Vote for Our Kids!

The kids just put together a couple of videos for the Uncle Ben's "Ben's Beginners Contest." You can go check out their videos and vote for them. There is a $20,000 first prize, which also includes an appearance on the Rachel Ray show. Also, they are offering a cafeteria makeover for the winning child's school. Since we homeschool will they remodel our kitchen? Hmmm . . .

Anyway, you can vote starting today and can vote once a day for each video until March 11. Check out their videos! Thanks!

Thing 1
Thing 2

(I know we're biased, but we have cute, great kids!)

Kids are blogging . . .

Just a heads up --
they've been updating their Revue blog as well as their personal blogs . . .
and some of their recent reviews are so much fun!

They've recently reviewed the book The Phantom Tollbooth as well as several movies including
"Mary Poppins," "The Sound of Music," and "My Fair Lady."

They are GREAT reviews -- check them out.
I'm sure they'd love to hear from you!

(And thank you so much).

A Valentine's Meme

Saw it and couldn't resist. Some girls shop. I blog. Nerd.

1. Relationship status - Very happily married.
2. What I want for Valentine's Day - A simple, thoughtful reminder of how much I am loved - I got it.
3. Who has my heart - Mark, my children, and Scout
4. Am I the jealous type - Not at all.
5. Favorite food - Sushi
6. Last time I cried - Almost 3 weeks ago. And I teared up yesterday watching "The Miracle Worker" with the kids.
7. Favorite song - Oh, so many. Um, "Your Song" by Elton John?
8. Something(s) I hate - Divisiveness, Contention, Drama . . .
9. Longest relationship - We're coming up on 20 years and counting!
10. Who I miss - Do you ever feel like you miss something you don't have? That.
11. Best guy friends - Mark. Outside of that, Dave. And an online shout out for Jimmy.
12. Best girl friend - I can't pick any one. I have several -- the one I've had for over 25 years, the one I vent to, the one I write with, the one who thinks like I do, the one who does not think like I do, the one who I catch up with now and then, the one I meet for lunch sometimes, the one I hang out with at the coffeehouse, the one I laugh with . . .
13. Last person I texted - Linda.
14. Addiction - My family, friends, and learning. I know it sounds nerdy, but it's true.
15. Something I love - Hanging out as a family, spending time with friends, eating out. Oh, and more recently, Big Bang Theory! Funny, funny show.
16. Favorite thing I have - My family.
17. Eye color - Hazel
18. How tall am I - 5'2" (Shut up).
19. Do I believe in love - Without a doubt.
20. 5 things in this room - A smurf figurine, Dr. Seuss pins, a picture of a seashell, birthday coupons, a friendship plaque (all things given to me by friends and family that I put around my computer area).
21. Favorite holiday - I like the week between Christmas and New Year's.
22. Birthday - March 3rd
23. Have I ever fallen in love - Big time -- again and again.
24. Boy I trust - Mark; my son
25. Girl I trust - My daughter
26. Last thing I yelled - "I love you!"
27. Last person I punched - I don't punch people.
28. Person I trust the most? Mark
29. Cutest couple I know? - Us, duh.

Okay you read all about me, so now it's time to learn something new about you. Tag. You're it.

Thing 1's Big Concert

(I'm behind on a few recent events, so here's my first installment in catching up.)

Well, it's the first of a couple of big concerts. Thing 1 has been diligently practicing violin with a group called the Festival Strings. It is a group of Junior High School-aged kids who play in an orchestra. They have somewhat infrequent, but insanely long rehearsals in preparation for a big concert this month. It is directed by the Conductor of the Hershey Symphony, and her special interest happens to be arranging orchestral music for this age group, so they spend a lot of time doing her arrangements.

As part of their overall experience, the group got to play a few numbers in the Hershey Symphony Christmas Concert. The kids sat right in with the symphony members and played with them. It was very cool to see Thing 1 next to the "regulars," getting to play in such a beautiful theater like the Hershey Theatre.

Thing 1 in the "catacombs" beneath the theater

She had to wait for me to be done with chaperoning duties to join the family upstairs. I can't believe how much she's growing up!

Thing 1 is in the middle, wearing the white headband. Another one of Stacy's brilliant ideas!

The family after the show



Carol of the Bells
(The actual video was too big to upload but this recording was made at the concert.)

Exciting News for our Book Club!

