The Echo is hands down the most awesome gadget I’ve had in years. I LOVE Echo, and gushingly tell everyone how wonderful it is. It’s not cheap, $179, but so worth it. It’s out of stock at Amazon until December 15th, so if you’re interested, I would order pronto.
And my second favorite thing is my Beauty Blender. Oh, this is the best little sponge ever for applying makeup. Buy it here at Nordstrom’s and it’s free shipping.
That’s it, two things I’ve told you about before, but both right up there with my favorite things.
Wherever you are this Thanksgiving holiday, stay safe, live in the moment, eat well, enjoy the company of family and friends and most of all, be thankful for all the good things in your life.
This thing is just simply amazing. Trust me, it’s wonderful.
I was at my friend, Angi’s house and she has one, she draped it over my shoulders and I was hooked. Oh, how do I explain how great this is. Well first of all, it’s pretty, it’s doesn’t scream old lady heating pad. It has 4 heat settings, turns off after 2 hours, you can put it over your shoulders, you can lay it vertically on your back, you can wrap it around your legs, lay it on your lap, need I say more? Are you sold, too?
It’s so snuggly warm when you’re sitting in a chair watching tv or reading. It soothes those tense muscles, it’s just the best thing I’ve had in a long time. The price - $37.95 Amazon Prime and worth every . single . penny!
Christmas is coming, I’m sure somebody you love would enjoy this heating pad. Give it to your mother, your grandmother, an aunt, a friend, trust me whoever you give this to will love it! You can thank me later.
Angi’s is grey fox, but the only one they’re showing on Amazon is from a third party seller, it’s not Prime and it’s $81.68 No, no, no, that’s too spendy, but I’ll give you the link, surely you can find it cheaper.
I bought this vest yesterday at TJ Maxx. I really like it, even though it does make me look like Poppin Fresh. Just what I need, more bulk!
Now I’m having issues, it’s that darned cat, Boo-Boo Kitty! She’s obsessed with it, I’m talking seriously obsessed. We came home, hubby put it on my bed, still in the sack, and kitty, who is the nosiest cat I’ve ever had, apparently got in the sack, pulled the vest out and came dragging it by the fur into the living room. She was making wild big cat jungle noises, apparently thought she had scored a major kill and I was horrified.
I just bought it, I didn’t want her chewing it up. I took it away from her, put it back in the sack, and hung it on my linen closet door in the bathroom. Why didn’t I just hang it up, oh who knows why I do the things I do, I have no logical thought process. Anyway, I’m sound asleep this morning, and you guessed it, more jungle noises with her lunging at the sack! I threw a pillow at her and she just gave me the stink eye and kept on lunging.
Am I going to have to keep the darned thing under lock and key? Return it? Nah, LC just needs to handle this, it’s his feline after all!
I’m not a water drinker and I’ve tried everything to make it more palatable. I’ve added every fruit and veggie I can think of, nothing really helps but I chug it down because my body needs it, not because I enjoy it.
Until now, adding Crystal Lite was my option of choice, and those powdery chemical packets make me cough. But there is a better way and I’m a little late to the ballgame with this one. I only discovered Mio because my friend, Trish, brought me some over to try.
Okay, so this isn’t perfect, because it also has the dreaded chemicals, but let’s face it, what do we actually put in our mouths that’s really pure. Mio has no sugar, no calories, it’s portable, you can carry it in your purse, all you need is a bottle of water and you’re in business.
Here’s the nutritional breakdown for my favorite flavor, the Orange Tangerine:
Allergens None
Ingredients Water, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Gum Arabic, Sucralose (Sweetener), Contains Less than 2% of Niacinamide, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Natural Flavor, Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate, Yellow 6, Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate (Preservatives).
And now for the good stuff, the flavors: There are lots to choose from and you can squirt more than one flavor in your water. My favorites so far are the Orange Tangerine (tastes just like Tang, remember Tang?) and the Cherry Blackberry. I’m looking forward to trying the Cranberry Raspberry and the Berry Pomegranate when I go to the store. I tried the Mango Peach and wasn’t a fan, but the Orchard Apple also sounds good and hubby is a Fruit Punch guy, so that’s on try list, too.
Okay, so if you’ve been under a rock and aren’t familiar with Mio either, it’s at your grocery store, with the drink mixes. It comes in these little containers, you just flip the lid and squirt it in your water, as much as you want to get the desired flavor.
