**CROSSPOST** Goals, Maturity, Life and Lessons

This is from my other blog.

 I used to think of age as a sign of maturity. Finally, at 62, I realize that maturity is a lifelong process. Most of us think of levels of maturity as a set of milestones that we reach at the ages of 13, 16, 18, 21, and so on.

What I have learned - finally - is that we become fully "mature" when we learn how to behave better. So, for all the young people out there, here are some milestones of behavior that we all should strive for (and it's a lifelong process):

When you 

• Become more of a peacemaker than a troublemaker
• Become better at loving and listening than being lewd and loud
• Learn to be more gracious and less rude
• Get better at being more thoughtful and giving than grasping and wanting
• Try being understanding as much as you want to be understood
• Try thinking deeply and critically rather than being quick at the mouth
• Listen more than you talk
• Can disagree with others without hating, belittling, or disrespecting them
• Practice more humility than indulging in pride
• Learn patience and endurance instead of going for the quick wins
• Appreciate beauty in the world without photobombing it with selfies
• Learn to slow down and savor moments and experiences without rushing to the next one
• Accept that you have some of the same flaws that you see in others
• Are happy in peace in stillness
• Can be grateful for every breath you take
• Can recognize when you are wrong and not gloat when you are right
• Realize how much your actions - no matter how small - can have a negative or positive impact 
• Want to be a better person today than you were yesterday - even though you can never be "perfect".

If I could go back in time and change one thing in my life, it would be to know what true maturity is. When I was young, if I had realized that I was building my past, I would have done so many things differently. 

Every breath is a blessing. Every mistake can be a lesson. We are here for such a short time, but we do matter. Live as if you know that.

Peace

--Free

Additional (little known?) Walmart Perks

I have a Walmart Plus membership but did not know about some of the additional perks that come with the membership. I will try to update this post (as a page) as I learn more. For now, here are some things to look into:

• First of all, depending on eligibility, you might be able to get the Walmart Plus membership at a steep discount. The normal cost is $98/yr or $12.95/mo (which works out to be $155.4 per year). The yearly membership is a decent savings.
• The discounted membership (Walmart Plus Assist) is $49/yr or $6.47/mo (which works out to $77.64 per year).  You can visit the link to see if you are eligible. If you are and already have a regular Plus membership, you will be switched over to the discounted cost. With the discounted membership, you still get all of the perks of a regular membership.
• As an alternative to Audible (which currently costs $7.95/mo for basic and $14.95/mo for Premium), Walmart has an eBook and audiobook service through Kobo.com. Subscription choices are for eBooks only, audiobooks only - each for $7.99/mo), or the combo read/listen for $9.99/mo). Each plan comes with a free trial for each of the plans (only for new subscribers). These prices are current at the time of this blog post and are only for U.S. plans. There are plans and prices for other locations that you can find on the website.
• The In-Home service is attached to having a Plus membership and is the one I'm most excited about but is not yet available in all locations (mine included). It offers deliveries with tips and delivery fees built into the $40/yr or $7/mo flat fee (which works out to be $84/yr so huge savings!). The additional service can include having items delivered inside your garage, brought to your doorstep, or even put away in your fridge. The delivery people are vetted associates. The service also makes returns easier. In my opinion, this service is perfect for the elderly and/or disabled.

I have already posted about some of the other Walmart Plus perks - free Paramount Plus, free Pluto.TV, etc. (BTW, I still can't get my Paramount to work 😞)

Peace

--Free  

Another Day, Another Ache

 Today, I ordered some arnica gel for my aches and pains. While I was at it, I thought of ordering this t-shirt but, nah. I resent that it's a young chick modeling it!

Young body & young skin. So I cropped off her head!

The good thing is, I wasn't upset in the least about having to order the arnica gel. I just hope it works as well (or at all!) as the reviewers claim. 

What prompted me to even think about getting the arnica is funny. I walked around the apartment for a couple of weeks seriously thinking I had a flu bug. Turns out, my body aches (apparently) because that is what aged bodies are best at... 

My little brother and his wife were over the other day for dinner. I made the mistake of sitting on the floor afterward as we talked and had coffee. My brother had to help me when I was ready to stand up again. (He's not laughing though because he's right behind me on the age train!)

So, yah, I'm gonna give the arnica a try. The Tylenol isn't working. The Ibuprofen works really well but I'm not supposed to take that - so, of course, it's the one that works.

Shout out to Tracie for the truth!

I can remember being young and spry. I really just could not understand why my mother walked and moved the way she did. For a long time, I thought it was because she had bunions (which I wasn't sure was a real thing back then!). Nope. Turns out, she was just aging. Her feet didn't hurt, her entire body ached. And now I am where she was. It always startles me to remember that this is my 7th decade in this temporary existence. I just said that out loud and... Wow!

The thing about aging is how it sneaks up on you in stages. One day, you notice the lines on your face, and then you notice you can't lose 10 pounds just by cutting out bread for the weekend. Finally, the aches and pains start haunting you. Two years ago, I could still sit down on the floor, cross-legged for hours. I had only a little bit of trouble getting up. Fast forward to the other day when the family and I had a 5-minute giggling spell over my brother trying to help me up while my SIL moved furniture out of the way.

My 11-year-old great-nephew and I were having one of our regular after-school phone conversations recently when he asked how old am. I told him and he thought about it for a minute, then he asked me not to die soon. My late sister and I raised his mom, so I am sort of a Grammy to him. When she died, he was just old enough to be sad but just young enough not to fully understand exactly why.

I tried to assure him that I had no plans to die soon, "the good Lord willing". I don't know if that made my sweetie pie feel any better but I'm now prepping for our future conversations on the subject.

Meanwhile, I am happy in my "old age" and still laugh at times like a silly kid and I really do feel like a teenager sometimes. I am still awed by the beauty I see in nature. There are nights when I stare up at the stars like a child seeing them for the first time. 

When I wake up tomorrow, stiff and creaky, I am going to be thankful for another day. I have been blessed to live long enough to know what true beauty is, and what does and doesn't matter in life. I have a family who loves me and friends who do too. Whenever I do die, my nephew will know that mine has been a good life.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** La Roche Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser

 I can't believe that I forgot to post this review (it's been 7 months since I started using this) so I am going to do a quickie...

The cleanser is, no doubt, the most gentle one I have ever used. It's even more gentle on my face than the oil cleansers I've loved. The best thing about this is that as gentle as it is, it cleans like crazy. 

The first time I used the product, I over-used it. I thought that because it felt so creamy and gentle I needed to use more. Also, the cream does not produce any foam. Bottom line: it only takes a small amount of the product to clean my entire face really well. And, as well as it cleans my skin, it doesn't dry it out. I don't have to make a mad dash afterward to apply a moisturizer. 

As with other LRP products, this one has a really good list of ingredients. There is no scent - another plus - and the texture is so lux that I feel pampered. And, for such a good product, I am surprised at the affordable price (about $17 for almost 14 ounces of product). It only takes less than a nickel-sized amount of the cream to clean my entire face. I have plenty of product left and I've been using this bottle for over 7 months.

