Jennifer just posted this on her blog and I'm almost in tears watching it, imagining if it were my grandchildren, in forward facing car seats, in a collision (no, you're NOT going to see photos of crash victims or 'in memoriam' stuff - just watch it). So I'm going to join her on the band wagon to alert everyone to the dangers of PREMATURELY turning those car seats from rear facing to forward facing. It could save a life.
Seriously.
Very seriously.
Then pass it on.
14 May 2008
Employment - "The Next Generation" (or Why I am Having a Tirade Today")
When our kids were growing up, I told them that if they ever got a) piercings or b) tattoos that could been seen wearing regular clothing (including shorts or beachwear), they could find their own way to pay for university! Okay, Jennifer was allowed to have her ears pierced - but only one per side. The main reason I instituted this rule (with full backing of their father I might add) was my intention to preserve, for wont of a better term, their "future hire-ability". They were children living in our household and we had rules. This was nothing new to them. And we had seen so many teenagers who obsessed with "body art" and frankly, the thought of a senior citizen with baggy skin with tattoos was more than a little unsettling. But that wasn't the point.
The point was this: we felt that until they were adults living on their own (as in "off our payroll"), they did not have the right to make these decision on their own. I don't know if the kids chaffed against our "ruling" or not. It wasn't an issue as far as I know nor do I think they are harboring resentment against us for this "prohibition of self-expression during the formative years". I admit, we are conservative, dare I say (gasp!) Republican? And Mike is in industry - in his career with Amoco and then BP, presentation was very important - to your boss, to your "direct-reports", to companies with whom you wish to do business. Employees represent companies, whether in a positive or negative way. This is "real life". We can debate all day whether or not this is "fair" but the reality is, if you don't have lots of tattoos and body piercings, you're typically going to go farther in a career.
I was reminded of this when I was reading a back issue of Reader's Digest, the April 2008 issue. There is an article about how the current trend for folks to "proudly" display photos of their exploits shamelessly on YouTube, Facebook and MySpace. Turns out, lots of employers are combing the internet for information on job interviewees. There were several folks mentioned in the article who thought they had the perfect new hire only to do a search online that turned up unsavory public behavior. Anyone who has access to a television, radio, newspaper or the internet knows about the whole Miley Cyrus thing - and I'm not talking about the Vanity Fair photo shoot either (although that was alarming enough). I'm talking about the photos with her "male friend" and her exposing her green bra. Now, she is backtracking worried that she's "offended her fan base and am so embarrassed" (more likely, she's worried about her bottom line financials.) And she is 15 - a very young teenager!
But the point of the article was not lost on me - why are people so quick to have their 15 seconds, not minutes, of fame when it turns around to bite them in the butt for years to come? Is society's craving for "fame" so great that folks are willing to publicize less-than-stellar behaviors so they can generate an internet buzz? When college kids go south for what they perceive as "rite of passage" Spring Break trips and friends take photos of them drunk, exposing themselves, making out - all in the name of "having a good time", how can they seriously cry wolf when these things come to the surface? And that's not even going into the possible repercussions of such behavior personally (STDs, unwanted pregnancy, alcohol addition, drug use and overdose, loss of self-esteem, etc. - need I go on?)
So MY point is this to you parents: I don't care if "everybody is doing it" or anything else, morality is morality. Modesty is modesty. And perhaps the new byline for parents should be "Would you want what you are about to do to be on the internet where it can't be removed for all time for the world to see, saved on hard drives, played over and over again?" I see a lot of parents who have abdicated their God-given responsibility to shape, mold, teach their children how to be responsible adults - either because they want to be "friends" with their kids or they're living out some sick fantasy of what THEY wanted when they were that age. We put plastic protectors in electrical plugs. We cushion the hard corners in our living rooms. We keep doors closed and locked. We tell them to not open the door to strangers. We keep small objects off the floors - we do all these protective measures for our little ones. We want to keep them safe. And somewhere along the way, some parents lose sight of what really makes kids safe - teaching them to make sound decisions about the far reaching consequences of their actions.
We are parents, not buddies. They need us to be protective of not only their physical beings, but their spiritual as well. The world needs more parents with "push-back" - say YES when you can but be firm in your NO!s when necessary. Done right, your children will grow up to be adults who know WHO they are, WHOSE they are and WHERE they are going.
