It is that time again folks, time to talk all about my immense love for Modern Family.  Of course this week that I am inspired to write about it they show a rerun, but that’s okay!  That is why we have directv whole home dvr DVR so we can record and delete on a whim.  We know that they need their down time to let their creative minds wander to come up with more and more crazy shenanigans for us to watch every week.  Phil and Claire Dunphy are for me the perfect couple.  They are a more realistic couple as compared with some that they show on tv these days.  I like how they fight and make up and then fight with their kids and then make up again.  They have problems and funny things happen just like any real family would.  I really could go without Sophia Vergara’s voice on this show because sometimes it really starts to get on my nerves but I think it does suit her character’s personality so at least that works for them.

Don’t you think that these $6.95 prescription eyeglasses from zennioptical.com are gorgeous? My sister is always telling me that her grandson is constantly losing his glasses and at least once a month she is buying him a new pair. Every time she tells me about it I remind her about the great purchase price on prescription eyeglasses from zennioptical.

Zenni sells eyeglasses for children and adults, safety glasses, sports glasses, and sunglasses, all for incredibly cheap prices. You may think that because the prices are so cheap that you are only getting the frames, but the low price includes the lenses – even progressive or bifocal. Buying the glasses are really easy to do; when you go to the eye doctor and he (or she) writes the prescription for you, ask the eye doctor to include the pupillary distance on the prescription. Ask the doctor if you need to have prism or not. If you do not need prism in the prescription, then you just need to pick out the pair you like, send in the order with the prescription and before you know it you will have a brand new fashion-forward pair of prescription eyeglasses. The prices are so low that you would be really smart to buy a spare pair or two to keep in case you lose or break a pair.

I’m sure that I don’t have to tell you that the world’s economy is changing in leaps and bounds, and the Internet has a lot to do with those changes. No longer is the consumer stuck with only the merchandise in his corner Mom & Pop variety store or ordering from the now extinct Sears & Roebuck mail order catalog. (Did you realize that the Sears & Roebuck mail order catalog used to sell complete house kits?)

Using the Internet to bargain shop is becoming more commonplace than going downtown on a Saturday afternoon to shop. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Well I think that question is moot because good or bad, it is in all likelihood here to stay. Many of today’s consumers don’t have the time on their hands to go into town to shop, and don’t want to have to find a baby sitter to watch their children when they go out to shop. And most parents don’t want to take their kids shopping with them because the children become bored and cranky pretty easily.

Not long ago townsfolk were alarmed at the thought that Wal-Mart, the Super Giant Retailer was going to destroy the commercial centers of their towns. In many cases, that is exactly what happened. Now it is the Internet’s turn to destroy Wal-Mart. More consumers would rather just sit down at their computer and order something to be delivered to their homes (in many cases delivery is free) than drag their families down to the crowded Wal-Mart on a weekend. I know that is what I would rather do! Because the Internet commerce is growing and giving Wal-Mart (and Target, and all of the other big discount stores) a run for their money, the commercial center of town just might enjoy a revival of small, locally owned service-based stores. After all, once the customer buys the product at a bargain rate, there will often be a need to service, clean, or repair the item. Yes, there will be the opportunity to ship the item needing repair to someplace “out there” but for the most I think that people would prefer to get their items repaired locally. What do you think? Is Internet bargain shopping better for the economy, or worse?

And then he sent me the website uncommongoods.com, along with the link to Uncommon Goods source codes which is actually a page that leads you to discount codes for the uncommon goods website. I still haven’t figured out why the discount code is being called a source code. Could someone explain that one to me please?

And, knowing how much of a comic hero fan my hubby is, he sent me the link to SuperheroStuff promo codes which is a coupon page for the superherostuff.com website. I used to think my hubby was difficult to shop for, but with this superherostuff website, I think I could just close my eyes and play “pin the donkey” with that website and my hubby would be thrilled with anything I picked out!

Thanks for the help Jonny Boy!

I think that it is absolutely amazing how much technology has changed just in my own lifetime!  When I was in high school, personal computers were a thing of the future, and the Internet was probably still a gleam in some genius’s eye.  When I was looking at going to college, my parents refused to let me go to the college of my choice – they wanted me to live at home.  The college I wanted to go to was a five hour commute, one way!  Back then a girl needed her parent’s consent to go to college!  Needless to say, I didn’t get to go to the college I wanted to go to, and could not get the degree I wanted.

Oh, how things have changed since then!  Anyone can get access to many different University Degrees Online without any fear of commuting, or whether they have to live at home or on campus!  My fifty-year-old brother-in-law just got his Master of Public Health degree last spring, getting the degree from WaldenU.edu,  I’m proud of him for continuing his education on into his middle aged years!

I’ve never been one to want to be home alone.  I guess when I was a young child some traumatic event happened that ingrained abandonment fears or some kind of phobia about home invasions, I don’t know.  But whatever it is, I do not enjoy being home alone.  I get very anxious, to put it mildly.  So when Thomas was told by his company that he was going to have to travel one week a month, and that was non-negotiable I was one very unhappy camper!

Fortunately the company is giving Thomas a travel allowance generous enough that we could install a home security bear system.  I still don’t like being home alone, but when I have to be alone, I feel less vulnerable and try to distract myself by watching special “chick flick” shows on our Direct TV that I would not normally be able to watch if Thomas was home,  eating Edy’s vanilla caramel ice cream, and pamper myself by doing special beauty things like manicures, pedicures, dye my hair, avocado masks.  And sometimes I invite Laura over for a “ladies night” and sleep-over.

All of those things help to keep me distracted from the anxiety that I feel when I’m home alone.  Hopefully as the months go on the anxiety will slowly disappear.

My kids absolutely love everything on VH1. I know when I was growing up VH1 was kind of a fuddy duddy channel but they’ve really done a lot to rehab their image over the last few years. My son James likes all those Decade shows where they count down the best stuff from each year and my daughter likes some of the original programming. Ever since we got satellite from http://www.direct.tv last year that’s all they’ve wanted to watch…I was a little confused since they’re teenagers and I thought I was going to have to fight with them over watching MTV! At least they’re not watching anything too bad that I feel is giving them messages they shouldn’t be learning! I wish they’d get outside and do something physical a little more but at least when they’re in the house I know where they are and I don’t have to worry about who they’re hanging out with or what they’re doing. It’s better to have them here and inactive than out and about!

My wife and I love hiking, even though some people don’t really consider it a sport. It’s been a really great way to keep in shape these last few years and we usually get to travel to find a great hike which is an added bonus! Recently I subscribed us to Wireless internet which means we have mobile connections wherever we go. After a few weeks of spontaneously emailing friends from the car on the way to a hike to ask them to join we had a revelation: let’s start a hiking club! We know plenty of people who like it as much as we do and there’s no reason we can’t plan the! hikes since we’re doing so already, so we figured it’d be a great way to see our friends and get some exercise. My wife’s been joking around about designing team t-shirts and even having a listserv so everyone can communicate. I think it sounds like a lot of fun and I’m excited to get a group together to start hiking every weekend!