Fun Suprises ! #BlogwithaPurpose #RaisingCane

I heart Chicken, mostly when it’s cooked. Especially when it’s fried and served along side French fries.  So Raising Canes is my go to after a bad/long meeting, during a long week, if I’m happy or sad. It’s really good, hot food, quickly served and delicious every single time. Just thinking about the Cane’s sauce makes my mouth water. It’s not too far from my office and I admit to eating there more of than one likely should eat anything deep fried. However that’s between me and my doctor.

Back during the 2025 Christmas season I was on a mad dash to add to my Raising Canes’ plushy collection. See Raising Canes is more than just really GREAT Chicken Fingers (they also have amazing sweet tea), they also give back to local communities where their stores are located. Every year they partner with a Christmas movie and create special plushies of their beloved mascot “Cane” representing that movie. These are usually available from early November until supplies run out. When you buy one you are supporting animal welfare organizations with proceeds benefiting local rescues and shelters. Plus they are always freaking adorable.

Since the store opened near me, I have been able to participate in the Elf and National Lampoon Vacation celebrations. Over the years there have been more, I know for a fact I’ve seen Frosty the Snowman Cane puppies on the internet but I choose to look ahead not back (cause that was all I could find). The point is this is a yearly tradition that I love and fully support with my entire soul. I am always excited  to see what the new plush is going to be. I have the Christmas Tree Cane (from Elf) and the Clark Griswold Cane (from well if you don't know ... we can't be friends) and use them as my office décor during the holidays.

 The 2025 Plushy was for A Christmas Story … it featured Ralphie Cane (in his Christmas PJs), Fra-Gee-Lay Cane (complete with the leg lampshade and the fragile box), and the holy grail …. The Pink Bunny Cane. I was on the hunt for a Bunny Cane cause I LOVE Ralphie and his pink nightmare. This is my all time favorite Christmas movie. I even like the sequel (did you know there was a Christmas Story 2??) and of course I LOVED A Christmas Story Christmas a few years ago that deserves far more love than it gets.

Alas the Pink Bunny Cane alluded me at every turn. I tried online, I called other stores, it was sold out everywhere. I was not destined to get this to add to my collection. I almost got the Fra-Gee-Lay as a consolation prize when it was clear I wasn’t going to get one I really wanted but decided not too. I didn’t need another random plushy that would just collect dust. . . . I was a sad Marcy for a while but the holiday’s came and like Ralphie my mind shifted to other important matters.

Weeks passed and suddenly on my various social media feeds (yes I follow Rasin Cane’s on social media … what you don’t) was a Canes video with Peter Billingsly (AKA Ralphie) talking about the promotion. They raised over $500,000 for pet charities They also donated over 400,500 Cane’s Bikes and Helmets to the Boys and Girls club. Upon seeing this video I just happened to mention on one of the platforms that I tried so hard to get the Pink bunny but was not successful. A day or so later I get a DM from Rasin Canes asking for my address. I usually don’t participate in those things figuring they are a hoax but since I wasn’t giving credit card information I wrote them back. I thought it was ironic that I was answering the DM while eating at a Raising Cane after a particularly long week and a stupid meeting. It’s my happy place what else can I say.

TWO DAYS later, on a Sunday mind you, a giant box appeared on my front porch as I arrived home from Church. Guys. THEY SENT ME A GIANT PINK BUNNY CANE !!!!  He’s absolutely perfect I love him so much and while they already had my heart Rasing Canes has a customer for life. I love when places use their outreach for good. I love when they use their brand for good and Rasing Canes does it better than anyone I know. The way they don’t just open a store they open a location that is truly community driven. My store alone supports the local college and high school teams, has fund raiser nights for various local clubs and organizations. That support is staying within the area that supports the store and I love that the most. I can't wait to introduce him to his "younger brothers" ha! 

If you don’t have a Raising Canes near you, you will soon as they are adding new stores every year. If you do have one check them out the food is fantastic but what’s going on behind the scenes is even better and definately worthy of a #BlogWithAPurpose post 

Marcy

2025 Blessing Jar

So Christmas before last (2024) our “gift” at church (the church always gives the congregation a small gift usually on Christmas Eve, made by the youth) was a Blessing Jar. It’s a little plastic jar with a sticker on it that says “blessings.” The goal being that we’d write down our “blessings” throughout the year and drop it in the jar. On Christmas Eve we are to open said Jar and remember all the blessing we have received over the past year. I liked this idea and fully embraced it. I didn’t drop a blessing in every day but when something good would happen I’d write it out on the piece of paper, put the date and drop it in the Jar. Even tho I got my Jar on Christmas Eve I dropped in a few in December as little Olia made her way into the world. I also have blessings in the jar for January, Feburary, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and well December. So I did better than I thought I did looking back on them.  

