing some kind of volunteer work, gives them purpose. 

As long as you're in good health, getting older is pretty great.

What are you watching?

Over the holidays, we caught up on a lot of the newer movies. 

Top Gun; Maverick. It was good action movie. If you liked the 1st one, you'll like this one too.

The newest Elvis movie was a lot better than I was expecting. It was actually more about him than his tabloid life. Also, Tom Hanks was pretty good as Colonel Parker.

The new rom-com, Ticket To Paradise, with Julie Roberts and George Clooney was just that, a rom-com. so typical and a little dumb. But, it was light and breezy and that's nice sometimes. Samaritan with Sylvester Stallone was a pretty typical guy revenge movie-meh. 

The Glass Onion  was fun. I liked it better than Knives Out. Maybe I felt like I had to pay too close attention in Knives Out? Honk For Jesus was interesting. It's about a black couple that run a Baptist church. Quirky. Proof again that religion is a show. Moonfall - meh. We watched the whole thing but mostly because it didn't suck and I didn't feel like looking for something else. Bullet Train, with Brad Pitt was fun in a campy kind of way-lots of over the top fights and shoot em ups though. Marry Me with Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson was another cute rom-com.

These aren't new and they're both with George Clooney and we liked both of them; Money Monster and Up In the Air. Both of them, good dramas. Also, an older movie, (2014) called The Hundred Foot Journey, was delightful.

We're watching Bosch on Amazon Prime. I like this one. I like all the characters. It's kind of intense though so whenever we watch an episode, I need something happy...so we watch an episode of Modern Family. We didn't watch it when it was on originally. Sometimes it's just dumb funny but there are enough clever funny moments that I keep watching 😀. Last week we started watching Person of Interest. We've only watch 4 episodes and I like it but I can see how it might become kind of repetitive. I'll keep going for awhile though.

And on Netflix, if you're looking for good stand up, Tom Papa and Jim Gaffigan are the best! We've laughed and laughed and laughed!

Who am I?

I was thinking about what kind of person I am. You know, am I a nice person? A compassionate person? A kind person? An asshole? Am I judgmental? Am I a selfish person or a giving person? Do I care about other people? Do I feel sympathy or empathy for a person?

Hmmm. 

Ok, so someone told me once that I'm a kind person but I'm not really a nice person. I was a little offended, but then I thought about it and it's not entirely inaccurate. I'm nicer to strangers than I used to be though. I make an effort to chat up a cashier at the store. I think that's a hard job so I want to be nice to them. I didn't use to do that. I'm judgmental in a gossipy, surface kind of way-like, ewww did you see what they were wearing?! But on a personal, human being kind of way, I don't think I'm a judgmental person. Also, I can definitely be an asshole sometimes, but it's not my nature. Kind of like, I can be professional at work, when it's appropriate, but that's totally not who I am! I am kind of a selfish person, but not in a narcissistic way. I'm selfish about my time. Being an introvert kind of makes you look like an uncaring person though. I was thinking about that because of a movie I saw recently. It's called 13 Lives. It's about the boys who were trapped in a cave in Thailand, for 18 days. This movie made me cry several times. I cried at the thought of the boys in this dark cave, with nothing to eat, can't see anything, scared, hungry...for 10 days before they were found. I cried for the parents who had to wait until the rescue to find out anything about their children. And I cried in relief for the divers when all the boys were brought out and lived. Just the idea of how stressful and the pressure on them, and the emotions. Whoa! 

Anyway, that made me think, oh, I have empathy and compassion. A few months ago, I was asked if I would help, lets say a Ukraine immigrant - if I were checking into a hotel and discovered that the Ukrainian couple also checking in, needed money. Would I be willing to give them what I could. I wanted to say yes, but I wouldn't know that about them. I don't talk to strangers...so their plight wouldn't matter to me. Not in the sense that I don't care, but because I would not have bothered to speak to them. So my answer is no. I feel like that sounds so mean and uncaring but as an introvert who just doesn't strike up a conversation with strangers, it seems alright. Know what I mean? My brother is a huge extrovert! That makes him a very likeable person. He talks to strangers ALL.THE.TIME. That's just not right! 😆 Sometimes, in a fleeting moment of whimsy, I wish I were a more likeable person - open and warm. But then it passes and I think, I don't like people! Ok, I like SOME people. I've been on Facebook for about 15 years and I only have 36 friends. Does that say something about me? Other than I don't have a lot of friends. They say you'll live longer if you have a couple of good friends. They also say you'll live longer if you have a dog. I guess I'll be ok!

