I Hate Spectrum

Today is a ranty post. Because I’m mad and need to get it off my chest.

I hate Spectrum. I’d probably hate any other TV provider, too (because they’re all a pain in the ASS), but we feel cable is a little better than a dish, especially around here when the weather gets bad (I’ve seen what happens to those dish providers during a storm).

We have three DVRs. Before Spectrum took over Time Warner, we used to have a whole house system. Where we could watch any show recorded on any DVR from any DVR. It was great. We weren’t forced to watch it on the DVR that did the recording. Then Spectrum took over.

They didn’t support whole house systems. They don’t have anything that sophisticated. Why would a company get rid of the BEST FEATURE of DVRs???? We only got to keep the one we had because we were grandfathered in. Then we moved.

Yeah, we lost our whole house system. So we’re stuck with three separate DVRs and we have to go to that DVR to watch the shows we had recorded, which is another pain in the ASS. We moved the bedroom DVR into the Great Room so our TV can use both DVRs (and because we didn’t want to have to watch our recorded shows in the bedroom).

Problem was… the bedroom DVR didn’t record all that well. I’d set it up to record a show and sometimes it would record it all and sometimes it would only record five minutes of it. We couldn’t rely on it for our series, but we had shows on the DVR that had recorded correctly. Daughter and I finally watched the last show last week. The DVR was now ready to be replaced.

You’d think this would be a joyous time. Nope. I followed the INSTRUCTIONS that the clerk at Spectrum HANDED me when I exchanged DVRs. I spent all day waiting for the DVR to show the time so I could call to activate it. Waited for the message on the TV to say it was ready to be activated. I unplugged/plugged it several times. Reconnected the cables. Nothing was working.

Hubby called Spectrum, which is something we really hate to do. I think they purposely use that recorded voice to repel callers. I know I think long and hard before I have to call them.

After answering all the questions and telling robot lady we needed technical support, the recording said that we had an outage in our area (we didn’t) and kept telling us there wasn’t anything they could do. You know, if we could have talked to a real person, they would have KNOWN why we were calling.

Hubby almost had to start over, but managed to get in line for a real person. And then we find out… the INSTRUCTIONS WERE WRONG!!!

You see, their DVRs don’t have clocks on them anymore.

And that right there really pisses me off. Used to be all the electronics had clocks on them. Now, NONE OF THEM DO!!! What, don’t people like to see what time it is? I certainly do.

I hope our older DVR never dies (it’s the one we use the most). I will not be happy without a clock. There’s nowhere behind the TV to hang one (since there are three windows there).

By the way, do the other TV providers have clocks on their devices? That would be a big selling point to win me over.

Anyway, both boxes are now working, but I don’t know if I want to use the new one. It has a completely DIFFERENT menu system! Why?????

I was going to set up to record Season 6 of SHIELD on that one (since we haven’t seen Season 5 yet—have to get that on Netflix). I may still do it, but gee whiz, why does Spectrum have to make everything so complicated?

Oh, and the real kicker after all this? The guide on the old box now has a stupid advertising line between the channels. An ADVERTISEMENT! I pay a lot of money for cable. I don’t think I should have to be forced to see an ADVERTISEMENT on the stupid GUIDE!

If I didn’t like watching TV so much, I’d give it up.

Thanks for letting me rant. I just hope I don’t write another ranty post on Monday. The appliance repair person is supposed to come by today and find out why our dishwasher keeps blowing the circuit breaker. The electrician already said it wasn’t the wiring. And yes, it’s still under warranty. So at least we have that going for us.

Stacy

The Survey Says...

AOL sent me a survey to find out how they’re doing. Hahahahaha! They weren’t giving me anything to do it (because that’s usually why I’ll do a survey—for free or discounted stuff), but I completed it anyway.

Yes, they got low marks. But then every e-mail service I use would get the same, so that’s nothing new. At the end they asked for comments and to give them my e-mail if I wanted to be paid to test stuff out for them.

Well, I didn’t want to do any testing, but I had comments. My major one being that when I comment on people’s Blogger posts, my e-mails automatically go into spam. Yes, even my own comments on my own blog!!

I really wish I knew why that is, because it’s really annoying.

I hit submit and got an error. Said the comment box wasn’t formatted correctly.

Formatted? It took me a moment to realize they only wanted my e-mail address.

Well, hell. Apparently AOL didn’t want my comments after all (and I so much wanted to give it to them, too!). Or they just don’t know what a comment box is. Foo on them!

Now I wish I’d given them LOWER marks.

So… Do you do surveys for free or only those where you get $$ off a meal or a free sandwich or something?

Happy Friday! And Happy Birthday to my sister (in case she reads my blog, which I don’t believe she does).

Stacy

I Find it Sad...

People have a problem with romance

I love romance. It’s why I write it. Those happy endings make me feel good. Even good beginnings do, like watching someone propose. But when did being romantic in public become intolerable?

A man wants to sing and propose to his significant other on a cruise, in the main dining room, during elegant night. The person he asked, asked for opinions from cruise-goers (this was all via Facebook, by the way).

I couldn’t believe how many people were against this. That it would “ruin” their dinner. Really? I was just flabbergasted at the responses.

The more I’m on Facebook, the more ugly people I encounter. It’s horrible! Why can’t people be nice? It’s a freakin’ cruise; you’re supposed to have FUN. A few minutes away from your meal (which usually isn’t the case—the wait staff entertains diners between dinner & dessert so this request isn’t that much different) can’t be THAT bad. It’s like no one wants to share in someone else’s joy anymore. Sheesh!

Maybe I’m just becoming an old grumpy person. But this really irritated me. And made me sad.

