Who IS That Girl?

Please, please go and visit all the other Fatherhood Fridays at Dad Blogs by clicking the badge below. While you're there, check out the King of Awesomeness, Joeprah...the guy who started it all. :0)

I have been a parent for 23 years, and the first 10 was to a son. Raising him was easy. It's my girls that I worry about. Maybe it's just me, but back when I was a tween/teenager, I didn't notice a lot of girls trying to be something they weren't just to get a guy (read: a hoe). If it was happening, I guess I just didn't see it. I noticed that girls 'flirted'. I think flirting and coming off as someone who's very sexual are two different things.

My girls have always been taught to stay true to who they are. If a guy doesn't like them because of it, then he was never worth it in the first place. Mini-Me has always gotten frustrated with this. She and her closest friend, M., know that the reasons they never had boyfriends is because they refuse to succumb to that. When Mini-Me got a boyfriend about a month ago (which will come to play later in another post somewhere), it was a refreshing change to see a boy who actually wanted a good girl. Guess what? He's a nice boy, too!

Mini-Me and her friends seem to gravitate to the bad boys. But I understand that. I did, too, except it took me YEARS to figure it out and learned the hard way. Now she has a close friend who is starting to act like a hoe. It's pissing her off. She knows this girl is not one, but the girl keeps doing things to the point where some of their peers actually call her a slut. I just don't want Mini-Me to be labeled as such due to guilt by association. Mini-Me also hates losing friends to this. There are days when I want to shake some sense into the friend.

With all the stuff that's been going on in Mini-Me's life as of late and her love of her friends, this kind of stuff affects her greatly. I know that I have got to let her handle obstacles, drama, or whatever else comes her way, on her own. I know Mini-Me hates when I talk to her, because she thinks I 'don't understand' or 'you don't know what it's like'. Thing is...I do. No matter how many times she may tell me those things. As her mother, I'm going to keep talking to my daughter and keep listening, because it's obvious no one's talking or listening to her friend. This is where I'm grateful that Mini-Me has a decent head on her shoulders.

How do you think you guys would feel and what would you do if your daughter's friends started turning out like this??

$50 Safeway Gift Card Winner!

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Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt Review & $50 Safeway Gift Card Giveaway

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. SEE ABOVE POST FOR WINNER. THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO ENTERED.



One of my girls' and my favorite snacks to have around the house is yogurt. Yesterday, I had a chance to pick up Yoplait Fiber One yogurt(vanilla and strawberry) at my local Safeway store. The vanilla was delicious and tasted almost like a custard. I couldn't tell it was fat free! The strawberry Yoplait Fiber One yogurt is made with real strawberries which is a plus, because my girls HAVE to have yogurt with real fruit. I loved that it was a smaller serving, 4oz versus 6oz, than the standard yogurt containers, because I never seem to finish the larger ones. It's also just the right size to throw into the kids' lunches. :0)

Yoplait Fiber One Nonfat Yogurt is only 50 calories per serving with 5 grams of fiber (that's 20% of the recommended daily allowance!) with added vitamins A & D. With 0 grams of fat you can enjoy this tasty treat without the guilt. It's Hungry Girl approved! Fiber One is available in a variety of flavors including, Strawberry, Peach, Vanilla and Key Lime Pie (see what Hungry Girl thinks about the new yogurt here).

Right now you can get two 4-pack Fiber One Yogurt at Safeway for $4.00 until February 9th. If you check out the Fiber One website, you can find a 75 cent off coupon to download and print. Sweet!

How about something more sweet than that? It's time for a giveaway. Here's your chance to win a $50 Safeway giftcard. Entering is simple: Comment and tell me what flavor of Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt would you like to try. Giveaway ends midnight February 14th. Winner will be random number generated and notified by email. Make sure you include your email in your comment.

Safeway and Fiber One provided me with VIP coupon for free product to sample, information, gift card, and an additional gift card for the giveaway through MyBlogSparkTM.

