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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Disney Channel and Nickelodeon

Between the two channels I am going to go insane.  Through the fault of my own I suppose, the television is almost always on Disney Channel or Nickelodeon when my kids are home.  What does that mean?  I can watch iCarly, Good Luck Charlie, Suite Life, Sponge Bob, or Phinease and Ferb at least 3 times a day. When watched one at a time they are good shows and I'm sure I would have watched them religiously when I was younger.  Some weeks it feels like they only created 3 episodes on each program.  I'm constantly thinking to myself "didn't we just see this one two days ago."  The kids are never empathetic so I don't bother wasting my breath to suggest we JUST saw the given episode.

When I was a kid there were no marathons of tv shows.  I would have watched the Facts of Life over and over if they had a marathon. 

The kids grew out of the toddler Disney programs in about 5 years.  How long before I am relieved of the boredom I face with the repeats of the Disney and Nick shows?  It will have to be a while, because the alternative leaves a lot to be desired?  These two channels are the only places where people aren't swearing in every show or in a commercials.  I suppose when I think of the alternative, I can live with the repeats and be grateful that my kids aren't begging to watch the alternative.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Social Marketing is alive and well. What would I like to see die? The sarcasm and “holier than thou” attitudes I see on so many message boards and blogs. Less experienced people come to the internet to get answers to their questions; they don’t need to fear the backlash of people that are knowledgeable on said topic. These people claim to be there to help. I say don’t bother answering a question if you can’t control yourself enough to give a civilized response. I’m tempted to provide an example, but I think any of us that surf the net and read comments have come across these crass individuals. Providing an example would only promote the site and the person that posts rude comments so I will refrain. I will, however, provide an example of a forum where I have experienced nothing but good things. It is a very supportive community of online sellers that learn from one another and don’t feel the need to be rude when they offer advice. It is a collection of people that are kind to one another and selfless in their offers of help and advice. The name of the site is The Selling Lounge: Where sellers help sellers. If you are looking for a community of supportive people stop by and check it out.

With the increased need to network for the sake of networking, don’t leave your heart at the door.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Blizzard February 2, 2011


We've just experienced the Blizzard of 2011.  There were 18 inches of snow on the ground when we woke up this morning.  There were reported snow drifts of up to 5 feet at some places in the city!  Luckily our snow drifts were only about 2 feet.  Luckily our driveway isn't terribly long.  This shortened the time we needed to shovel.  However, the time spent shoveling was still long and intense.  Luckily my husband did the bulk of it.  I did about an hour.  He was at it even longer than that.  It was TERRIBLE!

          
One nice thing that happens when these storms come is that you see the kind hearts of people.  People are helping their neighbors dig their cars out that have been plowed in, people are helping strangers shovel their driveways and sidewalks, and people are pushing stuck cars through snow and ice.  There were reports of thousands of stranded motorists in Chicago.  How terrible that must have been for them!  There were wonderful good Samaritans down there that were bringing hot coffee and granola bars to people that were stranded for hours in their cars on a stretch of road down there. 

Thankfully the snow stopped early this morning and we've been able to dig ourselves out with relative ease compared to others.  The kids played outside for a bit this morning while we shoveled.  That was until their snow pants and gloves were soaked.  Then we came in for hot chocolate and to snuggle in a warm blanket.  Tomorrow it's back to school and we see how far into the streets cars are parked because the snow keeps them from parking anywhere near the curb.  It's going to be frigid temperatures for the next few days (to be expected around here after a snow storm), but I'm hoping it will be warm enough to melt some of this snow before we get a new batch of it.