And I was going to end the post with this, until I came across…

People trust websites more than faxes
Bowker, the company that issues ISBNs, got hacked during May through October of this year (yes, during—it wasn’t discovered until October). Lots of people’s credit cards and other personal info were obtained illegally and Bowker shut their website down to stop the hack.

I guess their website is back up now but you can’t purchase the ISBNs from their site until they get the issue resolved. Instead, you have to fax the order in.

It was kind of funny (in a sad way) how so many authors do not TRUST faxes. It wasn’t all that long ago where it was the ONLY way to send in orders. Well, that and MAIL it in. And you know what? I don’t remember people getting hacked all that much back then. Probably because it was HARDER to do. But hey, but what do I know?

Bowker does say that if you don’t want to include your credit card info on the fax order, just to write “call me” and they’ll call you for it.

Hmmm… it wasn’t all that long ago people didn’t trust their phones to give out that information, either.

Apparently I am on a roll, because I also came across…

People trust “the cloud” more than their own disc drives
Software companies who promise you that you can get your documents wherever you are, on whatever device you want, appeal to a lot of people (not me). What’s funny is that these people are SURPRISED when their documents go missing.

I mean, one little hiccup from the software company can cause anything to happen. To depend on them to keep your documents safe at all times is unrealistic.

Yes, I e-mail my manuscripts to myself, which in essence is in “the cloud.” But it’s not the ONLY place I store them. I’ve lost e-mails before, I’ll lose them again I’m sure. Because I don’t trust OTHERS to keep what’s important to ME safe.

Am I old school? Hardly. If I were, I’d PRINT OUT my manuscript every night (or worse, use a—gasp—typewriter). I’m not that bad. I only print it out when I’m finished. Haha!

I don’t like using software that can ONLY be accessed via the Internet when I want to use it (and I won’t use it for my manuscripts). I lose the Internet more often than I like.

Thanks for letting me rant today. Sometimes you just get hit with a bunch of crazy stuff and you want to share.

So… Do you hate public romance? Distrust faxes? Love “the cloud”? Why?

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Where Have I Been?/A Little Rant/Football

Facebook Overload

I was a bad blogger last week. But I had a good excuse. I was hosting the Sizzle and Sass page on Facebook which kind of takes over my brain (and time). Although, that doesn’t usually stop me from blogging. But hey, what can I say? I got lazy.

But… Even when I’m lazy I blog on Wednesday because READING. But I hadn’t finished reading the book yet (also due to FB).

I only host the page once every quarter, so it’s not a hardship otherwise. I know where my time will be spent and I do enjoy trying to figure out how to get people to comment. I don’t spend near that amount of time on my own page, and for good reason. It takes too much time!

But FB is over (for now) and life is almost back to normal. Of course, what is normal nowadays?

Loyalty vs. Rewards

Being on FB most of the week (doing other FB stuff besides S&S, of course), I ended up reading a lot of posts. One post in particular kind of irked me and it had to do with the loyalty program with Carnival Cruise Lines, pretty much hinting that things might change (perk-wise). Because why mention it at all, right?

Hubby and I belong with a lot of reward programs: Marriott, Buffalo Wild Wings, TGI Fridays, Fazzolis, Kroger, and Visa (to name the ones off the top of my head). We are rewarded for spending money at these places and receive goodies in return. That’s what I see as a rewards program. I’m not rewarded for my visit, but the amount of money I spend.

Loyalty programs are different, though. At least we think so. Carnival Cruise Lines calls their program a loyalty program (not a reward program). Each level (Gold, Platinum, Diamond) has perks (i.e. separate line for boarding, free laundry, free or reduced upgrades) and your level is based on number of days sailed (FYI – we’re Platinum). The levels used to be based on number of cruises, but those people who cruised a 3-day cruise got the same credit as someone who cruised a 7-day cruise. I guess CCL realized that wasn’t treating their customers fairly (or maybe they were getting too many Platinum and Diamond members that way) and they changed it. And while it hurt us in the beginning, we now see it as being the best and fairest way to reward loyalty.

So no matter what type of room we book, or how many excursions we go on, or how much money we spend, we get credit for 1 day sailed for each day of the cruise.

This one guy on FB, though, thinks these levels are classes (because Platinum and Diamond are treated differently). Then went on to say that CCL should award more points if more money is spent on a room (balcony vs inside cabin sort of thing). What? How is THAT not a class system? How is that fair to everyone? How is that rewarding LOYALTY? CCL does not have a REWARD program. They have a LOYALTY program. And there’s NOTHING stopping that guy from reaching those levels but him. But there was no getting through to him (some people are just plain pig-headed).

Anyway, I just wanted to rant about that. Do you see a difference between a reward program and a loyalty program?

So…Football (and baseball)

Remember when I said that Wayne didn’t have any chance for the playoffs? Yeah, I was wrong. Last Friday’s game was a wet, freezing mess (don’t ask me why we went to this rain-fest when we don’t have kids playing—the last one graduated in 2003) and went into overtime no less, but we came out the winners (yes, it was an exciting game and I might have enjoyed it more if I weren’t so wet and cold). And that win, combined with a couple of losses by other schools, put us in at seed 8 of 8. I’m hoping this Friday is not raining. It has rained during the last three games. We could use some dry games! I also hope Wayne plays better than they have or they aren’t getting past round 1.

Ohio State was on a bye week (meant we could work in our garage—haha!), but USC Trojans lost. L

The Steelers won handily against Cleveland (finally!). Although, what was with that free kick fiasco? Are they high school students? Yikes! At least it seems they don’t need Le’veon Bell. I hope he never returns.

And the Rams are now 8-0! Whoo hoo!! They scared me there at first, but so glad the team decided to show up toward the end of the 2^nd quarter.  Whew!