Happy New Year!!

 It's here! It's here!

2023

Have you been waiting for it? Was 2022 a crappy year for you? Or was it alright?

Did you accomplish what you wanted? Do you make resolutions?

In our house, December is all about eating. Good things, really good things. All of which are mostly bad for you. So now that the new year is here, we're going to start eating better...again.

I'm thinking about giving an arts/crafts show another try. I don't think I could have enough inventory to do one this year but I feel better about putting myself "out there" again.

I want to give crochet another try. I want to learn calligraphy. I have all the pens...I have ALLLLLL the pens!!! 😃😄😅😆 I doodled these journals and gave them to the silent auction. They sold for $50+!! Then I gave a few away as gifts. Now, people are paying me to do them! It's so crazy. 

I want a dog. Sometimes I want to get any ol dog. Other time, specific dogs. I want one though. I want to travel more. I like it. Long weekends, to visit family, anywhere I guess. But my favorites are places I've never been. I want to read more. I have dozens of books just waiting to be opened! I want to get rid of more things I don't need or have to have. NOT pens...or paper...or books...And, I want to laugh more. Hey! I'm going to be pretty busy!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

as the year ends...

...it's time again for lists! I love lists. I make lists all the time!

I'm always surprised when I see the list of "celebrities" that died. I've forgotten 1/2 of them. 

Sidney Poitier, Loretta Lynn, Bob Saget, Naomi Judd, Angela Lansbury, Kirstie Alley, Ray Liotta, Sally Kellerman, Anne Heche, Ralph Emery, Meat Loaf, Louie Anderson, Howard Hesseman, Betty Davis, William Hurt, Estelle Harris, Bobby Rydell, Gilbert Gottfried, Mickey Gilley, James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Olivia Newton John, Coolio, Robbie Coltrane, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gallagher, Irene Cara, Christine McVie, . See what I mean? 

The top searches in Google were;
Wordle, Ukraine, Queen Elizabeth, Johnny Depp, and The World Cup

The top news stories of the year were;
Omicron and living with Covid. 
Russia invades Ukraine. 
January 6th
Oil prices, inflation hits a 40 year high and the Fed raising rates.
Texas school shooter kills 21.
Roe v. Wade is overturned. 

Boris Johnson resigns. maybe he'll have time to comb his hair now
The Webb Space telescope captures thousands of galaxies in it's 1st color image.
A new Alzheimer's drug shows promise
Hurricane Ian
Midterm elections
The Queen dies
Kroger buys Albertsons
Elon Musk acquires Twitter
Protests in China against the  zero-tolerance approach to Covid
The latest big winter storm!

The highest grossing movies of the year;

#1 Top  Gun: Maverick

#2 Wakanda Forever

#3 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2022;
#1 As It Was, Harry Styles
#2 Peru, Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran
#3 Bad Habits, Ed Sheeran

Top Country songs;

#1 Gospel Night at the Strip Club,  Ashley McBryde

#2 Something in the Orange, Zach Bryan

#3 Outrunnin' Your Memory, Luke Combs

Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift are the biggest music artists but the highest grossing touring artist of 2022 is Bad Bunny. 

Man am I getting old!!!!

America's #1 drink is....bottled water! The most popular liquor is Whiskey, with Vodka a close second. 

American's spend more on fast food than groceries. The top 3 fast food joints are;

McDonald's, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A. But if you don't want to count Starbucks, #3 would be Taco Bell.

The best selling books of 2022;

#5 Ugly Love, Colleen Hoover

#4 It Starts With Us, Colleen Hoover

#3 Where The Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens

#2 Verity, Colleen Hoover

#1 It Ends With Us, Colleen Hoover

At Amazon, their best sellers in their respective categories are;

ThisWorx car Vacuum

Stanley IceFlow stainles steel tumbler

Echo Dot 3rd generation

Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Scalp and Hair Strengthening Oil

Crocs Unisex clogs

Fire HD 8 tablet

Left Center Right dice game

Earth Rated dog poop bags

Atomic Habits, by James Clear

Amazon Basics lightweight super soft easy care bed sheets

The most significant science stories;

#1 the James Webb Space Telescope send back mind-bending images.

