2023 Christmas TV Calendar

 I have a confession ……… there’s too much Christmas … I mean honestly, everyone slow down. I can’t imagine as an actor how it feels to be all Christmasy in like February but then again they shoot Halloween Wars in January so BOOM take that Christmas! I’ve always wondered how they keep their pumpkins so fresh …. and how do they convince a farm to hold out that many pumpkins ?! Maybe they delay their planting and use greenhouses ….. wait … this one is about the big guy in the Red suit, the reindeer with the red nose, the snowman in a magic hat, the geeky mouse that broke the clock, and the poor 4 eyed kid in a pink bunny costume! In case you are living in a cave with no electricity it is already Christmas, or as my bestie calls it Crimmus. Not sure how that happened but calendars don’t lie ….. the clocks often do but calendars are always trustworthy. You could think it’s 3 but it’s actually 1 or worse it’s 7 … but even if you think it’s Tuesday and it’s actually Thursday well it will never NOT be Thursday it will always be the day it’s suppose to be. Every.Single.time. Trust me. It’s a thing! Wait … how did you get my calendar in your cave?!

I will admit that this one was easier than Halloween, but it usually is. It’s crammed tight with nostalgia, new offerings, and remixes of old fun family favorites told in what they hope is a new and “interesting” way…spoiler alert it’s usually not. By the way … THIS … is how holiday fun should be. Now I admit, Hallmark just went stupid, as they do every year, and started showing these things in like March. Truth is that I’m not even sure they have a time when they aren’t showing Christmas offerings. God love em they know their audience and they deliver the goods. I do admit hearing the Freddy Theme Song as you also hear Jingle Bells coming from the next room is a little discombobulating, yet…oddly comforting too. No bad Marcy …. This is about Crimmus not Halloween. Get it together!

To prove my point, I present you with this …. there’s Hallmark Channels 2023 “Countdown to Christmas” which I believe started a few days before Halloween ended and replaced their Christmas in July or some jazz like that …. there’s UPtv’s “Uplifting Christmas” with over 600 hours of holiday cheer (yet oddly didn’t really make my calendar cause I don’t get that channel anymore *sad face* … I think even Hallmark said sit down UPtv …. There’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” on well…Lifetime (come on guys some of these are easy) …. TBS is having a “Winter Break” …. you can find the “The Best Christmas Ever” on AMC, “Nickmas” is on Nickelodeon (Question…. how many Nicks are in the Nickelodeon theme song … asking for a friend… who is me – PS I say 7, if you say 8 we can’t be friends anymore, just kidding we totes can but you are wrong) and of course “25 Days of Christmas” on Freeform …the OG of Holiday fun. Not to mention all the streaming stuff cause well you have all heard my rant about that and I just don’t have the energy for that again.

So, my point is the calendar is full … it’s the fullest calendar I’ve done in years and frankly I really enjoyed it. You might need a magnifying glass to read it but that’s what ZOOM is for right?! Right?! I tried to include as many new offerings as I could and yes sometimes a beloved had to go. Sorry Clark! While Halloween was kind of a catastrophic failure on my part, I hope I have redeemed myself with this one. I know I have renewed my love for doing these so I am going to take that W.  

A few items of note because I don’t want you to miss these and that is the purpose after all…

·       TBS is airing the new A Christmas Story Christmas released on HBO/MAX last year!!!!!! Oh, Happy Day!!!!! Don’t worry tho the Christmas Day Marathon is still the original movie only, I checked! I mean they aren’t that insane. You don’t mess with tradition. But the fact that this one is now going to get to be watched by the masses makes me happy. They are showing equal love to the original but oddly the sequel from 2012 isn’t getting any love at all. If you have seen it you know why! Don’t yell at TED it’s not his fault. I have to warn you my mom finds A Christmas Story Christmas to be a bit depressing but what does mom know, well a lot but still it is a good movie. The gentle nod to the original, the returning original actors, a catch up of the characters and what they have been up to, a lot of love to the Old man and an original story all make up for the sadness. Give it a go let me know what you think cause I love it! Thanks Marvel for giving us back Ralphie! IYKYK

·       NEW Shows for the Win! As stated, there are several new items on the calendar, I haven’t watched them, but I am interested in many of them cause well at least they are new. I like new. I like original. I enjoy the old school seen it a thousand times, but will watch it again and again whenever it is on too but new … makes me giddy. Do some research before you put Sally in front of the TV with popcorn or plop little Bailey down in your lap for something that you deem inappropriate …that’s not my mess. Take it up with your facebook friends on how horrible it is so they can justify themselves as well by sharing in your fake outrage. Or just take it for what it is .. a lesson learned for both you and your offspring. You are welcome!

·       Speaking of Bailey …  God Love Hallmark for getting Scott Wolf and Lacy Chabert back together for a new Christmas movie called “A Merry Scottish Christmas” and no before you ask these two are not love interests, but are in fact playing siblings. I think they even realized how problematic that could be. I have seen it cause of course it premiered in November as part of their lead up to Christmas. I not only set my DVR but counted down the minutes until it started and I could wait 30 minutes or so in an effort to not have to watch commercials. I didn’t succeed. It’s good, predictable in a Hallmark movie kind of way but … good. I’d watch it again and I plan to. I am so excited about this movie, for many reasons that have little to do with the story line of said movie … so it’s getting a lot of love on this calendar and I’m not even going to apologize for it. Full disclosure … Don’t show up if you are expecting Bailey and Claudia (HEY Fox isn’t it time to find out what the Salinger clan has been up to all these years?). Bonus points if you catch the nod to their FOX show Party of Five. However, do show up if you still love Scott Wolf’s dimples, which I do, or like seeing Lacey’s doe eyed look every time those dimples are on display. If you haven’t seen Party of Five and are like what is this crazy lady talking about … I have all the episodes on VHS and DVD and can hook you up. I’m just gonna need you to put down a deposit and leave a note saying you promise to take care of it and promptly return it or I’ll send over the law. It’s that good. For me it’s right up there with Sports Night, another excellent show that you should totally check out … you know in January after all this holiday madness ends.

