I try to live humbly. I don't have the latest and greatest of anything at all. My clothes are mostly 5+ years old. Don't even ask about my car. I get a used car when the old one either dies completely or I total it in an ugly accident. And cell phone? I've used the same iPhone 3 for about 5 years maybe. The screen was badly cracked about 2 years ago. Hey, it still worked so I found no need to get a newer one. And I admit, I'm the frugal type. I'm not signing up for a 2-year cell phone contract for $100 a month just to have a new smart phone every 2 years. LOL I'm terrible!!!
But the iPhone 3 has started becoming less and less functional. Apps don't work too often and the touch screen isn't as great. So last month I convinced myself to upgrade. Not to an iPhone 6 Plus. But to a state-of-the-art iPhone 4. I absolutely loved it. Only issue, which is a HUGE issue, is that it's a Verizon phone. I do not get reliable Verizon phone service here. Metro Atlanta of all places! You'd think I'd be well covered. But I'm not. My 3 was an AT&T phone and my service was incredible.
But the apps I was able to run were incredible. A medication reminder, a blood glucose log, games, etc. I was loving it. So last night I decided to wash my bedsheets. I had my phone on the charger on my bed and I made a point of taking my phone off my bed. Since I had alot of extra room in the washer I decided to add a few more sheets that I had used. Apparently, my phone fell in this pile without me knowing it.
I immediately put my phone in rice to absorb the moisture. Not sure how long you're supposed to do this. But I tried plugging my phone in today, and sure enough, it didn't work. I don't think it will ever work again. I got one month of use out of it.
Worse, I don't have a landline. And I'm supposed to start a new job Friday. I'm just so sad about it because I used it for so much. Besides email, I have no contact with the outside world. The phone I held off for years to purchase it dead. I guess I can buy a new one for $60 that I don't have. I just need to scream.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
6/29/15: iPhone Gripes
I have an iPhone 4. I'm pretty humble all around, but I'm definitely not the type to have the latest and greatest phone. My phone was like $80 and it does everything I need it to. No reason to sign into a 2-year expensive contract just to get a phone that's MSRP at $700. I don't have a contract. I signed up for Straight Talk and it's like $40 a month. It says that it's unlimited data, but from what I hear if you use alot of data it will start to slow down to where it's next to useless. 99% of the time I run off of wi-fi anyways so it's never been an issue for me. BUT the BIGGEST complaint I have is that the phone I bought was a Verizon phone. It runs off Verizon cell towers. I have ALWAYS used AT&T phones. Didn't really think twice about it. But I literally get very little phone service from my home. It's annoyingly hilarious how I play Phone Twister. My Pennsylvania buddy and I can talk for 3 or 4 hours at a time. But now I have to lay in the middle of my bed, on my stomach, and I cannot move my head. Sometimes I have to suddenly move into a different position where I have one arm bent in the air holding the phone, halfway on my side. Sometimes I have to sit at my front door. Sometimes I have to stand in the middle of my driveway. Once, I almost had to stand in the middle of the street. "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?" Ugh. As soon as I get the money I'm selling this phone for an AT&T phone. It was great the time I received a call telling me I got the job I was interviewing for and we got cut off twice!!!!! I was so angry.
Staying Motivated to Walk: RunKeeper App!
Because I want to improve on my blood sugar numbers (I am a Type 1 diabetic) I have decided to get back to walking. I used to do it all the time and loved it! I LOVE music and this is my opportunity to be alone with my thoughts. Fortunately, most of my favorite music is very upbeat with a great tempo for walking. My thing is that I hate walking during the day. I'm weird like that. I feel like people are watching me and criticizing. Like "Look at that fat chick trying to get healthy". Haha... I'm so hard on myself. I mentally abuse myself, I swear. And I shouldn't put myself down. But that's another story for another day.
Anyways, so back to walking. I downloaded an app that I HIGHLY recommend. I'm not getting any monetary compensation for promoting it. I'm promoting it because the features are top notch. The name of it is RunKeeper. It's for anyone, whether running or walking. So here is a screenshot. It's not from my personal screen, just one I found online.
So let me point out a few things in each screen. First of all, I highly recommend connecting the app to Facebook. You are able to connect with other friends from Facebook and see what activity they have been doing. I think it's great for motivation, especially if you have a friend that wants to lose weight/get healthy with you. If they see you haven't been walking or running in awhile they can get on to you and push you to keep going. If you allow it, it can also post to your Facebook page that you just worked out! Be proud of your hard work!!!
