Flying – Solo vs Family Travel

We just returned from a family vacation and I now realize why it is easier to travel alone especially when I am flying.   In my job I fly about once a month and love doing it so I thought flying with my family would be just as great.  Well it wasn’t but it also wasn’t horrible….just messy!

When I fly solo for work it is very smooth because I have a system of how to do things.  The first thing I do is park in the same lot every time because it is the cheaper option thus saving my company money.  Next I head into the airport.  Since I have achieved a certain level on my preferred airline I no longer have to pay to check a bag & have priority check-in.  I use my medium sized hard sided luggage and check it each time I fly.  It’s just nice to have the extra room plus then I only have to carry my backpack through the airport.  So I go to the priority desk, check my bag and then head off to security with my boarding pass loaded in the app on my phone.  Lucky for me I have Global Entry (thanks to the hubby a few years ago) so I always have TSA Pre-Check.  It really does speed up the security line so I love it.  I then make my way through the airport, grab a snack and get to my gate.  In my airport this means taking subway type trains, people movers, really tall escalators and even shuttles depending on which of the gates I am flying out of.  It is like Planes, Trains and Automobiles but without the amazing humor of John Candy.  (Does anyone else miss that comic genius?  He was just so funny.)  While I am waiting I usually people watch or check emails on my phone.  Then it is time to board and again thanks to my status I am in group 2 no matter where I am sitting on the plane.  Then it is just sitting back and working or watching a movie.  Once the plane lands I just take my time getting my bag and then head to my hotel.  It’s just easy and efficient.

That is the opposite of what it is like traveling on vacation with my family.  It’s not even all of us, just me, the hubby and out youngest (Becks aka AutismGirl).  So let’s just start with parking at the airport.  This is a big thing because of the many choices.  Do we park in the economy lot or the daily garage and if it is the garage do we park in 1 or 2?  This is a conversation that my husband has out loud with himself as we are driving.  Just as he decides it will be garage 1 he opens up a new debate because the thinks the best idea is to drop us off at departures, park the car in garage 1 and then join us.  That way we can check-in and check the bags.  I remind him that the free first checked bag only applies to him and I because Becks doesn’t have status.  The debate of where to park starts again and finally it is determined that we are all going to garage 1 and using the underground tunnel to get to the main terminal.

Once arriving in the terminal we go to check-in and find out that both of us have been upgraded to first class.  (It’s a 10:30 pm flight to Florida on a Friday so no one is on it.)  Now we have an issue because Becks cannot fly by herself in Economy Plus.  This starts another debate about what to do.  Should we decline the upgrade, should one of us take the upgrade with her and the other sit in the back or should we pay to move her into first class with us?  At this time I decide to talk to the agent to explain the situation.  I produce the letter that we have from her doctor that confirm her Autism diagnosis and ask what they can do to help.  They make a couple of calls and the next thing we know all 3 of us are in first.  Woo Hoo…way to start a vacation!

Now comes security which is hard for her but it is going to be easier this time because it is after 8:30 pm and no one is at the airport trying to get through.  Plus we have TSA Pre-Check so it will be smooth sailing.  I put my bag on the belt, grab a bin for her iPhone and headphones and now we are ready to go through.  So I go first, then she run through which she ends by jump on me and almost knocking me down.  Hubby gets through too after a debate about his belt buckle and if it will set off the detectors.  So off we go to the gate.  I decided to have Becks guide us to see how she does.  So she looks for the signs and gets us to the place to head out to our gate.  I should mention that this point I am carrying my backpack with my laptop and she is carrying hers with all her stuff.  The hubby has nothing but somehow ends up with a glass case, iPhone, iPad and other items that are also in my bag because he didn’t think he needed to carry a bag. (Seriously!)  We get to the gate and wait.  While I was sitting there I could not people watch or check my emails because I am answering constant questions from the hubby.  Now, he flies often enough to know how things work so this is not nervousness…it is just something that I take as trying to annoy me to death after 9:00 pm.