#2 and eruption in Tonga creates shock waves

#3 Omicron spikes

#4 NASA crashed a $300 million spacecraft into an asteroid and proves it could save the 

     world

#5 Climate protests escalate

Most popular dog breeds;

#1 Golden retriever - duh

#2 French bulldog

#3 Labradoodle

...and, Meow;

#1 American Shorthair

#2 Ragdoll

#3 Maine Coon

Top baby names of the year? 

HIS                        HERS

Liam                      Olivia

Noah                     Emma

Oliver                    Amelia

Lists are fun.

Words

I wish I was a wordsmith. You know, one of those people who always knows the right words. A person who naturally uses purchase instead of buy; speak instead of talk; completed/finished; grasped/held; profusely/a lot; irreverent/disrespectful; and hundreds more. I can usually find a better word for what I want to say when I'm writing something out. But I don't speak like that. I admire people who do. They're so interesting to listen to. It kind of goes along with being a good speaker. I'm not that person either. 

When I worked for a local cable company, the president of the company use to get ambushed by the media, often/frequently. Usually about the cost of cable TV. He was an excellent speaker/orator. Right off the cuff he could answer any question they threw at him in an intelligent and thoughtful way. It was amazing/remarkable. Maybe that's just having the gift of gab? I think that's part of it too.

Would a story be less interesting if it were written the way someone like me, might talk? Maybe I'm just lazy. Maybe, because I don't like people, I don't like to talk to them so I don't bother? Hmmm. Maybe a good/decent wordsmith doesn't talk like that either! Maybe/perhaps it's just the Editor that has those skills? They say that if you read a lot, your vocabulary just becomes bigger and better words will come to you automatically. That didn't work for me. I love to read. But still, I don't speak like that. Is it what you read that matters? Maybe you just have to care more about words and language? I think that's it. I don't like people who use too many extra words to convey what they're trying to get across. Just cut to the chase already.  

whatever 😄😆😅😉 

the body

 If you have Disney + and you're interested in the body and brain, living longer and being healthy, you should watch the NatGeo series, Limitless. Not just because it's Thor either. Although that was nice :-)

I'm pretty sure they picked him because he's a good age for this series and of course because he is really physically fit...not just because he's Thor! Anyway, it's really fascinating. 6 episodes. And if you're over 50, the last episode is amazing. My fella and I had conversations all day about that one.

Complaining

I just want to complain today. Right after that lovely thankful/grateful post too. Sorry. 

First, are you sick of the term, gaslighting? It's this year's word of the year. Do you know what gaslighting is? According to the Newport Institute, gaslighting is a form of manipulation where the manipulator attempts make their victim believe what's happing to them isn't actually happening and their reality is untrue. These are some examples:

*Telling you that you're overreacting when you call them out.

*Changing the subject or refusing to listen when confronted about a lie or other gaslighting behavior.

*Lying about or denying something and refusing to admit the lie even when you show them proof. 

I don't why this is new. People have been manipulating other people for hundreds of years.

Next up, why are designers and ad executives trying to convince women it's ok to be sexy after 50. We know that already. Honestly, why do you still want to be all sexed up after 50? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with looking good when you're old, but sexy? Sexy looks a helluva lot different on a 70 year old than a 20 year old. Stop it. Just wear what you want to! Geez. I mean really. Is a sixty year old man the same horn dog he was at 20? No. Should a 55 year old woman be trying to look sexy for 25 year old man? No. I just want to be comfortable. 

Also, on a side note, young women should stop saying they're dressing to look sexy for themselves. What a bunch of bs that is. ALSO...designers need to stop trying to sell booty shorts and crop tops to 10 year olds. Seriously. Why isn't the "me too" movement pissed off about sexualizing children?! Hmmmm. Ugh.

Lastly, a recent Gallup poll says U.S. Adults Estimate That 25% of Americans Are Gay or Lesbian. I was a little taken aback by that. It seems like a lot, doesn't it? Then I read the article. It's actually all about perceptions. Americans perceive that there are a lot more gay people then there really are. It's estimated that it's probably closer to 6 to 8%.The US Census says that only 13.6% of the population is black. So, Americans think there are more gay people than black people? Perception. 

Happy Thanksgiving 2022

Greetings all!