Ok, so the screen on the left. It keeps track of how many miles you walked. As you can see with this lady, she ran 6.2 miles in the current month of October. Then it compares her previous month of September where she ran 4.5 miles. She can see that she's accomplished more this month than last month. It looks as though she set a goal for herself of 100 miles. All in all she has run 71.7 miles. It keeps track of your pace and at the bottom of the screen you can see her record pace was 11:45/mile.
The next screen shows her current workout session. At that current point she was running for 23 minutes 47 seconds. I generally shoot for 1 hour of walking at this point to begin with. So it's great this app keeps track of that so if I fall short, I can push myself to keep going. Using GPS it keeps track of your speed. It's not shown in this particular image, but it has a map of the area you're walking. It colors a line to show your route. I think that's a really cool feature. So of course it also shows your current distance for that session. I don't really have a distance goal, but I try to aim for 2 miles per session.
The next screen shows a list of your friends that you're linked to from Facebook that also use the app. It's pretty fun to see who is in the lead. I'm currently 3rd place of my friends, which is ok. I'm not really the competitive type. Right now I'm just trying to stay focused and making a routine of it. I don't want to give up. Maybe once I'm addicted to walking/running I can push myself to beat my buddy Omar who is the workout king LOL
The last screen displays a feature where you can post your workout for the world to see on Facebook. If you want to leave a comment about your workout you can type it here before you post.
So, it's a great app. Everything I explained to you is totally free. There are options that you can pay for, but I'm super cheap and I don't see a reason to hyper-analyze my walks. Oh! I forgot to mention. It also tells you your elevation. So if you're walking up and down hill alot it will give you credit for that.
Here's the links. Hope they work. If not, please comment and let me know. If you use this app leave comments below of your experience!
Anyways, so back to walking. I downloaded an app that I HIGHLY recommend. I'm not getting any monetary compensation for promoting it. I'm promoting it because the features are top notch. The name of it is RunKeeper. It's for anyone, whether running or walking. So here is a screenshot. It's not from my personal screen, just one I found online.
So let me point out a few things in each screen. First of all, I highly recommend connecting the app to Facebook. You are able to connect with other friends from Facebook and see what activity they have been doing. I think it's great for motivation, especially if you have a friend that wants to lose weight/get healthy with you. If they see you haven't been walking or running in awhile they can get on to you and push you to keep going. If you allow it, it can also post to your Facebook page that you just worked out! Be proud of your hard work!!!
Ok, so the screen on the left. It keeps track of how many miles you walked. As you can see with this lady, she ran 6.2 miles in the current month of October. Then it compares her previous month of September where she ran 4.5 miles. She can see that she's accomplished more this month than last month. It looks as though she set a goal for herself of 100 miles. All in all she has run 71.7 miles. It keeps track of your pace and at the bottom of the screen you can see her record pace was 11:45/mile.
The next screen shows her current workout session. At that current point she was running for 23 minutes 47 seconds. I generally shoot for 1 hour of walking at this point to begin with. So it's great this app keeps track of that so if I fall short, I can push myself to keep going. Using GPS it keeps track of your speed. It's not shown in this particular image, but it has a map of the area you're walking. It colors a line to show your route. I think that's a really cool feature. So of course it also shows your current distance for that session. I don't really have a distance goal, but I try to aim for 2 miles per session.
The next screen shows a list of your friends that you're linked to from Facebook that also use the app. It's pretty fun to see who is in the lead. I'm currently 3rd place of my friends, which is ok. I'm not really the competitive type. Right now I'm just trying to stay focused and making a routine of it. I don't want to give up. Maybe once I'm addicted to walking/running I can push myself to beat my buddy Omar who is the workout king LOL
The last screen displays a feature where you can post your workout for the world to see on Facebook. If you want to leave a comment about your workout you can type it here before you post.
So, it's a great app. Everything I explained to you is totally free. There are options that you can pay for, but I'm super cheap and I don't see a reason to hyper-analyze my walks. Oh! I forgot to mention. It also tells you your elevation. So if you're walking up and down hill alot it will give you credit for that.
Here's the links. Hope they work. If not, please comment and let me know. If you use this app leave comments below of your experience!
Download RunKeeper for your iPhone or Android smartphone
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Alice Meme
Alice the Amish Pup has a new meme. It fits her because just today she was barking strong at a jogger. Daddy sticks his head out the door to yell at her to stop & get in the house. I know this is EXACTLY what she was thinking:
The Horses: Holly & Ed
Sorry it's been so long. Pretty busy with spring cleaning. I think I've done away with 30 bags of trash. I should set it out in the driveway and set an ad for free stuff. Donate the rest. I cleaned tons of clothes & I'm hoping to sort through them today. Last thing to do is sort through plastic bins in the attic. I've lived in this house since 2010 & that's when I put the bins up there. If I haven't needed anything from them by now, I probably never will. Except for genuine keepsakes.