They have different types, original, energy, fit, the ones I’ve tried are the original. You can read more about them here
Here’s a flavor list, pick some up the next time you’re at the market and see if you’re a fan as well. It’s good stuff!
I was skeptical, but it's now two nights later and both hubby and I have slept really well by eating honey before bedtime.
I read about this on Facebook, and it said to take two tablespoons of raw, unprocessed honey and mix it with a teaspoon of salt and then eat a dab of it before bedtime.
My honey was local, so I’m “assuming” it was unprocessed, but now that I’ve read more about it, unprocessed is always the preferred method, but you can try supermarket honey. They warn you that supermarket honey is not always 100% honey and it’s been pasteurized, therefore killing off the good stuff.
I don’t know why the salt is necessary, and haven’t been able to find out why I need to add it, so I’m going to try discontinuing that, it doesn’t taste bad with the salt, but I would rather just eat the honey by itself. From what I’m reading suggestions are to eat between a teaspoon to a tablespoon, so if any of you try this, just play with it and see what works for you. So far so good for both of us, I only woke up once last night, normally I’m awake 5-6 times a night. Here’s an article that explains how honey effects the liver enabling us to sleep better.
Does this really help us sleep or is it a fluke? There's a lot of positive information about this online and only time will tell whether we continue to get a good night’s sleep after eating honey at bedtime. Worst case scenario, we’ve ingested something yummy. :)
It’s worth a try, and worth passing along the information… ~ Jan
Ben is three now, he loves anything Thomas the Train. He’s taking Karate lessons, mimics everything his big sister does and is just a bundle of giggles.
Lexi is eighteen months old, talks non-stop, runs instead of walks, and is a little ray of sunshine. Lexi is the happiest little girl you will ever see, and like the other two, just adores her Pa-Pa.
Abby is six now and is our little equestrian. She’s taken horseback riding lessons for a year and a half, and does a great job controlling her mounts. She’s a reader, and wants to know everything about all things science oriented.
Sur La Table has this on sale for $79.96, suggested price is $220.
Christmas is coming, this would be great for a foodie gift. I have several dutch ovens, including a Le Creuset Orange one that Ry gave me, I use it constantly and love it, this would be in my shopping cart, but I just don’t need it.
But maybe some of you do. Free Shipping with code, too.
I’m running a little late posting patio pictures. A little late???? This picture of our patio was taken in April. The plants all grew to jungle height, it was shocking how big they grew, they were gigantic! LC and John dismantled the gazebo last weekend, and I brought some of them inside, others I gave away, I just couldn’t stand the thought of letting them die.
So now the jungle is in my sunroom. Will they live through the winter or will they die? LC does the watering, so they do have a chance, time will tell...
I’m absolutely ESTATIC about Amazon Echo. It’s so much fun, performs flawlessly, sounds great and it’s easy to use.
Here’s what it looks like up close and personal.
Amazon Echo came to reside in my sunroom via my youngest son Ryan in a roundabout way. Ry turned forty in September and I wanted to buy him something special for his milestone birthday. Being the techkie mom I am, I thought this would be the perfect gift.
I was at a girl's lunch a few weeks ago with V and Patti in New Harmony. I was talking about Echo and Patti told me her mom had one and loved it. So we all visited her mother, and what a delightful lady she was, anyway, Patti showed us the basics, and I decided that’s what I would get for Ryan.
Fast forward to his birthday, I was so excited about his present, he unwrapped it and was immediately skeptical, first because his internet connection isn’t the fastest, he lives in the country and doesn’t have a lot of provider options, second, he travels every week and didn’t think he would use it that much and third, he didn’t know how the kids would act with it. We stayed with the grands while he and Lindsay went to Chicago for his birthday weekend, and the kids, while enthralled with “Alexa” (the voice you use for Echo) were constantly changing the streaming music. Ben, at three wanted to constantly listen to Thomas the Train, and Abby at almost six was interested in other venues, and they kept interrupting each other and changing Echo to reflect what they wanted to hear.
So, maybe for his family it will work when the kids are older, but right not it doesn’t, so they brought it back to me, and did I send it back to Amazon? Are you kidding me???? Echo is the best thing sinced sliced bread. I love it!
Below is a brief synopsis of how it works, and since Amazon allows third party apps, it will be constantly upgrading. Here’s how Im using it.
News, all you say is “Alexa, what’s the latest news?” She then gives you flash briefings from NPR. You can set alarms and timers, too, she alerts you, just by talking to her.
