Hey Everyone!

Check out my first Youtube Short video! It only took me a few months to figure out how to post a thirteen second, on repeat video, lol.

I had a lot of fun making it, so let me know whatcha think please.

I hope y’all enjoy ;)
Christine

​

#shorts
#sheltielife
#dunkindonuts
#shetlandsheepdogs
#youtubeshorts
​

~Saying Goodbye to The Most Destructive Social Media Platform on the Planet~

Today I finally deleted my Twitter accounts. Accounts - plural - because I had two accounts… a public Twitter, and a private Twitter.

But either way - they’re both gone as of today. So, goodbye - and good riddance - Twitter. 

I have had an on again/off again sorta relationship with Twitter for a few years now. But today, we formally broke up. Forever.

Like - We are never, ever, ever getting back together babe.

The main and exact reason for my breakup with Twitter will always be private and, thus, I am not going to share that with you here today. But I am very happy, indeed, to share that the relationship is over. OVER! And if anything I have ever written is deserving of an exclamation point in my writings, it is the previously typed one word sentence.

We are divorced.

Our union - dissolved.

Irreconcilable differences - Checked.

But - THIS - is not bad news.

THIS is good news.

Very good news, in fact.

You see - I am now one less person on the vast, and seedy, and quite despicable platform. One less is a sea of millions. One less droplet of water in a vast ocean of destruction.

And gosh, the waves were strong.

Like hurricane force winds taking place. EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. OF EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Don’t get me wrong, here. There is a whole lotta good taking place on Twitter. Like - oh, let’s just say - local weather reports. Or, maybe even announcements of the special flavor of the day at the local ice cream shop. And, maybe even a Tweet from your favorite author sharing with you the title of their next and upcoming book. 

But the loudest voices in the room seem to be filled with hate in their hearts. And I just don’t have time for hate.

My private Twitter account was the one I really enjoyed the very best, and is, sadly, the one I will miss the most. It was there, behind lock and key, that I followed all my favorite people in the world. I read their daily musings and followed along as civilized society fell apart around us all. I considered it a private diary of sorts. Where I was brave enough to declare to my private little world who I really ‘had a crush on’ at the moment, and who I ‘loved’ deeply. Who would I go to the ends of the Earth for? Only my diary knows that. And the few people whom I allowed to view that sacred, private diary.

My public Twitter account, on the other hand, was very simple. And not very exciting. I had, oh, I would say, roughly about three followers, and I followed about seven public accounts - including a few bakeries. If I read an interesting piece of news, it was here that I would tweet out a link to said article. And it was here that I would find the donut of the day, and coffee of the moment. It was here that I would be informed of a 99 cent sale on medium iced coffees after 3pm at Dunkin. For goodness sake, if there isn’t anything more important in the world than to know about that sale, I don’t know what is.

But, while the public realm of Twitter can be filled with innocent coffee and donuts, and surveys about which drink is your favorite - the caramel macchiato or the peppermint latte -  Twitter can also be filled with a lot of destruction. At the exact same time. There may even be a hate-filled answer to an innocent survey question about what your favorite drink happens to be. if there is any place in the world that can turn a simple comment (Tweet) into the end of the world - it is on Twitter. The Hate was real people. Real.

And I’m guessing that as long as you haven’t been living under a rock in recent history, then you know as much as well.

Somebody always misinterprets someone else. Somebody always hates what someone else has to say. I’m not even referring to myself or my own Tweets here. I’m just referring to what I have witnessed across the entire platform. And it seems Hate breeds Hate. And the loudest voice in the room gets louder, and bigger, while the smallest voice, or the most quiet voice, gets quieter.

My own footprint on Twitter was small. Very small.

And I’m sure not one person on Twitter will miss me there.

And guess the heck what? I certainly won’t miss that blue little bird either. Bless his little heart.

I don’t think there is one single thing I will miss by not being on Twitter - except, maybe - the weather reports.

