Category Archives: Rants

07Apr/17
stop sign

Just Stop Talking To Me!

Humor, Life, Rants, , ,

everyone and “everything”..take note, just stop.

stop sign

Just stop…please

I don’t know why everything has to talk to us these days. Do we really need to be spoken to by our phones, our cars, and our computers? I did an upgrade on my computer and it asked me if I wanted Siri. I said no, it came back and said why…I said because I don’t want my computer to talk to me. I have enough things talking to me. People in stores, people I don’t know or want to know feel like they must tell me their whole life story. I somehow bring this out in people. I must look like I care what they have to say.

Ok, those of you who know me or follow me know I do care. I care deeply about people, my friends, family and neighbors, etc. I’m a caring person. I really am. And I want to know everything about them and what is going on in their life. They can call me any time day or night and I will be there for them.  But if I am sitting in the car repair place reading my book, then NO.. “Mr Bald Guy with the big glasses”(I also have a thing where I give these people names)I don’t want to know what you are having for dinner later or guess where you were earlier in the day or where you are going on vacation next week. No…I don’t need to know that. I am reading a book. One time I was on a plane and the guy next to me constantly tried talking to me even though I was making believe I was asleep to try and stop his constant chatter. It didn’t work or stop him from going on and on endlessly about the problems he was having in his marriage. What idiot talks to people when they are clearly trying to sleep?

I also hate when I am in the grocery store and people I don’t know want to stop and talk about how they make spaghetti. I am here for a reason, I don’t like grocery shopping, I want to get in, get my stuff and get out. As stated, I don’t like people and I don’t want to talk to you about making spaghetti. Ok, I know all of this sounds somewhat harsh and maybe mean spirited. It isn’t really just people, it is all these gadgets we have vying for our attention and screaming at us everyday that is really the cause of my ire.

“Talk low, talk slow and don’t say too much.” ~ John Wayne

I”m a somewhat normal person. I like parties and having fun and sometimes I throw caution to the wind and dance and sing out loud. But the majority of the times these days, I like my peace and quiet. Been there done that, if you know what I mean.  But every direction I turn lately I have someone or some “thing” trying to talk to me. The ATM asks, do you want that cash a certain way? Its $20…just give me $20. My daughters car talks to her constantly. I can’t stand that and its not even my car. I am glad mine doesn’t do that. If it did I may have to take out its speaking thingy. If I don’t want to get my oil changed right now when my car says its time I won’t. And it can beep at me all it wants to but it can’t make me. The watches that talk and tell you stuff annoy me. Who needs that? All you need is a watch that tells time. Thats it… that is why God created watches.

And then they created the talking tube. The round thing that sits in the middle of your living room you talk to and it answers every question known to man…or woman. It reads books and plays songs and tells you the news of the day. Ask it anything and it has an answer. The Echo…Who needs this and why? I don’t like real people talking to me and now we have this. There is Google Now, Windows Cortana, and of course our dear sweet Siri..all of them trying to one up each other and answer the questions the world needs to know and then some. Maybe we should put them all in a room together and let them talk to each other until they run out of answers.

I don’t have Siri on my new iPhone, I mean she is there lurking just waiting for me to push her button and “need” her. Last week one night my grandson was showing me how to use my phone and he told me to push the on button twice, I did that and Siri came on happy as a clam that I had asked her something. Of course I didn’t ask her anything I was talking to my grandson. So I said “oh no there’s Siri. I hate her.”  To which Siri replies, “Well, I’m still here for you.” She made me cry. Maybe I’ll talk to her one of these days.

Do you like “things” talking to you? Do you use any of the things I mentioned? Please tell me one good reason to use them in the comments below.

“Sometimes it feels better not to talk. At all. About anything, To anyone.” ~ Bryan Cranston as Walter in Breaking Bad

17Dec/16
store closed

Ten Stupid Questions Retail Workers Get Asked

Life, Lifestyle, Rants, ,

and its worse at Christmas…

store closed

closed…best sign ever..

Working retail is never really a whole lot of fun but this time of the year brings out the best or worst in people and sadly it is usually the latter. There are nice customers and some are even kind. It does seem as though if I am really nice to them and smiling it can somehow turn their nastiness around and they even wind up thanking me for my kindness and help. Most of the time though it is hard to smile and be kind.

