Six Sci-Fi Shows to #Stream: #ShadowHunters + 5 #What2Watch #W2WW @Netflix_CA

What to Watch?

Six Sci-Fi Series to Stream  

As you all know, "What's Good to Watch?" is a common question amongst my friends and family, and the reason I share movie and show recommendations on Cathy Thinking Out Loud every Wednesday (aka W2WW). This week I'm recommending a new sci-fi Netflix Original, called Shadow Hunters.

The series starts on Clary's 18th Birthday, when she finds out some rather startling truths about herself and her mother. After Clary's mother is kidnapped, she turns to a group of newly friended shadow hunters to help find and rescue her missing mother.

New episodes of Shadow Hunters are being added weekly, but while you're waiting for the next one, why not binge-watch one of these series:

• Being Human
• The 4400
• Life on Mars
• The X Files
• Angel

Sharing is caring, so do tell ... what are you streaming these days?
Happy Streaming!

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about what to watch.

Note: I have not been compensated for this post. All my opinions are my own, and the purpose of this post is merely to share with my readers. 

Life Long Love Affair: #DisneyWorld Over the Years. #travel #familytravel #traveltuesday

For me Disney World is a magical place, where so many memories have been made.

Disney Over the Years

I was in Grade 7 the first time I went to Disney World. It was a big deal, and the first big vacation our family had taken. Back then Magic Kingdom was the only Disney theme park, with Epcot opening a few years later. The trip took place over the Christmas holidays, and Santa brought me and each of my siblings a Mickey Mouse watch. Mine had a clear back so the gears could be seen, my older sister's was a huge wall clock that looked like a watch, my younger sister's was a cute red banded one, and my brother's was a fob or pocket watch. 

It was the beginning of a life long love affair with Disney World. We stayed at a resort called Lake Buena Vista that was one of the three Disney Resorts that existed at the time, the others being the Contemporary and the Polynesian. Each time the mono-rail stopped mid-trip 25 feet above the ground, it provided endless entertainment as we all immediately mimicked the automated announcement "Please take all small children by the hand and watch your step". 

On our first trip with the kids Disney's Animal Kingdom had just opened and it turned out be almost as awesome as Magic Kingdom. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort, in my opinion a fantastic choice for families with young kids. and had a wonderful time in spite of the fact Thing 2 aka danger boy fractured his collar bone falling off the bed he was jumping on. Not really a big shock when he become a skaterboy just a few years later. While at Animal Kingdom we foolishly bought a large stuffed Tigger, and realized moments after paying we'd have to carry it around the park all day. Before I could even voice my concern we were told it could be delivered to our room. It was posed looking out the window as if watching for us, when we returned to our room later that evening. 

I love that everything from the luggage tags, to the waffles are Disney themed. There are perks to staying on-site like extended or early park hours, character meals, Tigger delivery service, and twice when we have gone at the end of August a free meal plan promotion, which was a huge savings.

When we returned a few a few years later I was surprised at how many rides and attractions the kids remembered when we returned a few years later. Thing 2 was only 18 months old on our first trip. The Tiki Hut apparently left quite the impression. This was the trip the Buzz Lightyear ride became an all time favourite. This was also the trip that marked the start of the Downtown Disney Lego store tradition. We visit and buy at least one Lego keychain on each visit to Disney. We stayed at a very nice hotel close to the parks called the Bohemian Hotel Celebration.

For our next trip to Disney World we once again returned to the Caribbean Beach Resort, for another wonderful memory making trip. Both times we stayed at this resort we were extremely happy with the rooms, dining options, service and selection of activities available right at the hotel. I would happily go back, and always check price and availability here before looking for other accommodations. It was on this trip we were introduced to the lanyard and collector Disney pin exchange. We had a riot with the Disney staff both at the parks and the resort exchanging pins and finding out which ones were limited edition or rare.

In keeping with tradition ... we head back again, this time staying off-sight at the Caribe Royale - Orlando, The hotel is very nice, but we were there at Spring Break and traffic getting in or out of the hotel and around this part of Orlando was brutal. We could literally walk faster than the traffic was moving. So if you plan on going out for meals or to theme parks, we found it very frustrating. Also local calls and wi-fi were not included in the cost of the room. In general that is a deal breaker for me, but this trip was planned last minute so our options were somewhat limited. 

