People watching at the mall

In my attempt to remove myself from the endless cycle of online dating...okay, okay...I got stood up AGAIN! But that is another blog topic entirely!

After I dropped the boys off to their dad's house, I made my annual trip to the mall. I rarely go anymore, for several reasons. But tonight, it was kind of fun!

I was stopped and asked to complete a survey for being a TGI Friday's customer. When I said yes, I was escorted to a small consumer research company survey room. I completed the survey including critiquing several TV commercials...MY FAVORITE! Ironically, I already hate the Friday's commercial...so I certainly gave my full opinion...LOL! And, hey, they gave me $5 for it too! After asking for an application for part-time work, the manager was thrilled to learn of my Marketing degree and said I would be paid more per hour. COOL!

So off I went with my crisp $5 bill and headed to the food court. Ahhh....Panda Express still tastes as good as it ever did! As I sat there enjoying my dinner, I watched all the activity around me. This is what I observed:

• America is obsessed with cell phones...and that is for text messaging, not phone calls. I counted 8 people walking and texting at the same time. (I'm guilty too!)
• The mall is still "THE PLACE" to be when you are a teenager. (No wonder I don't care to go the mall much anymore.)
• PDA is still alive in America's youth....to the point of stumbling over each other while walking. (And they think that is romantic? LOL!)
• PDA is no longer boy-girl...thanks to society's liberalism...I saw two girl-girl couples. (And this is not like when we hooked arm-in-arm in camaraderie.)
• Mohawks are definitely back. (YUK!)
• Ten & twelve year olds already have permanent tattoos. (I guess their parents think they are being "cool parents"?)

It's amazing what you can learn, when you sit still and observe your surroundings. That was definitely enough for me until I make my one trip to the mall next year! =)

To My DAD for Father's Day

I had another amazing talk with my dad tonight. I am loving getting to know him on an adult level. I see changes and growth in him that inspires me!

Yesterday, on our family bike ride, I encouraged my boys that they could make it all the way back home, even though they were tired. I told them to just say "I think I can"...or..."I know I can". I told them my dad always said that to me...that if I just said I could...I usually could! I got to share that with him tonight too.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

I love ya!

Some Humor for Dad

In honor of "expecting" Dads.....especially Dust! =)

Things You'll Never Hear a Dad Say

• Well, how 'bout that?...I'm lost! Looks like we'll have to stop and ask for directions.
• You know, Pumpkin, now that you're fourteen, you'll be ready for unchaperoned car dates. Won't that be fun?
• I noticed that all your friends have a certain "up yours" attitude...I like that.
• Here's a credit card and the keys to my new car...go crazy.
• Your Mother and i are going away for the weekend...you might want to consider throwing a party.
• Whaddya wanna go and get a job for? I make plenty of money for you to spend.

The New Driver

Martin had just received his brand new drivers license. The family troops out to the car, where he is going to take them on a ride for the first time. Dad immediately heads for the back seat, directly behind the newly minted driver.

"I'll bet you're back there to get a change of scenery after all those months of sitting in the front passenger seat teaching me how to drive," says the beaming boy to his father.

"Nope," comes dad's reply, "I'm gonna sit here and kick the back of your seat as you drive, just like you've been doing to me all these years."

Why Is It....?

I have been contemplating this blog for a few days....at first it started out with some ironic humor, such as:

Why is it.....that we expect our towels to never wear out?

Why is it.....that we dust, only to see more dust the next time we walk by the bookcase?

Why is it.....that we have to clean the shower doors, even though we don't get them dirty?

And....well, you get the idea. It was wonderings like this that were in my head when I was thoroughly cleaning my house the weekend the pool opened. I knew from this point on, we would be outdoors mostly and not as likely to be inside cleaning. So I wanted to do up everything I could so it would last awhile.

However, tonight, I had a wonderful 2-hr phone conversation that really put some more perspective into my life.

Why is it.....that we think our life is crappy, when we experience a hurt feeling?

Why is it.....that we expect other humans to act different than human nature?

Why is it.....that we think everyone else's life is so much better than ours?

I really enjoyed talking with my Dad tonight. It doesn't happen very often, since he lives long distance and in another time zone. He really inspired me to read/write/read again the scriptures in the Bible. As he has been going through a tough time in his life, he has been referred many "wonderful" books to "help him" on his journey. He posed a question to me. Why would he read some other person's book on what they got from a passage of scripture. I was "wowed" at that moment.....and agree.

I was laughing with a friend the other day that I used to only own "self-help" books...and she said she did too. Since my journey through recovery with my divorce, I have been collecting Christian romance novellas based in different states. This is a great way to relax my mind from some of the serious things I deal with on a daily basis....but if I am not grounded in the Word, then they can be as much of a stumbling block for me as anything else could be. I had a friend take a book out of my hand and say, "you are not allowed to borrow this book...until you are more emotionally ready to read this as a book for entertainment...not as a book to "wish" yourself into their life."

So......

Why is it.....that I am learning (or trying to learn) that some things really are better to just let go?

Why is it.....that I think that I am somehow responsible for some things that people do or say?

Why is it.....that I know what I need to do, but keep looking for another answer?

I need to go to the Word and learn from the source, just like the Bible says, "Go to the ant...consider its ways and be wise."

(Let's just hope the ants marching across my kitchen floor aren't so wise to realize I sprayed an ant killer all over tonight...LOL!)

Boys' Antics

My boys just crack me up sometimes!

Last week, the day the pool OPENED...they were up at 8:30 cleaning the house. J would ask me, can we go now? I said not yet. He asked what else can I do? Here is the dustcloth...

Today, N decided NOT to go to the pool because there were storm clouds overhead. And truly, it was about to storm...so we would have had to leave the pool anyway.

Tonight, I tried out my new grill again. The chicken worked better than the mahi mahi i tried last night. N wanted us to have a grill so much, that I did let him put it together for me. He did a GREAT job...and I didn't have to redo any of it. I am so pleased he takes after ME in that ability (and not his father, who didn't even know a Philips screwdriver...LOL!)

When I dished out the chicken...N wanted to make sure that I didn't give him the chicken with BBQ sauce on it. I assured him those were on my plate. I hear him doing this buzzing sound...and he is turning his chicken leg around and around...then says in a robotic voice, "BBQ sauce scan complete...no sauce found". I laughed so hard I snorted...ROFL!

At dinner, the boys said they didn't like eating chicken. I said you used to like it...why did you change your mind. J answered "because its nature". They have it in their hearts that we shouldn't eat meat...because it had to die first. I tried to explain the food chain....but that only got us into quoting movie lines! They take after their Dad on this ability...which is cool! The line they quoted was from Shark Tale...when the "godfather fish" explains the fish food chain...you know the one..."there's me...and other fishes...and whale poo...then YOU!" Oh yeah...boys think that is hilarious!

After dinner, the boys kept coming up to me and just telling me how much they loved me and how good my dinner tasted. For some reason I really believe the old saying that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! When I "cook"...they are always so complimentary to me. But now N is taking over some little cooking/prep in the kitchen. He makes Ramen noodles now. I told him that is NECESSARY skill for college!!! And tonight, he made the kool-aid...and his tasted better than my first batch I made AFTER college graduation. I forgot the sugar and my guest actually drank the whole glass without telling me!

For dessert, we had strawberry shortcake. J only wanted the angelfood cake. N "created" his dessert by cutting little V's into the cake to hold the strawberries...then topped the cool whip in little dots on top of the berries.

Like I said...my boys CRACK me UP! =)