Fatherhood Friday

Wow, it's been awhile since I did a Fatherhood Friday. I figured I would get one in today. Don't forget to check out all the other great Fatherhood Friday posts from other moms and dads at Dad Blogs by clicking the badge here:

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As usual, I'm one of the oldest people(if not THE oldest) in my classes. I'm totally cool with that. Until....I hear stupid conversations or have to question how men/ women think. I know you all are thinking, what in the HELL does this have to do with Fatherhood Friday. I'll get to that. I promise.

In history class I talk with only two people in a classroom of about 90 students. These two people are cool: One is twenty, the other almost thirty. It's biology that I start to wish that there were more older people. The likelihood of that ever happening is not very likely considering it's a general ed course.

Anyways, on Tuesday, one of the people from my lab group(there are six of us) asked another if she got her car. Apparently, she was supposed to have gotten it last week. Turns out that she had wrecked her car and was waiting on the insurance money to get it, but her car had all these upgrades the insurance didn't account for (do they ever?). She's saying how her mom is waiting to just get their cars together: Hers, a Volvo, her mom's, a Mercedes (or was it a BMW not that makes a difference). Of course the young girls were shocked by the types of cars and probably wished they were her. I don't know. Then she talked about how she and her mom share clothes, because they are the same size (that's annoying enough right there). Her mom cares about what types of clothes she wears, car she drives, etc., and the girl said that apparently that's where she got her desire for the same. Of course I had to put my two cents in ever so gently.

I mentioned that even when I was young I never had the desire for name brand stuff, fancy car, etc. Even now I am still like that. I told the group that my dream car was a minivan, at which they laughed, and that I got. I said that as long as I'm not cramped and it gets me where I want to go, it's all good. One girl said she would just be glad to have a car.

So today in lab she's talking to the other girl that sits across from her in our group. They get onto the subject of tires. She states that her mom gets her tires changed every six months. I think I said something about that being a waste of money. She said something to the affect about it having special tread. I immediately thought, 'Your mom has been fed some total bullshit, and she's eating it all up with a spoon.'

I'm guessing that the father is not around, because she never mentions him. If he is, why isn't he putting a stop to this madness? It's no secret that mechanics, or whatever profession most women don't know about, can totally tell women that this or that needs to be fixed, and they're going to believe it because we don't know the difference. There are some women that that doesn't happen to, but for the majority we know this is true.

This is one area that I think guys are better at handling. I'm grateful that my husband shares his knowledge about the do's/don'ts of car care and maintenance. I'm also grateful to my dad sharing his knowledge as well even though it's somewhat limited. While it's a fact that I can't change my own tires (which I have never tried, so who knows?), change the oil, etc., I feel comforted by the fact that I know how to check fluid levels, fill them if I have to, I can tell a spark plug from a carburetor, and a few other things. I never would have known how to do these things if not for dads and husbands.

There's Another Teenager in the House: Mini-Me

It's hard to believe that when I started this blog almost three years ago that Mini-Me was only 10 years old. Despite the fact that she has always been a little more serious than most kids her age, she was still a little girl to me. Then one day I noticed she wasn't anymore. All of a sudden she was taller than me. How did that happen?! I'm glad that it did though. I wanted to be taller in my youth, but of course I got the short end of the stick. LOL

This past year has been one of struggles for Mini-Me. Through it all she is still the bright, funny, loving, and crazy girl she's always been even on days when it didn't seem like it. Today she is thirteen...an official teenager. My wish for her is to keep on being the bright, funny, loving, and crazy girl she's always been. I want her to know that the teens are going to be a bit hard, but it's also a time of learning to never lose sight of who she is. It's OK to be different (as she has always been and which I'm grateful for).

Mini-Me,

I love your uniqueness. I love you for being you. I am so very lucky to have you as my daughter. Know that no matter what you go through in life, I will ALWAYS be here for you. You will always be my baby, my boo girl. Happy Birthday!

I love you,

Mom xoxo

In a rare appearance here on my blog, I present....Mini-Me



(this photo has been edited, she's not this pale lol)

Thematic Photographic #1 (theme #85: hungry)

I thought I'd start back on something that I loved but hadn't done in awhile: Thematic Photographic. Every week, Carmi from Written Inc., posts a theme. This week's theme is "I'm Hungry". Since this is a new year, and I've just started back on the thematic photographic, I'll be starting at #1 though it's #85 in the themes :0).

