Sunday, January 31, 2010

Lost Weekend

We didn't watch Lost when it first premiered five seasons ago. Nathan told us it was a good show and thought I would like it. He knows I like shows like Quantum Leap, The 4400 and Dead Zone. I just never started watching it until last summer. I decided to add it to our Netflix list and the first disc came in July. I watched the first show and was hooked. I didn't think Tito would be interested, it didn't seem like the kind of TV he enjoys. He watched the 2nd show with me and he was hooked. We would watch an episode now and then and maybe a couple on Saturday. One day Nathan mentioned the new season, the final season would premiere in February. I thought we should be able to finish the first five seasons by then.

But then Tito was in California for 2 months when his father was sick and died, then the holidays came. All of a sudden it was January and we still had 2 seasons to finish. We began to get serious and would watch three to five episodes at a time.

We finished today! We watched the last four episodes today and are ready for the final season to begin on Tuesday. And the way the finale from the last season ended, I am glad I didn't have to wait 6 months to see what comes next.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Wants vs Needs

Do you ever want something even though you really don't need it? I 'm usually good about not buying things just to buy things. But there are a couple of items that keep calling my name. And I don't need them.

I have 2 perfectly good colanders. The green Tupperware I have had since the early 70's and is the one I use most of the time. I have had the other one for at least 15 years and use it most often for bringing veggies in from the garden.

But I have saw a new brushed stainless steel one that the holes are in the pattern of a leaf and I want it. Whenever I go into that store and see it, I think about what I can use it for - it is so pretty I could just leave the grapes in it after they are rinsed off instead of in a bowl. It is that good looking. Not that my family would notice because I leave the grapes in the green colander all the time. I haven't even looked at the price because that would be one step closer to buying something I don't need.

I also have completely functional measuring spoons and cups, but I have seen a sets of ceramic measuring spoons and cups. Each one is a different color. How beautiful would they be with my Fiesta dishes? Do I need them? No. Would they be practical? No. But yet, I want them.

I am always cleaning closets and drawers and getting rid of things. I am always telling Tito we don't need anything else. I always roll my eyes when he brings home one more treasure. I cringe when I go into the basement and see all the stuff we have. I have never been one who considers shopping therapy. I shop for things I need. A few years ago, Tito and I decided to not buy anything except food for 2 months. We did not think that one through - we had 3 birthdays in those 2 months - but we did it.

So why am I wanting these things so much? I really don't know. I don't think I am trying to fill some void in my life with things. I am content with my life most of the time. Maybe, I just feel like a need a little treat, a little pick me up.

But aren't you supposed to want a new dress, new shoes or jewelry? Who is tempted by kitchen utensils?

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Guess Who Came to Dinner?

Nathan and Stacy went out to dinner on Saturday night and we got to keep Kaiden. We had so much fun with him, he is such a sweetheart.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Haircut


He had his bangs cut!
His first haircut!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Already???

Two weeks from today, Kaiden will be a year old. How is that possible?

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Yes Man

Everything you say to Kaiden, everything you ask him, he says yeah. He says it even when you don't ask him anything. I told his parents just wait until he learns to say no.

Maybe by then, I can learn to take pictures without cutting the top of heads off!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

25 Things


25 THINGS ABOUT TO BECOME EXTINCT IN AMERICA



25. U.S. Post Office

They are pricing themselves out of existence. With e-mail, and on-line services they are a relic of the past. (refer to #9)Packages are also sent faster and cheaper with UPS.
24. Yellow Pages

This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/list ing services like Reach Local and Yodel Factors like20an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.
23. Classified Ads

The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifies are replaced by free on-line listings at sites like Craigslist.orghttp://craigslist.org/ and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.

22. Movie Rental Stores

While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City . Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.

21. Dial-up Internet

AccessDial-up connections have fall en from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008.. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.

20. Phone Land Lines

According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had land lines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.

19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs

Maryland 's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame.

18. VCRs

For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found. They served us so well.

17. Ash Trees

In the late 1990's, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia ... In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the Midwest , and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana . More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.

16. Ham Radio

Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory.. However, proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement.

15. The Swimming Hole

Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High Falls, NY, are shutting them do wn out of worry that if someone gets hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park . As injuries occur and lawsuits follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.

14. Answering Machines

The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York ; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answ ering machines.

13. Cameras That Use Film

It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.

12. Incandescent Bulbs

Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-thing s-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.