·       AMC is the marathon machine…. Like for reals. At various points of the month, they have dedicated theme nights. Dec. 9^th is “Merry 80’s Marathon” …. Dec. 10^th “So Many Santas Marathon” …. Dec. 16^th “Best Elf Marathon” …. Dec. 17^th “Holiday Hijinks Marathon” ….. and my favorite Dec 26^th as the “Holiday Hangover” I think there’s even one for Reece Witherspoon. If you are stuck and can’t figure out what to watch check out AMC and see what they are offering.  

·       CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute will air on Dec. 10^th at 7. It’s always a great reminder that in the doom and gloom of the world there are people attempting to make things better and good for them, better for us.  

·       Kennedy Center Honors  will air on CBS Dec. 27^th at 8 it’s another good program to remind you that there are very good humans in this world but this one leans more to the celebrity side while CNN’s version is for the everyday man. This year’s honorees include Billy Crystal, Reneee Fleming, Barry Gibb, Dionne Warwick and my Queen …. Dana Owens.

·       As always if you are looking for something to throw the littles in front of while you wrap gifts, bake, shop online, drink a glass or three of wine, scroll on your phone, or just need a minute … Freeform is the place for you. Their love for Claymation is admirable and while not all the offerings are eyeball worthy they do have a very impressive lineup again this year. May we all bow to the awesome that is Freeform this time of year.

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 …. Well, you want to read on or face my wrath.

·       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 employers who have 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 (especially during the week), fire it up as background noise for that meeting that you are totes paying attention to, or while you edit that really long annoying document.

Much like the Halloween one ….. I have been doing this one for at least 15 years …. The goal is to set aside some time for the holiday cheer to enter your soul …. for those shows and stories we all grew up with to fill your heart with happiness … and most importantly to stop…breathe…take a minute … then jump back out there into the madness that is the holiday season.

Merry Christmas to you all …. and I hope you each have a wonderful and safe New Years. Here’s to a fantastic 2024 for us all !

Marcy

Blog with a purpose – Giving Tuesday

What I’m doing two blog posts this week!? It must be a holiday that … or I’m avoiding cleaning. I’m not really sure why holiday’s make me remember that this thing exists, but they do and here I am.

One of my all-time favorite shows, Sports Night, did a show called “The Quality of Mercy at 29K.” It’s truly a fantastic episode (then they all were really) that was about these guys climbing to the top of Mt. Everest which the sports network CSC, that hosts “Sports Night,” is covering. However, it’s the side stories that stay with me. One of the main characters “Dan” had some “extra money” that he needed to use or be taxed on and walked around the office all day asking people what do they like to give their money too. The show, which I really suggest you find and watch, highlighted a lot of charities and organizations that are worthy of your time and your money. Some said homelessness, some said cancer research, some said the arts (shoutout to Montgomery, AL), a few jokingly said food and rent, and some just gave money to the guy down on their luck as they walked to and from the office which is based in New York. Then one of the characters, Natalie turns to Dan at some point and says, “The Key is to get in the game.” Meaning it didn’t matter where he decided to put his money to but he just needed to give. Every little bit makes a difference, and you just need to find a group you are passionate about and give to that. You can’t give to everything, but you can give something. That always stuck with me. . . . I mean to this day I had forgotten all about the Mt. Everest business until I looked it up for this blog. So Nat…. I’m getting back into the game.

As I have mentioned before I decided that this blog needed more of a purpose than a place for me to list journal entries which is what this thing has pretty much become. Interesting enough but I could be doing more with this space. At least every once in a while. In between some computer issues and life, I ended up with 2 ….. 2 of these “Blog with a Purpose” postings … and well that’s just sad. There are 265 days, 12 months, and roughly 30 days each month and I only came up with 2 of these … well I can’t have that. So here’s the next one … oh 3 … :D go me! Heck by the end of the year I might make it 4 … but no promises.

Incase you are wondering the postings so far have included: 

Triumph over Tragedy 

DEBRA 

As many of you know Thanksgiving was last Thursday, then we had the holy grail that is Black Friday, a wonderful day of knocking your fellow man down for a TV or the hottest toy of the season etc., and of course we will then have Cyber Monday and in the last ten years or so that’s all followed by #GivingTuesday. The theory being that you have now spent enough on yourself and others that if there is any left it would be good to give it back. Giving Tuesday has taken on many forms …. Online donations … volunteering at local food banks and shelters…whatever you decide to do is fine as long as you do….. something. Much like Dan you just have to get into the game. Not saying a blog posting by me here would boost anything, but at least I can say I gave it some spotlight if only for a small moment in time and with the tiniest bulb out there. What they do with it after that … well that’s on them!

So here are a few organizations that I feel are worthy of your time and dollars if you are, like Dan, looking for something to give those extra dollars to this time of year.

