Jana Says

Living life from cover to cover

Memories of a GenX childhood

by Jana 14 Comments

I grew up in the 80s. And I maintain that my childhood produced the greatest things ever. The proof is that most companies are rebooting pretty much everything that started when I was a kid. And even the reboots are crap compared to what we had. I wish that was just the old lady in me talking but really, it’s just true.

Because, let’s face it, it’s hard to get better than any of these:

The Oregon Trail. The best way to get out of class and score computer time on my school’s one computer. Also practice my buffalo killing skills ’cause you never know.

The Muppets. I go to no effort to hide my love of all things Muppet and it all stems from watching The Muppet Show on Monday nights with my dad when I was a kid. Fun fact: I got a Scooter doll when I was finally potty trained. You’re welcome for that information.
Fraggle Rock. I still can’t look at a radish without making a Fraggle comment and I can name all the main Fraggles faster than I can name state capitals. #noshame
Mike and Ike. My mom was in a bowling league and I had to go to the little daycare thing they had. I hated it and my mom bribed me with these. I might still get them today and they still remind me of bowling.
Saturday morning cartoons. The Smurfs, Gummi Bears, the Snorks, Shirt Tails, and so many others. Cartoons in my day trump all the shit they have now.
You Can’t Do That on Television. The originator of green slime and the beginning of Alanis Morisette’s career. You’re welcome, kids today.
Charm necklaces. How I loved, and rocked the shit, out of charm necklaces. I had so many charms and the ones with the bells were my favorite! They complimented my pastel colored Swatch watch spectacularly. Why haven’t these come back?
Friendship pins. Were your Keds decorated with safety pins lined with beads so small you could barely pick them up sometimes? Mine were. And it was beautiful.
Sweet Pickles books. My favorite books as a kid, and my parents bought me the whole set two years ago for Hanukkah and I read them with my daughter who now reads them to her dolls. And the cycle continues. Which is fine because they who’ve really good lessons and are fun to read. This one was and is my favorite.
The Hamburgler, Grimace, the Fry Guys. Say what you want about the food, but McDonald’s knew what the hell they were doing with those characters. I think we need a campaign to bring them back. Who’s with me?
The greatest TV theme songs ever. My favorites? The Dukes of Hazzard and Greatest American Hero. And that’s just the beginning. I could do a whole post on 80s theme songs.

Also included but not pictured: The Great Space Coaster, The Magic Garden, Lite Brite, Popples, bubble tape, Dolly Pops, Cabbage Patch Kids, Garbage Pail Kids, banana clips (that I could never wear because of my ridiculously thick hair), and jelly shoes.

What do you guys think? What are some things from the 80s that trump all the crap they have now?

Friday favorites: volume 15?

by Jana 11 Comments

How the hell is it August? Wasn’t it just June like yesterday? No? Well, that’s okay because August means school starts soon and while I love my daughter, if she doesn’t get out of my house, I’m going to lose my mind. And is it wrong that I’m already planning what I’m going to do the first day she’s back at school? (Pedicure and nap, if you were wondering.)

That said, it’s time for another round of Friday favorites except I don’t know exactly what edition this is because I have become an blogging slacker as of late (and I apologize to my blogger friends for the lack of commenting I’ve been doing. I can’t get my shit together long enough to write a comment). So I’m picking edition 15 because it seems like a good choice and maybe an approximate value. Math has never been my strength.