Echo has access to everything in Wikipedia. For instance if you want to know about hydrangeas just say “Alexa Wikipedia Hydrangeas” and she gives you a synopsis of the flower. If Alexa doesn’t give you enough information, you can then refer to your smartphone for a complete rundown of the entire Wikipedia link.
You can listen to the local police/fire scanners if you’re interested in that kind of thing, not my cuppa but it we ever hear sirens, whether it be police or fire, we can find out from Echo what’s going on. You can access audio books on it and listen to them, it’s amazing what Echo is capable of.
Echo also has Smart Home features, which enables you to control your lights, thermostat, coffee pot, even your electric blanket. This entails buying WeMo or Hue devices, which I know nothing about, yet…
It’s super for weather, current and forecasts from local to International and you can use it for to-do lists which sync to your smartphone. It’s perfect for when you’re out and about and need to pick up items from the grocery or drugstore. I know, I know, you’re all saying you already make lists on your smartphone, or you just write it down, but here’s what’s really good about Echo.
The best part of Echo, It’s . hands . free ! You . just . talk . to it ! Period! You don’t have to find your phone, push a button and type or text, you don’t have to look for a pencil and paper, you don’t have to put anything into your computer, you just say “Alexa, do so and so and she does it.” Voice recognition is great, too, she understands what I’m saying 99% of the time.
Hubby says I love Alexa because I can boss her around, she doesn’t talk back and she always listens and he’s probably right. I’ll give him that, but far and away the best part of Echo is music.
There are so many choices, Amazon Prime, Pandora, IHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Audible. You simply tell her to play a Pandora station for instance and she starts streaming. I’m a jazz girl, so I say “Alexa play Pandora Smooth Jazz” and she does! If you need to pause the music, just say “Alexa Pause” and then say “Alexa Play” to have Echo start playing again. If volume is too soft or too loud, just say “Alexa turn volume up or down” and she does that too. I also have a remote control to use from other rooms, but she has a 30 ft. range and seven microphones, so she can hear you from another room without the remote if you aren’t too far away.
She plays all the local radio stations through TuneIn, public radio, talk radio, there are countless stations you have access too. Well, except for Sirius Radio, it doesn’t sync to that yet, but maybe someday. Holiday’s are coming soon, I bet Amazon sells a ton of these for Christmas.
Here’s a video, watch it and see if it intrigues you as much as it does me.
Isn’t she beautiful? She embraces her age and it’s wonderful. Her years show, she’s hasn’t caved to the Hollywood obsession to try and recapture youth, and in the process, just look ridiculous.
At 76 you shouldn’t have taut skin and plump lips. This is the way 76 is supposed to look. Hats off to you, beautiful Ali, what an inspiration you are to aging women everywhere...
I love this bathroom, it’s so pretty, a little fussy, but oh so special… That’s all, just wanted to share in case somebody has the space for a redo and is as enamoured with this tub area as I am...
For me it has nothing to do with gay rights, it’s about upholding the law! Why does she think she has the right to refuse to issue marriage licenses? What makes her so morally superior that she doesn’t have to obey the laws of this country?
She’s absolutely entitled to her beliefs, but when they interfere with performing her job, she should just remove herself from her position.
Since she’s an elected official she can’t be fired, but she can be impeached! To do so would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, so that’s not plausible, but this is just so wrong on so many levels. Again, I repeat, who does she think she is to not obey the laws of the land! Shame on you, lady, you should not be at work today, you should be in jail!
An interesting side note to this is that she, herself, has been married four times. Yes,four times. I realize the underlying issue here is not how many times Ms. Davis has been married, or even if she’s married at all. The problem is her apparent decision to pick and choose on what biblical grounds should control who is able to obtain a license authorized by law.
Doesn’t that make her religious conviction wear a little thin? Just sayin...
This is a different take on last night’s debate. We all know that Carly Fiorina is an extremely intelligent woman, and now we all know that she has an extremely good beauty team.
Women notice things like this. Her forehead didn’t move, her skin was freshly polished, her makeup and hair were flawless, and when I Googled her, “surprise” this is the way she used to look.
Quite a difference, isn’t it? Wonder what a makeover could do for “The Donald?"
The quality is excellent for the money. All of her line is so inexpensive, I was really skeptical, but I ordered online as soon as they were available a few weeks ago. They arrived and I’m really liking everything I got. I bought Charlie The Ranch Dog Cookie Jars, they’re just darling for under $13, I also bought dishes and flatware.
