The Past vs. Now

I am teaching my mom the basics of blogging and how it works. She is still trying to get the hang of computers and just recently joined Facebook. She is amazed at what you can find on the Internet. It has enabled me to find old friends, make new friends, and keep in touch with the kids and family.

I was working with my night shift partner and we started talking about the good ole' days. Days before video games, computers, and the Internet. Yes, I am giving away my age with this. But I know alot of you will know what I am talking about. 

In those days we had to use our imagination for entertainment. We would spend hours playing outside with our neighborhood friends. Try to get kids to do that nowdays is impossible!!!!

This summer when the 2 little ones were here they actually had to play outside with their friends and ended up having a blast. We played board games and even danced to music on the Ipod. That was hilarious because of the different dancing styles between the generations.

One night at dinner I was telling them about what we had for entertainment and they looked shocked. They said "Wow, you must have been soooooo bored!" I said "Well we did the same thing that you have been doing with the neighborhood kids this week". Well that got them thinking. They started asking all about when different stuff came along.

Video games - Pong started it all for me. It is boring now but I thought it was the greatest thing when we got the game console for Christmas.

I would spend hours playing. My all time favorite to this day is Ms. Pac-Man. If I ever win the lottery I am getting one!

VHS tapes - Renting a movie and the tape player to take home and watch. You brought home a big honking huge case with a tape player and hooked it up to the TV and prayed that it worked. Sometimes it didn't!. Thinking about it now it was so cumbersome to deal with compared to DVD's. 

Computers - Opened a whole new world and made life much more easier and much more complicated. I think it has it's pro's and con's. But that is a debate better left for another day.

Music - LP records, 8-Track tapes, cassette tapes, and my favorite item Ipod. Music has changed so much and access to it is so easy compared to the old days. I remember going to the music store and digging around to find a particular album. It was like finding gold when you actually found it. Now all I have to do is download it and presto, song at my fingertips. I Luv My Ipod.


I hope you have as many fond memories of the good ole' days.

Freedom from life's handcuffs.

Photo courtesy of Luke Air Force Base

I live next to an Air Force base. When I was leaving for the grocery store I saw some jets taking off. Oh, what a thrill that job must be. It got me thinking about freedom to do things and what I want to try in the future. Flying in a jet is one item that is on my bucket list.


I belong to an RV group and they have an attitude that is similar to mine. I believe you should live life everyday to the fullest. Don't let life handcuff you. Most people when I tell them of my dream to travel full time are doubtful. They say you can't do that. What about this, that, yadda, yadda. Well, you only keep yourself from attaining that dream. 

Most people end up having to give up dreams because of responsibilities at home. They get trapped by having a huge mortgage payment, car payment, maintenance, cable bill, ect. If you get rid of the extras then you can find the freedom to do things that would seem impossible. For example, if you cut out that fancy cable bill and save it you can take a nice little trip somewhere. That I believe is worth much more than watching shows because you will have memories that last a lifetime and have experienced new things.

I live in an apartment and have a cat. This gives me the freedom to move if I want to. I also have the ability to travel because I don't have a huge house payment and all the stuff that comes with it. I have a cat to keep me company and someone to talk to so the neighbors don't think I am crazy. Plus she can take care of herself when I leave for a trip. Granted she is usually miffed at me when I come back.

Most people believe that if you attain the stuff that society seems to judge you by, you are successful. Well I am successful because I have a great life and have seen and done so many things that most people dream about.

So what do you want out of life and what does freedom mean to you???????

Mom's Cooking.

When mom visited me on Friday we got to talking about different things I ate when I was younger. Her favorite thing to serve us during the summer was pita bread with alfalfa sprouts, avocados, and just a sprinkle of onion salt. Yummy. Sometimes we would even have a piece of bread with avocados spread on it and the onion salt. It was simple but yummy. Thinking about it now, I haven't had it since I went out on my own. I think I will try to get some and have it again.

My mom was an interesting cook when I was growing up. She liked to try new things and sometimes it didn't turn out so well. There were lots of nights when we would end up eating PB & J sandwiches. But it was funny to see what she made and we got to experience some pretty unique food.


One of her disasters was Beef Tongue. Ewwww!!!! When I saw that on the butcher block I ran to the phone and was calling all my friends to try and get a dinner invitation because it looked creepy and icky. No such luck!

It was a very long dinner because it took all of us kids forever to choke that stuff down. Tough, chewy, and no flavor. Today my friends tell me it really is good and she probably didn't cook it right. Well, no thanks. I will stick with regular meat cuts.


Another thing my mom taught us was table manners and how to eat in different settings. One of those lessons was how to eat a formal dinner. She showed us all the different place settings and what all the different silverware pieces were for. This paid off one day when I went to the Marine Corps Ball.

Here I am at a table with a bunch of Marine buddies and their girlfriends. They were looking at all of the different silverware and looking mighty confused. It was funny seeing a large marine holding a tiny escargot fork with a puzzled look on his face. I told him that it was for the snails that they would be serving for appetizers. Now mind you these are big burly, macho Marines dripping with testosterone. ALL of them had a scared look on their faces. It was too funny. They never served it, but I wish they had. It would have been priceless seeing them try to eat that. I don't like them.

I spent the night teaching them what each one was for and it led to stories of dinner with mom and her lessons.