Triumph over Tragedy

The Brother’s Trust

Make-A-Wish     this link is to the account that a friend of mine runs to raise funds for Make-A-Wish (for full disclosure)  

Kids Need To Read

Cause we are a duo … I asked Golden what she’d add to this list and these are her suggestion for charities/organizations worth your time and possibly your dollars …

Trevor Project

True Colors United

Doctors Without Boarders/Medicins Sans Frontiers

NAMI

Reading is Fundamental

Dolly’s Imagination Library

Many of these organizations are having matching funds to really maximize your donation. 

If you are looking for something closer to home .... You can go to your local elementary or high schools and see what support they need or pay of a student's fees so they can start off the new year without that hanging over their head. Don’t get me wrong I know that this time of year it’s hard to scrape together a few extra bucks for anything but just know that your money is not the only thing that these organizations need. Donate time to animal shelters or drop off food, toys, treats, clothing, puppy pads. You can also drop off newspapers or gently used blankets/comforters/towels and donate those items as well. Find and support your local little libraries found in your town (locate one near you by going here …. ) by dropping off books or reaching out to the person who stocks them to see what they need. Food banks, blood banks, nursing homes, there are various ways to get involved that only cost time you just have to look for them. Time is very valuable, but the reward is also very high. Again, it’s all about getting involved in any way that you can. 

Then there are Angel Trees, Sock Drives, Hat & Glove Ministries, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army buckets at every major store this time of year... once you fall down the rabbit hole you end up like Dan and paralyzed to do anything. So just leap cause it really is true ... any amount no matter how small or how large makes a difference. That's really the point after all ... making a difference. 

Who are you reaching out to this year that’s not in the list above but should be ?

Marcy

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!

It’s Turkey day !!!! I hope by now the Turkey has been consumed, the dressing is safely in your belly, the pie and cakes have been sliced and the drunksgiving antics are fully underway wherever you are as you read this. We had over 10 at our table this year and all the food was delicious. We had turkey (cooked by my nephew on his new big green egg), dressing (made by me using this recipe), green bean casserole, candied sweet potatoes, creamed corn (all made by mom), lima beans, deviled eggs (made by my niece), and broccoli salad (made by my SIL). It was Andrew's first time manning the turkey and he did a great job with it. 

                                                     

I am very thankful for my family, even if I did fall asleep on the couch after lunch and missed the hanging out and catching up time with them today. I don’t snore! Ok I might. Look I live alone a little snoring has never bothered me. I am lucky to be surrounded by my parents who are still together (53 years strong), my older by 4 years brother and his wife live nearby, their boys still want to come over and spend time with the family. My oldest nephew who just turned 24 got married this past year and his wife (my new niece), also 24 is a fantastic addition to our family. They are still learning to navigate the pitfalls of married life but they are a great duo and are finding their way. They are so far navigating the my family or your family aspect of life and holidays. My other nephew is a sophomore in college and has the most adorable girlfriend who joined us today for the holiday. She and he will be having Thanksgiving dinner with her family tonight. 

As I waited on my family to arrive today I thought about the athletes, coaches, support staff and their own families sacrificing time to play the sport they love from the collegiate level to the pro level to play the sport they love. It must be a pretty lonely thing when you are the one who can't fill that chair at your families table. I bet their families miss them very much. 

I remember holidays spent in cars driving from one hose to another and spending a few hours at each and eating and playing and wishing it were time to go back home. I slept in this morning, helped prepare our house for the onslaught of people, ate dinner and never left the house once. It’s a nice way to spend the holiday.

I haven’t been very active this year on this blog but I’ve been having some computer issues. I have just gotten it back from the shop so hopefully I can be more active as we start up another year ahead. Golden is getting ready to have another set of eye surgeries …… she’s going to be fine … but she’s going to have some downtime over the next few weeks. Maybe I can talk her into another blog, you know once her eyesight returns. She has decorated her the holiday in anticipation of not wanting to do it after her surgery. She spent the morning watching the Parade and her family will be getting together tomorrow for their celebration. 

I have once again been neglecting my PTO and will either lose some or take some over the next month …… which is nuts cause I have taken more time off this year more than others but I guess I’m still ahead from 2020 the year that no one did anything and taking time off seemed silly if I were just going to be at the house anyway. I passed a pretty big milestone recently of 20 years at my job it's been quite a ride. 

My Christmas TV calendar should be out any day now so be on the look out for that.

 Have a wonderful thanksgiving holiday, be safe during your black Friday shopping and WAR EAGLE!

Marcy

2023 Halloween TV/Movie Calendar

15 years …. For 15 years I have prepared this calendar and this note for your holiday enjoyment. I hope that at least once in those 15 years these efforts have made you smile, if you laughed out loud then that’s a bonus for me. 15 years is a long time to anything and while I realize that at some point all things must come to an end 2023 will not be that year. What’s in store for the future … well I don’t know but let’s face it we could all die in a fiery ball thrown from the Sun tomorrow so why stress about that right?!  Kinda puts this calendar in perspective huh?! 

That being said, I was kind of excited about this one. No disrespect to the writers or the actors but I thought ok this is the year that the networks take everything at their disposal and use it since they won’t have fall programing in the way of all that holiday goodness. I thought this is the year that Garfield makes his Halloween come back, or that Nickelodeon dusts off those Alvin and the Chipmunks Trick or Treason, or the Smurfs and the Legend of Smurfy Hollow, Ichabod and Mr. Toad cartoons would fill the void left by all the striking humans. Long live Animation!!!! However that excitement was sadly short in life. While I’ve long since given up hope for the Peanuts to make it back to network TV I was hoping that others might rise and take their place. Heck at this point I’ll settle for Poohs’ Heffalump Halloween gracing my screen. Something …. Really anything … but it looks even worse than in past years and that makes for a very sad Marcy and is the reason for staring this on such a negative note.  

