Steven Helmer Publications

Officially, I bought this for my wife to give to me as an early Valentine's Day gift.

I finally pulled the trigger on the purchase because I recently got new health insurance and that insurance has a fitness incentive program that pays me $20 (direct deposited in my checking account) anytime I complete 10,000 or more steps at least 12 times in a month.

I do have an app on my phone that counts my steps too. But, I just don't have my phone on me 24/7 and I know I'm not getting credit for a good chunk of steps I take at home or at the office. Heck, just this morning, I had close to a 1000 steps in just from my normal morning activity of helping get the girls ready for school.

So far, it seems to be working OK. I'm still trying to figure everything out because this pretty much came with no instructions (I'm sure I can find them online, but I just haven't gone through the effort yet). However, it seems to be doing a good job keeping track of my movements and I even…

Synopsis: Still reeling from Jesus' (Tom Payne) death, Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) seek answers from a captured Whisperer (Cassady McClincy). Meanwhile, an escaped Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) discovers life outside Alexandria isn't what he expected.



Here are my thoughts from the episode, which my wife and I finally had a chance to watch yesterday evening:

1. When I was first introduced to the older version of Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming), I liked her. Now, I'm on the fence about her. OK, to be fair, there are still a lot of things that are likable about her (I especially loved how she chastised Negan for swearing in front of her) but, I think she's being used a bit too much in a cute/comic relief-like role.
On top of it, I'm just not buying her accuracy with Rick Grime's (Andrew Lincoln) gun. She should, at minimum, be on the ground every time she fires that weapon, which is way too powerful for someone her size.
I still think she has so…

They were predicting some nasty weather today so, since I had to swing by the grocery store on my way to the office anyway, I decided to look for something for lunch (to save me the drive home). I wasn't really sure what I was in the mood for. However, I came across this product in the freezer section and decided to give it a try.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to buy this product because I thought the $4 price was a little high considering I could buy a regular ramen cup for about 33 cents. However, I thought the chicken strips looked inviting and decided to give it a chance. After having it for lunch, my opinion was mixed.

As far as convenience goes, I had no complaints. All I had to do was add some water to the bowl and microwave it for 4 minutes, 15 seconds. There weren't a bunch of unnecessary or complicated steps and the ramen noodles did come out fully cooked.

I also thought this had a decent flavor to it. It wasn't too salty (which is …

Synopsis: When Trixie Thomas moves to Lochdubh with her husband intending to open a bed & breakfast, local constable Hamish Macbeth realizes he doesn't like her all that much. And, when she befriends the other village wives and convinces them to make healthier meals, push for a smoking ban and protest a local farmer who wants to knock down an old building that is a home for bats, many of the local husbands (and some wives) join Macbeth in his dislike. When Trixie is found poisoned, Hamish must figure out who disliked her enough to murder her.


Review: After being disappointed by my last Agatha Christie novel, I decided to give M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth another try and picked up this fourth novel from our local library. Normally, when I get a book like this, it takes me about a week to get through it (sometimes a little longer depending on how busy my schedule is). So, I was actually kind of surprised when I wound up reading this entire book in the course of an evening.

T…

To tell you the truth, I didn't even know Johnsonville made Polish kielbasa. I had never seen this advertised or in any of our stores. In fact, the only reason I learned about this product was because my mom came across it when she was out grocery shopping and, since my wife and I both forgot to make plans for dinner last night, offered us one.

Kielbasa is relatively popular in our household. However, we normally buy locally-made kielbasa from one of our grocery stores and I wasn't really sure how this one would compare to those. Unfortunately, while I didn't hate it, I wasn't as impressed with it as I was hoping to be.

My biggest complaint about this product is it wound up tasting a bit bland, at least when compared to some other kielbasa we've purchased. This actually surprised me a bit because, when I was cooking this, it smelled a bit spicy and I was afraid it would be the exact opposite. I guess I wasn't the only one who felt this way about this kielbasa …

Synopsis: Sheriff Deputy Daniel Carter comes across a blood-soaked man on a deserted country road and takes him to a nearby hospital. While there, he is forced to shoot a nurse when she attacks him with a pair of scissors and, a short-time later, the hospital is surrounded by a group of robed figures armed with knives. Unable to escape or call for help, Carter discovers another problem, the deceased are coming back to life and turning into tentacled creatures.

Who's in it? The movie stars Aaron Poole, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe,Ellen Wong, Daniel Fathers and Mik Byskov.


Review: My wife was in the mood for a horror movie last night and, as I made dinner, scrolled through Netflix in search of one. She originally picked out another film but, while waiting, decided the preview for this movie, while a bit incomplete, looked a little better and we wound up watching it.

As it turns out, this movie did prove to have a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it just didn't quite live up to …