With all that being said, here are some of the stupid questions they ask…

  1. Is there a Macy’s in New York?  I couldn’t believe this guy even asked that question. I thought he was joking until I said, are you serious.. and I saw by his expression he definitely was…serious that is.
  2. Why don’t you have any more(insert whatever you want here) left? Um, because you waited until the last minute to buy them. And I told you when you were here last week we only had a few left and yet here you are wondering why we don’t have any.
  3. Do you work here? If I’m standing behind the counter with a name tag on…then yes, most likely I work here.
  4. Where is the restroom? Well if you would look up at the sign above your head you would see it it is right down there. (this is what I want to say, but don’t) And I get this questions a million times a day. Seriously..I do.
  5. Can I get this for $50 instead of $98?  No this isn’t a yard sale, this is a department store. Sorry.
  6. I’m not sure what door to go out to the parking lot, can you help me? I think you need more help than I can give but I will try. What did you see when you came in the door, shoes, clothes, etc? Answer: Oh, I don’t remember. My answer back: Well maybe just go out all the doors until something looks familiar.
  7. Can I pay cash for this?  Yes, we do still take cash.
  8. Will you wrap this for me?  I just laugh and laugh when I get this question. I don’t wrap my gifts at home, I’m not wrapping yours. Seriously, here is my answer…they don’t offer gift wrapping in the store anymore but I will give you a gift bag.
  9. Can you throw this trash away for me? Oh, of course I’d be happy to take your germ infested Starbucks cup that you just coughed all over. No problem.
  10. Do you have kitties? Disclaimer: I may or may not have heard this guy right? But I said, No we don’t.

 

Well there are definitely more than 10 but I have to get to work. I hope you are not guilty of asking any of these questions. If you work in retail I would love to hear some of the stupid questions you may have heard from customers. Thanks for reading and say a prayer for me.

“Working retail at Christmas is fun.” ~ said no one ever….

06Dec/16
hanging clothes

Where Did The Quality Go?

Fashion, Lifestyle, Rants, , ,

Seriously where did it go?

hanging clothes

Racks of clothing, but nothing of substance…

I remember a time when you could find quality. It wasn’t that long ago. There were stores jam packed with quality clothing, shoes, handbags and jewelry. So what happened? Where did the all the quality go? Is it due to the fact that most items are now made in China, Vietnam or some other country I can’t even pronounce. I’m not sure what happened but something did…

We were shopping this past weekend and I don’t know how many times I uttered the phrase, “where is the quality?” Nothing’s the same. What happened to my favorite lines of clothing and handbags? The stores were filled with merchandise but it wasn’t calling my name or saying…pick me, pick me like it always did. I remember going in Coach and wanting every single bag in there. It was hard to make a decision there were so many I loved. I couldn’t even find one single solitary bag I could even kinda like. The same with Michael Kors…there was a time I would go without groceries to buy the bag I coveted(this is a true fact). I loved every bag and design from each season. That hasn’t happened in over 5 years.

Don’t even get me started on clothing lines. Ralph Lauren and Ann Taylor just don’t do it for me anymore. I loved these stores and their clothing lines. When I would go in the Ann Taylor store it screamed class. And the clothing was something that would last forever. I still have some of the “good stuff”. One of my other favorite stores White House/Black Market was the same. I wouldn’t be able to go in there without buying something and it took forever to narrow my choices down to a reasonable level of 3 items. I went to all of these stores this past weekend and didn’t buy one single thing. I didn’t see anything I liked or if I did even come close to liking it the cost was so high it didn’t warrant a purchase. But I would have most likely bought something no matter what if it called my name. All I heard were crickets…

I haven’t found a pair of shoes or boots I’ve absolutely loved in so long that I am still wearing my Bandolino black boots from 10 years ago. And even though they are 10 years old, people still come up and ask me where I got them. I did recently find a pair of purple suede booties, which really surprised me since I am not a big purple fan. But they were very cute and I hadn’t found anything in so long I just had to buy them. Also the point here is, I am still wearing a pair of boots that are 10 years old and they look like I bought them yesterday…QUALITY.

“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” ~ Henry Ford

So where did the quality go? I did some research on this and also by reading the brands websites and checking them out on Wikipedia I found out some very interesting facts, at least I thought they were interesting. Bandolino shoes and boots were first made in Italy. Enzo Angiolini designed for the company and even had his own line for awhile(I remember this and bought quite a few of his designs). They were part of US Shoe until Nine West bought them and then Jones Apparel Group. Then Nine West Holdings snapped them back up. From what I could dig up because they make it extremely hard to find out where these companies are doing their manufacturing, they are now produced in China.

Michael Kors was first made in Italy as well. Most of the finest leather comes from Italy so that makes sense. Now their purses are made in China, Korea and Vietnam. Coach bags were produced first in Italy. I didn’t know this. They were also made in the US, which is where I thought they were made. Now they are manufactured in China, Turkey and Thailand among others. Not in the US anymore as far as I could see. Another handbag I love is Hobo Brand International. They were founded by Toni Ray in 1991 on her dining room table in Annapolis, MD. She cashed in her life savings and headed to NY with her daughter and son in law. They were made here in the US. I can’t find anything to tell me where they are being made now. But the simple fact I can’t find it on their website with the rest of the story leads me to believe they are no longer made here. I could be wrong though.

Ann Taylor was founded by Richard Liebeskind and he named the stores after his father’s best selling dress at his own store. Their products were made in the US and are now manufactured in Bangladesh. Chico’s started out as Chicos Folk Art Specialties on Captiva Island, Florida. They acquired White House Black Market around 2004 which had started as a single store in Baltimore, MD in 1985. They also own SOMA. They manufacture in over 30 countries, some of which are China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and even the US.