Here we are again, at that holiday that gets lost in the shuffle between Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving. That holiday to celebrate all the things you’ve been blessed with, and/or are thankful for. While the Thanksgiving meal was originally a get together to celebrate a good harvest, it wasn’t just about the food. It was about sharing. About being together and getting along, despite our differences. About having enough of what they needed. Thanksgiving has changed a lot since 1621. George Washington proclaimed it a “Day of Public Thanksgiving,” in 1789, but it wasn’t until 1863, that Thanksgiving became a national holiday. To celebrate their grand opening in 1924, Macy’s held its first parade. The first Butterball turkeys were sold in 1954. Campbell’s green bean casserole first hit our dinner tables in 1955. Shopping on Black Friday started in 1966. Stovetop stuffing made its debut in 1972. There has always been an NFL game played on Thanksgiving day, since the NFL was started in 1920. I’d like to think that we can still just be thankful though. For over 20 years I’ve been reminding folks to take a moment and be grateful for the little things. Those things that you might take for granted. Things that makes you smile or feel good. It’s important to stop every now and then and think about how much you have.

What have you got people?! 

I’ll start! 

I’m thankful for;

Paper – solid colored, with designs, doesn’t matter. I love it all!

Good walking shoes

Live entertainment, in person, without masks! Woohoo!

Silliness

Fat Dan’s Dirty Tots – potatoes, gooey cheese, bbq pork. What more is there?!

Safe travels

Choices – what to wear, what to listen to, what to believe

ALL the colored gel pens, all the time – sparkly, metallic, neon…just give them all to me

Paved streets

Streaming everything

Videos of panda bears, behaving like little kids with extra padding

Sunglasses

Albanese gummy bears

SiriusXM (Christmas music!)

Turkey sausage

Books

Nice neighbors

Old photo albums

A neighbors little kitty that comes by our house almost every day for head scratches

Hobby Lobby – on the list every year

Flavored moonshine

A good parking spot at the grocery store when it’s raining

Glitter

ALL the seasons, each one a reminder of things to come 

Every single day I’m thankful for; my job, which allows me to work from home 2 days a week. A really great vehicle to get me where I want to go. A roof over my head, complete with heat and air-conditioning. Good health. Great people to hang out with occasionally. Enough of what I need, and everything I want. The BEST mom! My husband, 24/7, who always tries his best. I’ve felt loved my whole life. I’m a lucky woman. 

Bee happy 😊

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

Being inappropriate

 It's fun, isn't it? Being inappropriate sometimes. 

I like to say crazy things just to get a reaction out of someone who doesn't know me well. Especially at work. Everyone thinks I'm so sweet and nice. Hahahahahahaha. Hey, I grew up in the 70's, being inappropriate was our jam! And, we swore...a lot. My potty mouth is so much more advanced now. Anyway; at work there are so many things that are inappropriate now. Hugging is SO bad. I'm not really a hugger but when I want to, I really want to so screw your rules! Drinking at lunch. Yep, that's bad. But if you're old like me, don't you remember those bosses that actually kept liquor in their desk? Or all those pizza and beer lunches? Not too long ago, we took a couple coworkers to lunch to celebrate their birthdays. I bought them each an adult beverage. There were a couple people at the table that were really taken aback by that. It might have been inappropriate. It sure was fun though!! I have an apparently bad habit of saying, "that's so retarded," instead of just saying, "that's so dumb." Is it inappropriate to say, "she's a black woman?" Should I be saying, "She's an African American?" I never know. It's inappropriate for me to put glitter, fine glitter, on surfaces that people will touch...and get glitter on themselves. Not to mention immature. I don't care, it's fun. I laugh frequently at how inappropriate my fella can be! Should I stop hiding plastic spiders to freak people out? Maybe. But again...😀😈 It's inappropriate to belch, and not try to hide it. Oh come on! Ok, ok, I swear, I really do have pretty good manners and I can be professional when I have to be. Honest, I can behave! But I'm really thinking about wearing this shirt to work on Halloween;

Update; I did wear the t-shirt to work. I wore a scarf though, that matched in color. That way no one could see my boo bees unless I wanted them to. I delighted in just saying that! hahahahahahahahaha. Wanna see my boo bees? I crack myself up!

Pandemic Life

You know I think it's so interesting, how the pandemic affected people on an emotional or mental level.

Today I read a study that said our personalities have changed! It said, "psychologists have long believed that a person's traits stayed pretty much the same, even in the wake of stressful events." Turns out, that's not really true. "By looking at pre-pandemic levels of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness and comparing that to dat collected in 2021 and 2022, researchers found notable personality changes among the US population." One of the researchers said, "In other words, people are not crazy, it's been a hard few years on all of us. So much so that there has even been a small effect on our personalities."

