Choose Your Setting
Generally, I embrace change. I feel like some situations cause me to rise to the challenge and make me a better person. However, getting a new toaster might not be…
Generic Issues
More than a decade ago, one of the regional grocery stores called their generic brand “Finast.” Around that time, I secured a new job which included a nice bump in…
Looking for a Small Victory
As with many things I do, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
On a grocery store trip a long time ago, my wife brought home an apple-flavored trail mix, granola sort of thing from the bulk food aisle. Since I always think I have the discipline to improve myself, I took a liking to the mixture.
I never completely got hooked, however, so only had the mix periodically. From time to time, I would buy a bag of it for my snack drawer at work, only to get disappointed when I ran out.
When I remembered to get some of this treat sometime last spring, I made sure I wouldn’t run out too soon and bought a large amount. When I got home, I chose a container which could keep all of it so I could simply get small amounts to take to work in order to better ration my supply.
This is probably where I should mention that I don’t always do well with the follow through on things, especially when I don’t have a constant reminder. Since I bought a large bag of the snack on my own and put it in a container that usually sat inside a cupboard, I should have known things would end badly.
That did happen, but I found a silver lining in messing this up. I got a chance to make my wife to ever-so-briefly see my side of things on another issue.
Jell-O Confession
When I made my confession, I figured I would end up as the bad guy in the scenario. It turns out that I had completely misjudged the situation.
My daughter made a special request for one of my wife’s recent trips to the grocery store. Bridget wanted Jell-O, like any good American kid does. So a four-pack of Jell-O cups ended up in our refrigerator.
As things sometimes happen, they sat there for a few days. She asked for them and got them, but had moved on to other snacks in the house. I totally get it. My brain works that way sometimes too.
When I needed a snack for my lunch at work one day, I spied the fruity treat and decided to open the pack. I knew I might suffer the wrath of an angry teenager, but figured I stood on solid ground here. She had her chance for the first crack at them and passed. Besides, she could easily claim the other three once I had my fix.
Lettuce Struggle
Every once in a while, I get a hankering to make positive changes in my diet. I take stock of what I have been eating and vow to eat healthier.…
Disaster Averted
When I get ready in the morning, I don’t always connect the dots. I have to get myself cleaned up, get dressed, grab my lunch and grab my coffee before…
Popcorn Time Machine
The topic of older technology comes up in our house once in a while. That usually leads to my daughter laughing.
But one thing from a bygone era which does not result in chuckling is the many ways you can make popcorn.
One of our family traditions revolves around making popcorn when we settle in to watch a movie. These nights have increased in frequency lately as we have decided to introduce our tween to some classic films from the 1980s.
Usually, the snack preparation for movie night involved my daughter tossing a bag of popcorn into the microwave, filling up a few baskets, and then taking the one with the most popcorn for herself.
Things changed one night recently when I had other plans on movie night. For some reason, they decided to eschew modern popping technology and make popcorn on the stove. I guess the possibility of tastier popcorn overrode the desire to mock the past.
That led to a discussion about making popcorn when my wife and I were growing up. I said I didn’t really remember stovetop popcorn that much, but I did remember the magic of the air popper. Before I knew it, my wife went down to the basement and brought up the air popper she took to college.
Crabcake Confusion
To be honest, I got a little cocky. I can only blame myself.
My wife went away for a few days recently, leaving me in charge of everything – the house, the meals and our daughter. I had complete control.
In the days and weeks leading up to this time, Bridget and I giggled over having the freedom to not put a clip on a bag of cereal of chips, just daring the food to go a little bit stale. In other words, I showed my true maturity level.
When we had the house to ourselves, we didn’t go nearly as crazy as we may have intimated, but we certainly had a little bit of extra fun. We didn’t have many bags we could leave unclipped, but we turned the TV up a little louder than usual and had no regard for normal rules of when the day’s newspaper moved from the dining room table to the recycling pile.
Like you, I am amazed the police never showed up to calm us down.
Taco Time
Sometimes I have trouble focusing. I may have an important problem and can’t figure out the proper solution. I might have a number of projects due at the same time. I also might have friends who disparage foods I like and need to focus on setting them straight.
I don’t know how all of these really started. From my best recollection and sleuthing through my online interactions, it seems as if someone I know posted an article which criticized hard tacos. Someone else agreed. That’s where I had to step in.
I could not stand by and let someone say that hard tacos did not really count as tacos. Why would anyone say something like that?
Me and My Hamloaf
When my wife told me we had dinner plans with friends on a Saturday night, I didn’t flinch. In fact, I cheered the development because I like to get out…