My photo was from my trip to Seattle, Washington. We also went to Victoria, B.C. We had lunch at a pub there called The Sticky Wicket.

I loved it, and the food was good. Here's what we had:



Nothing like fish & chips done right. :0) I was also browsing through The Buried Life's videos, and they gave a shout out to The Sticky Wicket as a sponsor in the first road trip. In case you haven't heard of The Buried Life , it's a show on MTV about four friends who have made a 'bucket list' of sorts. They have crossed a few things off of their list, but still have more left to do. They also help others cross something off their list. I missed the premiere (Monday @ 10PM), but you can find their videos on youtube.

In the City

Had my oldest and my mom here for a few days. They arrived on Christmas then flew back to Vegas along with my girls who were heading there to see their dad. My son, Brenden, wanted to visit San Francisco and had Googled places he wanted to check out while he was here: Amoeba Records and City Lights Books. He also wanted to head down to the wharf with dreams of being a dock worker and maybe never going back to Vegas. Alas, his life would not change that dramatically. I'm sure he blames me for that since I was ready to leave the city and head back home. If we're being real, we would have head down to the pier and saw all the crap that most tourists do. Hardly think you can find dock work there. haha Maybe next time. I know that he would have preferred to see the 'nightlife', but 'nightlife' can't be fun with your forty-three year old mother. Perhaps one day he'll get up here with some friends. If they're smart about it, they could save up, fly or drive out here, and stay somewhere in the city with close access to everything.

Our first stop in San Francisco was Amoeba Records on Haight Street. Brenden was visiting his girlfriend at the time, N., when he went to the one in LA. He said she was getting a little perturbed with him because he was taking too long in the record store. If anyone knows my son, he's into music, books, and films. I'm not talking about mainstream stuff. It's a combination of independent, classic, basically eclectic stuff. He found some vinyl and cds at really good prices. I can't remember the titles, but if he tells me, I'll list them here. He's a total snob when it comes to music, books, and films. Just check out this post here.

Second stop was Buffalo Exchange also on Haight. He had bought a classic Penguin jacket along with a couple other items. I'm a little sad thinking about this now, because I asked him if he was going to check his luggage in on Southwest. He decided to and now they've lost it. Some of those new items were in it along with his favorite clothes and jackets given to him by his roommate...not to mention the suitcase belonged to his other roommate. :0/ I think when I pick up my girls on Monday from the airport, I'm going to check the Southwest luggage area. Who knows? I might find it. I'm gonna cross my fingers.

Before we headed to our third stop, Stinky decided to take us to Lombard Street: The crookedest street in America. Just to get to the top of where it starts winding was ridiculously busy. It's a very touristy thing to do, I guess. I didn't take photos of it. I do have a video. Maybe if I get around to it, I may post it. I'm just deciding if I want anyone to hear the conversation in the video. It's kinda whacked. LOL The crooked section of Lombard is basically useless. You don't really need to use it to get anywhere. Well, at least I think it's useless. haha

Our last stop in the city was City Lights Books on Columbus Avenue and Broadway in the North Beach area. This book store had three levels. Some of the books in there I had never seen or heard of before. I know that Brenden picked up a Jim Carroll book and something else. I'll have to list those if I find out the titles, too, along with the music.

Stinky had asked who wanted to go to the pier, and I vetoed it along with my girls. I think we were just tired. My son and Showboat wanted to go, but I have the power {insert evil laugh here}. Normally, I wouldn't mind going to the pier, but I wasn't feeling too well. I was still somewhat sick as I had gotten a cold/flu just a few days before my son and mom got here.

Anyways, I wish we could have spent more time on Haight Street, because there were many cool shops I would have liked to check out. If I have my son out here again, we'll definitely have to go back to the city and pick up where we left off: The pier and back to Haight.

Here's a little video I made of the limited pics I took. In this video is the Bay Bridge, the city from the bridge, Amoeba, my son paying for his music, Brenden in the poetry section of City Lights, and other photos. It's set to the outro of Ottoman by Vampire Weekend. I do not own the song. There is no copyright infringement intended.