A few highlights include:

• 12-31-2024- Olia has been discharged, everyone is home and a family of three starts this next phase of this journey
• 1-18-2025 Got up super early and made our way to Pittsview to officially meet Olia in person. She is so adorable. She slept most of the day but was a trooper with being passed around so much.
• 1-21-2025 Mobile got 6-10 inches of honest to God Snow.
• 1-27-2025 I turned xx I’m blessed with family, friends and loved ones who reached out in various ways to say HBD. I keep thinking of my cousins Kevin who didn’t make it to this age (brain tumor). Am I living up to my potential ?
• 2-4-2025 Volkert turns 100 today. A great achievement and one that a lot of companies don’t get to celebrate.
• 2-2-2025 Uncle Ernest passed away today. Grateful that I got to see him back in January when we stopped by after seeing Olia. He made it to 89.
• 4-19-2025 Andrew asked Alana to marry him and she said yes. There will be a wedding in 2026, a graduation too for both of them. Proud of them. She’s lovely and already fits in well with our group.
• 5-12-2025 McNeil graduated with a  doctorate in Pharmacy today.
• 6-8-20205 Golden and I went to Atlanta to see the Stray Kids. I’ve never seen her more excited for a thing ever! I admit I didn’t know them before this but I’m glad she introduced me to them they put on a great show. I had to manually control her light stick cause we couldn’t sync them up but she only noticed that half way through the show
• 7-18-2025 McNeil is a fully licensed Pharmacist! I am so proud of him and how hard he works. The kid is hella smart and focused.
• 7-30-2025 – Mrs. Danley’s funeral was today (Paula’s mom). She had a brain tumor and while her battle was short it wasn’t easy. The boys took it really hard. I’m proud of them tho they both held themselves together when it counted. McNeil sang a song. They both were pallbearers. Alana even made the trip down from school for it.
• 8-15-2025 – Mom had bypass surgery today. It was scary but she did really well. Several friends came and sat with us during the surgery which was nice. I think dad really appreciated it.
• 9-1-2025 – I made it to Dragon Con ! Neil and Dad insisted that I go so I did but I thought about mom the entire time. The day I left she was moved to a room. The following day she was moved back to ICU as her oxygen kept dropping for very little reason. I couldn’t fully focus on DragonCon but we tried to do all the things. I ended up coming back early and mom was super excited to see me. So I’m glad I did that.
• 9-6-2025 – mom and dad celebrated their 55^th anniversary in a rehab room, mom’s getting stronger and that’s the best gift she can give him.
• 9-24-2025 – MOM IS HOME!!!!!
• 10-3-2025 – Andrew and Alana drove home so that we could throw a pumpkin party. I got to carve pumpkins with my favorite people and I’ve never been happier. Grateful this tradition means as much to them as it does me.
• 12-25-2025 – OLIA IS ONE!!!  Or as we say around here … Olia is ONDERFUL. Best gift we ever got.

I like the idea of the Blessing Jar … I plan to continue it into the new year …. What to do with the old ones… I want to save them some how … maybe I’ll find an envelope and drop it in the Jar too. It was fun looking back at them this year. Maybe I’ll do better this year about including more things in the Jar not just the big stuff.

Here’s to a great 2026 for everyone far and wide, I wonder what blessings it will hold. 

Marcy

2025 Christmas TV Calendar !

It’s that time of the year again, the pumpkins have been discarded or are being eaten by the neighborhood critters, the bird is being turned into sandwiches, soups, and God only knows what else, and somewhere Hermie is telling anyone that will listen that he’d like to be a dentist. That means it’s time for my Christmas TV calendar which is always more challenging than the Halloween one. For one there’s just so many good classics and unlike Halloween the networks seem to understand that these are part of our Traditions and must be cherished. However all of them seem to need a calendar, I’ll explain why later. . . Bless em.

I have to admit I fear for the longevity of these calendars. Not just cause several someone’s at work reported me to IT for “spam” at Halloween; I asked for names, but they refused. You know who you are and may shame fall upon your head. JK no sweat off my back, but just know I know that you know what you did it! The real issue is that I use Microsoft Publisher on these calendars then turn them into PDFs and send them out into the world. However, Microsoft hates Holiday fun cause they are doing away with Publisher? As of October 2026, it will be removed from Microsoft 365 subscriptions and stand-alone versions will no longer be available for purchase. Just in time to start my holiday fun in 2026. Shakes fist at the sky!  So eventually I’ll not be able to edit or open these publisher files. In anticipation of that I tried to do this calendar in Powerpoint to see what that would be like, because they wouldn’t touch that program right, and even at 11X17 with the smallest margins I could get the font had to be so small even I couldn’t read it blown up on the screen. That’s not going to work. So, I’m going to eventually come up with another plan. I could use my work computer and InDesign but then I’d have to haul out my work computer, and the charger cause the thing might last about an hour and well this is a home project not a work project and I don’t wanna do that. For the record Microsoft suggests using Word as an alternative and I was like just um…no. Have they ever used that program for this kind of thing?! Honestly, Microsoft I use a lot of your projects and PUBLISHER isn’t your biggest concern of the moment. Just saying. If you guys could focus on the actual problems within your suite you might not have to bow down to the piece of fruit as often as you do. PS don’t tell my Dad I said that … IYKYK. My home computer has already told me it’s not Windows 11 compatible. I told it to suck it up I’m not in the market for a new computer at the moment. It told me it can’t guarantee my safety. I’m like sir you’ve seen my computer, we are safe, calm down nobody wants what I have. Hackers everywhere rejoiced (maybe I should be reported to IT)! So, my point is enjoy this while you can cause if the networks and streaming services don’t kick me out … Microsoft just might put the nail in the coffin.

Not this year however, so let’s crack on!

