What I'm working on.....

First of all, there have been some changes around here.  My husband is now semi-retired, so instead of his usual 60-80 hour weeks, he's 'cut back' to around 40.  This not only means he's here a little more during the day, our finances have, let's just say,  cut back also.  The other main thing that's changed , as a result of trying to cut back expenses, is for the first time in 35 years, we are trying to survive without cable TV.  I know.......it's pathetic, but the withdrawal period is really strange and not at all pleasant.  No more Fox and Friends in the morning, unless its on-line, and then they break for commercials and I'm left staring at a blank screen for 4 minutes!

Update 6-5-2013:  Apparently, Time Warner, in their infinite wisdom doesn't let you watch Fox News via the internet without a cable subscription...What????  If I had cable I wouldn't need to watch it online!!!  Reaffirms my decision to dump them.  If so many things weren't tied to our email address, I would probably dump that too. Maybe God's trying to tell me I spend too much time on my computer ! ?

No more NCIS, nope Netflix and Hulu plus don't carry it, so that's an on-line thing too.  We're gonna miss those all day marathons.  No more Yankees!!  No more Hallmark movies  !!!  Oh man, maybe we should have thought this through a  little more, cut something else instead.  Who really needs hot water and a gas range anyway?? Ok, time to calm down and be rational.

 I've got to say a word about Netflix.  (No, I have not received any compensation from them) If we can't have cable then this is the next best thing.  It is really nice to not have commercials interrupting the flow of a show.  And, we can watch something as often and as many times as we want.  The first show we watched, practically non-stop was Alias,  then we moved on to The Murdoch Mysteries, then Monarch of the Glen.  We also watch ALOT of Veggie Tales, Super Why, and well, you get the drift.  I blogged about Veggie Tales here. They're not just for kids,  really!  A word of warning,  there are many shows and movies on Netflix, that some folks, including me, find inappropriate.  You really have to be selective. They allow you to set your preferences by rating but we found that by doing that you don't see the choices of the oldies that are categorized as non-rated, like The Penny Serenade (one of my favorites)  and White Christmas, just to name a couple. We get ours through our Roku player (also, not compensated), one of the best investments we've made.

This lack of cable will, however, open up more time for me to do the things that I should have been doing instead of sitting zombie-like in front of the TV.  Things like reading books for book reviews,  sewing, crocheting, cleaning...wait....did I just say that?

Anyway, while I work on my book reviews, I'll also be working on a post with various bloggers highlighting some of their posts that have either touched my heart, made me think, made me laugh or made me hungry! I'm excited about it !

I'm still trying to figure out a way to separate my book reviews from my other posts, so be patient.  I'm a little slow at figuring these things out,  and lets face it,  I want it to be easy!

I'd really love for you to consider 'following' me. Use the links on the right side. You can follow via Bloglovin', Google friends, Facebook, etc. And while you're there check out some of the other sites and blogs that I follow.

Oh well, the clock is ticking away, time for me to get busy, since I don't have cable to watch anymore!!

I have not asked for or been compensated from any of the companies mentioned in this post.

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Confessions of a bad truster OR The Boogie Man and God

There I was, a grown woman, watching a Veggie Tales with my grandbaby, with tears running down my cheeks.  Why?  Because I'm a bad truster, that's why.  As long as I can remember, I've been that way.  My husband, on the other hand, has an unshakeable faith in God, and trusts almost everyone he meets.  That's not to say he's gullible, he just doesn't like to think badly of anyone.  So, while he trusts everyone, I trust very few people.  And while he trusts God completely, I know I should, but it's much harder for me.  
We are at a time in our lives that we had hoped would be less stressful, more relaxing, and financially more settled.  Unfortunately, that's not the way our lives are going.  After 25 years of dedication, faithfullness and going waaaaaayyy above and beyond the call of duty, my husband became semi-retired.  He and his employer sat down and worked out a plan that would allow him to return to work on a part time basis.  They worked out the pay scale, insurance details, etc.  "Great!!!!!" , I thought, "We'll have more time to visit family, work around the house and relax!".  Well, you guessed it......things are not working out as planned.  Between broken agreements, shrinking paychecks, increasing bills and financial stresses, ...let's just say I was (and still am a little)  having a hard time trusting that God's gonna get us through.
Here's where the Veggie's come in.. I'm sitting in my living room singing along with the show when it suddenly hits me what I'm singing
"God is bigger than the boogie man....", and the tears start. The boogie man can seem really huge! But God is huge-r. I might not like the situation we're in, I might not like what God's going to take us through, it might be really painful and more than likely my trust will waiver, but He won't waiver!  I remember giving this advice and cousel to my kids....'sometimes going through something is painful but it's always better on the other side.'  Yeah, I know, I should practice what I preach.  He never said we'd never have tough times, but He's always brought us through. 
So, dear friends, please pray for this self admitted 'bad-truster'.  Because even though my head knows "....He's watchin' out for you and me...."  my heart still needs to be reminded to "Be still, and know that I am God."

PS...if you want to buy the Veggie Tales that I mentioned you can get it on Amazon and if you buy something, I get a little something too!




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