Tag: random

A Case for the Kindle

Lauren1 Comment

I know what your thinking.

Why do a post about something that tons of readers already own?  Or can use on their phones?

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Because quite a few don’t.

I used to be one of those people who thought that a Kindle (or any e-reader really) was useless.  Who could possibly want one of those?  Books are superior!  The smell of the pages.  The way a spine cracks on a new book.  Being able to pick a great bookmark.

All of these things are fantastic.  And don’t get me wrong, I have an entire library full of books to read.

But I also have a Kindle.

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My first Kindle was a gift from the hubs before he was the hubs!  He had given it to me right before we were going on our first beach trip together.  He wanted me to be able to take as many books as I could!

Yes, he is the sweetest.

But I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this new device.  I had always been firmly in the ‘books good, Kindle bad’ camp.  Because, to paraphrase Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, books should have a smell.

Suffice it to say, after not having to lug a week’s worth of reading materials to the beach and back, I was a convert.

Now I’m on my second Kindle, I wanted the one that lights up so I could read in bed while the hubs is sleeping without disturbing him.

One of the advantages to the Kindle are the great sales that Amazon regularly has.  You can often find books for $0.99 or higher, sometimes free, in the Kindle store.  New releases are also often cheaper in the Kindle store than they are in hardcover on release day.

You can even borrow library books on your Kindle, which is a great perk. You can also store hundreds of books on your device.  I love that it takes up less space in my purse than an actual book, so I have more room for important things, like receipts.

I also love the complete lack of glare you get when using it.  That’s something you don’t get when using the Kindle app on your phone.  It’s a huge plus when you are in the bright sun somewhere, say on the beach or at the park, and you don’t have to worry about the glare.  Stupid glare!

The real question is do I, a girl who is constantly buying new books to read in physical form because I just can’t help myself, like the Kindle more or less than actual books?

The answer is I like it the same.

 

 

Re-Starting Breath of the Wild

Lauren1 Comment

On what appeared later to be the 3rd anniversary of the release of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I decided to replay the game.

Completely start from scratch. From nothing.  All my found Korok seeds, gone.  All my progress, including having actually defeated Calamity Ganon, erased.

Hours and hours of gameplay wiped out with just one stroke.

Yes, I am glad I did it.

Breath of the Wild is my favorite game.  The game is so expansive!  And from the 120 shrines you can conquer to the 900 Korok seeds to find, there is no shortage of things to do.

And while I do enjoy playing other video games, I’m a Nintendo girl, this one holds my heart.

I’m not gonna lie,  just about any Zelda game is my jam, but this one, this one is super special.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have hours and hours of gameplay to lose myself in.

 

Self-Isolating

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It seems like the world is ending, so the hubs and I are practicing social distancing, self-isolation, self quarantining.  However you want to say it.

We are staying our butts at home!

For the hubs, this means working from home.  For me, this means having the hubs home every day.  It also means I cook every day.   Luckily, we get Home Chef, I love them, so we can get some diverse meals that I don’t have to put any thought into.

I am glad I had the forethought to get out to the store before it got really bad and the stores sold out of all the things.   I bought things that freeze easily and last long in the pantry.  So basically, tacos, chili, and spaghetti.  Not to mention the lasagna and chicken bake I already had in the freezer.  And of course, all the snacks.

You can’t self-isolate without snacks.

Just not too many.

As for activities, I am still trying to figure those out.  I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I’ve been exploring the massive video game library we have.  I downloaded Marco Polo (it was a friend’s idea) and have been encouraging friends and family to do the same.  It’s a fun app that allows you to send what are, essentially, video messages to each other.

I’ve also had a very cuddly cat this past week, where I go, she goes.  It’s been sweet. and I’ve also gotten covered in cat hair.  So, downside.

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I have a craft project I am going to start up again.  It’s pretty important to me.  I had started it back in November, then had gotten sick, and just hadn’t got back down to doing it.  I really need to finish it.  So I will be working on that.

What are you going to be doing while you are social distancing?

Something to Make You Smile

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If you are feeling down right now here are some Facebook and/or Instagram pages to fill your feed and bring a smile to your face!

Bertie the Pom: Bertie is a Brown Pomeranian and is absolutely adorable. He looks like Paddington Bear!  Facebook  Instagram 

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The Awkward Yeti: It’s a series of comics about fun-loving Heart and serious Brain. Always good for a chuckle or a smile.  Facebook Instagram

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Lunarbaboon: Another comic series about a man and his mental health journey. It’s very positive and heartwarming as he goes about life with his family.  Facebook Instagram

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Norbert: Norbert is an adorable therapy dog (his little tongue sticks out!!!) who also happens to be very tiny! He’s very very cute. Facebook Instagram

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Nathan W. Pyle: He draws aliens doing human things. Need I say more.  Facebook Instagram

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Catana Comics: One last comic series. It’s all humorous little glimpses into the artist’s life with her fiance! The cartoons are adorably sweet.  Facebook Instagram

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And here you have it!  A few accounts I follow that make me smile in these troubling times.

Trying to Have a Green Thumb

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I’m trying, desperately trying, to have a green thumb.

See, I have killed most of the plants I have had over the last few years.  Well, the hubs killed at least one.  It was an accident!  But still!  He killed it!  And it was the first one!  My first plant.  Well, the first indoor plant.  And the outdoor ones all seem to do fine.

