transitions

We're finally into the Autumn weather transition. It won't get above 70 from here on out and you definitely need to turn the heat on at night. The leaves have started to fall in earnest and more and more people are lugging around jackets and coats. I like it. Just yesterday I made the seasonal clothing transition in the closet. Moving all the short sleeves and thin materials, to make room for all the less colorful long sleeves and heavier fabrics. I have a new pile of things for Good-Will now! It's a good time of year to do that. I'm even wearing slippers already! And it's time to wash all the blankets and throws to freshen them up. Halloween is next week and before you know it I'll have to bust out the scarves and gloves. But in my cool new car, my butt will never be cold!

Christmas is 63 days away!

Yesterday, I took the first steps towards a gift free Christmas!

Last Sunday at breakfast,  my little pack and I talked about plans for Christmas this year. We all agreed that it has become increasingly difficult to buy gifts for each other. We don't need anything. If there's something we want, we buy it for ourselves. So we talked about going somewhere instead. I love that idea. It's a little late in the year already to make those kinds of plans though. So I made a unilateral decision yesterday and went with it! First, I requested the week of Christmas off. Second, I made reservations for the lunch performance of A Christmas Carol at Beef and Boards dinner theater! We can have a nice lunch and watch a play. Awesome, right?!?!?! I have a whole list of potential things we can do, instead of gift giving. Movies * bowling * the zoo * the Museum of Art * ...

On Christmas day, we'll just eat, drink and hang out. No pressure. I'm excited!!

Great sadness

Today we said goodbye to our sweet 12 year old Miniature Schnauzer, Pepper. 

Pepper was the sweetest spirit, full of joy and enthusiasm. Ready to play at a moment’s notice. She jumped around the backyard like a baby goat, stalked squirrels like a cat, squeaked when she yawned and snorted like pig when she ate. She was incredibly smart, learning a new behavior in just a few days! She LOVED carrots and pineapple and pizza crust. Oh who am I kidding, she loved almost any kind of food! But she had nice doggie manners when you gave her a treat and she always chewed her food. Everyday when I came home from work, she howled and stuck her butt up in the air. I’m sure gonna miss that. She was a great watch dog. Alerting us to squirrels, bunnies, the trash truck, neighbors and Amazon delivery drivers. I hardly ever heard her growl though, only when we played tug. She stole alllll the toys from Greta and I’m pretty sure that she believed all the dogs beds belonged to her too! She slept in the craziest positions. Her little clownish, furry self made us laugh almost every day! She was so brave and so bashful at the same time. She didn't like to have her picture taken. Every time I would point the camera at her she would turn her head away - no, don't look at me. She was a great hunter, of anything that moved. Always finding that bug right before it got to me :-) She loved Greta A LOT! She was 100% dog. If we had nice weather all year, she would’ve been perfectly happy to spend her days outside, running in occasionally to make sure we were still here. She wasn't a cuddly dog but she loved us completely and we felt the same about her. 

...her little body gave out. She died in my arms and I felt honored to have been holding her in her last moments, with my fella by my side. It felt right. Sigh. 
Dogs are the greatest gift, loving unconditionally. Our home won’t be the same without her. 

talking dogs

Wouldn't that be funny?! 
The other day my fella said, I wish the dogs could talk. I started thinking about what they would say! Mostly, I think they would be so annoying;
When are we gonna eat
can I have a cookie
you stink
hey look! a squirrel
what's that smell
breakfast? I'm hungry!
did you see that bird I almost caught?!
Greta ate the kleenex
where did that squirrel go
can I have something to eat
can you smell that?!
do you wanna play ball
here's the ball
what's that smell?
can I have some of that?
wanna play?
I'm sleepy
I dreamed I caught a squirrel
I ate it
I'm hungry, can I have a cookie?
what's that smell
where's da mama
you smell
is it time to eat
.....
I think that's pretty much how it would go, non-stop, the whole time they were awake!! Sometimes it would be ok, like when I know they don't feel well. But for the most part, nope, I don't wish they could talk!!

