@aprilskies wrote:
@just bee wrote:
@aprilskies wrote:
@just bee wrote:
@aprilskies wrote:
Alright, ladies. We have a few days to go in August, but no product purchases at all. Whahooo!!! I am planning on doing a no buy in September as well. I am happy I didn't add any more bottles to my collection. Although, they didn't go down very much. I can't keep focused on using them up. But, at least I didn't add.
Have a great day, all. Time to run some errands.
I did a July no-buy, so two months in a row is definitely possible. It's funny: The bottles never seem to diminish -- at first. All of a sudden you'll see progress.
I need to take my toothbrush out of the box today and mail in my rebate. The only other item this month? Better-half brought home a new showerhead. Both necessities. Major expenses this month will be related to dentistry; next month will be overdue eye exam and new spectacles. (Necessities again.)
Bad news this week: National, international and local. Need some escapism this weekend.
Two months in a row that is great. I am looking forward to September and am going to add a couple more categories in the mix? I am ready.
Yes, the news doesn't make things easy. You have to shut if off for awhile and get peaceful.
I know people who don't watch or read the news at all. And they announce this often and proudly. I wish I could be so oblivious, but I can't. I hear them blurt sound bites or repeat what they've read online, and most of this is not based on facts. So many of the news stories out there are just not based on facts. We hear snippets and run with them, but we rarely stick around long enough to get the real story.
I've been skeptical since the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and experienced the quake. I sat in the dark and listened to early reports on a battery-operated radio. Those reports were outrageous -- none of them true. The earthquake came up in conversation at work recently and someone mentioned that hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of people were killed. Not so. But the mass devastation in those early reports stuck. A lot of the information came from local politicians who just couldn't walk past a microphone without saying something absurd.
Staying informed is really important, absolutely. For me, I need to turn it off now and again for my sanity and well being. So, I know I am not informed as I would like to be at all times but I learned to live with it. I think I reached a point at one time where I just didn't know what to believe. It all started with cable news. Too many agendas. So, now I try and separate the "real" truth from the sensationalism and the distractions from the real issues. It is not always easy.
The agendas existed long before cable news. Back when they had these things called "newspapers," cities often offered more than one paper. San Francisco had The Examiner and The Chronicle; Chicago had The Sun-Times, The (now defunct) Daily News and The Tribune. All had their own worldview. What gets me is the hourly national news on the radio. The words that are specifically chosen to obscure the truth. We're not getting the real story and the language is being destroyed.
Maybe I need a hobby.
I checked out these papers online this morning just for the heck of it and found a letter to Dear Abby:
DEAR ABBY: Clearly, America is in a state of turmoil. I am horrified and ashamed of the senseless death occurring daily.
I deal with anxiety, particularly regarding fear of death. As a result, the only thing I’ve found that I can do to cope with current events is to scan headlines, and ask my understanding husband for a synopsis of events that doesn’t include major triggers. However, I feel serious guilt that I may not be fully educating myself on recent events.
Am I wrong to prioritize my mental well-being over the gravity of our country’s current situation? — SERIOUS GUILT
DEAR SERIOUS GUILT: Wrong? Absolutely not! According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 13 percent of Americans now use antidepressants to combat depression and anxiety. Our news media feed so many salacious details into our homes in the interest of high ratings that it’s a miracle the majority of Americans aren’t in need of them.
If you are getting the news you need to know, do not feel guilty for using your husband as a filter. You are only protecting yourself, and that’s not wrong. It’s HEALTHY.
I can't use this system. Better-half doesn't always pay close attention to national and local news, but he's online with people from around the world. Then he tells me what's going on in places that most people can't find on a map. It's interesting how similar the issues are. Which makes the idea of relocating a real challenge.
~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~
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