The point was this: we felt that until they were adults living on their own (as in "off our payroll"), they did not have the right to make these decision on their own. I don't know if the kids chaffed against our "ruling" or not. It wasn't an issue as far as I know nor do I think they are harboring resentment against us for this "prohibition of self-expression during the formative years". I admit, we are conservative, dare I say (gasp!) Republican? And Mike is in industry - in his career with Amoco and then BP, presentation was very important - to your boss, to your "direct-reports", to companies with whom you wish to do business. Employees represent companies, whether in a positive or negative way. This is "real life". We can debate all day whether or not this is "fair" but the reality is, if you don't have lots of tattoos and body piercings, you're typically going to go farther in a career.
I was reminded of this when I was reading a back issue of Reader's Digest, the April 2008 issue. There is an article about how the current trend for folks to "proudly" display photos of their exploits shamelessly on YouTube, Facebook and MySpace. Turns out, lots of employers are combing the internet for information on job interviewees. There were several folks mentioned in the article who thought they had the perfect new hire only to do a search online that turned up unsavory public behavior. Anyone who has access to a television, radio, newspaper or the internet knows about the whole Miley Cyrus thing - and I'm not talking about the Vanity Fair photo shoot either (although that was alarming enough). I'm talking about the photos with her "male friend" and her exposing her green bra. Now, she is backtracking worried that she's "offended her fan base and am so embarrassed" (more likely, she's worried about her bottom line financials.) And she is 15 - a very young teenager!
But the point of the article was not lost on me - why are people so quick to have their 15 seconds, not minutes, of fame when it turns around to bite them in the butt for years to come? Is society's craving for "fame" so great that folks are willing to publicize less-than-stellar behaviors so they can generate an internet buzz? When college kids go south for what they perceive as "rite of passage" Spring Break trips and friends take photos of them drunk, exposing themselves, making out - all in the name of "having a good time", how can they seriously cry wolf when these things come to the surface? And that's not even going into the possible repercussions of such behavior personally (STDs, unwanted pregnancy, alcohol addition, drug use and overdose, loss of self-esteem, etc. - need I go on?)
So MY point is this to you parents: I don't care if "everybody is doing it" or anything else, morality is morality. Modesty is modesty. And perhaps the new byline for parents should be "Would you want what you are about to do to be on the internet where it can't be removed for all time for the world to see, saved on hard drives, played over and over again?" I see a lot of parents who have abdicated their God-given responsibility to shape, mold, teach their children how to be responsible adults - either because they want to be "friends" with their kids or they're living out some sick fantasy of what THEY wanted when they were that age. We put plastic protectors in electrical plugs. We cushion the hard corners in our living rooms. We keep doors closed and locked. We tell them to not open the door to strangers. We keep small objects off the floors - we do all these protective measures for our little ones. We want to keep them safe. And somewhere along the way, some parents lose sight of what really makes kids safe - teaching them to make sound decisions about the far reaching consequences of their actions.
We are parents, not buddies. They need us to be protective of not only their physical beings, but their spiritual as well. The world needs more parents with "push-back" - say YES when you can but be firm in your NO!s when necessary. Done right, your children will grow up to be adults who know WHO they are, WHOSE they are and WHERE they are going.
12 May 2008
With apologies to Tim and Chris...
Yesterday I posted many photos of mothers and children but not any of me with my sons, Chris and Tim. Not on oversight - but a necessity. I will post some of them very soon but yesterday I was going on photos I had already on my computer. I need to go up to the TNTC ("too numerous to count") photo books and pull photos, scan and then post. Back in the "dark ages" when the children were babies, we had this thing called C110 film, a local drugstore to which we took them for processing and brittle, fragile negatives to keep up with if we ever wanted a reprint! Oh, the wonderful advent of digital photography and all it's easy storage! Now, instead of needing more photo albums, we need larger hard drives! So stay tuned - I'll be posting photos of my darling, now adult, sons before too long!
Now, if I can just figure out how to get more random access memory (RAM) for MY brain's files!
Now, if I can just figure out how to get more random access memory (RAM) for MY brain's files!
11 May 2008
One more thing...
