Category: Family & Friends

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Family & Friends

My Dad Gets Schooled in Facebook

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My dad is a Baby Boomer.  He is going to be 60 in a few short weeks.  I love him to death, but he is not- shall we say- very fast to embrace technology. 

He loves to take pictures.  For years, my siblings and I encouraged him to get a digital camera. We told him how much he would love to be able to see his pictures right away- instead of having to take all 24 pictures on his 35mm film and then wait for it to be developed. Nope- he was having none of that. Finally, my step-mom bought him one about two years ago, and as we told him, he LOVES it.  He laughs about it now, wonders why he waited so long to go digital. 

He does have a computer, but I suspect that was my step-mom’s doing too.  Every now and then he will tell me something like, “I got on the computer, and looked up that Google….wow- you can find a lot of stuff there.”  Usually at this point, I use our standard teasing line with him, “Welcome to <whatever year it happens to be>, Mr. Banks.”  We took that  from Father of the Bride, when Steven Martin’s character (George Banks)  is in shock over how much the wedding was costing and Franck, the wedding coordinator, laughs at him and says, “Welcome to the 90’s Mr. Banks.” (This line occurs right around the 3:40 mark)

Yes, my dad is the Mr. Banks of technology.  He knows it exists, but that’s where it ends.  Last night, while we were hanging out with family, visiting with our cousin (Peter) and his girlfriend (Megan), from out-of-town, my sister, Mara, decided to show my dad Facebook on her laptop.   It went like this:

Mara (opening her laptop): So Dad, this is Facebook.

Dad: Face-what?

Mara: Facebook

Megan: It is a social-networking site.

Dad ( already lost- has that deer in the headlights look)

Mara (pulling up her profile page): This is my-

Dad (cutting her off): Hey, that’s your picture.  That is a nice picture of you.

Mara: Thanks- so this is my page, and here I can check my news feed and see what my friends are doing. They write updates, and then I can see what they are up to.

Dad (looking disgusted): Why in the world would you want to post what you are doing?

Me: Because it is interesting.

Dad: Why don’t you just pick up the phone and call them?

Me: Because people are busy.

Mara: Yes, remember my friend,  Ellen, (name has been changed) from high school- well here she is.

Dad (putting on his glasses so he can see the tiny profile picture): Oh yes, I remember her. That is a nice picture of her.  What is she up to?

Mara: You just have to read her update- and it says she put her son to bed and she is going to watch a movie.

Dad: Why do you need to know that?

Mara: I don’t need to know it, but now I know what she is doing. 

Dad (looking confused): Is this like Big Brother?

Me: No- but it’s almost midnight- you would never pick up the phone and call someone this late, just to see what they are doing.  But when they post it on Facebook, now you know.  It helps you stay in touch with your friends.

Dad:  I call my friends- I don’t call them at midnight, but I don’t need to know they are watching a movie.

Mara: Look here, Caroline, (our other cousin who was not visiting us), made stroganoff for dinner.

Dad: Really? How do you know that?

Me: Because she posted it on her page. 

Mara: Yes, and Heather wrote her back and told her we missed her and hope she could come visit us soon.

Dad (reading this exchange): How did Heather get a computer to write her back?

Me: I sent it from my phone. 

Dad: WHAT?!  You can send this to your phone- so is this like a video game then?

Everyone in the room laughing: No, it is not a video game.

Dad: These these are your characters- in your world- you control them?

Mara (because everyone else was still laughing): Dad, these are real people.  Look- here is Maggie (another high school friend).  Remember her?

Dad: Yes, I remember her. That is a nice picture of her.  Where does she live?

Mara: About 10 minutes from here.  We became reacquainted again on Facebook.

Dad: When did you last see her?

Mara: Last week.

Dad: Does she have any kids?

Mara: Yes, and I can show you the pictures of her kids. 

Dad (looking at the pictures): Well, they are cute kids.

Me: See how nice it is- you don’t have to wait for your friend to send you a picture- you can just look at it.  A few weeks ago, when I was having a bad day, I posted on my update I was having a hard time, and a lot of friends wrote back, just saying hang in there.  It was nice.  I would have never had been able to call that many people.  But with a few sentences, you can update all your friends.

