We're Doomed... and Other Musings On the Demise of Today's Society

I'm not one to whinge about things on this blog...at least not serious things. (I might complain about the Red Sox or the fact that my cooking went awry, but nothing heavy.)

Until now.

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When I Googled "today's society," this is what I got.

Sad, isn't it?

Well, I've had three real life experiences to back up the fact that we're doomed...that today's society/the young generation is going down the crapper (if not already down it.)

As mentioned above, I don't complain about these big picture things. However, this was a "three strikes and you're out"/"straw that broke the camel's back" situation. (Can I throw any more euphemisms out there? Is euphemism the right word? I digress...) After the last of the three situations below happened, I knew I had to write a blog post. I couldn't keep it in anymore. I had to let it out.

Scenario #1:

A few months ago, I was shopping at Walmart. (Some of you readers are saying to yourself that in and of itself makes us doomed!). There were two customers ahead of me in line. As the person at the front of the line was paying, I saw the cashier doing something on his phone.

Now, I'm pretty naive. So naive that I thought that maybe the cashier was scanning a coupon for the customer off of her phone. I gave the cashier the benefit of the doubt.

The person in front of me moves up, items are scanned, and she's ready to pay. The cashier whips his phone out again and is typing away.

CLEARLY this is not a situation where the cashier is scanning a customer's coupon.

This jerk is texting while working!

The customer swipes her credit card and it doesn't go through so she has to interrupt his texting to ask him what to do. He mumbles, "Swipe it again" and promptly goes back to texting. She swipes again and it's Groundhog Day all over again. It doesn't go through. She asks him what to do. He mumbles, "Swipe it again" and promptly goes back to texting. Now, stay with me here. It doesn't go through for a THIRD time. She says something again and this time her husband (clearly agitated) pipes up, "This is the THIRD time my wife's had to ask you what to do for payment and you're busy texting."

Wait for it.

Little ole' me says, "Yeah, when I was a cashier, we got in trouble for TALKING to other cashiers." (I should've just called myself a dinosaur."

Wait for it. There's more.

The cashier then says, "I'm going to the Army in 30 days. I'll be gone soon. My Mom's really worried about me and she's texting me."

Mother.of.gawd. Yup. That's right. He may be defending our country. I feel sorry for any of his fellow soldiers that he may have to put his life on the line for.

Anywho.

The customer immediately tries to calm everyone down and say it's no big deal but the husband keeps saying it is a big deal and the cashier keeps saying he's leaving to go in the Army.

Can I please just pay for my 40 lb bag of bird seed and get out of dodge???


Scenario #2

John and I were in a Dunkin' Donuts (yes, I know, another stellar establishment) a few weeks ago. We ordered and it came to $4.89. John handed the cashier a $20 bill and she punched it in and the drawer popped open and immediately she yelled to her co-worker, "I have no 5's."

OK. Stop the tape.

Do you not have a 10 and five ones? Do you not have fifteen ones?

Back to the action.

She just stands there, unsure of what to do.

I say that I'm going to buy a bottle of water from the gas station cashier (they're attached) and will come back with a smaller bill.

I do that and come back with a five and hand it to her.

Again with the "unsure of what to do" look.

????

She whips out her phone BECAUSE SHE HAS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE CHANGE WILL BE FOR A FIVE DOLLAR BILL INSTEAD OF A TWENTY DOLLAR BILL, WHICH IS WHAT THE REGISTER IS SHOWING.

Are you f'ing kidding me??????????

ELEVEN CENTS. Just take away the $15 part. It's not rocket science, people. Elementary school math, people.

::sigh::


Scenario #3:

NOTE: The names/situations in this scenario have been slightly altered to protect the innocent (guilty).

Let's just say that Jane's son was graduating from kindergarten and it being a special occasion, a family party would be planned. Jane's significant other's parents offer to her significant other (Adam) to host the party at their house. Adam tells Jane this.

What does Jane do?

Jane sends a message to Adam's mother via social media thanking her so much for offering to host the party and oh, what day would work best for you -- Friday or Saturday?

Stop.the.bus.

What would YOU do?

I'll tell you what I would do. I'd thank my significant other's mother in person (or by phone if in person not possible due to distance, etc...) and maybe even give her a little thank you gift. I'd tell her how much it means and that she won't have to do anything and that whatever day of the week is best for her is best for the party.

OR/IN ADDITION (and I know that this is totally radical), I'd write her a thank you note and mail it to her.

I sound about 90 years old, don't I? It's all about manners, people. Nothing to do with age. Manners.


So, as you can see, we're doomed.

The demise of today's society has begun and is well underway.

That is all. Carry on.