And then we have Ralph Lauren. During the 2012 Olympics the uniforms the US Team wore were designed by him. He caught a lot of flack and there were even protests over the fact his clothing wasn’t made in the US and was in fact being manufactured in China. When the 2016 Summer Olympics rolled around Team USA’s uniforms were made in the US. The brand is manufactured in China, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

I tried and tried to find some lines of clothing and accessories that are still being made in the USA and here are a few:

  1. Frye Company – they make beautiful shoes, boots and handbags.
  2. LL Bean – boots and clothes
  3. Alex and Ani – jewelry and bags
  4. Pendelton – blankets and apparel
  5. New Balance – sneakers and sportswear
  6. American Apparel – clothing(hence the name apparel)
  7. SAS – shoes
  8. Stetson – hats and boots
  9. Lucky Brand Jeans – jeans and clothing (not sure if everything is made in the US but their jeans are. I absolutely love their sweaters because they have something you don’t see everyday…QUALITY. I can spot them a mile away. They have that look and feel I love. I hope it stays that way.

 

Boots and Sweater

Me at work in my Bandolino Boots and Lucky Brand Sweater

There were a few others on the list but I never heard of them, so I just posted the ones I knew. I think this is really a sad list. What do you think? Were these brands better off when they first started? Should they have just stayed small? Does the fact that they are manufacturing in countries other than the US make the clothing and other items look and feel differently. Can I say the word we are all thinking of…Cheap.. cause that is really what it is. It is cheaper to make the clothes and accessories in these countries, but then what they get is a cheaper looking item. Did the fact that the people who cared enough to start a company are no longer running it and a board that has no idea what their mission was is even on the same page now? Do they care what we as consumers want? I don’t know the answer to these questions but I got a news flash for you….If we keep buying this cheap crap they will continue to make it.

So what do you think? Do your favorite brands look and feel the same way they did a few years ago? If they don’t, what do you think the reason is? I’d love to hear from you about this.

“Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort. There must be the will to produce a superior thing. ~ John Ruskin

 

17Nov/16
jeans

“Forever In Blue Jeans”

Fashion, Humor, Life, Rants, ,

with all due respect to Neil Diamond…

jeans

my favorite things. water, a good book and my jeans…oh and jewelry.

Well I just had to post about this. It kinda got shoved under the carpet with the whole election thing going on…I saw an article posted recently where a group of Brits(2000 of them) were surveyed about what age women should stop wearing jeans…and they came up with the ripe old age of 53. We women, not men, should no longer wear jeans after we reach the 50’s. WTH? Who comes up with this stuff? Why was this survey even a thing? And who are these 2000 people who were surveyed?

With all the issues we have to survey people about someone thought this was a good idea. Well I have news for these people. I will not stop wearing my jeans…EVER.  You are going to have to pry my jeans off my cold dead body. I love my jeans. I always have since the very first pair I ever got. My Wranglers. I wore them as soon as I got home from school. I took off my skirt, knee socks and penny loafers and on went my jeans.That was when I wore my first pair, after that I was taking off my Capezios, my wool skirt and fur blend sweater to put on my Keds, sweatshirt and jeans.

Back in the 50’s and 60’s when I was growing up we weren’t allowed to wear jeans or any kind of pants to school. We had to wear a skirt and top or a dress. I guess that is why I am so loving them now and wearing them all the time. I couldn’t wear them for so long that I have to make up for all those years. I love jeans, honestly I wear them most of the time. I have different styles and colors but I wear them almost every single day.

Jeans were first worn by the miners, farmers and cowboys(love a cowboy in jeans, but that is another story). Levi Strauss created them in 1800’s. There was a need for a fabric that was strong enough to endure all the rough work they did. Someone noticed how cool they were and they were immediately mainstreamed into the stores for us. And thank goodness for that! Lee, Wrangler and Levis were the first ones I remember and then the designers got into the action. They knew a good thing and they couldn’t wait to cash in on the much loved jean craze.

Back in the 50’s there was just the plain old jeans and then with the 60’s came the Bell Bottoms. I wore both of course, being the fashionista that I was and still am. A few of the designers I remember and wore were Gloria Vanderbilt, Jordache(remember them..LOL), Guess and Ralph Lauren. Now I don’t really care about the label as long as they fit. But I do love my Calvin Klein and Michael Kors jeans. They just seem to fit me better than others. Cost doesn’t really come into play either, I have found some no name brands I love and don’t cost an arm and a leg and have really hated some expensive ones. My jeans just need to feel “right” for me to buy them and wear them.

The study also said it takes some women trying on 6 pairs of jeans before they find a pair they like and fit the way they want them to fit. I think that number may be low. I seem to recall the last time I was trying to find some and must have taken 10 pair into the dressing room, none of which fit…The survey also said 6% of women even wind up crying when they can’t find any to fit. Really? I know after the 10 pairs I tried on, I was exhausted and gave up for the day. But I didn’t cry. There is no crying in fashion…There was another study by the British earlier in the year that said we should stop wearing jeans at 47. What is it with the Brits? Do they want us American women to look old and frumpy so they will look cooler?