I see it almost every day. People are more selfish and thoughtless. Imagine how this is all affecting today's little people. Fascinating.

comedy

Do you have a favorite comedian? I've seen some of the best, live. Robin Williams, Jay Leno, Cosby. I'd like to see Seinfeld's stand up act. I love the stand up routine of a guy named Brad Upton, but he really only has one routine. Back in "the day," I thought Gallagher was funny as hell! I like Ricky Gervais most of the time. I love the old clips of the Carol Burnett show with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. 

I like serious comedy too. Like Dennis Miller and Bill Maher. This clip from Bill Maher's show, about actors, really made me cheer!

https://youtu.be/uDkNmbJLB3o

I keep trying to watch some of the more popular comedy movies...most of them though, I can't even get through 1/2 the movie before I roll my eyes and turn it off. I like to laugh, really I do!!

inflation

Did you know, on average, Americans are paying $700+ more, per month, than they were paying last year?!?!?!?!?  Think about that. It's costing $700 more a month to live. Thankfully, I don't have to drive into work everyday so I don't notice the pinch regarding gas. But, food? Wow. Just for the two of us, we're spending at least $300 more a month on food. Because the value of our home has risen dramatically in the last year, our property taxes have gone up. To meet that difference in our escrow account, our mortgage payment is a $100 more a month! For us, there's $400 bucks right there! That's a lot. What are people doing to get by? I mean, 20 years if we would've had to spend that much more, our kids would've been hungry. They/us would've done without a lot of things. That's crazy.  

Time again

Can you believe it really is August already?! Kids are going back to school already. I didn't go back to school until Labor Day. I didn't get out of school until Memorial Day. I guess it's that whole, year round, schedule? I like that. I think a whole summer is too long to be bored and get into trouble :-) I got into a lot of trouble during the long summers. Thank heavens my mom didn't know about most of it! hahahahahaha

I love all the back to school sales too! There's paper and folders and stickers and colored pencils and markers and gel pens!! ohhhhhh, all the cool stuff! I always loved my new school supplies. Plus, now you get great sales on computers, tablets and cool accessories! It's a crafters dream :-) 

It all signals cooler weather is coming too. I like that part as well.

Aaaaaand, it's a little closer to 2023 and the end of daylight savings time! Yesssssss! I hope all the clock manufactures are busy making non-changing clocks. Oh, I guess we all don't use clocks the same way anymore. I do. I still have an alarm clock in the bedrooms and a small one by the TV. I still look for clocks when I'm out somewhere. Dork, right? 

The State Fair is going on right now too. I love the fair. It's my one chance at an elephant ear, all year! I can't wait. And the smells, all the smells. It's a pretty fun day. 

food. glorious food

Dieting is hard. SO hard. Some people have had to diet their whole lives. I used to feel sorry for them. I don't anymore. At least they know how to do it! If you never had to watch what you ate and now you do, it's hard. SO hard. It's hard not to overeat. It's hard to give up the things that are unhealthy. Also, I don't like carrots. What is there to snack on? Oh...you're not supposed to snack. I like snacking. No, that's not right. I love snacking. I could just snack alllll day! And throw in a salad here and there. Dieting is SO hard. I'm having success but still. Take last Friday for instance. I was needing some happy food. So I went to a place called Fat Dan's. Great name, right?! Anyway, they have a dish called Dirty Tots. OMG!!! Tater tots covered in melted cheese, hot sauce, green onions and BBQed pulled pork. I'm not gonna lie, best. food. ever! And I was happy. Super duper happy! But there isn't a single thing that's healthy about that dish. Dammit! If I were a normal person, I would've just eaten like 5 or 6 of those suckers. That's not what happened though. I ate almost every single one. I thought I would feel guilty. Nope. Well, maybe a smidge. I did walk on the treadmill extra over the weekend. Why don't they make serving sizes for normal people. No one ever sits down to watch a movie and says, oh goodie, let me eat these 9 chips now. Dumb. Just say, right on the bag, 1 serving is 1/2 the bag and if you eat a whole serving, you might die. There. That makes more sense. And who in the hell eats a 1/4 cup of rice?! What is that, 3 bites? Dieting is SO hard. Oh ok, it is getting a little easier. Honestly though, all the best healthy food is expensive and labor intensive to make. It does make you more mindful about what you eat. Still, dieting is SO hard.