Our book club is being featured in a book!

The authors of the book found our book club website/blog and contacted us. After numerous emails back and forth between them and members of our book club, they chose one of our book selections (Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls, the same author of The Glass Castle), some of our recipes, and several quotes from members of our group, and included us in a section of their book!

The book comes out March 1st and is FULL of wonderful recipes for SO many good books!! You can pre-order it now!

I've already got a copy, as do other members of our book club -- that SUPER fun surprise came in the mail this past Friday even though the book isn't available yet!! I had no idea they'd send us a free copy! It was SUCH a great surprise.

Our book club is in its 8th year -- I wrote about our group several years ago. We have a mix of people -- men and women -- and we meet monthly and discuss good books and eat fantastic food that goes along with the books. We love it!

If you like good books and good food, I definitely encourage you to GET THIS BOOK.

A little back story: One of the members of our club bought me the original Book Club Cook Book as a birthday present for me several years ago, so when the authors contacted me, I was able to say, "I have your book!"

And now, we're included in the new edition! Fun! Anyway, just wanted to share our fun news. :)

February 1st

December was busy with the normal December "stuff." On top of that, Thing 1 is part of an amazing group of string players that got to play with the Hershey Symphony for their Holiday Concert. It was AMAZING! She worked so hard and did such a great job and really enjoyed playing in a large group doing parts, etc.

Her rehearsals are intense -- they are very strict and often quite long, but they're led by the director of the symphony and the learning and practice are through the roof! She continues to attend many hours of practices as they gear up for their own February concert.

Thing 1 working on a submission
for an art contest

We spent most of January sick. Sometimes, a bunch of us were sick at once. Other times, we took turns. But it seems like most of January was spent with someone not feeling well. I think it's at least partly because the weather simply hasn't been that cold this winter, so I figure the germs aren't getting easily killed off.

In the backyard today with Scout

Today, for example, it's 60 degrees and the kids are outside playing baseball in the backyard with Scout. The 10-day forecast shows every day being well over 40 degrees. I'm loving the warmer winter (after the tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and tropical storms, I figure we can enjoy this!!), but I do wonder if it's contributing to the colds and bugs that seem to be hanging on. Thing 2 is excited that baseball sign ups are this weekend -- he really enjoys playing and is excited to move up to the next group this spring!

Baseball!

Tummy rubs!

Mark is working a 12-day stretch. He's been working a lot and the clinic has picked up like it always does at this time of year. We've been super busy with business stuff, but all in a good way. We're in our 5th year and thinking of new things to add, ways to expand, etc. All that being said, we are grateful for and value the business we have and the flexibility it gives us. Sure, it can be tricky to take several days and weeks off at a time, but our days themselves have flexibility and togetherness in them, even when we're working, and that allows for a lot of creativity and self determination. I especially like that we can eat all our meals together daily.

I'll post soon, too, about Thing 2's awesome birthday party we had this past weekend. It had been postponed due to busyness, sickness, and weather, but it turned out great! Thanks to everyone who came and made it so special for him.

Yesterday, we took the kids to a neat class offered by the library called "Needle Felting" -- it's a VERY easy (though slightly dangerous -- it uses very sharp, barbed needles) and creative craft and there's so much you can do with it. We're going to get more roving and make mini Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings figures. The library had been hesitant about having kids at the class (reference the extremely sharp needles), but when it was over, they complimented both Thing 1 and Thing 2 on doing so well and being so mature.

So, since December and January have been busy and full (and sniffly), I'm glad it's February. I feel like we're getting into a really good rhythm with school and life in general.

What our coffee table looked like
after a good morning of learning

We have a little tradition of having a "board game day" for the first of every month, so we've been playing games in addition to some good school stuff today. We do character-building stuff and grammar while we eat breakfast and we do history while we eat lunch (we're studying fascism, Hitler, and WWII right now). In between, we've been reading The Phantom Tollbooth together and playing games like "Lego Heroica" and "10 Days in Europe."

With the weather being so nice, the kids also played outside and we took Scout for a walk. We did some light housework, worked on a cool history collage for the 1930s, and the kids worked on their submissions for an art contest. It's been a really nice day. The sunshine certainly doesn't hurt. :)

Scout likes to steal the ball
from the kids while they play

Now, let's just hope Puxatawny Phil doesn't see his shadow tomorrow. I'm ready for spring!

