AMC

The Author of this post is Velma Baird

When I was a kid, my dad and I would watch old movies together on Saturday mornings. He passed away four years ago, and some of my best memories are of him and me watching old westerns or mysteries together on Saturdays. Movie stars like John Wayne and Kirk Douglass would fill the screen, and as a little boy I wanted to be just like those guys. I remember watching Alfred Hitchcock mysteries as well. Now that I have children of my own, I love to watch old movies with them. While they do not play the old classics nearly as often as they used to, the channel AMC shows a lot of classic movies that I love. We have Direct TV through http://www.directstartv.com/, and I love to watch AMC. My children have had the opportunity to watch some of my favorite movies growing up because of this channel. In my opinion, they do not make movies with the same quality that the used to. I understand that the technology is better, and therefore the quality of the film itself is much better. However, in terms of plot and substance, many of the movies today are just bad. I would much rather watch the movies of 40 years ago.

Tell Me It Isn't So

Someone out there please tell me I'm hallucinating and it's not December 2 already. I am so far behind with holiday plans it's not funny. And it's not only Christmas and New Years coming up. Our 25th wedding anniversary is on the 27th and my husband wants to do something special.

Now I remember why I enjoyed not working! I used to have time to plan and enjoy things like this. Instead I was just handed an absolutely huge project that is going to take every minute I can find to implement and it will still probably take into January to complete.

Maybe I can convince my husband to put off celebration the holidays and our anniversary until something like May. And if you think I can pull that off I have some prime swampland in the Everglades I'd like to show you. There's no extra charge for the alligators.

Got the Dog

This guest post from Doris Dillon

When we got the SECURITY CHOICE for the house my wife said she still didn’t feel safe enough when I was gone for work so I let her get the dog she’s been begging me for for years. We named him Otis and darnit if he isn’t just the cutest thing that ever existed! He’s really solidified our little family and my wife says she sleeps with him in the bed when I’m gone. There’s none of that when I’m here though, he needs to know that I’m the king of this castle! Whatever makes her feel better about being at the house alone is a-okay with me and if Otis is any indication of how fun having kids is going to be I want to get started sooner rather than later. My wife is the most important thing in the world to me but if you want me to choose I’d say Otis comes in a pretty close second! He’s just the best dog and has the sweetest temperament and who doesn’t love dogs, really?

Fall Finally!

Been enjoying the weather all day. A cool front is moving in and the day has been beautiful. It may even drop down into the low 40's tomorrow night!

I know I'll be complaining about the cold in a few months and wishing for sunshine but at the moment it's a welcome change.

All the motorcycles are in town for Thunder Beach. I've been hearing them going down 30A today. I hope they brought some warm clothes. Of course, they'll probably be riding in their sleeveless shirts regardless of the weather and saying it's not cold.

Hope everyone has a fabulous fall weekend! I plan on spending it outside :)

Love me some Kardashians

I appreciate the guest post, Ignacio Phillips

I’m pretty embarrassed to say it, but I love all of the shows featuring members of the Kardashian family. I just think they’re so entertaining and they really do seem to love each other so much…it inspires me to be a better sibling to my brother and sisters! Ever since I got www.EXPERTSATELLITE.com satellite I’ve been watching a lot of the regular Keeping Up With the Kardashians but I also got really into Khloe and Lamar’s new show as well. They’re all hilarious and so happy go lucky! People totally judge me when I tell them I’m watching this stuff but I don’t care because it helps me relax and totally puts my mind at ease. It’s nice being lazy and vegging out with a terrible reality show to watch and hey, those girls have become moguls in their own right so who am I to judge? They’ve all got more money than I could ever dream of having so I say they should keep on doing what they know how to do best!

Watching Movies

Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

I absolutely love watching movies on my satellite tv, that I got after seeing these specials on www.directstartv.com, and I can normally be found watching a new one almost every single night. It's just something that I love doing and something that I will probably always do for as long as I live. I guess it's because it's just relaxing and it's a hobby of mine. I would absolutely love to be able to watch every single movie and every single documentary before I get old. I don't think that that dream would ever become a reality, however, it's good to shoot for the stars and come close, as far as I'm concerned anyway.

