If you're over 40, you need these!

Product Endorsement: 
I have been unable to wear bifocals and have wasted money buying two pairs in the past three years. Since i was in my teens, (maybe earlier) I needed glasses to drive and see distance, but my last eye appointment shows i am legal to drive without corrective lenses for the first time ever. And i can even read the crawl on CNN now where i used to need glasses at the movies. 

However, i can't focus on my food when i'm eating. And i can't read a thing anymore. I liked it better the other way. 

By last count I own 8 or 9 pairs of readers, not counting my prescription readers. (A couple of weeks ago I misplaced the expensive ones - my prescriptions, but i know they will eventually turn up because i never lose things.) I try to keep a pair in every room (and in my car and at work) because i keep taking them off and leaving them only to be annoyed when i need them again. 

Anyway, i think i have found the end all this problem: 

These are Clic readers and i think they are so cool! They are connected by a strong magnet at the bridge as you can see in the bottom photo. But they look good on. When you don't need them you just let them hang around your neck. Much better than those granny chains IMO. 


you can find them here

I can't wait to use them flyfishing and taking photos. 

Latest Books: I just finished Gold by the author who wrote Little Bee. Great book about two Olympic women cyclists who are competitors for the 2012 Olympics and are best friends. I really liked it. It's another one of those books i kept picking up and putting down that ended up being a favorite. I wrote about this in a previous blog post.

Now i'm reading Jonathan Tropper's new one One More Thing Before I Go. He really writes for men but i love him. The main character is always a hapless, sad figure without much redemption. But funny too. 

Grits doesn't post here anymore but she told me about Richard Russo's Interventions. I just got that too but haven't started it. 

Shout Out: To EoDE.... Where are you girl? I miss seeing you here. I was reading old blog posts the other day and seeing so many folks who are gone. Is everybody Facebooking? Louie i hope you don't leave us when you join the FB world. If anything, it should give you more to talk about. 

What's Happening this Week: The Big Wedding of the Family Louvrak. After 9 years my brother Troy's son Brian is marrying his girlfriend this Saturday. They are having a similar wedding like mine. A friend is performing the ceremony. They are being married in a hall. No tuxes. Not too big of a wedding. Should be fun. My cousin is coming in to stay with us this Thursday, so I'll be away for a bit. 

In the News: Lance Armstrong. (and then Neil Armstrong)... I have always thought Lance was guilty of doping. Maybe when he first started he told himself it was okay because of his famous testicular cancer. But you can't possibly have 10 teammates ready to testify against you without you being guilty, can you? 

In the Air: Autumn! Thank you summer for your two weeks. See you next year!

Speaking of In the Air. That song In the Air Tonight used to be a favorite of mine by Phil Collins back in the 1980's. Now i can barely stand to listen to it. I think my next blog posts will be about how we change our minds about songs, movies, people, politicians, etc. 


Ok, i didn't really have much to say today, but it was Sunday and i wanted to change this blog. 

3 a.m. thoughts about The Daily Show, Matt McConaughey, menopause, and my Kindlefire.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Zach Galifianakis & Will Ferrell
www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

I've taken to keeping my Kindlefire and a little notebook and pen on my nightstand.  (I quit keeping my glass of water nearby in case i knock it over and ruin my Kindle. But then it's only 5 steps from bed to bathroom, which is a must for me for getting my water and having to pee. When i was looking for a house awhile back it was a big deal to me how close the bathroom was to the bed area, just as important as the storage in the kitchen. But i digress... )

We DVR the Daily Show and sometimes when i'm lazy and bored i will watch four episodes in a row, as i did last night. This is a hilarious bit with Will Ferrell and Zach Garfairalaldkas.... (you know the guy, but who can spell or pronounce his name?) It's worth watching all the way through. Jon Hamm from Mad Men makes a hilarious appearance on the skit too.

