I get so tired sometimes of trying to figure
out easy and tasty things to make for dinner.
When I lived alone, dinner was easy. A can
of soup. A grilled cheese. Sometimes a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Now, I worry about
protein and vegetables and salt.
I was standing in line at the Grill down in
the cafeteria on my lunch hour, waiting on my grilled cheese sandwich, and I
was entertained watching the short order cooks made several Philly cheesesteak
sandwiches. It occurred to me that this is something we should make. I bet the
kids would like it. It’s just grilled onions, mushrooms, and thinly sliced
beef, then you throw on some cheese and put it on a bun. You could grill the
onions and mushrooms and throw them in the fridge, and even slice the meat
ahead of time, and then just throw everything in a hot skillet when you’re
ready to eat. My only question is, where do you get the meat? I wonder if we
can buy that thinly sliced beef somewhere or if we’d need to buy a couple of
steaks and thin slice them ourselves…? I am picky about beef. I only like lean
beef that’s not tough.
We finished watching the movie Cast Away
last night, the one where Tom Hanks is alone on a desert island for four years.
I was hoping the film would be a learning experience for the kids. It’s pretty heavy stuff, that
movie. To me, it’s all
about faith, even though there’s nothing religious in it. He has to have faith to
get off the island. I told the kids, at the end, God was watching out for him.
I’m not sure
if they heard me, or really pondered that. I hope so.
As we were brushing teeth last night Michael
said, “He
had dark hair at first, then his hair turned blonde.”
“Well, the
sun bleached his hair out.”
“I think I
want blonde hair!” he
said.
“When you
leave my house, you can have any color hair you want,” I replied.
Truthfully, he will be at the pool or on the
tennis court a lot this summer, and I hope it affects his hair. Last summer his
normally brown hair picked up these beautiful reddish gold highlights. It
actually looked a lot like my hair, which has a lot of red highlights. Good
nutrition affects the hair. I think since he has become more healthy you can
really see what beautiful hair he has, although his nose will keep him from
ever being a pretty boy – which is good.
[Personally, I see Tom's look as part wild man of Borneo, part Peter Frampton]
Sometimes I read about studies that are done
and I think, these people that spend a lot of time and money researching this
stuff are just morons. They’re often as silly as “Kids prefer candy to broccoli” – well duh. Here’s one from CNN saying mother’s influence kids’ social skills by how they talk
to them. Really??! I never would’ve guessed that.
My personal history would’ve made those researchers’ heads explode. Both my parents
were strict when I was growing up, but my father was more strict on social
skills. When we were kids, when we went somewhere in the car, like to a family
wedding, about 10 minutes before we got there, Dad would turn the radio off.
Then we got The Lecture.
“When we go
in there, do not bother anyone. Do not touch anything. If someone says hello,
answer them and give them a handshake or a hug. Smile. Find a place to sit
down, and sit until we come get you.” We were taught the #1 Rule in all social situations
attended as children – do NOT bother anyone.
I went to a family reunion a few years ago,
and a distant cousin of mine was letting her two boys race around the building,
inside, screaming. She didn’t even try to make them behave. The noise was really getting on my nerves. If I’d
ever tried that I would’ve been hauled out and my butt beat. I am not
condoning spanking, but for heaven’s sake, Control Your Young! Should not be just a
quote from a movie [Night At The Museum] – it should be a credo.
If you want to let your kids run around
screaming, that’s your
business, but they should never be allowed to bother anyone else.
Our movie tonight was True Women, a 1997
miniseries. I got the whole thing on one 3 hour DVD from Netflix. I wondered if
all 3 kids (including Alesia’s friend Elena) would be able to sit through it,
but we took only one potty break. It was mesmerizing. It’s a a true story of
pioneer women in Texas from 1845-1880, and you get a lot of history, but told
very dramatically. Michael clearly enjoyed it. I hope it made an impression on
the girls, as it talks about the importance of women being strong and
protecting their homes, and how women had to fight to get the vote. Lots of
thoughtful messages, too, about the treatment of African Americans and Native
Americans, but not in a preachy way. I highly recommend it.
If you are worried about how to get boys to watch a movie called True Women, Angelina Jolie is in it.
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