Ed the Amish Horse. So rowdy & impatient. Fast with the buggy!
Alice the Amish Pup! Wanting to jump up again. Teaching her "Be pretty. You can't jump on ladies."
Holly the Amish Horse. So sweet & shy.
Anyways, so my friends in Lancaster Co. all got a foot or two of snow! I'm so jealous. As it turns out Alice ABSOLUTELY loves the snow. About more than a lively group of children! She eats it. Runs real fast through it. Skids out. Loves snowballs thrown at her. You can hardly bring her inside!! My buddy plays outside with her, and when she wants to come in, she wants to stay out. Later, she barks like she wants to come in, so he opens the door & she runs away like "Come on! Come out and play with me!". She does this all night. Around 9:00 is bedtime & often she squeezes every minute out of playtime. Then she's passed out for the night.
She's really taken to her doggy bed. Not much jumping & sleeping on the couch. He's been trying to break her of that cause she sheds & is wet & yucky after being outside. She has a big dog cage for bedtime, but she pulled her blankets out and pulled them to her dog bed!! So now she lays on her bed to sleep rather than in the cage. I think she was born in June 2014, so she's going on 8 months in February? No way!
She's also less scared of the helicopter. It was on the floor one day & she got brave enough to finally touch it. Then she bumped the wooden rocking chair & that scared her! She's also learned to jump & spin when playing with the laser light. She's so addicted to that. She just lands on her big paws with a THUD! She's funny. Sort of clumsy sometimes. I say she lets her butt lead her. She flops down with her butt first. Speaking of "flop" she still has the adorable "flop ears"! I love her.
I imagine her with a dog friend. I think she'd love that, but it would be extra work for my buddy. It's just him & Alice. He works outside of home in a physically demanding job, comes home to care for his two horses, tends to his house... He actually does alot. But Alice has kept him good company.
In Georgia, I have an issue. My front door has a glass "screen" door that doesn't always latch. It's winter so I often have my front door closed & locked. I'll let my kitty Jonas outside to do his cat thing. He now knows how to open the glass door when it's not latched. Then it has closed & latched a few times. I hear "meeeeeeow!" and open the front door. Jonas is stuck between both doors! I don't know exactly how he does this. He's a real bonehead sometimes!
Well, enough of that for now. It's lunchtime. Got a special treat in store for my next post! :-) Bye!
Featuring: Lex's Buggy Art
This is one that I saw on Facebook and "Liked". Over time I would notice these gorgeous pictures posting on my timeline and I soon took a notice to the page alot more. I flipped through picture after picture of Amish-themed art. Just my type! Nothing extremely flashy, heavily detailed. Just comfortable, picturing a quiet, simple life of the Amish.
I recently had a mini-interview with the artist, Lexie, to discover what was the inspiration, the beginning of it all:
She wraps up by saying,
Let me take you into my mind when looking at these. Breathing slowly, more relaxed, away from the stress and demand of English life. Standing outside in an Amish community. Nothing but quiet farmland everywhere. Walking to the barns, observing the animals, watching the sunrise, and hearing children laugh as they chase each other to the one room school house. That's how my personal Amish experiences have been, and although Amish life (like all) isn't perfect, it's the most "fitting" for me.
"My motivation for starting these paintings came about approx.. 8 years ago.
I was living in Florida and painting colorful abstracts motivated by the area. I sold at art shows, in N.Y., Michigan, and other parts of the country, I also donated those abstract by requests to various auctions.
I had seen something about the Amish on the Oprah show that moved me to learn more about them…it was about how their faith in God motivated how they lived…this was why they were so peaceful no matter what the circumstances.
I wanted some of that peace..."
I can definitely understand that feeling of peace. I think it's keeping life simpler and slower-paced life some of us crave. Some are big city people who thrive off the lights, sounds, the energy. Some people are the exact opposite. Many are in-between.
"While shopping in a local Walmart one day I found myself in the book section and saw some books by Beverly Lewis…I reached for the books like I was taking my last meal…lol…and after reading them I was hooked on the Amish and their lifestyle and never looked back."
Although fiction books are, well, fiction, they are wonderful to read! I often get audiobooks from Audible and lose myself in the stories. I'm definitely not a romance fan, but I admit, Amish romance. Ahhhh. I like :-)
"...Because of my admiration, and respect for the Amish I decided to start a series of Amish buggy paintings which I did on small pieces of found wood.