Yep, back again! This time staying at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace an Official Walt Disney World Hotel located directly across the street from Downtown Disney. The hotel is beautiful and service and room were great, and we loved everything about it except the unexpected resort fee of $22.50 US per night. We were informed about this mandatory resort fee at the time of check-in. I gather this is quite common for Orlando hotels now but multiply that by 7 nights and it adds up. The resort fee included free local calls, internet and park shuttle service, but personally I find fees like that sneaky. If I don't have a choice add it to the price and show me the true cost so I can budget accordingly. We did used the shuttle bus to the parks for the first time ever and that was convenient, easy and included in the cost of the room. Each evening we walked over to Downtown Disney for dinner,a visit to the LEGO store, to shop and take in the many activities and performances. 

We have been stayed at Disney twice at the end of August, and found that time of year has some of the lowest of the year, and in the past have had free meal plan promotion at this time of year. In my opinion staying on-site at a Disney Resort when the kids are young makes everything easier and worth the paying a bit more. The perks, and promotions they often can make it the same cost overall. Certainly the free meal plan makes for substantial savings

My wish is that everyone gets the chance to experience the magic of Disney at least once in their life, because you're never too old for Disney. 

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about the happiest place on earth. 

Note: I have not been compensated for this post. The purpose of this post is merely to share my experiences with my readers.

Five W's and How of Attending @BConnectedConf April 2016 #BConnectedConf

Everything You Need to Know About BConnected Conference 2016:

Five W's and the How:

What:
BConnected is a Digital Influencer Conference perfect for those wanting to learn how best to use social media to expand their digital influence and reach, market and showcase their blog, small business, or brand, and understand and keep up with social media trends.BConnected Conference 2016 itinerary includes:
4 Keynote Speakers,
9 Hands-On Learning Sessions,
Round Table Sessions,
and a Brand Exhibitor Hall
Wait! There's More: a 2-day conference pass also includes:
Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks each day,
a Friday night Tour, Sip and Socialize Event with Ottawa Tourism including a Haunted Walk,
a Saturday night BConnected Social BlowOut Party benefiting the Canadian Continence Foundation, hosted by Derick Fage, which will include a DJ, a Candy Bar, a Selfie Booth, a Silent Auction and more.
Free Head Shots by Barnyard Studio du Coin,
morning BodyGym Fitness classes with Fitness with Jules,

and a swag bag.

When:

The BConnected Conference takes place April 23-24th, 2016, which is a beautiful time of year in the Capital. You'll want to come in early for the Friday night Haunted Walk and maybe stick around for the Sunday night Bloggers Dinner.

Where:
The Marriott Courtyard - Ottawa, is the revue for BConnected 2016, and part of the unique mix of galleries, shops and restaurants that make up the historic Byward Market.

Why:

Investing in your professional development is a great reason to attend BConnected 2016, but the return you'll get from that investment will be so much more. A conference is a perfect way to network, meet contacts, interact with social media experts, learn how to improve your social media skills, and gain insight into the best ways to utilize social media and digital marketing to achieve your goals. A conference presents a unique type of environment and interactive learning experience.

Who:

Who is BConnected for? It's for Bloggers, Small Business Owners, Home-Based Business Owners, Digital Influencers, and anyone who wants to learn more about social media and digital engagement, influence and marketing.

How:

Register Now! and let the countdown begin. Get those packing lists ready starting with these 6 essential tools for a conference. 

Other Important Stuff:

The BConnected Hashtag: #BConnectedConf

Follow the hashtag and BConnected on twitter, facebook, and instagram.

Sunday 2 - 5 pm

Workshop on SEO and Social Engagement 

presented by Dan R Morris and Rachel Martin of Blogging Concentrated.

(Workshop Fee $20 with 1 or 2 day BConnected Pass, or $60 for Workshop only - includes a snack)

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win 

a 2-day pass to the upcoming BConnected Conference 

and the Sunday Workshop by Blogging Concentrated 

Saturday April 23rd and Sunday April 24th, 2016 

at the beautiful Marriott Courtyard Ottawa in the Byward Market.

Giveaway ends February 15th, 2015

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about BConnected Conference 2016.

Note: I am part of the BConnected Conference Team.

Fifty-One Social Media Acronyms #SocialMedia #GrowYourVocab

With so many acronyms used on social media, I often feel I need someone to ELI5 (explain like I'm 5 years old) all the different terms and short forms.

I understand why we use them; out of necessary (140 character limit), to save time, and just for fun. This post is about growing your vocabulary and shrinking it all at the same time.

I have compiled a list of 51 social media acronyms,

with my absolute favourites highlighted in red.

A

AFAIK - as far as I know

AWHFY - are we having fun yet

B

BRB - be right back

BION - believe it or not

C

C4N - ciao for now

CTA - call to action

D

DAE - does anyone else

DFTBA - don't forget to be awesome

E

ELI5 - explain like I'm 5 years old

EOR - end of rant

F

FF - follow Friday

FTW - for the win

G

GTG (G2G) - got to go

GNSD - good night, sweat dreams

H

HTH (H2H) - happy to help

HT - hat tip

I

ICYMI - in case you missed it

IKR - I know right?!

