Nap Time!

There is nothing so refreshing as a nap.  Whether it's short or long it feels so good.  I can come home from a crazy day at work, eat a little dinner and then lie back in my broken recliner and drift off into a much needed nap.  Sometimes I only get a few minutes in before some type of interruption like the phone or a barking dog.
Other times I can sleep for two hours solid and wake up amazed that I slept that long but greatly refreshed.

I think that everyone should be allowed a little nap, daily.  Just to calm an overloaded mind, or rest a tired body.  I've tried to incorporate nap time into work, but for some reason that hasn't gone over too well with management, although my coworkers like the idea.  If I could squeeze a short nap into my 30 minute lunchtime I think it would work, but the break room is a little too busy and the storage closets don't have enough room to lie down.

So, for now I'll just have to be happy with a nap at home, in my favorite recliner with my soft fuzzy blanket. Mmmm  Perfect!

I Love Netflix!

Several years ago, when my oldest daughter was in college, she joined Netflix.  Well, she joined and we footed the bill, as with most things while my kids were in college.  She really enjoyed it and it served it's purpose in keeping her entertained, as well as providing her with some hard to find movies she needed to view for a class.

When she came home for the summer her subscription came with her and we all enjoyed the benefits of Netflix, so much so that I joined in the fall when she went back to school.  Since that time my whole family has taken advantage of the many wonders of Netflix and I've saved a lot of money.

Now when a movie comes out in the theater, we think "Is that something I can't wait to see or can it wait until it comes out on Netflix?"  More and more we wait.  That saves me a lot of money in the long run, since a family trip to the theater anymore can cost me at least $40 -$50 between admission and snacks and that's during matinee pricing.  When we watch that movie at home and it's a dud, we end up saying "I'm glad I didn't pay to go to the theater for that!"  I feel even happier.

I don't buy nearly as many DVD's as I used to, saving space in my home and money.

I've watched many TV series that I didn't think I'd like when they were on TV and ended up watching every episode, in order and loved every minute of it!  Shows like Monk and Numbers  or a British detective series called New Tricks.

I've caught up on series that are still currently on TV that I didn't start watching, when they first came out for one reason or another.  Shows like Rizzoli and Isles, Hawaii 5-0, NCIS, The Mentalist and the list goes on.  I actually get a little obsessed with catching up on those series.  Sometimes watching 2 or 3 or 4 episodes in a day.  No wonder I could hardly get out of my recliner!

My husband direct streams his favorite TV episodes and watches strange movies that don't look very good to me but he enjoys, on his computer.

I enjoy sharing my favorite shows and movies with my Netflix watching friends and hearing what they've enjoyed, so I can add that to my queue for future entertainment.

Overall I think that the years I've invested in Netflix, have really paid off.  Even when the price raised, I'm still saving money.  I receive, watch and return multiple DVD's during a week.  So for a little more than the price of one DVD my family and I have hours of entertainment each month.  I consider that a very good deal!

I love the Sims!

My love for the Sims began a little over 13 years ago.  My daughter's birthday was in March and a few weeks before that we were at Costco.  As we perused the book and movie aisle she saw a game she was interested in called The Sims.  She asked for it for her birthday.  Little did I know, when I purchased that game, what changes it would bring to our household.

Shortly after she opened that gift, we gathered around our only computer and watched as the teeny world of the Sims appeared before us.  My daughters and myself were instantly captivated.  Within hours we were fighting over the game.  I would set aside 2 hour blocks of time for each of us to play.  Of course, I could play all day long on my days off, while they were at school. Muhahahahahaha!  Before long, those blocks of time weren't enough and we purchased another computer and another Sims game.  Soon that 2nd computer turned into three and yet another Sims game.  And so, an obsession was born!

Since that time the original Sims game had multiple expansions, that I bought in triplicate.  Then there was The Sims 2.  That included multiple expansions and stuff packs.  For a while I could buy only one stuff pack and we could put it on all of our computers, but then Maxis/EA became money obsessed and we had to each play off our own copy of the stuff packs, so three of those were purchased as well.  Then came The Sims 3 with their expansions, stuff packs and so on.  Oh and don't forget all of those items you could buy from the online Sims store to add to your wonderful game!  

