Rough Draft

Coffee Time

I am not a huge fan of buying latte's every morning like half the country.

It isn't that I dislike latte's...I love them...but I am far too lazy to have to drive to get my coffee every morning and am far too cheap to spend five bucks on said latte.

I guess I am just a coffee purist.

I make a 6-8 pot of coffee every morning and I drink it with a little fat-free half and half. My only complaint to my normal system would be I can't seem to drink it fast enough to keep it hot enough so I am constantly reheating it in my microwave, which at times drives me this side of bat-shit crazy.

I did a favor for a friend a few months ago and she gave me a Starbucks gift card. One afternoon I was out and didn't have my regular morning coffee so I decided to grab a latte...that cost me five bucks...(well, I used the gift card but it was still five bucks) and I definitely enjoyed it but couldn't imagine doing that on a daily basis, no matter how delicious.

When I got home I took the half cup left and poured it into a coffee cup so I could reheat it.

I realized that the large latte that cost five bucks was about two cups worth.

So I thought I would play around with some numbers. 

I drink on average 8 cups of coffee a day.

Starbucks $5 latte = 2 cups = $2.50 per cup.
    Per month that would come to: $20 a day for my eight cups of coffee, or: $600 for 30 days, since I drink coffee each and every glorious day.
    Okay, I would probably only buy one large latte a day, everyday for a month which would add up to: $150 a month.

Coffee brewed at home: $8 for 1 lb. bag of beans which lasts me two weeks.  So, for one month = $16 worth of beans compared to either $150 or as much as $600 at Starbucks!

At home for two weeks at 8 cups a day = 112 cups of coffee for $8. 

Or in another words:  .07 vs. $2.50.

WOW.

Tweens And Phones

We are not the family that has given each of their children smart phones.

Hell, we aren't even the family that has given each of their children regular ole dinosaur phones either.

We have a total of four cellphones today. Smart phones for me and Larry, a phone for Josh (that he got on his 18th birthday), and what we call our "house cellphone."

When Larry and I upgraded last year from our Droid to an iPhone we let Jennifer and Harrison "have" our Droid's which allowed them to play games, listen to music, and text for free with an app (but the phone was obviously not activated any longer so they couldn't make any calls with them.)

It all seemed okay.

Harrison used his to play games, watch YouTube, and listen to music.

Jennifer used hers to play games, listen to music, text...and get herself onto social media.

Um, what?

Wait.

No.

We didn't allow Josh to even get onto Facebook until about the 11th grade. We asked Harrison about it but he is uninterested.

As for Jennifer she is in the seventh grade...and a girl. Okay, I know I shouldn't be sexist but, well, I am.

And I'm not here to justify or defend my position on the difference between RAISING SONS and RAISING DAUGHTERS. I will say this: IT IS DIFFERENT. Period.

Anyway.

Back to my daughter who I discovered was texting her friends but there were, well, issues because let's face it: girls can be mean any chance they fucking get. 

Oy.

Granted, my daughter tried to defuse the situations and one could argue that it is teaching her how to navigate friendships, etc. Yeah, still don't care. She can learn how to navigate relationships in the REAL WORLD, face to face, the way children today SHOULD be learning. And from all that I read from every one of her texts to every one of her friends (Yep, I did) she wasn't mean but things were taken out of context and other friends were hurt by the new friend Jennifer was hanging around (Oh Me Gawd, Those Days) and it was all too much after awhile for even me to read.

And then I discovered my daughter on Instagram. Oh sure, her friends were there too and her photos were innocent and consisted of mainly silly girl photos and a bunch of quotes ("I may be good but I'm no angel"...a quote from Marilyn Monroe that is apparently my daughter's "favorite" quote. I'M SORRY, WHAAAA?) ...and the lengthy conversation about a photo that Jennifer wanted one of her friends to take off Instagram. I couldn't figure out what the photo was until I asked her and it was her in her PJs (embarrassing) at a recent sleepover.

So, I went to see what email address she was using for the Instagram account.

And didn't recognize it.

Nor could I access it with all the passwords I guessed.

Double Oy.

What the hell is happening here?

So, I had to have a talk with her.

A very long, very exhausting talk.

And then we had another very long talk a few days later when I told her that I don't think I'm giving back the Droid Sorta-Phone.

She cried.

Expected.

She said her friends were calling her a liar that she doesn't have her "phone" and want to know why she is ignoring all their texts? I told her to have them call the house cellphone and I will inform them personally. (Brats.)

Some of the things she texted her "BFF" kinda hurt me (Don't all children rag on their parents? Larry said to me. "I don't really want to think about it, thankyouverymuch") and I questioned her about it and apparently my daughter is still harboring hurt feelings that I would not allow her to go to Haunted World back in October when I clearly let Harrison go one year.