Murder

I don't know why this popped into my head the other day. It's definitely the kind of thing that could freak you out though, if you thought too much about it. I personally knew 2 people that have been murdered this year. Not friends. Coworkers. Isn't that awful?! I never thought that in my life, I would actually know anybody that could've been murdered. One was a 52 year old woman, who was shot and killed by her estranged husband. The other was a 34 year man with 3 boys and a brand spankin' new baby girl. He was shot and killed trying to help his ex-wife. 
Sometimes it seems like such an ugly world. 

annoying habits!

Another great list I saw this morning! All about annoying habits. Let's see how much people suck;

* not standing to one side on the escalator
* not holding the door for the person behind you
* not returning your shopping cart
* looking at your phone when you're talking to someone in person - ruh roh
* parking too close to the line in the parking lot - YEAH!!!
* talking at the movies - YEAH!!!
* wearing too much fragrance - holy wow sometimes!
* stopping short while walking - and then I run into you, doofus
* eating loudly
* biking without obeying traffic laws - Aaaagh people! come on!!
* texting while walking - amazing isn't it?
* putting your bag on the seat next to you
* not letting people off the elevator before you get on - I hate that!
* snapping your gum - oops, sorry
* bringing pungent food to work - the only thing worse is burning the popcorn!
* not being ready to order when you get to the counter

There were a lot more but they didn't really seem that offense to me. Like typing in ALL CAPS. Or hitting 'reply all' instead of just, 'reply' Those thing irk me but they aren't usually a habit. There were definitely several terribly rude things on the list though.

Online shopping

What is the cost of online shopping? The cost to you, the cost to the economy, the "human toll."

I wonder what age group does the most online shopping? And who are they buying from? 
You know I'm a fan of Amazon but I don't think Amazon is everything! Of the times I've looked around, I would say that 30% of the time I can find what I want someplace else for less money. When that happens I have to think about it. If it's only a couple dollars, I'll choose Amazon. If it's $5 or $10+, I'll go to the brick and mortar. 
Do you think Amazon ruined business for the brick and mortar stores? Or was it just technology and it was bound to happen? 
My favorite thing about Amazon is the free shipping. I can't tell you how many times I've backed out of an online order because I thought shipping was just too much. I don't really care about 2 day shipping. 90% of the time I choose no rush shipping anyway. And honestly, of the times I've gone w/2 day shipping, (because I really did need it in 2 days) 2 out of 5 times I don't get it on time! It seems though that the majority of the people who shop on Amazon, do it for the 2 day gratification. 
I like online shopping for a lot of reasons. Mostly, I don't like people, so...
I like getting packages, I like not having to get dressed and get in the car, etc. 
I like window shopping too though. Like, I could shop online at Hobby Lobby but it's way more fun to see everything. And I can't buy clothes or shoes online. I think my fella feels the same way about Lowe's and Home Depot. BUT, sometimes he'll go to one of those and then come home and see if he can find it on Amazon for less.
I wonder if I'll like it when Amazon starts using drones to deliver my packages? Whoa! Can you imagine the implications of THAT?!?! 

Getting your way

Remember when I talked about Amazon and Google, not playing in the sandbox together?

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6717143767760065356#editor/target=post;postID=5929024863758590802;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=4;src=postname

Well, Google Home wants to carry the Amazon Prime Video App for their streaming service. Uh huh. Guess what Amazon said...hmmmm, let me think about it. So Google said, fine, you can have the YouTube app back for your Firestick. So Amazon said, oh ok. Business is so funny sometimes.

We have a mayor that plays like that too. He wanted to build a roundabout at an extremely busy and congested intersection that happened to cover part of the City of Carmel and part of the City of Indianapolis. He told Indianapolis that Carmel would pay for it, 100% and maintain it 100%. But there was this one city council woman in Indianapolis that said, no. She said she wanted a 100% buy in by the surrounding businesses. Well, nothing is going to get a 100% buy in. I don't care how good it is! Anyway, they went back and forth for months and months and months. Finally the mayor said, that's cool, I'm just going to build it 30 feet closer. Now it won't be in Indianapolis at all. So there. I give him a lot of credit for trying to get her on his side. But I really LOVE that he won anyway, without her approval. That was awesome.