I found that I felt an incredible peace while painting these buggy scenes and my customers told me the same thing.
I thought if I could offer that same peace to others who view these paintings than that would be a good thing..."
You've definitely brought me peace with your paintings! Pulls you in completely!
"...Surprisingly to me I sold them out very quickly in Florida…and now about 8 years later and back home on Long Island N.Y. I am still painting them on found wood, still enjoying the process, and love the feedback, and stories of how my paintings reminded my customers of special moments in Amish country.
I do still continue to paint and sell my abstracts, but I have a special heart for my Amish paintings..."
There are 3 different pages on Facebook. I encourage everyone to take a look at them and "Like" them. There is a different style of art page and one called "Lexie's Soaps"! How cool and crafty?! Links are below.
She wraps up by saying,
"There are some prices listed for all my work but since I paint in various sizes most of my customers PM me or email me for the details of pricing."
I hope you all love the assortment and quality of everything. I hope to find more treasures out there!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Lancaster, the Amish, and Alice
I currently live in the Atlanta, Georgia area but I was born and raised in Ohio. I left there when I married my high school sweetheart. He enlisted in the Navy and our son and I moved with him to Virginia Beach, Virginia. It's a very long story but all these years later I'm in Georgia. But the best place in the world to me is Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I think because it reminds me so much of home in Ohio. Because my mother and brother have passed away, I really don't want to move back to Ohio. But I found a new home in Lancaster County. Well, home in my heart. My wish is to relocate there. It's absolutely incredible.
So, what's the first few things that come to mind when you hear "Lancaster County"? Bet at least one thing would be "Amish". Oh buggies, bonnets, straw hats and beards. I have been absolutely blessed to get to know wonderful Amish friends. And while I'm there I spend time at an Amish home in a nice rural area with two horses and... a dog. Alice. I will talk about the Amish in a later post. Right now I'm going to talk about "Alice the Amish Pup".
Can dogs be Amish? LOL actually no. But her owner is Amish. She has to endure a life with no air conditioning, no TV (just in case dogs actually watch TV), she barks at the horses, she chases the buggy, and she helps my buddy clean out the horse stalls every day. This is absolutely the funniest dog I've ever known. I grew up with dogs all my life. I've had some bonehead dogs that still leave me shaking my head. But none of them compare to Alice.
While I was in Lancaster back in December I was at Petsmart with my friend David. He bought her a dog bed to sleep on so she'd stop sleeping on his couch. The Amish do not have any carpet whatsoever in their homes. So the floor is hard and cold in the winter. She really liked her bed at first. It was a new novelty item for her. But she still had a habit of jumping on the couch. She was 6 months old at the time so David wanted to break her of her habit. So one day an idea came to mind. He noticed that she is scared of the sound of aluminum foil. Doesn't make sense, it's just an "Alice thing". So he started placing foil squares on his couch when he left for work. He started to notice that when she jumped on the couch she'd hear that noise and immediately jump down. Eventually she spent more time laying on her bed.
Another thing we bought for her was a laser light. Let me tell you Alice will chase that light all over the house for hours. Literally. It's a fact, she's addicted. David has a strict routine to his day. The last of his chores is cleaning out the horse stables. I'll talk about his horses, Ed and Holly, later. In the winter, by the time he was done with that it was pretty well dark outside. So that's when he decided to chase Alice with the laser light. Rather, she chased the light. He uses an electric fence to keep her in a safe area in a pretty large yard. So she's not chained, she knows where the boundaries area and doesn't test it, and she's free to run. Perfect for playing laser light at night. Alice got so accustomed to playing right after he cleaned the stalls that, as the season changed and we went ahead an hour, she sat ready to play, even though it was still too light outside. So she has her little routine, as well, by watching what David is doing.
She just has these funny things that she does that are just adorable to me. It about killed me when I went back to visit in April. She has always been scared of the stairs. She absolutely would not brave the stairs. When I arrived at David's house in April I went upstairs. Alice followed me up the stairs and then, when she realized what she did, acted SO proud of herself! Life was a big party at that point! When I wasn't at the house she would sit at the bottom of the stairs looking up. I like to think she was waiting for me to come down the stairs. She eventually started going back up the stairs which frustrates David. That was the one part of the house that was his. That he had quiet and peace. Now she has learned to invade it. With it being summer time, and there being no air conditioning in the house (Amish aren't allowed electricity or air conditioning), it is hot. Thunderstorms also scare her (David calls her "The Scaredy Cat") and she runs upstairs to hide from the thunder. David tries to sleep at night but can't because she lays against his closet. As she pants, her chest pounds against the closet door and keeps David up. She's definitely becoming high maintenance!