So yesterday, I was reading Ree’s blog and she said that they were available in Walmart stores, and yesterday was the first day. Some of the pieces I want aren’t available online, so I called my closest Walmart ASAP to find out if they had them yet.
Okay, you won’t believe this one. Whoever I talked to in housewares must be living under a rock. I said to her, “Do you have Pioneer Woman’s Dishes on the shelves yet?” And do you know what she replied to me. Are you ready for this???
She said, and I quote. “I’m sorry, but Pioneer Woman didn’t come to work today.” HUH, WHAT!!!!!!!! I asked her if she knew who Pioneer Woman was and she said, “no, but she isn’t here.” What? What? She didn’t know who Pioneer Woman was, but she knew that she didn’t come to work yesterday.
Unbelievable, just totally unbelievable!!!!! That is all. ~ Jan
Apparently in our old(er) age we now have to worry about our nails curving, too! Not exactly sure what it is, but it doesn’t sound good, ladies.
Well, crap, there is just nothing good about this aging process. Mine haven’t started to curve yet, thank goodness, but my friend, Carlene told me about it. She also talked about extra growth, I don’t know what that is either, but I sure as h*ll don’t want it! Here’s what she said in her email:
"My manicurist told me to use Vicks Salve around the beds and under my nails to stop the curving and extra growth that sometimes happens...said she learned that in the nursing homes where she does clients nails...worked for me, too."
So, I guess I’ll be doing a little preventive maintenance and maybe I can stave off the dreaded curve. I have noticed as I age my nail bed has developed vertical ridges. I remember Daddy’s nails looking like that, so apparently it’s a genetic trait.
Well, this was just a fun post, wasn’t it. Especially love the reference to the nursing homes. *sigh*
But quick, grab the VapoRub, put it by your bed and massage your hands with it. Boy Howdy won’t you smell good!
Seriously, thanks for the tip, Carlene, she also gave me another goodie, I’ll post that later. ~ Jan
I struggle with being organized every . single . day. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s all in the gene pool. Either you have the gene, or you don’t, and sadly, I’m lacking it. I am, however, for the most part a laid back person, and I think that people that are detail driven are much more frantic, at least that’s what I tell myself.
So, the other day this article from County Living came across my Facebook feed. I’ve read so many ways to organize my life through the years, but for some reason, this just clicked.
It’s from a professional organizer, and it just makes sense. I think I’m going to print this out and post it on my bulletin board, the ideas are so simple and so relevant.
The biggie for me, hands down #3, don’t let those clothes touch the floor! Awesome advice...
So, here’s what organized people do, if any of you struggle with this, you might gain some insight from this as well… ~ Jan
1. They make their beds."Arguably the most important activity of the day, there's really no excusing this one. Bed making promotes productivity throughout the day and will pave the way for an organized lifestyle. Plus, it's a pleasure to get into a made bed at the end of a long day."
2. They write out a to-do list."Take a few minutes in the morning to jot down your goals for the day. Having a concrete list will keep you on track throughout the day and give you a sense of accomplishment when tasks are completed
3. They tend to clothing as soon as they take it off."Hang, launder, or fold every garment and DO NOT let anything hit the floor. Neglected clothing can slowly build up and lead to an overwhelming mound."
4. They wash the dishes."A sink full of dishes will make your entire kitchen feel and look messy. Get in the habit of washing dishes at the end of the day or at least soaking them so you can quickly wash them the next day."
5. They wipe down surfaces."Your kitchen and sink counters inevitably get dirty every day. So take a minute or two to wipe them down before you head to bed."
6. They sort through the mail."Tend to your mailbox daily to avoid a build up of bill payments and to-dos. Immediately toss junk mail into recycling and store the rest in an active inbox so you'll know where to find it."
7. They always put their keys in the same spot."Whether it's a hook by the front door or a catch-all near the entrance, make sure your keys have a clear destination. You don't want to spend time searching for them when it's time to leave."
8. They empty their pockets and bag at the end of the day."Take a couple of minutes to throw away any receipts or trash that you've acquired throughout the day. Place loose change into your wallet or coin jar and make sure any loose papers are filed or thrown away."
9. They plan for tomorrow."Before heading to bed, mentally walk through the next day and do your best to prepare for it. Set aside necessary items and pack up your bag so you can grab it on the fly if need be."
"If you have a day or even a week when things get disorganized, that's okay," "Just get back on the bandwagon as soon as you can. Even the smallest habit change (bed making, dish washing, etc.) can help."