It was Twitter that I have relied on during almost all previous hurricanes that have come through during the past few years. It was Twitter that stayed on strong, and kept going, if the internet service was bad to nearly non-existent. It was Twitter that I could pop on and see what the latest forecast was from a local or national meteorologist - up to the minute reports. What was the governor saying? What was the mayor’s latest press conference? Had the river flooded? Was 1st Street under water? Twitter would keep me updated. And help keep my mind at least a little bit at ease, as I watched a storm churn and whirl past us.

So, I guess I’ll just have to get my hurricane weather updates elsewhere. Of course all of this is easy to say right now - in March - when the ten day forecast ahead of me is ten glorious days of sun. Easy for me to say now, when the upcoming hurricane season is still a few months away.

Oh well.

Many people have survived many hurricane seasons without Twitter. I’ve been one of them before. And I guess in 2021 - I’ll be one of them yet again.

I said goodbye to Twitter for many reasons. Many, many reasons, in fact. And as I said already, I won’t name the reasons themselves here. And the reasons shall remain locked away in my very own private diary. But, I am overall ecstatic to share this news with you. The news of saying Goodbye. The news of hitting the DELETE button. And I’m happy to share this news with you right HERE. And NOT on social media.

Alrighty then - I’m gonna go eat some Munchkins. And drink my large Iced Latte from Dunkin. And I’m really gonna enjoy another blustery and wintry day on my barrier island. And I don’t need that little Blue Bird to tell me the weather forecast today either. Because I just looked up at the beacon of sunlight staring right down at me. Beckoning me to get my daily dose of naturally derived Vitamin D, as I sit down to read a good book - by my favorite author.

So, Goodbye Twitter.

Tweet Ya Later. ~

​

*Part of - Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge - series

Is it me, or does everyone debate EVERYTHING nowadays?

We have:
Flip or Flop
Who wore it better?
Kate vs. Meghan
Netflix vs. Hulu
Disney vs. Universal
Coke vs. Pepsi
What came first… the chicken or the egg?
Who played the best James Bond ever?
Jelly vs. Jam
Is breakfast the most important meal of the day?
Paleo vs. Keto
Do plants have feelings?
Blake or Miranda?
N’SYNC v. NKOTB (wow, that’s a tough one)....
Oh wait, I think I’m starting to date myself over here… Moving onwards… pay no attention to me sitting in front of a square box tv watching NKOTB. Wait, they are still really together!

Yes, the list could go on forever… Because, guess what? Everyone does seem to debate everything nowadays. Ha, would who have thought?

We even debate on Twitter if an award show was totally awesome? Or was it horrible and the worst award show that ever aired on network television? In fact, now we debate not only who the host of the award show should or should not be, but if there should be a host at all? Huh?

And we have all this before even mentioning politics. The dreaded word. Lest we all forget the upcoming presidential debates ahead of us this year - yes, an official presidential election year. It looms ahead of us, taunting us all. Ahhhmmm… whether we like it or not, it’s all coming, and it’s all coming for us.

Yes, we are alive during a very interesting time… Or wait, is this time period actually interesting? Maybe we’re not even really alive? Maybe we live in a simulation. You’ve heard about that one, right? Or maybe we’re living and breathing inside an alternative universe - right now. And yep, you can easily fall into a YouTube rabbit hole on that one… Do we live in a UNIverse or do we live in a MULTIverse? THAT - is the question. Or do I have too much time on my hands? That - might be the question also.

But any way you shake it, if you are in need of a debate topic for a school project, the list is nearly endless. NO ONE should fail debate class nowadays. It should be a minute and mere impossibility.

Or should it?

So with most everything and anything up for debate today, I’m throwing my hat in the ring.

With all the seriousness going on everywhere, how’s about a good old-fashioned and silly and completely useless and utter waste of time and ridiculous debate. A debate that no matter who wins and who loses, the world won’t end. The loser won’t cry. And the winner didn’t actually even win anything? Cause, guess what else? I Don’t even have a trophy to present.