When you think back, we have had so many types of jeans, from your regular old denim jean to prewashed, preshrunk, distressed, faded, acid washed, low rise, high rise mom jeans(never a fan of these), straight leg, wide leg, and the ever popular skinny jeans. I know some people aren’t a fan of skinny jeans but I really like them and wear them, not the “so tight I can’t bend my legs” type skinny jeans, but they are great to wear with boots which I wear all the time. I have jeans in all colors and like black jeans a lot.  Can you tell I just love my jeans? Since it takes forever to find the perfect pair of jeans I think it makes you want to wear them until they wear out… and now that I mentioned it, I hate that. My favorite ever pair of jeans wear out and now I am on a mission to find some to replace them. We all know how that goes since you can buy the same style, same brand, same size and they don’t fit! What is that? The designers messing with us??

I have read in many fashion magazines that jeans are one of “the” most popular all time items of clothing. The reason being you can where them just about anywhere depending on how you dress them up or down. And the fact anyone can wear them, any sex, any nationality, or any age. Evidently the Brits, or at least 2000 of them don’t agree. I don’t care what “they” say or anyone else for that matter. I will keep on wearing my jeans. I will wear them until I don’t think I should. Since I don’t see that happening any time soon… someone..someday will have to pry them off my cold dead body.

“Money talks
But it don’t sing and dance
And it don’t walk
And long as I can have you here with me
I’d much rather be
Forever in blue jeans” – Neil Diamond

“I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity – all I hope for in my clothing.” ~ Yves Saint Laurent

and this one… “I want to die with my blue jeans on.” ~ Andy Warhol and me…

What about you? What do you think? Is there an age when women shouldn’t wear jeans anymore? Do you love jeans?

 

 

27Oct/16
traffic backed up

Top Ten Reasons I Hate Driving

Humor, Life, Rants, , ,

did I say how much I hate this…

traffic backed up

this is one reason…

I used to love driving, really I did, but that has changed now. Now there are too many cars on the road and too many people driving them that maybe shouldn’t be driving. Before you say anything, yes, my age may have something to do with my hatred of driving but I know a lot of people way younger than me that hate it too. Maybe I need a driver to go along with the pool boy I always wanted. By the way, I don’t have a pool but I’m sure I can think of some things to keep him busy. Back to the reason for this post…reasons I hate driving.

Here are my top ten…and believe me, I do have more than 10.

  1. Rude drivers – people who act like they are the only car on the road and everyone needs to just get out of their way. You see them coming and just move over so they can go by totally oblivious to anyone else being on the road. Because if you don’t get out of their way they will just run into you. I don’t think there’s a day that goes by lately that when I pull in my drive way after going somewhere, that I don’t just sit in my car for a few minutes and give thanks for making it home alive.
  2. Drivers who are texting or on their phones – here in my state as well as many others it is against the law to be on their phone but that sure doesn’t stop the ones I see every day texting or talking away. I actually saw a guy watching a movie on his iPad one day.
  3. Tailgaters – this one is high on my “hate list”. I especially hate when I am on a road that has more than one lane and the driver tailgating me can pass me, but doesn’t. It is like they are in the zone and don’t even know they are doing it until I slam on my brakes and wake them up. Yeah, I may or may not do that sometimes.
  4. Traffic – Is there anywhere you can go these days where there is no traffic? This is kind of a rhetorical question, because no.. it seems like there is traffic everywhere. Even the quaint little towns I used to love driving through because they didn’t have any, now do. Maybe this is due to the fact some huge builder is building homes there now because it is such a “quaint little town.”
  5. Maniacs – Well I’m not sure if they really are maniacs or not but they act like it. They weave back and forth in traffic thinking they are special and can pass everyone in the long line of traffic that is backed up the whole way for miles, only to end up a the same light or right beside you in the traffic line. I always look over and smile at them. It kinda helps pass the time.
  6. Dogs, Deer and Kids – Not especially in that order and I don’t hate them. I worry that they are going to run out in the street in front of my car when I see them alongside the road. I really worry about this. My reflexes aren’t what they used to be and I worry iI won’t be able to stop in time. And it’s not just the ones I mentioned. I don’t even want to hit a squirrel or skunk for that matter. Once there was this huge gathering of birds on the highway, traffic was in from of me, in back of me and beside me and I had no where to go but right through them. I felt there little bodies hitting under the car and it made me sick to my stomach. I didn’t even look in the rear view mirror.
  7. Driving at night – My night vision isn’t what it once was either, but really I never liked driving at night before when my vision was perfect. Come to think of it I really don’t like the dark. I like sunny days and daylight. Maybe it goes back to my childhood, who knows.
  8. Speed Limits – I am not complaining that we have them, I am saying no one bothers to follow them. I try, but it is difficult to drive the speed limit when everyone else is going 25 miles over it. Remember when we lowered the speed limit for safety and to conserve gas? I think that was why…but now they are constantly increasing it to 70 and even 80 in some areas. Do we really need to go that fast? Just leave in plenty of time and you will get there…and alive. And really it doesn’t matter what the speed limits are because no one goes the speed limit!! It is also hard to get off the ramp and onto these roads because you can’t really get up to 70 or 80 right off the bat and no one will let you in front of them because they are all speeding by at 90 miles an hour. So much for that safety thing.
  9. Getting to where I need to go – I don’t have a fancy car that has the map thingy that tells you where to go and when to turn. I used a friends “talking map thingy” once and it told me to turn where there wasn’t even a road. And I read all of the stories of people driving into ponds or oceans because it told them to do that. Not that I would do that by the way, but if it was dark I might not know the pond was there. Anyway, I don’t use one. I print out the map instructions and sometimes still get lost. And who is like me here, in that I turn the radio down when I am looking for the address or where to turn?? And what does that do? I still can’t find it.
  10. And last but certainly not least is Parallel Parking – I absolutely hate to do this and thank goodness we don’t have to very often these days. However should the occasion arise where I am in one of the ‘quaint little towns”, that is really the only way you can park. I will drive around for hours(well maybe 15 minutes) to find a place where I can just pull in. And in all other instances, I will use the parking decks. I will gladly pay rather than parallel park and hold up traffic with my back and forth trying to get in the space where there are SUV’s parked in front and back of me. What? They couldn’t make those spaces just a smidgen bigger??