On my boyfriend's days off, we normally just relax and watch a good movie. Sometimes, we'll even go out and catch one in the local theater. However, the theater is really getting expensive. The last time I went there, it cost me an arm and a leg just to get two tickets, two drinks, and a thing of popcorn. It was a ripoff and that's why I can normally be found at home now so that I can no my thing and watch my movies in the comfort of my own house. I love having movie watching as a hobby and I also like to review the movies that I happen to watch when I'm at home or when I go to the theater.

Mexico Beach

Our month of relaxation in Mexico Beach is over. It's back to the daily grind. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the laid back, old Florida lifestyle there. Steve spent his days fishing, he often went 3 times a day - mornings fishing in Port St Joe under the bridge, days fishing on the beach and evenings catching flounder. I enjoyed all of the fresh fish but I think it's time to cook something besides seafood for a while!

The house we rented had wi-fi so after my official week of vacation I was able to work from there. It's great being able to work from any place I want!

Our Favorite Place

We spent the afternoon at our favorite place Sunday. It's called the Love Shack and it has a great outdoor bar with a pool. Needless to say, I don't do the pool part, but it's fun to sit at the bar and sip drinks and people watch. Some of the young women there could make you want to visit http://www.wrinkletreatment.org but I don't let it bother me. I am what I am, wrinkles and all.

So Cute

Bella and JJ have been with us for a while now. They are such fun additions to the family. They have even sparked a streak of playfulness in the two older guys. It's fun to watch giant Lola playing with them. They run circles around her legs and she loves to tease them with toys. Zack plays the tolerant father and lets them climb all over him and chew on his ears. He gives up any toy he has to them. It's been fun, I'm so glad we have them.

I'm Not a Guru

Because I earn my living writing for websites, people have the idea that I know a lot about everything on the web. I'm almost to the point where I don't want to tell people that I work online. We met a couple the other day and as soon as I said what I do he started grilling me about website affiliate programs. I don't run a website and I don't know anything about affiliate programs. Unfortunately, it took a great deal of talking to convince him of that.

Bad for Tourism

Can anybody point me in the direction of the best diet pills? I've got plans to spend a good part of the summer in Mexico Beach, my college room mate is coming for a visit and I'm feeling fat! I usually avoid wearing a bathing suit but it may be very difficult to avoid it this year. I think I am just going to start telling people that they outlawed bathing suits for women over 55. It's bad for tourism. HA!

Are You Paying Attention?

Are you paying attention to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? I certainly am. In my opinion it could turn into a disaster along the lines of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska. If they can't get the leak stopped with their remote controlled subs the next try is to drill a new well. That will take months. Months of crude oil washing up on our shores. And killing animals. And destroying the economy. Anywhere on the gulf coast from Texas to Florida. Worried yet?

Looking Up

Even though I complain about the crowds, I have to admit that the spring break crowds are good for the local economy. Locals are reporting that it was a good season. This is a tourist town and tourists mean jobs. There is really no other industry here to generate them. Construction was the only other game in town and everyone knows what happened to that. Now that I've admitted that they have their purpose, I can go back to enjoying the peacefulness left by their departure.

It's Booking Up

Our summer is booking up. My husband spoke to his grandson yesterday and they were making plans for Greg to come for a visit this summer. He's eleven now so I expect him to keep Steve very busy. Between that and our plans in the motorhome at Mexico Beach we should be very busy. We've also discussed a trip out to Texas to visit my parents so there aren't many more free weeks left in our schedule.

It's Almost Over

Spring break is almost over for another year. We are moving into my favorite time here, I call it the sweet spot. It's when the snowbirds have gone home, spring breakers have left and the summer crowd has not shown up yet. For a few sweet weeks we will have the place to ourselves. We will be able to go anywhere, eat and any restaurant and drive on the streets without crowds.