Time to board so we get in our line.  Becks and I are sitting together and the hubby is a few rows up.  It was so nice and she was great.  She watched a movie on my iPhone and drank juice.  Overall first class was nice.  Then we land and she is really tired but also excited.  It’s after 12:00 am and she needs to crash.  We go pick-up the bags which was easy because no one else seems to be in this airport either.  I then tell my husband that instead of taking the shuttle to the hotel we are just going to take a cab.  That creates another debate about cost, time efficiency, etc.  I am at a breaking point and just want to lay down.  I have worked all day and just want to go to bed.  So I grab Becks and head to the cab stand.  Luckily the hubby joins us so we all get to the hotel.  We check-in and crash!

***Please notice that this one family flight took 4 paragraphs vs 1 for my solo journey.***

Thinking back on all of this I have decided that solo travel is great and the reason is because I am making all the decisions.  There is no other adult I have to work with or watch have an out loud debate with themselves.  It is just me, the airport and my airline.  I know things happen on trips that cause issues but I can handle them easily.  (Once in Luxembourg my plane got cancelled, they redid the flight and I ended up flying into a completely different airport in England 4+ hours later than I was supposed to originally.)  Family trips require compromise, patience and other things I am just not good at when it comes to other adults.  This family trip was just a great example of the title for my blog.  That life is messy and (thank goodness) I DON’T MOP!

 

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My Parents and Shock

I have the most amazing parents. These two people are funny, adventurous, and enjoy life. In my mind my parents are in their late 50s to mid 60s. Yes, we have celebrated each of their’s 70th birthdays but that hasn’t changed what I see. They truly enjoy being retired. They cruise, play cards, go on road trips and other fun things. They also volunteer at their church and spend time tooling around in a two-seater convertible. Plus they come help us when we need them (major bonus). I just see two people in love having a good time. 

Then it happened and honestly I’m still in shock. We were hanging around Christmas morning. I was heating up the quiche and turned around. I looked and saw my parents sitting in the recliners. I actually had to lean back against the counter because my entire world in that moment had been thrown off its axis. What was I so shocked to realize?  My parents have gotten OLD!  Yes, old!  When did this happen?  I know my kids and grandkids are growing up and getting older but when did my parents?  This is not something I can easily come to terms with nor do I want to. 

Before you ask, yes I told my parents what I realized. As you might expect my timing was not the best. Picture this:  We were in the surgery center of the hospital. My Mom was on a gurney/bed with an IV in one arm and a blood pressure cuff trying to squeeze her other arm so tight it could cut off her circulation. She was all prepped and ready to go back for her foot operation. My Dad was sitting in the chair at the end of the gurney/bed. We are chatting about a variety of topics while we are waiting and I decide to tell them the story of Christmas morning. So at the most ackward time possible I, their loving daughter and only child, told them they are old. Great send off…Good luck in surgery old woman. Thank goodness she did fine and now has a wrapped foot that looks like a “baked potato” according to my husband. (AKA my Mother’s favorite son-in-law…..FYI he’s the only one she has.) Yes, I did rat him out regarding that comment but it didn’t bother her. I guess it’s better than being called old by your daughter. 

I also told the story to my husband. He actually thought there was something wrong with me. I reexplained everything and he still looked at me like I had multiple heads. I told a friend about it and she made a similar face. So I guess it’s me but I still don’t want to accept it.  In my mind my parents are semi-eternal because the alternative is accepting they are older and that the inevitable will happen one day.  

I really relate to the phrase “I like my little world…people know me here.”  So I’m going to just stay as I am in my little world and let everyone else deal in reality (at least when it comes to my parents). They can clean up the messes that happen….because as you know I Don’t Mop. 

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Ode To My Recliner

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. You keep my feet off the ground so my ankles won’t swell.
2. You allow me to recline all the way flat or at various angles.
3. Your headrest moves so I can always see the TV.
4. Your can charge my iPad while I’m playing it.
5. After moving around there is enough room for my dog to cuddle too. (see pic)

I have had recliners in my life off and on over the years. Sofas, individual chairs and now love seats. Each was special in its own way and were wonderful. If you’ve ever known someone who had one or had one yourself then you know how important they are to life.

