Category: nostalgia

Peanut Butter cookies

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My adult son used to work in an office of about 6-7 other people.  They worked in one room, closely together and it was a casual atmosphere because it was stressful work. 

One way for me to see my son more often was to visit him at the office.  I could walk in and be greeted with smiles by everyone.

I don’t like peanut butter, except in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I made peanut butter cookies one time and (for some unknown reason) I took a bite to taste them.  Yuck!

I took them into their office.  I got my hugs, gave them the cookies, said, “They are awful” and headed out the door so they could get back to work. 

Later that day, my son called to tell me that they weren’t awful, that they loved the cookies.  I reminded him that they I didn’t like peanut butter cookies. 

… not a funny little story but one that warms my heart to think about. 
I wish you many thoughts that warms your heart.  

Cat tale/tails

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I had a very large dark grey cat.  After about a year it was clear that he was going to be a very large cat.  For the majority of his 15 year life, he was about 30 lbs. 

He loved sleeping under a blanket but when he was younger he loved crawling under any blanket or rug.  Like a little kid, he thought he could not be seen when under something.

It was especially funny when he’d crawl inside a clear plastic bag and crouch down.  It was obvious that he thought we could not see him, all 20+ lbs of him as a younger age. 

Moving … in the cold

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Several years ago my son and his family moved to Chicago.  It was winter when they were moving back.  My son’s father-in-law was planning on driving the rented moving truck with the cat.  My son and I were to be in his car with the dogs. His wife flew back with the kids.

It was cold, very cold.  We didn’t get too far out from Chicago before we stopped for the night as the weather wasn’t so good.  We’re all from snow states so we’re used to nasty winter weather.

The first morning, the rental truck wouldn’t start.  We called the company to send someone out to get it started for us.

I can’t remember what day it was or how far into our travels, however … once we were in the middle of nowhere, the transmission in the rental truck started acting up.  We saw a gas station at an exit.  We parked in the lot of an abandoned restaurant, next to the gas station.  We called the company again.  Since we were in the middle of nowhere, they said it would take awhile to get someone out to us with a replacement truck and crew to switch out the contents.  

In the meantime, it was 6° outside so we sat in the vehicles, heaters on.  Thankfully the rental truck only had transmission troubles and not engine troubles so that the heater could run.

Every once in a while, one of us would run into the gas station for a hot drink or a snack.  I’m not a coffee drinker so I’d get hot chocolate.  It’s usually not my favorite yet this day, it was perfect.  My first cup was way too hot to drink so I set it outside for a minute (it may have been a bit longer than a minute).  When I got it, it was no longer hot, in fact it was barely warm. 
From then on, when I’d get my hot chocolate, I’d only leave it on the ground outside, for a moment.  

It took over 5 hours for the tow truck to come.  Instead of waiting for the rental truck company to  swap out trucks, he told us to stick the keys of the wounded truck, under the mat and he’d come back for it.  Thirty to forty five minutes later, the rental truck company guys came to swap out the contents of the truck.  

It’s funny how sitting around for hours, with nowhere to go can feel like such a long day.  I couldn’t have more grateful for this trip. My heart was so full that I got to spend 24/7 days with my youngest son. As they grow up and work long hours and are busy with kids, I don’t get many opportunities like this. It may not have been the ideal trip, but it was ideal to my heart. My son even teased that I sabotaged the rental truck so that I could spend more time with him. Ha ha

My first cold, winter move was New Years Eve 1983.  Snowy and with our six month old baby.  It seems like we move when it’s time to move, without planning for weather.

When I’m smelly

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I’ve mentioned this before, years ago I rescued 3 feral cats. One of them got diabetes and passed at 9 years old. She was queen bee of these cats. (The other two lived to be 15 and 16 yrs old.)

She had so much personality. She played fetch and I was shocked how quickly she learned it. As sweet and playful as she was, she was equally as disgusted by the other cats and myself at times. After all, she was a cat. 