As you will see the calendar is dominated by a few specific networks, the OGs of this calendar if you will. My Halloween Ride or Die. Tho I warn you that I have been unable to find hardly any of the things that I used to find that routinely made the calendar’s of years past and new content well that’s apparently no longer a thing. Each network is associated with a specific streaming service that can air these things without messing with their precious lineups? So why waste the air waves and the advertising dollars. Has it finally happened, has Digital made this thing …. Obsolete ? Maybe so but let’s do it at least one more time cause well I am not ready to let this thing die, and while last year I said it was on life support this year I fear we might soon be calling hospice.  

I admit I’m a little behind on this thing so that’s also not helping, but also seems to be the way my world works these days. I was going to work on it prior to my annual Dragon Con trip over Labor Day weekend but was too caught up in the insanity that was packing for a Con and told myself it can wait. Then when I got back my self said it was too early cause most of the networks weren’t ready to discuss their line ups and I had laundry to do, aka sleeping. Then boom next thing I know it’s the weekend before October and I’m like OH MY GAWD SELF WHAT?! … and now I’m back in College mode cramming for a last minute test I knew was coming but forgot all about. However, it is AU vs GA weekend and as a Tiger fan really … what else do I have to do on this lovely Saturday. WAR EAGLE!  

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 paraphrased from…RIP Michael Gambon).  

The Rules:  

• I live in the central time zone, the times on this calendar reflect that, adjust accordingly if you have traveled north of the Mason Dixie Line or spread your wings out West. 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.  
• 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 of time on the calendar.  
• Unless otherwise stated the times are PM, this calendar is also geared towards the after work hours of life cause well it’s about me and that’s when I can watch. My office seems to think it’s a distraction if I watch while at work, I mean I still do it but like they expect that. For those WFH peeps or stay at home moms feel free to check out these channels throughout the day for spooky goodness.  
• 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. 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. This isn’t the internet where you can say whatever you want without consequences.   

If you are a digital user the easiest way is to saving 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 13^th ? Just me …. Yeah, the crowd didn’t think it was a good idea either but I stand by the request. When I print it, and I do, I print it 11X17 but 8.5X11 is often good enough, especially this year with so much additional space on it.  

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 sometimes in order sometimes but often not so much …. I’ve only listed one or the ones I want to try and catch in the idea that if you are watching you will also be alerted that the next show after Halloween Town is well Halloween Town 2.  In the case of Halloween or Friday the 13th or even Nightmare on Elm Street when there are more sequels than the Queen had jewels (RIP Liz) they really got dumb. 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.  

As always I’ve highlighted shows I hope to catch in purple but also wanted to alert you to a few items of note below, assuming that you are still with me and if so …. Wow congrats!  

Freeform - 31 Nights of Halloween – They 100% understand the assignment. I will admit when they went from ABC Family to whatever they were then to Freeform I was nervous. However, I think they know what their core audience wants so for the entire Month of October (and for Christmas they do even more (Nov/Dec)) they show seasonal programing all month long. That’s not to say that everything they air is worthy of your time, or that they aren’t re-airing things so much it feels like watching MTV on the weekend, but if you are looking for something the littles can watch while you scroll your phone grab a chair, get a blanket, and some popcorn and enjoy. This is my go-to when I can’t find anything else to watch that particular evening. They rarely disappoint, tho they got close by having a few nights of Twilight marathons which made me shake my head. Their addition of Cruella however allows me to overlook that.    

Syfy - 31 Days of Halloween – SYFY also understands the assignment. If Freeform is where you go with your littles, SYFY is where you go after your littles trot off to bed. It’s truly the greatest place to watch Halloween fun this time of year cause they don’t hold back at all. They show classics and new movies and everything in between. They are having a love fest with Chucky this year but they are also highlighting their new TV show, which this calendar isn’t about. I’m also mad at SYFY for not giving me back Reggie the Vampire … but I pray that’s a casualty of the strike and will be coming soon cause I love that little Vampire! There is a little too much Mummy on their schedule for my taste but I guess it’s not about me.  They are also gracing us with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which is a fantastic book and the movie did it justice. Not something you’ll hear me say often. The thing that does sadden me is that SYFY hasn’t released the entire 31 days …. Come on SYFY get your *hit together.  

AMC - Fear Fest starts – AMC is where you go for Classic horror. I admit over the years I’ve had a love hate relationship with Fear Fest over the years cause at one point the Walking Dead took it over and I ranted that it’s not about the Walking Dead or the many spin offs and talk shows it created. However, when that was all winding down I was excited thinking ok let’s get back to business but I understand there was yet another spin off and thus it’s going to be in the way again. Sigh …. However their love to Halloween and the Exorcist makes me want to forgive them.  

Fox – The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror - The Simpson's Halloween special on Fox likely won’t air until Nov … which infuriates me but I’m going to tune in just like everyone else so they can put it where they darn well please. Not much to be told about this up coming season but it looks like the animators get to have some anime fun which should be interesting.  

Disney Channel – Monstober - Halloween themed related movies and shows throughout the month and as the faithful to this calendar know ..that’s not what this is about but they do have a few “original movies” that might be worth your time or just fire up Disney Plus and watch Hocus Pocus. The fact they have not embraced Disney+ and re-aired some of their classics is something I will never understand.  