Look at what's not in this product

By now, I have tried a few LRP products - the Cicaplast, the Double Repair with UV Sunscreen, and the Lipakar lotion. I really like the moisturizers except I do prefer Neutrogena's sunscreen over the LRP Double Repair, but I am sticking with this cleanser. 

This cleanser has an expiry date of 2025 and the way it lasts, I might still have some then!

Check out the ingredients

There's not a lot else to say about this. It feels great and doesn't irritate my grouchy, bipolar skin. Have I mentioned that it's odorless? It is and I love that.

Peace

--Free

P.S.: Believe it or not, this cleanser is currently cheaper at Amazon than at Walmart! Walmart seems to have it marked down from $25 to almost $19 currently. Amazon still has it for the $17 price that I paid months ago. Make sure to check the official LPR site though. I see that they have subscription prices.

A Surprisingly Tasty Tea

 I've been migrating away from coffee and sliding into becoming a tea drinker. (Don't get me wrong, I still love my coffee but am down to 1 or 2 4-oz cups of espresso in the morning.) 

The first tea I took on as a favorite quite a while back is the Maui Mango from Tiesta Tea. Remember my rant about that?

This tiny bag is too pricey
& the can is even more so

It's rather pricey so I really have to limit myself. I was looking for something similar - a tasty and aromatically pleasing tea with real fruit - when I found this:

The jar is bigger than it looks.

Thank goodness for translator apps - 
or I might know this is "food, food, and food!"

It's a dried fruit tea - I call it Berry Tea - and I did not like it at first. As a matter of fact, I was composing the angriest review ever right after making the first cup. I pushed the tea aside, still steeping, as I wrote about feeling duped. I said that I'd expected fruit tea and had gotten some kind of expensive fruit cake remnants! I was so mad and being so dramatic that I forgot what I was doing when I picked up my mug and took a second sip of the tea. And my tastebuds fell in love with what I now call liquid manna.

The tea smells amazing and looks pretty. Having a cup makes for a relaxing few moments.

BTW, I used too much for this cup.
About half of this would have been fine.

The ingredients are delicious

The trick with this tea is to let it steep much longer than the suggested 3 minutes. I now let mine steep for at least 6 minutes. This gives the fruit time to release all its flavor and goodness. When I add some honey, the tea goes from delicious to "yummly". That's the only word I could think of to describe it.

I was happy for the seal
& the expiry info.

As pro-USA as I have become (as a consumer), I have to admit that this tea out of China is the best fruit tea I have ever laid my lips on.

The Tiesta Maui Mango has real fruit in it but it doesn't really compare to the Berry Tea. For one thing, I really can eat almost every piece of fruit in the Berry tea once it's well-steeped. The Tiesta tea has several pieces of rind that I find too bitter to eat. Also, the fruit pieces in the Tiesta tea are much smaller. The Maui Mango has a stronger fragrance but the Berry tea tastes richer and fresher. Also, the Berry tea is much much more affordable in the long run. I do have to store it in the fridge though. That's how good the fruit is. The only problem I had with the Korean tea was naming it. I was going to call it the "food, food, and food tea" but I settled on "Berry Tea".

Both the Tiesta and the Berry tea are about the same per-ounce price (the Berry is about 1 cent cheaper), I have to use more of the Tiesta tea than I do of the Berry to get the best flavor. I notice that I use almost twice the amount of Tiesta than of the Berry. Also, I enjoy the Berry tea both cold and hot. The Tiesta tea is best only hot - at least for my taste.

Anyway, now I have 2 fruit tea choices. One benefit of Tiesta is that it's more likely to be available. That Berry tea coming from China could disappear from Amazon at any time!

My goal now is to find a local Asian grocery and locate more of this type of tea. I do miss the diversity of the Alaskan population. I especially miss all the various ethnic grocers... Living in lovely but culturally bland Iowa, I will probably have to go to another state to find a decent Asian market! It will be worth it though.

Peace

--Free

P.S.: I run everything past my doctors. When I  told my kidney doctor about this, he had no problem. He said that at least I won't be adding a bunch of sugary creamer to it!"

"Scared Straight" vs Death

 I remember the Scared Straight programs of yesteryear. I think that, for a while, they probably had good results but eventually turned into TV entertainment. Whatever the case, I think that there needs to be a new program to turn people away from crime.

My mother used to say that people put no value on life - sometimes, not even their own. According to her, that's why so many people were doing dangerous and stupid things. If she were here today to see people killing each other with no regret, I don't know what she'd think. Maybe that people put no value on life because they don't understand the value until too late.

I think that people have gotten more brazen in everything - sex, drugs, crime, bad politics, etc. It's as if we are losing the ability for any personal restraint.

Politicians, public figures, and the media love to spotlight certain groups of people when they highlight crimes. Right now, the trending news is about brazen daylight store robberies. I mean, people have gone from dance mobbing to mob robbing... and the highfalutin folks - some of them "North of Richmond" - sit back, clutching their pearls and shaking their heads. But the truth is, that every group in society is just as bad in their behavior - most of all, the highfalutin ones. I have never seen such unashamedly horrible elected officials in my lifetime. No one group can claim to "be better" than any other when they practice bad behavior. Bad behavior of a different kind is still bad. It's like when Reagan was bashing "welfare queens" while everyone ignored (and still does) corporate welfare. 

By the way, the biggest difference between so-called "welfare queens" and corporate welfare kings is that the corporate bunch has the money and power to change and hide behind laws and lobbies. Please, do not get me started on that rant!

Society is going further south of decency than ever before. And each group in society is finger-pointing at the others. It's all "Them or Us". How united is America - especially in this era of Making It Great Again? The slogan should be Making America Hate Again.

This might annoy a lot of people on the hard, fringe edge of the Right but I'm no less irritated with the loonies on the Left. I am just going to point out that the rise of Trump as a politician is where things really started going off the rails.

The thing is, America has never been perfect. She has some horrible skeletons in the closet - mostly those of poor whites, blacks, or immigrants. However, I think this is the first time that we are striving harder to be more divisive and hateful instead of trying to be more united. Truth be told, our "unity" is looking pretty raggedy right about now. 

In times past (ITP), folks had to be of good character (or at least hide or lie about their bad character) in order to even run for office and be taken seriously. Not anymore. We are electing the most ignorant, mean, and divisive people we can. The more hateful and divisive, the more "real" a candidate seems to some people. The worst thing about this is that we are teaching the next generation to be horrible in order to succeed. Grace, civility, and plain old good manners have no place in Washington these days!

And now we worship rudeness

The madness has even seeped into the houses of worship. As a Christian, I am ashamed of many others who use that label. It's dismaying that there are pastors - black and white - inciting hate and violence against other races. I can't call a Muslim a terrorist if I am terrorizing another group just because they are another group. I can't call myself a follower of Christ (you know, The Head Hebrew In Charge) if I am terrorizing Jews. The Church used to stand for sanctuary. I am not sure what a Christian pulpit stands for in this era of hate.