So, I then had a very long, very exhausting conversation about the difference between boys and girls. And the difference between her older brothers and herself. And how that is how the cookie crumbles, sweetheart. 

Sorry.

Not really.

I know at twelve she has no idea why I am being such a mean and protective parent.

Okay.

She doesn't have to get it right now. One day, hopefully. In the meantime, I need to make sure my daughter is safe, protected, well-fed with a roof over her head AND isn't on social media, where she shouldn't be, and we wouldn't allow in the seventh grade, indicating her age AND the school she attends.

Fuck me.

Not to mention the mean things boys and girls have said to her on social media.

Which then began another very long, very exhausting conversation about girls and social media and how much easier it is to hide behind your keyboard compared to saying something to someone's face. Girls are mean enough, good lord they don't need social media on top of it all. And boys...shit, don't get me started...they can be mean too. Sigh.

For now, the phone is now back in my possession. A little parental side note here: I KNEW, just KNEW that it was going to be a mistake giving that girl the Droid "phone" when we got our iPhones. I should have listened to my gut.

Anyway.

Middle school is hard enough with all the changes going on - she doesn't need to get buried in texts, hurt feelings, mean comments, hurtful comments, and, dear god, social media.

Find something else to do. (Which she is now forced to do.)

When Food Evokes A Memory

I'm sure everyone has this happen to them at one time or another. They bake a cake and it reminds them of their mother baking the same type of cake fifty years ago. Or the smell of barbecue ribs reminds you of your childhood on a lazy summer evening. Or the smell of meatloaf in the oven reminds you of your mom making it when you were little.

For me I have dozens of memories like that every week. Something always reminds me of a moment, a person, a memory.

It brings me back a few years, a couple of decades, my childhood.

A few weekends ago I decided I wanted biscuits. I don't think I had thought about biscuits in years, to be honest. I guess because my daughter HATES biscuits so I just don't ever seem to make them. 

But something just reminded me of biscuits. I don't know what. An old memory. A passing thought. Who knows.

Whenever I make biscuits I am ALWAYS reminded of my Auntie Ann who would make biscuits every time I visited her in Carlsbad. I can still see her making the drop biscuits and then having several jams to spread over the hot, buttered biscuits.

Memory is such a strange thing, isn't it? I can't tell you one single other food/meal that I remember that aunt cooking or baking and yet those biscuits...I remember as if it were yesterday.

Better Late Than Never

I have a wee pet peeve with my children.

Almost every morning I hear the same thing, "We are going to be late."

We leave the house at 7:20 and Harrison is dropped off at the high school around 7:30 or earlier. The bell rings a few minutes before 8.  It takes us a little longer to get to Jennifer's school because we have to actually get OUT of the high school parking lot - not always an easy task. But, I manage to still get Jennifer to her school around the 7:35-7:40 and her bell doesn't ring until 8am.

Some mornings I need to go the long way around because it is easier to turn right out of the parking lot than to cross left onto the main street which feels like a horrible game of Frogger. And if the weather is rainy, icy, or snowy - we could be sitting in that parking lot for twenty minutes or more.

Anyway.

Being late.

I have gotten to the point that I seem to snap when they say how they don't want to be late and I ask them if I have ever made them late? The answer is NO.

Well.

Okay.

Twice. 

But.

Once was way back in Pennsylvania and I had NO IDEA how long...how very, very long...it would take me to drive all the way to the high school, navigate traffic galore and then make it all the way back to the middle school.  So, my poor son had to start a new school on the first day by being late to class.  Oops. That was an awful feeling and we were never late after that. Filed under: Live and Learn.

He still brings it up.

Help me.

That was in 2009.

Get over it.

We haven't been late since.

The second time was just last year when we had a terrible snow storm and while they should have closed the schools they didn't. I truly, honestly, could NOT get out of the parking lot there were so many cars and so much traffic. People were sliding and spinning and - dear gawd - it was a nightmare. I decided to turn right and slipped and slided into the main street, fingers crossed I didn't hit anyone.

But, by the time we waited forever in the parking lot and then slipped and slided out of the parking lot and then navigated to her school we were a little late.

And so was half the middle school.

In fact, there were so many kids late that day they didn't even mark Jennifer tardy.

So, technically one tardy in what? Thirteen fucking years? Give it a rest, children and stop saying we are going to be late.

The end.

Holiday Vacation Ends Today...

Well, I guess it technically ends on Sunday but close enough. My mom left Monday and my son flies back to Oregon tomorrow.