Food Network - Once again Food Network jumped the Halloween gun by airing most of their programing in September, which totally makes sense. Halloween Baking Championship, Halloween Wars, Halloween Cookie Challenge and Outrageous Pumpkins have already started airing …. If you missed them …. Sorry … yell at them not me.  

Nickelodeon is showing A Really Haunted Loud House which sounds really cute but Nickelodeon is being all secretive about when it airs so good luck finding that one on your own. I think it will be worth the hunt.  

Let’s talk Digital … since that fills me with all the rage …  

I give up guys, Digital and Streaming has taken over, heck there is even a strike cause of it and instead of embracing what’s at their respective disposal network TV has decided ….. to …. Well .. buckle. Heck my nephews don’t even have cable anymore. So, they use the calendar to look up show names as opposed to setting DVRs. I knew it was coming and this calendar was my way of trying to keep it at bay, but it’s still sad to me that we are in fact here. While it’s fun having these shows at our fingertips it also takes away from the anticipation of it, at least to me. That I am sorry I can’t do anything that night cause whatever is on and I don’t wanna miss it moments are now a thing of the past. Heck even most network TV will be on Hulu within 24-48 hours, so go have dinner with that friend after work and don’t worry you can catch whatever online tomorrow, but you won’t cause something else will come up and in 2 years you’ll still be telling people “No I haven’t seen Hubie but its’ on my list” …. Which is one of the last original Halloween programs we were given. Lord protect Adam Sandler with all that you have.   

So for my digital folks, of which I admit I am now one, see the links below but I will admit that all of me believes if we calculated up the “subscriptions” for all these services we’d see that Cable had its advantages. PS rumor has it AppleTV+ is going to have like a free week where people can log in and watch during both Halloween and Christmas …. Thank you Peanuts for that. While you are there check out the Crowded Room, it was and is still living rent free in my head.  

https://www.halloweenmoviesontv.com/stream-halloween/ 

In closing, assuming you are still with me and God only know why you would be, the intention of this calendar, is to get you and your loved ones to pause and spend some time making memories. Maybe carve a pumpkin while watching, create some fantastic Halloween Treats from your various Social Media sites while watching, or work on your costume – don’t forget the props - and RELAX  and unwind from the busy work day, work week.  

So sit back, scare yourself, and have a GREAT Halloween! It’s fall people enjoy it and feel free to share it far and wide ... but remember to tell them the rules! 😄 

Marcy  

Blog with a purpose – DEBRA

Did you miss me ?! I mean I’ve been gone a really really long time … Did you even notice I was gone?! ….. I’ve packed a lot into those months but that will have to wait for another post. Late last year as I pondered the existence of this blog, for lack of a better word (diary might be a better fit), I realized if I’m not going to use this thing as my “creative outlet” like originally intended (and I’m still holding out hope that I might) I’ll use it to spotlight organizations and groups that I’ve discovered over the years that are making a huge difference in this world and could use a boost. Not saying a blog posting by me here would boost anything, but at least I can say I gave it some spotlight if only for a small moment in time and with the tiniest bulb out there. What they do with it after that … well that’s on them!

The first one can be found here  .. Blog with a purpose “Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation” which exists to help families financially, who have had loved ones that have been in traumatic accidents that have left them either paralyzed or severely impaired. They support the family unit through biblical principles from the initial impact of tragedy or illness to the ongoing circumstances faced in the years to come. Thanks to Bryan White for putting them on my radar. Loyal readers know how I feel about him. IYKYK

This one is also one I found through my love of someone else but is still a really great thing they are doing with their star power. I love Tom Holland as Peter Parker …. He’s exactly who I pictured in my head as I read the comics all those years ago. The super not confident when walking but super confident flying through the air quality of how he portrays that character is something special. I will admit tho my favorite Tom Holland outing to date has been Cherry …. But the Crowded Room is a very close 2^nd best at this moment (tho if you log into Apple TV+ for Peter Parker... well just don't). I’ve watched those 3 episodes about 3 times each already and each time I watch I catch something I missed before. The more I learn about this man the more I like about him. 

However, this blog isn’t really about Tom Holland but it kind of is. See his family started The Brother’s Trust as a way to use his "star" power to do some good. They support charities that are doing great work but don’t get a lot of love. They are helping the every day person and doing the best they can and the Brother’s Trust exists to boost them up, give them a platform like no other to allow them to continue to do good works in the world. One such organization is DEBRA a registered UK charity that supports people affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa Also known as EB.

The Brother’s Trust also works with Epidermolysis Bullosa ResearchPartnership which is a USA Based non-profit organization dedicated to funding research to treat and ultimately cure EB. What is EB you may be asking yourself ? Cause that’s what I asked myself the first time I heard about it. It’s basically where the skin doesn’t function as skin. It tears and rips at the slightest touch and often results in large gaping, painful wounds all over the body. This of course also affects the inside that the skin is supposed to protect. It's a pretty debilitating disease and pictures i'm sure don't do it justice but they are also very graphic. Look them up to see but just know that while it's hard to look at, imagine living with it. Especially  when you realize there is no cure for this life limiting and often fatal condition.

However today the focus is going to be on DEBRA, which was established in 1978 by Phyllis Hilton whose daughter, Debra, who suffered from EB. DEBRA is a support group for people living with EB supporting patients, family members, healthcare professionals and researchers as they work to live and fight EB.