As for baseball…  Since I write and post this the night before, I hope I haven’t watched my last World Series game this year. And yes, I probably stayed up late watching it. I have for most of the others (could only make it through the 15^th inning (of an 18 inning game) on Friday’s game—it was after 2:30am!). So if the game didn’t go the way I wanted, please don’t blame me for being grumpy.

So… How’d your week go?

Happy Monday!

Stacy

The Day From Hell

You ever have one of those days? Where it seemed like everything went wrong? Well, that was my day yesterday, which really sucked, because I had to get ready for today.

I’m leaving on vacation!!

First, I had to stay home and wait for St. Vincent to pick up our two old recliners (which our couch replaced). Not a problem. I had laundry to do. But I also had to go over to the old house and make sure the flooring people were okay.

Thankfully, St. Vincent arrived at 9:30. Not too bad. I took off to the old house.

Upstairs toilet was clogged (apparently the painters flushed something heavier than toilet paper). I had to go back home and get the plunger. Returned to the old house and discovered the painters did NOT finish painting (after they said they’d get right on it!). At least the toilet unclogged.

After lunch with Hubby, I came home and paid the bills (while still doing the laundry). Had a heck of a time balancing my checkbook. Recognized WHAT I was off, but not WHY. Sometimes your brain just doesn’t want to work and mine decided not to work then. Finally figured out what I did wrong and got that sucker balanced. Off to pay the bills.

Realized I hadn’t gotten a bill for the electric since we moved in. I called them. They’ve been sending the bills to the wrong address (street address was correct, city and zip were not). I have NO IDEA where those bills went (and apparently it’s an issue for almost everyone who lives in this area). I asked what I owed and nearly fainted. Thank goodness they take Visa, so there’s no threat of having the electricity turned off while we’re away.

Still… wouldn’t you think they’d CALL if I hadn’t been making payments, especially since I make payments on time with the other house? Sheesh!

Then I was afraid the bill for the new couch would arrive and be due before we got home. I called them to make sure #1, did they have my correct address, and #2, how much the bill was and where I could mail it.

Turned out the bill arrived yesterday AFTER I mailed the payment. At least I know it’s coming to the correct house.

At 5:30, I was getting ready to fix dinner when the dryer went off. I emptied it and opened the washer to transfer the towels. But it was still full of water.

I played with the knobs, but nothing worked. I looked at the breaker box, but I couldn’t see anything wrong (although there was, I just couldn’t see it). So I found a container to put the wet towels in.

Which was also a struggle! The bins were stuck together and I couldn’t get them apart. By this time I was ready to hit someone.

I finally wedged those suckers apart (with the help of a stick) and proceeded to wring the towels as dry as I could get them. Hauled the bin into the car and drove to the Laundromat.

I got there at 6:30. It closed at 6:00.

Of course it did!

I had no idea where another Laundromat was located so I contacted my daughter to see if I could use the washer in her apartment. I drove over there and waited for her to return (she had to go to the bank). By the time she returned, someone had taken both washers. I waited until almost 8 then decided to use a Laundromat near her apartment (which she told me how to get to).

$3.00 for a small load!!! But at least it was open.

While the towels were washing, I walked over to McDonald’s. Ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce only. Only cost me a buck with the coupon on the app.

But then I got back to my car and discovered they’d given me a crispy chicken sandwich. I would have thrown it away if I weren’t so hungry. Man, that sucker was DRY.

While I was at the Laundromat, Hubby stopped by the house on the way from teaching. Called me and said the wrong carpet was being installed. It looked blue or green.

It’s supposed to be grey.

So after the washer finished, I stopped by the old house (because it would be just our luck that they delivered the wrong carpet). Hubby saw the carpet PAD. Carpet was still rolled up and it’s grey. I’m glad it’s okay. Not so glad I had to make another trip over there.

At least when I got home, Hubby checked the breaker box and showed me how to reset the switch. The washer now works (although it still worries me that it blew the breaker in the first place).

This vacation is almost coming at the wrong time (because of the old house), but man, do I feel like I need one now. I don’t ever want another day like that.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Old House (and Football) Blues

Sometimes I think we’ll never get rid of the old house.

We’re still waiting on the basement guy to fix the leaks. He was supposed to go over to the house on Saturday, but apparently, he ran out of supplies. Whatever. I’m tired of the excuses and just want it done. Heck, I wanted it done before we left on Friday, but now I can see that probably will NOT be the case.

And what’s even worse, it’s expected to rain today (most likely from the remnants of Florence). If the basement gets wet again (and it will if it rains a lot), he has to wait for it to dry to fix.

Arrrgggghhh!!!

Guess he’ll also have to wait until we’re back from our vacation to get paid, then.

Just makes me happier and happier that he failed to show on the day I was willing to pay him. Gotta find those silver linings somewhere.

That’s my old house blues. As for the football…

Our high school football team has lost two games in a row. They haven’t done that in… well, longer than I can remember. I have a feeling we won’t need to worry about playing in the playoffs this year, because we don’t expect them to win this Friday, either. People say we can’t expect to win all the time. I say, “Why not?” Their losses won’t stop me from going to the games. My vacation will, but their record won’t.

At least Ohio State has been playing well, but the USC Trojans haven’t (boo hoo). And then there’s the Steelers… Ugh! I thought when they came back to tie it up yesterday that maybe we had a chance. I know, the season is early. I can’t doom them this early. But I sure hope they get their stuff together soon! At least I have the Rams to root for. 2-0. Yay! I liked that the Fox pre-game show last week predicted they’d win the Super Bowl this year. Boy, wouldn’t THAT be nice?

Guess my football blues aren’t all blue, huh? Maybe when we get back from vacation the records will have improved. Well, I can hope!

So far it doesn’t look like any hurricanes will spoil our next cruise, but stranger things have happened. We’ll just keep our fingers crossed that all goes well.

