Apps I Use

When Smartphones first came out I thought.. what do I need with a smartphone? People who know me know that I hate to talk on the phone. Hate it. If you need me, text me. You'll get an answer 99% of the time. Call me and... if I know who it is I might answer. I mean, I always answer when Marvin calls (that's a rare thing, he better appreciate it!). But my family mostly just sends me a text. SO... I didn't think there was any need to do more than absolutely necessary with my phone. For awhile I didn't even have a cellphone and people would just communicate with me via Facebook or my mom's phone. That became sort of inconvenient and my parents got me a very basic phone. But then... the grandbabies started coming and I knew I was going to want to be able to video chat with them so I took the smartphone plunge. I got the most basic smartphone with the smallest amount of storage possible because I had no concept of what I would do with it. It didn't take long for me to figure out I wanted MORE MORE MORE on my phone. There's literally an app for everything and soon my phone usage far outweighed my laptop usage. Once I upgraded to a phone with a lot of space on it, there was no turning back. You literally never see me without my phone. It's another appendage. I sleep with it right beside me. If the battery gets below 40% I get nervous. I use my phone constantly and almost always in place of my laptop. In fact, there are only two things that I absolutely have to use my laptop for - blogging and ancestry.com. Everything else I do on my phone.

So... I thought it might be fun to share with you the apps I use. I'd love for you to share your favorite apps with me (because I need MORE things to do with my phone!).

First and foremost in my phone usage are the basics - communication/contact with the outside world. I talk on the phone a lot more than I used to becasue Marvin and I talk twenty-eleven times a day. I also text back and forth with my kids, my sisters-in-law, Cosy's mama, Austin's girlfriend... and of course, Marvin. I keep in touch with my real life and cyber friends via Facebook and Instagram. If I had to pick only one app to use ever, it would be Instagram. I am addicted to Insta-Stories. I follow a lot of real life and cyber friends and I follow a lot of celebrities and other notable people. I get most of my news via Instagram. I love Instagram because it is more of what I love about Facebook (pictures) and less of the argumentative political bs. Not that those things aren't on Instagram... it's just in a smaller, less obtrusive manner.

I use FaceTime with Oliver and get to "see" him a couple of times a week. He goes about his business, bouncing on the furniture, playing, dancing around, etc, but he talks to me while he does it. Usually we talk in the evening while his mama is having time to herself and Cody is watching Oliver before bath and bedtime. Cosy and I use the video tool in Facebook Messenger to videochat with Marvin. He tried to talk to her on the phone last week and she got upset that she couldn't see him so he called right back in videochat. My sister-in-law in NYC is really good about posting pictures and videos of my nephew Finn to a family cloud so we can all see Finn living his best life. I use Snapchat very rarely and almost exclusively with Marvin. I just prefer Instagram.

In sort of a sub-topic, I take a lot of photos that I like to share by text, Instagram, Facebook, in the family photo groups for Oliver and Cosette and on my blog. I use my basic iPhone functions to edit most of my photos but I also like to use the Prisma app to get special effects for my photos. I use an app called TouchNote to create postcards to send via snailmail to people like my grandmother. Touchnote prints your photo on a postcard with the message and address that you provide. They provide the postage and mail it to your desired location at the cost of about $2 per postcard. To me, that's a great bargain. I also enjoy using the Bitmoji app to create emojis of myself that I use in texts (mostly to Marvin).

Since Trump was elected and the United States became such an angry, divisive place, I have almost completely stopped watching or reading the news. I just can't stand it. I can't handle all the spin and fake news and things that are taken out of context to present one political stance over another. Instead of following any American news sources, I go to the Daily Mail app from the UK. It's maybe two steps removed from the National Enquirer. It's a lot of celebrity news and it's often poorly written and I DON'T CARE. It's news-lite for me. I get the basic gist of what's happening in the world plus lots of news on the Royal Family and if there's ever a news topic that I feel like I need to get more information on, I will investigate via more serious, reputable news sources. For the most part though, the Daily Mail is all I need.