Dad (thinking): Well, pen and paper work just fine for me.  When I want to write a letter, I don’t need a computer or a phone- I just get my pen and paper.  I don’t need Spacebook.

All nine people in room, crumbling into laughter: Spacebook…

Mara and I: Welcome to the 09’s Mr Banks!

My dad is wonderful and is a good sport. If he ever decides to join Spacebook, I’ll let you know.  🙂

Categories
Cole Family & Friends Household Mothering Ryan

Don’t Mess with Hamburger Helper

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I will admit it- I LOVE Hamburger Helper.  My mom used to make it a few times a month, when we were growing up, and somewhere along the way, it has joined the ranks with homemade macaroni & cheese, lasagna, and chicken enchiladas as a comfort food for me. 

This is pretty ironic, since all the other comfort foods I make are from scratch.  I suppose at times, everybody craves a processed, sodium, preservative enriched food. One time I posted on Twitter I was making Hamburger Helper for dinner, and one person told me that is THE meal her husband requests every year for his birthday.  The flavor he always wanted?  Beef Pasta!

The ONLY flavor of Hamburger Helper that I have ever eaten and probably ever will, is the Beef Pasta.  That was the only flavor my mom ever served, so Hamburger Helper to me, means Beef Pasta (but when we were growing up, it was called Beef Noodle).  With green beans.  Plus, I add a little Worcheister sauce to it as it cooks.  And I always use milk instead of water, to mix up the special seasoning packet.  It ends up much thicker that way.  On a cold winter night, it is hard to find anything that tastes as good as Beef Pasta Hamburger Helper cooked this way.

Because it is a comfort food, I don’t eat it very often.  Maybe three times over the winter.  I hate that it is processed, but it tastes so good.  Ryan and Cole are picky eaters.  I have no idea where they get that from (me).  But, even they like and will eat good old Hamburger Helper.  They will even eat some green beans with it.  Maybe Hamburger Helper is a taste that is acquired genetically.

Because it is not the healthiest food to eat, the other day I was in the store and spotted Annie’s Homegrown Organic Cheeseburger Macaroni.  The boys’ favorite food ever is Annie’s Mac & Cheese, and I don’t feel quite as guilty giving it to them, since it is all natural and doesn’t have the additives and preservatives in it. This looked great!  It was Hamburger Helper, with no guilt.  I bought a package and decided to make it that night.

The boys always ask what is for dinner, and I told them we were going to have Hamburger Helper with cheese- like mac & cheese.  They got that look- where they know you are trying to pull something over on them, but don’t know what it is yet.  I made green beans too. 

I was convinced the boys would dig right in, and I would feel good they had a healthy dinner.  As soon as Ryan and Cole  the food critics saw me bring their plates to the table, they faces turned down.  They looked at their plates and at healthy organic version of Hamburger Helper that I might add, costs almost double what the original version of Hamburger Helper does, as they turned up their noses.

My precious two-and-a-half year old looked at me with his blue eyes and asked,

“What the heck is this?” 

I didn’t even know he knew the word ‘heck.’

My other precious son, had to get his two-cents in, so he just made the comment,

“Gross.”

I was the organic Hamburger Helper cheerleader. I told them to give it a try- they might like it.  I even sang the old commercial song about Hamburger Helper:

“Hamburger Helper Helped her Hamburger, Make a Great Meal!“ (click on the link to hear the song.)

The boys were not amused.  And it wasn’t even because of my singing.  They ignored my cheerleading, and asked if they could have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I told them they had to eat some of their Hamburger Helper.

“But Mommy, this isn’t Hamburger Helper.”  Ryan told me.

“Not Hamburger Helper- this is YUCKY!” Cole added.

They had a point- it didn’t look like our beloved Beef Pasta Hamburger Helper. 

“This isn’t even mac & cheese.” Ryan told me upon further inspection, poking the hamburger around on his plate.