Now for those of you who get the following channels, check them out cause they are showing some fun stuff this time of year, I just don’t get them and thus they didn’t make this calendar …. GAC, UP, TCM, COZI, ION, MeTV, MeTV(toons). MeTV(toons) is showing a LOT of classic cartoon Crimmus (as my bestie calls it) specials featuring the Flintstones, Inspector Gadget, Scooby Doo, Heat Miser and Snow Miser, Cabbage Patch Kids, etc., if you get that kind of thing. I also didn’t include Hallmark Mysteries and Movies cause a lot of what they are showing also shows up on Hallmark. Tricky, Tricky, Tricky (said in the voice of the Magician from Frosty the Snowman).

I’ll also add that just cause it’s not on my calendar doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of your eyeballs. Like The Wizard of Oz is all over the place, I assume cause of Wicked, but it didn’t make the cut. Same with Frozen and Toy Story, all great films but Crimmus they are not. Also Hallmark has two competition shows that almost made the calendar until I realized what they were. Finding Mr. Christmas is about finding the next Hallmark leading man, yeah no … I’m good. Baked with Love is another competition show that Hallmark is testing out. I almost added that one because they at least waited until December to air it unlike the same crap that was on Food Network in November. Yeah I’m still bitter about that. Both didn’t make the calendar cause that’s not what this calendar is about, but if you are interested feel free to look them up. I’m not so I didn’t include them, as loyal fans of this calendar know it’s all about me … I just share cause I’m cool like that.

Other shows worthy of your time:

·       ABC – Disney’s Prep and Landing is adding another special to their series. To go along with “Prep and Landing,” by far the most creative and original thing to be created for Christmas in a long time, they then added Naughty Vs Nice which was a good companion to the original. This year they are adding The Snowball Patrol but aren’t giving a lot of details about it, which is both odd and intriguing in a world where we know most everything before it happens now a days. Something goes sideways while Wayne and Larry are on holiday together and something about a baby seal. However, in true - nothing makes sense on network TV fashion - they aired all three on ABC the weekend after Thanksgiving. As you know this calendar starts Dec. 1^st. Sad Face. I’m hopeful they will show it again during the December month, but as of now I’m not seeing it on their schedule. However Freeform and Disney Channel have your back. Dec. 13^th they will show the original and The Snowball Patrol back-to-back to back, one in the afternoon (freeform) and one later that afternoon (Disney) why not all 3….who knows…it’s one of the mysteries of life, I guess. I’m also sure it will be on Disney+ along with the shorts they created a few years ago, which are fantastic and feature Betty White as Mrs. Claus. RIP BW! I love this series if only cause its original and new. There’s not enough of that this time of year, so I celebrate it when it happens. I felt the same way about 10 sleeps until Christmas but apparently NBC was done after a few airings and that’s a shame, it was pretty cute too.

·       Freeform – is once again doing 25 days of Christmas and bless them for it! Their love for Claymation, for classic movies, and family fun are commendable. Plus, did you see they are going to show Prep and Landing (see above). It’s a channel that frankly never disappoints. They understand the assignment and are a mainstay on these calendars  every year for that reason. Gotta love us some Freeform! This year they feature several marathons of The Santa Claus (not my favorite), as well as Home Alone (one of my favorites) several times throughout the month. Not all airings made my calendar but since they are showing them in order I applaud their efforts!  

·       AMC is doing their “Best Christmas Ever” again this year which features Christmas programming throughout the month with a mix of popular films, classic cartoons and those movies that make you just wanna sit down with a cup of coco while wearing a warm sweater in 90-degree Alabama weather. Afterall, it’s not Christmas until Clark is trapped in the attic watching old home movies while dressed like his grandma. PS AMC is also doing a December the TwELFth Marathon on Dec. 12^th showing Elf over and over (some of this is self explanatory guys please keep up). So far not a single Walking Dead in sight for the month of December and for that we rejoice!

·       Rankin/Bass Weekend – both AMC and Freeform are celebrating the stop motion awesomeness that is Rankin/Bass Productions with a weekend of their holiday classics like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The Year Without a Santa Claus. Not all of the airings made the calendar so if you don’t see your favorite check out AMC or Freeform on the weekend of Dec. 6^th cause I’m sure it will be on at least once or twice or three times.

·       Lifetime is once again doing their “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” which is the PG13 version of Hallmark. I mean nothing all that naughty, but it doesn’t always end up at the alter either. They are even tapping into the pickleball crazy with A Pickleball X-mas on Dec. 20^th at 7 which I find kind of clever and can’t wait to watch. They have romantic comedies, family dramas, thrillers, and good ole Christmas fun.

·       Hallmark took a break from their Holiday programing to bring you some Holiday programing, a joke I reuse every year cause I mean they make me. ALL of their premiers were in freaking October or November … like what is that about? Get a freaking calendar people. Some of these popped up again in December, but not all of them which is just insane to me. I mentioned the competition shows they almost snuck by me, but I did pull some new ones and some old favorites to add to this calendar. I love me some Scott Wolf and will forever add his Crimmus movies as long as they continue to air them. His dimples are just that adorable.

·       Charlie Brown is still being held hostage by Apple TV but you can log into Apple TV on Dec. 13^th and 14^th to watch for free so mark that down on your respective calendars. It’s a classic and deserves to be seen as often as possible. Move aside Clark I have decided it’s not really Crimmus until Linus drops his blanket and tells Charlie Brown what Crimmus is all about! After you watch Charlie Brown, assuming it will allow, watch The Family Plan 2 on Apple TV a Crimmus version of this movie which I’ve heard is very good for a fun family film based in Europe that includes action, comedy, and holiday fun. There’s also “The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” but I haven’t seen that one yet, however it’s Crimmus and Fraggles what could go wrong?!

