Helicopter parent- who me?

Can someone tell me if it ever becomes easier being a parent? Such a shame that the easiest part of parenting is when the kids are younger and you're so busy chasing after them and making them eat vegetables, that you don't realize how easy it is. (For example- this may be one of 10 times my son has worn a buttoned up shirt with a collar.-->) It's when they are older and far from home that it becomes harder. Part of me just can't let the bossiness of being their mom let go of still trying to make sure that they do everything right. Here's an example....son is in Georgia finishing up his first semester of college and will be coming home tomorrow: Me: Now you only have about an hour between flights, so make sure you get to your next flight quickly. Him: Yea, I know. Me: You know how to find your gate with your flight number, right? Him: (big sigh heard, perhaps he's banging his head on the wall and I can't hear it?) Mom, I'm not stupid, I have flown before and stop being a helicopter parent. I read CNN and I know about parents like you. Well, I sure hope he enjoys that greyhound bus ride if he misses his flights tomorrow. Maybe I should call him tomorrow morning??

Butterfly Iphone photo fun

Butterfly Iphone photo fun Originally uploaded by jennymcb Today I caved and bought Splashphoto on the Iphone. Another thing to play with. It's quite easy to do and it adds some pizazz to pictures. What do you think? It's interesting that Laundromats now have wireless capabilities. Rather than read the book I brought with me, I instead spent some quality time with my iphone. It's sad being a geeky gal, my clothes are old, but my cell phone is new. With all the advances in the past ten years, I can't even begin to wonder what the future will bring.

A trip back to London?

Saw this on my travels through the internet, Knit Nation to be held next July in London. After our trip to London this past Spring, my husband and I would love to go back and see more. It would be fun to meet other knitters from around the world. Just not sure I could justify the cost with two in college this year. That's a lot of extra shifts. May have to think about this for awhile.

There's more than just recipes out in Blog Land

Blogs have become more than just newsy tidbits about peoples' lives, they have become a source of news; political, social and medical. I found a Science Based Medicine blog which details the extent of quackery that some people call medicine. The latest post has information regarding the Health care reform bill. There are too many pages for the common voter to read and digest, however, I do hope that someone in my representatives' offices have decided that prayer is not a medical treatment that should be paid for. I bet you didn't know that there is a provision in the bill for "require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses." I am a black and white person at heart, prove to me that something works and I will try it. People are too easily scared by what they read without taking the time to question miracle cures. Is the cure evidence based? Or is the fear based on hype or proven theory? Are there more than 1-2 studies completed by different research teams? Next time you read an article on healthcare, ask yourself these questions and take the time to research. You might be surprised by what isn't being said.

Candy and Food, Changing Taste Buds

Another night of 1/2 sleep with too much time to think. Halloween is tonight and I still haven't bought candy yet. Thoughts of what to get the little goblins had me thinking about what I used to enjoy and now don't. For example, sticky taffy candy, loved them, but thoughts of the dentist chair keep me from eating them. Alas, a victim of the 1960s - 1970s dentistry era of taking a tiny cavity and filling it with a big honking filling that has since weakened my teeth. When all the baby boomers who can afford it, finish with their crowns...What will dentists do to keep busy? Perhaps it will be taking care of the all the rot from soda, energy drinks and lattes. Better get back on track here, food. As a child I hated the mushiness of oatmeal, now I love it. Of course, since I can add apples and yogurt, the taste and mushiness is gone. Realizing that taste buds change with time, I try not to get "wigged" out when my kids won't try anything. Truth is, I didn't like asparagus when I was younger, even though it's a favorite. My youngest developed a bad habit shared by his mother for a slight addiction to Hershey's full size chocolate bars. I bought them throughout the summer for the s'mores that never happened. The full size bars were our little secret that we kept hidden from his brothers and his dad. He suggested those for Halloween tonight and I think I just might splurge on the big size bars. Like some comedian once said, who the hell thought a tiny candy bar should be called a "fun" size? Happy Halloween all and have a sweet one on me!

If There's No Blog, who gets to hear me?

This Gal had a good question about who got to hear me rant and rave when I took my blogging vacation. Well there's my poor co-workers who I tend to tease unmercifully, the hard worker is called the slacker, the quiet young tech becomes the mouth and the talkative tech becomes the quiet one. I get to work in another department for extra money with a nice group of young techs under the watchful eye of the supervisor who I have worked with before and teases me about my whining. It's so bad that there is a really new tech who started a month ago who just wants me to work with her, I will have to work a day to think up a name for her. Then there's my poor family who get to hear me, however, ranting and raving is a family sport, so I have competition. After the second one went off to college, I guess I needed to come back to the blog to give my husband and remaining son a break. Listening to my youngest, I realized that his ranting is over the top and he needs to tone it down. He'll have to learn that honesty doesn't always equal nice, but that tempering one's words can keep friendships. But boy, he can be dead on about high school drama. My thought for the day? How come I am the one that has to meet "guys" for roofing, siding and window estimates? Seriously? I would rather be meeting guys with better propositions....vacation in the sun, travel around the world or let me spend their money.

Internet Rant

I have said it before, but it bears repeating, not all of us want to watch a news video. I can read a heck of a lot faster than the time it takes for any computer that I am on to load a story. Gee, guess I might miss that ad, but 9 times out of 10, I will click out of a story if it is a video. My newest rant is when reading about the 10 uses for Toe Jam or some other interesting list I might find, I want to see it all on one page! Give me a long scroll over multiple clicks and page loads and you've got yourself a reader. Changes, my google reader and Cnn.com have both changed their formats. CNN, I can live with, however my reader is causing me to skip stories in order to clean up my pages. The jury is still out, but it's not looking good for a positive vote. Wow, feel somewhat better, off to play some Canasta to calm down.