✔ Amazon Prime 2013

Good afternoon! Yesterday was on heck of a day! Lots of big changes for us as a family. DirecTV called & I've been trying to upgrade to the Genie but every time I've tried, it "wasn't ready yet, call back in 3 days." That got real annoying & then I started looking at our bill. We were paying $125/mo & we didn't have ANY premium movie channels! No HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, Encore ... none of it. They even retired Game Lounge on me. $125/mo for what then?! Do you realize that's $1,500/yr for just regular TV? I mean we got all the channels like TNT & stuff, but we didn't subscribe to sports channels or ANY of the extras. $1,500 a year for ???. Now I've been a DirecTV customer for about 2 decades now. Same with Netflix, but not quite as long. Netflix was running me $13/mo & we hardly ever used it. EVER. That's $156/yr. Total cost for TV? 1,656/yr. Pete & I never watch movies, we watch MAYBE 1 TV show per night ... the cost just couldn't be justified anymore, especially with Pete only making about half of what he used to. I called Pete & we chatted about this, then Kyle called, I cleaned the house, got the mail, chatted w/ Chris, Ann-Marie, Pete, & Sarah, surfed eBay, picked Kyle up from school & had him drive home on 380 (his 1st highway driving & he did great!), chatted w/ Ann-Marie & Chris some more, was GOING to check facebook but instead only took my game turns & spent the rest of the night making major changes. I shut down my Netflix account, shut down DirecTV, & looked at other options. We're getting a digital converter box for local channels & after MUCH research on my options for the shows we watch on paid channels such as Dallas on TNT, I found that Hulu+ is #1. Well, I know nothing at all about Hulu+, but #2 on the list was Amazon Prime. Now I've been shopping w/ Amazon almost since it's inception, so I'm very familiar w/ Amazon & have never had a complaint w/ them. Amazon Prime is $79/yr & includes FREE 2 day shipping on all orders (no more having to hit $25 before getting free "standard" shipping), & we now have Amazon Prime Instant Video. What's great about this is that there are a LOT of TV shows & movies that are FREE. For example, I haven't seen Hunger Games yet & it's FREE. They also offer TV shows hot off the presses, so when it airs on TV, I can watch it on Prime. They also do the same with movies ... not all, but a lot of movies that are in theaters NOW are available to watch on Prime. The shows we like that DO cost money to watch are about $1.99 per episode & most movies I like are only $3.99. If you add up the cost of watching paid TV shows & movies at the rate we actually watch TV shows & movies, it's going to save us a LOT of money. Base savings before adding paid TV shows & movies (which won't be many), is a total savings of $1,577/yr! Another perk? I can watch Prime anywhere. On my PC, laptop, Wii, iPad Mini, iPhone 5 ... WOOHOO! $1,577/yr. To pay what we've BEEN paying for TV, we'd have to watch 792 PAID TV shows every year. HA! We barely watch 365 of them in a year. Movies? 395 of them every year. Nope ... lucky to watch SIX. Every single TV show we had cued in our DVR is available on Prime. They have it all. The ONLY show they don't seem to have is dharma & Greg. I don't even watch that show. You can buy the DVDs, but it's so far the only show not available to watch instantly. I'm really happy w/ the change & even more happy w/ the savings. I can't wait until DirecTV calls me ... "Why did you leave? It's been 20 years!" ... Well, unless you can drop my bill to $79/yr. ... yeah, didn't think so. We can take that dish off our roof now too! The only problem I'm having now is choosing a GOOD converter box. There are SO many choices & the best one isn't available on Amazon, the 2nd best one had a review that made me run, so I'm still searching for a good box for local channels. It would be nice to watch the local news now & then & some of the shows we watch are on local channels such as 2½ Men, Big Bang, etc. SO ... if you're looking to save some money & you currently have cable or satellite, I STRONGLY suggest you switch to Amazon Prime. You just can't go wrong w/ the savings! Oh, did I mention no commercials? For $1,500/yr I had more commercials than I knew what to do with! I spent all last night setting up my watch list ... 1st I went through all the movies, (not all, there are THOUSANDS), then I went through the TV shows we watch ... researched all the shows as far as what season they're in, when the next season starts, etc. Found out that a bunch of our shows has been cancelled. Darn! Yesterday's Sims game was Lakeside Mansion by Curtis Paradis & my Sim was Nikki Schmidt who is in the university & going to classes. HAPPY JUNE! My 47th birthday is in a couple weeks & summer is soon after that! This morning I took the dogs out, re-wrote my schedule due to an AOL update, the addition of Amazon Prime, & the removal of Netflix & DirecTV. I like the new schedule. :) I did my banking for this paycheck, had Kyle drive himself to school, & on the way he bought me a chocolate frosted donut hole for breakfast. City Council Meeting Tuesday @ 7:p.