·       A Christmas Story – I’m really disappointed by how few times this show pops up on the calendar this year. Don’t worry 24 hours of a Christmas Story starting Christmas Eve and running all day on Christmas day is still a thing but otherwise it’s only showing a few other times on TBS and TNT. That’s a shame. I also can’t find A Christmas Story Christmas anywhere. I LOVED it for all it’s nostalgic and original glory and I’m bummed it’s not getting more love. I will tell you to RUSH to your nearest TV with access to HBO Max to catch it before it’s gone forever. Yes, I’m telling you to watch a streaming movie and it’s a good movie so I will likely do it again. It’s that good people! Don’t judge me. Please don’t report me for spam!

·       Nickelodeon is once again having an Nickmas with tons of Christmas themed established shows, and as you all know by now (or should) that’s not what this calendar is about. So tune in for your Paw Patrol Christmas Themed specials, your Loud House 1 hour “movie” or the Rock Paper Scissors Christmas themed shows cause frankly that’s clever. They are also doing another NFL Slimetime which I admit is very entertaining but is soooo not Crimmus. The fact that they don’t haul out the Rugrats Chanukah every year is just sad and should result in some serious jail time for someone.

·       Speaking of Chanukah there are a lot of specials for it on Hallmark they just all air at the crack of dawn like 3am…4am… etc. It’s like yeah we support but um … not really. I’m always shocked that they don’t show Adam Sandler’s 8 Crazy Nights (which used to air on AMC but isn’t this year again). So, to my friends who celebrate ….. sorry. Not my fault.

·       CNN Heroes is always an uplifting thing to watch this time of year. It will air on Dec. 6^th at 7 on CNN. Everyday people using their time and talents to help make the world a better place and getting recognized for it. Well played CNN. Whatever your political stance, this is a show that will make you smile and realize that it’s not hard to make a difference, you just have to get in the game. PS you have the ability to not only nominate people for the award but you can also vote throughout the year and help choose who will get the award which I’ve always thought was cool.  

·       Speaking of up lifting TV, in a time where I think we can all agree it’s very much needed. The Kennedy Center Honors will air on Dec. 7^th 7:30 on CBS. They focus more on the celebrity side of doing good and this year will be featuring George Straight, KISS, Gloria Gynor, Michael Crawford, and Sylvester Stallone. If that’s not a bizarre bunch I’ve never heard of one. Should be interesting.

Now for …the rules. If you are an OG user of this calendar, feel free to skip ahead. If you are new to the party, you will want to read on or face my wrath. I’m not even adding don’t report me to IT for Spam because I mean honestly that can’t happen again, right?!

·       NO E-MAILS about taking Christ out of Christmas, it’s just a really long word and using X-Mas allows for more shows on the already full calendar.

§  Thanks for your understanding.

§  For those that don’t understand I’ll be glad to remove you from the list, just let me know.

·       I live in the central time zone, the times on this calendar reflect that, adjust accordingly.

§  That said unless otherwise stated the times are PM

·       Late Hour Focus, but hour round fun. For you work from home people, stay at home mom’s, or employees with access to good wifi ….  they run these specials all day long, and while my calendar focuses mainly on the after-work hour times since that is when I can watch, fire it up as background noise for that meeting that you are totes paying attention to while you are on mute, or while you edit that really long annoying document that you have already edited several other times but it’s fine you’ll do it again. I also don’t list things if they are on at like 3am…. You insomniacs are on your own, Marcy likes her sleepy time! See note above about this being all about me!

The goal of all of this madness is to get us all to set aside some time to allow the holiday cheer to enter your soul. To give those shows and stories we all grew up with to re-fill your heart with the happiness from your childhood. Most importantly it’s to remind us all during this super busy time of year to stop…breathe…take a minute … recharge…. then jump back out there into the madness that is the holiday season. Teach the new generation that our generation was way better by making them watch the hour-long Rudolph or watch them spaz out when Ralphie well you know *spoiler alert*. Then casually say, “hey isn’t that the guy from the Elf movie …. Or if you are a Marvel Fan Iron Man/Spiderman movies and watch them sit back in awe of how amazing and smart you are for recognizing him. Plus if you play it right you get to watch Elf, or Iron Man or even better Spiderman Far From Home.

Merry Christmas to you all …. and I hope you each have a wonderful and safe New Years. Here’s to a fantastic 2026  for us all even those who reported me to IT I hope your Egnyte goes down hard but comes back quickly ! The JPEG is posted in its original size so that if you save it, and I hope you do it's readable. 

Marcy & Golden 

A month of Firsts, one of them mine

Dear reader, as you know I’m over 40, closer to 50 than 40 if I’m being honest but you’ll have to figure out my age on your own if you are interested. Loyal readers already know, assuming they have been paying attention. My point is that I am at the age where very few new things happen to me. Most of the first’s in my life happen around others for instance my New Niece’s first Halloween was a few days ago and it was most definitely not my first but it was fun witnessing the holiday through her 10 month old eyes. She didn’t really understand what was going on but you could tell she felt the day was different. I look forward to next year when her “first” real Halloween happens cause I think by then she’ll be old enough to know it’s not just about getting in a pretty dress and taking a picture, which we totally did that too. Next year I hope to get to watch her toddle down the street on her way to the first “trick or treat” at a neighbors house. This year we just practiced walking in her living room while Garfield’s Halloween Adventure played in the background. Apparently my little ball of love has decided to just skip over crawling and go straight to walking. She can crawl mind you … she just goes backwards. It is kind of funny cause as she crawls away from whatever she wants she gets mad cause it’s getting farther away not closer. I did my best to convince her to go the other way and my bruised up knees are proof of that. There are lots of first heading her way, first thanksgiving, first Christmas, first birthday, but those belong to her and I’m just there for the ride.

