Coffee Talk Mom

HELLO Coffee Talk Men!!

Let's face it; I haven't lived with as female since I was in a sorority at CU about 20 years ago (or so). Most of my blogs are written from the female point of view with a (frankly) male slant. I have been surrounded by men and boys my entire adult life, so it doesn't come as a huge surprise to find out how many of you are MEN!! I think it's great. You may actually HATE some of the subjects in the blogs, but learn how to deal with your daughter, wife, girlfriend or whatever! Today I am going to hit you right where it counts: I am now going to blog on the Daytona 500.

I am sure you all know quite a bit more about the race than I do, but here is a little female perspective for you all.

I was warned in advance that Sunday was "race day" and therefore a "no honey-do" zone. We woke up, went to church, then stressed about the recording on the DVR. Now, throughout this blog, I use the word "we" loosely! After returning home, we turned on the TV to find it had been delayed. Just in case though, we left the big screen on all day watching past races and waiting with hope that the rain would stop and the race would go on. Ladies, this is a VERY loud sport…especially when your husband has "planted" some kind of special sound equipment under the carpet to make the room move. Much to Dave's chagrin, the race was cancelled and we had to start stressing about when and how to record an event Monday that would obviously NOT be planned on the DVR.

You know where I am going with this right? Monday was now "race day" and although we went through the day with our usual activities, panic struck at 5:00 Mountain time, when Dave was stuck at work and missing the start of the race. He knew just what to do: call my son! As Will ran across the den (I was cooking in the kitchen) I knew that he was on a mission. I mean am I really going to cook a nice dinner and HAVE TO watch the TV when the man isn't even home? OK OK it had to be "ready" when he walked through the door, so I accepted my position. BUMMER for Dave, as William gave him the bad but exciting news: in the second lap, a wreck! Danika Patrick was involved. Now, I know you are all impressed with my knowledge of this sporty gal. Frankly, she has been in some of my fitness magazines over the years. Too bad, the ONLY connection I had to watching the race was this woman. (Cue the buzzer sound when you lose a game show). I guess I would have to settle for the dishes, playing a couple of computer games, and going upstairs for a good book. SO on we went through the evening with the floor bouncing and Dave giving me a play by play during the dishes in the hope that I may actually care or know a name. My son opted for homework in the basement and poor Dave was left on his own. Sometimes, I do wish I had a "rent a friend" for Dave to just commiserate and enjoy a good beer and a race. It was pretty sad when William said, "Dad, you just drive in the same direction for about 2 hours". For a race fan it is so much more. It is about the speed, the coordination, the cost and engineering of the cars and more. These drivers are actually in really good shape…shocking right girls? Now put some moms in their family vans on a race track and not only will I watch it, I will drive in it! …HILARIOUS! I can see it now, they would have to take "coffee breaks" and do a shot of cappuccino, race into a grocery store for a gallon of milk, and other such obstacles… forget the pit stops for changing the tires!...I digress!!

At about 9:15 I was kind of thinking to myself "Is that race over? The floor stopped shaking…maybe Dave is watching the new Pawn Stars?"…About 15 minutes later, the door bursts open and in comes Dave with an update: Another crash, and explosion, and a race delay! Its official…this is the groundhog day of all races! I did find it interesting that they cleaned the racetrack with TIDE detergent…now THAT is cool! On went the headphones (the best investment ever…CORDLESS headphones for the bedroom TV…DO IT LADIES!) and it wasn't too long before the snoring started and like a little boy who stayed up too late to watch Batman, I had to nudge Dave and tell him the bad news: the race had not resumed and his 4:30 wakeup call was taking him into dreamland. I felt kind of bad for him…race day was over and the DVR was back on in "record" mode.

This morning I jumped out of bed and nudged him to wake up. Apparently, my morning person had awoken in the middle of the night, snuck downstairs, and finished watching the race. This was going to be a long morning for Dave. I listened intently as he told me about the race breaking records for the delays etc…and I gave great news! Dave liked "Monday Night at the Races" and would like to petition the NASCAR for more of the same. Sometimes, as a wife, you take the good with the bad and seeing him enjoy this is enough for me. Little does he know I will be petitioning NASCAR for a "MOMCAR" race …

Another day in paradise…

Carry on my Coffee Talk Peeps!

The Kindle Swindle or just Good Business?