Just before The Crowded Room press tour started a fundraiser was established in which Graeme Souness, famous UK football star (soccer for those of us on this side of the pond) is swimming a 21-mile stretch known as the English Channel to raise awareness about EB, raise money for DEBRA, and support those living and fighting EB daily. Tom has mentioned it in several of his interviews and that's how it ended up on my radar. They are over halfway to their goal of over 1,100,000 raised in support of this swim (his jersey number was 11). The more I learn about this charity and EB I can support anyone who is supporting any effort to make the effects of this disease less painful for those living with it and supporting thos watching people living with it.

So I encourage you to learn more about it … donate to the swim if you can and support this effort links are below.

Donate directly to Graeme Souness and Andy Grist swim of the EnglishChannel

Media coverage of the swim     

I hope you like these ..... I am enjoying writing them up cause I always learn something new about the organization I am highlighting so they will continue even if you don't enjoy them. If you know of an organization I should spotlight drop it in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @beaslma 

If you haven't watched The Crowded Room yet on Apple TV what are you waiting for !? Get on that now. Next episode comes out next Friday! 

Thank you,

Marcy

Random Thoughts

Over the years I’ve had thoughts for various blogs but nothing worthy of a “full blog” in my opinion so I held them back until they pilled up into a ball of randomness that would equal what I call a “full blog” posting. I’ve called these posts a variety of things …. “Time for a catch up” ...  “Jumping onto my soap box”  …  “venting” … “Random Thoughts”  …   “What Grinds my Gears”  but most have their own problems. They all basically allow me to talk about randomness that really doesn’t connect together and get them out of my head. Time for a catch up implies that you know the background of what I’m talking about, sometimes you will sometimes you won’t if you’v been paying attention. Jumping on my soap box, venting and what grinds my gears implies that what I’m talking about has passion about a particular subject usually things that annoy me or frankly piss me off. However in this particular instance that is not the case. I have decided however to go with “Random Thoughts” from here on out… so here we go.

Birthday … A week ago dear readers I turned well …. Yeah I’m gonna say it …. 44  and let me tell you lately I’ve been feeling all of those years. More on that in a moment. It was a good birthday. Pretty low key, which is how I like em. The day before my work peeps took me to lunch. On my actual birthday the boss and my department took me to lunch (It was a Friday and many of my work peeps are doing the 10 hour days so they can have Friday’s off thing to save “gas”) So I was treated to lunch on two days and it was very nice. I didn’t necessarily have “time” for it but it was nice to get out of the office and enjoy some fellowship, comradery, and good food and a break from the insanity that was a Friday at work. That night my parents and brother and Sister in Law took me to dinner. All I really wanted for my birthday was a nice Steak. I got it and enjoyed the haties out of it.  Don’t get me wrong I enjoy celebrating my birthday I just as I’m getting older don’t want the attention. Not because of the number but because … well…. I don’t give the same energy back to my friends on theirs and that makes me feel really shitty. I want to give that energy but I’m just exhausted from giving my energy to so many things. Yes I am well aware of how lame that sounds …. Just give it to me ok.  

Doctors/Kidney Stone … Around Thanksgiving my back started bothering me really bad. During “Covid” my General Practice doctor left his practice and started a practice for 65 and older crowd focused on I guess Medicare/Medicaid ? AKA I was out cause as I stated previously, I am well under that number. I wasn’t “needing” a doctor and didn’t want to venture into the places where the sick people might be mingling so I didn’t do anything about it. A few times I masked up and went to an urgent care for a steroid shot or an antibiotic and went on with my life. So when I called the old place that I used to go to with my old GP and was like “I have done something to my back” the nice lady on the phone basically said go fuck yourself. With people out with the Flu and vacations being scheduled for holidays the earliest I could get in would be January. I was like are you kidding me right now? She said no. I said bye. I suffered through it taking an anti-inflammatory pills that I had from when I had hurt my knee and some “over the counter” pain relievers to help me sleep but every morning it was like I’d get out of bed and someone would shank me in the lower part of my back in the exact same place every single day. At one point I even thought I had Sciatica and would try to do the “exercises” I found online for it. FIRST OFF WHY DOES EVERY BACK REMEDY START WITH GET YOUR ARSE ON THE FLOOR. If I could get off said floor that would be different but cheese and rice man I can’t do that. I’d try and I’d fail every time. There were a few times that I almost threw up from the pain and several other times that I let the pain get the best of me and had to clean up the results of that. I’ll spare you those details.

                                               

Needless to say I finally had enough and right around Christmas/New Years drug myself to the Urgent Care cause there was no way this was “just a strained back” anymore. I started having dreams about the pain I was in. Like full on technicolor dreams about going to the doctor getting an x-ray only to discover a broken hip, or a broken back, or that I was in the middle of a heart attack and the nightmare that followed. I had been resting it and babying it and lathering up in the muscle spasm creams and sprays just to be able to walk across a room. Jokes on me it was January before I could see anyone anyway. Well played nurse … well played.

The Urgent care discovered that I had a UTI and also took an x-ray that upon review revealed that I also had what appeared to be a LARGE Kidney Stone. They sent me to a Urologist. The first thing he did was take a urine sample then send me for a CT where I had to lie on my back perfectly still for like 10 minutes. When I went to get up I almost passed out the tech did too. She said I got super pale and made me immediately sit back down. I was glad it was angry so that they could really see it in all it’s pissed off glory. Then…. I went back to work.

Two days later he called, during my staff meeting, to say I had a 7mm kidney stone at the base of my kidney. It seemed logged in there and then he said the thing that scared me more than anything else … I don’t know that this is going to solve your back problem, but it needs to be dealt with. I almost burst into tears but regrouped and said ok so now what. He was going to schedule my surgery to have Non-Invasive Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) cause he didn’t believe I’d be able to pass it. That long ass word is basically the use of sound waves to crush the kidney stone into smaller pieces so that they can more easily pass through the bladder.