However, October also had a first for me. I had my first reporting for Jury Duty. Not sure why after all these years they decided to call me but they did and I reported and it was definitely a first. I wish I could tell you it was an amazing trial and very interesting but I can’t. I can’t even fully tell you what it was really about other than a wrongful death case. The reason I don’t know these things will be made clear very soon.

So I drag myself out of bed on that faithful day, frankly glad to not be going to work. I get ready. I get in my car. I head to the courthouse at the appointed time I have been told to be there. Now I was told you can’t have a phone in the courthouse. I also read that on the website. So I left my phone in the car. I was the only person told this and most definitely the only person that read it on the website. Lesson learned. That was a long 2.5 hours. I was literally the only person in that room that did not have a phone. I had a book. But no phone. I learned something that day, when you don’t have a phone you don’t have a lot. I didn’t know what time it was. I panicked at one point that I would need my jury number and thought oh it was on my summons. Oh wait I had to runt hat in, no biggie I took a picture of it. It’s on my phone….which is in my car and no help at all. Sigh.

I did however have two battery back ups, I always keep at least one in my backpack (cause I’m too cool for a traditional purse – I use a sling bag) but for some reason today I had two. One of my fellow jurors phone was dying at like 8:30 and I let him borrow it. He still has it. More on that in a minute.

So I sat there trying and failing to not fall asleep, truth be told I think I did actually fall asleep at one point. Then all of the sudden this lady starts telling us what to expect for the day ahead. She also announced that once we were chosen for a Jury our phones would have to be off and in bags but they admitted that Jury Duty participants would need their phone so they were going to let us keep our phones but cautioned us to not use it outside of the Jury room. I was like well that wasn’t on the website. Anywhoooo……. Not too long after that a guy came out to “certify” us as jurors. Then he left. Then they started calling names, if your name was called you were to come up cause that meant you were being added to a “Panel.” Panel one came and went off to wherever a Panel goes (I assume a courtroom) when they are assembled. Panel 2 started and all of the sudden I heard my name. We were off. There were 60+ people in my “panel.” Upon calling everyone they led us out of the room and down the hall to a courtroom already full of people, where we sat in the order that we were called. I had a front row seat to the show. The Judge who was super nice but I can’t remember his name to save my life told us this was a wrongful death case and that we’d know more about that later. Then he asked up a crap ton of questions. By the time he finished it was lunchtime and instructed us not to talk to one another or other Jurors from other panels about what was happening inside the courtrooms. He stressed we were free to get to know one another but just don’t talk about the case. By then my eyeballs were swimming and I and about 40 of my fellow jurors made a beeline to the bathroom. By the time I made it down the elevator I had about 30 minutes left in my “lunch break” so I first walked to the car to retrieve my phone then I grabbed a coke and some chips and just sat somewhere to check my messages and see what the outside world had going on.

Upon returning to the courtroom we had to line back up in our number order then walk back into the courtroom to sit in our assigned seats. We had more questions from the Judge and about 30 minutes in a fellow juror got up and left the room. The judge stopped everything and told the jury to leave the room for a break. Apparently we weren’t allowed to  continue until the juror came back. Yeah no one told us that or she might not have left. So that took about 30 minutes. She was back after 5, but whatever. When we were all reseated it was time for the lawyers to ask questions, as part of the Jury selection process. That’s right we hadn’t even really got started and now it was close to 2pm. So she starts asking questions and when I say questions what I mean is she basically asked the same question about 15 different ways. Then people had to respond and anyone that raised a hand had an opportunity to speak. She’d say will this affect your ability to make a judgement and they would say no and sit down. After a while I thought oh my god just sit down then why raise your hand if you know it won’t make a difference. Two guys god love em said they didn’t care either way and didn’t want to be there. That got a chuckle especially when another guy stood up and said I agree. A few times the other side objected and they had a “sidebar” with the judge. Something was asked that he didn’t like at all and he sent us out of the room for a 2^nd time while he talked with the Lawyers. Man was I glad I got my phone. TWO HOURS … for TWO hours we all stood in the hottest hallway on the planet. They finally called us back in only to tell us that the “jury pool had been compromised and he had declared a mistrial.” That they were going to regroup, get a new panel, and that our services were no longer necessary.

So we literally sat there all day long for nothing. The Judge had told us earlier that if we were chosen for the Jury it was expected the case was going to be at least a week and a half but likely longer. So I guess I dodged a bullet but I would have liked to have seen it through. I did find the process fascinating but also a lot of wasted time and effort. Maybe next time it won’t be so bad.

