history repeats itself...

so im waiting for netflix to put some season 5's up, and i started a new show.  i shouldnt be doing this though... i should be catching up on movies.  but this one popped up & im in history mode lately for whatever reason.  and this one is on a season 4 like all my others, so it seemed logical...

"the tudors" - so far, i like it.  it was the longest, most event-packed hour ever.  but i like it.  i am a bit confused about some of it though & may have to re-watch the first episode.  i think theres stuff i missed.  thats what happens when too much is going on & im on the internet while watching netflix....

but i love history and i think this one will be really interesting.  :)

reason to get back to vegas..

ah...robbing banks in a simpler time...i liked this one a lot.

i knew the story but no details about it.  i knew it was a true story and i knew they were thieves but i didnt know the story.  and i didnt know that the grandma from "roseanne" won an oscar for playing a 1930s bank robber.

watching this movie made me look up some info about bonnie & clyde.  interesting.  especially interesting is that the bullet-riddled car is located at whiskey petes in vegas

this movie said to me:
- her hair was more 1960s than time-appropriate
- just like in the '70s, you didnt have to aim to shoot someone
- bonnie was high-maintenance
- solidified the fact that i never want to live in on or near a farm
- renewed my interest in banjo lessons
- i need to renew my pistol permit

cooks & bombs & bells...oh my

i did it! i finished season 4 of "breaking bad"!

now for some 'on demand' action and to catch up on season 5.  i am behind on this one but following my "mad men" obsession and my new 'project: netflix'... i knocked it out.

technically im not caught up because of season 5... but i can get thru that in the next few days and another checkmark goes on my list...  :)

im also on a new side mission to catch up a friend on the glory that is "the walking dead".  im caught up on this one, but he is just starting. then ill throw in the "resident evils" & he'll be good to go. 

power up!!

so may-june was in the $236 range.  june-july was in the $370s.

this definitely was not what i expected.  i thought i was going to make small changes that would LOWER our power bill, not raise it over $100!!

and we just got our most recent bill (july-aug).  yep.  another $373.32.  what?!?

now in all fairness, it is summer & we've been running the a/c a lot more, we had family in town for a few weeks and being out of town for a few days left some lights on endlessly.  but $100+ increase?

this is not ok with me.  so ill have to start over.  and start today. 

- ill have to double check items that are plugged in at all times, small appliances, etc.
- set the a/c temp a bit higher
- double-check  lights that are usually left on at all times
- check our local power company site for a power-saving checklist

not only do i want to see a reduction in the bill due to less a/c usage, but a big difference due to our changes.
round 2!!!

thats news to me...

after hearing so much about it, i decided to catch a few episodes of "the newsroom".

by the end of the first scene, i was hooked.  im only a few episodes in at this point, because im still catching up on my "breaking bad".   but definitely my next show...

F***ing up all around...

Not only did i screw up project secret, i strayed on project nutrition

This weekend saw fast food, coke & queso. The deadly trifecta im supposed to avoid. It was however a fun weekend so i gave in to the weekend & decided to restart monday

After tater tots & a patty melt on monday i figure restart tuesday.

Tuesday is restart day apparently... But just because i screwed up doesnt mean i give up. You just get back on track :) no worries

#1!!!!

olympics are over!  way to go USA!!!  #1 in the medal count!

its fo' real yo'....

book club book of this month - i read it in one sitting... couldn't put it down.  and from a kid's point of view?  you dont get more honest than a kid.  i loved it.

'heaven is for real' - gave me some hope.  and ive been, for whatever reason, reading a lot of books & watching documentaries on this subject matter lately.  maybe its because we just had ANOTHER death in the family..   maybe its because i always feel connected to certain relatives who have already passed...  maybe its because a chunk of my family is employed in the death biz. 

whatever the reason, i have a need to know not only what is on the other side but that there is another side.  a situation involving a current death in the family also gave me a glimmer of hope of the other side.  and there are so many stories of life after death...  there has to be something to it.

as far as i believe, there is.

one down....

one of my non-club books this month came off of my multiple bookcases.

through the years ive been a member of everything from the one spirit book club to the good cook book club to the military book club.  i have more books than ill ever be able to read.  not to mention my love of biographies which is a whole other bookcase altogether...

so after deciding i couldnt get through the current second-month book of the club, i blindly grabbed a book to read instead.

'how to marry a millionaire vampire'

fun easy read about vampires with a conscience.  but not gay and lame like a twilightish twinkling-in-the-sun vamp we all know... 

it doesnt take itself too seriously but keeps it light.  i read this one pretty quickly.  and one less book off of my shelf....  

meet you in the club....

i got talked into joining a book club.

being that im currently unemployed, i have more free time than i'd like so i joined.

its really just my sis, me, a few of her bff's, my mom, another mom...  and we drink wine.  and so far, actually read the book.

but being that i dont drink wine, i get bored.  :p   but with all this time & renewed interest in reading, im up to 3 books / month.  non-club books.

the first book though was sooooo good, that im hooked on 'club'.

"let's pretend this never happened" - best. book. ever!  i identified with this author soooo much.  the panic attacks, the being misunderstood & awkward in social situations, the odd stories that make me.... me. 

it was funny and drew me right in.  even with the heavier subject matter that she deals with in the book, it was great.  my fave books are biographies because i like to know that other people, all through life & history & the world, have been through what i've been through & worse.  i like to know how they deal, how they survive.  :)

super funny & entertaining book.  i could NOT put this one down.  can't wait for her second!! 

do unto others...

if everyone gave 1 hr per week to volunteer, do you know what a difference that would make???

52 hrs / wk per American.   thats a lot.  for so little.

im unemployed at the moment and i have lots of free time.  i do the little bit that i can.

i pick charities that mean something to me...

GOCA - georgia ovarian cancer alliance:  they hold an annual fundraising walk every september

Special Olympics Georgia:  asks for scarves made every january for athletes and hold a bowling event in the fall

APDA - american parkinsons disease association - holds events thru the year

angels among us:  helps stray animals find foster and forever homes.  you can even transport animals to adoption events to increase their chances

"giant f***ing Q..."

so, i am, in my being, a true insomniac

as i now have some form of a cold/flu combination, i decided to nyquil last night.

nyquil works wonders for my family.  and my friends.  everyone has suggested this to me the last few days as im fighting something icky.

but, in the true nature of stacy-being-backwards, it made me anxious.  i was up for an extra 4 hours and woke up at 5am.

medications often work backwards on me or just not at all.  unfortunately this applies to my sleeping too.  the one thing thats supposed to make me sleep made me anxious.

so back to the drawing board on what is wrong with me.  im thinking of visiting the mental part of my sleep habits and see that if maybe something as simple as "liking night more than day" plays a subliminal part in this.

and as im currently unemployed & looking, a night job may be on the agenda to balance out someone "backwards" like me...  :)

i cheated...

being that this weekend was my sister's birthday, i strayed off my plan of food exclusion.

i ate potato skins, hot dogs, a mcchicken, a chocolate shake and a sprite.
and although i checked in with my food exclusion check-in person, i still did it.  which concerns me...

even though i had to tell someone that i cant control myself, i didnt care & did it anyway.  will i do it again?

im going to chalk this one up to the b'day celebrations of the weekend.
thing is, i STILL dont feel any different at all from cutting out all this bad food.  and i ate it on a very regular basis so i should be noticing something at this point.

ok, bday weekend celebration cheating over... im back on track.