So far.

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See that one plant?  the plant with all the dead leaves?  It was a gift and I’ve barely kept it going.  I’m splitting it up and re-potting some of it so that the rest survives.

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I found these cute little pots at Marshalls today to re-pot one of the plants with.  So naturally, since I only really needed the one pot, I had to find a new plant to go in the other pot.

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I’m hoping this little guy will survive a long time!

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He’s part of my collection!  Hopefully, they will all survive!

 

Re-Reading A Favorite

Lauren2 Comments

Why is it that re-reading a favorite book is like saying hello to a good friend you haven’t seen in a while?  It’s doesn’t matter how much time has passed, it’s like no time has passed at all.

I recently decided to re-read the Harry Potter series because I may be going to Universal Studios Orlando next year.  The idea of the trip sparked some nostalgia in me.  It made me want to revisit some old friends.

I haven’t picked these books up in at least ten years, being quite content to watch the movie adaptations.  This re-read made me smile at the favorite things I missed that weren’t in the movies, like Hermione trying to free all the Hogwarts house-elves.

I was in my twenties when I picked up my first copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  I remember feeling baffled at all of these people, these grown folks, loving a children’s book series.

And then I became one of them.

I quickly went out and purchased the next three books in the series.  I was hooked.

And I never looked back.

 

Home Chef-A Review

Lauren2 Comments

So the hubs and I have been getting Home Chef meal delivery service for about seven months now.  Suffice it to say, this is going to be a positive review.

Home Chef is a DIY meal delivery service.  Meaning they send you the ingredients and you make the food.  I love cooking, so naturally, I enjoy this.  The meals range from easy to expert level.  Most meals can be cooked in 30 minutes.  Some recipes are done in an hour.  They even have some recipes that can be cooked in 15 minutes!

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We picked Tuesday delivery for our meals and, with one exception due to a holiday falling at an inopportune time, all of our meals arrived on time.  The box that didn’t, well, that arrived too hot to eat the meat.  Home Chef gave us credit towards our next box of meals equal to what we paid for the original box.  Since it wasn’t Home Chef’s fault the food was late, we gave them another chance and everything has been great since!

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The food arrives in an insulated box with the freezer packs on the bottom, over the meat.  I’ve noticed that the warmer the weather forecast, the more freezer packs there seem to be.  Huzzah!

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The meal ingredients come separated in their own bags and are labeled.  I use each bag as my garbage bag when I am cooking, so that’s helpful too.  The meat also comes individually wrapped and sealed, which is nice.

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Each meal comes with easy to read (and follow) instructions.  As long as you read over the instructions carefully before you start making each meal, you won’t have any problems.  There have been times where I missed a step because I didn’t read the recipe over once before I started cooking, and well, I should know better because I cooked with recipes all the time!   User error is always fun.

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It’s good for people who have allergies. like me, because they tell you before you select your recipes for the week what allergens are in what items!  Since I am allergic to eggs (is anyone getting tired of me bringing that up yet?), having the allergens laid out like that is invaluable.

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Obviously, if we’ve been eating it for seven months, we love the food.

I can tell you, that out of seven months of doing this, we have had only one or two times where we really didn’t like the meal to the point of not wanting to finish it.  Okay, maybe three times.  That’s not a bad track record when you think about it.  And since it’s cheaper than a restaurant meal at (usually) $10 a serving, that’s not bad at all.

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All in all, and with a smile on my face, I recommend Home Chef.

 

 

The Sticky Notes

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So it seems that I have decided to dig deep and research the heck out of both Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando.

I may have a problem.  I may just be thorough.  It all depends on how you look at it.   I’m betting the hubs would say it’s a bit of both at this point.

I don’t have a binder for my research though.  I bought a notebook instead.  To my credit, this was before I knew we were taking either trip.  I just liked the way the notebook looked.

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Yes, I bought a notebook for no reason at all other than I thought it was pretty.

I swear I don’t have a problem.  I promise.

Now this notebook is filled with notes on the New Zealand trip we aren’t taking, research from when we were switching cell phone providers, and all the new Disney things!

You know what it’s also filled with?  Well, you did click on the post, so I’m assuming you read the title so I’m assuming you know, but just in case you don’t.

It’s filled with Sticky Notes!!!

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They are all over the place!

They make dividers so I know where the meal planning for Disney is, where the fast pass selections are, what hotels we are choosing, all my random notes!

I also just randomly stick them places when I think of things after I fill the page up and I don’t wait to waste another entire sheet of paper on one line of text!

I love my sticky notes!

Okay, maybe I do have a problem.

 

Cleaning Out My Closet

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I like my closet.  It’s nice and spacious and where all my clothes live.

But, I have a lot, I mean a lot, of clothes.

For example, I have 20 pairs of jeans,  20 pairs!

Just to let you know, I used to work for a clothing store.  So all the fancy jeans with patterns and rips that I used to wear all the time?  Yeah, I don’t reach for those anymore.  Which is a shame, since I still love them all.  I have a lot of clothes from my time at the clothing store that I no longer reach for.

Which makes me sad because it means I no longer need them.

But someone else will, which is why I always donate my clothes. It’s good to donate your clothes.  Someone else who needs them gets them, and you get a warm fuzzy feeling on the inside from doing a nice thing!

I will miss some of those clothes though.