Encyclopedia of Me - L (Stacy)

Neville Longbottom & Luna Lovegood - They are my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series (note: I like them as individuals. I do not like how they contrived a supposed romance with them in the final movie -- what was that?!?). I can't help but smile at just about anything Luna says and her whimsical, dreamy nature is something I find refreshing. And Neville . . . well, to me, he's one of the biggest heroes in the series. Over and over and over again. He is not particularly athletic or organized or brave, yet when it comes down to it, he is more courageous than most anyone else. I love Neville and cry every time he rallies for what he believes to be right. One of my favorite lines from Harry Potter is when Dumbledore says, "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr Neville Longbottom."

Ladybugs - I don't know what it is about them, but when I see one, I feel happy. They're cute and it's always fun to find one in our house. Also, my mom says there is a Portuguese folkloric belief that when a ladybug is in your house, it means good luck related to money. They're great for gardening, because they naturally eat aphids. We've learned at several wildlife lectures that the true name of a ladybug is actually "Ladybird Beetle." They are everywhere in the autumn here (another lovely "L" thing -- leaves! We live in a great place for fall beauty). I love catching them as a family and then letting them go. The picture above is from a time our family played in the beautiful autumn leaves our 2nd year here and we found all those ladybugs in a tree. It was so neat! (Less neat was how my engagement ring flew off my cold fingers and into said leaves - after MANY tears, we rented a metal detector and found it, thankfully! Now my ring has a "guard" on it that I can adjust for when it's cold).

Life -I value life. I know that might sound like a simplistic statement, but it's something that I've recognized about myself in the past several years -- that so many of the decisions I make and the things I believe and the principles that drive me stem from that simple tenet. It's part of why I don't fit neatly into any political category. I don't quite understand how someone can be against abortion and for the death penalty or against the death penalty and pro-war. I often think that if everyone shared this one principle, that there would be more peace and harmony in the world. I value life -- the here, the now. I don't even squash bugs if I can help it -- I take them outside when they're in the house (spiders, stinkbugs, etc.). Even flies (oh, I can't stand flies!) -- I try to get them to fly outside if I can. I think this is part of why I love birthdays so much -- it's not a celebration of an achievement or promotion or accomplishment. Birthdays celebrate someone because they ARE, because they EXIST. And isn't that amazing and worth honoring? I think so!

Love - I'm a romantic. I cry when I see something touching. I love how love FEELS. I love the relationships that stem from love. I feel things very deeply. So much so, that it's almost scary sometimes. I love love. I love that it's an accepted convention that marriage is based on love, instead of a dowry or some kind of business deal. I love that I am married to someone I love and who loves me. I love being a mother and I love my children. I love my friends. I love feeling loved by others. I love simple things like take out and watching something funny as a family and everyday celebrations and music and good food. I love love.

Lisbon -I've said it before, I think you can fall in love with a city. I fell in love with Lisbon 17 years go. What an amazing city! So beautiful -- modern in spots, but so old world in others. The cobblestone streets are lined with shops and homes and breathtakingly gorgeous cathedrals and bakeries that fill the air with the warm, comfortable, mouthwatering smell of freshly baked bread. The food is incredible, both savory and sweet. When you ferry across the river that runs through the city, there is a street merchant there that sells the most decadent, dark-chocolate-covered Belgian waffles. Oh, are they ever good! There is a section of Lisbon called "Belem" and they are known for the most amazing pastries. Google them. Delicious! There are a variety of landscapes to see -- gorgeous ocean coasts, green plains and rustic villages, old city charm. The people there dress to run any errand, the gentlemen tip their hats and wish you "bom dia" as you pass, they host you like you are the ultimate guest of honor. One of my favorite things to do there is to visit the castles. I'm not much of a hiker or an outdoorsy person, but if I had castles to explore, I'd quickly become one. Lisbon is an amazing city. If we were ever to live outside the U.S., Lisbon would definitely rank as a place to live.