So, here are some pictures of Alice from my December trip. She is looking around for her laser light. Her favorite? On the ceiling! Oh... Did I mention her nickname is also "Flop Ears"? Her crazy ears add to her silly personality!
So, what's the first few things that come to mind when you hear "Lancaster County"? Bet at least one thing would be "Amish". Oh buggies, bonnets, straw hats and beards. I have been absolutely blessed to get to know wonderful Amish friends. And while I'm there I spend time at an Amish home in a nice rural area with two horses and... a dog. Alice. I will talk about the Amish in a later post. Right now I'm going to talk about "Alice the Amish Pup".
Can dogs be Amish? LOL actually no. But her owner is Amish. She has to endure a life with no air conditioning, no TV (just in case dogs actually watch TV), she barks at the horses, she chases the buggy, and she helps my buddy clean out the horse stalls every day. This is absolutely the funniest dog I've ever known. I grew up with dogs all my life. I've had some bonehead dogs that still leave me shaking my head. But none of them compare to Alice.
While I was in Lancaster back in December I was at Petsmart with my friend David. He bought her a dog bed to sleep on so she'd stop sleeping on his couch. The Amish do not have any carpet whatsoever in their homes. So the floor is hard and cold in the winter. She really liked her bed at first. It was a new novelty item for her. But she still had a habit of jumping on the couch. She was 6 months old at the time so David wanted to break her of her habit. So one day an idea came to mind. He noticed that she is scared of the sound of aluminum foil. Doesn't make sense, it's just an "Alice thing". So he started placing foil squares on his couch when he left for work. He started to notice that when she jumped on the couch she'd hear that noise and immediately jump down. Eventually she spent more time laying on her bed.
Another thing we bought for her was a laser light. Let me tell you Alice will chase that light all over the house for hours. Literally. It's a fact, she's addicted. David has a strict routine to his day. The last of his chores is cleaning out the horse stables. I'll talk about his horses, Ed and Holly, later. In the winter, by the time he was done with that it was pretty well dark outside. So that's when he decided to chase Alice with the laser light. Rather, she chased the light. He uses an electric fence to keep her in a safe area in a pretty large yard. So she's not chained, she knows where the boundaries area and doesn't test it, and she's free to run. Perfect for playing laser light at night. Alice got so accustomed to playing right after he cleaned the stalls that, as the season changed and we went ahead an hour, she sat ready to play, even though it was still too light outside. So she has her little routine, as well, by watching what David is doing.
She just has these funny things that she does that are just adorable to me. It about killed me when I went back to visit in April. She has always been scared of the stairs. She absolutely would not brave the stairs. When I arrived at David's house in April I went upstairs. Alice followed me up the stairs and then, when she realized what she did, acted SO proud of herself! Life was a big party at that point! When I wasn't at the house she would sit at the bottom of the stairs looking up. I like to think she was waiting for me to come down the stairs. She eventually started going back up the stairs which frustrates David. That was the one part of the house that was his. That he had quiet and peace. Now she has learned to invade it. With it being summer time, and there being no air conditioning in the house (Amish aren't allowed electricity or air conditioning), it is hot. Thunderstorms also scare her (David calls her "The Scaredy Cat") and she runs upstairs to hide from the thunder. David tries to sleep at night but can't because she lays against his closet. As she pants, her chest pounds against the closet door and keeps David up. She's definitely becoming high maintenance!
So, here are some pictures of Alice from my December trip. She is looking around for her laser light. Her favorite? On the ceiling! Oh... Did I mention her nickname is also "Flop Ears"? Her crazy ears add to her silly personality!
Welcome to this wild world
Thanks for stopping by. There's so much that I think about. And when I think about it I'm bound to talk about it. I have such a wide variety of interests that I'd love to share with everyone. So many things I like to do that I'd love to share with people. I know that there should really be one focus topic that I should write about. But, well you know. Rules are meant to be broken, or whatever it is that they say. I think I just want to pull people into my world and share all of the great things and discuss the deeper things.
I'd like to figure out how to automatically post to my Facebook page when I add a new post here. It would make things easier. Let's see how many people follow the link here to my blog. Bookmark this page to your favorites and check in often! And I love to hear what others have to say, whether you agree or not, or have more information to share. So don't be shy!!!
I'd like to figure out how to automatically post to my Facebook page when I add a new post here. It would make things easier. Let's see how many people follow the link here to my blog. Bookmark this page to your favorites and check in often! And I love to hear what others have to say, whether you agree or not, or have more information to share. So don't be shy!!!
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