11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys

US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.

10. The Milkman

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S. , they are certainly a dying breed.

9. Hand-Written Letters

In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?

8. Wild Horses

It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States ... In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population has decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada . The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.

7. Personal Checks

According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit.. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However,a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consume rs' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).

6. Drive-in Theaters

During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the closed ones.

5. Mumps & Measles

Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States ... In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 19 83, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.

4. Honey Bees

Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.

3. News Magazines and TV News

While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.



2. Analog TV

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.



1. The Family Farm

Since the 1930's, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. FARMS are small Family Farms.
Interesting and saddening, isn't it?

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Weekend

I had a lovely weekend. I slept until 7 on Saturday (that is sleeping in for me), brought coffee back to bed and watched TV for awhile. I cleaned out a couple drawers and our closet. I spent a lot of time on the computer (playing not working on my pictures) and a lot of time watching TV. We did go get coffee and had a wonderful time sitting and talking. We stopped at the grocery store and the kids were there also, Kaiden was asleep. We invited them to stop by for supper and called Carrie to come also (Dave was away for the weekend). I did some work on the new jigsaw puzzle but did not finish it.

It was a lovely weekend, hope yours was also.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Puttering

I love the start of a weekend when there are not plans. It has been a long time since we have not had something we were committed to on a weekend. A holiday function, decorating the house, preparing for guests, undecorating the house. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all those things, but every once in a while I like a weekend where I can putter. 'There are many things I should do this weekend, but I'm not going to do them. It has been a difficult week at work and the next 3 or 4 are going to be the same, so I need to do this for me.

I am not going to get out of bed until I want to. I might stay in my pj's and watch TV. I might work on organizing pictures on the computer and adding more to my digital picture frame. I might organize my wrapping supplies. I might clean out a couple of drawers. (I like to organize and sort through things.) I might work on a sewing project. I might go to the library. I might take my sweetie to coffee. I cook a new recipe. I might work on the new jigsaw puzzle I got for Christmas. I might see Kaiden.

Of course if Kaiden comes over, he will bring his parents and if I have the jigsaw puzzle out a puzzle fight might break out.


These two are very good at puzzles. They can walk past and pick up the piece you have been looking for and pop it into place. Nathan has done that since he was very young. They are also tend to be a little competitive.
That's okay though, I enjoy watching them have fun. The possibilities of a weekend like this are endless and that is why I love the beginning of the weekend. Hope you all have a good one!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Stock Show Weather

Every January the National Western Stock Show is held in Denver. During the 2 weeks of the show, it always seems we have cold, frigid weather. The stock show doesn't start until Saturday, but the weather is here today. Coming home tonight the temperature was 2 and the wind chill was -15. The snow is supposed to clear out tonight, but the cold will stay for a few days.

Cold is a relative term. You see people all winter long in shorts and no coats. Our UPS man is one of them. I very seldom wear my winter coat, especially when I go shopping. It is easier to be a little chilly going to and from the car than carrying the coat in a hot store. My in-laws in California tell us how cold it is "it is only got up to 60". We tell them "it is so nice here, it got up to 60". I read follow a couple of blogs written by women who live in the South and they have been talking about the 2 inches of snow and cold that has shut schools and canceled church services. We would be shut down every week!

I wore my winter coat today and socks. I was cold waiting in the wind and snow for my bus. I wish I had my camera with me, because I saw a man in a T-shirt and shorts riding his bike. A crazy man in a T-shirt and shorts riding his bike.

Since I didn't have my camera, I had to post this picture again. He looks like he is ready to go to the stock show.

.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Eleven Months

Kaiden is 11 months old today - it is so hard to believe. It is also hard to get a picture of him, he is always on the go. Crawling away or getting ready to, walking around furniture, dancing and talking up a storm.





Saturday, January 2, 2010

New Year's Eve

We very seldom do anything on New Year's Eve. Most of the time we don't even stay awake until midnight. But since Tito's sister and husband were here this year, we planned a party so they could meet all our friends.Everyone brought food - it was all good.
Everyone visited - some of us hadn't seen each other in awhile

We took turns wearing silly hats
Okay, so I made everyone wear silly hats

Waiting for midnight.
It was amazing to all of us that we outlasted the kids. Kaiden hadn't felt good all day and didn't want to sleep with all the noise, so Nathan and Stacy left early. Carrie was coming down with a cold, so she and Dave left early also. We had a wonderful evening. Hope you did too.