blessmyendeavors

I was reading on life in “BLue Zones”…where people tend to live longer and most have basicly happy lives.  I think I might qualify some day.  I knew stress kills; we all hear that.  I got so stressed at a job I had that I had a stroke a little over a year ago.  So this fact was driven home…with a sledge hammer, not just a light tap.  I’ve mostly recovered from it and went back to the simple life I had that kept me relatively stress-free.  I seriously think most could benefit from a life that has less stress.  I listened to talk of the old layaway plans many stores had, and I think its a better idea than credit cards.  Your reward for practicing good money management is getting an item you worked to acquire, not bought on a whim with a slap of plastic.   I think gardening to have fresh foods is better than store bought in many ways.  You get exercise, fresh air, sunlight, fresh  food of good quality and the sense of accomplishment nothing else can provide.  Plus, you save money on groceries and gas driving to the stores.

I think life should slow down.  We are speeding out of control in our economy, our lives, our death rates, educations.  Just…slow down.  Cook at home, cut out some needless expenses that rob you of time, energy and money.    The best things a parent can teach their children are sooo overlooked now.  Teach them economy, how to cook, how to sew, how to enjoy a book.  Question is … do you know that yourself?   If not; learn !  Let your kids learn with you; take both of you on a journey of exploration.  Set a goal for it.  ” If we each chip in, saving bits and pieces, we can go to the amusement park this year”…or a vacation…or buy new bikes.  Something to reward yourselves for practicing skills your parents should have taught you.  Learn to live more simply, take time to pamper yourselves, enrich your minds, and enrich your lives.  And lets all try to live to be 100.

Ok, so I was out taking care of my horses, and I came back into my house to the sound of canned laughter.  I went to see what my husband was watching and …he wasn’t at his desk.  Following the sound of the program, I trailed through the house, to find my husband….and his laptop….in the bathroom.   People, let me tell you; I believe I have found the new sign of a truly confident man.  Picture a 6′4 man, coffee cup  in left hand, watching a sitcom on his laptop while lounging in a bubblebath.  I was chewing a lip to not burst out laughing.   He had brought a small table from our bedroom to set the laptop on.   Yes, we have found a new pleasure to streaming TV.

Faced with losing our last television channel on the 17th, I began exploring the world of streaming TV online, and people, I’m like a kid in a candy shop.  Granted, I cannot get every show I’d like to see, but I’ve found many of my favorites, and often commercial- free.   It’s just nice to know there are options; many options.

We aren’t sports fans, and would sign up for satellite if we could get a package that was sports-free.  It irks us to pay for 24 channels when there are 9 we will never watch.  Why can’t they make packages can be switched up to suit the consumer?  I’d heard once that it was considered, but I haven’t heard any more about it.   I secretly think it’s because they know the rest of us are needed to pay for the sports broadcasts.   I believe in physical fitness; I don’t believe in sports, simply for sports’ sake.  I used to like playing sports, not sitting on the sidelines just watching.   If I’m not in it, I’m not around it, simply put.   So I’m not likely to watch sports channels, and I don’t like having to buy it in a viewing package.

So, streaming TV on my computer is making me very happy until we figure out what we want to do.  I have found seven sites that do quite nicely, and would be willing to subscribe to sites like Discovery and Sci-Fi Network if it meant I could stream my favorite programs from them regularly.

I went shopping with my mother, who has congestive heartfailure, and thus, a handicapped parking tag for her car.  That is the only concession she makes to her illness.  She’s stubborn that way.  We went to a local discount superstore and couldn’t find a parking space near the store.; all the handicapped places were taken.  Ok, this happens.  I found a general parking space only 3 places from the entrance she wanted to use, so parked there.  Now, myself, I will park at a distance from any entrance due to a desire to exercise, and the added bonus of less traffic; both vehicular and pedestrian.  I tend to be a bit of a snob about it, and am scornful of people who will make 3 trips around a lot to find a place ten feet closer.

Knowing this, you can imagine my surprise when a car stopped, and a perfectly healthy-looking man took it on himself to yell at us for taking his parking space !  His arguement was, since mom’s minivan had a handicapped tag, it was her DUTY to park only in handicapped parking, thus leaving that prime general space for people like him.  He didn’t care that all the handicapped spaces were full.  I suppose we should have sat in a firelane, patiently waiting for a handicapped parking space to open up, or..perhaps we should have removed the tag from the rearview mirror and hidden it to not offend the healthy, but far lazier, patrons like him.  I had to grit my teeth, and settled for simply commenting that his heart might like the walk from the vacant space four places further out.

Just when I think I’ve heard it all, I’m surprised again by people.