 

Marcy

 

It's Spooky Season, finally! Halloween Calendar Time

 44 total days, just over 6 weeks human time my mother was in the hospital from Aug 12^th through Sep. 24^th. She’s much better now, and has returned home but for a hot minute we weren’t sure we’d ever get to send a “she’s home” text to our loved ones. She fought like a champ and the text was able to be sent eventually to much fanfare and rejoicing. In case you didn’t know, she had a heart episode, a heart attack, blockage in one of her arteries, (depending on who you talked to) and required a single bypass surgery. She handled the surgery like a pro, she handled the recovery like a scared little baby, but she handled Rehab like a boss and that is what’s important. Very Jekyll and Hyde of her which ironically isn’t on my calendar this year, more on that in a moment. I tell you all that not for sympathy or for you to send your I’m glad your mom’s doing better messages back but to tell you that my heart and mind were not in me for this calendar and frankly I did it more out of obligation than anything else. Like her, I pulled it together and attached is the calendar for another year. I almost had a panic attack cause I thought it was Oct 1^st and I hadn’t sent it out yet, in the hospital days just kind of run together after a while, and realized I had a few more days to try and make it better, talk about stressful, but was grateful for the few extra days to make this worth your time and frankly mine.

It's not entirely my fault tho. Local networks aren’t interested in holiday programing unless it is that fun “Halloween” special for their established shows, which as you know that’s not what this calendar is about. So that’s not helpful. What happened to Icabod and Mr. Toad, or Pooh and his Heffalump, or Alvin and Chipmunks Trick or Treason, Monster House and his awesome kite, The Exorcist (can’t someone think of poor Ragan), The Smurfs and the Legend of Smurfy Hollow (see what they did there), heck at this point I’ll take Shrek in Scared Shrekless. All this gold and none of it on tv, but what’s really sad is that a lot of it isn’t even available for streaming either. That’s just disgraceful. Yet I can watch the same 12 episodes of the Big Bang Theory on just about every channel …. I mean come on what’s that about? Don’t get me wrong I love me some BBT but the point is still the same.

 

AMC, Freeform you guys saved this calendar, hallmark you got invited to the party cause well we needed to add some lighthearted fall fun to the blood and gore. SYFY I don’t know what’s going on with you, I’ll assume your mom was also sick so you bailed completely, but I expect to see you back next year. I miss your Halloween fun. They claim they are still doing Halloween programing, but I can’t find a listing anywhere. I was able to look through their website schedule, and found a few gems (they are airing the original Blair Witch btw) but it only takes me through the first week of shows. Again … not so much with the helpfulness. Don’t make me put you in the corner with Food Network. I’ll do it. Just tempt me.

 

That being said not everything on Freeform and AMC made my calendar. I can’t live in a world in which the likes of say Pirates of the Caribbean, or Alice in Wonderland, are considered “horror” …that’s not to say they aren’t worthy of your time it just not going to take up a slot on my already full calendar. It’s my calendar and it’s my rules (as dictated below).

 

Food Network cut their Halloween programing down to two shows, and they both aired mostly in September. Rolls eyes so hard. However, if you are interested to see who wins …  Halloween Wars airs on Sunday nights, and Halloween Baking Championship on Monday night. Looking for Outrageous Pumpkins? Don’t bother, they didn’t bring it back and that’s a real shame. It was a very creative show and I for one miss it. I’m starting to wonder why I even watch that channel anymore, oh wait I kind of don’t. If nothing else is on I’ll turn to it but it’s more background noises than me really giving a crap who cut an onion correctly or not.

 

The ID channel has some interesting offerings this year namely “Real Murders on Elm Street” which is apparently a series that airs on Wednesday nights alongside “The Friday the 14th Murders” … which both sound very interesting. If you do get the ID channel you might be interested in these, sadly I do not. I mean who would willingly choose to live on Elm Street. That would be like me naming my new campground “Crystal Lake” then being surprised when all the teens get murdered one afternoon and they pull my license and shut down my camp after making me refund all the money. I’m sure there was a clause in the sign up form about that but my lawyers swear it’s missing. I guess you get what you pay for. I digress the moral is don’t tempt faith people, isn’t that what the original Halloween is all about!? I should ask Jamie Lee Curtis that question.

 

As always there’s streaming fun to be had this time of year with a lot of new offerings a Family Guy special on Hulu for some reason, the IT: Welcome to Derry series premiering on HBO, and of course the Great Pumpkin which is still being held hostage by Apple TV (tho I understand it’s available to watch for free – somehow.) Many of the shows I listed from when I was a kid (see above) can also be found on some of the streaming services, but as previously stated not all of them. I highly recommend the Garfield Halloween Special if only for that amazing rendition of “What should I be” cause Afterall a singing cat trying to determine his Halloween costume with his dog friend is always a good time. I believe it’s on Hulu and maybe prime but don’t quote me on that.

 

For those new to this party, and there are several of you, I will re-state the rules, for those veterans out there please forgive me for giving a short explanation and allow your attention to wander freely if you’d like. (thanks for that line Albus! – 10 pts for your house if you can tell me which Harry Potter book that’s paraphrase from).