Favorite song

Rise Against, Audience of One. There are not enough words for how much I love this song. I feel music the way some people feel paintings or poetry and this song brings out all the emotions for me. It’s not a life changing song but it definitely changes my mood each time I listen (also, I love that it’s one of those songs that about one thing but it can be interpreted to mean so much more)

Favorite frugal find

I am in the midst of a makeup bag overhaul and when I was cleaning out old lipgloss, eye shadow, and the like, I realized I had 6 MAC items that desperately needed to go. Enter MAC’s Back To MAC recycling program where if you return 6 (or more) eligible items, you get to pick out a free item (lipstick/gloss, eye shadow, or something else I’m not remembering). I purchased new lipgloss recently but I definitely needed an eye shadow refresher. And I got one. For free.photo (26)

Favorite book/TV thing

Rick Springfield, “Jessie’s Girl” singer extraordinaire, wrote a memoir. So of course I have to read it. And I picked it up from the library yesterday. Along with some others:

I have no favorite TV thing this week because quite frankly, I’m pissed with TV. More specifically, I’m annoyed with On Demand And Netflix. Because none of them are showing any of the episodes of any show I need to catch up on. Complete first world problem but that’s okay because Ebola is no joke and I’ll take no new episodes of The Following on On Demand any day.

Favorite internet reads

So many good finds on the internet this week (and weeks past. Big ups to Pocket for being a great place to store these posts so I can use them). Like this post on Mashable about 90s song that are darker than you think. Some I knew, some I didn’t. Or this post on how to quickly travel through all 50 states (if I had a bucket list, this would be on it). Or if you need to waste kill some time, take this quiz, Which 80s Cartoon Are You? (I got Muppet Babies, which, given my Muppets obsession, is perfect). You can also check out this post I wrote on Monday detailing promises I made to my friends without kids. 

Favorite quote

Favorite funnies

I shed a golden retriever every day

Bryan is genius.
This made me laugh so hard
It’s better that we get along
It’s all about the tactic

 

Have a great weekend y’all! If you need me, I’ll be on my couch, binge watching the final 6 episodes of The Killing. 

Linking up with AmandaFriday Favorites

 

Friday favorites, volume 9

by Jana 17 Comments

Back for another round of Friday favorites. 

I’m trying to come up with a set list of topics for my Friday posts. I think I’ve narrowed it down to: song, frugal find, internet thing, book/TV thing, and funnies. I like consistency and doing it this way will make it easier for me to write and you all to read. I also feel like I can throw in a random bit of extra whenever it crops up. What do you guys think?

Let’s get to it and see how the topics all work together:

Favorite song

I like a good, sappy love song as much as the next person. But what I really like is when a band can take a sappy love song and put a rock edge to it. That’s what Adelita’s Way did with their song Alive. I heard this song for the first time a few weeks ago via my Shinedown Spotify radio station and like last week’s song, Amaryllis, it just hit me. To me, this is what a love song SHOULD sound like. 

Have a listen:


 Favorite frugal find

This week’s frugal find wasn’t so much a find as it was an accident. I had made an appointment to get my dogs groomed and yesterday afternoon, I got a call that there was a cancellation and our groomer could fit us in early. Hooray for that because my guys desperately needed a haircut. However, our groomer is 30 minutes from our house and  it didn’t make sense to keep driving back and forth so we wanted to stay near the groomer. Makes sense, right?

Well, our typical go-to free activities were all unavailable. The library is closed on Thursdays, it’s too humid for the park, and my friend with a pool was at the beach.Miraculously I remembered that we have another friend that lives nearby and, amazingly enough, she was home. My daughter got to spend the afternoon with her daughter (BFFs since they were infants in daycare), I got to hang with a friend, and we didn’t spend a dime. Hooray for me actually remembering something at a convenient time!

Favorite internet thing

When I don’t thoroughly hate the internet, I absolutely love it. Mostly because of gems like Shane, the Walmart deli guy. I don’t even care if it’s fake. Because someone is funny enough to do stuff like this (click on the picture for link to the whole post):

walmart-some-assembly-required

Favorite book/TV thing

I just started reading Emily Giffin’s new book, The One & Only and the best I can say about it so far is that it is exactly what I expect from an Emily Giffin book. I also discovered a book on my Kindle app, Real Happy Family, which I must have downloaded when it was offered for free and then forgot about. But I’m glad I rediscovered it; it’s turning out to be a great book so far! Definitely an easy read but a good story. Different. Which is nice.