Anyway, back to the original rant...

ITP, educators weren't proud of their side hustles (if any) that included nudity or poor judgement. Not to mention, it's getting to be a normal thing for teachers to have sexual relationships with students. 

ITP, parents took more (and had more) control over - or were at least more aware of - their children's behavior. These days, minor children have too many avenues of finding trouble. They can do things at school without their parents' permission - and are sometimes encouraged to. They have cell phones and internet access - which means access to people, places, and information that may lead them to harm.

And, yes, I understand that because we live in the Information Age, we have more access than ever before to news. I get that. But you know and I know that we have changed for the worse in many ways. It's not like there wasn't news reporting in the last century. The news might have been slower but it still got around.

Getting back to where I started, I think we need a new deterrent to crime - and not just among young people. Scared Straight gave youths a look at what actual incarceration was like. They got to go into jails and prisons and meet the people living that reality. They got to hear the doors locking them in. They got a sense of what being incarcerated was really like. probably that, ITP, worked well for a lot of those kids. Today, a lot of young folk think of being incarcerated as a chance to earn street credibility. I have an idea that might work better. 

Send people into the morgue or the autopsy room. Let them see what dead really looks like. Let them talk to the loved ones left behind. Let them see the lifeless bodies of people their own age. Let the coroner explain how death happened to this person or that person. 

Better yet, take them through the entire lead-up to the death. Let the detectives working the case explain the crime and the reason for the crime - how and where it happened. Let them hear a summary of the dead person's life - their hopes, dreams, and goals. 

Whenever I watch "Reality TV" centered around crime and justice, I am struck by how victims' loved ones are affected. It's so sad to hear how a person's life started well (or not) and then took a turn for the worse (or better) only for them to die senselessly.  To hear that "he was just getting back on track" or "she had plans to be a teacher" is so heartbreaking.

Most of us are, to a point, selfish about our lives. We want to live, we want another chance for things to be better. We don't want to die young. I'm sure that even suicidal people think about who and what they are leaving behind.

So I think we need to move past Scared Straight. I don't think enough people are scared of incarceration. I do think most of us are scared of death. At least, scared enough not to want to die young or painfully or needlessly. 

I would hope that people in such a program - maybe call it "This is Death" - would better understand the value of life.

When I watch those crime programs, I always think of the victim. No matter how little I have in common with their lifestyle or culture, I cannot help but realize that everything for them is over and done. I usually think of the premise of "It's a Wonderful Life". If only that person - or the person who caused their death - could have had a glimpse of it all.

Peace

--Free

Walmart's Scan & Go Is... Mostly Awesome

 Finally, I have tried Walmart's Scan & Go app. How was it? Not too bad, but I do have suggestions...

The Good:

• It was fast. My family didn't have to wait as long for me to shop and check out.
• It was easy. The app is user-friendly and easy to learn.
• It was better than "regular" shopping. For the most part!
• You are seeing your shopping totals as you add things to your cart. That was awesome. There were no surprises at checkout like "What did I spend so much on?!?!?!"
• It's super convenient, especially when the store is crowded.
• I didn't have to pull out my wallet at all.

The Not-So-Good:

• The scanner in the app wouldn't read one of my items. I put it back.
• You do have to hit a self-checkout register to, um, check out.
• There is no checkout register designated for Scan & Go customers.
• Not all the staff seem to know about it. Maybe.

Overall, I am impressed. I will probably always use Scan & Go when I have to be in the physical store.  For parents or other caregivers, it should be so much better to Scan & Go. Get in, shop, and get out. I would have loved Scan & Go when I shopped with my young nephew or my wheelchair-bound sister. 

I was a bit lost at first when I opened the app. I didn't realize that I had to wait to be in the store (connected to their Wi-Fi) to use it. The app walks you through the process from scanning and adding items to your cart to removing anything you decide you don't want after all.  Here are some parts of the process I really liked:

• After the first 3 or 4 items, the app prompted me to verify the amount of items in my cart. 
• When aiming the camera at a product, the scanner sort of searches for the code. As long as the code was somewhere in the photo square range, the scanner thing would "find" it. So I didn't have to worry about perfect aim.
• The scanner is not picking up and adding random items because you have to press "Scan" for each item. It's easy to do one-handed. 
• The running total is awesome. Every time I added an item to the cart, I got a total. It's a great way when you know you only have x amount of money. Like I said, no surprises at the end or having to put something back while people are watching.
• You can check your receipt when you have checked out. There is a photo of an actual store receipt right there on your phone. (You don't get that kind of receipt when using delivery or pickup.)
• You could change your mind and take things out of your cart if you wanted. The app will let you subtract that item.

My other slip-up was that it was only after I'd checked out that I remembered to go grab some bags for my items. This is another reason I think there should be a designated checkout station for the app users. Maybe I will remember to bring my own bags next time.

I think Walmart employees should be better educated on Scan & Go. The lady monitoring self-checkout was a bit confused when she didn't see me actually ringing up my items. She followed me to ask if she could "help me". Poor woman. She probably thought I was just a brazen shoplifter! I held up my phone to show her the "Exit Pass" on the app. 

The young dude manning the exit, was also a bit confused when I held up my phone to show him the Exit Pass. He let me go but still looked concerned. I walked out and that's when I remembered I needed a couple of bags. That poor guy at the door was really thrown when I came back for a quick moment, then left again with my items bagged. 

In spite of a couple of hiccups, that was probably the best-ever trip to Walmart. I wasn't all stressed out when I left, nor was I checking my purse to make sure I had my wallet. It was so easy, that it felt like cheating.

In contrast, my SIL took way longer to finish shopping for 3 things than I did for 6 things. The checkout line is where you save time.

Like I said, there is a little bit of room for improvement but I really was pleased. The main thing that bugged me was not having a designated checkout scanner. All I needed to do was get to a checkout register and scan the barcode on the screen. That basically completed my checkout and triggered the Exit Pass on my phone.  NOTE: This could be a real pain if the self-checkouts are all crowded... Designated registers will be a huge improvement...

Overall, Walmart is killing it with the Scan & Go app. It wasn't buggy or irritating to use. Next time I will try to remember to take screenshots at different stages of the process.

Peace

--Free

Making Green Tea Taste Good

 I've been making some changes in my diet for the last couple of years. I've cut back on salt and sugar; I try to do IF every so often (haha); and I have cut back on my coffee intake.

Coffee is supposed to be good for you, but I drink mine with sweetened creamer. That's not good. I have only managed to drink particular brands of coffee black-no-sugar - Luzianne (red bag, dark roasted is one - but I have trouble finding the brands I like. So I have just cut back to one 10-11oz cup first thing in the morning. Sometimes I don't even finish it off.