When I would get gassy, she would look at me with such disgust. I could imagine what she was thinking by the tone of her look:

  • You disgusting human
  • Go in the other room, you smell;
  • What do you eat?
  • Did your mother not teach you anything?
  • If you know that makes you smell, don’t eat it;
  • I love you but geez;
  • I tried to escape but I could smell you in the other room too;
  • OMG, it’s in my nose so it’s with me no matter where I go;

You get what I’m saying. This sweet little cat would just continue to look at me with disgust until the air was clear. Ha ha ha

When I was a kid I needed ouchless ….

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I shouldn’t admit this but for the sake of this bit, here goes ….

When I was a kid they didn’t have the ouchless band-aids yet.  I never let my mom rip my band-aid off and I never took it off myself. If my mom tried to take it off I would cry bloody murder, as though she was coming towards me with a machete.

Yes, I was one of those kids that would have a dangling band-aid rather than the momentary not-quite pain of ripping it off.  At times I would cut the dangling parts off.  I’d wind up with the tiniest little bit of band-aid still attached. 

Who knows where that fear of ripping it off came from.  In the summer I now have all sorts of band-aid less wounds when I’m out in the mountains roughing it. Yet, when I hear the term, “Just rip the band-aid off”, yikes do I empathize. 

I’m over 60 yrs old and well …. still use band-aids until I’m sure I don’t need it anymore.  The other day I cut myself with a knife.  It wasn’t a bad cut.  It looked and felt like a paper cut.  My point is that in that sliver of cut there is a teeny-tiny flap of skin that catches on fabric and THAT is the part that hurts.  It’s ok.  I roll my eyes at myself sometimes too.  Ok, a lot.

Yesterday I thought was the last day of having a band-aid on the cut. Last night I …. “Ouch” …. caught that bit of skin on my clothes.  I looked at my hand and thought, “How can that be”?  I see my band-aid,  I then realized that I had the band-aid on the wrong finger.   

Argh!  Ugh!  Thank goodness I can laugh at myself, and often!  

Skin Care

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About 25 years ago I was at a friend’s moms house.  I was at the counter talking with her while she was in the kitchen. 

She was about 65 years old at the time and I was in my 30’s.  We had a unique relationship as her kids knew not to talk back to her or challenge her.  I think we got along so well because, well being sassy is kind of, in my nature.  

She started raving about this new hand lotion that she got.  She said that it was a bit gritty and took awhile to soak into the skin but after it did, her skin was so smooth and soft.  


The container was on the counter.  I looked at it and began laughing hysterically.  I told her that it wasn’t hand lotion after all but a facial scrub.  

I teased teased her about it for years.  It’s one of those things we do that we’ll never hear the end of it.  This is one of those memories that makes me chuckle every time I think about it.  

My internal auto-correct

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As with most people, auto-correct is often frustrating.  For years I’ve had an internal auto-correct that would take over control of my hand when I’m writing.

I’ve been sending Happy New Year cards instead of holiday cards.  It’s unique and it used to be unexpected.

My last name is Christianson.  Years ago when I’d write Christmas cards, my inner auto-correct would take over about half way though my card list.  Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christianson.  I would have several Merry Christianson’s before I’d catch myself.  I even stopped sealing envelopes until I was sure that they all said Merry Christmas instead of a few Merry Christianson’s tossed in there.

Year’s ago when I wrote checks for everything (pre-debit cards), my auto-correct would kick in on the day of my birthday.  Every year without fail I would write a check on my birthday and it would be xx-xx-61 instead of the actual year.  It was so automatic that I would do my best to avoid writing checks on my birthday.

However you celebrate, whatever you celebrate, if you celebrate, I wish you and your love ones a safe, happy and loving season.  

Vague memories with warm fuzzies

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When I was in kindergarten so very many years ago, I would leave morning kindergarten and be walked across a street to a house where I would eat lunch.  I say where I would eat lunch because that is the only thing I remember doing there.  I do not remember the babysitter, just her hands.

I can remember sitting for lunch.  The babysitter would hand me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  When I was done she would mix a little milk with some Nestle’ Quik and it would make a creamy, chocolate frosting.  She would slather it on a graham cracker and hand that to me.