Old things

Old things make me smile. Today I was thinking about some of the things I wore in high school;

We put patches on jeans where we didn't need them. We sewed pockets on the inside of our bells to hide our cigarettes ;-)

 We made our own jean skirts out of....old jeans

 And we made purses out of our old jeans.

And the shoes!!

I wore out several pairs of these. They still make them. Man are they uncomfortable now!

We wore these a lot too, from Pier 1, cheap! They came in black or dark red.

Pretty sure I had a pair just like these :-) Shoes were heavy then.

I had THESE!!! Red Frye boots. OMG I loved those boots. 

I also had a pair of these lace up Bass boots!!!

And everybody had these "desert boots"

And these babies? I still have them. These exact boots. I wore them. My brother wore them. They're never going to wear out. I bet they weight 5lbs each.

These are Earth shoes. I never had any though. I thought they were dumb. 

 I had a couple pair of this style, with the cutout in the heel.

I love shoes. I used to have A LOT of shoes! Now I'm old too so I just have flat, comfy shoes. So looking back makes me smile :-)

I had a pair of rainbow toe socks that I wore with my platform sandals from The Merry-Go-Round, along with a red satin blazer. Yep. The 70's were SO fun! 

(Thanks Google Images!)

School rules

I admit, it's been a looooooong time since I was in school or had kids in school, but the rules sure have changed!!!

When I was in school, we weren't allowed to wear shorts. We didn't have cell phones to worry about. We wrote in cursive. And we weren't allowed to smoke on school grounds.

Now, you can wear almost anything to school, even slippers!! I would still say 'no' to shorts. Mostly because it's kind of subjective how short is too short. I smoked in high-school so I don't care about allowing that or not, but it's so funny to me that some schools have smoking lounges for students now! 

Earlier this year I read an article about a high-school in Houston where the principle implemented a dress code for parents! How awesome was that!? A lot of parents were ticked off. Seriously. I say, right on!

Today, I read an article about a school in San Mateo, California that said no smart phones allowed in school. Honestly, I was a little surprised that this wasn't already a rule. How can you teach a class full of teenagers who are looking at their phones most of the time? They took it one step further though, by saying "school" instead of "class." By saying that though, they are forcing them to actually have conversations with their friends during lunch and between classes. I hope it catches on. 

equality

the Oxford dictionary says that gender equality is, the state in which access or rights or opportunities is unaffected by gender.

"Gender equality means that the the different behavior, aspirations and needs of women and men are considered, valued and favored equally. That their rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female."

Oh I get it. Really, I do. But why can't people just get their heads out of their asses? Honestly. A 9 year girl could give a shit about singing in a boys choir. Her mother is behind that. A 9 year girl is definitely not prepared for the hell an all boys choir would put her through. Mean mom. I just don't understand all the people who want to be treated the same as everybody else on one hand but special on the other hand. 

Genders are NOT EQUAL! Physically, we're a lot different! Mentally we're a lot different too - just ask any man or woman! Our needs are different. Stop acting like they aren't. Oy. Why are there always those people who want to act like a 15 year old who wants to argue semantics?

We have several same sex couples where I work and their domestic partner is covered under their health insurance. But a heterosexual couple that lives together can't provide health insurance for their partner. That's not equality. If common sense were alive and well, none of these things would be an issue.

sigh

Apples

How many varieties of apples do you suppose there are? Ten? Twenty? Wouldn't you be surprised to learn that there are over a 100 apple varieties grown in the US?!?!?! I was surprised. Maybe it's just because I'm not a big fruit eater? Really, did you know that there were so many? When I was a kid, there were red apples and green apples. That was pretty much it.

Now there are; McIntosh, Fuji, Red Delicious, Gala, Crispin, Braeburn, Honey Crisp, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Empire, Golden Delicious, Cameo, Jazz, Macoun, Ambrosia, Paula Red, Cripps Pink, Cortland, Liberty, Rome, Pink Pearl, Arkansas Black, Winesap, Northern Spy, Melba, Opal, Sweet Tango, Goldspur and tons more!