Tea is my replacement beverage. I found one I love so much that I splurge with a regular subscription via Walmart. I have backup teas because it's too pricey for me to drink too often - I need to use far less per cup! I like anything peach- or mango-flavored.

$9/5.5oz
40-50 cups
(I drink too much of it!)

Green tea is supposed to be good for the body. Okay, but it's not the tastiest tea I've had - at least without some help. I have tried all kinds of brands and types of green tea and just cannot deal with the flat and bitter flavor. I absolutely cannot tolerate Matcha unless it's whipped into some too-sweet Starbucks-like concoction. So I have found a way to drink at least 3 to 4 cups of green tea a day. 

(By the way, I am going to be asking my nephrologist about green tea at my coming appointment. There is a lot of conflicting info online regarding the effects of green tea on patients with CKD. On the one hand, I've heard that it's great because of the antioxidants and, on the other hand, I've heard that it has compounds that could be harmful to compromised kidneys. This is with I don't use Google for my medical issues! I am hoping that my doc will say the tea is okay. I do expect that there might be some limitations or other suggestions from him.)

Here is how I get my green tea fix... I get the affordable Bigelow green tea from Walmart, along with some Bigelow Chamomile Vanilla, and  Twinings' Peach & Orange. Anytime I drink green tea, I add a bag of the Peach & Orange or a tiny bit of the pricey Tiesta Maui Mango. I use a some of the raw mountain honey as a sweetener. The difference is incredible.

Least fave: the Chamo-Vanilla Honey

The Peach & Orange tea is not one I normally would have chosen but I was in a hurry and using Walmart's Scan & Go app (yes, I will be doing a little review on that!  I did a review of that) for the first time. I haven't even had it without the green tea yet. Turns out, I kind of dig the Peach & Orange.

I definitely use too much of the Tiesta! 
🤣

I already have some Hibiscus tea, but I blogged about why I need to limit my intake...

So I have been drinking 2 cups of green tea (sometimes 3) almost every day. What I have noticed is that it's an appetite suppressant. Interesting. I should have (and may have) known that before now but it surprised me.

I might try drinking one of my green tea concoctions with no honey. I think I might be able to if there is some Hibiscus or strongly-flavored fruit tea in the mix. Even so, the honey has to be better than all the sugar in those yummy creamers I love. 

 I don't know if this will help anyone else who has been struggling to like green tea but it works for me. I actually have come to really enjoy the drinks. I'm not sure if I will ever completely be off the coffee but I am certainly drinking a lot less of it these days.

Peace

--Free

DISCLAIMER: I am not a healthcare professional. This is just a personal blog, not a healthcare source. Talk with your healthcare team before you start consuming regular amounts of anything. I do know that, for me, hibiscus tea lowers my BP so I have to be careful!

Hot News, Not News, Hot Mess, You Lose

It's official. I am now at an age where too many things irritate me. I wake up in a decent mood and, after 2 minutes of scanning the news, I'm grouchy. News is no longer informative as it is irritating, rabble-rousing, divisive, and stupidly out together. 

I have assigned personalities to certain news sources and their followers. I can truly almost see them as actual persons.

Right Wing Ricky & Ruthie - the schoolyard instigators that stand on the sidelines yelling "Fight, fight". Sometimes they taunt the scariest bullies with "You're going to let him talk about you like that?" They scurry around the school, spreading salacious rumors to get everyone more riled up. They have a side hustle selling snacks and trinkets during the dustups so the bigger the crowds...

Left Wing Luke & Lucy - the irritating kids who want to invite every underdog and weirdo to their birthday parties. The underdogs and weirdos are always the folks who are picked on by Fox. Instead of taking the high road, they will pick on their bullies, just using a better dictionary so they can claim to be morally and intellectually superior.

Pete & Patti Progressive - the stoner kids. Sometimes, they are really laid back and mellow and just want us all to get along but they can swing right or left, depending on who is where in the schoolyard fight. Stoner that they are, they do have a mean streak. It's hidden but there and can be lethal when unleashed.

Spectator Sam & Sally - the ones who copy and paste everyone else's personalities as needed. They play whichever side they can. They just want to be popular and noticed. They are the kids hoping to parlay whatever they can into a high Instagram following so they can make the big bucks without working too hard.

Then there is most of the rest of the crowd - call them Dave & Daisy Dullard - the kids on the sidelines. We usually pick one kid to idolize and support, no matter what. Even if they ignore us or hate us, we will be there, supporting them to the end. Or until another kid comes along who "gets us" better than the old kid. We get really loud and start flexing when someone comes along who says out loud all the curse words we have only been whispering.

Meanwhile, over in the library, there are a few of us - Critical Kate & Kwami -  who are hitting the books hard. We mostly ignore the playground madness because we are busy studying the history of the school system. We are busy trying to understand where everything went so wrong. Of course, we don't matter much during our school days but we are hoping to someday make a difference in the "real world". We are going to need a bigger bullhorn though.

Finally, there's Ivan & Ilsa InstaInfluencer. They gave up on the schoolyard and are taking an indefinite break from reality by focusing on brawns, beauty, and booze. They hang near the outer perimeter, fangirling and bromancing each other. This crowd's pretty exclusive. You need money, looks, makeup magic, or Photoshop skills to break in. They don't really care too much about the real world because they have created their own "imageverse" where relevance is based on Likes, following, dollars, and other trickery.

The biggest problem I have with most news sources is that they are in it for the money, ratings, and personal popularity. I have a niece who is straight and married but I do think she'd switch to be with Rachel Maddow. She calls Maddow a "rock star" and that's just about how she treats the newswoman...

I find it weird and scary that there are so many reports of news "personalities" becoming more important to our society than they should be. They are news presenters, not heroes.

On that same track, it annoys me about the news is that the presenters are getting to be more important than the news itself. I should not know or care about the presenters' sexual, political, or religious leanings. I should not know or care about who they are dating, divorcing, or cheating on and with.

When I watch the news, I don't want to have to question whether it's biased because of the personal feelings of the news reader. 

And why is it that some news sites spend so much time letting readers/watchers know about news media ratings? Do they want to be presenting us with news and information or do they want our Facebook likes and popularity vote?

See? This is why I have to drink hibiscus tea and take pills to keep my blood pressure under control.

When we talk about the U.S. being in a collective state of road rage, we blame each other. No one is looking at the media. They started this smoking dumpster fire that is spreading toxic fumes throughout the nation.

The crazy politicians - Right, Left, Loony, etc. - wouldn't have so much power to play us for fools if the media wasn't playing them for ratings.  Most of the nuts that are sitting in Washington - wielding power of varying degrees - would not be there if the Media hadn't turned all of us into InstaNews junkies.

I want to get back to the days of reading (mostly) impartial news reports and having to think about what it all means. When my nieces were in school and claimed to have no homework, I would assign them to watch the news and write a summary. I couldn't do that now - not unless I wanted them having to edit out all the madness.