The immediate unknown hit me hard and frankly scared the shit out of me. However, it got scheduled and I prepared myself for my first ever surgery just after my 44^th birthday (that’s right it would be on Feb 1^st … so we are now 4 months into this process). Sure, I had had my wisdom teeth removed and done a colonoscopy before but nothing like this. It was going to be an outpatient surgery at the hospital with IVs, a medical bracelet with my name on it, and wires and stuff and I was to be put to sleep for it. I had a male work friend who was trying to walk me through all of it cause apparently, he does this like every 3-6 months. I told him I hope that will not be me.  The day of the surgery came the first thing they did was a scan of my kidneys and lower abdomen I guess to make sure nothing had moved. Then I told my father goodby and  was taken to the back, and they did a pregnancy test, which was Negative of course. Then … I waited and watched some TV, that is to say I flipped the channels. I made the mistake of leaving my phone at home (one more thing to deal with I told myself) I missed it so during that hour and a half or so.

                                                      

Next thing I know we are waiting on the anesthesiologist who eventually showed up and spent about 10 minutes telling me how small my mouth/throat was and that he couldn’t believe I don’t have Sleep Apnea and suggested I see a doctor about it. I was like um… ok can we focus on the task at hand please. Next thing I know they wheel me down the hall, I transition from the bed to this table thing, I shift into position….  and then…. I woke up in recovery. Like I have zero recollection of anything in between. Which I guess is a good thing. I woke up in the middle of my colonoscopy and I threw up on my dentist during my wisdom teeth removal.

My small throat was killing me …. The nurse lady kept asking if I needed or wanted ice chips and I thought are you crazy my throat doesn’t work. I could barely swallow. I asked if it worked, she said sure honey it did. I didn’t believe her. I just wanted to go home. I stayed there a little while longer while the nurses talked about Rihanna and if she had ever performed at the Super Bowl before. One of the nurses was sure she had and the others were like nah she hadn’t. Then they talked about last years Super Bowl halftime show naming all the hip hop stars, and they couldn’t remember Mary J or Eminem. They kept saying you know it had Snoop and Dr. Dre and those other people and when I yelled out Mary J they were shocked I was even sitting there. Ice lady came over to see if I was ok but one of the other nurses said she’s right Mary J was there and proceeded to round out the guest list. Then the nurse that was sure Rihanna had went to the all mighty google to confirm she was right only to lean she was thinking of the Grammys and played Disturbia at near high volume for much longer than I feel she should have.

That was my cue to leave. No offense to Rihanna but yeah it was time. I got dressed and was wheeled out of the hospital to my dad’s car. He stopped to pick up medicine at Wallgreens (that was not mine – he’d have to go back later for that) and we finally made it home. Mom had asked earlier in the week what I might want to eat and I requested plain white rice with a little butter. I promptly thew that up and went to bed. I slept for the next 9 hours. Got up, ate some saltines and took the only pain pill I’ve taken so far and then went back to bed where I slept in 2 hour intervals that night. The next day was more of the same. I’d wake up be groggy as hell, sit there for 15-20 minutes and pass out for about 2 hours and start the cycle again. I guess around 6:30 that night I finally got up and ate something real and stayed up the rest of the night in hopes of a better night’s sleep that night. I was proud to report that my back pain was nearly nonexistent unless I had a full bladder then it was more of the same. However, I was considering it a win.  In all of this I only missed 2 days of work. The day for the surgery and the day after. I’m not sure if I’m proud of that or not to be honest. I have spent the last few days trying to pass these things so I can move on with my life to hopefully never do this again.

Rest…. I suck at rest. When I’m resting I’m thinking about all the thousands of things I should be doing while resting which means 1. I’m not enjoying the rest … 2. I’m not really resting at all and 3. I’m also not accomplishing the thousands of things I'm thinking about which amps me up even more. Even on typical weekends I know there are things I should be doing but I don’t do them and instead watch mind numbing TV or play games or scroll on my phone kicking myself for not doing all the things instead of “wasting time” when “wasting time” is what my body is telling my brain I need to be doing but then my brain isn’t letting me enjoy it. Golden was quite proud I took 2 days for my surgery she wanted me to take more but I think also understood my need to make sure things at work were handled. I did at least work from home (more cause I had to than by my choice) so it wasn’t quite as grueling but still. That being said on Monday I’m going to sell back 40 hours of Vacation to my work. I’m not going to use it and I might as well get paid for it instead of losing it. So what I am saying is I’m still learning what “rest” is and how to use it.

Music/Convert Tickets…. Buy the freaking concert tickets or don’t. Just stop with the bitching. Is it stupid expensive to go to a “concert” yes …. Are these acts jumping through more hoops than ever to make shows even happen, also yes. It’s not ticketmaster, it’s not scalpers, it’s the fact that when they put an insane price on a pair of tickets (and we aren’t even talking a decent pair of seats at this point) people are still buying them. Taylor Swift fans weren’t bitching about the price they were bitching that they sold out before they could get in to buy them at that stupid price. Beyonce fans were the same way, bitching about the price as well as how quickly they sell out. Get the tickets or don’t. Honestly I don’t care but be pissed off about the right thing. Complain to the right people. The idea that Congress is going to possibly take this up is just blowing my mind. Congress hasn’t and can’t solve a damn thing but yeah let’s focus on this. Let a Beyonce tour not sell a ticket, let an Ed Sherran sell out half a stadium, let Taylor not fill the seats and see if those prices don’t come down but that’s not going to happen. There is always going to be someone perfectly happy to pay the insane price for your seat. When I saw Ed a few years ago in TN I admit I overpaid for my seats. When I got there, I was damn proud to have done so. Am I lining back up to see him on his new tour, frankly no. It’s a stadium tour, outside, in the south, during the summer. So many things to factor in…the weather, the heat, the uncomfortableness of the day. I love the new album and I still love the man but I’ve seen him do his thing in really great seats and now I’ll just watch youtube clips. Let someone else have my seat. However, if I did decide to jump back in the ring I’d pay the extra money for the decent seats. You will too. Sop acting all high and mighty as you pull the credit card out of your wallet. 

