The secret lives of grocery shoppers

Have you ever looked into the grocery cart of the person in front of you in line? I sure have and I have had lots of questions. Some people I even thought about stalking, just a little bit, to see what on earth is going on in their life. About a year ago I got behind two men in line at Kroger. They had two carts, one full of milk and one full of self-rising flour. Were they going to a huge fish fry? Can you even fry fish with just those two things? The hub went to the store not long ago to find a lady with a cart full of frozen corn. I mean, the possibilities are endless. Last week I went to my beloved Kroger to pick up some bacon and bananas(BLT's and fruit portion of dinner). A very impatient man kept interrupting my cashier to say he needed help at Customer Service. "Sir, I will be with you in a minute. Thank you for your patience.". He stormed off, heading back to CS to await her return. "He will not leave me alone, ma'am, and I am sorry. He's is going to take forever to deal with.". She gestured to his cart which was, again, full to the brim...with energy drinks of every shape and size. Does it not make your head spin to wonder what he would do with all of those Monster drinks? I've never understood the appeal: a tall boy can of something that tastes like liquified Centrum Silver(took one of my Dad's once) with a half cup of sugar added. Yuck. Clearly, at this time of the year, no one's going to blink twice at a cart full of watermelons...or a cart full of poinsettias at Christmas. Season appropriate purchase. These strange carts full of odd things or odd combinations, well, I start humming "One of these things is not like the other...". Thanks, Sesame Street.

Someone reading this might question what kind of life I have or if I have one at all. I've always been a people watcher. My dad and I still sit in public places and guess the careers and home life of the people we see. Just an interesting thing to do to pass the time. And, come on, you can't tell me that if you saw a person with a cart full of orange juice and pickles you wouldn't be just a little bit curious. I would.


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Let me catch my breath...she's 8

Today my sweet G turned 8. I can't believe it. She is such a cool kid and I am so very proud of her. She had very specific requests for her birthday day...very opinionated.

As is tradition in our family, the birthday girl was awakened to singing and a breakfast in bed:



She had requested pancakes, so I did my best to get creative with the shapes. Jim's Pancake website gave me inspiration:



Happy and sad pancakes to greet the kids.


The creation affectionately call "Frankenpancake". His mouth was sewn shut, but he sure was tasty.

After the early breakfast, the kids piled back into our bed and watched the original "Freaky Friday" while I snoozed. G took birthday calls, gleefully answering the phone. Later we got dressed and went to Starbucks. They were having free healthy drinks, one per customer, so we went to sample:



G said, "Free things are nice, but after tasting that I'd rather pay for some of your coffee.". Wow, well, wow. Starting her early, I guess. We took it easy this afternoon since the boy is still not well. Dinner was tasty and loud with a less than pleasant singer trying to hit the big time in a hole in the wall Mexican eatery. We came home and G enjoyed her requested cake, an Avengers cake:



Then, in the strange twist of the evening, the kids started trying on old military garb. That's what most 8year olds do on their birthday.



Can it get any cuter than that? Or how about this:



Yeah, we're weird. But I love that we are. I love that the birthday girl is not only a funny girl, but she is a kind and compassionate young lady. Happy Birthday, sweet girl.
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Hairy situation

Let's talk about beards, friends. Well, we can lump all facial hair into it...that's fine. Our new senior minister is the talk of many because he has a very distinct, robust mustache. I had no idea how much conversation it would garner when he arrived. One older lady even made it her business to tell him he needed to trim it. Personally, I think it is pretty cool, but then I have grown up with a lot of bearded and mustachioed men. I don't get the big hubbub. My father has had a beard my entire life and was able to use that fact as a way to get me to straighten up if I was misbehaving. "Wow, this beard sure gets hot when I have to chase after you to get your room clean. Honey?! Where's my razor?". "Noooooo!!!!". I have seen my Dad's clean baby face in wedding pictures and snapshots from his youth. Handsome guy indeed, but that beard is a comfort to me. When my brother was old enough, the beard appeared on his face as well. Uncles, neighbors, teachers...lots of fuzzy faces. And, if we are being honest, some faces that should never attempt to grow hair ever. Some faces can't handle the hair.