While I am on this rant, I want to throw some shade at some of the supposed "trusted" news sources. The other day, I was perusing the AP site. One of the hot-button stories had to do with Taylor Swift. No offense meant toward Miss Swift, but I don't think that a pop singer should be in "serious" news for being a pop singer. I didn't screenshot the site that day but here is a recent screenshot:

If this is in order of importance...SMH

Google News also sucks in its own way. On the one hand, there is a browser extension that allows readers to edit out mentions of anything they don't want to see. The problem is, by the time I block out the nonsense, there's apparently no news left to read.

Just 1 week of blocking...

I gave up. Now, I rarely bother to look at Google News - unless I'm looking for the latest Amazon deals. These days, I'm checking several sites and realize that almost all news has a bias.

Here are my daily stops for news (in no particular order):

• C-SPAN
• Reuters
• Mediaite
• BBC (for US and Canada mainly)
• AP News
• Bloomberg
• The Hill
• Christian Post
• The Jerusalem Post 
• News Nation
• Politico
• I watch NBC News online occasionally.
• Futurism

My challenge is to not think about news as anything other than information. It's not meant to shape my personal beliefs or my character. It's just information. Period. After reading the news I have an idea of what is currently being reported on. I have to take into account that there are a lot of things not being reported on. This is why I sometimes steel myself and go take a peek at The Artist Site Formerly Known as Prince Twitter. And, I have no shame in admitting that I also check Cracked as a palate cleanser.

Whichever news sources you look to for information, don't forget to use your critical thinking skills. If one is not careful, the news can be dangerous propaganda. 

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** I Did NOT Expect To Love This Bath Sponge

 Let me say this first: I hate TikTok. I hate any platform that is focused on "influencing" - especially product influencing. Weird, right, since I blog so many product reviews. I like reading reviews from people who really believe in or like a product and aren't just hyping every latest thing for the purpose of jacking up their "Likes".

Let me reiterate that: I hate TikTok and Instagram and all the other platforms riddled with fake reviews. 

I want you to understand this because I found a product on my own that is, apparently, "hot on TikTok". I didn't know that until after I bought the product. Once I heard that it was a TikTok-hyped item, I almost returned it without opening the package.

However, I am in love with this item:

That is a "Net Bath Sponge". I found it while looking for another of the scrubbers that I've always gotten from Walmart. You know what I'm talking about? The balls of exfoliating puff scrubbers that are so popular for the shower. Something like these:

I mainly like those because they lather up so well. The downside is that they don't clean the skin very well. Mostly, I think I like them because they look cute hanging in my shower. 

Anyway, I was looking for a better type of the poof scrubber. I wanted something that would do a better job of cleaning. I thought maybe the Walmart ones were just cheaply made. So I went looking for an alternative and ran across a slew of the "net sponges".

When I chose a net sponge to try out, I ordered one and started looking more closely at the reviews. That's when I realized I'd been TikTok-ked. 

I guess these sponges are hyped on TikTok as "African bath sponges". 

🙄

It was too late to cancel the order so I decided I would probably just return it later. 

But then...

I got the sponge and it was so unusual-looking in the package that I just had to unwrap it and get a closer look. 

That's a cute presentation

When I unrolled the sponge (which is not really a sponge but a long sheet of netting), my first thought was that it was just a really long piece of the stuff that my onion bags are made of.  What a ripoff! 

The instructions for use are to first rinse the netting in warm and soapy water. I couldn't resist doing so. And that was when I first realized that this was not the same stuff onion bags are made of. Also, this netting was nothing like the material that the traditional poofs are made of.

When dry, the netting feels much too rough and abrasive to put anywhere near my skin. When wet and soapy, it's the perfect texture for gentle cleansing.

I went ahead and gave this a try in the shower and was blown away. For one thing, the smallest dab of my liquid soap foamed up like something out of a cartoon. For another thing, the sponge was easier to use than a washcloth or a poof.

Normally, I got through my liquid shower soap like I own the factory where it's made. With a washcloth, the soap doesn't last because I have to soap myself down, then rinse and repeat. If I don't I feel as if my skin is not getting clean enough. I certainly am not sloughing off any dead skin and product buildup without a lot of scrubbing.

Although the exfoliation was good, the netting was much more gentle than I expected. I spent far less time in the shower and came out feeling much cleaner with less work. 

What I really liked was that the netting was easy to clean. When I use washcloths, I need 3 for the shower - one for my face, one for my torso, and one for my lady parts. I have a separate scrubber for my feet. I was able to use the sponge for everything and just use 1 washcloth for my "delicate" areas. That's really going to cut down on laundry.

The first couple of times I used it, I just rinsed and hung it in the shower to dry. The next time I used it, I realized that a dot of clarifying shampoo would clean up any residue of dirt and oils without damaging the netting. That's my new routine for cleaning the "sponge" now.

It stretched almost
as long as my shower
curtain after use. (it's dry)

Honestly, I was kind of mad that I fell in love with the netting/sponge. On the other hand, I wasn't "influenced" by TikTok to make the purchase. So it all works out.

I think the only thing I will be using my washcloths for in the future is to clean my face and "delicates".

When I was reading reviews, I did see that some people complained that the sponge felt "cheap" or - in the case of repeat purchases - didn't work as well as previous ones. Maybe I lucked out and got a good one the first time around. Who knows?

It's not a big deal to most people but I'm glad that the country of origin of this one is Ghana and not China. Just on principle. Not that bet sponges are solely an African thing. I understand that other countries have been using this type of sponge for a while. TikTok has just popularized it for a lot of folks.

Anyway, I do love the "sponge" I got and I think it will last a while but order one in orange as a backup. I will update this post if the quality is any different.

Peace

--Free

DISCLAIMER: I was not compensated in any way or asked to write a review for the products mentioned in this post.

**SAVINGS ALERT** Walmart + Membership Discount

 Walmart is really keeping pace with Amazon. Amazon has Prime, Walmart has Plus; Amazon has Prime Video; Walmart has Paramount Plus (and... more on that later); and while Amazon offers discounted memberships, so does Walmart Plus.

Walmart Plus Assist is for people who are on government assistance. How great is that for people with children to feed? And the elderly or disabled.

The Plus Assist membership provides the same benefits as the original Plus membership. 

If you know anyone who could use the help, please share this information with them. They can sign up here and, if they already have a Plus membership they paid for, they will be refunded for the current payment made.

Be good to yourself and be good to other people.

Peace

--Free

My Hibiscus Tea Scare

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not qualified to give medical advice but I will be warning my family and friends about Hibiscus tea. You should always get your advice from your medical team.)

The first time I went to a doctor as an adult (because I cracked a rib while sneezing), I was told I had high blood pressure. I'm sure the ER doctor thought the high reading was because 1) I have white coat syndrome, and 2) I'd cracked a rib while sneezing and was in pain. I was weighing in at about 110 then so weight wasn't a factor.

Fast forward to when I was seeing a doctor for a physical and (still weighing in at around 110 or so), I was diagnosed with high blood pressure (HBP). It runs on my mother's side of the family.