Here is a recap of our fun-filled two week holiday vacation:

1. The house was much noisier than I even imagined with two added people.
2. The weather outside was frightful...and cold...but not as cold as years past!
3. Driving around looking at lights, always a favorite.
4. Played lots of games: board games, Wii games, card games.
5. Lots of cooking, baking, and wrapping gifts.
6. Oh yeah, three kids. (I'm tired of telling the oldest to stop picking on the younger ones!)
7. Holiday, birthday, house-guest, son home from school...busy! And tired!
8. I do love winter.
9. The tree was redecorated on the first for Harrison's birthday and is now happily stored back in the shed as of today.
10. The house always looks bare (but oh so clean) when the decorations come down.
11. Larry and I both got sick after Christmas which messed up A LOT of plans!
12. We watched a ton of movies (favorite non-Christmas: "Red" which was so funny and enjoyable!).
13. I read a couple of books and did a little embroidery.
14. I am about ready to get back into a routine and dig into the projects I put off last month as the holidays demanded my attention.
15. Thankful that the winter holidays are another year away...

16 For 16

Today is Harrison's 16th birthday. My little Almost-Born-The-Day-After-Christmas baby is now sixteen years old.

*weep*

In honor of his birthday I thought I would share 16 facts about the Middle Boy.

 

1. He takes awhile to warm up to people and situations. He isn't a jump-right-in kind of person and never was...he takes his time feeling comfortable in a room and even then you may not get a whole lot out of him.

2. He has been getting college pamphlets in the mail almost daily and he has just begun talking about college. I almost can't believe we are almost at the point of applying with child number two. He wants to be an aerospace engineer.

3. He is a slob. He would eat in bed if we allowed him to. He throws dirty clothes on the floor and clean clothes on the floor. Don't get me started on the bathroom...

4. He has a very even temperament. When the oldest is tantruming and the youngest is acting like a tween girl - he just sits back and takes it all in. He was never the toddler/kid to throw a tantrum and he never seems to really yell.

5. He is quickly becoming taller than Larry. My guess is he has maybe another inch or so to go and may end up in the 6'1 range. He loves being taller than everyone in the house.

6. He has had the same best friend since the first grade. The friend is a total type-A personality which bodes well with Harrison's personality, which is way more easy going and go-with-the flow. He makes really good friends.

7. He has always received really good grades...beginning in preschool...he is just a smart kid who retains well and could be a straight-A student if he applied himself a bit more. But, as is he receives all As and Bs. He looked over a college pamphlet recently that showed what score he needs on his ACT and/or SAT combined with a GPA to get a full scholarship. When he puts his mind to something, he just does it.

8. He has played a lot of sports over the years...baseball, soccer, basketball, tennis, running...and he is naturally inclined for sports (except maybe basketball) but he is not very interested in any of those anymore. Although he loves to watch sports on television.

9. He is a great golf player and plays often. It is the one sport we believe he may play at the high school level.

10. He is stubborn. Boy oh boy. I remember reading a thing that Dr. Phil once said about finding the one thing that matters to the kid misbehaving and for Harrison it was his blanket. In a failed parent attempt I took his blanket away hoping that Dr. Phil was right and by removing the one thing he loved he would do whatever it was I was asking him to do. He willingly handed me the damn blanket and said he didn't need it anyway.

11. Currently he likes and dislikes the weirdest foods. He won't eat waffles (what?), doesn't like butter or cream cheese (except on bagels but forget it in desserts or dips). He does, however, like french onion soup and sunflower seeds. He has always been a fairly decent eater, even as a toddler, and now as a teenager the kid shovels it away. Growing teenage boy indeed. He eats for about three of them.

12. For a kid who wanted to learn to read on the first day of kindergarten he will not pick up a book unless forced by his English teacher. Yep, he is what everyone cringes about todays youth: he loves video games. Or games on the compuer. Or games on his ipod. Or games on his "phone". Or board games.

13. He was almost named Everett. We just liked that name and it was on the shortlist along with Harrison. When we were in the hospital (and didn't know if he was a boy or a girl...although I had a strong feeling it was a boy) the nurse knew I already had a son and asked what names we had for a girl which was Alexandria and she kept calling the baby that. Bugged the crap out of me. In the end, we (obviously) went with Harrison and not after anyone, not even Harrison Ford, despite what EVERYONE asked along with if we were concerned that people would call him Harry. To this day, no one has ever called him Harry. As a joke between brothers Josh calls him Harry Bird but that is only between them. His middle name Peter is a family name.

14. He was born on January 2nd. His due date was February 1st. My water broke on December 26th and I sat in the hospital for a week, waiting. Somehow, this totally sums up his personality.

