FredPie's Xanga

Insanely easy Thanksgiving breakfast

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:46:10 GMT

We have a late lunch AND a dinner planned for today, so I thought breakfast should be simple-pimple.

1 can Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf (you know, the can you pop and peel)
1/2 can Wilderness "no sugar added" Cherry Pie Filling
4-5 t Sour Cream
Cinnamon sugar

Prepare the bread according to instructions. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt mixed with your favorite cinnamon-sugar. Bake as directed. Look into the fridge and realize your whipping cream is past date and untrustable. Find the nearly empty 8-oz sour cream tub instead. Pour some pie filling into the tub and stir. Once smooth, pour a little more in and stir some more, inevitably finding a pocket of sour cream you missed the first time.

Once bread has cooled enough to slice, slice 1" on an angle. Spoon cherry mixture onto the slices, and serve. This was a big hit. It was crazy easy, since I was already heating up the kitchen with green bean casserole, etc. I'd like to try it next time with a more tart cherry. I bought the no added sugar to avoid corn syrup, but it was still quite sweet.

Cinnamon Sugar

2 T ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground cloves
Sugar to make it "the right color" Around a cup? I always end up fiddling until I have no idea how much I put in it. I like mine darker than most people, and I make it up in big batches in a mason jar. Once the mason jar has been emptied into my little shaker, it's time to make another batch.

I'm catching up on comics

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 14:29:17 GMT

see more hipster robot webcomics and pixel t-shirts
Gotta love the band names.
Heh

look everyone: I'm participating in THE INTERNET

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:04:35 GMT

Take a picture of yourself right now
Don’t change your clothes, don't fix your hair
Just take the picture
Post the picture with no editing
Post these instructions with your picture

I never do memes, but somehow she convinced me.
I think it was the purple monster. Or the drugs in my hand.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:43:45 GMT

I received the following email from a friend who INSISTED we combine her son's birthday party and mine at my mom's house.

I'm afraid we are going to have to cancel the birthday party, Herson got his feelings hurt to the point he doesn't want to be around anyone. In his foods class some of the kids (N included) were making fun of Herson's acne. Herson said that he wasn't sure N made the jokes but he sure was laughing with the rest of them which made Herson upset because he thought he and N were friends. Herson asked if we could just stay home and have a movie night or game night or something for his birthday. I'm a little heartbroken about this. I never thought he's be this upset to cancel his own party.

I replied:

I asked N for his version of this event and he had No Clue. He doesn't remember anything like this happening, and thinks it really sucks. I suspect his nose was in a book, and if he did laugh, it was at something unrelated.
I said "I hope that you're the kid who would say 'hey stop that.' But I have to admit I was too chicken at your age to do that." He said that he thinks he's that person, but that he certainly is NOT the person to encourage bullying. Of course, A had to walk in on our conversation and ask what was going on, so I said "Some kids were picking on Herson for his zits." A didn't even wait for any more, and was incredibly upset on Herson's behalf. I think his exact words were "Well that's not his fault!"
I'm very sorry to hear that Herson was so hurt. That's why I hated Middle School. Of course, mine was being among the last to "develop" and still having baby pudge but still, whatever anyone can find to pick on ....
Encourage him to not take it personally. He's a good (and good-looking) kid. We all know that. When his hormones settle down, he'll probably know it too.

M

Saturday, N spent some time with 2 other boys in this foods class, CM and TW, so he asked them if they remember what happened. CM remembers a boy Z starting it, CM joined in, and TW said "oh stop it." CM stopped, Z kept on, and N was reading a book and facing the other way. This fits what I know of these boys' personalities. TW is often picked on anyway, so he's not afraid to risk riducule to stand up for someone. Of course Herson also thinks TW doesn't like him.

While N was off having this conversation, I received the following reply:

Herson said that N isn't telling u the truth, he very well was in the middle of it and h

Yes, it cuts off like that. Unsigned and everything.

My reply?

If our sons are going to call each other liars, I don't want to have a combined party, either.

I've sent her a couple unrelated emails and gotten very terse responses, but I'm trying to press that just because 12-year-olds had a misunderstanding shouldn't mean that their parents can't have a friendly relationship. For the past year, this woman has ingrained herself into nearly every part of my life, including nagging me to ask my boss if we can hire her (there hasn't been an opening in that time.) She has combined my birthday with Herson and my mom's with Herdaughter. Her children call my mother "grandma" and Herfamily spends more time at my mother's house than I do. In fact, in the past 3 months, and I have taken to staying home when we know Herfamily is there because there's always drama.
There -is- legitimate drama in her life. Herbaby was born with heart problems and had a scary start. Her husband has just found out he won't have a job once January rolls around (closing the local branch) and her own family has a very volatile relationship.
But she creates so much of her own drama. Last year Herson's party (which was to be combined with mine) got cancelled because the 4 children together damaged some furniture in my house. I told her I thought she was over-reacting. Yes, I was certainly upset that the furniture got damaged. I was annoyed that we got 4 slightly different stories out of the 4 children. But Herson told his dad the day after it happened because he thought it was probably the wrong thing to do. 3 of the 4 children claimed that Herson said they should stop and "won't your mom mind?" while my 2 children said, "nah, it's OK." It seems to me that Herson was the most responsible of the bunch and shouldn't have lost his birthday. But it's Herfamily and her decision so it was dropped. Why does it surprise her so much now that he's ready to dump his party? Did he actually say it or did she plant the idea in his head?
She takes everything that happens so personally but gets annoyed if someone misinterprets what she says. I'm tired of it.
As I told my boys, "I'm not holding a grudge and I don't hate her. I just don't have the energy to deal with them just now." Just how long with 'just now' last?