Needless to say the Sims has cost me thousands of dollars over those 13 years, but I don't regret a single dollar!  It has provided, my daughters and myself hours of entertainment and a great bonding experience too.  No matter what's going on in our life, we always have the common interest in the Sims.

 Most people that know me have heard about the Sims.  There are those that ignored me. Then there are those that thought "what the hell is Sims?" and then ignored me.  Lastly there are the very few people that I know that know what I'm talking about and like them too. Mainly my daughters and one coworker who plays occasionally.  You know who you are!  So imagine my delight when I found a whole online community of Sims enthusiasts!  And believe me it is a very large, world wide community!  

I had been playing the original Sims game for a short while when I found the online Sims community.  There were a few forums out there that would share their Sims experiences or links to great sites that had Custom Created items that I could download and put into my Sims game.  There are so many creative people in the Sims world!  I became addicted to downloading new items or houses for my game.  I would spend more hours doing that and then organizing those downloads, than I would spend playing.  I had to have that refridgerator or sofa or chair and so on in 40 different colors!  Or I would download beautiful houses that I was never patient or talented enough to dream up and build myself. This was all back when I had dial up.  Those downloads would take forever, but that didn't stop me!

After a few months of lurking at the Sims forum Neighborhood 99 or N99 as we call it, I got up enough nerve to actually comment.  It's a great place, full of wonderful, giving and creative people.  I feel like many of them are my friends.  I also joined another forum called CIS Clubhouse.  I made friends there too.  Over the years there has been lots of drama in the Sims community, especially during the Sims 1 days.  Now it's pretty mellow and we just have a good time sharing Sims stories,  ideas and  the excitement when a new expansion has been announced, counting down the days together and sharing all of the tidbits we can find about said new expansion.

Now a new Sims game has been announced.  Sims 4.  We knew it was coming and I'm actually dreading it.  After all I've invested over the years, I hate starting over, yet again!  But I know that by the time it comes out I'll be anxiously awaiting it and the very day it's released I will be buying it, installing it and starting a whole new adventure!

There's a little something for everyone in the Sims games.  You can play a premade sim or make your own.  You give them the personality traits you want.  If you're a control freak, like me, you can pretty much control every little aspect of their lives.  If you would rather watch  life happen you can just sit back and let their free will take over, sometimes with chaotic results and a visit from the grim reaper!  Here are some screenshots from The Sims 3.

There's plenty of gardening opportunities for those gardening enthusiasts!

Playing in the ocean with your toddler.

If you want to fly you can play as a fairy or ride a broomstick as a witch!

You can fight fires or just stand and scream at them.  In this unfortunate fire 3 sims met the grim reaper.

You can even have a meteorite hit  your neighborhood or your home.  Sometimes your Sim won't make it out alive.

I Love Mysteries!

I've always loved mysteries.  It started when I was young and read mystery books like the Nancy Drew series or the Trixie Belden mystery books.  Those stories would really pull me in until I would finish the book.  Sometimes a book a day.  Come to think of it, I think that's when I started putting on weight.  All that sitting around reading!

In my teen years I started watching the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery TV shows.  Rockford Files and Magnum P.I. were other favorites along with many others that I've long forgotten.

I still love a good mystery show, movie or book.  I have favorite authors that I have to grab their books the moment they are available.
Authors like:
J.A. Jance.  I started with the J.P. Beaumont series, since it was set in Seattle, but also love her Joanna Brady and Ali Reynolds series that are based in Arizona.
Jonathon Kellerman and his Alex Delaware series.
Rita Kellerman and her Peter Decker series.
Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series.
And what mystery author list is complete without James Patterson?  That guy cranks out books by the dozen!  Love his Alex Cross books.  I also read a lot of his other mystery series books.