So to the loser, I say here and now: No hard feelings. It’s all just for laughs… Well - and to give me something to do...

So earlier this week I decided to go on a couple of outings, all involving donuts... I wanted to conduct a taste test and experiment of my very own. So, my husband and I played out my first ridiculous challenge of 2020. And I am hereby calling it:

“The Very Official And Quite Serious Donut Debate of 2020”

Nope, I’m not here to talk politics. Nor the Golden Globes. Nor the Oscars. Nor the Twitterverse. Nor even the Universe V. Multiverse theory. I’m simply here to talk about donuts.

Got it?
And to make matters even more nonsensical and useless and to waste even more of everybody's time and efforts - I was completely biased going in, and I had many preconceived notions... How dare I?

I thought I knew who was gonna win, and I was overly confident in who I thought would lose. Yes, I was completely biased. And bias is allowed. Cause guess what? It’s all for F.U.N.

I mention my bias, my preconceived notions, etc. because at the end of the day the winner actually surprised me. Honestly. Yes, I was wowed by one, and I was under-wowed by the other. And the winner was NOT at all who I thought it was going to be.

Here’s my bias:
First of all, I LOVE donuts. Yes, I love donuts so much that people have made fun of me about it many times in the past. I am the donut girl. Long story. Not relevant. No big deal.

But, anyways, I love donuts. So, naturally, I love Dunkin Donuts. Or, ‘Dunkin’ as they are calling themselves nowadays. I know and love their coffee, and I know and love their donuts. I know how many calories are in their donuts and how to plan their donuts into my day no problem without gaining a bit of weight. Cause since we’re talking scientific theories today, weight maintenance is all about the Calories IN V. Calories OUT theory.

And, here’s my preconceived notions:
I always assumed Krispy Kreme was THE BEST. And I have NEVER ever, once ever, been to a Krispy Kreme. Did I mention never?

I know, I know…. How does someone who loves donuts not once have stepped their feet inside a Krispy Kreme?

It’s possible. Because I have never been to a Krispy Kreme until this week, for this challenge.

And, again, I just assumed through my preconceived notions and probably through their very good marketing strategy throughout the years that reflected upon me a highly sought-after and nothing-like-it-on-this-Earth quality donut.

So, I decided that I wanted to finally try Krispy Kreme, and see if they measured up to my beloved Dunkin. My forever faithful, my forever reliable, my delicious, and my heavenly, Dunkin.

So, naturally, step one of my challenge meant that I needed to go to Dunkin. Because it all starts at Dunkin. I needed to purchase their plain original glazed Dunkin Donut to try before trying the exact same at Krispy Kreme.

And yes, we ate a lot of donuts this week, and all for the sake of the written word, or for science. My tummy thanks you for the opportunity to present this completely educational and very scientific information to you.

So off we went to Dunkin. One large hot latte for myself at 130 calories (my favorite drink of the moment), and one large iced latte for the hubby - who doesn’t need to count a single calorie... so none will be listed here.

We each tried one original glazed, which clock in at 260 calories per donut. Good. Great. The best ever. According to me.

Hubby thinks they are just fine - he is not at all passionate about donuts like I am, so this answer was exactly what I expected from him.

Dunkin is busy. Always. Very busy. We always wait in a line - during the morning commuter rush. No complaints, just mentioning because they seem to have a large fan base. There are always customers. And, most all of the tables are taken inside the small shop on Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. As just as many people sit and linger, and talk, or work on the WiFi, as they do take their orders and run out the door with them. After all, American Runs On Dunkin, right?

Up next - Krispy Kreme. The next morning - same time of day. To finally try my first original glazed, fresh out of the fryer. The original. The classic. Since 1937.

So there we off and went, and actually left the island… “Over the Ditch” as the locals say.

So over the river and through the woods we went. Or over the Intracoastal and through the swamps. Same thing. Until I had finally arrived for the first time in my entire life at a Krispy Kreme. Specifically, the Krispy Kreme in the city of Jacksonville, Florida - the one on Atlantic Boulevard.