 

The Rules:

• I live in the central time zone, so does this calendar. Adjust accordingly for the current location of you and your family. Don’t call me cause you missed your “favorite” show/movie, that’s not my mess. Be a big girl or boy and crank up that DVR and find out when it comes on again cause odds are it will. I don’t need 5 e-mails about the mistakes made on this calendar it’s free … suck it up and move on.
• Time Zones are hard and sometimes I screw up the conversion from Eastern Time Zone to Central. See Note above for how I feel about you finding a mistake on the calendar.
• Unless otherwise stated the times are PM, this calendar is also geared towards the after work hours cause that’s mostly when I can watch. My office seems to think it’s a distraction if I watch while at work, I mean I still do sometimes but for full disclosure I don’t watch TV while working but I do listen to music, and this time of year that music is SPOOKY. For those WFH peeps or stay at home moms feel free to check out these channels throughout the day for more spooky goodness you know between Team’s calls.
• Lastly this calendar shows things I want to see, movies and specials that take me back to my childhood or that just make me happy, or things that intrigue me. Some are kid themed, and some are more adult oriented. PLEASE be mindful of that before you sit down with your little and they can’t sleep cause Freddy might get them. That’s your mess not mine but kudos to you for showing them a classic. Seriously don’t be that person and there’s always one. This is supposed to be for fun, if you make it not be for fun well you won’t get it next year. PS if you don’t get this one you don’t get the Christmas one either so be sure that’s what you need/want before firing off that e-mail/text or god forbid call me. This isn’t the internet where you can say whatever you want without consequences. 

If you are a digital user the easiest way to use this calendar is to save it to your phone so you can check it on the fly, I mean who hasn’t gone to the bar keep at the local restaurant to ask them to switch from the game to Friday the 13th ? Just me ….weird. When I print it, and I do, I print it 11X17 but 8.5X11 is often good enough, especially if you can use one of those cool work printers … not that I do that nor am I suggesting that you do that I’m just saying that is the kind of printer that prints really well at that size.

 

Now I must warn you … these networks have some kind of dyslexia cause I have noticed that they will show the movies and their sequels but often in not any kind of order that makes sense in any world that we live in. I mean I get it … you want to show the real popular ones when people can watch and that requires a little planning on their part. If it’s a full night of say Halloween fun I just put Halloween Marathon and it’s up to you to find what you want to watch, that’s right you don’t get out of doing some work on this thing too. I did highlight the ones I want to watch cause as previously stated it’s my calendar I’m just sharing. Please Note: If you pick Halloween Three we can no longer be friends.  

 

A few things to take note of :

• Freeform – is once again bringing their 31 nights of Halloween to the party. Just about every night there is fun and laughter and lots of animation that satisfies both adults and little’s alike. So sit down relax and fall into the fun of your childhood. The joy starts October 1st.
• AMC is where you go for all out gore …. Fear Fest starts October 1st and it is not to be messed with and is to be revered and loved for the wonder that it is. Lots of classics on the list and marathon on top of marathon. Lots of theme nights.
• Hallmark channel is bringing the fall feels with “harvest” theme shows about people falling in love as leaves are falling and pumpkins are on display. There are likely others on the schedule but I focused on the few that caught my eye cause they sounded interesting or fun tho I’m sure they are all the same.
• SYFY is apparently having a 31 days of Halloween but as stated previously good luck finding what they are showing and when. It’s usually fun stuff too like Child’s Play and Jeepers Creepers, oh and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cabin in the Woods, Carrie, House of Wax,  real psychological fun but oh no they can’t be bothered to share their schedules so go check them out see what’s on then move on if you want.

So enjoy a scare, carve a pumpkin, eat all the good candy, eat it all then buy some more for the little beggers who grace your front door at the end of the month (or during your Trunk or Treats) just do whatever you need to in order to keep Mariah at bay a little bit longer. Good lord X-mas back off we still have Turkey day to get through afterall! 

 

Happy Spooky Season,

 

Marcy

BLOGAVERSARY!!!!!!

Can you believe it … Aug. 2, 2014  … 11 years ago …. we posted our “test post” which frankly didn’t have much on it but it was a start. It was the push that propelled everything else that followed. It was the “first post” and yeah we could have stopped there but we didn’t we just kept pushing through. On August 3^rd we did an introduction post about what the blog was going to be and more importantly what it wasn’t going to be and then we did some introductions to each of us … myself .. and my partner in crime Golden.

 This blog started out as a way to take two people being crushed by the world and help them remember that they have it in them to be creative. Golden did this for me and I know that but having her along the way gave me … I don’t know a sense that if I didn’t see it through I’d be letting her down as much as letting myself down. So I’m grateful she came on this ride with me. Truth is she’s better at this than I ever wanted to be. The way she uses words like a paint brush to tell a story fills me with an envy that I can’t fully express.

 That August was a good month for us with 27 posts but then again it was new, exciting and we went to Dragon Con which always helps with content. Here I sit … again looking our 10 year anniversary of Dragon Con (it really feels like we’ve been going longer but my calculations say 10 years so 10 it is – math is hard yall) and I can’t wait for that 4 day break with my bestie. I need it and more important she needs it. We might just veg the entire time playing video games but we’ll at least be doing it in the same room.

 A lot has changed for Golden and I over these 11 years. She’s changed jobs for one. Sometimes I think it’s for the better but other times I’m not so sure. I’ve gotten a few promotions at work and am now leading a team of people which is very daunting and I’m not sure I like it at all. She’s been through a few fur babies, which were really tough to watch her go through cause as you know dear reader I’m too far away to just go over and make sure she’s ok.  We have both lost family members along the way, and we have both also gained family members, which has been more fun than the losing. We’ve gone on a few more trips, most recently to Atlanta to see the StayKids which I admit was far more fun than I anticipated.  Sickness we have both dealt with our fair shar of sickness over the years mine mostly watching others be sick and Golden being my Medical Marvel. Neither of us really use Twitter (I refuse to call it anything else) as much as we used too but have migrated to other platforms. Social Media has always been a cesspool and now it’s somehow worse.