15. He loves to watch sports, especially football, and especially college football which he knows most rankings and scores. He loves cars, especially fast and expensive ones. He wants to go to school in Europe. His fingernails grow very fast. He picks on his sister. I have to remind him to change his clothes over the weekend or he will be in the same pants/shirt for 48 hours. He used to love country music but now he is into all the current stuff but he totally loves some of the old 60s/70s/80s music. 

16. He is funny and sweet and thoughtful. He is helpful and happy. He is smart and kind. He is patient and seeks knowledge. He is the love of my life.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year.

2014. And away we go...

My favorite things about New Years Day.

1. The Rose Parade, even though my kids have zero interest in parades.

2. The decorations come down and Harrison's Birthday Tree gets decorated.

3. No cooking. Eating leftovers and snacks.

4. Sleeping in and having a relaxing day spent in PJs.

5. A fresh new year to wonder about...and hope is better than the last.

6. Christmas is 12 months away.

7. In a blink of an eye it will be summertime again.

8. College football.

9. Slipper socks, blankets, a book.

10. Planning out the goals for the upcoming year.

Goodbye, 2013

But first, a little look back.

Here are the things that happened to our family in 2013 (that I can think of off the top of my head, anyway.)

Harrison turned 15
Josh got his driver's licence
I completed 3 novels...over 175,000 words
Josh graduated from high school
Jennifer turned 12
We traveled to the Oregon coast to drop Josh off at culinary school
We had another killer successful garden
The kids didn't get sick
My mom visited in the spring and winter
Josh (and his team) came in first place in a state culinary competition
I began to tackle the editing of my Los Angeles historical novel
I realized that some things just have to end
Josh got his first job
Harrison played countless rounds of golf
Jennifer played tennis in the spring and basketball in the winter
Josh completed his first term (and passed!) at culinary school
Bridget the dog continued to bark at everyone who knocks at the front door

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Stay safe out there.

A Crock-Pot Conclusion

I love the crock-pot.

I mean, put stuff in, flip it on, and in several hours: dinner.

I realized a few things that I don't like about the crock-pot, however.

For starters, raw garlic.

There is something very off about finding pieces of garlic that have been simmering away for hours in a liquid. I don't even like the smell of the raw garlic in the crock-pot. So, in the future: I will either brown the garlic first or omit it altogether.

Chicken is another thing that can be just weird tasting if left in for the amount of time most crock-pot recipes suggest.  They say 8 hours, I say 5 tops. I have experimented with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and I will tell you if you cook a chicken breast on low for anything over 6 hours you are about to indulge in trying to chew a piece of fabric. Trust me: five hours and it will be totally cooked and moist and delicious.

Stuffing and rice. I have tried recipes that call for both and no matter what I do they both come out rather overcooked, soggy, and just plain gross.

My favorite things in the crock-pot: soups, stews, pork roasts to shred for pulled-pork sandwiches, chicken for tacos, teriyaki chicken, meatloaf (in fact, it is probably my favorite meatloaf recipe and it cooks perfectly in the crock-pot!) and baked potatoes.

I use my crock-pot all year long. It is great on a busy weekday in spring, it is fabulous on a hot I-Don't-Feel-Like-Cooking summer evening, and it is absolutely delightful on a cold day to have something warm and delicious simmering and cooking away all day long...even more wonderful during the busy holidays like right now when you have fifty other things you need to be doing besides cooking.

What is your favorite thing to cook in the crock-pot?

It's Raining, You Must Be From California...

I love how when it rains up here people automatically fall into two categories.

    1) The People Who Were Either Born in Idaho or Have Lived Here Longer Than Any Californian. 

    The people who have lived up here longer than any Californian and claims they know how to drive in the rain and must prove it by being total assholes on the road...and then they go onto Facebook and other social media and claim that no one knows how to drive in the rain and by golly stop going so slow and drive already, it's only water you fuckwit.

    2) The People Who Moved Here From California.

    Anyone seen driving too slow in the rain is automatically from California...who all clearly don't know how to drive in the rain...and they must all be dumbfucks that must go back to where they came from because natives and sorta-natives will be on the side against any Californian because Californians  are all dicks who brought with them: too much money, crime, and drove up the real estate market to recreate some sick version of California reincarnated.  AND Californians don't know how to drive in the rain. None of them, apparently. But good news if you are from Arizona because somehow you have been overlooked in the We All Hate Anyone From California Because They Clearly Don't Know How To Drive In The Rain, But Hey, Arizonans I Guess You Are Okay Or At Least Better Than Anyone From California Even If You See Less Rain Than Those Dumbass Californians.

Thanks, Idaho. You are all sooooo sweet.