I can remember being a child at my grandparents house and my Granddaddy having one that was HIS chair. No one sat in it if he was around. It was HIS! It always seemed so big and comfy with that smell that reminded me of him. As I got older it still seemed like the greatest thing (like forbidden fruit) and as you would expect he got even more ornery about anyone using it. He loved his chairs over the years and even had one in his room with his TV so he could watch whatever he wanted. It was Man Cave 1.0 (the first one).

Then my parents bought recliners. We had assigned seats but there was enough room for everyone. When my grandparents would visit I always got kicked out of my seat and “calling it” did nothing. (Neither did calling “Shotgun” to get the front seat in the car…..which was sad since I was an only child.). Then came the day my parents gave my husband and I one of their big individual chairs because they were moving. Later when the matching one didn’t fit at their new condo we got it too.

I honestly believe my marriage has gone well because we had separate recliners to sit in every night and still do. We are close enough to hold hands but not enough to share popcorn. Let me explain the reasoning behind my theory: In my first marriage we had no recliners and it barely lasted a year. My current (and last) marriage has had multiple recliners in various forms and we have been married for 17 years. See???? Recliners = Long Marriage. My parents still have them (new ones not the old ones they bought when I was younger which are probably in a junk heap somewhere) and they have been married for over 35 years. My grandparents had them and they were married for over 50 years.

So if you know someone getting married soon make sure to tell them to get a couple of recliners before their 5th anniversary because it’s like marriage glue. Also, don’t forget to tell them that when things get messy get a mop. Just don’t have them call me because as you know….I Don’t Mop.

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(This was posted to Facebook on December 29, 2018)

My Brain Is Structurally Sound

Hey everyone it’s been a long time since I posted anything and for that I’m very sorry. Things have been very chaotic for the last few months. I took on a new job which has kept me very busy but is one of the most incredible career moves I have ever made. (I’ll talk more about that another time.) This post is about explaining what has happened over the last few months for me medically.

As some of you might know I was diagnosed with early stage vascular dementia. This was after multiple tests including MRIs, CT scans, and other intelligence and memory testing. Multiple doctors had agreed that it was the correct diagnosis. So I started planning for the day that I would not remember anything in my life anymore. Some things were hard to think about:

  1. How would my family feel when I couldn’t remember them.
  2. What kind of home would they put me in?
  3. Would I forget which food I hate and end up having to eat it because I couldn’t remember that I hated it? (Peas….icky, squishy, balls of goo)
  4. What kind of adult diapers are the best and who would change them?
  5. How will I remember all my passwords when I barely remember them now.
  6. Will the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup before I lose my memory? Then they did and I wondered how I could try to remember it.
  7. Would my family keep me at home and make me one of those tapes like Drew Barrymore’s character had in Fifty First Dates. (Answer was no because VCRs are no longer around)

Then came the best day! I was seen by the top neurologists at a world renowned University who reviewed all of my tests and decided that my brain was fine. OK they didn’t say fine, they said it was “structurally sound”. Turns out I’m too type-A and that I take on so much that my brain just can’t keep up. Their advice to me was to slow down, stop worrying about everyone/everything, and try to relax. Ha Ha! My parents labeled me the Cruise Director** when I was young and it’s a fitting title. So this was like asking me to stop breathing but I agreed to try.

**Hopefully you know what a cruise director is, if not then think of Julie from the show Love Boat. If you don’t know who that is or the show this might not be the blog for you. Better yet look it up and watch some episodes especially the ones with Charro.

So, what kind of changes did I make? Well, I continued working on my MBA, started a new job (as I said before) and most importantly tried to stop running everyone/everything. Tried as in it lasted 2-3 weeks then I just couldn’t take it. So as you might have guessed I changed nothing. It’s hard to change when you’ve been the same way for so long, but at the age of 47 I am not sure I want to change. There are so many things in my life that give me joy like singing in the car at the top of my lungs, talking to my children and grandchildren, binge watching shows with my husband, and making sure I am informed about my parents physical well-being. (Only child paranoia.)