Every time I see a movie, show or commercial with a graham cracker and /or cookie with a creamy chocolate frosting I get warm fuzzies and think of this babysitter but not really her, just her hands.

I love how the simplest thing can bring back warm memories.

Taking my own advise … or not

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I was an over-protective mother to my boys.  I have no idea how many times I’ve said, “Look both ways for cars; keep your head up when you walk; don’t talk to strangers; check in and don’t be lured by someone offering a reward to help look for a puppy; etc”.

About 12 years ago I went car shopping.  I was talking to the only salesperson at a small car lot.  He seemed a little … different but we are all a bit different to someone, right?.?   

At some point this salesperson mentioned there were puppies in a shed in the back.  Now if this were a movie, I’d be thinking, “Only in a movie”.  As the person was walking to the shed, I’d be saying, “Don’t you watch movies?”  “Leave now, RUN!”  Nope, I did it, I went into the shed to see the puppies.  I seemed to have lost all sense of reality and was memorized by the thought of seeing puppies.  

I came to my senses and left there.  What on earth was I thinking?  Thank goodness this car lot was on the corner of two very busy streets.  

Memories of holidays past … 1 of ?

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One year for Christmas I was giving my 12 year old son my acoustic guitar, which my father gave to me when I was 12 years old.  

A guitar is a pretty large present to wrap so I decided to create a scavenger hunt of sorts.  I had a large box (filled with newspapers for weight).  That box had a note where to find his gift.  

For weeks he would ask, “What’s in the box?” and I’d say,  “It’s just newspaper”.  I had fun with it but unfortunately on Christmas morning when he opened the box, he was not amused.  He was although thrilled to get the guitar.   

One other Christmas I created a scavenger hunt; he didn’t like that either.

Neither him nor I could play that guitar.  We could do little bits but couldn’t grasp it, even with lessons.  We can both sing though.  Years later, he gave his younger brother the guitar.  His younger brother self-taught himself to play the acoustic; bass and electric guitar but has trouble carrying a tune when he sings.  We all have our gifts and talents. 

Hosting my First Thanksgiving and then some …

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This morning I was thinking about Thanksgivings of my past. Thank goodness our challenges are funnier in hind-sight.

The first couple of years that my husband and I were married, we had Thanksgiving with either my parents or his. Then I wanted to host Thanksgiving at our house. Our first born was a little guy so this was a very long time ago. I was excited and had my butterball turkey ready to go. These bigger turkeys cook for hours anyway but as the day progressed into evening and the turkey still wasn’t done, we began to believe that the oven was broken.

At closer look, I had cleaned the knobs on the stove and replaced them upside down. The turkey had been in a 250 degree oven for almost 10 hours. Ugh my first Thanksgiving feast felt like a disaster. Many years later. My eldest son and his fiancé were hosting their first Thanksgiving dinner. She was a bit defensive, emotional and … competitive.

She asked me to make the stuffing because by this time I had perfected stuffing and my boys loved my stuffing enough to brag about it. Over at their home, I was given a double box of stuffing and was asked to make one. Stuffing is stuffing right? It’s kind of hard to destroy boxed stuffing.

… or so I thought. My stuffing came out just as presumed that it would. My son’s fiancé made the second box of the double box of stuffing. She looked at mine and looked at hers and had a melt down. Hers looked like … baby poo.

I tried to reassure her that everyone’s first time hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, something doesn’t turn out right. And of course, these are the times that we reminisce and laugh a about for the rest of our lives. I am so grateful that we have these memories and can laught about them.

It packs a Punch!

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There are things like n life that there’s just not much we can say or do about it but shake our heads and laugh.

Many years ago I went to work with a black eye. A co-worker asked me what happened and I replied that I got punched. She gasped and asked who punched me. …. I told her that I did.

About every 15 years or so my hand slips while I’m pulling up my covers and BAM … I punch myself in the face.

Water Dogs?