Yesterday I bought a lemonade apple. Just because. It wasn't lemony. But it was a little tart and very crisp. Maybe I could eat more apples.

what your lawmakers earn to boss you around

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/how-much-your-state-legislators-make-compared-to-the-rest-of-america/ss-AAF7fWf?li=BBnb7Kz#image=1

Way to go New Hampshire!!!  ...and Connecticut, Rhode Island, Arizonza and Maine!

SHAME ON YOU CALIFORNIA!!! ...and Montana!! and Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Michigan, New York and Kansas. You've got some nerve. 

And don't let those Alaskans fool you with their $254 a day per diem!

Reality

The other night when we were surfing the TV channels, I noticed something. As some of you already know, I'm not really that observant about some things, like TV...so don't laugh. Have you ever noticed how many reality tv shows there are?? Holy WOW. Tons and tons of them!!
It's not just Survivor and Amazing Race or the Kardashians anymore. I think the majority of television is reality tv. Why is that? It's cheaper to film? Because some reality tv shows, in my opinion, are totally scripted. Anyway, I looked for a list of them and it's pretty incredible;

American Ninja Warriors
Ax Men
The Bachelor and all of its spinoffs
All those "Real Housewife" shows
A few tattoo shows
Talent shows galore - singing, dancing, comedy...
Big Brother
Several shows about hoarders
Many house renovation/flipping shows
Tons of cooking shows, not the ones w/real chefs either
A myriad of dancing shows
Shows about fat people and little people and people with too many kids and people who live is swamps!
Ghost hunters
Food trucks, logging trucks, ice road truckers...
Naked and afraid (not joking)
Shows about what to wear and what not to wear
Courtroom shows
It's amazing!! No wonder I don't think there's ever anything on tv!

things that are becoming obsolete...

You know I love these articles. Money Talks says these things will soon be obsolete;

1. Cash -  it kind of is already but I think it's still going to be a long time before it goes away
2. Remote controls - their argument was because of apps on your phone, remotes will become obsolete. But...doesn't that mean that your phone will become the remote control? hmmm
3. Car keys - I totally buy this one! Having a new car that doesn't have a key is pretty awesome. Also, we don't have a front door key. We have a keypad instead. Again, awesome!
4. Hotel room keys - is there still such a thing? Oh wait, we stayed in a motel recently that had an actual key. It was weird.
5. House keys - see #3
6. Manual transmission cars - did you know that only 4% of all 2018 car sales were stick shifts?!
7. College textbooks - Absolutely! In this digital age, save a tree, your back & shoulders and tons of money.
8. Mail collection boxes - Nooooo! I need a place to drop my cards in! Oh wait...
9. Shopping malls - I don't know what to think about this one. My mom and I were just in the mall not too long ago. Granted, it didn't look like the 'hang-out' it used to be but there were still a lot of people there.
10. Plastic bags - I'm feeling better about this one. The more I have to dispose of those, the more my own tote bags appeal to me.
11. Straws - well, they jumped on the bandwagon to add this to the list. Maybe there should be a bigger push for "don't be a litterbug" instead of banning trash.
12. Checks - I'm still on the same box of checks I bought 11 years ago. Yeah, I'm in.
13. Desktop computers - I guess it depends; at work? no way. At home? yep. I see laptops everywhere.
14. Print catalogs - what? I guess these people don't check their own mailboxes in October and November!! I LOVE wish books!!!
15. GPS devices - so, this one is misleading. I'll have to call bullshit on this one.
16. Print magazines - nope. NO WAY advertisers will let this go.
17. Alarm clocks - but does everyone have a smart phone?? come on.
18. Landlines - I sure don't miss ours!
19. CD's - I was just talking about this...isn't it funny that my new high tech car still comes with a CD player?!
20. DVD's - I don't know. I have quite a few 'digital' movies but again, not everyone has Netflix or Amazon Prime. I don't buy this.