I Love Lucy -This is my all-time favorite television show. This show was like a friend to me as a child. I remember being so sad when I heard that she had died. I can so easily get sucked into any old episode that's on. I love Lucille Ball in that role -- her antics, her crazy scheming, her expressiveness. I love how far she'll go to get what she wants. I love how excited she gets to try anything, no matter how nuts it sounds. I think I can sort of relate to her in some ways. I love the relationship the Ricardos have with the Mertzes. I love the old black and white nature of the show. We own every season of this show on DVD and can watch them again and again. Happily. I used to say, growing up, that I wanted "I Love Lucy" playing in the hospital room whenever I was in labor, so that I could laugh and relax. That's how I feel when I watch it. I know all kinds of crazy trivia about the show and the characters and actors. As I write this, I am wearing my "I Love Lucy" lounge pants, I kid you not. Back in 2004, our family visited Jamestown, NY, birthplace of Lucille Ball, and I had a perpetual grin on my face the whole time. We visited the museum, took pictures outside the house where she was born and the house where she grew up, found every Lucy mural in that town, visited her grave, visited the park named after her, and visited her favorite bakery and bought the rye bread that she loved so much, she had it mailed to her in Hollywood. It was delicious. That was a very memorable trip and it was like a dream come true to see all of it.

I almost put "loquacious" as one of my L words, because I'm a talker, but I think the post speaks for itself. :P

Also, in honor of this letter, I include this famous toast. Stupid video won't embed, so you have to click over to see it. Just be sure to come back and comment! :)

Encyclopedia of Me - L (Mark)

LEGOs: I have always loved LEGOs. I remember spending hours constructing space ships and landing sites and battle fleets and all kinds of awesome things. We would spend just as long on a Sunday afternoon creating adventures for of them as well. It's so cool to see our kids playing with them now, and I can't believe how many kinds there are. Plus all the video games! Even as an adult I like playing those!

Languages: Learning a new language has always been a fun thing. I'm also fortunate that it's one of those things that has come relatively easy to me, all things considered. I learned a lot of French for a 2-year high school class. Then I learned Japanese, which ended up being my college major as well. I don't get to use it that much now, but I still love it. Marrying Stacy I took up Portuguese as a survival skill, so now I'm fairly functional; and people can't talk about me when I'm in front of them, or nearby. I'd also love to learn Latin, just because it seems like something that would be cool. I wouldn't mind knowing a bit of Irish Gaelic. And someday we'd like to go as a family to Europe, so learning a few other languages, at least a little bit anyway, would come in handy.

The Lord of the Rings: I remember as a kid my mother would tell us the Tolkein stories. She started with The Hobbit and moved on to the classic trilogy. I love fantasy adventure books and these are the classics. I've been listening to an audio version with the kids lately and we are all loving the stories together. If it weren't for the huge time investment I'd love to watch the movies all over again, but I have a hard time watching movies again when there are so many things to see out there. I am looking forward to the adaptation of The Hobbit that is coming out soon.

Lionel Hampton: I don't know if I'll always have a jazz musician on here, but they just keep coming to mind. My freshman year in college our ensemble went to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, ID. Look it up. It's way up there. And cold. I got to see him live on his vibraphone, which was incredible. I also have fond memories of Pullman, WA and the Washingon State University creamery. Those dinky agricultural towns can make some mean ice cream. Hampton's live performance of "How High the Moon" is one of my favorite jazz recordings. This comes from his 1954 concert at the Apollo Theater.



Little League Baseball: From the age of 9 I've been hooked on baseball. I remember the thrill of my first home run, an inside-the-park jobber where I ignored the third base coach, ran right up on the player ahead of me, and slid in for the score. I have a lot of fond memories of Maria and Ribiero fields in Benicia, probably because I spent a lot of hours there as a kid. I also treasure all the time I spent there with my family, especially with my father. I appreciate all the times he left work early, only to have to make it up later, in order to coach me and my brothers. Getting the chance to coach Thing 2's little league team last year was a highlight of 2011. It was coach-pitch and I don't even want to think about how many pitches I threw. I needed a manager to put me on a pitch count!

Letters: If it weren't for weekly letters over a three-and-a-half year stretch in the early 1990s, I don't know what Stacy and I would have done. We spent a long time apart and it was not easy, but getting those letters made a huge difference. I love how we saved all of them, too. There are a few binders in our library filled with everything we were thinking and doing over that stretch. A big part of me thinks that as hard as the time apart was, those years of letter writing strengthened our relationship like nothing else could have.

Concert #3 - Moves Like Jagger

Back in August, we and some friends decided to attend a concert together at Hershey Park. The line-up was too good to pass up! Not 1, not 2, but THREE great bands! Plus, the tickets were VERY reasonable (maybe because it was outside?).