As far as TV, I found out that two of my favorite shows are coming back in August on back to back days. The Killing, which now has all of its new episodes on Netflix, premiers August 1 and Hell on Wheels premiers August 2. For the record, both of those are absolutely binge worthy. And both are on Netflix. 

And, just in case you’re still not sure, here are two reasons to watch the shows:

Anson Mount, from Hell on Wheels. Only he and Charlie Hunnam make facial hair look good.
Anson Mount, from Hell on Wheels. Only he and Charlie Hunnam make facial hair look good.
Detective Holder from The Killing. One of my favorite characters on TV. Period. And not bad to look at.
Detective Holder from The Killing. One of my favorite characters on TV. Period. And not bad to look at

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite funnies

How I feel about some people lately

Thankfully I found him. 

269759

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story of my life 

I don’t know why this is a teenager post because I’m pretty sure they don’t really know what body fat is. I, however, do and this is completely true. I’m basically looking to become the Robin Hood of fat. As in, I’m rich with body fat and I’m happy to donate some to the poor.

body fat

 

 

 

 

 

 

And simply because a good fart joke is always funny

farts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday and have a great weekend! See you back here on Monday! And, linking up with Amanda, per usual.

Friday Favorites 

Humpday Confessions: TV edition

by Jana 37 Comments

I’m so excited for my first Humpday Confession here on Jana Says. Yes, I know there are published posts but this is the first one I’ve written with my two blogs merged. It feels good. Not like “come home to a clean house with Matt Damon waiting to take me to dinner” good, but good.

That’s enough about that.

Let’s get to confessing.

Vodka and Soda

To start, I need to say that I enjoy how Ian Somerhalder is now the face of Humpday confessions. Ryan Gosling is just fine but Boone from LOST? Better. Also, I know he’s on some vampire show but he will forever be Boone. Like NPH will always be Doogie Howser.

While we’re on the subject of TV shows, does anyone else automatically think of gangs conducting illicit activities every time they see a group of bikers (motorcycles, not bicycles) ride by? I totally do and I live off a road where many, many bikers ride. What I imagine those guys–who are most likely harmless–doing is probably fitting for an episode of Sons of Anarchy (Call me, Kurt Sutter. Let’s talk scripts.)

And did anyone else watch Rising Star? I confess that I totally didn’t want to but got sucked in watching it, especially after this one kid from Long Island sang and he was incredible. I still won’t download the app and actually vote but this little message it gave my husband will keep me watching:

Apparently this edition is all about TV so let’s keep going.

I don’t watch much reality TV because mostly it sucks but when I do, I watch 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom (and I’m ecstatic it’s on for another season #noshame), and I confess I am completely mesmerized by the Duggars. As in, I want to stop watching 19 Kids and Counting because Jim Bob is the worst and it’s so painfully constructed and fake and but I can’t. They’re fascinating. I have to see what they do next.

I confess that I realize my taste in reality programing makes me essentially a 17 year old girl.

I confess I’m absolutely fine with that.

You know what else starts this week? Girl Meets World. Or, as I’m calling it, Cory and Topanga Had a Kid and Now There’s A New Show. I confess I’ve totally been following along for the last year, including watching all the trailers and getting little girl excited over the updates in my FB news feed.

I also confess that I stop my life many days to watch the reruns of Boy Meets World on MTV2. #noshame

And for my final confession, I will say that when a show I want to watch but am behind on doesn’t have the episodes on On Demand, I get stabby. Especially if it’s a show I want to keep binge watching but can’t because I’d have to miss essential beginning of the season episodes. Also, I’m starting to think that binge watching shows is my new hobby. And another also, I found this on BuzzFeed about 25 binge worthy shows you need to watch from the beginning.

To bring it back to the beginning, LOST is #5 on the list. Proving that Ian > Ryan. So kudos to you, Kathy. Excellent choice (even though I know someone made the button for you and I totally give her kudos as well but you made the decision to keep it so you get props).