I used to read Patricia Cornwell, but her books got thicker and thicker and the personal relationships between the main characters got kind of weird, so I stopped reading her books.  They need to hold my attention.  Make me want to read just one more page, chapter and so on, until I'm done.  Her books became a chore, in my opinion.  Life is too short to read a tedious book.  There are so many more out there just waiting to be read!

If you read my post about my favorite TV shows you'll notice that most of those are mysteries as well.  Whether it's true crime mysteries or fiction, I love them all.

The problem is, with the fiction mystery shows and sometimes the true crime ones, I've seen so many of them that I can figure out "who done it", before the ending.  Sometimes this spoils it for anyone who might be watching the show with me, because I like to share my observations with anyone that's in the room.  My dogs don't really mind, but the humans usually do.  Of course, I'm wrong on occasion and then we are all pleasantly surprised. :o)

I Love My TV Shows!

I feel excitement in the air, as our favorite TV shows get ready to start up anew.  All of those cliffhangers will soon be resolved!  Of course, after I've waited for several months, I tend to forget what those cliffhangers even are.  

It used to be that our shows would end in June and then restart in early September.  There were no interesting summer series to watch.  You would take a nice break over the summer and watch one of those shows like America's Got Talent or something else boring like that when you had nothing else to do. 

Now they've introduced all of those series that are only on in the summer, like Perception and Longmire.  Unfortunately Longmire had an end of summer cliffhanger and I have to wait until next June for that to come back!!! 

 Another show I would watch in the summer, that I loved was The Closer.  But The Closer, closed and spawned a spin off called Major Crimes.  Now I love the characters in Major Crimes that were from the original show, but I really can not stand Captain Raydor's character.  She is about as interesting as a limp noodle...well actually I find a limp noodle more interesting.  Now, I've never seen any other shows that Mary McDonnell is in but I have a feeling that she's probably just as interesting in those too.  Another story line in the show I don't like is that boy Rusty!  I'm just tired of it.  I'm almost hoping that serial killer, or whomever is stalking him, will come and take him away, far, far away!  Now with those two characters gone I would really, really love the show.  Unfortunately, I don't write for them, so I'm sure they will remain on the show and I will have to decide whether I want to keep watching or not but I have until next summer to determine that.

As you may have guessed, from the shows I've listed, I like crime solving shows and have since I was a kid. My favorites now are Bones, which restarted last Monday!  Yay!  The Mentalist, (yum Simon Baker!)

NCIS (Mark Harmon is my older guy crush  *sigh*)  Criminal Minds, Rizzoli and Isles and Hawaii 5-0.  You can add to that all of the real life investigative, crime solving shows I like to watch like Dateline, 48 hours, 20/20 and pretty much anything on the Investigation Discovery channel.  Don't you just love those titles on the I.D. channel like "Evil Twins", "I Killed My Best Friend", "Evil Kin",  "Wicked Attraction" and so on.  No, I don't watch all of those  shows on I.D. Just a select few.

Now after you see the list of blood and gore I watch, you probably think I like the Walking Dead show, but no thanks!  I've seen that once or twice, with my daughter, who absolutely loves it and it gave me nightmares!  I do not enjoy seeing people lop off the heads of zombies.  *shudder*

Now I do like to laugh, so one of my favorite shows is Modern Family.  That show does make me laugh! Too funny! Great characters, although Clare is a pain.   I'll be looking forward to the start of that show next week.

A few shows I like that are just on whenever are: 

Ghosthunters!  Love this show and have watched it since it started several years back.  Ghosts fascinate me but I don't know if I ever really want to see one, in person.  I would probably pee myself.  Not a good thing!

 Amazing Race!  I have only missed one season of that show, since it started.  I truly love to watch it.  They travel to such fantastic places.

Dr. Pol a great veterinarian show.

Cake Boss, although that family is a little loud but I so want to find out what happens with Mama who was diagnosed with ALS.  It breaks your heart.  Poor Mama!  

The other show is on MTV and it's called Catfish.  It's about people that meet online and have an online relationship, even sometimes becoming engaged but have never met and for some reason or another one of the two doesn't want to meet.  Usually it's because they are not whom they claim to be.  I always find it amazing  that the one person doesn't think it's odd that the other person never wants to get together in real life if they're really in love.  Some of these poor souls even send money to the other person!  I guess they're just so desperately looking for love that they will believe anything.  It's really kind of heartbreaking.