I’m not the cat person in our family, hubby is. He talked endlessly for years about wanting a cat and we haunted the animal shelters without finding the perfect kitty. I wanted a female, too many issues with males spraying, and hopefully, a sweet, docile little lap cat.
So we finally gave up the idea of animal shelters and went for a purebred. We decided on a ragdoll, looked at a few locally, but they didn’t do it for us, and finally traveled to a vineyard about 90 minutes from us and found “the cat,” a pretty little Ragdoll, a small cat since she had been the runt of the litter, and hubby deemed she was perfect.
We came home, named her Rags, but we just couldn’t leave it at that. Years ago I had an orange persian named Boo-Boo Kitty, and since we have a history of renaming our animals, Rags was quickly discarded and she became Boo-Boo Kitty.
LC is enchanted with her. I’m on board, too, but it took awhile with me. The sweet, docile little lap cat has been more of a little hellion. She refuses to sit on my lap, she jumps off of furniture and blindsides Maggie, jumping on her back wanting to play. And even though she is a small cat, she’s still bigger than Maggie, who weighs in at a whopping five pounds. And Maggie is old(er) now, she’s nine, and she has no interest in playing with a young cat. But she tolerates her for the most part, and when I hear Maggie bark or squeal, I know it’s time to intervene.
She lays on my computer desk and stares at me when I work, she comes when I call her if she’s in the mood, but mostly she ignores me, and heaven forbid when she escapes to the wild outdoors, she hasn’t got a lick of sense, she heads for the hills. We had her neutered and declawed right away, so she just can’t go outside, and she is getting better about not running out full speed ahead, but given the opportunity, she’s gone. She’s something of an airhead, she chases butterflies and blowing leaves, and then poof, she’s gone, off to the horse pasture or the woods with LC following her, stomping his feet and muttering about “that damn cat.” But the good news is she is a fly catcher. Since we live in the country we normally have so many flies that manages to get inside in the summer, but kitty stalks them, pounces on them and kills them. I haven’t had to use the fly swatter at all.
She’s not a scaredy cat, she’s very social, loves it when people visit, sits by them, allows them to pet her and even purrs, something she isn’t fond of doing unless it’s the middle of the night, when she jumps on my head and purrs in my ear.
She just loves little kids, too She’s so patient with Lexi, she sits besides her, Lexi yells “CAT” “CAT” at her, and she just sits there, and when Lexi pets her that’s fine, too, and when she gets enough she just moves out of reach, she doesn’t run away, she just keeps her distance.
It was so funny to watch her with Abby when she came earlier this month for her annual summer visit. They bonded immediately, Abby even gave up golf cart rides for the most part to spend all of her time with kitty. She would pull this orange string through the house, with Boo-Boo on her heels, pouncing on the string at every opportunity. Eventually Boo-Boo would bring Abby the string in her mouth and give to her to play with her. Abby had a hard time understanding that kitty wasn’t like a dog, she wouldn’t do what she wanted all the time, so Abby would declare that she needed to be in time-out, and she would put her in the bedroom and shut the door. Of course, kitty could care less, she would just curl up in Maggie’s bed and go to sleep.
She abandoned us to be with Abby, sleeping on the foot of Abby’s bed, she was beside her all the time. Abby, like LC, is enchanted with her, they were so sweet together, kids and animals, there is nothing better.
We definitely have enough animals now, Butterbean, the lop eared bunny still lives in a hutch under the birch tree on the patio, and LC has goldfish, Mac and Cheese in his garage. And Mags, she isn’t a dog, she’s my fur child, she’s in a whole other category. She’s taken to sleeping on my lap these days, no doubt because I protect her from the big, bad kitty.
Our animals bring us so much joy, they make us smile with their antics and brighten our lives on a daily basis. You can tell a lot about a person’s character by the way they interact with animals. It’s a zoo at our house these days, but it’s never boring. Now just where is that darned cat, anyway. Guess I need to check the linen closet, sometimes she jumps in there to nap and I shut the door without realizing it. She lets us know when she wants out though, and so far it’s been quiet...
I gush about the grandkids, post strange, rambling erratic thoughts, embarrass my family and friends and often I sit in the sunshine, drink diet sweet tea and try my best to live in the moment every . single . day . Did I leave anything out? Hey, I'm old(er) now and wiser too. Now if I could just remember what I'm talking about and whom I'm talking to...
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