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I’ve had labs (Labrador retriever’s) for over 40 years. They are water dogs, well typically they are. One of my labs was a beautiful 100 lb female. When it rained, she would not go out until the rain stopped. She would also avoid puddles. That was hilarious to watch her tip toe through the yard, stepping around the puddles.

I had another lab who also didn’t like stepping in anything wet. When we’d go for walks he would refuse to step in any wet grass because he didn’t like his ankles getting wet. If it was raining outside and I’d open the door to let him into the back yard, he wouldn’t go. If I went out with him and made him go out, he’d rush to go potty and then back to the door to get back inside. He didn’t like it if I let the grass get to his ankle height either.

Our newest rescue dog is similar. If it’s raining outside, she does not want to go out. I have to coerce her into the yard by pretending like I’m going to run out there. She start to run into the yard and of course she goes potty and rushes back.

What is it about me that my dogs don’t like being in the rain or getting wet?

How much is left in that bottle?

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It wasn’t about being thrifty or frugal, although I attempt to be. This was just what my mom did and well, I guess it was ingrained in me.

Here’s a true recount as an example …

My boys, their dad and I were at the dinner table. Someone other than me pointed out that the bottle of ketchup or salad dressing or … was empty. I bounce into action! Super Thrift Mom grabs the bottle. Just as I am approaching the sink they all call out, “NO, don’t add water”.

Yup, that’s what I did, I added a bit of water, shook up the bottle and presto … the bottle isn’t empty anymore.

Halloween Memories

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I have so many wonderful Halloween memories of when my boys were young. Back then, we often used those hard plastic masks with tiny eye holes. It was difficult to see out of those masks. Back then, we it was always snowy on Halloween. Winder coats were under the costume so most of the costumes couldn’t be form fitting.

I made many of the costumes too. Football players, Ninjas, and when they were very little they were little devils because I could sew horns and such right onto a onesie. Those are the one I haven’t let go of yet. My boys are close to 40 yrs old and I still have those Halloween costumes in a tote, on a shelf.

Many years ago when I started on my journey of eating healthier foods and using more eco-friendly products, I stopped handing out candy. I now hand out party favors. I have kids of all ages who love coming year after year for these fun little toys. They are healthier and last longer than candy.

The Teal-Pumpkin project promotes handing out items to trick or treaters that are allergy free for the 30% of the kids who have food allergies.

Honey, Dear, Sweetheart …

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When I was in my late 20’s and early 30’s I worked in the office at a private golf club. The majority of members I interacted with were 20 – 30 years older than I was.

So many of the women would call me honey, dear, sweetheart, etc. Not all of them were kind women and I didn’t get why so many of them used those terms.

Then the strangest thing happened. As I turned 50 years old, all of a sudden and without warning or provocation I started calling everyone honey, dear and sweetheart. Eeek I became one of them.

This is common for me now, regardless of the person’s age, or the situation. It comes out of my mouth as unconsciously as my breath.

Antique or Comfort Yard Sale?

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For years when I’d hear anyone talk about their style of furnishings I’d look around and think, hmmm I have that unique look of Comfort Yard Sale. My husband wasn’t always thrilled with my easy going taste (or lack of) but we were always comfortable. With a bit of a shoulder shrug I’d think, comfort and used doesn’t have to be worn or distasteful, we’re good.

Years ago (1990’s) when my boys were young I had a very large tea pot collection. Our living room had a vaulted ceiling and looked into the kitchen. Looking towards the kitchen there was an archway and since the living room was vaulted, this archway was quite high. My husband put up shelves on the living room side of the archway for my teapot collection.

I loved teapots but was cheap so I only bought used teapots and typically from yard sales. I had a $5.00 limit on myself so I didn’t get carried away. I always liked the older looking teapots as well. They always looks great along side my grandmother’s old teapot.

One day we were having pizza delivered. I opened the door and for some reason both my husband and I were both their at the door. The teapot collection was not only visible but somewhat of a focal point from the door.