I miss you

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:25:18 GMT

Xanga, I think I love you. You're so hard to quit.
I know, I know. I never call, I never write.
I have such a busy life, though, it's just so hard to find the time!
What, you expect to be the first to hear all the gory details? Yes, I know, but ...
Stop it; don't give me that look.
I feel bad enough already, do you have to?

Randomish Rambliness

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:54:52 GMT

Many many moons ago (September?) I subscribed to a couple IndieFeed podcasts but never found the time to listen to very many of them. Suddenly, with the addition of a lovely lavender Shuffle to my Apple arsenal, I am So Totally Digging Performance Poetry. Big warning: many occurrences of the F-bomb, among other potential problematic words and themes.

Suddenly and strangely, I am a big contributor to the household sound. Finally enjoying my own music tastes is satisfying.

Kansas weather is a pain in my patoot. The kids have had at least 4 weather days this school year. and I were trying to figure out if it will be 5 or 6 if they cancel tomorrow. I know I've missed 3 days of work for weather.

Meh.

At what age do you think a kid should be able to start dating?

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:16:39 GMT

Actual one-on-one dates? I think 14 at the earliest. Many things must be taken into account, though. How mature both kids are. How much the parents trust both of them. The accountability aspect: are you dropping them off at a mall for 3 hours or do they have specific plans that you -could- check on although you hope not to -have- to?

I got a newsletter from my son's youth pastor and it said many parents and children think age 12 is good. TWELVE?? I didn't even want to date yet at 12. I found out this past year that I was odd, though. I didn't have my first french kiss until age 15 (and a half!). Most people have told me anywhere from 3rd grade (age 8??) to 7th grade. The oldest besides me was in 9th grade. Age 14.

Back to the newsletter: we found their statistics faulty. My 11-year-old actually asked me to explain how one table showed
Parents were asked, "At what age should teens be allowed to start dating?"
9% - 12 years old
9% - 13 years old
12% - 14 years old
17% - 15 years old
40% - 16 years old
10% - no set rule.
(about.com)

But the next page had a bullet point:
Today, the average age for a person to begin dating is 13. in 1924 the average age was 16. (more4kids.info)

He wanted to know how with 18% of parents allowing their children to date at ages 12 and 13, the "average age" to begin dating was 13. Even if you add in the 10% with no set rule, you still only get up to 28%. Is this just another example of hype-mongering?

It also showed:
One-third (33%) of 16-18 year-olds said sex is "expected" of people their age who are in a relationship. 31% of teens who have been in a "serious" relationship agreed with this statement. (loveisnotabuse.com)

OK, so with a domain name like that, I really don't expect an unbiased statistic but sheesh. Did YOU think it was expected at that age?

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

Sick day

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:34:06 GMT

I called in sick today. Yesterday, I had trouble concentrating and keeping moving by the end of the day. This morning I was trying very hard to convince myself to get up and get to work. I got up to help Andrew with his lunch, and I couldn't walk quite straight. That convinced me. I called in. The boss said "You don't sound so hot." One of my co-workers called me a loser, though. :D

This weekend, my old friend J will be here with her son P and husband B. I haven't seen any of them since ... sheesh, Years. I'm looking forward to it, but I hope I'm better!

Hmph. I thought I had a blog in me.
I guess not.

Inconsequential Pet Peeve

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:26:49 GMT

It greatly annoys me when they put fake squeaks in the audio when showing rodents (usually rats) on the screen. They're always the type of squeak a rat would make if in pain or frightened, but usually they show the rat in control and not in pain. They are trying to freak out or gross out the audience, but it actually blows my suspension of disbelief.
TV and movie makers: stop it.

It's a thin line

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:24:38 GMT

I HATE Captcha's. I HATE being forced to change my password. I HATE when the page forcing me to change my password tells me the "new" "restrictive" parameters and my original password (more than) fits within those parameters. That said, it's probably about time, since I've been using the same password on Xanga for 7 years or so.

Now, on to the entry I was here to write.

I LOVE my husband. He often seems to be off in his own little world, staring into his own little computer screen, and blocking the rest of us out. Sometimes, however, he's aware of the rest of us, just not showing it. Last night's case-in-point:
I teased Nate about his pajama pants being entirely too big. They're loose and the crotch hangs nearly to his knees. "They look like Hammer Pants!" Nate gave me his bemused generation gap look and asked what in the world Hammer Pants are, so I stood there and was describing them, doing a little Hammer Dance to illustrate the inherent silliness of Hammer-ness. In the next room I hear the declaration "U Can't Touch This!" and of course dance along, pointing and grinning at my . He's gone to YouTube so that he can show the child just what a dorky pop-culture upbringing I had. I had forgotten about the whirling and jiggling on the stairs. It really took me back. So Much Spandex! Oh, and the rainbow of Hammer Pants. Mmm. Gotta love the 90's!

This, he followed up with a rousing round of Bang The Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren. This was in response to a conversation with a friend about the job I start Monday. I said I didn't want to work, I just wanted to bang on the drums all day. The next option was to Rock and Roll all night and party every day, except I really am fond of the daylight and find myself unable to stay up for 24 hours in a row. Maybe I -am- growing up a little? Or is that just old?

And a testament to my dorkiness: I found myself watching the whole Hammer video again after looking it up to embed it here.