A couple of years ago, Dave bought me a Kindle. At the time, I was excited but wary as I still like to hold a book, underline things and have an "in home" library of sorts. As time went passed, I realized the value of the Kindle. I love having it for travel and to stick in my purse when I leave the house for a doctor appointment etc… It is easy to flip a switch, pick up where I left off and carry on. Most novels were about $7.99 and worth the instant satisfaction of having them download within seconds of the request. Even now, I especially like the "Kindle Top 100 FREE" books offered. These are usually new writers or cheesy romance novels, but every once in awhile I get a pretty good book. Of course, most of the classics are free as well.

Recently, I have (sort of) figured out how to download kindle books from the library. The caveat is the waitlist. For example, after recently seeing "The Vow" I wanted to read the TRUE story. When I logged on to the library website, I was number 57 in the cue. The problem is I could BE 57 by the time I read that one! I didn't even bother.

When cruising through the Kindle site on Amazon, I have recently seen lots of comments about the prices of the books. Today was no exception! I saw a Jodi Picoult book for $14.99. WHAT? These are best sellers that convert to paperback quickly and you could definitely buy the book cheaper at Cost Co. Isn't the whole purpose of downloading the books to save money?? I guess there is also the idea that you save paper, printing costs, the environment etc… According to WIRED magazine, "tacking an e onto a book requires antipiracy software, digital warehousing, extra legal support, and programmers to adapt each title for Android, I Phone, Kindle, and all of the other formats. That is ON TOP of the regular costs of turning a manuscript into a finished product". Yet I still ask the question, "Why would I download a book for $15?" It has been a slow burn with these devices. What was once $7.99 went up incrementally by about a buck every six months until now. Most books are easily $10 now…many $12.99. I feel like the frog in the boiling water (remember science class?).

Ultimately rising costs were inevitable and part of the Bezos business model. As the population became more comfortable buying digital book readers, they pushed the bookstores into bankruptcy. Borders and many other independent book stores are gone. It has become easier to simply sit at your computer and order a book online delivered in 2 days to your house. That was the intent from the beginning and like it or not, it's working. This is America. Any good business figures out how to push out the competitors. That may not be politically correct, but I challenge you to run a business where everybody wins.

Last winter we gave my mom and dad Kindles for Christmas. Once my mom figured out how to read her bible, she was sold. My dad is another story. Retired guys loan each other books and read those things into oblivion. That is one thing that is hard to do with a Kindle…loan the book to a friend! For now I will have to be more careful about what I download. I may need to suck it up and carry the occasional 5 pound book in my purse while waiting for appointments!

Carry on CoffeeTalk Readers!!

 

Why PINTEREST has my INTEREST!

Remember (girls) L O N G before acid free pages and creative memory projects…we had a scissors and tape or glue to make cool collections of our favorite things: collages! I used to tape things to my mirror and keep "favorite things" in a scrapbook which I am sure has disintegrated into a blob of curled edges and yellow photos. Let's face it, I can't keep up with photos and I have 2 boys. There is a slight chance that their future spouses will care to see their high school ID's but as far as being appreciated for elaborate collections of their every move…uh…it's just not going to happen! I have used sites like Shutterfly for years now to organize photos. YES, YES I have a closet full of special paper, scissors, stickers, etc…that poor underappreciated closet! Well, along with that part of my house, I have a side table in my bedroom that gets stacked with magazines and, more importantly, ripped out pages of things I would like to cook, or decorate, or exercises that I (will) do! I love the hands on experience of a good magazine, but once I finish it, I never go back to those turned down pages, and it takes discipline to catalogue the papers I rip out. It's kind of like shopping, once you take the second look at the clothes in your hands, you put a bunch back and re-think the purchase. I usually toss the pages.

Here comes PINTEREST! Some of you may be rolling your eyes because it is just another time-wasting website. I happen to enjoy it. What is Pinterest?: an online bulletin board of ideas for the home, fashion, art, recipes, fitness and much more. You can capture your favorites into your own specific file (such as "clothes I love") and thereby save the things that appeal to you. Joining is an interesting process as there is currently a "waitlist" if you go directly to the site to join. All you really need is for a friend who is currently on Pinterest to invite you! Once you are invited you create an account with some basic info and start "pinning". Be sure to install the "pin it" button on your toolbar so when you are cruising the web, you simply click on your "pin it" bar to share the pic or recipe or whatever info interests you.