“This is YUCKY!”  Cole added, holding up a piece of hamburger.

I was not defeated yet. I sat down and told the boys this was a very good dinner and I was going to eat my plate of Hamburger Helper.  I took my first bite, and it wasn’t bad- but it wasn’t Hamburger Helper.  Ryan and Cole watched me eat a few more bites, and then Ryan tried a bite.  He looked like he was eating a cross between some dirt and some mud.  After he took a huge drink of milk he told Cole, “It’s not too bad Cole.”   Cole’s response was, “YUCKY!”

I had Cole eat a few bites, which was not fun, and the boys ate their green beans.  Then they were done.  As I was clearing the plates away, I overheard Ryan tell Cole “to watch mom at the store, and make sure she never buys that yucky food again.” I think the food critics have evolved now into food spies- they are going to cut me off at the pass. 

Since we don’t eat regular Hamburger Helper very often, I will just stick to the original processed version.  The boys like it, I like it, and they won’t have to hear me sing a commercial jingle from the 80’s.  Some things shouldn’t be changed, and Hamburger Helper is one of them. 

Now it is your turn- do you like Hamburger Helper? Do your kids like it? Which flavor is your favorite?  Let me know I am not the only Hamburger Helper lover out there.  🙂

Categories
Cole Family & Friends Ryan Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday- Three Men and a Truck

Ryan and Cole’s grandpa, Dan, works for a trucking company, and today he was able to stop by in between deliveries.  He let the boys get into the truck with him to sit, and here are the happy faces: 

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Wordless Wednesday has a variety of pictures- be sure to view some more!

Categories
Activities Family & Friends Me

Our Disneyland “Curse”

Last weekend, I went to Disneyland for my mom’s 60th birthday celebration.  My siblings, Jeff and his wife Kat, and my sister Mara, and her daughter, Maelin, (22 months)  were also there.  Overall, I had a terrific time.  I arrived late on Friday night, and had evidently missed a huge rainstorm.

My mom and the others had been in Disneyland on Friday and had gotten caught in the rain for several hours.  Fortunately on Saturday and Sunday the weather was clear.  It was cooler than normal, but no rain. 

The thing is- every time we go to Disneyland, someone is sick.  I think we are cursed.   This time, was no exception.  I started with a cold early in the week.  By the time I arrived, I still had some congestion, and a hoarse voice.  But I felt fine.  Mara was coming down with a cold, and so was Maelin.  Nothing to worry about- or so we thought.  Experience should have taught us.

Ever since my family has been going to Disneyland, (since we were teenagers in the 80’s), I think there has been one trip, where no one was sick.  There was the time we went over Christmas break, when we all had an awful stomach flu, and each had a day where we were throwing up in the hotel room.  I remember I actually threw up on Main St.  I was probably about 15, and was mortified.  We were not able to be in Disneyland all at the same time, because one of us was always sick.

Then there was the trip where my parents decided to take a family friend along- he had never been.  We lived in Colorado, he lived in New Mexico. So my parents drove to New Mexico to pick him up.   He was fine the entire car trip there, but once he got there, he got deathly ill.  My parents were terrified he was going to die.  They rushed him to the emergency room, and spent hours there with him. Then he was back at the hotel, too sick to make the trip home.  Eventually by the time we were supposed to go home the doctors thought he would be OK.  He was sick a few times on the way home, but by the time he was home, he was fine. 

So on Saturday, when Maelin started coughing, we should have remembered these past experiences- but we didn’t.  She was having fun, and didn’t seem that sick.  In the meantime, my mom, Mara, and Kat, all came down with the cold.  I still couldn’t shake mine.  On Sunday morning, Maelin woke up at 3am screaming, because her eyes were glued shut, with that goopy, gross eye discharge.  Her eyes weren’t pink, so we  thought she had a cold  virus settle in her eyes.

But after her eyes were cleaned up, and she had gotten some more rest, she seemed fine.  By Sunday afternoon, it was clear that Maelin was sick, and was not feeling good at all. So Mara took her back to the hotel.  We all wondered why we can never be in Disneyland without someone being sick.

