Window Shopper

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

I just posted a post concerning being able to boost brain power. I really liked the idea that I could do something that would help me think better and get my memory back. Part of my problem is that simple things like words that I used to be able to spell and say are now sitting back in my mind and not showing up when I want them. It is very important that I not lose that function. I am so happy to have a spell checker on wordpress. Oh yeah.

So, when I saw that I could play games, I was a very happy camper. I went straight to Popcap Games online where they have some really creative games. There are word games, puzzles and all sorts of things that will challenge your mind, I guarantee it. There is a word game that certainly challenges me because it requires you to build words for points. The trick is to get them put together before the flaming letters end up at the bottom. If they do that, end of game. I’m not really here to promote that site but I do love to play several of their games. But now I need to find some new challenging games too. I wonder what else is out there. Anyone got any suggestions? Keep it clean!!!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Many moons ago, there was the idea that when people got older, it was assumed that with that went the memory. Not only that but the older person might start losing their mental edge, their power of thought. All because you are growing older, really older. After all, it’s a part of the aging process. Would you like to stop losing your mental abilities? I certainly would. There are things that are harder and harder to remember for me. I need this!!!

The whole idea is to use it or lose it!! Now, where have I heard that before? Ah, that’s what they say about exercise, isn’t it. What if there were a way to exercise the brain too. Would you be interested in that? I know I would. I recently read a news article that talked about just that. And they gave a few tips for getting back that mental acuity. If I do not change the way I do things with my brain, some day it will be a 0 balance transfer in my brain and then I will have nuttin’ left. ACK! I cannot do that! There are five things that can actually help your mental abilities so that you do not head into that older person syndrome of no balance transfers today! We can call them brain exercises.

1) Try using your other hand to do things. Try doing new things that you have never done before with the hand that is not your primary hand. It will likely be awkward at first but it works.

2) Try closing your eyes to experience things like a shower or when eating something that has a lot of good smells to it. Sniff flowers with eyes closed, for instance. That way, other senses come into play. A lot of times, we shut out the other senses because the eyes take it all in or so we think. Not really true.

3) Play challenging games especially new ones. It is not about actually mastering the game. It’s about having to think about it. Play new games with others.

4) Do completely new things. Sit in other places. Try a new way to work. Change the way you do the usual things.

5) Be sure and include Omega 3 in your diet. We use fish oil capsules. We find that they are the best way but several kinds of fish work too. Add antioxidants to your diet. We use spinach but you can have berries and tea too with your leafy greens.

Now, you need to avoid stress and get more sleep. All these things are going to help you change the way your mental abilities work.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Ordinarily at this point, I would be wanting to tell you about places to go, things to see for vacations. This year, I cannot think how to do that because of the astronomically high gas prices which, shockingly, have reached a national average of $4 a gallon according to AAA. And of course, it is conveniently at just the time that most Americans are wanting to travel on their family summer vacations.

I think it is an absolute shame that the oil companies, who are increasingly greedy and self interested, are causing the American public to change their whole lifestyles to serve the CEOs and companies so that their pockets can be lined with bucks from those of us who can ill afford to even pull up to the pumps these days. I don’t know about you but in our house, we cannot afford more than a couple of tanks of gas a month even in our rural area. The price at the pump here is somewhat lower at the current rate of $3.89 which is horrifying to us but much lower than other areas of the country.

At our house, we could not afford the gas prices over the $3 mark let alone $4. We, like so many Americans, live on a fixed or semi-fixed income. We unashamedly find ways to have an income but are constantly stopped by other just as greedy companies that think they can run our lives. The oil companies make us pay extremely high prices at the pump while the internet company, Google, chooses to slap us down when we do the horrendous thing of blogging for money online if we do not do it Google’s way.

Through it all, these money grabbing companies are going to not only bring the American public to it’s knees, it is going to bring down the whole country as they are currently doing. What is it going to take to change all this? I have no idea. Wish I had a magic bullet to fix it all but I do not. My only advice, as crappy as it may sound, is to stay home this vacation…not going to the pumps at all. Let the greed of the oil companies have their day by not having the sales they expect to have. The problem is that all people do not go on vacation at once. So it will hardly be seen at the pump unless we all agree to boycott the pumps for a few days. Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

As for Google, that greedy company online that does not want others to share in the wealth of the net, we are choosing to blog for pay anyway. Some of the blog for pay companies are getting the idea of not basing their criteria on the page rank that Google shows those of us who do blog for pay. That is a step forward and I certainly hope that Google falls on it’s nasty little internet tail bone. It AND the oil companies as well as the oil people in the middle east deserve everything they get when they do fall on their posteriors. I just hope we can enjoy that instead of standing in a food line somewhere. Sigh.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Because of a recent stay in the hospital and because my bro-in-law is currently in the hospital, it occurred to me that sometimes it is a bad idea to leave the hospital shopping until it’s needed. Frankly, it should be done when a person is in their right mind, making sure that things are as needed when needed and, of course, that your doctor goes there if he or she is the one that you need to see for the particular affliction. If they are not needed, then another hospital might be something to seek out.