The opening act: Gavin DeGraw
The main acts: Maroon 5 and Train

Amazing, right?!?

Only, there was one odd glitch. Two weeks before the concert, I was reading the news (daily habit) and couldn't believe my eyes. The opening act had been attacked! What the heck are the odds of that?! And it was a crazy story, too.

He was randomly attacked by thugs on the street. They beat him up. They had no idea who he was or that he's famous. He had a concussion, a broken nose, and several facial lacerations.

The story is insane. AFTER he got beat up, he didn't know where he was, so he was dazed and walked over a mile away from the attack.

That's when he stumbled and got hit by a taxi.

I kid you not.

I was pretty sure when I read the news that he wouldn't be able to heal in time to perform at the concert, but he is a professed lover of live performances, preferring that to the studio, and he vowed to return by mid-August.

Alas, it was not in time for our mid-August concert, as his doctors told him he needed more time to recover.

So, the night of the concert, they pulled some guy from one of the bands and had him perform. Meh. I was really sad that it wasn't Gavin DeGraw -- I really like his stuff.

Here are the eight of us on our lawn seats.
IMMEDIATELY after that picture was taken,
it started to rain.

See? Christie was being Zen about it.
Dave was not.

Our family in the rain.

Me and my sweetie

Our cute kids!!

First up was Train. Everyone went nuts when they came out. And they were great. They have SUCH great songs.

The plus about their concert was that they are great with the audience: they had images on the screen from local places that made the audience go crazy, they called people up on stage, they walked through the crowd, they talked to the audience, they yelled out things about Hershey, etc.

All of this was intertwined in their performance of all their songs. It was AWESOME to sing along to their songs (and, yes, we belted out the words to "Save Me, San Francisco").

TRAIN!
(I know. It seemed so self-explanatory).

Tons of local pictures --
I was trying to get a more obvious
"Hershey" picture, but it'll do.
It's the Bears (Hershey's Hockey Team).

Patrick Monahan was great. Very personable and fun.

Mother and daughter enjoying Train
Thing 1 is even wearing her microphone
concert shirt. :)

Next up was Maroon 5 and OMG, what a show!! They are incredible! I love to sing and dance and cheer at concerts. That being said, we were, at times, stunned silent by Adam Levine's utter raw talent. At one point, he played the most amazing guitar solo -- it was so good, I didn't even think to take a picture or video. I was just watching with my jaw dropped open.

Maroon 5

Mark and Thing 2 enjoying Maroon 5

Adam Levine is crazy talented.

It was a great concert. We really enjoyed it, despite the rain. The weather cleared toward the end of the concert and we made our way to a local restaurant for some hot cocoa and goodies to eat.

I'm really glad we got to this concert. I love that our kids are old enough to attend with us. We love introducing them to all kinds of music, so this was a lot of fun. Very different from Michael Bublé -- nothing can touch him. But great, nonetheless.

Several New Posts . . .

Just a heads up. Scroll down below to see a post from Mark and a post from me. Then head over to the kids' blogs (listed on right side of blog) to see their "Encyclopedia of Me" posts, too!

Encyclopedia of Me - P (Mark)

Peter: We were talking the other night and realized that we've known each other for almost 30 years. Even though we don't keep in touch too well, any time we talk it's like we've picked up a conversation mid-thought. I also love how Peter is so expressive and honest. He's a great friend to have.

Pizza Pirate: It's been years since I've been back, but I will always have fond memories of baseball team parties, late night "dinners" watching "M*A*S*H" while eating a slice, and being the first person up in the morning and by default getting to finish off the leftovers for breakfast. It's still easily one of the top three pizzas I've ever had.

Psych Patients: I've been fortunate to be "moonlighting" at a psychiatric hospital for over three years now. I do all the medical care for the inpatients. I've come home with plenty of stories and variety in my workday is a definite plus.

Potter, Harry: Ms. Rowling has provided our entire family with countless hours of enjoyment and entertainment. I remember reading the first half of the first book at a friend's house in Pennsylvania while we were here checking out the state before moving. Stacy was sleeping since she was so tired during her pregnancy with Thing 2. Thing 1 was napping as well so I thought I'd give Mr. Potter a try. Love the books. Love the movies. Again and again.