The delivery driver (pizza guy) pointed to and described one of the teapots. He told us how he had seen one just like it on the Antiques Roadshow and it it had a four-digit number on the bottom, it could be worth a fortune. While the pizza guy stood and watched curiously, my husband anxious, shacking and nervously got the ladder and carefully got the teapot. His back was turned to the pizza guy and I as he slowly turned the teapot over.

The pizza guy and I immediately knew when my husbands shoulders sunk down with disappointment. Although I have many antiques and many of those teapots are indeed antiques, antiques don’t always equal valuable. I no longer have most of those teapots yet I chuckle every time I think of those teapots.

The silver lining

Posted on Posted in Extraordinary things, grateful, happy, healing, healthy, nostalgia, over-coming fears, peace, perception, the things we do, unexplained mysteriesLeave a comment

I love movies and have for a long time. When my boys were young there were movies we’d watch over and over and never grow tired of them. I’m still that way. I love the movies that surprise me at the end like Sixth Sense, The Others and Shutter Island. I love the romantic comedies, tear-jerkers and a good drama. I love the Pixar and Dream Works type animated movies, especially the ones that make me laugh. I am a sucker for sappy romance movies too.

I’m grateful that during many challenging times throughout my life, I’ve found the silver lining. Sometimes it’s not some ah-ha moment, divine wisdom or a sense of grateful lesson but a gift within the challenge.

My TBI was at the end of 2003. During 2008 and 2009 was by far the most challenging time of my decreased cognition. My short term memory was … well, very short. Some … well quite a bit of my long term memory wasn’t so good either.

The most entertaining silver lining as a result of my TBI came during 2008 and 2009 when my cognition was at it’s worst. I could watch movies over and over again and not remember a thing. Even the movies I had on VHS that I had watched for years became new again. It was fabulous! The only one I didn’t like was City of Angels because every time, the ending would rip my heart out and each time, I never saw it coming.

I am grateful for all the silver linings that I’ve been fortunate enough to recognize.

Do I have to?

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How many times as kids and do we hear our own kids saying, “Do I have to?” or “Why, do I have to …?” I don’t say it out loud but the same feeling still goes through my head as an adult. Although I don’t feel like a senior, I am and therefore, many of these things have gone through my head for (gulp) decades.

I don’t mind mowing but absolutely don’t like weeding. I have my own little ten minute tantrum swirling within myself. Often times when I’m done, I think to myself, “well that didn’t take too long”.

Sewing, ugh. My mother was a “dressmaker”. I say that with emphasis because when I say she was a seamstress, she gets a bit upset and says, “I was a dressmaker”. I don’t really understand the difference but then again … sewing with a machine stresses me a bit.

When we were young she would make some of our clothes and could whip them up pretty quick. When I was in the seventh grade we had HomeEc. In my sewing class we had to based a hem. Is that right? That’s what I remember, hand stitching a hem to make a hemmed flour sack towel. I didn’t do so well. There were several projects I didn’t do well at. Our final grade was going to be on making an apron. UGH! An apron, really?

I told my mom that if I didn’t do well on the apron that I wouldn’t pass the class. She was horrified. My parents were hard on us if we didn’t get decent grades as it was but to flunk a sewing class. My mom made a cute little apron complete with a pretty little decorative pocket. She told me to turn it in as my final project. My parents did not allow cutting corners or cheating … except for this one exception.

I handed the teacher my apron with a very prideful grin. She said, “You didn’t make this.” I didn’t say I did but I shrugged my shoulders and say, “Call me mom and ask her”.

Not long ago my favorite (work outside) jeans got holes in the knees. I put iron-on patches over the knees. The next time I wore them, kneeling on the ground weeding, the patches starting coming off. Ugh. I sewed them on (by hand). Over the next couple of wearings, the jeans ripped across the leg above and below the patch. Ugh again.

How many times as kids and do we hear our own kids saying, “Do I have to?” or “Why, do I have to …?” I don’t say it out loud but the same feeling still goes through my head as an adult. Although I don’t feel like a senior, I am and therefore, many of these things have gone through my head for (gulp) decades.