For a long time, doctors tried different meds and combos of meds to get the HBP under control. Finally, a combo worked - at least it worked better than the others - and my controlled BP ran somewhere around 150 for the systolic (top number). Then I got sarcoidosis (and was already weighing in at 140-145 pounds). My blood pressure went nuclear. There were times when the top number went as high as 210.

My BP was still high when I moved to Iowa but sort of under control. Then I started taking a supplement and the numbers were reading as "normal". It was so weird to see a systolic reading in the 110s, 120s, and, at the highest, 130-something. Then this morning's reading scared me.

Last night before bed, I drank half a cup of hibiscus tea. I love tea and always fit some form of it into my day. I start my morning with coffee, have water all day, then have a cup of tea before bed. Chamomile, a fruit-flavored green tea, or a cup of Sleepytime. Last night was the first time in about 5 or 6 years that I've drank hibiscus tea.

I drank the tea (maybe half of the 6 ounces that I brewed) at around 7:30 - 8 o'clock. I had a really good night's sleep but woke up this morning feeling slightly tired. I took my meds for the day, including the BP meds, and then I checked my BP.

My reading was 105/57. This is no more than 5 minutes after taking my meds so the BP meds could not have had time to start working.

Since I've had a lingering bug of some kind for the past couple of weeks, I wondered if that affected my BP. However, my BP reading earlier this week was in the normal 120-something range.

One of my former doctors told me once that, when I am experiencing a new symptom, I should consider anything new about my diet, exercise, or other behaviors. So, when I was thinking about this, I realized the tea was the only new thing I was eating or drinking.

I had already checked if hibiscus tea was okay for CKD patients. But I did a lazy check and, as soon as I saw that it was low potassium, my research was done. If I'd checked further, I would have known that the tea works almost as well as prescription meds for lowering BP.

I have questions:

1. Why isn't the tea prescribed for HBP patients? It can at least be mentioned.
2. How did I know nothing about this tea and its effect on blood pressure?

I  am certainly going to be asking my doc about this at the next appointment. I know that there may be reasons that I am prescribed the meds instead of being told to drink the tea but... C'mon! 

If as little as 3 or 4 ounces of tea can do what a pill can, I'd much rather drink the tea. But I guess the tea is much more affordable than the pills... 

Now, at least, I know. Also, I know that I cannot just keep drinking this tea with a willy-nilly attitude. I can't afford an ambulance if I happen to pass out with low blood pressure. On the other hand, when my BP skyrockets, I think I might have a sip of hibiscus tea...

Peace

--Free

**1st 7 Days REVIEW** Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8

 This is an update to **1st 24 Hours REVIEW** Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8. I am writing this post on my 7th day using the machine and I have more to say now.

Things I really like:

• The FN (Function) keys are more useful than on any other laptop I've had. I actually use them because of this. The main ones I like are for opening the settings, pulling up the calculator, raising/lowering the volume, and opening the Print Screen/Snip feature. There is even one for use with a portable monitor. 
• The keyboard is a dream - now that I'm used to the size after coming from the larger one on my Dell. 
• I'm more in love than ever with the stylus. It truly does write more like an actual pen than the Dell stylus. I also use this one a lot more.
• The good build quality counts more than I realized at first. I have moved this machine back and forth from my carry bag at least 6 times. It's so solid & "non-flimsy". A lot of that might be due to the smaller size but I still think it's so much better built than my Dell - or my Toshiba or Asus.
• The display is great. My eyes get less tired and I just enjoy the screen more. When I was paying bills and spent over 2 hours straight looking at the screen, I noticed how crisp and sharp everything looked, and, again, my eyes weren't as tired. Maybe that's just me?
• The sound. I am amazed every day at the wonderful sound quality. There is zero need for the sound-boosting apps I've used in the past. 
• The auto-power-up feature is more useful than I expected. I don't think I have touched my Power button since I first set up the machine. It's the little things!
• I was worried about fan noise - well, I wasn't until I read so many super-techy reviews! When I finally heard the fan kick it, it was a bit startling only because I didn't know what the sound was. It's actually not that loud, thank goodness, and it has only kicked in twice so far. On the other hand, I never heard the fan on my Dell. I don't know if that is good or bad.
• Now that I have found the Vantage setting for the battery, I no longer have to worry much about charging over 80%. I do think the battery life (which could be better) is not as bad as I worried about. The real test will be when I take the machine away from home for a full day.
• I don't mind the lack of ports as much as before. I realize that I didn't use all the Dell ports as much as I thought. I'm now in no hurry to spend money I don't have on a docking item.
• I do like the carrying sleeve a lot. I was worried that the pen slot might not be secure but it is. 

Things I don't like (or not so much):

• I wish that the Delete key could swap places with the Print Screen/Snip key. I keep hitting the wrong key to delete. I think that the Delete key is used more by almost anyone so why is the other key in that place?
• The built-in camera shutter button (which I love having) is a bit difficult to find. I'm always sliding my finger across the lid to locate it. Because I never just leave my camera un-shuttered, this is annoying. I remember this shutter being easier to locate on the Flex 7 I tried out. I will probably get better at finding the shutter but...
• Something that freaked me out is how the screen goes black momentarily when I plug or unplug the charger. It scared me until I found an explanation: "... if set to Optimize battery use it disables HDR on battery, which makes the screen go black like when you change the refresh rate."
• The "brick" (?) for the charger is pretty big. It's not a problem at home but for days out, it's going to be taking up some room. The Dell battery was actually smaller.
• While I like the sleeve (because it secures the pen for me), the front kangaroo pouch is almost useless. Once I put the laptop in the sleeve, the only thing that fits in that pouch is a thin sheath of paper. I'm not even sure why it's there.

Overall, I am still really happy with this machine. I think I have started to annoy my family with the "thank yous"! 

I do have to say that this machine - without all the discounts and coupons - is not something I would suggest. There are other machines with a lot of functions that cost less. However, with the discounts and coupons, this was a steal and I have no regrets on behalf of my family!

Peace

--Free

The Struggle Meal Checklist

 I am pretty sure I have posted here before about "struggle meals" or maybe "cheap eats". I distinctly remember sharing one idea on Reddit once. At any rate, after telling a young person about shopping and eating when funds are low. This person isn't broke but they are trying to save money for something. What I told them works for whatever reason you are trying to eat cheaply. A lot of college-age people or small families are trying to stretch dollars. Aren't we all?

Keep in mind, that I learned most of this from my elders. Wisdom bears repeating.