Portugal: My awesome wife is 100% Portuguese, and the food is 100% great. I have a daily appreciation for this overlooked gem. One day we'll get there.

Parker, Charlie: I love all jazz music, no matter who's playing. I may be a trombonist, but I love bebop and a lot of what I listen to and play is from that era. One of my fondest memories is of our high school jazz combo playing my arrangement of "Scrapple from the Apple" during a competition. We ended up placing first and bringing home a nice award.

Encyclopedia of Me - P (Stacy)

Paula Abdul - She is the perfect person to put on here to represent my love of pop music (yes, really) and all things 80s. While she may not be my all-time favorite singer, I have always loved Paula Abdul ("Straight Up," "Forever Your Girl," etc.) and I still do. Remember her video for "Opposites Attract?" with the animated cat? Oh, I love the 80s! That's when music videos were awesome. I also love watching shows like American Idol (and now X Factor) as a family, so much so that I even write snarky reviews of the shows after viewing. My daughter has also picked up this hobby, so now I do AI reviews and she covers X-Factor. We're like our own entertainment review empire here. I love that Paula isn't afraid to show emotion, I love the ten-dollar words she uses when praising a contestant, and I think she's totally petite and adorable. Represent!

Pixar - Ah, I love Pixar! The sight and sound of that jumping lamp, the music, the animation . . . I get so excited when their movies start! It's an annual family tradition of ours to go to the movies every spring to see the Pixar movies in the theater. We tend to watch most movies on DVD since it's cheaper (or free, since we use our library so much), but for Pixar, we splurge. And it's always worth it. My all-time favorite Pixar movie is Toy Story 2, but I love all three of them. Our family has also watched the documentary "The Pixar Story" and it's an amazing, inspiring, compelling story about how the company started. Watch it if you get the chance - it's on Netflix.

Politics/Peace - When Mark and I started college, we were both enrolled as political science majors. Over time, we both switched majors and neither of us has pursued legal or political careers, but my enjoyment of politics continues. I'm a news junkie and while it can often be aggravating and tedious (and way too long), I do like the excitement of election season -- everything from the debates and the news stories to the SNL parodies and Jon Stewart. Also, I've always been someone who does not like contention and fighting. I am a big fan of peace.

Pereira - This is my Vavô's last name, my mother's maiden name (don't worry - I don't use that for password protection), my dad's middle name, and so on. I love my Vavô dearly. I miss him. He was a wonderful grandfather to me. I used to love to sit and cuddle with him and I liked to kiss his bald head. It's great that I'm wearing so much purple (another P-word) in that picture (that was also very me as a kid - I loved purple!). My son's middle name is a variation of this name, after my grandfather. I love that this name represents to many things to me. It's not a very common name, so I also think it's pretty cool that Thing 2 and his best friend share the same middle name.

Potstickers - I love Asian food, all kinds. I especially love Japanese food, but I also love Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. We have pork potstickers (only we call them gyoza) from Trader Joe's for dinner now and then and they are always a part of our big, annual, Asian New Year's celebrations. Dumplings? Filled with goodness? Rolled in a soft wrapper? Dipped in delicious sauces? Eaten with chopsticks? I'm in!

Puzzles -I love puzzles. I especially enjoy 500-piece jigsaw puzzles that are collections of things (teddy bears, ice cream sundaes, buttons, etc.). Jigsaw puzzles calm me when I'm feeling anxious. I remember when my Dad was dying and we were trying to tie up loose ends here (we had just moved, just opened our business, etc.) so that we could get up there and see him. I could barely concentrate on anything, I was so nervous and worried. I worked on a 1000-piece "12 Days of Christmas" puzzle and it was the only thing that could hold my attention and calm my worry a little bit. We usually have a puzzle going on our dining room table and it's fun, relaxing, and calming to work on together. I also enjoy crossword puzzles, fill-in puzzles, and pretty much any kind of word puzzle.

The Plague of Technology

I am generally a fairly optimistic person who loves everyone and likes feeling all mindful and zen and grateful.

Today isn't one of those days.

Today is one of those days where people are flaky, everyone irritates me, and I feel like I'm surrounded by morons.

Today is one of those days where I texted my holed-up-at-home friend to say, "Be glad you can't go out among humans today. Idiots. All of them."