Anyway, last night i jotted these things in my notebook and I'll start with The Daily Show:

1. Have you ever seen Brian Williams as a guest on The Daily Show? He is one of the funniest guests. (In fact he was far funnier than Chris Rock was on the same week, though I do think Chris Rock may have been a bit inebriated. ) I love when Brian Williams is on because his comedic timing is almost just as good as Jon Stewart's. It also occurs to me that these two are maybe the most trusted men in the new reporting on politics these days. I can't remember the last time I've watched CNN or MSNBC and this is an election year.) For example, everything i know about Paul Ryan i learned from Jon. (Who is one f*cking scary dude, by the way.) Isn't it rather sad when you think of all the channels we have now to get our news that it's difficult to find honest news?

2. Jon Stewart just keeps getting better and better. Brian Williams should run for president with Jon as his vice-president.

3. Matt McC.... (I cheated and went back to look up how to spell it since it is in the subject line), but you know the one, he likes to take his shirt off at every chance. (I used to date a guy like that and he appears in one of the most viewed blog posts here, according to the stats -  the one about Bad Boyfriends.) Anyway i don't like him very much, he always seems to be full of it in his interviews. And it occurred to me that we don't really need Matt. If you think about every movie he has ever been in (even Dazed and Confused) you can substitute Woody Harrelson and you have a much better picture. Some actors are interchangeable and should be eliminated. (We don't need that pouty Scarlett Johannsen when we have a much better pouter actress in Natalie Portman. And don't even get me started about that little tramp, Kristin Stewart. I'll think of some more later.)

4. Menopause. OK, i'll try to make this the last time i bring this up. I am still not sleeping but i'm starting to believe maybe it's not affecting me all that much in the end. It could be that i don't need as much sleep as i used to. I took far more naps last year on weekends and during vacation than i do now. Now i try to look at it as having more  unencumbered time to read, which is so much easier with the Kindle.

My doctor wants me to tough it out. I bought that Estroven that Amanda said worked for her mom. It did the opposite for me. I was up more that night than the one before. My doctor told me not to use it even before he knew it didn't work. I already forget why (but if i didn't have menopause i'm sure i would know.) Benadryl did the same thing, which is what my doctor did recommend. (By the way I am old enough to be his mom.) At this point, i think I probably should have someone just punch me hard in the face and knock me out. I'm sure there are many people willing to line up. Here's why:

I told him that the risks of breast cancer from hormone replacement therapy might be less risk for me than someone murdering me because i think I am i'm starting to be more critical of stuff, which i know is hard to believe that i can get worse. Most of it has to do with work. Maybe it's just cause i know i'm almost done. And when you are so close to something you want, it's almost more agonizing getting through a short time than if i had two or three more years. Sort of like how a kid feels like Christmas is never going to arrive fast enough as it gets closer. I'm also feeling like i doubt myself more than i used to. That pisses me off more than being critical of others.

OK, i'm going to try and leave this subject alone. I promise!

5. Facebook. I don't miss it. I thought i might, but i don't. I'm sure my defection is the reason their stock is doing so poorly. It's going on three weeks and i've not had the desire to even cheat and get on, which would be easy to do in the middle of the night on my Kindle when i think no one will ever know i was on.

6. My Kindlefire. So many times i resist what is new. I never wanted to get a blog, and yet here i am going on my fourth year. I never wanted to get on Facebook and then i got addicted to checking it incessantly. I told everyone i only wanted to read a real physical book and i love my Kindlefire. The only thing i don't believe i would change my mind on is a cell phone, especially a Smartphone.

What are your 3 a.m. thoughts? And if you are asleep, what is your secret?And what actors do you think should be eliminated because they are too similar to another? I just thought of Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford. I pick Tommy Lee to stay.

Back to work.

Menu of the Day:

In my glass: I don't like drinking chardonnay in the summer, so i look for viogniers, and roussannes and white blends. This one is an Albarino wine (never heard of that kind before) by Perajas Cellars. From Yakima. It tastes like summer. Light, fun, slightly citrus, sunny, and laid back.

Latest iTunes purchase: Brandi Carlile's new one. I'm listening to it now.  So far, so good. But i need to listen to music at least 5 times before i get the real feel for it.