The shopping list is the most important thing. You don't want to wait until funds are super low to stock up on things. Plan ahead. If you are like most of us, you will have one of those too-broke-to-pay-attention times. These are some of the things to try to put away for when times are a bit rough:

• Dry beans. My personal favorites are pinto and navy. Beans are very filling and they can be eaten solo or paired up with vegetables and cornbread. Dry beans keep for a long time so that's another plus.
• Rice. Rice is also filling and easy to pair up with other things. 
• Flour and cornmeal. Try to keep at least some flour and cornmeal bagged up and stored in the freezer to keep the weevils out.
• Cornstarch. Trust me. 
• Blackstrap molasses. 
• Powdered milk and powdered eggs. If you have kids, this is great to have around. (There is also shelf-stable dairy and the milk doesn't taste bad at all.)
• Dry cereal. Mueselix is good because it can taste pretty good as a dry snack.
• Powdered potatoes mixes. They are pretty filling solo and make a decent side dish otherwise.
• Ground beef or turkey - buy on sale and keep in the freezer as long as you can.
• Real bacon bits. Toss them in the freezer.
• Tofu - it's really versatile and not as bad as some people think.
• Oil -EVOO is best but even any decently healthy oil can be really useful. It's often cheaper than butter.
• Crackers. I keep basic store brand "saltines" around if I can.

As for recipes, here are a few basic ones that you can modify as you want:

• Pinto beans taste great. You can cook them with extra water then thicken the "bean gravy" with cornstarch. Crackers, tortillas, bread, etc. taste great with that gravy. I love to eat hot water cornbread with beans.
• You can add bacon bits, beef, or turkey (or tofu) to pinto beans. 
• Navy beans are good with some diced onions or potatoes.
• Tofu is pretty versatile. I'm not as crazy about preparing it, but... It tastes like whatever you season or cook it with. No kidding. I had an aunt who thought that, scrambled in a tiny bit of oil, it tasted like eggs. I have made tofu burgers and I have even chopped it up to bulk up the ground beef in pinto beans.
• As I said, some cereals - especially Muesilix - can take the place of snacks. I've eaten Mueslix in place of trail mix when trying to avoid salty and fatty snacks.
• Blackstrap molasses is something my mother used to add to beans to boost my iron. Some people like drinking it in their coffee or tea. It's too strong a taste for me but it is iron-boosting.
• If you have flour, oil, and water, you can make a cheap pan bread. You just lightly fry each side in a small amount of oil. You can boost the recipe by adding cornmeal.
• Cornmeal, oil, and salt will give you hot-water cornbread. It has to be eaten hot to taste the best but it's great with beans, soups, and stews.

Those are just some ways to eat when you are broke. The EVOO is for adding to the beans or frying your breads. It's good for you (I guess) and I eat it on almost everything, no matter what.

I don't use a lot of milk so I tend to keep powdered milk around. If you like whole milk you can add a bit of white vinegar to it and have quick buttermilk. Adding buttermilk to bread is something my mom liked to do.

When we were kids, my dad wasn't getting rich being a G.I. Often he was gone for long stretches. Mama kept us all well-fed. Dinners were often liver and smothered potatoes and onions with pan bread on the side. For breakfast, we'd have pan bread with some syrup and butter. 

By the way, I have people ask how to make hot water cornbread. It's so dang cheap and easy. I tend not to measure, so here's my "recipe":

• Get a small skillet ready with enough oil to cover the bottle of the pan to about 1/2 inch.
• Boil some water - and it does have to be boiling. Let your pan start heating but don't let it smoke.
• Put some corneal (not cornmeal mix) in a bowl that can withstand boiling water. I usually use about 1.5 cups of meal. You can add salt and pepper and tiny dice of onion if you like.
• Add about half a tablespoon of oil to the meal, then you are going to slowly add the hot water to the meal and stir with a fork. Keep adding water until the meal is saturated and can be made into a patty. I like to add a lot of water and get a thinner mix but you can have a thicker mix. The thicker the mix, the thicker the patty.
• The hot water is cooking the meal in the bowl. Now make your patties and carefully place each patty in the skillet to cook. 
• Drain the patties on paper and eat.

It will take some practice but just remember that you can always add more water to the meal but you can't subtract it. I like to use a really small skillet so I don't need much oil. I personally don't like hot water cornbread unless it's fresh and hot but... I will heat it up or add cold patties to hot beans.

To this day, whether I am broke or not, I love making a big pot of pinto beans with ground beef - hopefully, to eat with some hot water cornbread! But if not, I'll eat the beans folded into a tortilla or with some saltine crackers crumbled into it. Whenever I am doing intermittent fasting, pinto beans are a favorite.

Peace

--Free

Rich Men North of Richmond & the Rest of Us

 Kirby Anthony wrote a song highlighting the woes of the "everyman" and politicians tried to turn it into either their divisive fight song or a divisive touchstone. Anthony was, in fact, singing about how all of them - on the left or on the right - treat all of us. 

Anthony, a white man, wasn't singing against any of us who are downtrodden. He wasn't singing against anyone - except those in power and not using it to help anyone but themselves. He was singing for the unrepresented common people - black, white, or whatever.

The rich Democrats and Leftists are no less an enemy of us common folk as are the rich Republicans on the right.

I'm not sure if Kirby Anthony meant this or not but I will say it:

• If you are MAGA and are "common folk", you are not a friend of those "Rich Men North of Richmond" (let's call them RMNRs).
• If you are "BLM" and are common, you are not a friend of the RMNRS. 
• The labels - MAGA, BLM, etc.,- very helpfully divide us so that we are more easily controlled and manipulated - by the RMNRs.
• BLM leaders are getting rich, and MAGA leaders are getting rich. 
• We common people are still common. We aren't getting rich and we aren't being represented.

What I would like to see is common white, black, brown, red, and yellow people working together to protect themselves from the people of any party and race not helping us common folk. 

Just because we are not rich doesn't mean we don't deserve safe, clean, and healthy communities. We need to come together to protect each other and our neighborhoods and communities against those who create a lack of safety. None of us want the worst people in our communities holding the rest of us back.

Instead of battling each other - down here where the rich don't have to be - we should be working together. The RMNRs don't care because they don't live where we live. They visit to smile at us, rile us up, and get our votes. Then they go back to being Rich Men North of Richmond.

If the RMNR aren't going to have our best interests at heart; if they work harder to divide us and keep us down- why are we supporting them? Why are we helping them to stay rich and in power?

Let's start expecting our government and politicians to be here for us since we are, in fact, the people.

Peace 

--Free

**1st 24 Hours REVIEW** Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8

NOTE: I wanted this review to be for "regular" people. Not all of us are tech-savvy enough to understand the intricate details of every component on our computers. We just want to know how it works on a day-to-day basis for the average Joe or Jill. I will be your Jill for this review of the Lenovo 9i gen 8 2-in-1 laptop. Mine is the 14-inch model with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD storage, and the 3840 x 2400 display. And that right there is about as techie as it gets!

 Cue the fanfare 🎺

The UPS guy was almost as excited as I was when he got here with my package. (Everyone knows I've been waiting!)

Unboxing:

I have to give it to Lenovo. They do an awesome job of presenting a new machine to a buyer. The wrapping was as elegant as that for a designer handbag. Not only is the overall packaging sturdy and protective but the box holding the laptop is kind of snazzy. (For what they charge...😏)

I was kind of impressed that after getting past the inner carton with the nice (and vivid) red YOGA logo, the computer was covered in elegant (it bears repeating) black paper. The whole setup is beautifully giftable.

