Move over Sandra Lee

This weekend was a lazy one and I loved every second of it.  We stoked a fire in the living room every evening and watched Netflix like it was going out of style.  We did manage to squeeze in a family walk down on the SUNY campus Sunday and then a 40 minute workout afterwards so we didn't feel like complete couch potatoes.  Plus, Riley was on the mend.  Saturday morning we brought him into see the vet since he's been out of sorts lately and as it turns out his glands needed to be expressed internally as opposed to the external technique the groomer uses.  Apparently those bad boys were full and making things rather uncomfortable for him.  No sooner were they emptied, he was back to his snuggle-loving self.  I love when things work out.

Time Warner Sucks

Ever since Irene and the subsequent "tropical storm" which followed, Time Warner's service at our house sucks.  It started with very slow transition channel to channel, sometimes sitting on a black screen for a while and then whatever show was on would reappear.  We seriously thought something was going on with our television.  However, then we would flip on our digital streaming through Netflix and the internet connection would drop out sporadically.  The same would happen with our laptop.  One minute all the modem lights would be on and then the next minute they'd be blinking like a Christmas tree.  I'm not sure what's going on with Time Warner's service, but it better resolve itself and fast.

For what we pay per month for Time Warner service, it seriously has me thinking of switching to another provider.  But who?  Time Warner seems to have a monarchy on services where we live.  I could go to a satellite, but then I lose out on local news/weather channels.  Internet selection is very limited as well... Hughes Net advertises a lot, as does Verizon's DSL, but I don't know anyone using these items with much success.  I had my own run in with DSL back in Albany.  I was being billed for a service they never came to install, a service I was never able to use/activate.  Then I got the 3-month run around from their rude customer service reps.  Seriously, it took them 3 months to figure out that a.) the service was never installed and b.) I should be reimbursed. Rediculous.

So, what to do?  Any suggestions?

Ch-ch-changes

Lots of changes going on this week with things near and dear to my heart.  Now don't go asking if I'm expecting or anything like that.  I'm talking about Netflix and Facebook.  These are items I utilize almost daily and apparently they've been shaking some things up.

Pick-a-flick

The hubby and I drank the kool-aid and signed up for Netflix not that long ago.  We didn't join because of the commercialism behind it.  No, we joined because our local rental joint closed and it's much cheaper to rent movies via Netflix than to go to a movie once a week.  For about $10 a month we have unlimited access to movies and tv shows through our X-Box and we get a DVD in the mail every so many days, presuming we return the most recently received in a timely fashion.  Not too shabby. 

So while we're on the topic of Netflix, a friend and fellow blog reader asked me what the next five movies are in my DVD queue.  His were Sex in the City (Season 1, disc’s 1&2), Entourage, Mantle, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and The Butterfly Effect.  Now before you get all judgmental, this friend has a wife who is a pretty big Sex in the City fan so I can only imagine how that ended up at the top of the list.  I'm not familiar with Entourage or Mantle, but I absolutely loved Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kutcher.  Monty Python was  silly.  If you haven't yet seen it, watch for coconuts and the phrase “I shall fart in your general direction.”  Yes, I just said "fart" on my blog.

Four in One

Contrary to popular belief, I did not fall off the face of the earth.  I just took a much needed break for four wonderful days.  Did you miss me?  Well let me get you up to speed:

Saturday - The boat saga continues...

We spent about ten minutes on the boat where it actually ran fine.  We spent the next two hours starting and stalling our way back to the boat slip.  Apparently changing out the antisiphon valve was not the solution.  On a happier note, we walked up to main street and found a cute little place that makes homemade ice cream. The chocolate peanut butter cup was to die for.  The rest of the afternoon was spent helping friends of ours load hay into two tractor trailers.  It was a good amount of exercise which further justified additional ice cream consumption in the evening.

Sunday - Movies, dinner and smore...

The weatherman promised Sunday would not be a total washout.  Just "keep an eye on the sky" he said.  "Spotty showers" was the forecast.  What a load of bologna.  It was a complete and utter wash out until about six o'clock.  So we watched Netflix (Crazies and RED are certainly recommended) and then went out to dinner with Jen and Aaron.  Because it had finally cleared up, we invited them back to enjoy making smores on our firepit.  A perfect ending to an otherwise nondescript day.