I have heard that millennials don’t like driving either. They like living in the city so they can walk to work or take public transportation. I get it. I like living in my quaint little town, I can walk to the bank, post office and to get a cup of coffee in a few minutes time. I don’t like driving. I really like being a passenger. I like looking out the window and really seeing the landscape instead of staring straight ahead watching the maniac in front of me. Honestly, I just don’t like to drive anymore. It isn’t fun and in fact it is downright stressful. And who needs stress? I really do think I just need to get a driver. He can be best friends with the pool boy.

I leave you as always with a question and a quote. How do you feel about driving? I’d love to hear your comments.

“Baseball is a lot like driving, it’s the one who gets home safely that counts.” ~  Tommy Lasorda

20Oct/16
too many choices

Why Do We Have So Many Choices?

Life, Rants, ,

except in politics, but that’s another story….

too many choices

too many choices, I just can’t make a decision

I am really not just talking about shoes, although I may have a slight problem choosing the right ones especially when I go into one of those huge shoe stores. I’m talking about having just too many choices these days. I had a conversation with a friend this past weekend about music and groups and how when we were growing up we knew the names of all the groups and musicians. Now when we watch the awards shows on tv, 90% of the time we don’t know any of the nominees. I don’t think it’s because we are older, I think there are just so many of them that we don’t know who they all are. Speaking of tv, when we were young we had maybe 4 channels on the tv to choose from and that was enough, now I have several hundred and can’t find anything worth watching. I have channels I never even knew I had, nor do I know what is on them. Nor do I want to.

And it isn’t just tv or shoes. I go to the grocery store and am looking for a can of corn. I think there used to be maybe 2 or 3 kinds of corn. Del Monte and Green Giant quickly come to mind. Now there are rows and rows of corn to pick from. Some have salt, some don’t, some are organic, some aren’t, some aren’t even yellow. Some I don’t even know what kind of corn it is because I don’t understand what the label says. I looked and looked and until I finally just wanted to scream, “I just want a freakin can of corn.” I thought I was just thinking this in my head but maybe I really said it out loud because the woman next to me shielded her baby and zoomed off to the next aisle.

If you go to the beauty counter to get a red nail polish, there are 500 red nail polishes(that may be a slight exaggeration). Reddish brown, reddish purple, reddish red, red with a hint of black, red with a hint of gold. I just want to pick a bottle up and read the label and it says…”RED.” Is that too much to ask? Don’t even get me started on hair care products. Hair conditioners, mousse, shampoo and hair sprays. I can’t decide which one to use for my kind of hair. There is one for curly, there is one for dry hair, there is one for older women…well no there really isn’t but I’m surprised and then there is one for color treated(oops, now you know this blonde isn’t real). So which one should I pick? I stand there staring at them until my eyes get blurry and my head hurts and then I just get the same old one I always get. The one for curly hair. Maybe thats why my hair is so much more curly now.

Then there is clothing. And the color of the clothing. Recently, I needed a navy top to go under a sweater I bought that was white with navy stripes. Every navy top I got was the wrong shade of navy. How many shades of navy can there be you ask? Well the answer to that is at least 5 because I am now the proud owner of 5 different navy tops. And no, not one of them match my sweater. Why do we need so many shades of each color? We don’t need all these choices! And even with all the choices we have it is really hard to find just a plain ordinary beige top. Off white, cream colored. I needed this color as well as the navy one for under something and could not find one anywhere. Oh there were plenty of cream tops, racks of them in fact but they had a pocket or something lacy hanging out of the bottom or worse, had dolman sleeves..which doesn’t work too well under a jacket or sweater.