On my Kindlefire:  The Paris Wife. I am really liking this book! It's about Ernest Hemingway's first wife. It makes me want to know more about him and maybe even read one of his books. I never have.

The best thing that happened this week: FRIDAY. This was my first week back to work after 5 weeks off. Fridays go unnoticed on vacations. But not anymore! At least for another year.

Weird thing that happened: it was a very hot last weekend. Record temperatures. And someone went into our patio and stole our fan. They didn't steal my bike. They weren't interested in my brand new leaf blower. They didn't care about my beautiful patio flowers (seen above) or our nice patio chairs from The Summer House...  they only stole our fan.   It was hot and i think someone by the pool or walking by heard that i had it running over the weekend and when they couldn't sleep that night they just decided to take it in the middle of the night.  In the 20 years i've lived here no one has ever stolen anything from our patio. We got lucky! But we still put a lock on the patio door now, which i don't like having to do.

How I spent my vacation: I didn't read as many books as last year. But i read a lot. (Paris Wife might end up being the favorite of the season.) I didn't hang out at the pool as much, but i still managed to visit a few times with folks.  I didn't hang on my patio as much either. I watched the 7th season of Grey's Anatomy. I didn't watch as much regular TV though, including the HG channel. On our flyfishing trip on the Yakima I caught some fish, though they were as small as my hand. (and i was dismayed to find that i did forgot how to tie my swirl knot after all these years. Damn menopause!) I enjoyed the most memorable meal ever on my trip with louielouie and jj to Cannon Beach with our cooking class that was all about farmer's market fare. I lost many games of Scrabble and gin rummy to my husband and friends from the condo. I ran a lot. Drank some very nice new wines, like this new Albarino one. And slept in too late.


How's your summer been going? 

It's time for me to quit Facebook

Example of one of the things i don't like on Facebook, these constant e-cards....especially with messages like this:

Some folks reading here may remember that i resisted joining Facebook for quite a while. But then my workplace was asking everyone to join, so i did - that was two years ago.

Since then, i have had an ongoing love/hate relationship with it and have said many times, as others have said,  that they too want to quit. I've finally decided to actually do it.  (One of my few redeeming qualities is i don't just talk about stuff, i actually do it.) So when I go back to work this Monday I will be deactivating it. I plan to stay away for it for a few months, at least until after the presidential election.

My reasons for doing so are varied. A big one is that my job right now is all about the election and I am being inundated with politics on my work email, home email, our union Facebook account, my personal Facebook account, all union communications, and my phone. I am finally sick of talking about or hearing about politics.

The other thing is my Facebook account is not all that interesting anyway. My news feed is pretty banal most of the time, with the redundant cutesy daily affirmations, people letting me know constantly that they are out at cool places, doing cool things, (which makes me feel a wee bit guilty and boring for liking staying at home). I have 'friends' i don't even know, nor have i ever met (because of work). I find myself wishing happy birthday to people i would never go to lunch with.

It's not all bad.  I did like some stuff about Facebook: i liked the YouTube music links, the photos, (especially some of the unposed cute baby pictures), connecting with my second ex-husband's family, and how it helped me stick to my goal of running a half-marathon. I love the Jimmy Fallon music videos. I found vacation cabins because of Facebook. I like the News Tribune's hilarious police blotter posts. I like the reminders about local wine bar tastings.

What i don't like is how i used it: I didn't always post that much, but i was checking it 20 times a day, even as i was fairly bored and irritated with my news feed. I also believe that Facebook has made me less sociable. Sometimes i forget that it's been about 3 months since i've seen someone because i connected with them, however briefly, online. It gave me a false sense of connection. I used to plan dinners with people at my house and card parties, but i haven't done that in a while now. And as I said earlier, it's also given me political fatigue and has made me not enjoy the elections as much as i used to, (though i also have work to partly blame for that). I feel like i've lost my mojo.

I'm probably not being totally fair to Facebook and more likely it's just my own failure to take initiative to turn it off and get out and about. When i was flyfishing that week we had no wireless and i found that i didn't miss checking in at all. But the moment i had wireless again, i was back on it.