I have been working on learning Italian since the beginning of 2016. I really have no reasonable intention of traveling to Italy... I mean, if someone offers me a trip, I wouldn't turn it down but it's way beyond any budgetary possibility for me currently. It would be physically difficult for me but... it's just always been a place that interests me. Learning Italian is my way of keeping my brain from turning to mush. I'm not GREAT at it but I am able to follow a few Italian speaking Instagram accounts and understand most of what they're saying. I use the Google Translate app to help with words or phrases that I'm not sure about.

I've also started learning Spanish because Oliver is learning Spanish since his mama's family is Mexican. Since Oliver is learning Spanish at the same time he's learning English, he doesn't really differentiate between languages. In other words... he is as likely to say something in Spanish as he is English so Nana needs to understand a little Spanish. I primarily use the Duolingo app for my language learning. It's easy and user friendly and free (unless you want to use the premium program but I don't.) I also use the Memrise app for this and it is also user friendly and honestly... it is much more in depth than Duolingo. I had to get about six months into Italian before I was able to be consistent with the Memrise app but... they're both free and fun to use.

In the same category as "keeping my brain from turning to mush", I also use the Lumosity app. It gives you three different games to play each day that help with your memory, agility, problem solving, etc. Lumosity games can be hard but I guess that's sort of the point. My memory is really, really poor and I feel like Lumosity is helping improve it... or at least keeping it from getting worse. Marvin and I play a trivia game that I have mentioned here before - HQ. They have one or two live challenges every day where you answer questions to win a share of the jackpot for that particular game. Usually it's 12 questions and usually the jackpot is $5000 but it can be much higher and they sometimes ask fewer questions. On Fridays you are able to see your friends' answers - which helps a lot if you have smart friends. For many games Marvin and I play together either in person or over the phone. If you try the HQ app, sign up with my username, heathergant and I will get an extra life to use in a game. I have won the game twice for a grand total of $1.16 in winnings. Marvin has won three times and has gotten bigger prizes. I have a friend who has won over $300. So it can vary. I don't play for the winnings as much as I play for the fun of it and to challenge myself.

I also entertain myself by playing a few games that are just for fun. My favorites at the moment are Gardenscapes, Fishdom and Farm Heroes Saga. There is a Sudoku app that I play from time to time but I've gotten such a high score on it that it's practically impossible for me to beat it now... which is frustrating. I have an app called Talking Tom on my phone for Cosy. It's a cat that you can punch, tickle, feed... and he repeats what you say. She is really adept at navigating my phone and finding what she wants to play.

Cosy also really enjoys watching YouTube videos. Her current favorites are toy opening videos. She sometimes watches via the YouTube app on my phone. I also use the YouTube app via chromecast on Marvin's tv. When he's at work I watch YouTube videos.

Marvin and I play the Streak game on the ESPN Fantasy app. You pick who you think will win in various sporting events. Today you got to pick if the winner of the Coney Island Hot Dog eating contest would eat more than 70 hot dogs or not. I picked correctly. The next event I picked was the baseball game between Tampa Bay and Miami. Usually I'm clueless and it's just a blind guess but it's fun to compete with Marvin on it.

An app that is really helpful during the time I spend with Marvin is Shazam. You click a button and it will identify the song you're hearing and for most songs will give you the lyrics. This helps me because Marvin listens to a lot of music that I don't know... or don't know well enough to sing along to. I look up the song, sing along with the lyrics and it makes car-aoke a lot more fun!

I use other things like the Waze app to get directions (like a GPS). It also will let you know about traffic conditions along your route, things like if there is an accident or construction OR if perhaps you need to be careful about obeying the speed limit (wink,wink). I use the Amazon app for purchases and... I use the Google app to google/fact check/expand my knowledge on things.

I hope you enjoyed this summary of the apps I use... I'd love to hear what you're using. Comment below or on my blog link on Facebook. Hope you're having a fabulous Fourth. Marvin is napping / watching baseball. I'm about to join him in one or more of those activities. Love and hugs, y'all!