There is no sense in trying to change when I just don’t want to, plus I like my life messy especially because I Don’t Mop!

(Originally posted to Facebook on December 23, 2018)

What Is Hot?

I’m not sure if I have told you all before but I have an amazing 13-year-old daughter with Asperger’s, which is one of the forms of autism. One of the funny things that happen is the way we use words but they don’t always mean the same. I know it’s like this with other children but with her sometimes it can lead to a very funny and awkward conversation.
When we go to see a movie she likes to sit between her father and I. A few months ago we went to see Justice League because we all love action movies. At one point they are showing Cyborg and he is upset about what his father has done to him. She turns to me at this point and says “Wow Cyborg is Hot!” This is the first time I have heard her say something like that so I was in a state of shock the rest of the movie because I realized this was something a typical 13-year-old would say. After the movie, we are sitting in the lobby waiting for my husband to get back from the restroom. I ask her how she liked the movie and she said she loved it. So I asked her about her thinking Cyborg was hot. She said “Don’t you think he’s hot?” and I replied, “Nope, I think Aquaman is hot.” She got this strange look on her face and then said: “What are you talking about he’s not hot.” I guess at this point I was the one with the strange look on my face because she said “Didn’t you see the red in the middle of Cyborg’s chest? It was like fire.” It was then that I realized she was talking about hot as in temperature where I was talking about hot as sexy. Finally, my husband gets done and as we are walking to the car she proceeds to tell her father that she thinks Cyborg is hot because of the red flame but I think Aquaman is hot even though he’s not. So my husband looks at me looks at her and looks back at me and starts laughing. Later in the car, I ask her if she knew why I called Aquaman hot and her response was classic “Because you think he has to stay warm underwater?” So I decided to leave it at that.
I’m telling you most people think that having a child with autism is so hard with not a lot of good times but it is these little moments (especially with a 13-year-old) that make everything worthwhile. Not sure if I should be worried that my husband knows I like Jason Momoa but I’m sure it isn’t shocking since I like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Hugh Jackman too. What I am really happy about is the innocence that my daughter still has because this age is rough especially for the parents. Luckily I think this is one I won’t have to clean up because as you know…I don’t mop!

Food Memories

My husband loves to laugh at me because we will be driving someplace and I will just blurt out “I remember that place.  I went to dinner with ______  there and had a great _____.” (Fill in the 2nd blank with some dish)  I can’t remember what I had for dinner 2 nights ago but if it is from my youth it just comes to me out of nowhere.  We have usually eaten or are not hungry so we don’t  stop there and as you might expect, until I happen to go by it again I will forget about it.  The worst situation for me is when I cannot stop thinking about that dish and end up craving it but don’t have the time to go back.

Food cravings for me, like most people, are tied to emotional or physical events that happened in my life. It stinks when it doesn’t come from seeing a place but just a particular food hitting my brain and making my tastebuds go off.  Recently I had this craving for deviled eggs come out of nowhere.  All I could think about was a cold egg white filled with the deliciously creamy yolk mixture that is just the right size to fit in my mouth in one bite.  I actually got out of my chair, when to my refrigeration to figure out if I had the ingredients.  I just thinking of the items I need and realize I have what I need….except the most critical item.  No eggs!  Now at this point, I have to decide if my craving is severe enough that I have to go to the grocery store and as you would expect I decided that I could just wait until the next time I go and make them then.  (Side note:  In some places, they are referred to as  “mimosa eggs,” “stuffed eggs,” “dressed eggs” or “salad eggs” because some people are offended by the word devil. Honestly, I like the idea of calling them “mimosa eggs” because it sounds like it would be a good reason to have a mimosa while enjoying them.)

It amazes me how the taste of something can be so closely tied to a person in my life.  There was a dish my Nana used to make me called “Baked Corn”.  It is basically what others call corn custard.  Other members of my family have tried to make it using her recipe but it never tastes like the one she used to make.  There is just something about the way she prepared it for me because she knew it was my favorite that made her’s so unique.  The same with Blackberry Jelly.  My Granny used to make it, with the seeds, and now I cannot eat it unless it has the seeds (which by the way I cannot find in the grocery store).  If  I happen to find it somewhere at a farmers market with the seeds I am still disappointed because it is missing that special something she put in.  I am pretty sure I know the key ingredient both are missing and that is the love of a grandparent for their grandchild.