Hope Florence hasn’t harmed any of you or yours. The flooding is the worst, I’m sure. And she’s still out there causing problems. I’m hoping by the time she ends up our way she’s weakened considerably. I don’t want a wet basement.

So… How’d your weekend go?

Stacy

I Finally Did It

Big Red, my laptop, no longer has Microsoft Office 2003.

Because of a Windows 10 update, the Excel software wasn’t working all that well. If I tried to do more than just enter one cell at a time (meaning I forgot to save it after entering the first cell), it would crash. If I tried to do anything like insert a line or copy a formula, it would crash. Very frustrating! I downloaded Libre Office (because it was free and I wasn’t willing—at the time—to upgrade Excel if that meant upgrading Word, too) and found out I didn’t like their spreadsheet software all that much. In fact, it had been keeping me from doing a lot of my work! Hubby still had the CD for Office 2007 (which he shockingly found amidst the mess in the study), so I begrudgingly upgraded Office.

Hmmm… Think I used enough adverbs there? Haha!

I’m sure I’ll be a grumpy-bump until I get used to it, but already I like Excel 2007 better than Libre Office, so there’s that. And it’s not like I’ve never used Word 2007 (was forced to at my last job-job). I just don’t care for the huge tool bar on top that I can never find what I want!

See? Bigger is not always BETTER. I miss my drop down lists.

I know 2007 is ALSO retired (they keep telling me!), but hey, it’s working on Windows 10 and that’s all that matters to me. I do not care if I have the latest and greatest. Sometimes the older versions could do so much more, or at least were simple enough to understand. I miss being able to set up the software how I want it (and if there’s a way to do that in 2007, I haven’t discovered it yet), but it is what it is.

At least I don’t have to click a button to find my word count anymore. Word 2007 keeps track of that at the bottom of the screen. Of course, if I only want a portion of the document counted, I don’t know how to do that…

Nevermind, I figured it out. J

Yeah, learning curve. I really hate learning new software. See? Grumpy-bump.

So… What would you hate to re-learn? And would it turn you into a grumpy-bump, too?

Happy Monday!

Stacy

It's a Lot of Little Things

Last Friday I talked about having to get with it. And then I do nothing. No writing. No reading. No blogging. And if it didn’t hurt so much to lie in bed, I’d probably stay in it a good portion of the day.

I’m beginning to wonder if my medication is starting to affect me. Of course, it could be the hot weather, too. I just don’t feel like doing anything. And I have way to much stuff to do!

I’m hosting Sizzle and Sass this week, which has kind of taken over my life, like it does every time I’m host. Thank goodness I only do this 3-4 times a year. But man, my time seems to come up quicker each time. But that’s a symptom of old age, right?

I’m still cleaning out the old house. Made two trips to Goodwill this week, today will mark a third and hopefully Saturday a fourth (and final) trip. Hubby is determined to finish cleaning out that house this weekend. And with the weather turning cooler (low 80s instead of mid 90s), that might actually happen. We might not feel so exhausted so soon.

I’m still putting stuff away in the new house. Got my white board up (yay!) and bought some new hangers for my sweatshirts and sweaters (I lost my shelves from our old closet, which we may remedy…some day). But there are still boxes to go through (have no idea where to put the stuff!) and then there’s still more stuff from the old house (if it doesn’t end up in the trash—I’m hoping trash). And we have all these pictures that need to go on the wall (instead of leaning up against it). I just have to figure out WHERE I want them to go.

And right now, my brain doesn’t want to cooperate. It’s like it’s going on strike, saying, “Enough!” Heck, even my body says that after a day at the old house.

Every little thing is piling up. That’s why I’m having trouble determining whether it’s just stuff going on or if my medication is making that stuff harder to deal with. Are my joints sore because I’m moving stuff or sore because of the medication? Am I slightly depressed because of the weather making moving more difficult or slightly depressed from the medication?

At least I haven’t wanted to chew anyone’s head off. But I’m not feeling myself and I don’t know why. Hopefully our upcoming vacation will fix what’s wrong. If it doesn’t, then I’ll know it’s the medication. And then I’ll probably cry. Because I really don’t want to try something else. It might be worse!

Fighting cancer sucks, you know?

So does getting old, but for some reason I can deal with that easier.

Hey, if you’re interested, Smashwords is currently having an e-book sale through July 31st. My Sunny Vampire and Ghostly Liaison are FREE there and the Bitten by Love Box Set is 25% off. You can find the buy links on the book tab (or click on the corresponding cover over on the side bar).

So… Did you have a nice 4th of July? We went to the Dragons game (they won!) and watched fireworks after. It was stinkin’ hot out there, though. I was drenched in sweat. But the fireworks were fun (and so was the game), so I guess it was worth it.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

No Wednesday Reads, the New House is Ours, and No A/C

Our trip to Cleveland/Put-In-Bay during Memorial Day weekend was really nice. It had been years since I’ve been to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, so it felt all new to me (in a way). I’ve never been to Put-In-Bay and had no idea what to expect there. Most of the mode of transportation on that island is by golf carts. And a funny thing there, too. They have a 9-hole golf course. It’s the ONLY place the golf cart isn’t allowed!

Oh, you can take your car to the island, but good luck in finding a place to park (and they can’t guarantee you can take it off the same day). Best way is to leave it behind, take the ferry, and rent a cart (or take the bus into town, where you can walk to almost anyplace).

Hubby and I felt like we were on one of our cruising excursions! Everyone seemed to have fun, too. Yay!

Since the weekend was so busy, I didn’t write anything and read very little (I was usually too tired to do anything when I got back to the room). I do have a proof-reading job (via Hubby’s business), so I read something this past week, just nothing I can post here…yet (although I will later, once the book is released or shows up in Goodreads). So…no Wednesday Reads today.