What I'm Watching - TV Tuesday

Greetings from your friendly local couch potato! Hope this finds you all well. If you're looking for something to watch, I thought I'd share my latest Netflix/Amazon Prime/ You Tube watching. These are in no particular order but just as I remember them (😂) I'll also give you my opinion about watching as a couple or strictly Chick-Flick time, according to what I think my guy would or would not enjoy.

the movie Lady Bird - (Amazon Prime) this was an Oscar winner last year and for once, I totally agree. It's a sweet coming of age story about the relationship between a mother and daughter. Not at all about Lady Bird Johnson (yep, that's what I thought). Definitely worth watching!

The Breakup Girl - (also Amazon Prime) about a family coming to terms with their father's illness. The relationships between sisters - which is not something that I normally relate to but this was a great movie.

If I Were You - (Amazon Prime) about the relationship between a wife and her husband's mistress. It's one of those situational comedy type movies that... it's cute in places and a stretch in place but I enjoyed it. Marvin would not have. Actually... out of these three, Marvin would have maybe only liked the first. Maybe. Probably not.

The Staircase (Netflix) this is a true crime documentary about a woman who falls down the stairs. Marvin wants to watch it so I'm not giving away any more details than that. It's very good. I totally enjoyed it. I think it's a great one to watch as a couple but alas, we did not.

Florence Foster Jenkins (Amazon Prime) true story - movie about a woman who lived from 1868-1944 who was a terrible singer but thought she was good. Title character played by Meryl Streep. Hugh Grant plays her partner. At the surface you think it's going to be about a woman with money who everyone just coddled but then you see the different layers involved and why her partner allowed her to think she was good. I did a little additional internet research on her but I would recommend waiting to do that until AFTER you watch the movie. Pretty exclusively a chick flick, I think.

The Last Post (Amazon Prime) series about a British Army post in the Mid East (as in Saudi Arabia but not) in the 1960's focusing mostly on the families that are stationed there. So... on the surface it seems like a guy thing but it's really more of a girl thing. Graphic in parts, strong language. It ended way too soon for my taste so I hope there's another season coming.

Kate - The Making of  A Modern Queen (Amazon Prime) for those who love the Royals, which I do. It's a cheesy little documentary about Kate which... maybe didn't really have anything new in it necessarily but I rather enjoyed it. Chick flick exclusively.

Sprinkle of Glitter weekly vlog- (You Tube). Speaking of Royals... Louise Pentland went to a garden party at Buckingham Palace last week. She was really excited which... I mean, she recently interviewed Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and popped the button off of her skirt meeting Prince Charles but she still manages to keep her sense of wonder and excitement going to Buckingham Palace. I think she's worth a view just for that! Marvin definitely does not understand my fascination with British YouTubers and I'm hard pressed to explain it other than I just have a natural curiosity about how other people live.

What have you seen recently that you have particularly enjoyed?

What I'm Watching With My Fella

I have a lot of down time... a lot of "don't feel well enough to do anything except rest" time and that means I watch a lot of tv. Since I hang out with my fella on his "weekend" we also do a lot of tv watching together. I'm not exactly the kind of girl that he can go roller blading or mountain climbing with... so tv watching is our jam.

He discovered (and I realized) that I have missed out on a LOT of movie standards that most people of our generation have seen. I can only say that I have been single for most of my adult life and have been too busy raising kids and working to watch a lot of movies. Marvin has made it his mission to educate me on those movies / tv shows that he thinks I should have seen. Here are a few that we have watched together and my thoughts on them:

• Silence of the Lambs  - glad to finally understand the references to this movie and there are SO MANY. It was suspenseful and interesting... but not my favorite movie ever, for sure.
• Sling Blade  - worth watching just for the amazing voice that Billy Bob Thornton gives to his character. So many great, great lines in this movie! 
• Pulp Fiction - not my favorite. I found it really confusing and Marvin had to sort of reconstruct it to help me understand. I would be embarrassed that I needed help but it's like all the times that my niece Jamie has had to explain Disney movies to me. Sometimes I just don't get it.
• Shawshank Redemption - I love a movie that gives you closure. I felt like this was such a great story and I loved the ending.
• About Time - this one had us both in tears, like, a pile of kleenexes stacked up between us tears. It's the sweetest story but I'm not going to give you the plot, I'm going to just say, go watch it! 
• Safety Not Guaranteed - it was a bit science fiction, a bit chick flick. It had a really sweet story line and I think you would like it. 

