Dear Diary, Nielsen rating style

I remember many years ago, my sister, Hertha, said yes to filling out a TV-watching survey diary for the Nielsen Rating Company. She was a woman of strong opinions and determined precision. So I'm pretty sure she gave them plenty to think about. National advertisers want the kind of information the Nielsen Rating company compiles.

So when I was contacted recently and asked if I'd like to participate, I said yes. It was only for 8 days. Seems to me that when Hertha did it, it was for a much longer period of time. When my two diaries arrived (one for each TV in the home), there was a crisp dollar bill inside. Not sure what the message of that was. . . . See if you can buy an ice cream cone for your trouble?

My job was to fill out a general survey about myself, then write down each bit of TV (over 5 minutes) that I watched. Also write down any of the DVR'ed programs that I watched. And if I were to leave the TV on while I was gone----to keep a pet company or deter burglars---well, make note of that, too.


As noted on the front, Larry called. He told me to write that down. He's a Nielsen employee in Florida that called to go through all the details of how to do the survey. Hm-m-m. His call was on Day #7 of the 8 day survey. Is he backed up on his calls, or what? Good thing I love to read and had figured it already. And for inquiring minds, that day the temperature in his Florida city was just the same as Boise - - - but with nearly 100% humidity, says Larry.

I did my "duty" and mailed my diaries back, just as I was told. So much easier than being on jury duty!

So now they can check the trends. If they are looking at trends, depending on the 8 day info I sent in, it would go something like this:

*Never watches local TV (I don't receive local channels)
*Rarely watches programs live
*Gets hooked on one show/channel and stays there for a hunk of time
*Records freely from whatever channel is a free demo for that month
*Goes many hours without turning the TV on
*Never uses the second TV
*Loves her DVR feature
*Does not entertain pets nor deter burglars

What would the Neilsen ratings find as your TV-watching trends?

The Thankful Game

I told the grandkids this is a game I used to play with their daddies, aunts and uncles when they were little kids and I was the mommy: The Thankful Game.

It was a useful and fun activity----especially when we had some crankiness in our home. It always changed the atmosphere in a happy direction. We'd go around in a circle. Everyone got to say one thing they were thankful for. And then they got a piece of candy. They always wanted to have more and more turns. It was fun then (and now) to hear what each child was thinking. Sometimes the deep thoughts of one child would help lead the thinking of the others.....and we'd get into wonderful conversations about this amazing world God created for us. Loved it then......love it now.

After the first round today, Jackson wanted to know if we could keep going til we ran out of thankful things to say. Pretty much, sweet boy.



On Sydney's first turn (2yrs old, not in this picture) I asked her what she was thankful for. That was an unfamiliar phrase to her young brain. I attempted to re-phrase it for her understanding.
"What do you like, Sydney?" Her answer, "The green one!"
Bingo! She played me like a violin. We all laughed. And she got an M & M.

Swinging Cousins

Got to have some of the grandkids for an overnighter. We awoke to a gorgeous morning--perfect for playing in the park. Micaela was an amazing buddy for her younger cousins, helping them swing high. And if you look close at the first three pictures, you can see the game Jackson created: run as close as you can to the swinging feet (and faster than my new Nikon can snap!)

Zoom, zoom.....around he goes again.

Note: No humans were hurt in the making of this movie.....er life moment.

Sydney, a swinger wannabe.

She always looked like she really wanted to join in.

But everytime we asked, she turned us down.

Lean to the Left . . .

Here are my home teachers

going the VERY Very extra mile

A long term experiment:

After a slightly crooked planting and 6 years of growth . . . .

can some exterior "influence"

make a significant change?

I think Dad/Grandpa could stir up an inspiring gospel talk based on this leaning tree in my front yard

What do you think he'd say?

I Love this land, America. . . .

Happy 4th of July!

We gathered in the subdivision park for dinner and playtime

I only pulled out my old camera for a few shots

Treyson and several others tried their hand at creating giant bubbles

Sorry......we didn't get the liquid proportions correct

No big bubbles this time

Daisylyn had a busy day running to observe here and there

Tumbling and racing with Micaela
Safety patrol... Being encouraged to not run into the street
Levi moved from chair to grass to blanket
practicing his pre-walking stances
among lots of his favorite people

A nice lazy evening

with family

ending with lots of colorful explosions

I am grateful to live in this country with a wonderful family

Tip Toe into Techie-ville

Uh huh,

I made the plunge and took advantage of a little camera sale at Fred Meyers

5 Mile/Overland

I sing the praises of an employee there at the camera counter:

Donna

Today you stand on a pedastal!

She patiently explored the features of several cameras til I made my choice

then outlined what to do when I got home

Nikon doesn't provide power connections for their floor model cameras

so I couldn't practice any camera operation in the store

"Come back if you have any questions."

Does she have any idea of my tech fear and ineptitude!?

I could have a plethora of questions

I actually dislike opening up a new piece of technology

I feel whacked with overwhelm and anxiety

Come on, LD

Give it a trial run

I came right home

charged the battery and started experimenting

Careful....

this next one may bring on nausea

I just want to know how close I can go

and get it to focus

Uh . . . . not so close, LD

Ah, certainly a better focus

both subject-wise and camera-wise

but, still, kind of fuzzy

OO-oo, I have questions

Was Donna serious that I could go back and ask?

Try her, LD

I do believe I will

Back I went

(Must take advantage of my learning momentum, I think to myself)

flourescent light setting

I snapped pictures while Donna waited on other customers

Between each,

she came to me and helped me figure out things

The biggie was the "just right" pressure to get the touchscreen to respond

I'd been thumping it at home, getting unpredictable results----and was really frustrated :o(

I've got the touch now!

YES

We played with
color settings

light settings

how to turn off the flash (something I don't know how to do on my old camera)

Not that I'll remember everything I practiced

but I'll be able to tell myself

"I did that once.....now how did I do that?"

Yes, I do have the instruction CD.....a tense piece of literature, I assure you

Vibrant setting

I can't say enough good about having a kind sales woman

No eye rolling or sighing

No techie geek fast talk

She shared her experience from the many cameras she has owned

was excited that I was willing to experiment

and meant it when she said to come ask questions

Kudos to Donna

I have a good start on my learning climb

I feel encouraged

Before I left the store
I stopped by the service counter

Picked up a comment card
and wrote the store manager a very specific note about
the way-beyond courtesy I received from
my now-favorite camera clerk

Say Hi to Donna when you go shopping
She's a rare breed



Extra bonus:
Donna found me the last of the specialty boxed Nikons that happened to have both
a storage card and a carrying case included with the camera
AND
it was "senior discount" day to the tune of 10% off the sale price
Woot!
Pay off day for the creaky joint club

New Camera. Yikes!

Woohoo.

I just made a committment.

New camera.

A skinny Nikon.

Didn't go with the super fancy, bulky one I thought I would pick.

How's my learning curve? Do you see any pictures yet?

Well, that's your answer.