No One Likes to Come Back from Vacation

Unless he or she comes home to this!

Houston: We have walls!

Some "before" pics:

They're somewhat jumbled, but I think you get the gist. We live in a split-level and our lower level used to be a garage (the pink area you see above -- and yes, former owners painted EVERYTHING pink) and pretty much just one big area in front of it (the picture you see directly above with the dehumidifier in the middle of the room.)

We decided to take the wall down between the garage and that room to make one large family room (see top two pics -- the first one shows it the best, I think.) We put in bow windows and it's very light. We're thrilled to have real walls!!!

Next up? Flooring!

Quick Update

How is it possible that it's been almost a month since my last post?

I wanted to get a quick post in...



...because...



...I have BIG news!



I HAVE A NEW JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



(OK...sorry. I'll stop shouting.)

To be clear, I have a new position at the company that I've been working at (for 14+ years!)

This is good news (in case you couldn't tell).

Over the past year and a half, in my previous position, I was exposed to parts of the company that I knew very little about, but was afforded the opportunity to learn about them and work with various departments that I previously had not worked with.

I learned a lot.

Not only about the company, but about myself.

While I appreciated the opportunities I had, I knew it was time for a move for me.

The stars aligned (OK, it wasn't that pretty behind the scenes...lol) and I've now been afforded the opportunity to work on the team behind the company's newest product. I'm beyond thrilled for this opportunity. I look forward to doing work that I'm familiar with and that plays to my strengths but also about learning even more things about the company.

I officially started the new position on July 1st, but am transitioning out of my previous role over throughout the month.

I'm thrilled. (Did I mention that already?)

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Get a Flat Belly In 10 Minutes

THAT drew you in, didn't it???

Well, let me tell you something.

It's.a.lie.

False advertising.

I did this & four other "flat belly" exercises for LONGER than 10 minutes.

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What did I get?

SQUAT. (Some sweat with that.)

Now, let me tell you something else.

I'm embarking on doing this 3x week for the next month.

For those in remedial math, that's 120 minutes or 2 hours.

I'll get back to you and let you if I have a flat belly in 120 minutes (vs. 10 minutes).

Stay tuned.

Heeeeeeeeere's Rocky...and Hopefully NOT Bambi

Welcome to Wild Kingdom...in small town Massachusetts.

Do you notice his stare going right through me?

And a few hours later?

Completely empty.

That masked robber has eaten us out of [bird]house and home.

In other news, I'm hoping this tip from my friend Nancy will allow the Hostas in our yard to not be eaten by Bambi.

You're intrigued, aren't you?

This is two bars of Irish Spring soap - each cut in half. 

This is a pair of old pantyhose- each leg cut in half. 

This is homemade deer repellent.

I tied each to the back of a Hosta plant.

Now we wait.

And hope we don't see Bambi and her gang munching on the Hostas.

Do you have homemade "remedies" that will stop raccoons from eating bird seed? Or stop deer from eating Hostas? Do share.

Retail Therapy

Knowing that John was going to be working a good part of this long holiday weekend, I decided it was the perfect opportunity for some retail therapy.

To level set expectations (how do you like that newfangled corporate terminology? ::sigh::), the term "retail therapy" means shopping to make one feel better. In my case, it's generally an "alone" shopping trip.

I can take as long as I want.

I can try on something three times if I feel like it.

I can look through a clearance rack of what others might think is "crap" and be totally OK with that.

I'm no stranger to shopping/retail therapy.

Legend has it that when I was five or six, I blurted out to my Nana, "My Mom says CHARGE IT!"

So, yeah, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Over the past few years, my love for shopping changed. While I still loved going to stores and browsing, it was mostly looking for things for the house, for G., or John. I'd gained weight and I didn't like the way that any clothes looked on me, not to mention that I was in a size range I'd never seen before.

After doing Weight Watchers and keeping the weight (or most of it) off for a while and going back down to what I consider a comfortable size, I started to reacquire my love for clothes shopping. Having been super busy, I haven't had much time to devote to the art. (Yes, clothes shopping is an art in my book.)

Back to the beginning of this post -- John was going to be busy, so I was going to be busy, too-- shopping!

I started on Friday night by going to our local TJ Maxx. You know - that place where you get the maxx for the minimum and you're a Maxxionista for shopping there?

I got a few things for G.'s birthday (which I won't post here should she be lurking) and then I got myself what I consider to be two "hip" tops. (Probably calling them that is making some of you shudder.) They're "young-looking." (in my book). When I was heavier, I just wanted something to cover me. Now I'm OK with my arms showing!