Do you know all the brands of cars there are today? I just saw a commercial for a new car and it was called Genesis. I thought, wow I never heard of that. I looked it up and it is Hyundai’s new luxury car. Wait, Hyundai has a luxury car…But seriously, when I was growing up, we basically had Chevys, Fords, Oldsmobile and Plymouths. Also there were a few cool sports cars. But I knew them all. When I would see one I could name it. Now I have no idea what car I am seeing in front of me on the road until I look at the name and even then I don’t know what it is.

When did all of this start? This “having so many choices” thing.. Do we really need all of these choices or does having too many of them just make us want more? Or does it make us throw up our hands and decide to not get anything at all? I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I do know this, if I finally do find a lipstick color or hair spray I love after the many hours and weeks of searching and trying one after another of them till I find it, someone somewhere in an office far away makes a decision that I shouldn’t use that color or hair spray anymore because they decide to discontinue it. Then the never ending search through the aisles and aisles of lipstick and hair spray begins anew. So I guess when all is said and done it really doesn’t matter how many choices we have.

What do you think? Do we have to many choices these days?

Here are a couple quotes about choices.

“Too many choices can overwhelm us and cause us to not choose at all. For businesses, this means that if they offer us too many choices, we may not buy anything.” ~ Sheena lyengar, Author of “The Art of Choosing.”

And I really like this one, and it can pertain to anything in life.

“We are our choices.” ~ J.P. Sartre

 

 

19May/16

Hey, I Still Know Stuff…

Lifestyle, Rants, , ,

I may be getting older but I still know a little something

Listen to me kid..

Listen to me kid..

Do all the young whippersnappers around you make you feel old or like you don’t know anything? Do you sometimes feel left out of conversations at dinners or a party because of your age? Do you feel you are totally dismissed, like you couldn’t possibly have a clue at “your age” of anything remotely relevant to the subject. Or worse, when you do finally have a chance to comment, you get the “eye roll.”

There have been several occasions lately where I felt this way. Maybe it was just me and the way I was feeling at the time or could it be I took the comments the wrong way, but it seems like this happens all too frequently these days. I have heard some of my friends talking about this and have seen comments on social media where the “older generation” is made fun of or mocked because how could they possibly know about anything current or interesting. I personally have felt it in a store and on the phone with a company I was dealing with.

It is all a little disconcerting to be treated in this way. To hear comments such as, “well that was then and this is now,” or “yes, I know they did it like that back in your day, but this is the way we do it in today’s world.” They may as well throw in “you old geezer” when saying these things because you know it is what they are thinking. It makes me angry to be treated like I don’t know anything or that I am incompetent because I am a certain age, it is the same way I felt when I was growing up and was treated at times like I couldn’t possibly know anything because I was a girl.

We should never be too quick to judge people on what they know just by looking at them. Nor should a whole generation be judged by their age. My generation, The Baby Boomers have gone through so many times and eras of change and revolution. We changed the world back then and we are changing it now. We have been through and seen so much and come out on the other side and in doing so we may have just gained a tiny bit of knowledge that we can pass along in today’s much different world.

“Age is not how old you are, but how many years of fun you’ve had.” -Matt Maldre

Our generation did not have all the electronics that we have today. We didn’t have computers or even calculators. So we had to learn all of this later in life. Kids today from the moment they are born are electronically connected and they know how to do things we are just learning to do. I have taught myself how to do most things by trial and error and believe me there were a lot of errors. But that is how you learn and continue to grow. I started this blog and had to learn so many things about how to get it out there for the world to even read it. I amazed myself at what I had a accomplished and that I did it all by myself. So I know a little about some stuff.

We should not be dismissed, we are still relevant. We know stuff. We know a little about a lot and we know a lot about a little. These wrinkles you mention mean I have been many places. These age spots you focus on mean I have lived and done things you will never do. These old eyes you look into have seen things…some wonderful and some I hope you will never see. When you look at us try to see what is really there. Try to see us as a whole person and see where we’ve come from and what we brought along with us. See us as having something valuable to offer. We may surprise you.

I remember growing up and listening to my grandfather for hours on end thinking he was the smartest man I ever knew. He had been through so much in his life and had so many wonderful stories and such valuable information to share that I just wanted to soak up everything he told me. I hung on his every word and loved listening to him.  And I don’t remember ever rolling my eyes during one of these conversations, not even once. Do the kids today even care about what we have to tell them? Do they want to hear our stories? I hope so.

So what do you think about this? Do you feel like the younger generation thinks we are no longer relevant? How do we change this? The bigger question is, should we even try?

We are relevant and we know stuff! Just ask us, we’ll tell you!

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~ C.S. Lewis

 

09May/16

My Child Is How Old??

Humor, Lifestyle, Rants, ,

How do I have a child that’s 50, when I am only 50 myself?