J

JK - just kidding

JSYK - just so you know

K

KHYF - know how you feel

KIT - keep in touch

L

LLPOF - liar liar pants on fire

LSS - long story short

M

MT - modified tweet

MTF - more to follow

N

NP - no problem

NTS (N2S) - note to self 

O

OOTD - outfit of the day

ORL - oh really?!

P

POIDH - photos or it didn't happen

PSOG - pure stroke of genius

Q

QQ - quick question

QOTD - quote of the day

R

RBAY (RBAU, RB@Y RB@U) - right back at you

ROFL - rolling on the floor laughing

S

SMB - small business

SO (S/O) - shout out

T

TBT - throwback Thursday

TL;DR - too long; didn't read

U

U2U - up to you

URTB - you are the best

V

VBD - very big deal

VBG - very big grin

W

w/ - with 

WOTD - word of the day

X

XBF (XGF) - ex-boyfriend, ex girlfriend

XTL - cross the line

Y

YOLO - you only live once

YSK - you should know

Z

ZZZ - sleep or snore

Do you have any favourites I missed? 

Please share in the comments section. 

Consider this my work so no NSFW (not safe for work) shares please.

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about some of the IMHO (in my humble opinion) best or more useful SM (social media) acronyms. 

Please Read My Post: A Day in the Life of a Needy Blogger #BloggerIssues

I Write, I Publish, Then the little voice inside my head says "please please please read my post", and then the cycle repeats itself. 

It's a bit like the instructions on the shampoo bottle:
Wash, Rinse, Repeat, but instead for me it's:
Write, Reader Requisition, Repeat

Yes, I get that it's a wee bit (okay more like infinitely) needy, but I can't help it. 

OMG ... I just realized I 'm a high maintenance blogger!

(Putting on the cone of shame as I type)

 

I have absolutely no idea why one day 100 people visit and another day I'm lucky to get 25 visits, even if I have new posts up and I'm actively sharing links on social media. I just know I like the 100 better than the 25 visits. Maybe on the 25 days you didn't hear my telepathic calls summoning you to a new post. (I'll summon louder in the future).

One of my goals for 2016 is post more consistently and increase the number of visitors and length of visits to my blog. My goal for the first half of 2016 is to consistently get 5o+ visitors a day, or 1500 visitors and 4000 page views per month, and double that number for the second half of 2016. Seemed like an achievable goal at the time, but time will tell.

Giveaways are fun and increase traffic to the blog, but also skew the numbers since they tend to result in quick one page visit, so I'm not including those in my monthly count. The length of visit is a pretty good indicator whether the post is actually being read. 

So far I haven't hit my 50 everyday, but I have had other days with more than 50 so over all I am on target to hit my numbers for the month of January. So to all those who have and continue to visit, thank you for taking the time to do so, and please please please keep reading my posts. If you're not visiting ... maybe it's you who needs the cone of shame.

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about being a insecure and needy blogger.

Throwback Thursday #TBT - 5 1/4 inch Floppy Disks w/ Storage Unit circa 70's

#TBT 

Throwback Thursday

5 1/4 inch Floppy Disks 

(with a full 1.6 MB of storage per disk) 

AND

most impressive locking storage container.

circa the 70's

Now if I could only figure out where Hubby put the Commodore 64, 

I guess I didn't have room in my brain to save that information to memory. 

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about making and saving memories.

Seven Movies Set in Italy to Stream Today - Ciao Bella! #What2Watch #W2WW

What to Watch

Ora Mi Scusi ... It's time to watch these 7 Movies Set in Italy

As you all know, "What's Good to Watch?" is a common question amongst my friends and family, and the reason why I share movie and show recommendations on Cathy Thinking Out Loud every Wednesday (aka W2WW). Yesterday was Tuesday and I wrote a #TravelTuesday post about Italy which inspired this week's recommendations of movies set and or shot in Italy. The Italian scenery alone make them worth watching. You can stream them all on Netflix Canada.

Romeo and Juliet

A Room With A View

Shadows in the Sun

Love Is All You Need

To Rome With Love

Stealing Beauty

The Lizzie McGuire Movie

Sharing is caring, so do tell ... what are you streaming these days? 

Ciao! and
Happy Streaming!

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about what to watch.

Note: I have not been compensated for this post in any way. All my opinions are my own, and the purpose of this post is merely to share with my readers.