For a very nice tribute from a young husband-soon-to-be-father (son of a dear friend of mine), go to http://newlittlemonsters.blogspot.com/2008/05/mothers-day.html and read it all. I'm proud to say I've known this young man and his family for 17 years, and am blessed by the association.
It's Mothers Day!
If you are in the northern United States, you can't help but know today is Mothers Day. "Mothering Sunday" is what it's called in England (and is always in March I believe - not in May - a fact which allowed me to "cash in" twice a year when we lived there...but I digress...)
I'm not going to try to wax profound today as I have a really bad cold and, if I start an emotionally charged blog, I'll end up in tears and that does NOT help an already overloaded "snot-head" (plus, it's hard to be eloquent when you feel like even USING terms like "snot-head"...) so instead, I'm sharing these photos with you. I hope you enjoy! And to all you Moms out there, may I extend this mom's take on the Gaelic Blessing:
May the toilet not rise up to meet you.
May your friends always watch your back.
May the essence of hot coffee shine warm upon your face each morning,
the rains fall any other time than the day of your child's outdoor birthday party
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Happy Mother's Day, ya'll!
Oh, the top photo is of me kissing Jen's "bo-bo" - it was Christmas, 1980, and I was pregnant with Timothy. And that's a photo of me (the baby, surprise, surprise), my older sister Kathy (as she was known then - her "pre-Kati" days) and of course, Mom, on the bottom.
09 May 2008
Let the calories begin!
This is my favorite cheesecake recipe, shared by a friend when we lived in Norway. It is wonderful and can be "lo-carbed" if needed by substituting Splenda for sugar. You will need a 10" springform pan so if you don't have one, buy one - posthaste!
Amaretto Cheesecake
Crust:
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 T. sugar
4 T. chopped pecans
Combine and press into the bottoem of the springform pan.
Filling:
4-8oz pkgs cream cheese (no, I don't use fat or low-fat cheese - it ruins the texture)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 pint sour cream
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup Amaretto Liqueur
In a large mixing bowl, beat (room temperature) cream cheese and sugar for about 10 minutes or until smooth, using medium speed. Mix in the sour cream. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and Amaretto last, mixing on low speed (or else you'll flail it all over your cabinets! I speak from experience...)
Pour (or spoon) into springform pan being careful when spreading not to disturb the crust underneath. Bake for 60-90 minutes in a pre-heated 325F (bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean - cake may rise and "crack" - sometimes it do and sometimes it don't. :)
When cooked to perfection, turn off the oven and crack the door - but leave the cake IN the oven for another hour or two. Remove cake from oven, cool to room temperature then chill in oven. If not to be served for several hourse, be sure to cover well.
To serve, make the sour cream topping and serve with FRESH strawberries - delightful!
Topping:
1 pint sour cream (yup, you can use the "light" sour cream on this one)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 T. sugar
1 T. Amaretto Liqueur
Mix well and keep in a covered container in the fridge.
If you have a larger springform pan (12"), throw another 8 oz container in, ramp up the sugar by another 1/2 cup sugar and add one more egg.
May sound involved, but once you know how to do it, you can do it in your sleep! And I'd wager it will become a family favorite! Enjoy...
Amaretto Cheesecake
Crust:
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 T. sugar
4 T. chopped pecans
Combine and press into the bottoem of the springform pan.
Filling:
4-8oz pkgs cream cheese (no, I don't use fat or low-fat cheese - it ruins the texture)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 pint sour cream
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup Amaretto Liqueur
In a large mixing bowl, beat (room temperature) cream cheese and sugar for about 10 minutes or until smooth, using medium speed. Mix in the sour cream. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and Amaretto last, mixing on low speed (or else you'll flail it all over your cabinets! I speak from experience...)
Pour (or spoon) into springform pan being careful when spreading not to disturb the crust underneath. Bake for 60-90 minutes in a pre-heated 325F (bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean - cake may rise and "crack" - sometimes it do and sometimes it don't. :)
When cooked to perfection, turn off the oven and crack the door - but leave the cake IN the oven for another hour or two. Remove cake from oven, cool to room temperature then chill in oven. If not to be served for several hourse, be sure to cover well.
To serve, make the sour cream topping and serve with FRESH strawberries - delightful!
Topping:
1 pint sour cream (yup, you can use the "light" sour cream on this one)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 T. sugar
1 T. Amaretto Liqueur
Mix well and keep in a covered container in the fridge.