I have heard from people who use it much better than i do and so they defend it and they should. Maybe if i were a more family oriented person I would enjoy it more too. I'm sure I will be back and when i do i will come back with half the 'friends' which will help make me like it more.

I just hope i don't replace it with Angry Birds!!!!

What I need....

1. Sleep. I know i sound like a broken record, but i need sleep! I do not exaggerate when i say i have not slept more than 2 hours in a row without interruption since June 4th. Ever since my doctor talked me into to going off hormones cold turkey. My night sweats are terrible. I think i was up 10 times last night. I bought some of that NyquilZZZ the sleep aid without the cold medicine, but it didn't work. And now i am catching myself myself getting ready to do stupid stuff like throwing my good mail in the recycle and bringing my junk mail inside. Not only that, i find myself forgetting to turn off the burner after making my coffee. I don't do stuff like this normally.

I yelled at a lady a couple of weeks ago for having her large dog in her car with the windows all rolled up for over an hour while she was in the doctor's office. (The reason i know it was over an hour is because i went to lunch and then came back to see if the car was gone. I was shocked to see it still there since i had told the doctor's office to try and find her before i left for lunch. I even told the lady to take off her Obama bumper sticker because she was a disgrace to Democrats.) Two other people were there concerned and one lady had called 911 about the dog and a man was considering breaking the window. When she walked out of the doctor's office i just went off. Funny thing is, i am not even a dog person.

It's a good thing i'm not President. 

2. In fact, i know this will sound sexist, but maybe we should not be electing any menopausal women to the Presidency for this very reason. (Sorry HIllary!)

3. Actually, it might be okay because she would probably forget the codes to launching the nuclear weapons anyway.

4. What else i need: I need a sunscreen that won't break out my face. It doesn't exist. I've spent more money on moisterizers and sunscreen than i have books. Well, ok, maybe not, but i've spent a lot. I break out like a 14 year old when i use them. Ironically, the only thing that clears up my skin IS the sun.

5. I need to be able to set my Kindlefire so that it stays vertical when i am reading in bed. I am constantly having to tap it back from horizontal mode because i read on my side.

6. Which by the way, i finally figured out how to download and borrow books from the library. Just yesterday i downloaded 6 books. Pretty cool. I have 21 days to read them. It took over an hour and a half and half the battery life, but i did it!

7. I need my mom to quit calling me every day just because she knows i'm on vacation. Just now as i was writing this blog she called me again. She has called me every day this week and it makes me crazy. She knows i hate going shopping, especially at the mall, yet it doesn't stop her from asking me over and over. I do not like being the only daughter. She never calls my brothers like she calls me. And she likes THEM better.

8. I need to catch a fish on this flyfishing trip. I've missed a year of doing this. It's sort of like riding a bike in terms of casting, etc. For example right now i couldn't tell you how to tie a swirl knot, but once i get on the river, my hands remember. (Sort of like how your hands remember a password better than your mind.) But i have forgotten that thrill of having a fish online. I've been flyfishing for 15 years but i'm still not that great at it. I just have a really nice cast. In spite of the years and coaching, I still don't feel like a real flyfisher.  I'm looking forward to this trip. I just hope the bed has nice linens!

9. I need to go for a long run today.  Unlike flyfishing, after 32 years of running i finally feel like a real runner since that race. For some reason i don't hate it as much as i used to. I've upped my mileage, keeping with 5 days a week, even when it's hot outside, and my knees feel pretty good. And i like my weight right now even though i have not been real good about eating this summer.

10. I need to be more social. I was thinking about this the other day. I used to organize things more, 99 card parties, wine get togethers, pool gatherings and i don't do that anymore. I am not even sure why. I used to never worry about hosting anything and now i seem to have some anxiety about it. I like my own company too much. Or rather i don't and feel like others wouldn't either... not sure what it means. I want to blame that on menopause too.

What do y'all need?

Why would anyone choose George Costanza over Brad Pitt?

Menu of the Day:

What's in my glass: it was going to be Fresca, but then i was cooking and thought what the hell and poured a glass of Bonterra chardonnay.