Tuesday we closed on the new house! It’s all ours! Just wish the closing went more smoothly. Our 10am appointment got moved to 11am and then when we were on our way, moved again to noon. What a pain! But it’s over and done with and we have the keys. Yay!

Let the moving begin…

And none too soon. Our A/C in the old house is on the fritz. Doesn’t that just figure when the temps are approaching 90 outside? The unit wasn’t cooling very well and started making strange banging noises outside, that we finally just shut it down. Thank goodness this house has fans.

Last year the unit wasn’t cooling, but the technician couldn’t find the leak so he put in die and said to call when it stops working (which I did last week). I sure hope it’s fixable. I can’t imagine how much one would cost… like we need that kind of expense right now.

And when it rains… I think I reached the tipping point this week with my computer software. I thought I could get used to LibreOffice, but I’m starting to see that I cannot (too many key strokes to do what I can do in Excel in ONE), so I might have to actually use Excel 2010 (or 2007—whatever one we have in the house). Which means I’ll have to change Word, too. UGH!! I am not a happy camper about that, but it’s starting to distract me way too much from my writing and I can’t have that.

Of course, I’ll just complain about the newer version of Excel (and Word), too. I wish they’d just leave the software ALONE! If I had wanted a newer version earlier, I would have gotten it.

Sort of like how Goodreads is trying to get the Mobile and Desktop to be the same. WHY??? If I want the mobile version, I’d get it on my phone. But the mobile version SUCKS, so I use the desktop. Now they’re making the desktop suck, too. How is that any better? Software developers drive me NUTS!

Oh, and if I don’t have enough stuff going on this week, I think my washer is leaking. Or, maybe just the hose. I hope it’s just the hose. All I know is that I keep finding water inside the machine (not all the time, just every now and then, which is weird!), so it’s got to be coming from somewhere (because it drains everything after the load). Maybe if we buy new hoses for the new house it’ll fix the problem. **fingers crossed**

I have a feeling I won’t be getting much written this week (or next). Busy, busy, busy!

So… What’s making you want to rant this week? Hopefully, nothing (and I’ll envy you, too!).

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and I Hate Windows 10

Windows 10 did an update on my computer Monday night. Tuesday morning, my Excel no longer worked. I am not a happy camper.

I knew this day would eventually come, because software programs never last forever, do they. I have Excel 2003 and LOVE 2003 because it’s simple and I know where everything is (mostly). I downloaded LibreOffice, but not sure I like it. Might have to give it time. But if I want to keep updating my writing spreadsheet, I guess I better figure it out soon.

I hate WINDOWS 10! Why can’t they just leave the stupid program ALONE????

And no, I won’t switch to a Mac. I hate their keyboards. And I won’t go to a newer version of Excel. Too much on the screen. It would drive me bonkers.

To top it all off, our A/C is on the fritz (no wonder I’ve been so hot!), and the oil decided to leak out of the fun car yesterday and all over the garage and driveway. Can this week get any worse? Wait, don’t answer that.

Here’s what I finished reading this week:

Book #19

Dates read: May 7-22
Title: The Red Lily
Year of publication: 2017
Author: Juliette Cross
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Vampire Blood #2
# of Pages: 248
Paper or plastic: Nook e-book
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: The Black Lily resistance needs a larger army if they are to defeat the vampire monarchy. In order to do so, former lieutenant and traitor to the vampire Crown, Nikolai must seek help from the red-hooded temptress he needs to avoid at all costs. The secret he carries could prove dangerous for her if she gets too close...even though keeping her close—very close—is the only thing on his mind.
    Sienna will do anything for the Black Lily, and when Nikolai asks for her assistance to gain the trust of the commonwealth, it's the last thing she wants to do. The thought of leaving her woods and her wolves behind is terrifying...not to mention the danger being with Nikolai poses.

My thoughts: Despite taking so long to read, I did enjoy this story. Too much going on in my life, I guess. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. If you prefer a historical feel to your paranormal romance, give this book a try, because this is certainly not a contemporary series.

So… How’s your week going? I’m hoping today’s tour of our new house will lift my spirits. They could certainly use some lifting.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Hockey Ugliness, House Update, and Dancing Video

That Penguins game felt so one-sided, it was awful. We get called for stupid minor things, but they can hurt our players and…nothing. It was so frustrating to watch. I don’t even want to discuss that goal they called a no-goal.

Time to come home and kick some butts.

And what is it with Nashville fans throwing catfish on the ice? They were even in the stands pouring beer over their redneck heads holding more fish! I heard they were Tennessee Titan players, too! NHL should really ban fans from doing that kind of shit. I mean, fans get ejected for throwing beer cans on the ice, but not fish?

Oh, and by the way, I don’t like it when Detroit fans throw the squid/octopus on the ice, either. It’s stupid!

Okay, rant over. For now. J

Got some pictures from our builders on Friday. The stone is now on the front of the house (yay!) and it’s ready for painting (on the inside).

See the stone around the garage and lower half of the front bedroom?

The kitchen area. All ready for paint and flooring.

This is looking out the back of the house. I wasn't expecting that middle

window (I said no to the fireplace and the window was optional), so we'll

probably put black curtains there since that's where the TV will go!

Thank goodness we didn't plan on wall mounting it!

I need something fun today. Saw part of this video at the Dragons game and enjoyed it so much, I found it on YouTube so I can share it with you. Let’s all dance!

So… How was your weekend? Sports-wise it sucked for me. Dragons lost on Friday and Saturday (froze at Saturday’s game—it was in the 40s), Vegas lost, and of course, Penguins lost. I hope the rest of the week turns out better for my teams.

Happy (grumbling) Monday!

Stacy

Facebook Hates Me

That’s right, Facebook hates me. I’ve been trying to run an ad since the beginning of the month (via Barclay Publicity).