I can't blog about Pinterest and not let you know the drawbacks! I am just learning myself, but one thing I have noticed is repetition of some of the best pins. If you see something you enjoy, you can "repin" it and thereby adding it to the Pinterest feed. This causes many of the same pins being displayed at once. If you know what you are looking for, narrow your search down and click on the "Food" or "For the Home" icon, for example. This whole issue makes me wonder how long Pinterest can last…where do they go from here? I have gone from checking it every day, to checking it every few days.

Another caveat was something I noticed when I first joined. I received "followers" whom I did not know and quickly had lots of crazy tattoos, foul body piercing postings and more! I went into my account to stop following the people who had added themselves. It was easy. Now I don't get the eye popping cartoon characters on my "page".

SO, what is the point? I will give the best example I have so far. I saw a "how to" about spray painting brass door knobs and hardware with antique bronze Rustoleum paint. Granted, we have changed many of the knobs in our house, but there were still some that needed to be rotated out of the 90's. It wasn't a quick solution, but it was cheap! Dave took off the doors and hardware and made an area in the garage for painting (hey…it's winter in Colorado) and in 1 weekend, all of the doors had "new" hardware. It cost about $20 for a couple of cans of spray paint from the hardware store. We spent over $400 just for our front door antique bronze set. It has been about 3 weeks, and we have noticed no scratches or problems. My only problem may be Dave unplugging my computer when I continue coming up with these "great ideas"!

It's fun to dream. There are all kinds of homes, travel locales, and great ideas if you are a young mom! I saw some incredible ideas for "school Valentines" last week. Unfortunately for me, I am past the "room mom" years and have moved into fashion, home, and money saving ideas. I have better ways to spend my time, but I enjoy checking it and seeing some new ideas. Men will not be happy with the "categories" supplied for them. They have not taken to the site like women, but hopefully they will find a way to expand "guns and war" for all of those men who want to imbibe.

If you are interested in joining, email me and I'll "invite" you to this very exclusive club called "PINTEREST"!

Carry on Peeps!

Coffee Talk Mom

2 Things that are guaranteed in this life….

We have all heard this: death and taxes. Let's see…it is that most wonderful time of the year when all of the mail reflects that fact that it is time to take the weekend off and do the taxes…ugh! I dread this every year as it usually involves and cranky husband and a whole bunch of papers spread all over the office floor. We decided awhile ago to do our own (after seeing a huge bill with a so-so result). I use the word loosely as Dave is really the brains of this operation. I provide chocolate chip cookies and beer. Carry on my prince!

The REAL reason for this blog is the other half of this equation: DEATH. It was recently brought to our attention that, after many years of consideration, our church will be building a "Memorial Garden" on its campus. This has received a huge response from the community as Highlands Ranch has thousands of people with NO funeral home, burial sites, or the like. SO, after weeks of providing meetings to the church members, Dave and I set out last night to attend "the first 30 minutes" of the presentation. You see, I had to promise that we would wrap up the evening with friends at a local pub watching a favorite band. Dave went with some reservation. He does not like to think about dying, cremation, burial or anything remotely related. At this point, I was afraid we should have started the evening with a beer instead of ending it with one! As we walked across the parking lot to enter the chapel, a truck came whipping around the corner and he put his hand out (as if to stop it) and said "Hey…I'm not here to check IN to the wall…I'm just her to check it OUT!"…I burst out laughing and from there on in, the night was a bit hit…a great date night…I encourage you to try it (haha!!).

This is a tough subject, but once you hit your mid-forties (okay okay late 40's) it is a good conversation to have. I had an idea of what Dave would want but who blogs without sharing intimate details of their lives? Here goes with some of the highlight quotes of the evening:

CTM: Do NOT have a viewing of me…nothing to see here…move along! And oh by the way…I WONT view you dead unless I am holding your hand when it happens.

Dave: Maybe you can just sprinkle me in Lake Dillon so all of Denver gets a piece of me.

CTM: Disgusting, but you and my best girls and family can sprinkle me over Seal Beach (where I spent many happy weekends with my sister growing up), The Broadmoor (where I literally grew up and had all of the family highlights), the mountains, and the shoe department at Nordstrom.

Our son: Mom…the janitor will just vacuum you up and who knows where you will go?

Dave: I'm not sure you care what I want…you already have this worked out!

ENOUGH already!! On a serious note…it is something important to consider. I am grateful that there may be a place where we can all be memorialized together, if not buried. I am just thankful, for the time being, that we are all healthy and not having this discussion under other circumstances. One interesting part of the evening was hearing how historically, burials went from churches, to outside graveyards as the population became more diverse. There is a huge resurgence in cremation (both to save the earth and for other personal reasons), which has given churches a chance to extend their presence in the communities. It may be something we can take "off the plate" for our children during a sad time in their lives (we hope right?). Just some light conversation for a cold weekend!