I have seen lots of different beards recently. During the recent rainy days with my sick boy, we have watched several episodes of The Dog Whisperer. Cesar has a very manicured goatee, very metrosexual. Being a fan of symmetry, it makes me break into a cold sweat thinking of the time it must take to manicure that thing and make it even. Such pressure. At the grocery store tonight, I saw a man with a beard almost to his eyes. The shave line went so high, his beard was so heavy and his five o'clock shadow must get there at two. I have drawn, because I was bored, some of the beard styles spotted at the local Kroger self checkout this evening. Sorry...day seven of sick boy.



I could also tell you of my relative's regrettable pimp mustache and my friend's "Abe Lincoln" phase, but some things are just best to be buried and never spoken of again. If you are not a fan of the facial hair, go ahead and "Flick your Bic" and splash on some Aqua Velva. I'm good with that.
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Mmmmm...

I have had a boring, rainy, boring, rainy day. Still sick boy=no outside activities for us. The kids were craving comfort food to eat while playing never ending games of Memory. Sausage balls seemed like the perfect choice and luckily I had some in the freezer. These are my go to appetizer or brunch offering...I can make them in my sleep. I won't go into the great "Circle 6 Sausage Ball Size Debate" of '06 or whenever it was. Let's just say that people are very opinionated about the size of their sausage balls(go ahead and insert blue joke here). I have been the family member commissioned to make these tasty delights since I was in middle school. I love them, but they give me instant heartburn. I will share my recipe, which is probably identical to every other one out there.

Sausage Balls

3-5 cups of Bisquick(I use 5)
1lb of uncooked sausage
1lb of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

I put the cheese and sausage in my mixer with the dough hook attached. I used to do all of this by hand until I realized how handy the hook is. Gradually add the Bisquick. The more you get in there, the fluffier they become. After the mixer loses its effectiveness, use hands to complete mixing. I make mine the size of a large marble or gumball...maybe a tad bigger. Because I make double and triple batches, I don't roll them all. I take the dough amount and squish it until it is in the right shape. Bake at 400 for 10minutes or until browned. So very tasty!



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Starting to crack

The specter of boredom is settling in on my children. The boy not so much, because he is so dopey with fever. The girls have read books, drawn pictures, watched movies and have been sent into the mugginess that is outside for some "wearing out" time. During that time today, the girls hit their limit of each other and started arguing. Then fighting. Then I told them to just wrestle it out. It was quite a scene to the neighbors to see two Tweens scrapping in the front yard. After a while, I took them inside and made them do the "hug each other" until told them to stop. While they locked in a forced sisterly embrace, I googled subjects like "how to get my girls to stop fighting" and "how to avoid alcoholism when children are in the tween years". I found an article with suggestions and tried one called "List 25 Things You Like About Your Sister". Whether they were going to make all their answers serious, I didn't know. What I did know was that it would keep them occupied for a good bit of time. I returned a few minutes later to find lists completed and children a little calmer. We read the boy's new library book called "Monsters Eat Whiny Children"....how apropos. I then read each sister's list out loud, complimenting them for thought and creativity. Then I looked at G's list. Number 12 really spoke volumes:



The fighting subsided for a while, but has since picked up again at bedtime. I am at a loss as to how to resolve this issue. My brother and I rarely fought, so I am in foreign territory. We can only hope that the sisterly bond and mutual love of fried pig can carry them through these tumultuous times. Otherwise I will start selling tickets to the front yard fights...BYOB.
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Superhero central

I have a sick boy in the house who needs to be kept still, so we have had a lazy day. Since he is crazy about the Marvel heroes, we watched "Thor". Very entertaining and fun to see how it will lead into the other movies. G is determined to marry Thor...he is awfully pretty.



This evening brings "Captain America" to round out a superhero filled day. I wish I had paid attention all those years ago when reading comic books. So much back story to catch up on. It is amazing how detailed the stories are. I love having a boy and getting to relearn this stuff...and it is so fun to watch him get excited. Avengers, assemble!



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Just superb

My sister in law and I went to see a movie tonight that I have anticipated as much as my son anticipated The Avengers: Moonrise Kingdom. I love everything Wes Anderson does. I wish I could have his artistic vision, his writing skills, his humor. Of all the living directors he, and the Coens, are the ones I want to meet the most. I want someone to build me a Tenenbaum brownstone or a Bishop house from Moonrise Kingdom. Just amazing. After a stressful weekend, the movie was just what I needed. Thanks, Wes Anderson. You made my night.



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