Here's shirt #1 (excuse the wrinkles/bad lighting):

It's a bit light, so I'll probably need a white tank top to go underneath (unless you fashionistas out there have other suggestions!)

Here's shirt #2 (again excuse the wrinkles/bad lighting):

In case you can't tell, it's navy. Navy blue is really my color. I'll plan to wear this with white capris/shorts. This one's a bit sheer, as well, so I'm undecided on what to wear underneath. Do I try to find a navy tank? Help!

I had to bring my car in for service on Saturday morning and I got a free loaner car. Coincidentally, the dealership where it was being serviced is right near a strip mall with Special Thoughts Outlet Store (smaller scale Big Lots) and HomeGoods. Ahhh...HomeGoods...my safe place...lol.

I bought G. some stuff at Special Thoughts for her birthday and then wandered into HomeGoods, grabbed a carriage, and spent almost two hours in there. There's so much to see in there -- even two hours is not enough!

I'm always on the look out in HomeGoods in the girls' room section for purple stuff for G.'s room. Her hamper broke a week or so ago and I'd been thinking I'd have to order a new one from eBay because I can never find a purple one in stores. Wrong!

It's much more adult than her last hamper (this one screams "teen" to me, while the other screamed, "little kid.")

The other purchase was something I'd wanted for a while. At our nephew's fiancee's bridal shower, they had various drinks in glass urns/beverage dispensers with spigots and I LOVED the way they looked. When we have holidays at our house, we use a punch bowl and while I know it's tradition, it's not my fave. So, I figured if I could find a dispenser I liked, we could alternate. I got this for $24.99 (and I had a $25 gift card, so free!)

After HomeGoods, I headed to Stop & Shop for a few "luxury" grocery items. We generally shop at Market Basket (a super duper discount grocery store) and so often we don't have a lot of variety when it comes to brands, flavors, etc... I browsed Stop & Shop just like I would any store! I picked up some funky flavored powdered drink mixes, some salad dressings, and some cheese sticks that we can't get at Market Basket. (I know how to live, don't I?)

I went home for a short break after this and waited until my car was done. I brought my freaky loaner car back and then decided since I was close to Danvers (shopping mecca around here), I'd do some more!

I headed to Burlington Coat Factory and spent a good hour there.

Again, more stuff for G. (although I did try on a ton of stuff.) I only left there with these for me:

These may look like your ordinary run of the mill flip flops, but these are Clarks. Clarks make super comfortable shoes (although not always at the "height" of fashion) and when I found these flip flops I knew I had to try them on. As we all know, flip flops aren't generally super comfortable, but these are! I might even go back and get another pair in another color! Not bad for $19.99!

Next I headed to TJ Maxx (a different one than Friday night) for my last purchases. They were the icing on the shopping trip cake!

My photo will not do it justice. In fact, my photo sucks.

It's a dress (I rarely wear dresses!) with blueish/navyish stripes and a cute pair of navy sandals with a little fake bling.

I love them.

So, take a lesson from my book -- retail therapy is the BEST therapy!

Recipes for the Non-Rocket Scientists

You're probably going to read this post and think to yourself:

"Self? Why did she even bother to write a post about these two 'recipes?' What does she take me for - a dummy?"

Because really-- who can't make pork chops with cream of mushroom gravy and egg salad (not together) without recipes?

Me.

I LOVE recipes.

I love following them to a tee.

Now I just need to learn to be able to stray (ever so slightly) from said recipes.

Enough about me!

First up, my Nana's "recipe."

My Mom gave me this little notebook with family recipes and I cherish it!

And there you have it.

Not rocket science, but pure deliciousness.

P.S. Use Minute Rice.
P.P.S. As the cook, you should always serve yourself the piece of meat that was cut open to ensure appropriate level of doneness. (You can thank me later for that little nugget of etiquette.)

Next, egg salad.

Yes, I said egg salad.

And not just any egg salad, but perfect egg salad.

The Pioneer Woman is one of my latest obsessions. I watched all of the latest episodes On Demand and have gotten her cookbooks out of the library.

I wasn't able to find this online anywhere, so I photocopied the recipe and put in my newfangled recipe binder. (This whole midlife cooking fascination, just well...fascinates me!)

Pioneer Woman Perfect Egg Salad

1 dozen hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup mayo
1-2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp white vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

• Chop the eggs. (This alone is a diversion from my normal egg salad making, as I generally mash the eggs.)
• Add mayo
• Add mustard
• Add Worcestershire
• Add vinegar
• Add salt & pepper
• Mix
• Et voila!

The mustard, Worcestershire & vinegar give it a nice kick!

If you're looking to get out of the egg salad doldrums, this is your recipe.

See?

Not rocket science!