This is what she looks like in my mind

This is what she looks like in my mind…

So it happened this past weekend, my oldest(thank goodness) child turned 50! I really don’t know how this happened and where the time has gone. I just turned 50 myself. I remember it well, my kids had a wonderful 50th birthday surprise party for me. It was just last year, wasn’t it? It sure feels like it was. I remember the day Shelly was born and that a day afterward, it was Mother’s Day and I celebrated it in the hospital. But really, how did this happen?

This recent turn of events has caused me to do some thinking on how quickly time passes and how we don’t have endless days and years here on this earth. We need to do, say and be all that we want, when we want or miss the opportunity to do so. Our children grow up, our grandkids grow up and we can’t change that or stop time. There are days when I am with them and suddenly it hits me and I think to myself.. “right now, this moment, I would like to freeze this moment and stay in it forever.”

There are always times in your life which cause you to reflect. When the kids graduate from high school or college, when they marry, when they turn certain ages. But the age thing I think are always, at least for me, a time for reflecting the most. When they turned 16 was one of those times, then 21 and 30 and so on. But 50! Come on, I just can’t even.

Shelly in her much hated Danskin outfit

Shelly in her much hated Danskin outfit and the also much hated Poodle curtains behind her.(she was scared of them)

Remember when we were kids and it seemed like it took forever for our birthdays to roll around? Now I have one and it is no sooner over and there is another one coming so quickly I barely get the gifts put away from the first. Well I may have exaggerated a bit here but you get the gist of what I’m saying. Time flies by. My oldest grandson will be 14 this year and I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. In fact I think it was yesterday..

I remember my Mom telling me all of this and her acting all weepy sometimes about our gatherings for birthdays and holidays and how she wanted us all together. She wanted pictures and we all had to be there or we would suffer her endless reminders of how we didn’t show up for the much anticipated get together or event. I didn’t quite understand her angst then, but now “I get it.”

But back to the subject at hand…my child turning 50! Because this is what I am ranting about. I enjoyed my 50’s immensely. It was one of my better decades. My kids were all grown and living on their own(for the most part, occasionally one would drift back in for a time). I was in good shape physically and had a lot of stamina. I was even riding a bike for 20-30 miles at a time. I had a lot of fun those years as well. What happened to that person? I feel the same inside but the outside isn’t communicating to well with the inside. I remember those times vividly and fondly. So I hope the 50’s decade is a good one for my daughter, I hope she enjoys these years and remembers them with as much joy as I do.

My daughter is not just my daughter, she is also my friend. Being so close in age and having gone through all we went through to get this point in life has created a bond which I know will last forever. She is funny, smart, loving and a total music freak. Seriously, she absolutely loves music. One of the many things we share is that love of music and we go to a lot of concerts together. We love the beach and go as often as we can. We both love sitting on a beach where there is not a soul around us and just enjoy the view and sea air.  Sadly for us, most of the time on these empty beautiful beaches a family of ten comes by and pitches their tent right beside our chairs…Another thing we share is a love of shopping but that isn’t always a good thing. We are not good for each other as we encourage the other to buy. But we do have fun. We always have fun!

 

Shelly and I in Outer Banks

Shelly and I in Outer Banks

And so I wish for her to have 50 more years to go to concerts and for me to be able to go with her. I can only hope!

I leave you as always with a question and a quote.

What are your thoughts on your children growing older, turning, 16, 21 or 50??

“The relationship between parents and children, but especially between mothers and daughters, is tremendously powerful, scarcely to be comprehended in any rational way.” – Joyce Carol Oates

and this one just for the fun of it…and because it made me laugh.
“Daughters are like flowers, they fill the world with beauty, and sometimes attract pests.”  ~Author Unknown

15Apr/16

In Search Of The Perfect Pillow…

Humor, Lifestyle, Rants, ,

is there even such a thing?

pillow puffed and ready to go

pillow puffed and ready to go

I have been in search of the “perfect pillow” for quite a while now. Maybe as long as 10 years.. And in that time I have purchased and rejected at least 15 pillows. The pillow I am using now I got about a year ago and I have to say when I first got it I loved it, it was indeed “the perfect pillow”…now not so much.

I never had a problem with a pillow when I was younger. I just went to bed and slept comfortably on my side and woke up ready to go(well maybe not ready to go, but woke up feeling fine). I only used one pillow for many years and then had to have two. I needed a little bit more support. I don’t think I ever even gave my pillow a second thought. It was just there waiting for me when I crawled in bed. Then a few years ago I started having problems with my neck at times and finally attributed it to the pillow/pillows I was using. I had to travel for work during this time and when I was at a hotel I noticed I didn’t have the neck problems when I woke up. I didn’t really give it much thought at first but after a few times it made me stop and think about why I was feeling so much better when I woke up at the hotel as opposed to at home. I felt great. I slept soundly and my neck felt relaxed all day. This happened every single time I went there and it was at least once a month if not more. I loved those pillows. And I had to have one!

