Category Archives: Sharing Life Stories

Me in the Middle Pulling the Plug on Cable ~ Update

cable-tvWell I finally did it!

I cut the cord on cable!

~ See Original Post Here ~

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After procrastinating for what seems like years, I’ve switched to another company.  Keeping my fingers crossed……………….

The package deal I had was for landline phone, cable and internet.  I now have IPhone service and MiFi with the new company. …… For half the price!   Most of my time is on the internet for news, blogging and email.  My landline was getting more political and sales pitches so I never picked up when I saw the number on Caller ID. 

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Cutting the Cord on Cable

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We’ll see how it goes. 

Anyone else have experience with MiFi?  Has anyone else cut the cord on cable? 

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reading

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Time to put my feet up and read some of those books I’ve been saving.  🙂

♥

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Update a Year Later

So far I’m still convinced the benefits outweigh the inconveniences of switching from package deal (landline, cable and internet).  I don’t miss cable at all!  Most of my time is spent on the computer with very little TV time.  A friend of mine just happened to have a spare TV antenna and he set it up for me so I could receive the basic public channels.  Now I can watch ABC, CBS, NBC which is plenty for me.  🙂

I’m learning more about my Samsung phone and don’t miss the landline.  

The Mifi Jetpack service runs slow at times yet it’s still OK for my internet use.  There’s no interference at all when it comes to blogging, streaming movies through Amazon Prime and watching YouTube videos.

So, basically, I’ve cut my previous cost of phone/internet/TV in half and that feels good.

❤

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She Let Go

I discovered this poem and felt it was worth sharing. Letting Go is an on-going life process. It’s not a one-time done deal and it’s not just one event or experience. It’s how we learn about ourselves. No other person can tell you ‘Just let go ~ get over it’. It comes in it’s own time and it comes from within. This poem captures that. ❤

HideaHeart's Blog

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Me in the Middle of Free Online Art Classes

Strathmore has an Online Workshop Series!  And it’s FREE!!  

Strathmore Online Workshop Series

Being on a tight, retirement budget, there’s not much funds for expensive art classes.  These classes work just fine for me!  Each week the instructor puts up a video on the Strathmore website and from there on you’re free to join in at your convenience.  If you want, you can post your work of art in the Gallery and receive encouragement/suggestions from both the instructor and/or other artists in the workshop.   We just finished up Workshop 1 and I’ve posted all four videos along with my efforts below.  It’s fun! 

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Workshop 1 Week 1~ Spring Landscape in Watercolor

Strathmore Tree with masking fluid

Image by MaryLouQ

Week 1

 

Workshop 1 Week 2~Bubble Gun Still Life

Images by MaryLouQ

Week 2

 

Workshop 1 Week 3~Practicing Facial Features

 

Strathmore Facial Features

Images by MaryLouQ

Week 3

 

Workshop 1 Week 4~Limited-Palette Portrait

 

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Images by MaryLouQ

Week 4

 

❤

Me in the Middle of Facebook

 

Facebook

 NEW YORK—Facebook “likes” can tell a lot about a person. Maybe even enough to fuel a voter-manipulation effort like the one a Trump-affiliated data-mining firm stands accused of – and which Facebook may have enabled.

The social network is under fire after The New York Times and The Guardian newspaper reported that former Trump campaign consultant Cambridge Analytica used data, including user likes, inappropriately obtained from roughly 50 million Facebook users to try to influence elections.” ~ Associated Press

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I’m hanging in there with Facebook.  It’s the only social media that I consistently use and that I believe provides the best connection to a lot of information.  Bottom line, the user has a choice in what they read and what they believe.  It falls on us to be responsible enough to do our research to the best that’s available to us.   What more can we do?

Below are a few of the articles I read so that I could remain informed about how all this is developing.  I’ll give Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg the benefit of the doubt in that what had started out as a fun adventure with Facebook friends has become much more than any of us ever could have imagined.  I’m hoping they prove me right by adapting with integrity to every new development along the way.

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Facebook is not the problem. Lax Privacy Rules are.

 

 

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Me in the Middle of Meditation

meditate-1851165__340

Image by Pixaby

This month I’m taking a meditation class with the local Lifelong Learning Institute.  It’s all part of my renewal process for meeting the changes that come with Spring and the Easter message of re-birth.  I’ve come to cherish the symbolism and life-teaching moments of each Season.
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While visiting two of the bloggers I have been following I found that they had posted similar messages.  ~ One 3 Easy Ways to Become More Mindful and the other Let Things Flow ~ 
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The practice of being more mindful and letting things flow is becoming easier now that I’m taking the time out of my day to sit quietly and remove myself from the concerns and distractions of the day.  (Pulling the Plug on Cable sure has helped me get rid of the noise and chatter of all that’s going on in our country and world lately 😉 )
 
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I found this video on How to Train Your Monkey Mind to be very helpful.  The Buddhist monk reminds me of our meditation instructor with his gift of calming humor.
 
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How to Train Your Monkey Mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOJTbWC-ULc

♥

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Let Things Flow

springtime forest

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous
changes. Don’t resist them; that only
creates sorrow. Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward
in whatever way they like.

source: Lao Tzu
image: Eddie’s Image Collection, Springtime Forest

❤

 

Note:  This is an Easter Reblog from last year.  I have to admit I haven’t always stayed true to my good intentions.  I get distracted and fail to make time for meditation.  During this Easter Week I plan to take that 1/2 hour of meditation in the morning and use it to begin my day.