I've Been Technologically Humbled

I've never claimed to be a technological genius but I felt like I was doing okay, until recently. A few things lately have put me in my place and left me technologically humbled.

I got a Kindle Fire HD a while back and I was able to do simple things on it like, well, like read a book. I wasn't doing much beyond that until my 10 year old granddaughter took me by the hand and gave me a lesson on all the other things I could do. With the help of a 10 year old, I am now a whiz (well, sort of) at using it for apps, the internet, Facebook, music, and all sorts of fun things. All good to know, but technologically humbling to have to learn from a 10 year old.

Recently I was at my daughter's house and my 5 year old granddaughter wanted to watch a show on Netflix.

When I picked up the remote and started pushing buttons she gave me an exasperated look and told me. "Grandmom, not that remote, this one". She then picked up the correct remote and started pushing buttons. The show she wanted was on the TV faster than I would have been able to find the power button on the remote. Sigh.....technologically humbled by a 5 year old. 

It got worse (you knew it would). Another time, recently, I was trying to find a game that my 2 year old grandson wanted to play on his mom's i pad. Yes, you guessed it....I couldn't find the game and he reached over and in a couple of taps on the screen had the game up and ready to play. Double sigh......technologically humbled by a 2 year old.

All I can do is keep learning........in the meantime I think I'll see if I can get one of my grandkids to show me how to do a few of the things I know my phone is supposed to be able to do that I haven't been able to figure out yet. 

Well, It's Worth A Try

This is my new "grocery list" diet plan, based on the idea that if you don't have it handy, you can't eat it.

No matter my good intentions or what is on my list when I go to the grocery store I always seem to pick up a few extras that I don't really need. I'm not a very good shopper to start with and I am  a real sucker for those end cap displays that always seem to tempt shoppers with less healthy items. I'm thinking that maybe if I give myself instructions about what not to buy I might be more successful in avoiding impulse buys.

Oops, I forgot to add "no ice cream", and I may have to re-think that "no M&Ms thing, but at least it is worth a try.

Do you think it will work?

Tie One On

My two year old grandson, Beck, like most little boys, thinks his dad is pretty cool and tries to be just like him. Lately imitating his dad has included wanting to dress like his dad. Dad wears a suit and tie to work everyday so now every time Beck wears a "wuk shut", (that is a work shirt or any shirt with a collar) he insists on wearing a tie.

Ready to go out to dinner for his sister's birthday

Even for a basketball game 

So far he sticks to his collection of clip-ons. I think he will need to learn to tie his shoes before he tackles learning to tie a tie.

Old Friends

One of the things I wish I had done better in my life  is keeping up with people who I was good friends with at some time in my life. A good, though not great, exception to that is my friend Carol who was my next door neighbor when we were in 3rd and 4th grades. I say "not great" not meaning that she is not a great friend, but meaning that I haven't done a great job of staying in touch with her. We live less than a half hour from each other and the lunch we had today is the first time we have gotten together in a couple of years. We both promised to do better going forward.

Carol

Carol and I had lost touch years ago about the time we both graduated from college and I got married and started having kids and moving every few years and she began a career as a flight attendant. Then about 20 years ago I found out through her parents that she was living in Colorado and in fact lived only about three blocks from me. By then she was married and had 2 kids and for a while we saw a lot of each other. After we both moved, in the same area, but not so close, we didn't get together as often. We both had kids with busy lives and she was also taking care of her aging parents. In recent years we have talked from time to time but life seemed to always get in the way of us getting together very often.

I am so glad we both made the effort to meet for lunch today. It was so good to reconnect and catch up and share memories of those long ago childhood years. It is so fun to spend time with someone who remembers those elaborate games of Knights and Ladies we played outside until well after dark on warm summer nights. I loved remembering my first airplane trip by myself to visit Carol and her family after they moved from Tulsa to Shreveport. There is no one who can help you feel young like an old friend.

Are you good at staying connected with old friends?

Not Grumpy, Just Pious

Image from Google Images

When Dodger and I walk in the mornings we usually pass a few other people who are also out walking their dogs. I always say "good morning" or something friendly when we pass and people almost always reply with a friendly "hello" or "good morning. There is one man who walks a cute little brown dog, a neighbor who lives across the open space behind us, that never responds or even acknowledges that he sees or hears me. This man was walking in front of our house just as Dodger and I went out at about 7:30 this morning:

Me: (as usual) Good morning.

Him: (as usual)________.

Me: (thinking maybe he is just hard of hearing) Good Morning.

Him: Hmphh.

Me: (not thinking, just blurting out) Excuse me, but have I done something to make you angry or has my dog done something you don't like. I often see you walking and say "good morning" and you have never acknowledged or responded to me. I am very sorry if I have done something to offend you.

Him: Um, uh, oh, well, I am usually praying when I am walking....I am saying Hail Marys so I don't notice much.

Me. ________.

Me: ________.

Me: (finally) Um, uh, oh, well, that's great....have a nice day.

Well, at least now I know I haven't done anything to offend him (at least before today). Now maybe he will be praying for the crazy neighbor lady when he walks.

I Think I Have Said This Before

I'll be starting my 5th year of blogging later this month and I know this isn't the first year I have said in my first post of the year that it is a good thing that I didn't make a resolution to blog more this year. I'm not sure why the first post of the year is hard for me, but I have some ideas. I think it is mostly because I think I should, like so many people do, write about profound thoughts I have about the new year or ambitious resolutions I have made. Well, the truth is that I am hoping for 2013 to be a good year, but I don't really have any profound thoughts about it, and I don't usually make resolutions, ambitious or otherwise, so I put it off until all the new year hoopla has passed.

On top of that "excuse" the first week of the new year has been a pretty busy one for me. On New Years Day I attended a wonderful new year/housewarming party at my son-in-law's dad's family's new home in Fort Collins. I worked a couple of days, saw a couple of movies and dragged myself to the gym a couple of times (no resolutions about that, just a continuing effort), attended a funeral and caught up on the season 2 episodes of Downton Abbey that I had missed. (Season 3 starts tonight....are you a fan?)

Also this week we celebrated a family birthday.......my middle granddaughter, Ellis Jae, called EJ, turned 5. A little girl who is very resistant to change, she was in tears the night before her birthday because she wouldn't be 4 any more. She seems to have adjusted to her new age and is both as sweet and as ornery as she was at 4. We will continue to celebrate with a family cake and ice cream party today.

So, as I start a new year and another year of blogging with nothing profound or ambitious I do want to very sincerely say how much I appreciate the friends I have made through blogging. I am grateful for the ones I have met more recently and for those who have been with me from the beginning. I hope the coming year is a good one for all of us.