This week we talked about trying to ride a bike way after age 20 (when you haven't tried it since age 10), eating food seen on tv shows that looks so good,  the NYT online now charging to read,  and ATM fees.

Ok, so I buy a new bike every year.  Is that a crime??  I really need to sell the old ones.  It started out when Mark wanted to go bike riding a few years ago.  I really like to take walks, but he won't go with me, so I give in and buy a bike.  I haven't been on a bike in years, but I used to love it as a kid.  We go over to the bike store and I try out a bike.  It is pretty difficult for me to get started and since I am pretty short, I have to stand next to the sidewalk in order to get on the bike and take off.  I do pretty well, but have a hard time turning around, so I want to get off.  But how do you do that from way up in the air?  I manage, but it isn't easy.  I thought I would get used to it.  Unfortunately I didn't.  I tried a few times, but kept falling off when trying to turn or get off.  So the next year when the warm weather rolls around again, I get the itch  to walk and the same thing occurs.  Mark wants to get on the bike, but I didn't really like it.  So back to the bike store we go.  I come out with a tricycle and of course even though Mark had  no problem with his bike, he had to have one too since he thought it was cool looking.  I actually was very embarrassed to be on it and especially have two of them riding down the street, we took up the entire width of it and looked pretty funny.  Of course I didn't fall off of it, which is really good.  But I only rode it a few times since I didn't like this one either.  It only had three speeds and we have mostly hills where we live.  It was very difficult trying to pedal this relatively heavy bike with three speeds.  It just wasn't fun, it seemed like more of a pain in the . . .  So here comes this year and a couple of warm days.  Well, you know the story by now.  Back to the bike shop we go.  This time, so far anyway, I am the only one that got a bike, Mark still has his tricycle.  The guy in the bike store for some reason, knew exactly what I needed.  This new bike puts the pedals out in front of you and not under you and I could put my seat lower so that I could slide right onto it.  Now I have no problem getting on or off, although I am still working on that turn and to be honest I did fall once, but I am really having a good time on it.  I think this one is a keeper.  I hope.

Mark loves watching old reruns like King of Queens and Everybody loves Raymond.  The other day they had on an episode of King of Queens where Doug enters a chicken wing eating contest.  They show him and the other contestants chowing down on tons of wings.  Mark wanted to run out to Acme then and there to buy some wings.  Later on we were watching another show and they were eating egg salad sandwiches and hoagies.  The next day he comes home with a great big shopping bag full of chicken wings, eggs and hoagies.  Actually I'm getting hungry just writing about it.  But when he makes the egg salad he has to put the eggs in the refrigerator and boy do they stink up the place.  We  had a discussion on why this happens and how when you fry an egg, it smells good and doesn't have that sulfur smell to it.

My rant for the week was about new fees that keep happening and that I just don't like it.  I'm very upset that the New York Times, even though I somewhat understand why, is now going to start charging $15 a month to read it online and $20 if you want to use it on the IPad also.  It is free if you have a print subscription, which I don't.  I really can't afford to pay them $180 a year for this.  I'm going to really miss it though.  They do allow you 20 articles a month, which is really nothing if you read it all the time.  So I have been trying to go cold turkey without it.  I know there are plenty of other online newspapers out there, I just am used to it, I guess.  ATM fees are also going through the roof with some banks asking $5 if you try to get your own money out of a different ATM then is allowed by your bank.  I try not to use any ATM's anymore.

Have a good week and let me know how your week was.

 – Kate