Friday Frets: Chiggers

 fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

If you have done much exploring in the great outdoors you have no doubt encountered the almost invisible beasts that attach when you aren't looking. These little guys live on grass and bushes and all it takes is the slight encounter to be plagued for days with relentless itching.

Unlike mosquitoes they don't go for the easy to get to bare skin. They search out the most inconvenient areas and bring an army to make life miserable. 

For years my children and I have been attacked every summer. Well this year I have found the secret weapon to win this war.

There are other choices but this is the only one I have found that actually works. I've tried both home remedies and over-the-counter medicines. 

  

Finding a Perfect Crossbody Canvas Handbag

 For a while now I have been looking for the ideal cross body bag.  I don't carry much with me day-to-day so I don't want a large bag. Specifically I was looking for something light weight and stylish. If you have been reading my blog you know I'm a programmer meaning most often I have some sort of computer in tow. Therefore, I don't need much additional baggage. I was leaning toward vintage canvas because it feels right with my casual daily lifestyle. 

While my husband and I were on a weekend trip recently, we stopped in this quaint little shop and I found it. The perfect solution! But of course while I was examining the options he calls from across the store and beckons me to taste test a new coffee the shop is featuring. From there my one-track mind completely forgot the bags.  It wasn't until we were miles away that my thoughts landed again on my find. Although I would have preferred to have given my money the small shop I am now at the mercy of the vast internet.

These are some options I have found. Now to compare and make a solid decision.

Myra Bag: Unisex-Old Howard Rugged Canvas Cross Body Bag

These are the bags that spoke to me. Not an exact replica of the bags that I saw in that shop but very is close. They have that vintage look and are the perfect size. The first image is the one I think I will go with. You can find a whole line of Myra Bags online. There is a style to match most anyone's casual life. You can find this exact one here.

Friday's Frets: Uhh-ers & Umm-ers

fret
  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

Silence is your friend!

I will be the first to admit that public speaking is not on my list of skills. As a matter of fact, personal speaking isn't a skill I excel at either. I say this as proof I have no right to critique anyone's speech but nonetheless I shall.

I am regularly punished with business meetings. There is rarely anything fun about them but probably the worst for me is if the leader of the meeting is an umm-er. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, an umm-er is someone that fears a silent break in speech so they fill it with ummmm or uhhhhh. Just let there be silence until you gather your thought. JUST LET THERE BE SILENCE!! It is most frustrating when the speaker isn't confident in the subject matter. In this case the um's and uh's flow freely often times to the point that the purpose of the speech is lost. Sometimes there are situations where the presenter is very familiar with the subject yet the uh's lead the audience to believe the opposite. It's my opinion that often these vocabulary destroyers don't even realize they fear silence.

Along the same subject, the more recent generations over use "like".  Every sentence you utter shouldn't contain this word and you definitely shouldn't use it more than once in the same sentence.

Another, don't end a sentence with "you know". If I knew then why are you telling me? 

Lastly, if the sentence is a question commit to the question. Don't start the sentence as a declaration and at the very last minute revert to a question. Example: 
NO: "Roses are always pink, correct?"
YES: "Are roses always pink?"

Welp that's my two cents.

Fretfully, Jessie

Podcast Addiction: S-Town

Podcast Addictions are my opinions on some of the podcasts to which I listen or have listened. I am in no way incentivized for these posts so you can be sure they are my true opinions.


Podcast Title: S-Town
Genre: Investigative Journalism
Host: Brian Reed
Producer:
Rating: This podcast is definitely meant for a mature audience. The subject matter is murder and there is foul language.
Star Rating: 5 stars

S-Town is probably one of the best serial podcasts I have experienced. It is a story of murder accusations made by an extremely colorful character, John B. McLemore. John shares his opinions of various scandals he feels are going on in his hometown (Woodstock, AL) with the host as they work together to investigate the possibilities.

Although the story of murder in a small town is interesting to me, I feel like this podcast gets it appeal from John McLemore. His personality is so very intriguing. I am especially drawn to his views because I have a son that battles similar eccentricities and life-threatening depression. It seems some with a very high IQ struggle to function in everyday life. As I listened to his interpretations of event and how he spends his free time, most of his characteristics I can relate back to my precious offspring. I'm fortunate my son's story doesn't end as Mr. McLemore's did but that is only due to a miracle.

Beware this podcast is one that is hard to pause. If you are one of those that can't put down a book once you start then you better be ready to invest some time before you start this podcast. There's a reason why it is a record breaking podcast!


What am I listening to now?

• My Favorite Murder
• Crawlspace

Expect some opinions on these very soon. 

Toodles,

Jessie

Podcast Addictions: Imagined Life

Podcast Addictions are my opinions on some of the podcasts to which I listen or have listened. I am in no way incentivized for these posts so you can be sure they are my true opinions.


For my very first "podcast addiction" post I chose a podcast I have listened to since its infancy and I have continued to find interesting. 

Imagined Life is a Wondery production. I have listened to many of the Wondery productions and they have never let me down. Wondery produces high-quality podcast. You won't fully appreciate the superiority until you have listened to a poor-quality podcast.


Imagined Life highlights the life events of someone famous in each podcast. This podcast series is made unique by the mystery factor. You aren’t told whose life you are learning about until the very end of the story.  Each broadcast is about an hour long with numerous clues. I enjoy the challenge of trying to figure out “who I am” before the end of the story. More often than not I don’t come up with the correct answer until it is divulged by the host.

Aside from the challenge I find many of these stories inspirational. It is nice to know that most everyone has struggled at some point in their life and many still have themselves very productive in society. The topic characters include authors, leaders, musicians, actors, inventors and a variety of others.

If you enjoy biographies and a challenge subscribe to Imagined Life. It will not disappoint.

If you want to find out a little more check out the Wondery website here.

Enjoy,
Jessie