Crying baby? Where are your manners…parents?

You know I don’t often weigh in on controversial issues, which is why I have a lot of friends.  Every once in a while though I just have to add my two cents. As I read the paper this morning I noticed an article that is making it’s way across the Internet.  It concerns the issues of a crying baby in a fancy restaurant.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I love kids.  I was a girl scout leader and I’ve raised two of my own and although I wasn’t considered a strong disciplinarian and was more of a pushover I did teach my children manners.  You see I was taught manners as a child and I am always considerate of those around me.

When the children were little I wouldn’t dream of taking them to the opera or to a fancy, quiet restaurant where they might make a loud scene…that is consideration.

I guess I ate a lot of McDonald’s salads and Chuck E Cheese pizza because those are the places that catered to my tiny tots.  In stores and other restaurants, if the children misbehaved or caused a scene I simply took them outside and if they continued I went home with my dinner in a doggie bag.  I can truthfully say they didn’t do it very often, because they wanted to be there and knew if they acted up they wouldn’t be.

My husband and I go to a movie each and every week since they kids grew up.  I am always amazed at how many people bring tiny tots to heavy R rated movies and I’m not talking about action adventure, I’m talking about horror movies that even give me nightmares, let alone a 3-year old. 

Just last week we went to a movie and a woman came in toting 4 kids all under the age of 5, she set them down behind us and went and sat with a babe in arms three rows back.  The kids kicked my seat, talked through the movie and spilled popcorn and drink all over the place.  In addition one started to walk down the stairs, fell and screamed for 5 minutes.  All the while the woman enjoyed the movie three rows back.  Now that is inconsiderate!

Here is my answer to the question of kids in restaurants and public places.  If the place you are going doesn’t cater to kids and your baby sitter cancels…don’t ever hire that babysitter again and chuck it up to experience.  If your child acts up when you take them in public, be considerate of those around you and take them outside.  I guarantee you will only have to do that once or twice and they will get the message.  And if you can’t afford a baby sitter maybe your can’t afford to go out at the moment.  Teach your kid’s manners and they will be thankful, grateful and mindful.

Weather wimps just need to put on a coat and realize…it’s winter

Lately I’ve been wondering what in the heck has happened to people these days.  We have a cold snap and it’s 0 degrees at night and in the 20’s during the day and they close schools for two days!  Yes, in Virginia they closed schools because it was too cold. Today there was no school again, because it rained and it might freeze! Tomorrow they are predicting the temperature will reach 65 degrees with thunderstorms!  Yes I did say thunderstorms. Guess my little dog will be hiding under the couch for a while.

The way you hear the weathermen and women talk you would think that we are on the meteorological eve of destruction…

“Listen up people you better button up that overcoat because if you walk out that door you are going to freeze in your tracks!”

“Icicles are going to be hanging from your eyelashes.”

“Oh gosh Steve how long do we have to suffer in these crippling temperatures?”

“Well Linda, an artic front is moving in and will arrive by noon, so hop under those covers and stay there till March!”

The way they go on we must be heading to a second ice age!

When I was a kid, we weren’t lucky enough to get a “cold” day off from school.  It had to snow to be able to leave that homework unfinished. We sometimes had entire weeks of single digit temperatures and no one batted an ice encrusted eyelash.  We just put on a coat and went about our business as usual. Are we breeding a generation of weather wimps? 

I live in Virginia.  It’s not Antartica and the temperatures are usually rarely extreme in the winter. This past week was the first time I used my coat in 3 years.  I was beginning to think it would out of style before I got any use out of it.  We haven’t had more than a dusting of snow in four years and my snow shovel is gathering cobwebs somewhere in the basement.  And everywhere you go all anyone talks about is how cold it is. 

Before you know it, though, winter will be just a memory and the winter weather wimps will go into hibernation and out will come the summer ones…

“Geez it’s so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk, how will we survive this deadly heat wave?”

My big bang theory intro conundrum

One of my favorite shows is the Big bang theory.  I have all the DVD’s and watch them over and over again.  I know, I know, I’m just a big ole nerd myself.  My favorite part of the show is the intro. (You may think by revealing this I’m weirder than you originally thought although I like to think, as my husband says, I beat to a different drum) I like to pick out a different image each time as they flash quicker and quicker.  There are actually 109 images in all!  So I must admit I only have identified a few images when it runs at it’s usual speed, but you can watch this and other videos on youtube which slows it down for you…that is if you want to cheat. 

Big bang theory images slowed down

Black-eyed peas, rice and tomatoes

Superstitions abound on New Year’s Day.  In my family I always make a big pot of Black-eyed peas with tomatoes and rice for luck, but why are they lucky? 

Well, in the south the story goes that when Sherman’s troops raided the south they took everything but the black-eyed peas, which they considered animal food.  So the southerners made it through the winter on black-eyed peas.  They were lucky and they credited the black-eyed peas.

Since I grew up in the south, that theory works for me, but my parents from whom I got this superstition were northerners and their parents came from Greece so none of my ancestors were around when the Southerners were eating those peas. 

While we are talking about my Greek ancestors I’ve always been told that a man has to be the first visitor on New Year’s Day.  My grandmother would not open the door unless it was a man.  My mother always a rule breaker, made my brothers go outside and come back in just to be safe.  They weren’t men but hey they had that Y Chromosome so it worked for her. 

So just to be safe I guess I will go soak those dried black-eyed peas now. I mean why push my luck right?

What about you, what do you do for New Year’s Day?

Black-eyed peas with tomatoes and rice recipe

Bag of dried black eyed peas, soaked overnight as per the package instructions

I cup of white rice

Two cans of diced tomatoes

Clove of garlic finely chopped

¼ cup of finely chopped onions

Soak the peas overnight. Add water to cover peas and bring to a boil.  Simmer till the peas are tender.  Meanwhile cook rice as package directs.  In a small saucepan add a bit of oil and cook onions and garlic till just tender.  Do not brown.  Add the rice, garlic, onion and two cans of diced tomatoes to the peas.  Add salt and pepper to taste, simmer till hot throughout.  The black-eyed peas get better with each heating as the flavors meld.