Why am I saying this? Because of a recent awakening to what hospitals are willing to put you through. For instance, a private room…no matter what anyone says…is the best way to go. You get the control of the television and if you are a tv buff, you will want that. In our experience, the other guy always gets the control and you get to watch things you never intended to watch.

In addition to that, you might want to check out what the rooms look like before committing to being there. When my husband went in for a heart cath and a stent put in a couple of weeks ago, he was supposed to lie still for a total of almost 10 hours. Obviously, it would be better if he could have something to do during that time period. They put him in a room that was constructed by a complete moron. He was put by the window. The other guy had control of the television which was mostly on his side of the curtain. The bathroom was way over on his side too. In fact, except for the equipment that was specifically for that bed, nothing was accessible on that side of the room. The truly horrifying part is that this particular wing was just built last year. It’s brand new. With no bathroom on the one side. You have to go completely into the other guy’s room to get to the bathroom. How stupid is that?

We were finally able to bed them to put him in a single room so that I could stay with him. We live quite a few miles from the hospital and it would be a hardship to drive back and to the hospital again. In the other room, I couldn’t really have stayed with him. It was a nightmare.

The next week, he had chest pains. Since he had just had that procedure done, it was necessary to go back to that hospital again. The pain was from a muscle but we did not know that at the time. Guess where they put him? Back in the same double room. ACK!!! And his doctor deemed it medically unnecessary for him to have a single room. We got one anyway but it cost us out of pocket to do that. Insurance will not pay anything the doctor does not authorize.

Another thing to watch for is simple patient care. In that hospital, they come in at all hours of the night, snap on a bright light even if you are asleep, take tests and stats. That snapping on of a bright light sometimes can scare a person who is fully asleep. And that has to be a major stress thing especially for a heart patient. They sometimes talk so loudly you would think that it was the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night. In comparison, my bil is at another hospital where they respect the patient by using flashlights and not taking any tests or stats that are not completely necessary. The rooms are all private too. There was no question about that.

Yes, it is very important to check the hospital out that you are intending to trust with your life or the lives of your loved ones. And the truth is that I never really thought about shopping for hospitals before but it is a smart thing to do, don’t you agree?

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I suspect you have already heard about puppy mills but it really does not hit home unless you are really active in trying to stop them. I know. It’s so easy to just forget they exist. It’s so easy to not care about that part of life. It’s so easy to just go about your business because it isn’t happening to you or your pets. But that’s how they get away with so much.

What is a puppy mill? It’s usually a large dog breeding facility that does so under bad conditions. They sell on the internet and to pet shops. If you were to see the conditions that they breed puppies, you would not ever buy another animal online or in a pet shop again. EVER!

The difference between good breeders and puppy mills is that a good breeder uses the best of everything. They love their animals even if they are in a cage part of the day. The cages are clean, neat and are spacious. The food is nutritious and healthful. A health guarantee is also usually given. The dogs have their shots and are seen by a vet periodically. They will check out the person wanting to have one of their dogs. The breeder is careful in all respects concerning the animal and the new owners. The breeder often stays in contact with the new owner to make sure that the dog is properly cared for and will usually take the animal back if things do not work out.

On the other hand, puppy mills have the dogs in small cages, are unclean, food is cheap, inadequate water, no vet sees them, they are not allowed to walk outside of the cage at all. Very often, the cages are outside in the elements; hot, cold, rain, etc. The females have their litters in cramped cages and she lives in that cage until she dies or is too old to breed good puppies anymore. When that happens, she is killed. Females are often forced to breed every time they are able. Puppies are weaned much too early for best profits. With poor breeding comes impure blood lines and the pedigree is in question as well. Many times the papers are faked. And there is a high rate of death in this type of situation. Puppies from such beginnings usually have unusual health problems.

