Fashion?

Maybe I'm totally out of touch. Maybe I'm old, a geek, not "with it". I'm probably using even the wrong words to even describe how old fashioned I am. Be that as it may, I think the "fashion" of ridiculously low pants is way beyond stupid. Every time I see this sorry trend, I get the overwhelming urge to run up to the offender and yank their pants down to their ankles. It would be soooooo easy! What is this fashion statement suppose to be saying? At least the mini skirt showed off legs...I'm not sure what this is suppose to be showing off. "Look at my Underoos!"? or "Hey, I've got clean undies on, just like mom said, in case I get in an accident."? How comfortable is it when you have to continuously pull on your pants to make sure they don't end up around your knees in a step or two? This is a picture of Travis Barker who is the drummer for the band Blink-182 (and I had to look that up on the Internet, because I had no idea who this guy was). Where have all the role models gone? I sure don't want my kids growing up wearing their pants around their butts.

Facebook/MySpace/Twitter

I have to admit, I'm a member of Facebook. Not that I have any idea what I'm doing, you understand. I think MySpace is like Facebook, which means I don't understand that either. And you can forget about Twitter - I'm completely clueless. Yeesh...I'm still trying to figure out how to use my cel phone. I'd hate to think that I'm so old that I need to get the Jitterbug phone. I'm not into video games or "apps" on my celphone or games on my computer. I'd much rather read a good book, see a good movie (something, preferably, with a plot versus over the top effects), or do something constructive (quilting anyone!). I guess the older you get, the less you feel like "wasting" time, because you realize that you are running out of time, and death is closer than birth.

Cold Cereal

We've got the Ol' Man's kids this week...I don't know what their mother feeds them at her house, but all they want to eat is cold cereal, chicken and rice. The boys are on the small side...the 7 year old and the 5 year old both weigh the same...around 45 pounds . The Ol' Man wants to try to pack some weight on them this summer, so we "encourage" them to eat a variety of foods...yams, broccoli, eggs, perigees, chili, venison, beans, etc. The rule in this house is you have to eat everything on your plate, or no dessert/snack. The old "clean plate club" rules here! We don't pile their plates high with food, but a decent 3 bites of whatever. We've also got the "3 bites and move on" rule. They tend to eat first the thing they like best, then "claim" they're full. So, now they're only allowed 3 bites of anything and they have to take 3 bites of something else. It's working so far...with a bit of a reminder once in a while. And, remarkably, they do it with a minimum of complaining. .

Summer Fun

Had the in-laws come visit over the weekend. Had loads of fun... hiking, white water rafting, BBQing, good conversation. Thank the gods, we had good weather. Took a 7 mile hike to Boulder Lake, one of the top sites to visit in Pennsylvania. It's this bizarre "lake" of rocks that was formed eons ago by a glacier pushing it way across the country. The hike was rated difficult because the path was strewn with rocks, and it would have been very easy to twist an ankle. We went white water rafting in the Lehigh Gorge - class 2 and 3 white water (pretty tame), but it was the first time for the kids, so that worked out well. Being the wimp that I am, I wore my full diving wet suit, and was perfectly comfortable...the sister-in-law and niece wore shorts and were freezing. It was kinda overcast, and once that cool water started splashing up....burrrr! Got to top off the visit with a bear sighting. Living in the sticks, we site bears wandering through the neighborhood on occasion. The kids were thrilled.

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy 4th of July, everyone! We're doing the standard 4th of July thing... BBQ, going to see fireworks. I made a 4th of July cake...we'll see how it tastes after dinner...keep your fingers crossed! Unfortunately, I used frozen strawberries (we bought strawberries on sale and froze a bunch of them)...and it probably would have been better to use fresh, because the frozen ones kinda "leaked"as you can see.... I'm a pretty good cook...but I'm one of those who must follow directions. I'm not a pinch of this or a dash of that kinda chef. I like the grill, because then the Ol' Man does the cooking. It's a manly thing...grilling. Something about taming the flames...it's very primitive, I think, and guy dig it. I like the grill because the Ol' Man does the cleanup too! There's just something absolutely "summer" about grilling. And watermelon.

I am not alone....

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/economist/172169

The above link is an article entitled Mountains of Debt: America's Economic Realities
by Charles Wheelan, Ph.D. I am not Chicken Little. Our world is crumbling around us, and some people are raising the alarm, but there seems to be an overwhelming apathy from the American Citizenry...which just FLOORS me. Now, it's not just the economy, it's not just the banking/credit system, it's not just the housing market, it's not just the car companies (as if all that wasn't enough!?), NOW, the individual STATES are starting to crumble...California, anyone? How about Pennsylvania...let's hear it for an 16% increase in income tax! Yeah! WHERE is the outrage? Mr. Wheelan said that Benjamin Franklin would be disappointed in us...and I think that's a VAST understatement...I think him and the rest of the founding fathers are rolling in their graves at the absolute, horrific mess we've made. Yes, "we"...because "we" elected the Congress, "we" bought houses we couldn't afford, "we" maxed out our credit cards, "we" bought into the whole consumerism that the media waved in front of our faces..."we" have brought this upon ourselves...there's no one else to blame. Myself, me and the Ol' Man are busting our humps to pay off our debt, not buying a new flat screen LCD TV or new Truck/car, eating leftovers, patching clothes, and pretty much making due with what we've got, because, I truly believe it's going to get worse before it gets better...and it's going to take a LONG time to get better...a long time.

Egg Bake

I got this recipe for Egg Bake from my mother-in-law. Bless her heart, she can't make anything other than "feed an army" size. I've cut the recipe in half and it still takes 9 eggs! I had bought some Banquet Brown and Serve sausage (on sale for $1), and when I made it the first time, I found out why it cost only a dollar. So, now I was stuck with about 10 packages of this stuff and had no idea what to do with it...we sure as hell weren't going to eat it. So, I go to make the Egg Bake, and figure...since the sausage is suppose to be cooked before you put it in the Egg Bake, why not give it a whirl with the Banquet sausage? Maybe the rest of the ingredients will mask the flavor...and, by gum! It worked! Sweet! As frugal as I am, I hate wasting food, even if it's bad tasting food, so it was a bonus that it worked in the Egg Bake. Killer good recipe...thanks C!