Now for the guilty pleasure shows, that I watch.  I'm not proud of it, but they are entertaining as only a scripted, reality show can be.  The first one is Kendra on Top.  After watching the first episode of this season, I'm not sure if I'll continue much longer, because it's always the same old story.  She parties too hard, swears too much and doesn't want another baby yet because it might ruin her career.  Actually it's her adorable son and handsome husband that make the show interesting.

My 2nd guilty pleasure show is Sister Wives.  I like this show because it's interesting to see how this polygamist family works.  Sadly, it is also seems to be in a rut.  Money problems: well I would have money problems too if I was paying for four big, beautiful, brand new houses and starting multiple businesses and feeding 17 children.  Everyone picks on us:  Well it was their choice to come out as a polygamist family on TV.  They say it was to show the world that not all polygamists are like the Warren Jeffs family.  I really think their decision was based on "Let's make a TV show, so we can get more money to take care of our large family and so the husband/father Cody, doesn't have to work, except on his hair."  

Well I think that rounds up all of my favorite shows, although I'm sure I've missed a few and will think of them later on.  Thank God for DVR's because I would be sunk without ours, since so many shows are on at once.  I just record them all and watch them at my leisure, which is frequently because I'm all about leisure.

Happy Television Watching!  Feel free to comment.  We can have some TV discussions. :o)

My Love of Collecting.

I have had many, many collections over the years.  Few have lasted but the remnants still litter my small home. 

 I blame my Mom for passing on the need to collect, gene.  Ever since I can remember my Mom had some type of collection.  Green glass, bells, thimbles, dolls, recipe books and the list goes on. 

 At a young age, I too decided I need to collect/hoard things that caught my eye.  I had scrapbooks filled with pretty or cute candy wrappers from Easter candies or every birthday card I received.   I collected stamps for many years.  Also, those little souvenir spoons that you can buy at almost any destination.  Now instead of the little spoons I collect refridgerator magnets from my travels and Christmas ornaments. 

 Speaking of Christmas ornaments, I have enough to cover at least four 10 foot trees.  Hallmark ornaments are my downfall.  I start various series and can't skip a year.  Those little Frosty Friend ornaments have been going on for well over 30 years and I have them all!  Don't forget the Mickey Mouse head ornaments in every size and color I could find at Disneyland.

I also collect recipe books, but finally gave away a few boxes of them, after realizing I never made anything out of them. 

 I mustn't forget my Beanie Baby collection.   Oh the hours I spent standing in lines to perhaps get a special beanie.  The adrenaline rush when we found out that one of the stores around us just got a new shipment.  They are now all stored away waiting until I give them away.   Flushed that money right down the drain!

A few years later Webkinz entered the pictures. They cost about $10 more than Beanie Babies, but you could play a fun online game with them as well...

Perhaps the collection that held my attention the longest is my Barbie collection.  When I finally got too old to play with my Barbies, I decided that I would start collecting them.  What better reason to continue playing with them that to say "I was collecting them."?  Finally, Mattel started cranking those Barbies out at speeds my bank account and little house could not keep up with and I tired of the collection.  But not before I had accumulated over 350 of them.  

Over the years my daughters figured out how to make the most of my need to collect.  "Mom, the kids at school are playing with pogs."  After I figured out what the heck pogs were, I took them to the local 6 Star store where they had big bins of pogs.  We spent hours combing through those things, looking for 2 each of all 50 states, or 2 each of the cute Disney pictures and so on.  I was so obsessed with the pogs that I would go there on my own, while the girls were in school, and dig through the bins.

Being the daughters of an obsessive Barbie collector, paid off for them too.  They had more Barbies than any kid should have.  The wouldn't even play with them.  Barbie playing for them was organizing all of the hoards of Barbies and clothes they had into groups.