Now if we are talking about Bryan White just take the wallet do what you need to do and return it afterwards cause I'd pay anything the man asks me to pay and I'd even buy the boy a burger for his troubles. Have I told you guys how much I love that man ?! If not I should do that. 

                                                 

 

Lent is coming ……. Which means giving things up …….. which for me typically means social media and soda. Last year I did caffeine in general which also took out tea and with my recent Kidney stone issues I think I’m going to do that again. However Lent 2023 starts Feb. 22^nd and ends April 8^th. My nephew is getting married the first week of March so I’m not planning to give up social media but I also don’t plan to be on it as much either. I frankly look forward to this “break” and Lent is a good excuse for it. However in the lead up to and the aftermath of the wedding I want to see the messages, the pictures that are shared the fun surrounding it all and to do that I need to be on all the social sites. Maybe I’ll find something else to give up along with Caffeine but that’s another post.

                                   

Well there you have it …. random conversations from me about very random things I needed to get out of my head. Hope you enjoyed that. There were several other things I'm dying to talk about but those will come in another post.  

Marcy (@beaslma)

Blog with a purpose : Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation

A few weeks before Christmas I got an e-mail from someone whom I consider one of my favorite people on this planet and I started looking into the organization he was telling me about so that one day I could share it with you all. Today is that day. Let me start by saying … I was going to say friend, which I suppose he is but we don’t see one another on a consistent basis, tho I wish that were true. I’d say I am his biggest fan but his wife might tell me otherwise…. He calls me a “blessing” but he’s by far blessed me more than I have him …. so I’m going with my favorite person.

This fella, who shall be named later I assure you, is a member of an organization that is called “Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation” which exists to help families financially, who have had loved ones that have been in traumatic accidents that have left them either paralyzed or severely impaired. They support the family unit through biblical principles from the initial impact of tragedy or illness to the ongoing circumstances faced in the years to come. Often organizations are all in at the beginning and the individual comes home alone to “figure things out.” This organization, based on what I’ve learned about them, is the opposite.

The organization was born out of necessity, as most often are, when a young man of 9 named Wesley was playing with his friends and fell 20’ from a makeshift zip line breaking his neck and becoming a quadriplegic. Wesley spent 6 months in the hospital with his parents and older brother, Reggie, by his side. In the aftermath of the tragedy, they thought of all the people who helped them during this difficult time and Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation was born. They knew they had to give back and a foundation that focused not only on the injured party but on the entire family unit was the way to go. They focused not only on the physical impairments but on the emotional scars that the entire family now faced as well as financial assistance. From guilt, to anger, frustration, and down right panic about what was to come, and depression it all needed to be addressed and attended to in different ways.

Their assistance is broken down into 3 main categories:

• 1.       The initial onset of illness or injury
• 2.       Adapting to life after the illness or injury
• 3.       An escape from the stress caused by the illness or injury

That escape part is how my favorite person initially learned about this organization. Bryan White, who loyal readers to the Blog know is one of my heroes, was invited to come and play music and participate in their annual golf tournament in Conyers, Georgia several years ago and now sits on the Advisory Board and is helping raise awareness about this organization. So of course, he reached out to me, and several others around the holidays to talk about this organization. Then I looked into it and here we are.

The easiest way to help is to earnestly pray for the Care Team, who make the initial touch with the family in the aftermath of the event, the grief counselors and pastors who are trained to sit and listen and talk with family members in their time of need, the Adapt Team who helps readjust the houses for wheelchair accessibility, and of course individual families forever changed by the event. By raising awareness in the community about the foundation so that others might know of the organization and what they can provide. Most importantly is by giving to the foundation so that they can continue their efforts and provide financial support to the families as they adjust to their new normal. Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All contributions are tax deductible, but most importantly can impact a family for a lifetime.

One of the planned initiatives for the coming years is the building of an “event center” near Mansfield, Georgia (east of Atlanta). The event center, a short drive from one of the best rehabilitation centers in the Country, will serve as a retreat for those families and serve as a place to hold fundraising events, weddings with wheelchair access and eventually a concert venue to entertain guest and families in an effort to take their minds off of their troubles if only for a few hours.

If you are interested in learning more about this organization or in donating to their cause, check out the Triumph over Tragedy Foundation website (links below). From the stories on their facebook page, to what I’ve read about them they really are restoring hope by restoring families and I’m happy Bryan put them on my radar.

Links about the organization:

https://givetotriumph.org

https://www.facebook.com/TriumphOverTragedyFoundation/

https://givetotriumph.org/#donate

I've decided that this blog does not exist in a vacuum and after some soul searching decided that while it's purpose is to provide me a creative outlet when I need it it's also going to exist to lift up organizations, groups, or individuals that are doing good in the world from time to time. So, consider this the first "blog with a purpose" and it was a great one to start out with. 

Marcy