Music: Tom Petty mix. I love Tom Petty so much! I watched his DVD "Running Down the Dream" twice now, read a biography on him. He is one of the most likable and funniest guys in rock and roll and he truly knows how to tell a story. I wish he were in my family.

What I'm procrastinating about: I need to go buy more of that wonderful Clinique Even Better foundation. (I think i gave a product endorsement on how much i love this foundation before.) I just detest going to the mall. Seriously, i would rather go to the dentist and truthfully, i do visit the dentist more in a year than i do the mall. (I am thankful for online shopping!)

Latest Netflix: I'm been watching Grey's Anatomy Season 7. I'm on disk 3 now. I love this show, even as i hate some of the characters (Meredith for one and Sandra Oh now that she's lost her mojo...THAT is getting old already for me.) After this i plan to hook up to Mad Men.

Latest book: I am reading a book i like called The Good Father. I finished one i liked called The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman. I think I already posted about The Shelter. I've liked all of these books i bought for summer so far. (By the way Amanda, how are you liking Wild?)

The Stupidest Thing We Did This Week: We had a garage sale. We have always given our stuff away to Caring for Kids, family members, or to the ARC (Associated Retarded Citizens.... BTW....shouldn't the ARC AND the NAACP change their names?) We made $147 i think. We took a whole day to organize ahead of time and nearly a whole day after to pack it up.  Brian took a vacation day on Friday. But we tried to make it as vacation-y as we could: We hung around playing gin rummy and drinking gin & tonics to pass the time. It was a 32 condo unit sale and i thought it would be super busy. It wasn't. The most exciting sale was my George Costanza poster. (Seen at left on the photo above.) A girl gave me $5 when i only wanted a dollar. But i told her it was promised to a friend on Facebook, because it was, so she made me a better offer. Besides it would have cost more than a dollar to mail it to my FB friend.

Anyway, we will never do THAT again. It was nice to clear out boxes from our storage but it was not worth the effort to hang around trying to sell our stuff.

What i'm struggling with: SLEEP.... I have never been a good sleeper, but now it's worse.... ever since June 4th when my doctor took me off the birth control pills and left me with no hormones i cannot sleep because of night sweats. I haven't slept more than two hours at a time without waking up since June 4th. I have very little energy though i still make myself go out for my runs, thinking it will help with that, only it doesn't. I go for an appointment in August and i'm going to beg them for hormones. I can't do sleeping pills, i just want my estrogen back!

My original post subject was called "Raging Against Aging" but i think raging might be too strong a word... Even for me. Plus aside from what feels like a little arthritis in my middle finger... haha, go figure.... i'm not exactly what you call aging in a huge way. But i do need to get some sleep.

What I'm looking forward to: We are going flyfishing and staying in a cabin on the Yakima River. And then I come back and go to Cannon Beach with galpals Sarah and Julie (louielouie and jj here) where we will be taking a cooking class between beach walks.

What's up with y'all?

P.S. Can you believe NOBODY offered me anything for Brad Pitt and Kevin Costner?

I am a Taurus Bitch

Lately my favorite part of the newspaper while I've been on vacation is not my normal favorite: Opinion page with Letters to the Editor or anything about politics... it's the one with Dear Abby, Sodoku (of which i have not managed to complete one) and the Word Jumble (which i am really pretty good at, but not so great at solving the corny riddles. I think the riddles are difficult cause i just don't like stuff that's corny. ) And the horoscopes. 

I've never been one to read my horoscope, and now i know why. I've been increasingly frustrated these past vacation days as I've checked out my daily horoscope. I wish I had saved some of them to prove my point about how much it is assumed that Taurus folks are always being challenged with being nice. (Also evidenced above by the online clipart i found for this blog post.)

Today's was enough to make me blog about: 


"As bad as you can be, you are also capable of being just as good. Keep reaching out for someone who might need your time. By late afternoon, others will not be able to resist you to the same level." 

What does that last sentence mean anyway? Louie, i think this is on your shoulders since you're coming to the pool! 

I'm going to change my birthday. Which one is the lamb? Aries, right?