Any TV confessions you’d like to share? It’s okay. This is a safe place. Confess away.

Linking up with Kathy from Vodka and Soda, as usual.

 

Carnival of Personal Finance #427: The Netflix binge watching edition

by Jana 16 Comments

Although I don’t write a personal finance site, many of my friends do so I’m giving them a hand today by hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance. Hope you enjoy it!

My name is Jana and I am a binge watcher. I blame Netflix and its readily available programming for this problem. Because before this entered my life, I watched TV like a normal person. I watched one regularly scheduled episode of a few shows and then moved on with my day.

Now, thanks to Netflix, I can’t do that anymore. No. Now I must watch as many episodes as I possibly can in one day, often to the point of sleeping less because I need just. One. More. Episode.

It’s terrible. In the last year, I’ve made it through approximately 9 shows from start to finish (by finish, I really mean “what’s streaming on Netflix and then also watching the current season live”) including Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Killing. And I want my life back.

Yet, I kind of don’t. You see, not only does Netflix currently have several of my all-time favorite shows available for my immediate viewing pleasure (and these shows are not in syndication and are also kind of hard to find in reruns) but binge watching saves me money. Lots and lots of money.

Because it’s hard to spend money when you don’t leave your house and you’re too engrossed in the happenings of SAMCRO or cheering for the Dillon Panthers to bother to shop online. It also helps that there are dozens of great blog posts that also encourage me to be mindful of my money.

And I’m pleased to present them in this edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance (along with my favorite Netflix shows to binge watch).

Editor’s Picks

First, my favorite show of all time:

Freaks-Geeks
If you haven’t seen this show yet, cease what you’re doing and watch it.

Now, the editor’s picks. These posts stood out for me among the wonderful posts that were submitted for a number of reasons and I highly recommend that you check them out:

  • Sam from The New Business Blog presents Online Marketing Tips for the Entrepreneur, and says, “We put together a list of some excellent online marketing tips that every entrepreneur can use to build client lists, attract visitors to their websites and increase profits.”
  • Marissa from Thirty Six Months presents Things You Didn’t Know About Fall Fashion, and says, “Are you heading to the mall this fall? Here are some very interesting facts about shopping habits this fall.”
  • Matt Becker from Mom and Dad Money presents Beware the Source of Your Financial Advice, and says, “When it comes to financial advice, there’s so much BS out there and it makes me sick. When it comes down to it, you’re the only one who truly has your best interests at heart. There are people who can help you make your goals a reality, but you have to understand that there are likely even more who are much more interested in simply taking your money and running. And the financial services industry is one of the worst in this respect.”
  • Jason Hull from Hull Financial Planning presents The One Skill You Can Teach Your Children to Potentially Save Them Tens of Thousands of Dollars, and says, “Parents – teach your children this, and it can save them an enormous amount of money when they’re adults.”
  • Adam Kamerer from Stop Worrying About Money presents 5 Christmas Gift Ideas For Friends and Family Who Struggle With Money, and says, “No one likes seeing family or friends struggle under mountains of debt and other financial woes. It is even worse when Christmas rolls around.”

 

The Rest

Remember, it might not be an editor’s pick but these posts are all worth reading. And the shows are worth watching. I didn’t watch Orange Is the New Black in a weekend because it sucked.

Charlie Hunnam bonus: Undeclared is also on Netflix and he's on that show, too.
Charlie Hunnam bonus: Undeclared is also on Netflix and he’s on that show, too.
Never thought I'd like a Western-type show but it freaking rocks.
Never thought I’d like a Western-type show but it freaking rocks.
FNL
The only thing to ever make me enjoy football
No words. Just watch.
No words. Just watch.
Makes a mockery of fantasy football? Sign me up!
Makes a mockery of fantasy football? Sign me up!

 
Thanks to everyone who submitted a post for this edition of the carnival! It was a pleasure to read all your entries!

And just out of curiosity, what are you currently binge watching?

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