I would forget all about the pillows until the whole neck thing would return and believe me, it did return. And then I would be at the hotel again and it was better. So I decided I had to find those pillows no matter what. I searched online and of course on Amazon, my go to site for everything. I found so many “hotel” pillows I wasn’t sure which one to get. So I looked the next time I was at the hotel as to the brand name they had there. Well, that was of no help as It was just the name of the hotel, they wanted you to buy their brand. I looked it up and they were $75 for one pillow, one pillow. I never paid more than $25 for a pillow and wasn’t about to do it now. I found one with rave reviews and purchased it. It cost $45. I didn’t think I would ever pay that much for a pillow but when you think about how much time you spend sleeping I guess its worth it.

I purchased the pillow and loved it. I could wait to unpack it and try it out. It was wonderful and truly worth every penny. I slept soundly and my neck did not bother me. I told everyone about my wonderful pillow. I was in heaven. I have had the pillow for about a year now and it’s “broken.” The reviews did say that after a while the pillow gets flat. Flat??? Flat is an understatement. It bunches up at the top but down at the bottom(where your head and neck are) it is nonexistent. It’s like I am sleeping on my arm, because I have my arm under it to give me a smidgen of support. If you take the pillow and put it in the dryer and fluff it, it is fine…for 5 minutes. But then it’s back to the new pancake style pillow I now own.

what my pillow looks like

what my pillow looks like on my bed

 

There is another issue as well. Not only does my “new” pillow not give me any support, it makes my hair flat. Flat hair, just like the flat pillow. I’m really not liking this at all. I don’t even understand how it does that. Anyone that knows me knows my hair is curly and somewhat puffy. How can a pillow manage to flatten my hair? So its back to the drawing board and the never ending search. I found one on Amazon, it is Bamboo, it’s made in America and its $49.99. I think I may try it.

I am hoping this will work. I am into this whole “earthy” Bamboo thing since I got my Bamboo mattress pad. I love it, is very comfy and cool in the summer and keeps me warm in the winter.

 

 

So that’s the deal. I really hope I find the perfect pillow. I am always searching for something. I think my life would be dull without a quest of some kind to keep me entertained. It keeps me on my toes. Speaking of toes, I would rather it be shoes I am looking for.. Oh, never mind, I am still looking for the perfect pair of flats.

I leave you once again my friends with a quote and a question. In fact two quotes, I couldn’t decide which one I liked best so I thought I would give you both.

“A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.” ~ Charlotte Bronte

“Fatigue is the best pillow.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Do you have a favorite pillow? If its great and you love it, tell me about it in the comments. I may try it.

Disclaimer: This post contains links to an affiliate site and if you click on the link and purchase something (which would be wonderful) I would make enough to buy a coffee.

 

14Jan/16

“Respect”…

Lifestyle, Rants, , ,

cemetery-269668_960_720

“all I’m asking for is a little respect”

I used this line from Aretha Franklin’s song because I thought it was a great one and a good way to start this post about respect or actually the lack of it in today’s world. I am deeply saddened every day when I see stories on the news of how we are treating people, our country, our children and even our animals. How have we somehow lost respect for everything we used to hold so dear?

When I was growing up we respected our elders and got up to let an older person have our seat when they came into the room. We didn’t talk over people and most of the time we weren’t even in the same room where grownup conversations were going on. For the most part we were taught to speak when spoken to. We certainly never talked back and if we did, what happened next sure wasn’t pretty. But we learned from that not to ever do it again. It was called respect.

Our parents and grandparents were respectful of our country and the people who ran  it. Even if they did not agree with the politics or the person holding the office, they showed respect for that office. I can’t ever remember even one time any one of them ever made disparaging remarks about someone in office. Of course they didn’t always agree with that person and they definitely would talk about what needed to be done differently. And just so you know, my grandparents and parents, every one of them, had very strong opinions to be sure, but never did they resort to name calling or making fun of the person in any way. I shudder to think what my Grandpa who taught Sunday School would have to say about the way we speak about our elected officials today.

It started in the home, our respect thing. We had dinner together every single night. My parents would ask how our school day went and we actually talked to each other. No one looked at a book or watched television. If we listened to music it was soft and in the background. We connected and enjoyed our time together. And no one left the table until everyone was finished and certainly if they did it wasn’t without asking if it was ok for us to do so. It was called respect.

We also respected our teachers and law enforcement. People knew there were rules and laws and they knew the consequences of breaking them. If we did at some point break the law or a rule and had to pay the price, we didn’t get a lawyer to sue the state or school because “they” did something wrong. We accepted our role as the one who did wrong and we accepted the punishment.

Our respect of others was always very important and along with that respect was manners. We said excuse me if we bumped into someone, opened doors for people and helped our parents and grandparents without being asked or expecting money for it. We wrote handwritten thank you notes for gifts or at least called the person on the phone and talked to them. It was called respect.

I don’t know when all of this changed. When did we as a people get so caught up in the day to day world of work and life that we seem to have lost respect for everything? We don’t even respect something so simple as the fact that someone may have a different opinion than ours. I would like to see us return to those days when respect was important. It could maybe help us to heal and move forward as a nation and as human beings. At least is would be a great first step.

“Show respect even to people who don’t deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours.” ~ David Willis