Carry on COFFEEtalkPEEPS and have a GREAT weekend!!

P.S. For more information: www.chcc.org

Click on the memorial garden link at the bottom of the page.

 

The Good…the Bad…and the Ugly…of the Superbowl Halftime Show

Like it or not, I am the person at the SB party who waits for the dudes to get up for "poppers" at halftime and slides into the best seat in the house. I have always liked music and entertainment and for some reason…the halftime show. Years ago, we had friends over, and my girlfriend and I rushed into the den while the boys got their chili. Little did we know, we would be treated to a full frontal shot of Janet Jackson or in other words "Did I just see what I think I saw??" I get so engrossed in the lights and sounds that I feel like I can't watch everything at once. I missed the controversy that year but I wasn't about to miss it now.

Last night, we were lucky enough to be with friends who had a GIANT projection screen and theater seats. I dove into the available seat and waited for MADONNA to do her thing. First, let me say, she is 53 years old and looks darn good. I had to ask myself…what is the demographic? Are the producers really trying to appeal to guys who are in their 50's? I guess. At any rate, it makes me feel young that the big draw for SB halftime is someone who is older than me! At what point in your life do you realize you are NOT 25? For Madge, I think it was the failed cartwheels atop the "bleacher seats". It's not that the dancers couldn't lift her; it just looked awkward and over-produced. I get it, I get it, the viewers want a SHOW! Why not drop the microphone since it is totally lip- synched and do the show then? I had a mini gasp when she missed the bleacher and almost bit it in her knee high boots! Now back to the show…

I like how they didn't do the "faux-fan stage rush" this year!! Producers have done that EVERY year and it is so staged and "been there done that". I enjoyed the entrance into the stadium. Why not have gladiators carry you into the stadium if you are Madonna? Let's move on to the dude on the balance rope. Was that Will Farrell or Richard Simmons? AND…I laughed SO hard when every man in the room suddenly stopped what they were doing mid-bite and yelled "OW…WHOA…OUCH"! …as if they were feeling every move in their own bodies! I like the dancers and acrobats but I am OVER Madonna riding them and pulling their hair…uh…you are 53 years old girl! Another thing, what was with the cheerleader song? Didn't recognize it, didn't like it, and holding gold pom- poms and doing a routine with other "cheerleaderesque" (is that a word?) girls looked ridiculous.

Apparently, in order to really wow the crowd, you need to pull in some other entertainers, which Madonna did with LMFAO, MIA (YES!! I missed the finger!), and Nicki Minaj. I guess they have figured out that if they REALLY want to make an impression, they have to do something dirty. WHATEVER! I think it backfired and who cares about MIA anyway?? Their name is MIA! Now Cee Lo Green is another story. Is he a midget or just really small? Either way, it was a good advertisement for his show "The Voice" for him to be on stage with M. I'm in a choir, so I LOVED the choir…SEE..even us white people can do a "step touch"! Why Madonna went down instead of up at the end is beyond me, but hey! It was HER show, done HER way.

You would think I didn't like the half time show, but overall, I thought they did an amazing job with the lights and sound. I especially liked the VOGUE digital light floor. WOW! As I was standing by my son (an entertainment engineering major) we were amazed at the amount of time they had for set up (8 and a half minutes). We joked that we wouldn't have wanted to be the one who accidentally forgot to plug something in or switched a cord! Good Job Madonna…and YES…she probably will STILL be a cheerleader at 80!

I choose OBAMA!!

…in a singing contest! I mean…after hearing Mitt sing the Star Spangled Banner…you just have to choose Obama with his "I…am so in love with you…etc..." It's a good thing the President of the United States is not selected American Idol style!

In other news…a rich guy in Florida adopted his wife (42)…READ ON…This ensures his finances cannot be used in the lawsuit and court case for DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide as well as leaving the scene of a crime. DUDE!! Go to Jail…Pay this poor family…Get some ethics!!

Pfizer has recalled a whole bunch of birth-control pills…Uh-oh…can you say "Happy Thanksgiving"?

And last…a lady had a 13 pound baby…OMG…no c-section…no drugs…God Bless the Mom's of this world!

Happy Thursday!

CoffeeTalkMom