I don’t mind mowing but absolutely don’t like weeding. I have my own little ten minute tantrum swirling within myself. Often times when I’m done, I think to myself, “well that didn’t take too long”.

Sewing, ugh. My mother was a “dressmaker”. I say that with emphasis because when I say she was a seamstress, she gets a bit upset and says, “I was a dressmaker”. I don’t really understand the difference but then again … sewing with a machine stresses me a bit.

When we were young she would make some of our clothes and could whip them up pretty quick. When I was in the seventh grade we had HomeEc. In my sewing class we had to based a hem. Is that right? That’s what I remember, hand stitching a hem to make a hemmed flour sack towel. I didn’t do so well. There were several projects I didn’t do well at. Our final grade was going to be on making an apron. UGH! An apron, really?

I told my mom that if I didn’t do well on the apron that I wouldn’t pass the class. She was horrified. My parents were hard on us if we didn’t get decent grades as it was but to flunk a sewing class. My mom made a cute little apron complete with a pretty little decorative pocket. She told me to turn it in as my final project. My parents did not allow cutting corners or cheating … except for this one exception.

I handed the teacher my apron with a very prideful grin. She said, “You didn’t make this.” I didn’t say I did but I shrugged my shoulders and say, “Call me mom and ask her”.

Not long ago my favorite (work outside) jeans got holes in the knees. I put iron-on patches over the knees. The next time I wore them, kneeling on the ground weeding, the patches starting coming off. Ugh. I sewed them on (by hand). Over the next couple of wearings, the jeans ripped across the leg above and below the patch. Ugh again.

Weeding and sewing are the two things that I no longer say, “Do I have to?” I know I do sometimes but I don’t have to like it. … shaking my head and shrugging my shoulders.

Camping Monsoon

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Many years ago several of us went camping up past Eleven Mile in the mountains of Colorado. We planned to be up there for 3 days. There was an adult and one child in one tent and two adults and two children in another tent.

We didn’t bring anything to do in our tents because we were planned on fishing, hiking and hanging out outside. Towards the afternoon of the first day, one person was commenting on the anvil cloud as he looked up into the sky. With a roll of our eyes, my best friend and I started mocking the him (well, because we’re sarcastic like that). The sky was beautiful, except for that anvil cloud. He said it meant rain, a lot of rain. Well growing up in Colorado, my best friend and I knew that the weather could change at any moment but we checked the weather before leaving and it was going to be beautiful weather. We were prepared … probably, maybe.

Continuing to mock this man and tease that he wasn’t a weather man and it wouldn’t be too bad … it began to rain and then rain harder and then feel like a monsoon. It rained for 18 hrs, each of us with nothing to do but sit in our tents.

Lesson learned … I mock you, I get double trouble. Ha ha ha

That’s what friends do

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When I was 12 years old my folks had me stay a couple of weeks with the family of a man that my dad worked with. Their daughter and I weren’t instant friends but now 48 years we’re family. I’ve known her as my sister for a great many years.

Approximately ten years ago I flew to New Mexico and planned to drive back to Colorado with her. On the way, the snow was falling heavily. Not long after we were on Raton Pass we heard that it was closed due to bad weather. (Raton Pass is 180 miles between Raton, NM and Trinidad, CO.

I believe we averaged about 20 miles per hour for about 75 miles. As my sister drove, I would unwrap and feed her tootsie rolls, reach out with the scraper, scrape ice off the windshield and keep ice off of the windshield wipers so that she could see and … keep her entertained. It’s what we do.

About five years ago I was at her house for a visit. One evening we sat outside around the fire pit. My sister, my neice and I attempted many times to get the wood in the fire pit lit, but apparently it wasn’t in the cards.

For hours we sat around this fire pit, with no fire, laughing, crying and reminiscing. That’s what we do.

When I was young … vitamin C

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When I was young my mom made us eat oatmeal or cream-of-wheat in the winter time. I still don’t like the smell of either. My mom also made us take vitamin C every day. I had a tough time as a kid swallowing pill and well, actually I did until I was an adult.