 I admit finding content to post here without a lot of feedback wasn’t always easy so I started little challenges for myself. The thankfulness challenge in 2014 was particular a highlight for me as it was a post a day for the month of November and I succeeded. Is every post worth a read … not really but there are 30 posts in the month of November and for that I am proud. I tried it again in 2019 and it was equally successful. Maybe I bring it back this year?

When we started this blog we said we’d not “teach you anything” but like the former journalist that I wanted to be I added but we might … which helped open the door for my Blog with a Purpose posts that focused on a few charities that Golden and I have supported over the years. I hope those were interesting cause I really enjoyed writing them.

Oh and the greatest challenge of all is that this blog got me writing again. Here of late I’ve been doing my Writing prompt challenge, which has been interesting. However, over the years I used this to share some of my original  fiction which was both fun and scary at the same time.

Several reoccurring themes have popped up too including music, books, tv, the aforementioned drama with fur babies, etc., which has also helped in keeping this thing going. Oh and I’ve wasted a post or two a year on my silly TV movie calendars for Halloween and Christmas and while that is slowing down I don’t see it stopping soon. Tho Microsoft doing away with publisher I might have to come up with another plan for those in the very near future. My gripes at Microsoft have also  made a few appearances too over the years. Year end posts or new year blogs helped kick off the year or end it and made for some good content as well. Random Thoughts/Grind my Gears were also fun ways to get topics bouncing around in my head out of my head and onto the screen so I could move on.

So the point is if you have been with us this long than you, if you are new here enjoy going through the archives to the right, and if you are a casual reader it’s been fun seeing you around too. This blog isn’t dead yet and while I know sometimes it looks and feels that way that’s just what we do. We don’t post for the sake of posting we post when there is something worth saying and in my opinion that is more fun. It’s about quality not quantity but know there will be typos.

So thanks again Golden for the push and let’s keep it going a few more years at least!

Marcy

Writing Prompt #3 - Question A Day: Organized or Chaotic ?

So, several years ago, I told Golden I was struggling to find something worthy of writing about that I could put on this blog. She gave me these books. During a cleaning binge recently, I found them and decided to dust them off and actually use them. Here’s attempt Number 3 this time from the A 5 Year Question a Day Memory Journal. So I’ve been randomly flipping through these books and landing on a date. Today I focused on the 26^th, the month didn’t matter, since today is the 26^th. That would force me to finish it and post it today (at least that’s how my brain works anyway) I landed on May, 26.

The prompt:       Organized or Chaotic ?

What I liked about this “prompt” is that I could go in a variety of ways with it.

Are they talking about my life is it organized or chaotic ? I’d say pretty organized as I have set times for things I need done. Like sleep, work, relaxation, repeat…. etc,

Are they referring to what I prefer organization or chaos ? Cause there are some people out there that crave chaos and the adrenaline it brings. I am not that person.

Do they mean my space is it organized or chaotic? In my home life I’d say chaotic as I have crap literally everywhere. Often my closet looks like it threw up, and my bathroom is even worse with clothes that need to be cleaned just kind of hanging out on the floor. I have a bag of clothing in my closet that needs to go to goodwill but haven’t made it to the car. Where they will then ride around with me for a few months before I finally drop it off on my way to or from work one day. Does that make sense … no cause the Goodwill is literally right next door to my office. I zip it, drop it in that big box and zip out. Yet it always seems like a chore to stop, or it’s raining or I’m running late and can do it tomorrow. So maybe that part is a little chaotic.

In my work life my space is pretty organized or it was. We recently had to give up one of our offices to make way for a new employee and that lady’s stuff more or less ended up in my office and in a filing cabinet. She works from home mostly but had enough to take up an entire filing cabinet …. I kid you not. We also have a lot of stuff to ship things to other offices and so those boxes had to go somewhere. We also threw a crap ton of stuff away. So while the space may look more chaotic than I’m used to it’s pretty organized. I am also very organized when it comes to my job itself. I almost have to be. The deadlines, the submittals, the random calls to talk about the submittal that I’m not working on at the moment so notes are being taken on the fly and must be attached to the write package etc.

They can’t be talking about my personal life, relationships, cause I don’t really have any. I mean I have friends. I have people I hang out with socially when I get off my butt and make it happen but not relationships in like the way of a husband, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, etc., No kiddos in my way, but I do have two amazing nephews who sometimes like to throw my world into Chaos but they are well worth it so it’s all good.

Are they talking about packing for a trip cause it’s all chaos and no organization. I literally either have all the things or none of said things. I try. I really do. I make lists. I write out the plan for the trip. I pack and repack bags several times and yet once I get in the car with said bag I honestly have very little idea of what’s in said bag.

So to refocus this post …. Organized or Chaotic ?  ….. I think they both have their place but I prefer organized chaos if that’s a thing. Kind of like answering a question without answering I guess. Organization has it’s place but often time really organized people can’t find a damn thing when they need it and chaotic people can often walk into a room of chaos and find that one random thing they need in that moment.

So what about you guys ? Which do you prefer and did I do the challenge justice?! 

Hey look at that I just wasted nearly 400 characters … go me!

Have a great day everyone see you next time.

Marcy