My mom offered to go back to the hotel at 10pm so Mara could get out and have some fun, so it was nice to have those few hours, but my mom wasn’t there- it just wasn’t the same.  When Mara got back on Monday, she took Maelin to the doctor and she had a double ear infection and pink eye.  So once again, our Disneyland “curse” had struck.  But at least no one ended up in the hospital this time. 

But I still had a wonderful time.  My best friend, Mary,  who lives in California now, while she is in a traveling nurse program, drove up and met me at Downtown Disney on Saturday, and we had lunch.  I hadn’t seen her in almost a year.  We had lots of fun catching up.

I had not been to California Adventure yet, and loved it.  I enjoyed the rides, Soarin’ Over California and California Screamin’ the most.  I love roller coasters and I was thrilled with Screamin’   It is one of the best roller coasters I have been on.  (I’m including a You Tube video of it, at the end of this post.)

On Saturday night, I met up with one of our friends from high school, Tom.   I hadn’t seen him, in about 17 years.  We used to be in drama, and the school plays.  Mara, couldn’t make it since Maelin was sick.  Tom actually works for Disney now.  So we rode a few of the rides and chatted.  It was nice to see two of my friends on Saturday.

On Sunday, we made it to the park for the Magic Morning (we got in an hour before they opened) which was 7am.  Jeff, Kat, and I were still at the park 18 hours, and 15 minutes later!  We finally left at 12:15am- Monday morning.  I don’t think I have ever been so tired, and sore.  We were talking about going to get a drink at one of the hotels, but we could not walk!  My blisters had blisters, and I think I felt arthritis coming on in my knees.  We figured out that the longest we had been there before was 15 hours, so we shattered our old record.  

My favorite ride overall though is, and will always be Space Mountain.  It is worth it to me to go to Disneyland just to ride Space Mountain.  I got to go on it with everyone.  Even though we all couldn’t be on the ride at the same time, I am glad I got to be with my family this weekend, catch up with some friends, and be there for my mom.  Curse or no curse. 

Now for the pictures:

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All of us (L to R: My mom, myself, Kat, Jeff, Maelin, & Mara)

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At the park’s entrance

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In front of the waterfall in California Adventure

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The Girls

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My mom and I

Just in case you are a roller coaster enthusiast, you can watch a video on Screamin’ It moves much faster though, than what it looks like on this video.   

Categories
Activities Family & Friends Me

I’m Going to Disneyland!

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No, I didn’t win the Super Bowl, but I am going to Disneyland this coming weekend. 

My mom’s favorite place in the world is Disneyland.  She has always loved it, and she always made sure we were able to go there a few times while we were growing up.  I haven’t been so diligent as an adult going to Disneyland. The last time I was there was <ahem>…1997.  I went with my mom and my sister for the weekend.

My mom is turning 60 in April (sorry Mom to reveal your age), and it worked out that my sister, brother, and sister-in-law, and of course my mom, could go to Disneyland and celebrate this weekend.  I had been hoping I could go too, but wasn’t sure how it would work out with Joe’s schedule.  I found out a few days ago that Joe would be able to watch the boys for the weekend.  I checked out the airfare on Saturday, expecting it to be outrageously expensive, but there was a sale!  So I get to be with my mom for her 60th birthday party. 

One of my fondest childhood memories was going to Disneyland.  We always had a good time there, and we were always happy.  I am looking forward to spending time with my mom (who lives out of state, and I don’t get to see her a lot), and of course the rest of my family.

I wish Ryan and Cole could come too.  Ryan is the perfect age, but Cole is still a little too young.  I know we will have  a trip someday, where they can both come and enjoy it together.  I hope they will enjoy Disneyland as much as  I did.  But for this weekend, it is about my mom turning 60, and us being with her at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Now for your enjoyment (or amusement), I found some pictures of the last time I was in Disneyland (remember it was 12 years ago)  Enjoy.  🙂

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The three of us

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In front of the castle (don’t you love the white shoes?)

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My mom and I

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With Goofy Claus

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Trying on Donald Duck’s hat