He has also introduced me to several television shows that he enjoyed and we have watched them together... or I have watched them and discussed them with him. Those include:

• Shameless (he was watching it in real time so I started at the beginning and binge watched until I caught up so we could watch new episodes together)
• The Wire - this is sort of a police drama but it's a good story line and the actors are really amazing. 
• Breaking Bad - Everyone knows what this one is about. I had sort of written it off but I'm glad I ended up watching it. It's one of those that makes you think. 
• Better Call Saul - It's the prequel to Breaking Bad. I'm not caught up to current on this show because it isn't up to date on Netflix yet and that's where I've watched it but so far, I think it's as good as, maybe better than Breaking Bad. 

We just recently finished watching a show set in Post-Katrina New Orleans, Treme. We love the show for a lot of reasons... it includes the music that he loves - sort of a jazz / blues / R&B / second line / funk genre- and artists that he loves and I have come to love like the guy we saw in concert on New Year's Eve, Tab Benoit (pronounced Ben-wah).  Treme delves into a lot of the New Orleans traditions such as Mardi Gras and the Mardi Gras Indians - I could do a whole post on my fascination with the Mardi Gras Indians. It includes a lot of footage of New Orleans food. Treme gives you more of an inside look on life in Post Katrina New Orleans and although it is fictionalized, a lot of what they show is based on true stories and things that did happen. It's been such an enjoyable show. We watched it on Amazon Prime Video, I'm not sure where else you might find it but if you're looking for something to binge watch, Treme is a good 'un.

We have also discovered / enjoyed a number of programs together... some of my favorites have been:

• Black Mirror (although, trust me, you need to watch this with someone because you're going to need to have a little debriefing, therapy, or discussion afterwards)
• Big Mouth - it's animated and I'm not a fan of anything animated but this show is about puberty and it is HILARIOUS. Very honest and a bit graphic so, maybe don't watch it with kids, at least not little ones. 

Marvin is a huge... HYUUUUUJJJJJJ!... music fan. He's worked in radio for a long time, although he is currently at a sports talk radio station, he has worked for music stations in the past which exposed him to a lot of music that you might otherwise miss. He loves such a wide spectrum of music and he loves introducing me to things that he enjoys. He fixed up an iPod for me with over 3,000 songs... and he even included some of my favorite musical theater for my listening pleasure! Sometimes we fall down this rabbit hole of watching music videos, usually on YouTube and although I don't always love the music he shows me, I love his passion for music. I love seeing things that excite him and hearing the stories behind the music and learning what makes it special for him.

Speaking of YouTube... Marvin made the switch from cable to YouTube TV last fall. YouTube TV offers most of the channels he had on cable for a fraction of the price. The only thing they didn't have was the MLB (major league baseball) channel, which my guy watches every night to fall asleep during baseball season. They finally added MLB network this Spring and he was all set! At my house we still have satellite tv but honestly, it is so rare for me to watch broadcast channels in real time. Mostly I watch Netflix or Amazon Prime or YouTube. On the odd occasion I watch broadcast tv, it's usually something I've recorded. I think I could easily live without satellite and I wonder how far away we are from doing away with that kind of programming altogether. It's as outdated as land-line phones now. Not an ad for YouTube TV but I think it's worth checking out if you're trying to spend a little less money on  your tv viewing.

I'm interested in knowing what you're watching... especially what you watch with your significant other. Leave a comment here or back on my Facebook post about this blog entry! Love and hugs, y'all!