If you have a larger springform pan (12"), throw another 8 oz container in, ramp up the sugar by another 1/2 cup sugar and add one more egg.
May sound involved, but once you know how to do it, you can do it in your sleep! And I'd wager it will become a family favorite! Enjoy...
Favorite Recipe Day!
I got to have Becky's fajitas the other day. 'Cause Tim made them for Lleyton's birthday and (gasp) gave me the recipe. And Emily wanted to know how they were made - since they're Becky's, I didn't want to steal her thunder. Which got me to thinking - let's have a Recipe Blog Day! One day in the next seven days, those of you who read this blog (like who ELSE is going to find out - the telepathic? DOH!), post your number one requested recipe (or your mother's if you aren't a "foodie".) Becky, dozens of people are depending on you to post that fajita recipe (and the ribs if you can...please....pretty please??)
Mine is going to be for an Italian Amaretto Cheesecake - and it's a lot easier to make than it sounds. So start thinking, looking it up, calling Mom, whatever. It this thing rolls, perhaps we could do it once a month or so. If not, well, we'll ALWAYS have Becky's fajitas...good times, good times...
Mine is going to be for an Italian Amaretto Cheesecake - and it's a lot easier to make than it sounds. So start thinking, looking it up, calling Mom, whatever. It this thing rolls, perhaps we could do it once a month or so. If not, well, we'll ALWAYS have Becky's fajitas...good times, good times...
06 May 2008
A Tribute to Spring...and Jason's Gardening Abilities
As most of you know, we sold the condo we had in Bedford (that we used stateside while we were in the UK) last March as we were building a vacation home in north Fort Worth in a town called Keller. We had it landscaped last July and then proceeded to wonder if between the wet summer that followed and a cold winter, if any of it would come back. Jason takes care of it for us and all I can say is, I WANT LESSONS! He cut things back in the fall, covered them with mulch, remulched this spring, put down pre-emergent on the grass, did fertilizers, etc.
When we were up there Easter weekend, things were starting to bud a little but the yards were still 'rice krispy treats' - brown and crispy. I returned a couple of weeks ago following Jen, Ben and Luke's visit to Katy to bring them home. I was FLABBERGASTED by the garden when I saw it! It's GORGEOUS! Jason has done a superb job and loves doing this - he just finished doing his front yard and had completed his back yard last summer to fall. I can kill a silk plant so am in awe of anyone who a) doesn't kill things, b) knows how to "winter" plants and c) enjoys doing it! He told me the back lawn was helped by Shelby and Izzie, ahem, "helping with fertilization" - it looks like a putting green!
So thanks, Jason. It looks fantastic! Now, do you make house calls to Katy? :)
05 May 2008
Lleyton's Birthday Party - Extra, Extra! Read all about it!!
I finally got the album of photos from Lleyton's first birthday party celebration up (click to view). It was a wonderful weekend and I've relived it over and over looking at photographs. I loved the way all the cousins played together, especially the "new kids on the block" (Lleyton, Luke and Mirai). Tim made fantastic fajitas using Becky's recipe (yeah, thanks Becky - they are the BEST!) and I'm anxious to try the recipe myself. Lleyton got his first cake and stuffed in his mouth very, uh, "ceremoniously". And of course, he really liked it!Megan's parents (MoMo and Mac) came from George West along with her two sisters, Marib and Hannah. Wes had a school activity so was unable to come (missed you Wesley!) Nana was there too (Crickett's mom). My mom was there (GG Ann the kids call her) as well as Mike's folks (Papaw Pete and Mamaw Peggy). Jennifer, Jason, Ben and Luke were down from the DFW area as were Chris, Jenjer and Mirai. So Lleyton was surrounded by many of the people who love him best and to mark his first year. We love you, Lleyton!
Birthday party weekend in Pflugerville
Last Saturday, the entire family gathered in Pflugerville to celebrate Lleyton's first birthday. It was a Paparazzi fest! I had my new camera, Chris had his professional camera there, Jen had HER camera, video cameras were rolling - it was the first time we had all been together in one place, including the great-grandparents, since the last three grandchildren were born last year! I will post an album of my photos later on in the week but for now, here is a montage done by Chris that he posted on his blog today. Enjoy!
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