I know in my mind I should have learned to make these dishes and countless others but I just didn’t think about it because that would mean that I had to face the fact that my grandparents wouldn’t be around forever.  Now I look at my granddaughters and realize that they don’t have the special dish that they can relate to me as their Nana.  I guess it is time to start pulling out the cookbooks and testing dishes out for them.  I know it will mean that I have to be in the kitchen and knowing me I will make a mess but luckily my husband usually cleans up behind me because as you all know…I don’t mop!

(Follow up:  I finally got groceries and guess what I forgot…the eggs!!  Oh well I guess I will just have to keep craving them until Easter.)

 

My Wonderful Friends:

If you have any suggestions for dishes or go through similar feeling about certain foods let me know.  It would be great to know I am not the only one!  Also, please share my Facebook or Web page.  I would love to share my stories with even more people around the globe.

My New Addiction

Hello, my name is Karen and I am addicted to boxes with an arrow on them aka Amazon Prime.

Long ago, and not in a galaxy far far away, I wrote a post about my addiction to blue packages from Zulily. (Blue Packages Make My Day)  Those packages are still so much fun for me mostly because I never remember what I ordered and when it is coming in I never know what is going to be inside.  If you have ever ordered from Zulily then you know that it can take weeks sometimes to receive your purchases so unless you track your orders you never know what is going to show up when at your house.

(Here is a link in case you have never been to Zulily.  I will give a warning that it can be highly addictive because you will find great discounts on things you need and don’t need.  Once you start you will become a daily addict so that you don’t miss out.  I don’t even need the email reminder because at 9:01 am eastern I am on the site seeing what is new.)

While waiting for Zulily makes it a little more fun there is something on the opposite end of delivery that is my growing addiction.  Amazon Prime!  Let me say that I have always liked Amazon but Prime makes it all better.  It is worth the annual fee for so many reasons. (Note these not in any specific order because depending on the day my reasons change.)

  • Items shipped to me in 2 days. It is instant gratification.  No longer do I have to wait days to weeks for my highly important items (phone charger, carpet rake, etc.).  Now it is 48 hours max.
  • Amazon Music. This wonderful music player has great features and unless you need the newest hits it is free.  There is an “unlimited” plan that is similar to Apple Music where it has a family and individual amount.  I love playlists so this is great for me because as I have said before (See:  Crazy Commuter Karaoke on the Highway of Hell) I love to sing in the car for my own and others amusement.
  • Amazon Smile! This is great no matter what because you can pick a participating charity and have a percent (yes it is small) donated to them every time you shop through the website as long as you make sure to use Amazonsmile as part of the web address.
  • Prime Pantry & Fresh. Groceries delivered to my door.  The only part of this amazing service that is missing would be if they brought my order into my house and put it away for me.  (Maybe they can get the drones to do that.)

I bet you can guess what day of the year is the most anticipated one for me (no not my birthday, family birthdays, holidays, etc.)…it is PRIME DAY!!  The day when random items go on sale and you have to be quick or you don’t get the best deal.  This is when the height of my addiction comes into play.  I will log-in multiple times a day to make sure I don’t miss anything.  It used to be easier because there wasn’t that much available but now it so much stuff you need to make time to plan it out.  Since I am the type of person that can convince herself that she needs random items this is also a day that requires me to use a lot of self-control.  Here is what usually happens…

1st – I convince myself that I need a certain product because it is 75% off. I could be anything from a skateboard to a case that will replace the case on my daughter’s iPad Mini (by the way it doesn’t work anymore because that is what happens when you give her an iPad.)

2nd – I will add it to my shopping cart and then go back and keep looking for more items.

3rd – After adding additional items I will start to get upset because most likely I have lost the first item because I waited too long and it is sold out.  This leads me to just buy right then whatever is in the basket because I can’t lose something again.

