Do you really pay much attention to the browser you use? I’m not a big advocate of any of the browser names, until last night. I’ve been using FireFox for a couple years now. I really liked it, a lot more than I did Internet Explorer. IE didn’t seem secure enough for my liking, but I actually liked the way FireFox allowed me to check out my favorite sites. It was just easier. That is until a couple weeks ago when I updated to the latest version.

After updating to the newer version, I noticed that it took forever to even get online. Now, it could be that I did something wrong, or because I live in the middle of nowhere and our Internet connection pretty much sucks. Whatever the reason, all hell broke loose last night. In the middle of what I was doing, FireFox totally broke down and crashed. I couldn’t even get back online with this browser. So, I said screw it and decided to use IE.

I haven’t used IE in a very long time, so I kept getting messages to update to the latest version. Finally, I gave in and updated. That was a huge mistake. After completing the update and restarting my computer, I found that I couldn’t get online at all. IE doesn’t work at all now and I still have problems getting on with FireFox. So, what’s a country girl to do??? She joins the 21st century and downloads Google Chrome.

So, I am now using Google Chrome. It’s kinda cool, but I’m having trouble getting used to a few things. Finding all my favorite sites is a little annoying, but I’m getting the hang of it. It’s a lot faster than either of the other browsers, but I’ve noticed that some of the pics on certain sites don’t load completely. Not sure why, but haven’t completely ruled out operator error. LOL

I’m not exactly advocating Google Chrome, but I can say that out of the three, it is the only one that has allowed me to get online in the past 48 hours. I have to use it for awhile before I can truly say whether or not I really like it. For now, I’ll use it and see if I can’t figure out all the in’s and out’s. And if I can’t, I’ll have my kid come in and teach me how to use it. LOL

Is it just me getting old, or all the up and coming writers out there a really dark breed? I remember wanting to be a writer so bad when I was younger that I’d write just about anything and let just about anyone read it. That’s not to say any of it was good, but I had a dream and I would try anything I could to see it come to pass. Now, I see all these young writers making a name for themselves in some really gruesome ways. No, I don’t mean they’re doing gruesome things, but the things they’re writing is kind of disturbing.

Ok, maybe it’s because I’m at an age now where every time I land a new writing client, I feel like a million bucks. “What, you want me to write about tree bark toilet paper? Sure, no sweat. Been writing about it all my life”. I know I’ve never written about it before, but I still have to make my clients look and sound like genius’s. That’s the life of a ghost writer. But I’m thrilled to be writing anything. So I’m not writing the great American novel. Yes, I tried but I have these strange beings in my house who seem to think they have to eat everyday AND wear clean clothes. Man!!!

I like to rummage through the various sites for writers all across the Internet. Most writers forums are basically like walking into a bookstore full of those uppity-ups that think their smarter than you because they use big words. Hey buddy, read my lips, unless you’re making a million bucks telling everyone else what they’re doing wrong, shut the hell up. I have no patients for people who think their better than everyone else, especially when they’re 20 years younger than I am. No, I didn’t go to Harvard or Yale, but I pushed two living, breathing human beings out of my body and I did it without drugs. I wanted drugs, but that’s a different story.

I guess I’m just getting old. I hate getting old, but at the same time I’m starting to see some advantages to it. I now understand all those weird sayings that used to come out of my father’s mouth. I’m finally at an age where I can look forward to my children moving out on their own, and actually enjoy the idea. I’m almost old enough to qualify for life insurance without a medical exam, and I can finally tell my mother to quit complaining because “I have the same problem and bitching don’t help”.

I guess my problem isn’t with the pieces that these young writers are putting out there, I have an issue with the way they do it. I never thought I’d be the “old chic” sitting in the back of the room wondering why the hell I came to this show. I always imagined myself the young, hip chic who knew it all. Well, I finally do know it all. Too bad I lost all the damn questions.

To all parents/grandparents/guardians of teenaged children. If you love your kids, then you need to watch this segment from Inside Edition. I sat here and watched this today and found myself sickened by what I witnessed. A man comes home one day, to find his teenaged daughter dead from hanging on her bedroom door. Not as a suicide, but playing a new game called The Choking Game.