First, BP couldn’t get into my ad account after I had added her. So I removed her and then added her back. She was able to go inside and create the ad. All I had to do was add the money.

I go into the account. It’s deactivated due to unusual activity.

Well, duh! I’ve never run an ad before, of course it’s unusual. I send them my information. After several messages back and forth, they finally activated my account. I go in and add the money.

The ads aren’t running. I don’t know how to fix it. I ask BP to go in and see what’s wrong.

She can’t get in. I remove her from the account then add her back in. She fixes the ads. I get a message saying they were approved. I go into the account.

It’s deactivated due to unusual activity.

Arrrgh! I contact them again. They sent me a form to complete except when I click SUBMIT, they won’t accept it because I’m not an advertiser. No… I’m the owner!

I swear, if they were in the same room, I’d have punched them.

I went to tell them about the stupid form via a comment on the case and they closed it to all comments.

Arrrgh!!

I entered another complaint. Nothing.

I entered another complaint. Oh look, they activated my account. Oh look, the ads are not running.

Instead of having BP go back into my account and create another “unusual activity” event, I asked her for guidance.

I don’t know what I did, but I managed to see ACTIVE on the ad. We’ll see if it runs.

What a mess. Why does FB have to be so difficult? And people wonder why I don’t advertise more.

It’s so frustrating!!

Good news, I figured out some things about one of my characters and I may actually get some writing done today. Wish me luck!

So… What can make you crazy? Would you have lasted as long as I did with FB? I was about to give up altogether. And if it breaks again, I may just do that.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

The Trouble With Series

Authors are a tricky bunch. Especially when it comes to series. I should know. I write them.

Still…

I was all set to read the latest Lucy Kincaid (LK) story (by Allison Brennan). I love this series and #13 had just been released last month. But then I remembered she had some novellas out and a crossover book from her Max Revere (MR) series, a series I’m also reading. The problem is…

I only buy the paperbacks and MR starts out in hardback, so I’m two books behind in reading and a book behind in buying.

Now, I have nothing against buying hardbacks when I have the rest of the author’s books that way, but to switch in the middle... yeah, I don’t like that. Don’t mess with my bookcase!

I also don’t like that the novellas only came out in e-book, but there’s nothing I can do about that except maybe grumble a lot.

I do like to grumble a lot, don’t I?

So instead of reading LK #13, I’m reading MR #3, then will read the two novellas (one for LK the other for MR—they’re in the same e-book) and MR #4 (the crossover). But the paperback for #4 isn’t released until May and I don’t want to wait until May to read LK #13! So I may just have to get MR #4 at the library. Doesn’t mean I won’t buy the paperback, because I will. I still want the book.

And now you’re probably wondering why I just don’t skip over all the MR series and just read the LK series. Why would it matter? Because the crossover story focuses on a huge event that happened in Lucy Kincaid’s past. I can’t imagine it won’t be mentioned or affect Lucy in some way or form and I really don’t want to be spoiled, ya know?

I guess the good thing about all this is that I know the next 4 books to read. Sometimes it’s a struggle to decide which one to pick up next.

So… Are you as crazy as I am when it comes to reading series? Or does reading out of order not bother you? To me, reading out of order is like reading the end of the book first. I won’t do that either.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

P.S. Today is the first of my dad’s birthdays that he’s not around. He would have been 93. Even though we lived 2300 miles apart for many decades, I still miss him.

 

Well, That Was Awful

Neither football team I rooted for yesterday won. Ugh. And I bet that when the Eagles play the horrible patriots in the SuperBowl, they’ll get skunked. Because that’s how it always seems to go. I have hopes someone, ANYONE will beat those horrible patriots and they never do.

I posted on Facebook and will repeat here: I don’t think I’ve hated the Cowboys as much as I hate the patriots.

And I really, really hate the Cowboys.

And yes, I’m intentionally not capitalizing the team name. That shows you how much MORE I hate them.

I suppose that’s how some people feel about the Penguins, although I don’t think the Penguins have ever been caught cheating. And maybe the patriots didn’t cheat THIS year, but they have before, so I’ll never EVER like them. Never. Ever.

As if the football games didn’t make yesterday crappy enough, I remembered (too late!) that I started hosting duties for the Sizzle and Sass page (Facebook). Oops! But when I went to post on my PC, I discovered I couldn’t. I could do it from my phone, but it’s kind of hard to post the pictures I have on my laptop from my phone. Plus, I type better on my laptop than I do on the phone (why can’t Apple have a BACK SPACE key anywhere??).

I tried everything, checked everything, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I finally contacted Facebook (with a screen shot, even).

And while I was going through all that, we were constantly losing the internet (an issue we’ve been experiencing lately). Last weekend Spectrum came out to check our router and we were told the signal was too high, causing it to short out. They supposedly fixed that problem and left the router alone.

When the internet/wifi went out yesterday (after having gone out a few times on Friday), Hubby called them again. They sent someone out again. Seems the router was going bad (no, really?). Technician replaced it, and after Hubby got the wifi up and running, guess what? I could post to the Sizzle and Sass page.

I can’t imagine our router was the cause, and I’ve never known Facebook to react so quickly, but hey, whatever. I almost thought I wasn’t going to be able to host this week.

I certainly hope the week goes better than yesterday did. I don’t like feeling grumpy!

So… What sports team (any sport) do you hate the most? Or are you the type of sports fan that just likes watching the game with no emotion whatsoever? I can’t imagine ever doing that. Why watch if you’re not going to get emotional?

Happy Monday!

Stacy

38 Years Ago and Goodreads Gouging

Thirty-eight years ago today Hubby and I tied the knot. And it seems just like yesterday.

Okay, maybe not yesterday, but it is a day I remember vividly. More vividly than I remember yesterday. Haha!