4th – As the day goes on (yes this starts around 6:00 am) I start to see more things that I think we need and at this point I am justifying it by sending emails and texts to family members reminding them that it is prime day and that they should look at let me know if I need to order something for them.  (Yes I do make them pay me back for it…sometimes.)  At this point, I am looking for any reason to stay online for prime day.

5th – Around bedtime, it is time for one final check but let’s be serious…I will check again a couple more time before actually going to sleep.

6th – I wake up the next morning with a Prime Day hangover.  My credit card is begging for mercy and my computer doesn’t want to load the Amazon page again.

7th – The items arrive a few days later and over the next couple of days I look at the items sitting out and decide that 75% of it needs to go back.  So I put them in boxes, attach the return labels and wait for my credits.

I know that is a long process to go through and I missed some of the emotional highs and lows I go through but unless I write my blog that actual day I can’t remember everything.  Not sure if that is my dementia or my brain blocking it out so I will do it again (like childbirth…you forgot how painful it was until you have to go through it again).  So today I am home and much to my surprise I had a box and in it was the thing I needed…my carpet rake.  Now let’s not jump to the conclusion that I might use it because technically it is not a mop because I can tell you right now that I won’t!  My husband will!

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1992’s Best Movie!

With everything going on in my brain I am feeling nostalgic so this post is because of that.  I hope you will enjoy my trip down memory lane (at least what I can remember of it or have found thanks to the internet).

Recently I met one of my oldest friends (No that does not mean she is old…just that we have known each other for a long time.  Seriously we are not old…so stop thinking that please!!) to see a movie we must have seen at least 10 times when we were younger.  It is a movie full of timeless quotes and great music.  So you are wondering…what is it??  Well I am going to talk about it and at the end, I will let you know but for now, you are going to have to wait. (Don’t slide to the end of the post and look…that is cheating and we all know what happens to cheaters…actually I don’t but maybe someone can enlighten me.)

This movie was a major hit in 1992 (yes that was 25 years ago but it still holds up).  If you are over 40 you might remember it as the year Ross Perot announced he was going to run for President. (anyone remember his co-runner?  Admiral James Stockdale.  The man that started his opening statement at the vice presidential debate with “Who am I?  Why am I here?”  See..our politicians have been idiots for years!)  This was also the year John “The Teflon Boss” Gotti was sentenced to prison.  But it wasn’t only strange items…that is also the year Cartoon Network started and the Mall of America opened.

There was also a lot going on in pop-culture in 1992.  Some other great movies that came out that year include Aladdin, A Few Good Men & The Bodyguard. (Who could ever forget Whitney and Kevin making out on the big screen?  It was epic!)  On TV was Rugrats, The Jerry Spring Show, and The Ren & Stimpy Show.  (Seriously I know as soon as you read that you were singing the Happy Happy Joy Joy song.  If you don’t know that song then look it up on YouTube.  It is a classic!!). For all my tech friends it was also the year Microsoft released Windows 3.1 and Works.  Wow, what a great year!

As for the movie, it was so amazing and again I will say, timeless.  The big bad producer takes advantage of a small-time group of guys and our hero almost loses everything.  Such a tragic tale but lucky for us they provided multiple endings so you can choose the one you like the best.  How wonderful is that because depending on how you were feeling that day you could change the ending to suit your mood.  So…do you know yet?

Here are my favorite totally awesome quotes:

  • “I don’t even own *a* gun, let along many that would necessitate an entire rack”
  • “Get the net!”
  • “Marriage is punishment for shoplifting in some countries”
  • “Hi. I’m in Delaware”

How about some rocking songs from it:

  • Feed My Frankenstein
  • Ride With Yourself
  • Why You Wanna Break My Heart

OK…I’m sure you know it now.   If not all I can say is “Party on Wayne!  Party on Garth!”  Yes, it is WAYNE’S WORLD!!  Love that movie and I always will.  When we watched it we were playing our drumsticks and air guitars while quoting along with the movie.  If you haven’t seen it I suggest you do but don’t go into it expecting a cinematic masterpiece…just something fun and easy.  Also, don’t bother with the 2nd one…it is a let down compared to the 1st.  (Sorry Mike but it is true.)  Let me know what you think of it in the comments.  Who knows I might actually be inspired to mop.  Yeah right, and monkeys might fly out of my butt!!

