Month: September 2017

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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