We’re not doing anything special tonight. The upcoming cruise will be our special. And that’s how we came to taking cruises in December. They were anniversary presents to ourselves. Then we found out how much cheaper it is to cruise in early December vs. Christmas or summer. Almost half the price!

But unlike last year, Hubby hasn’t booked any cruises for next December. Probably because we have two already booked for 2018 and are still paying for them. Although… he is getting itchy fingers to search for a December cruise.

****

I should have known this day would come eventually, since Amazon bought Goodreads. I just didn’t think it would affect me so much. Starting in January, Goodreads will finally be able to let authors and publishers give away not only print books, but e-books as well. However, they will start charging for this feature. It’s not a cheap fee, either: $119 for “standard,” $599 for “premium.” And that’s PER giveaway! Talk about gouging an author.

I had planned on holding a giveaway for Ghostly Interlude once I got it all formatted for print. But seeing as I doubt that’ll happen before January 8th, I’ll have to scrap that plan. No way will I pay that much to give away a book. Goodreads isn’t that effective as a sales tool. I know. I’ve tried advertising there.

Not only is this disappointing as an author, it’s disappointing as a reader, too. Those e-book giveaways are for Kindle books only. I don’t own a Kindle. I own a Nook. So therefore, why bother entering the e-book giveaway? I wouldn’t be able to read it anyway.

I kind of wish I had told Goodreads about being disappointed as a reader when I took their survey, but I was too angry and disappointed as an author. I pretty much told them my money would be better spent on a Romantic Times review, and that ain’t cheap, either. But at least I know who my audience is there.

So… For you married folks, what kind of stuff do you do to celebrate your big day? Do you still give presents to each other? We never did that. We used to buy something for the house. Now it’s just the cruises. Which is fine. We don’t need anything else for the house!

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Movies I Won’t Be Watching

While watching the game that won’t be mentioned (grumble, grumble…I hate the Patriots…grumble, grumble), there were a couple of movie previews that made me go…WHA?

The first one was of CHiPS.

I loved that series. I grew up with that series. I lived in the land of CHiPS. Now it’s a comedy. A comedy! Really? Gosh, can’t people think up new stuff anymore? Which leads me to the other movie preview I saw during that horrible, horrible game.

Kong: Skull Island.

Have there not been enough King Kong movies? Create a dang new monster, will you? Like the killer stink bug or something.

Because stink bugs…. UGH! I hate those things!

And yes, I did find one in my house last week. Why do you ask? J

So… What movie do you refuse to watch that’s coming out this year?

Happy Monday and Go Falcons! (**sniff, sniff**)

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and Good Riddance to my Newspaper

Here’s what I read the past week:

October 25: “Defy the Dawn” by Lara Adrian, 14th book in the Midnight Breed series, a paranormal romance at 286 pages. Blurb from book: Daywalker Brynne Kirkland survived a hellish upbringing as a product of a madman’s lab. Tough, driven, and devoted to her work in law enforcement, Brynne has never dared to risk opening her heart to anyone—least of all a handsome immortal from a world on the verge of a war against hers. Atlantean warrior Zael left the intrigue of his realm several lifetimes ago, along with the battles he fought as one of the queen’s legion. As a free-spirited loner walking the fringe of two worlds—that of his secretive and powerful people, and the outside world belonging to mankind and the Breed—it was never his intention to return to combat and bloodshed. Nor had he imagined that he might ever be tempted into anything stronger than desire…until he meets Brynne. Thrust together as allies of the Order in the fight against a diabolical enemy, Zael and Brynne embark on a mission that will ultimately force them to decide between duty to their people, and a passion that defies all bounds. I’m still engrossed in this series, even after fourteen books! Wonderful romance. **heavy sigh**

I got a notice in the mail yesterday that my newspaper (Dayton Daily News) is raising rates…AGAIN. I finally got fed up with the increases and cancelled it. How bad did it get?

• In November 2014 I was paying $21.44/mo.
• In July 2015 they raised it to $24.99/mo.
• January 2016, $30.52/mo.
• July 2016, $35.49
• December 2016, $43.49!! That’s over $500/year!!!

Rates have more than doubled over the past two years. Ridiculous! I truly believe they WANTED me to cancel. Why else raise it so much, and multiple times a year? I'll miss getting the paper, but not at those prices.

I do have some GOOD news. Seems the construction crew is just about finished with widening the road my road connects to. Lines were painted yesterday so it would make sense that I should be able to turn left off our street today. Would you believe they actually PARK the equipment in the middle of the road so no one can get through? It’s been a pain to have to go around, but at least the end is in sight! Yay!

So… Do you subscribe to a newspaper? Think I waited too long to cancel? I’m thinking maybe I have. Oh well…

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Happy Columbus Day and I’ve Got Some Gripes

It’s Columbus Day! Are you off work today? Hubby has to work, so it’s a normal weekday for me.

Heck, I don’t remember the last time we actually got Columbus Day off. Probably when we worked for the military.

A long time ago.

But I remember when it used to be a school holiday. I don’t think it’s that anymore, either (at least not here). Think we have too many holidays? Or not enough?

I have a gripe today. A gripe with my iPhone. Or more precisely, my Yahoo calendar on my iPhone.

For some strange reason it still thinks I’m in Central time (I’m not. I’m in Eastern). All my “appointments” (which are actually game times) are listed an hour earlier than they’re supposed to be. I’ve tried re-booting my phone. I’ve tried deleting the calendar, rebooting the phone, then adding the calendar back. I’ve tried forcing the time zone on and off. Nothing is working.

The Yahoo calendar on my laptop is correct, though. It shows I’m in the Eastern zone. So why is my iPhone not syncing up correctly? It has the correct time zone!!!

It’s so baffling and frustrating.