These kids are depriving themselves and/or other kids of air, simply to pass out. This little game is video taped then uploaded to the Internet to be seen all around the world. If you’ve got kids in the house, you’ve got to talk to them about this. I couldn’t believe the things I saw these kids doing on TV. Choking each other, pressing against their chests until they pass out. Then laughing about it when they regain consciousness.

As I sat there and watched that episode, I could only see the face of my own daughter in those videos. I couldn’t even imagine coming home to find my child dead because of a game. This isn’t something that can be ignored. Even if you’re the coolest parent in the world, this isn’t something you can overlook.

Please, if you have kids, take this seriously. I’m not the kind of person who gets up on a soap box about a lot of things, but this one just kinda got to me. My daughter may end up hating me, but we will be discussing this issue when she gets home from school today. I never want to come home and find my baby gone.

I’ve decided that I need to do a little something good for myself and set on getting back into shape.  I know that at my age, gravity is not my friend.  Now that I’m over 40, things droop a whole lot more than they did 10 years ago.  So, I’ve decided to eat better and am going to try to exercise.  I stress the word “try” because at my age, it’s not a good idea to guarantee anything.  Let me explain.

So, this morning I decided to put my plan into effect.  I have this little stair stepper thing that I use once in a while.  I got it out and put it right next to my bed.  No problem.  But one of my biggest problems is the little mommy pooch I have.  And, I know that the only way I’m going to overcome that is by doing sit-ups.  So, I got down on the floor, and OMG.  When the hell did the floor get so far down and why the hell did it hurt so bad to simply sit up.  I did 25 sit-ups and I thought I was going to hurl.  I am not a large woman by any sense of the meaning, but What The Hell!!!!!

I know that if I keep at it, it won’t be such a big deal, but that whole first time thing sucks.  I’ll keep going, whether I like it or not, and hopefully I’ll be a little more graceful.  Oh hell, who am I kidding, I’ve never been a graceful woman before, and it ain’t gonna happen now.  But, if I can still fit into my jeans, I’ll at least know I did something good for myself.

Happy December 1st.  Yeah, I know.  Most of you are thinking, “ok, what’s so great about today”???  Well nothing really, except that I am smoke free for one whole month today.  I quit smoking on the 1st of November, but didn’t tell a lot of people in case I failed.  Now, a month later, I feel comfortable enough to tell everyone.  I had been a smoker for almost 30 years and I had actually quit 3 times before.  I quit smoking both times I got pregnant, but started up again as soon as my kids were weened.  I also quit a few years back, but ended up gaining about 50 pounds in the process and started smoking out of depression again.  This time, however, I was ready.  I honestly believe that if you’re not ready in both your heart and your mind, you won’t quit.

Anyway, that’s not really what I wanted to write about here today.  I wanted to talk about the little challenge that I’m taking on this month.  I joined the NaNoWriMo challenge last month, but didn’t get very far.  Then, I found a site that is dedicated to NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month.  Although this usually takes place in the month of November, they also have it set up so that you can work the challenge on any given month of the year.  I’m going to try and complete the challenge for the month of December.  Like I don’t have enough other things to do this month.  LOL

Why did I choose December?  Mainly to see if I can do this in the busiest month of the year.  Not only am I in the process of getting things ready for Christmas, a couple friends and I are in the process of opening up our own store.  Not only will it be online, but it will be a real shop right here in our little town.  The name of the shop is Calico Acres Thrifts and Gifts.  It’s going to be a classy thrift shop and a place for us to sell our handmade craft items.  I personally do quilts and quilt pillows.  Once we get our poop in a group, I’ll post the link to the site.  We already own the domain name, but I haven’t done anything with it yet.

Then, on top of all that, I’m still ghost writing for another blogger.  As of right now, there’s only one client, but that’s ok.  Sometimes, it’s better to only work for one person than a bunch of people.  You don’t get quite as confused with the orders.  LOL.  With all of this, I’m really hoping that I’ll have enough fodder to gab about for the whole month of December.  I don’t know how it will work out, but let’s all go along for the ride.  If nothing else, someone is sure to get a good laugh out of all this at my expense.  LOL

Ciao for Now,
Christine