Barista:

Beautifully optimized for the iPhone 5 display, Barista™ is an app that will help you create cafe-quality espresso at home. It's a personal, portable tutor aimed at equipping you with the knowledge you need to get the most out of your espresso machine.
Features include:
✔ Step-by-step instructions for the most common espresso beverages
✔ Beautifully shot HD video demonstrations of Espresso Machine Basics and two latte art techniques
✔ Tips such as selecting, storing and grinding coffee beans, tamping and extracting single and double shots, texturing milk, pouring latte art and more
✔ An Extraction Timer
✔ A Coffee Talk glossary of espresso-related terms and equipment
Featuring iPhone 5 optimized graphics, Barista takes you one big step closer to that perfect espresso.
Use the built-in camera to take photos of beverages and save them into categorized galleries so that you can track your progress as you improve.
==========================
What people have said about Barista:
"From the first shot I pulled after buying this app, my guests noticed a difference."
- Erik Hamilton ✭✭✭✭✭
"I used to work for the Big Green Coffee Monster...This app is great because it is helping me unlearn the bad things charbux taught me."
- phi1294, 5 stars ✭✭✭✭✭
"Very good app. I am a barista and I use this app to train others in becoming baristas too. ✭✭✭✭✭" (Wyatt Raymond via feedback)

fring:

Free Texting, Calls, Video and Group calls
* FREE VOICE & VIDEO CALLS
* FREE Group Calls (Voice / Video) with 4 friends at the same time
* FREE text messaging
* Low cost calls to mobiles and landlines using fringOut
* Use over Wifi, 3G, 4G, LTE
* Turn your iPod or iPad into a phone
THE BEST FREE CALLS AND GROUP CALLS, (VOICE / VIDEO CALLS)
Optimized for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
Group calling with friends family or colleagues on iPhone/iPod/iPad. Four friends on one screen can talk, hang out, collaborate (and even text if you don’t want anyone to hear you).
EASY TO USE- just like regular calling, but for free and with group video if you prefer to see your friends from wherever you are.
SAVE MONEY on calls to landlines and mobile phones anywhere in the world with fringOut. If you have family, friends or colleagues not yet on fring, buy fringOut credit or a subscription (via iTunes) to call any landline or mobile phone anywhere in the world for (nearly) free!
We’re always improving fring to better serve our users- so please share your valued feedback and ideas at: support@fring.com
Learn more at www.fring.com
Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/fring
Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/fring
Follow our blog at http://www.fring.com/blog

June might begin w/ crime scene tape but end w/ an invitation to sing karaoke. Practice your favorite song constantly until you're invited to leave the office.

Our response to any mistake affects the quality of the next moment. It's important to immediately admit & correct our mistakes so that they have no power over that next moment & we're empowered again.

Reasons to eat more fresh fruits & vegetables top 10:

1. Colorful-bright colors stimulate the appetite
2. Convenient & easy - many of them come w/ their own packaging
3. Fiber content
4. Low in calories
5. Helps to lower blood pressure
6. Loaded w/ vitamins
7. Contains many minerals, especially calcium for strong teeth & bones
8. Reduces the risk of heart disease
9. Versatile - can be prepared in a variety of ways
10. Variety - they offer a wide range of tastes & textures

Replace the coffee your office usually drinks w/ Folgers crystals.

Treat your eye area gently. This is the most delicate part of your face. Cleanse w/ care; blot, never rub.

Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Winnipeg the bear, who lived at the London Zoo when author A.A. Milne & his son visited, & Pooh the swan, who they had met while on vacation.

When replacing a carpet, check for local recyclers through the Carpet America Recovery Effort. More than 5 billion pounds (2.3 million tonnes) of carpeting & carpet pad go into landfills each year, but some carpeting & pads can be recycled & used in plastic products. www.carpetrecovery.org

You can tell the audience has been out drinking when you walk out & you notice everyone in the front row has type O eyes. -Johnny Carson 1976