The only good thing is I get an hour’s notice when a game is about to start.

I have the new IOS 10, but I believe this problem existed before I upgraded. In fact, I believe it started when we drove back from Denver. For some reason my phone got stuck. I had issues syncing my Fitbit (it kept showing Central time) and the first reboot fixed that (thank goodness).

I’ve tried searching the internet for help, but everything is from years ago. Nothing recent. Can I be the only one having this problem?

That would be my kind of luck.

I also have another gripe. This one with Yahoo (I’m beginning to notice a theme here) and IE11. For some reason myYahoo thinks I’m on an older version of IE. myYahoo works fine on Edge and Chrome (except I don’t like either), so I don’t know what’s going on. Very frustrating. My screen is all screwed up (can’t get my theme to work correctly). Grrr…

I’d use Edge all the time (especially now that the picture doesn’t shake—yes, it did that before), but I can’t figure out how to show what websites I’ve visited recently. There’s no little down arrow over to the right of the URL (or anywhere I can see). I use that down arrow all the time on IE. Why Edge got rid of it, I’ll never know. 

Unless I’m just blind and it’s there. If that’s the case, can you enlighten me?

Football Update:

• High School: Wayne won!
• College: Ohio State won! USC Trojans won!
• NFL: Steelers won! Rams… didn’t win. Okay, guess I can’t win them all. L

Good news! 3 days till PENGUINS HOCKEY! Yay! It’s getting to be a busy sports season (by the way, I’m rooting for the Dodgers in the World Series hunt).

So… Do computer programs/apps/what-have-you make you crazy? I probably wouldn’t have such issues with them if they didn’t update so darn often! Ugh.

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Construction Woes

My city is currently widening the street I need to drive on to get to my street. It was due to be widened. Lots of housing tracts have opened up on this two-lane road to the AFB and traffic gets bogged down when someone wants to turn left.

When the first ROAD CLOSED sign appeared, it said it was OPEN TO LOCAL TRAFFIC. That would be me. My street is within the ROAD CLOSED signs.

At first I was able to drive to either side of the closure. A few days into their work, I drove up and had to stop. A cop car blocked the road while men were in the process of changing the sign by crossing off the LOCAL TRAFFIC part. I sat there and waited until they were finished. Cop got out of his car and pointed to the ROAD CLOSED sign. I stuck my head out the window and yelled that I lived on such & such street. He told me to go around. And he didn’t say this very nice. In fact, he was rather rude. Like it was my fault I lived on that road!

Of course, I almost expected a cop on the other end telling me to do the same, but there wasn’t one.

Now, the road isn’t torn up in the middle. They are working on one side. We couldn’t see any reason why we couldn’t use it to get to our street, but I wasn’t about to argue with the cop.

Found out later that the school busses were also told to go around (by a cop) AFTER they were told (by the city) that they could drive through. My friend, who is in charge of these busses, was not a happy camper about that (messed up his whole pickup schedule). Wanted to know when the police overrode the city department. He also wanted to know whose bright idea it was to START this construction after school started. They had ALL SUMMER to do this work!

I’d kind of like to know the answer to that one, too.

The detour signs crack me up, though. The city sends the driver a mile north when it’s less than half a mile south to the next street. You can bet which one I take!

Yesterday at the fitness center I came up with a brilliant idea. Remember me whining about the sun rising late and how I wouldn’t walk to the fitness center in the dark? Well, I decided that I could eat breakfast FIRST, then walk to the fitness center. That way when I walk back, it won’t be too late to eat breakfast. I’ll just have to quit the outside walks when it gets too cold.

I amaze myself sometimes. Or I’m just slow. You pick.

So… Got any construction woes in your area? Feel free to rant here!

Happy Friday!

Stacy

No Wednesday Reads, and an Upgrade Fail

I’ve been reading, just not enough to finish a book this past week. At least I will have something to report next week. And if I’m smart, I’ll read a novella after I finish and have TWO books to report. In any case, I’m about 14 books behind schedule. At my rate, I doubt I’ll ever catch up. Which is a shame. I have SOOOOOOO many books I want to read!

But hey, I’m getting my revisions done. That’s the important thing right now.

You know how I loathe change, right? Well, one of my apps changed and I am not happy.

I track my distance walking on the Nike+ Run app (FYI—I use the FitBit to track steps I take all day, which is inaccurate when it comes to recording the distance). I didn’t use the Nike app for everything it offered, just the simple stuff. Like the GPS when I walked, adding in my treadmill walking, and sharing it all on Facebook (I don’t post a lot there, so it was something and it was also a good motivator for me). I also enjoyed seeing the badges I earned, and seeing which walk was the farthest or fastest, and the routes I took on those days I walked outside. It was fun stuff. Okay, fun for me. If it’s not fun for me, I’m liable not to do it, you know?

Well, Nike changed their app. It’s now Nike+ Run Club. I lost all the badges. Lost which walks were the farthest or fastest. Lost the routes I took. Worst of all, I can’t seem to find a way to share my walk on Facebook. In other words, the app is USELESS to me. It took away all my motivators. Worse: it took away my fun.

I’m not the only one unhappy with this change. Apparently people lost their coaches, plans, and mileage on their shoes (I didn’t even know that was a thing). The new app is getting a big fat ONE in ratings. Makes me wonder exactly what Nike had hoped to accomplish with this upgrade. It certainly wasn’t to make their current users happy, because they aren’t. Not by a long shot.

So now I’m looking for another app to track my walking via GPS (one that will post my walks on Facebook), because I don’t like the new Nike app anymore. I just have a feeling it may take me awhile before I find an app I like.

Man, I hate change! It’s so time consuming! Ugh!

So… Do major upgrades make you as crazy as they do me? Please, I can’t be the only one. Share one with me.

Stacy