It certainly is time to stop the puppy mills! This horror cannot continue. Unless you are completely sure of the pet site that you are wanting to purchase from, please do not buy online. Reputable dealers and breeders are more than willing to give you all the information that you desire. They will show you what their facility looks like. They will take you on a tour of it and show you the records for the pup you desire. Be sure to visit the place from where you are purchasing. Do not automatically assume that the breeder is reputable without completely checking them out. This is very important. Stop puppy mills by not buying them online. Join those groups that are working toward the elimination of puppy mills altogether.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Maybe I am obsessing about this laptop a bit. Maybe not. I know that I want one. It is very high on my priority list. Unfortunately, a lot of other things and people are higher so getting one has been a bit of difficult, to say the least. But I can dream, can’t I? Okay, having said that, I will tell you my dream machine. It is a beauty too. For one thing, I have not seen more than one or two bad reviews about this particular machine. That says a lot since most of the others I looked at did have negative reviews a plenty.

What laptop, you ask? Okay, I will tell you right now. I want an Acer. It will be either an Aspire or Extensa with a 17 in. monitor. Of course, it will have to have a big computer memory chip in it since all the new computers have the vista thing in them. I hate that. I do not want that particular program installed in my computer because it is a memory hog. It takes up way too much memory for what it can do. If you were to buy a laptop with only 1 gig of memory, you would need to upgrade even before you started it. I hate that. So, it would be good to have the computer memory that you need right from the start.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

We gather around, the four of us, to watch whatever movie comes up on the stack. Most of the time, that means a “chick flick”. Now the truth is that most guys do like these, some really do not. But I believe that more guys like chick flicks than they are actually willing to admit. My husband is a guy who really likes them. How do I know? From the moment we were married, he watched the girlie movies with me. I thought, at the time, that he simply was trying to impress me with his willingness to watch them and then I would have to watch the gory ones with him. Not so.

And now, as I said, we sit and watch for a couple of hours. But you know what? I have problems there. While we are sitting at home and because of that we must be comfortable, I am not usually that at all. Frankly, we need new livingroom furniture. I am not too proud to say that. Our couch and love seat are early trailer park, no kidding. The recliner used to….recline that is…but now is sort of just sitting there. We have unfinished bookcases that are jam packed. The tv is sort of sitting in the room by itself.

Not the greatest setup in the world, I know. But I thought about and the thing is, it would be great if we could have some home theater chairs for when we watch the movies. I know. That would not work when we need the rest of the furniture so badly but we have a bedroom that isn’t exactly one. That could hold the chairs until we needed them….every night right now. I think I want to think about this some more but the idea has merit.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

As I am sure I’ve said, I used to be an over-the-road trucker. That means that I have been in 46 of the 48 continental United States. Nope, no trips to Alaska or Hawaii. (No bridges for Hawaii yet) But there are places I should visit just because I am an American. You know, the tourist traps. Let’s see. I recall seeing a roadside place in Florida that was some type of petting zoo. Well, not totally because they said they had alligators. Don’t want to pet those. Too many teeth. Bad breath. Scaly skin. Gross.

Then there was a wax museum. Now, that wouldn’t be too bad. Of course, they had all these life-like people in wax. Dead people. I’d be like that kid in Sixth Sense. “I see dead people.” “Of course you do, dunce head. It’s a wax museum.” No, I think I’ll pass on that one.

I have always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon. Big tourist attraction. I guess the closest I ever got to it was between Flagstaff, Az. and Kingman, Az as I went by on I 40. The only problem that I can see is that I do have this really bad habit of tripping and loosing my balance. Maybe I should just stay on level ground for now. Besides, I’ve seen it plenty of times in movies. Isn’t that good enough for now?

A lot of years ago, I lived in Florida. I know. Why would you do that? Because that was where we decided to park the car. Ended up living in West Palm Beach for a few years. Not bad. Of course, I really did not see most of the tourist stuff there. Who could afford this stuff? But we
lived south of St. Augustine, supposed to be the oldest city in the US. Could be. Looked like it, in fact. What I could see of it, that is.

Anyway, we had beaches near West Palm. Those I have seen….a few times. Do you know that the more you live in a place the less likely you are to visit the tourist stuff? Or the obvious places? I think in the four years or so that we did live there, we went out to the beach maybe 5 times. I could be stretching that. The dog liked it. We had a dog that was not in any way politically correct. If he didn’t like you, he lifted his leg…..on you. Yep. I believe that was his opinion, unsolicited and all. Once at the beach, he lifted his leg on an obnoxious German shepherd. The other dog just looked at him in disbelief. Never did do anything about it. Then our dog ran into the surf. He loved the ocean. Labrador retriever.

Well, sometime I really should visit these places or go back to them. Sometime.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!