Once I got to the computer (and the pen and the sleeve), I felt like a very spoiled kid at Christmas. I have to do yet another thankful shout-out to my amazing family for this.

The machine is heavier than I expected (this site and others put it at almost 4lbs). It's so small in size compared to my 15.6 Dell that the heft caught me off guard. It's not uncomfortably heavy, just surprisingly so. 

I will briefly touch on first impressions and bold point the topics.

First day of use:

I was happy to see that the lid opened easily. With my Dell, this is not a one-handed task - probably because of the wider sizing. Also, the Dell lid has more flex when opening, which is why I was always careful with it. The Lenovo lid is really sturdy. I guess the whole machine is. I read somewhere about the sturdiness of the aluminum build.

The lack of ports (which I knew about) is a bit distressing. I don't attach a lot of things to my laptops but I have a USB-connected mouse that I love and I also tend to charge my phone and watch with the computer's USB in addition to attaching my printer quite often. That's not going to be an option if I am also using one of the USB ports to charge the Yoga. Two of the slots on one side are "Thunderbolt" ports🤔. I kinda get what that means but kinda don't so here you go.

I'm having to adjust to the keyboard because of the smaller size but I love the feel of the keys as I type. They are bouncy and responsive enough and not too clicky-sounding.

It's going to take more use before I have a firm opinion about the battery. I am trying to stick to the 80/20 rule of thumb: charging no higher than 80% and not letting it dissipate below 20%. I don't know if that really helps in the long run but I keep hearing tech-savvy folks talk about it. (UPDATE: There is a setting in the Lenovo Vantage app that lets me keep the battery from charging over 70-80%)

As I've heard so much about, the display totally lives up to the hype, as do the speakers. The display is lush and vivid. James Spader and Denzel Washington never looked so dang good to me! The speakers are amazing. This is nice because I tend to listen to music when I am doing almost anything else on a computer or around the house.

The Face ID sign-in is nice but... I don't like keeping my camera open. Every time I get ready to sign in, I have to remember to open the camera. The nice thing though is that there is a built-in shutter so I can easily slide the notch to block or unblock the camera. On my Dell, I used blocking stickers so much that I had a Subscribe-and-Save order going. My Dell didn't have the face recognition feature so I got used to signing in with my fingerprint. The Yoga has the fingerprint option also. I am just trying to figure out how to make it the default. (By the way, when I tried the Flex, I noticed that the built-in shutter was nicer; there was a symbol to let you know whether it was open or not.)

The camera is better than on the Dell. I still look like James Brown's baby sister though! It's tough to be dark-skinned and trying to appear halfway normal with any camera... I have not played around with it too much but there is a "Smart Appearance" menu for making adjustments to your camera appearance. Gonna go work on that.

I get now what others have said about those "special" keys along the right side of the keyboard. They cannot be reprogrammed, but I probably would not have done that if I could. For now, I have only been using the Power toggle. There are also keys for intelligent cooling, blurring the camera background, changing the computer's performance mode, and the fingerprint key.

Not only is the keyboard backlit but the lighting is adjustable. There is "auto" (my favorite because the keyboard lights up when the room goes dark); "normal" (just moderately light); and bright. I can see using bright possibly while on an airplane. I keep it on Auto for now.

The pen/stylus is one of the main things for me personally. Because of my brain stumbles, I have used my Dell touchscreen & pen feature almost as much as I use the keyboard. The Yoga has a nicer pen, in my opinion. It's easier to hold because of the octagonal, pencil-like shape.  It also writes better because the tip is "rubbery" and grips the screen instead of sliding around the way the harder nib on the Dell did (if that makes sense). Another thing it has over the Dell stylus is that it's USB chargeable. I had to buy rechargeable batteries for my Dell pen because I ran them down so often.

The length & shape of Lenovo's 
is better for natural writing

The nib on the Dell is harder and slicker-feeling.
The Lenovo tip has "grip".

The "zero-touch" features are pretty cool. There is face recognition for signing in, of course, but the coolest one is the zero-touch video play. That makes the video pause when you turn away from the screen. My poor mother would have sprinkled holy water on this kind of voodoo!

It's skinny but has a kangaroo pocket in front

Yeah, so there is a lot going on here. I am surprised that Lenovo didn't mention these features more as a selling point. People (me!) love gadgets and this thing is full of them.

I will be back to update this review as I get more accustomed to the laptop. For now, I can say that I am very happy with it - but this is just part of the first day...

Update - next morning:

I am enjoying the speed of the machine. I am able to run more apps and programs without any glitches. It's really nice that, when I open the lid, the machine just powers up and recognizes me. There is almost no time spent waiting for it to boot up and get going so I'm done with reading the depressing news quickly.

The battery could be better. It does charge very quickly but I expected to get more life out of a charge. I haven't timed it but I just notice it runs down pretty quickly when I'm running a lot of stuff. Also, I need to find out if it's just my machine or a normal thing that, when unplugging/plugging the charging cable, the screen goes black for a brief moment. It's very jarring.

I am still adjusting to the smaller keyboard so that's a thing. However, I watched a video last night, and... The display is awesome. Colors just pop, pop, pop! The speakers still amaze me. I did not have to use any sound-blaster extensions. When I played music while doing some paperwork, it was as if I was listening to a really decent stereo. It's even nicer that one of those function keys on the side lets me cycle through sound modes (music, movie, gaming, etc.). 

The last thing I discovered is that I have not discovered everything about this laptop... There are apps and functions that I had no idea existed. I can tweak a lot of things using the Vantage dashboard. I set up some adjustments to the camera and fiddled with some audio and visual functions. 

One thing I need to figure out is using the phone connection app. With my Dell, I could connect my phone and send messages, calls, photos, etc. via the laptop. When I was done, I could easily disconnect the phone from the computer. On this Lenovo, I have the phone connection capability but... I cannot figure out how to disconnect it in between sessions. I ended up removing my phone from the list of devices for now. 

My favorite discovery is the Smart Note app. Because I am extremely forgetful and have trouble focusing, I tend to use a lot of sticky notes - digital or hard copy - to quickly jot down ideas and questions. This is especially important when I am listening to books or doing any kind of study. With my Dell, I used a desktop sticky note app that I really liked. Last night, I found the Smart Note app on the Yoga. 

Smart Note lets me use my laptop's handwriting feature in place of sticky notes. I'm sure that a lot of people use it to illustrate things to share with others. I'm not participating in work meetings or in a work environment. I use mine just as a note-taking app. Here is a screenshot of a test page to show you:

The only scare I had all evening was when, at one point, there was some streaking of images at the bottom of the screen:

I almost stroked out!

I looked up some info online and realized that I just had not finished updating all the drivers. Whew! 

So, yes, I do like love the laptop. It's everything that I expected and a little bit more. I feel like I got my family's money's worth. 

Peace

--Free