My older daughter hasn't inherited the collecting gene or if she has she's suppressed it pretty well.  She is trying to lead an uncluttered lifestyle and collecting doesn't exactly fit into that.

My youngest has not escaped it.  Giraffe items are her big obsession.  Someday, when she has her own home, she will have a beautiful theme going on.  Now it's not too beautiful because she also lives in this cluttered house. 

She still can take advantage of my obsessive collecting ways, by living with me.  She decided to start crafting and needed some material.  Let's just say that she has plenty of material now and patterns, buttons, well you get the picture.

I don't see my need to collect ending anytime soon, in fact, as one ends another begins.  Such as, my need for more notepads and that wonderful Temp-tations bakeware.  I can hear my husband groaning now.

 Here's a picture of a few of my cookbooks and this years ornament additions, so far.

A couple of my Barbies and you might notice a few items from another collection, I forgot to mention, Precious Moments figurines.

A little bit about me.

   Hello and welcome to my life!  I'm Laura and as you can tell by my title, I'm fat.  Morbidly Obese might be a better term for my current weight.  I'm not proud of it but I have no problem with saying it like it is.  It's kind of funny how uncomfortable people get when a fat person makes fat jokes about themselves.  I have no problem laughing about my love of food and size, but I see the looks on others faces and they don't know whether to laugh or not.  It's rather awkward.  I just want them to laugh along with me.

If you found this blog and are hoping for some interesting weight loss info, you might be sorely disappointed. I created this as kind of an online diary.  I plan on sharing my loves, hopes, goals, dreams and life on these pages, like a diary.  Writing in diaries was a longtime obsession of mine from childhood until my later twenties when raising children took a priority.  I still took the time to jot down cute or humorous stories about my kids or vacations we went on but daily entries in a journal became tedious and just another chore that needed to be done.  So, it was time to quit.  Now that my daughters are adults and I have a lot more time, I thought I'd give blogging a try.  Why blog over writing things down in a journal?  My handwriting is atrocious!  Over the years it has gradually declined.  I blame working in a hospital.  I have to translate the scribbles of doctors and eventually I began to scribble too.  I spend a lot of time on my computer so typing comes much more naturally to me, so here I am!

Today I'll share with you some of my loves.  I have many.  You can probably guess one of them.  Yes, I love food!  I'm not a choosy eater.  I love all kinds, although I'm a little picky when it comes to veggies.  Fast food, deli food, restaurant foods, different ethnic foods and homemade.  I love them all!  In large quantities, because we all know if I don't get enough of my favorite foods now, they might not be available tomorrow...

Another thing I love, of course, is family.  I have two wonderful daughters and a very understanding, patient and long suffering husband.  I also have my Mom and 3 siblings all living in the area too.  So, I'm surrounded by loving family.  I'm very blessed.

Animals!  I love animals!  I currently have 3 cats and 2 dogs.  You'll be hearing about them in detail throughout my posts, because they are a big part of my crazy life.

Traveling is another love of mine that also falls under my hopes and dreams category.  I hope to share my trips I've been on and trips I hope to go on some day.

Cooking is one of my loves!  I'm not a gourmet cook but I like to try new recipes, which I find on shows I watch, blogs, facebook posts and so on. 

I love TV, which I watch way too much of and my DVR, which allows me to watch way too much TV.  We'll have to discuss some of our favorite shows, or you can read about me discussing mine. ;o)  

I also love reading.  So many books, so little time.  My favorites are mysteries.  I have many mystery authors I follow. I also like romances.  It's always nice to read a light, carefree, totally predictable romance.

One of my loves is computer games.  My favorite of all times is The Sims.  I've played it since it came out several years ago and have enjoyed The Sims, The Sims 2, The Sims 3 and will probably like the soon to be released Sims 4.  I will discuss this passion in more detail than you could ever want to read in the future, which makes me think of their next expansion for TS3, Into the Future!  Love those Sim games!

I also like some of the facebook games too, even though they are addicting and frustrating, at times!

Well, as you can see, I do like to rattle on sometimes.  So, I'll close now with the wish that you come back to see me again and share your thoughts with me.