 

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All Hail Queen Alice!

When I was a teenager my grandmother had dementia and forgot who she was.  While the rest of my family was sad about it I thought it was great.  Imagine being whomever you want to be and getting to live another life.  So much fun!

My grandmother decided that she was the Queen of England!  Queen Alice!  Her nurses, doctors and basically anyone who came into her room had to bow or curtsy when they entered and exited.  She even had them call her “your majesty”.  It was even fun for me because when I would go see her in the hospital she would call me Princess and get very upset when they didn’t address me correctly as they had to do with her.  She didn’t do this for anyone else that I know of just me.

One day she called me over to discuss that I would be named the heir to her crown.  No one else was worthy plus she knew that I would make the perfect Queen.  Right after that, she let me know that she was having to keep her distance from the priest that visited her because she knew he wanted her to run away with him.  As the Queen, she would not even consider it but I needed to know in case he tried to come after me.  What always amazed me was how detailed she was about all of this including the right way to address royalty, customs, and other royal traditions.

Now that I have been diagnosed with vascular dementia that is what I truly hope my life goes at the end.  Queen Karen!  It does have a nice ring to it plus I already have a tiara to wear for my coronation.  Is it wrong that I feel this way because in my mind the alternative would suck?  Not knowing who I am or who anyone else is would be so hard for my family.  At least if I was Queen Karen I might be able to bring some amusement to them as my grandmother did for me.

At least if I am Queen Karen I still won’t have to mop!!

 

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Binge Watching Is Fun!

Binge watching has become one of my favorite habits.  Instead of actually watching the shows when they first come on I end up waiting until the season is over and depending on what people think I will check it out.  I just hate to waste my time watching a show if I am not going to like it and since I have the same taste as a few of my friends their opinion on a show guide me in what to watch.  It’s also nice to have something to do in the evening.

Lately, I have been on a royalty kick.  Not that should shock everyone that knows me but I do have a great love of all things royal.  (That is for another posting)  The Crown was amazing which led me to Victoria then to The White Queen then its sequel The White Princess.  Now I am almost finished with Reign.  While I know they are not all historically accurate but they are so much fun.  Intrigue, romance, swords, and backstabbing.  It’s like a romance novel that I can watch and not read.  What is not to like?

My husband loves to binge watch shows after they have stopped so he knows that it will have a real ending and not just be canceled with no type of ending.  Breaking Bad is his current one and I have to say I don’t like it.  It’s just not something I like.  So how do I handle it?  I sit on the couch glancing at it occasionally while either reading or playing on my iPad.  I try to pretend to like it but wow it is just too much.  I think because it is more “real” than the other stuff I watch so it just upsets me more.  The acting is good, but the storyline and scenes just freak me out.

Now it is almost time for the fall TV season to start and while I do watch some shows when they are on most of the time I spend my weekend mornings catching up through the on-demand.  I used to be so much better because I could fast-forward through the commercials but as usual, the networks decided to take that one perk from me.  Why is it that we pay to watch these shows via our cable bill and yet I can’t watch them without having to watch a bunch of commercials that are just irritating or are peddling something nobody wants or needs?  Plus sometimes the products are embarrassing which is so wonderful when you are sitting on the couch with your family.

(A recent example was the one for vaginal itching.  I think everyone in the room was uncomfortable.  Plus the questions from my daughter that came after were even worse.  Why do they do this to me?  I’m just a woman trying to deal with everything happening in my life so the last thing I want to talk or hear about is someone’s privates itching them.) Ughh!!

So what is everyone’s favorite show?  Anything I should binge watch?  I do love recommendations, especially from strangers because who knows I might find others that have my same love of royalty, comedy or sci-fi.  Plus if I am watching TV that means that I am not mopping!

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