Maybe it's the in-the-crapper economy, but there are times, like today, when I am driving around in the gray, cold weather through several towns, and looking at foreclosed homes, bankrupt corporate closings, and boarded up small businesses that prompt me to look at my husband and say, "Do you ever feel like you're living in a post-apocalyptic world?"

It's like the freaking Hunger Games out there! Except it's not fantasy and it's not in a novel. It's the 21st century and it's real life. This is not what Marty McFly told us would happen. Where is my space suit? My flying car? The dust-repellent paper?

Yes, dust-repellent paper. Look it up. That's what they had invented. Dust-repellent paper. For books.

You know, books? Remember them? Weighty in your hand, cute covers, a summary blurb on the back, pages you could flip, words on paper?

Now I hear people saying things like, "Uh-oh! I can't read my book. I have to charge my reader!" Bah. (Cue geezer voice) Back in my day, we didn't need those new-fangled contraptions and wires and chargers. We just read books! Books don't need batteries!

Welcome to 2012. Books are disappearing. Movies are disappearing. Book stores are disappearing. Video stores are disappearing. You get the idea.

I feel like life is changing SO fast.

Don't get me wrong. Netflix is great. And instant downloads from Amazon and iTunes are handily instantaneous. But I used to LOVE walking through Blockbuster and browsing through all the movies (back in my day, they were VHS tapes, eventually they were DVDs, now they're intangible download files) and picking them in my hands, flipping them over, reading about them, looking at the pictures on the cover, and deciding if I'd take a chance on that film and maybe get a winner for movie rental night.

Now we look at computer screens and browse through lists and pixelated images. Again, I love that I can read reviews, check out what others have to say, and see the star rating on IMDB (one of my very favorite websites). But there are no more video stores.

We got to take our kids to Blockbuster when they were about 2 and 5, but not really since then, because all the stores went away. So, they're growing up not getting to know what it's like to stroll down those blue-carpeted aisles and browse those long, filled shelves.

There are wonderful things about everything going digital, to be sure. And I try to embrace that. But I also get nostalgic for the old days. I'm still in denial about digital photos vs. prints and I'm barely getting over the transition from tapes to CD. I miss my cassette walkman and now it's all about mp3 players. Handy and amazing and can do so so much more, but I miss holding the music in my hands.

That's another thing I used to love - browsing record stores. Yes, records. They had dust jackets, too. Hmph.

As of two months ago, we now live in a county with NO bookstore. Not a single one. And those lame-o, piddly nothing offerings at Wal-mart hardly count.

(Don't get me started on Wal-mart).

No movies, no tapes, no books, stores closing, no more browsing . . . everything is going onto individual electronic devices. Everyone is walking around with headphones in their own worlds, apart from everyone else. People don't even watch television together anymore!

We're pretty old-fashioned that way, I guess. We watch shows together as a family-- Amazing Race, X-Factor, Modern Family (HILARIOUS episode yesterday, by the way - I laughed so hard when they auto-tuned Phil), American Idol, and yes, even Netflix streaming (great documentaries and movies and now we know what "Phineas and Ferb" is since we don't have cable) -- in the same room, sitting on the same couch, watching the same screen. And a little shout out for TiVo -- best. new. digital. invention. ever.

Again, there are up sides of the new technology, but I miss so much about the "olden ways." The days when you could hold the books, the movies, the music. The days when you could browse the shelves and shelves of options. Now we click a mouse.

We are living in a world where every store makes you apply for those stupid little keychain cards to shop and get discounts (I think I may have more of these stupid keychain tabs than keys on my ring). Why can't they just keep the stupid little cards and give me the discount?!? That would be a WHOLE lot more impressive.

Oh, but wait. Then they wouldn't be able to garner my information and track my shopping and habits. Big brother and all of that. See? Post-apocalyptic. Bleh.

So, whine, complain, moan. I miss book stores and video stores and books and paper and CDs. It's inevitable. It's all going digital. And I long for dust-repellent paper, so I can hold books in my hands. And walk through a bookstore with my husband and kids.

Maybe I just need a DeLorean and Mr. Fusion.

Our Kids' Blogs

Just a quick note that our kids have been writing and updating their blogs -- both their personal ones and their joint book/movie review one (and there's more to come!).

I've put the links to their blogs on the sidebar of this blog -- they'd love to hear from you! And thanks to those who have already commented!