For anyone who hasn’t swallowed a vitamin C tablet quickly, knows that bitter taste as they begin to dissolve in your mouth. For me, it was a common occurrence.

To flavor my hot cereal my mom would add brown sugar. As many people know, once the brown sugar starts getting hard, you have to scrape it or dig it out with a spoon. Often times, where you’ve scraped or dug in with the spoon, it turns white.

I can remember one time my mom put a big spoon of brown sugar in my hot cereal. I saw that white scraping in the brown sugar and began to sob. I was convinced that she crushed up a vitamin C tablet and tried to sneak it into my cereal.

In hind-sight, it would have been easier for me to take however I didn’t like the hot cereal anyway so it was like adding salt to my wounds.

More technology changes – Batman

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In 1989 the Batman movie with Michael Keaton was released. How obsessed was I with this movie? Well, when all the hype was over, my husband surprised me with the life-sized cardboard Batman that he had bought from the video rental store. I loved the Batmobile too! I thought it was simply the coolest car on earth (at the time).

The same year as the movie release there was a Roadster Show in town. I had never been to one of the Roadster shows before or had even been interested in going however … THE Batmobile was going to be there. I wanted to see that car!

A friend of mine went with me. I was so excited and as we walked around searching for it, my excitement grew. Then I saw it! There it was! I walked around it and looked at every inch of it, oozing with admiration. The guy working at the booth came up, hovered and made small talk.

In the movie the car had this very cool ‘protective shield’ that covered the windshield to make the car more secure. That was one of the things I wanted to see most on this car. I was looking closely to see where this gadget was hidden and how did it come out to cover the windshield. I asked the guy hovering over us where it is and could I see it work.

I’m a pretty intelligent person however, this guy looked at me like I was an idiot. He said, “This is just a car. It can’t do that. It was all movie technology”. He did it, he burst my bubble. I was crushed, like a kid walking up to a closed candy store.

As we were walking away he shouted to me, “There’s no Santa Claus either”. Ugh. Now, years later, I laugh every time I think about it. That technology was a big deal back then. Think of the difference between 70’s and 80’s Disney movies and technology in movies today.

My how technology has changed

Posted on Posted in Extraordinary things, nostalgia, perceptionLeave a comment

As you can tell from the title, I’m about to date myself. That’s okay, I’ve never been one to mind aging.

Although I worked on computers at work (starting with the dos age), I got my first home computer in 1994. I had been traveling for work and they handed me a laptop. That was fun. And yes, that last comment smells of sarcasm. I became very proficient, very quickly because loosing reports was not pleasant.

My first home computer was a Gateway. I believe it was 75 MHz and 256 mg hard drive. Not much by todays standards but it was top notch at the time. I remember one time when I was on the phone with tech support. The guy I was talking to had worked on computers years before in the military.

At one point we were talking about hard drive capacity. He said he believed that one day computers would have a gig hard drive. I can remember thinking how ridiculous that was. Now I have a tiny 2 TB thumb drive.

I am constantly in awe of technology and what my little smart phone can do. Little in comparison to that old computer I had.

Sweet-tooth snacking surprise

Posted on Posted in food, humor, nostalgia, Practical jokes, the things we doLeave a comment

Many (many) years ago and this was so many years ago that one of my food staples was sweets. I still have quite the sweet tooth but avoid foods with sugar nowadays. My then husband liked sweet-snacking but not to the extreme that I did. For the sake of this story I will toss in the fact that I don’t like to waste food.

My husband had mentioned one time that he much preferred the Oreo cookie to the Oreo creme center. One day I had a sweet tooth and thought of those Oreo centers. I didn’t and still don’t like the Oreo cookie itself.

In my sweet-tooth, raging thought process I believed the non-wasteful, considerate thing to do was leave the Oreo cookies for my husband to eat and I’d just eat the centers. I was in the bedroom one night and heard my name called. Well, not called but yelled! Gulp! I knew he just found the creme center-less Oreos. I can’t remember if I got a lecture or just a look. I promised never to do it again.