Laughing Grandchild

As a proud re-mom, I take lots of pics and the occasional video of my fast growing grandson.
I am teaching him early that life should be fun and if you can laugh at it then you might possibly get through it intact.
He is learning this quickly (not yet 3 months old) and as you will see in the video he giggles adorably as his grandfather sings him a song about the monkey embroidered on his clothes (this family is all about cheap fun and good music!).


Jeplen's First Ever Giggles.


Thanks for being here.
Have a giggley day!

"Mmmmmm, I Love Breakfast Cereal." Donna Meagle

I believe I have mentioned in past blogs that I enjoy cooking and making food.
It's fun and therapeutic for me like napping, reading,  eating or reading blogs!
To prove my point, I would like to share with you a look at all the cookbooks I have acquired.


Graceful Grandma Cookbook Cabinet.

Yes, I have cooked from e v e r y single one of those books at some point in my life.
At some point.

Now I use the computer.
Need a recipe, I look it up, and if it has 5 stars then I will most likely give it a try.
What? Why?
Cookbooks are treasures!

They were meant to be read through almost like a regular book, telling a story of cooks before you, while you/me the reader marks up the pages of recipes that look delicious or WERE delicious.
Pinterest kinda does that with pictures, but I have tried many and liked very few of those recipes.
Used to be I would choose some recipes out of a book, add the ingredients I needed to my shopping list and then look forward to when they were on the weekly menu schedule.
Now, I open the cupboard, look at what I have on hand, THEN find a recipe that matches, at least kind of matches. They say use chicken, I say lets try Spam. The say rice? I say how about tater tots?

That is, IF I decide to cook anything at all.
When you're an empty nester there is little motivation to whip up something marvelous and impress......yourself?

That is why God made cereal.
Nutritious, easy and only 2 ingredients, well if you add the milk it's 2.

Even without milk it is usually delicious!
Sometimes the best recipe has been in the cabinet all along!

Thanks for being here.
Enjoy a foodie day !!




"People who love to eat are always the best people."
Julia Child

Nana, Grandma, Granny, Gram or.....

Since I became a grandmother, everyone has been asking me what I want to be called.
I want to be called 'that rich lady' or 'that young girl' or Scarlet Johansson, but I will likely not be handed one of those monikers anytime soon.
My children suggested 'Gramalama ding dong', Grammaster Flash, Gramraham Lincoln and Gramzilla. All fun and likable, but a bit questionable.

But for me, it really is a hard question. In my mind the naming should be left up to the grandchild so they can toy with the name and call you whatever they happen to be able to say. But apparently with 2 actively participating grandmothers there needs to be a right now distinction between us, so the parents can effectively argue about our grandparenting strengths, weaknesses and inheritance possibilites, as well as distinguish, to the grandchild, who's side of the family they should or should not take after.

The other grandmother wants to be called 'Nana'.
She picked it a while ago and I am glad.
I can scratch that option off my list.
My own grandmother was Gram.
My sister and I enjoyed that name because both of us were/are strangely addicted to and love to eat graham crackers, especially the cinnamon ones, and we would actually call her 'Gram Cracker' when we were in a playful mood(she probably wanted to slap us but never let on).
I could never be as good of a grandmother as she was so that name has essentially been taken off and crossed from my options list.

So I think I'm going with Grammy.
Yes, just like the award.
After all it's an accolade to recognize outstanding achievement.
I can live with that.



A Grammy Grammy


For my grandson it will just be my name.
But to me... I will be:
something people work for... ("Time to pick up your new toys Grammy got you!"),
something that people want... ("Of course Grammy will give you a cookie"),
something they want to bring home... ("Grammy will get those old monsters out from under your bed!"),
something they cherish... ("Grammy thinks you're the best grandchild that God ever made"),
something they can brag about... (" My Grammy once found a rattlesnake that had 14 babies!").

Appreciated and loved...just like a real, gold colored, on TV, Grammy Award.

Only with slightly different reasons.
Besides I could potentially use the horn as a hearing aid when I go deaf.

Thanks for being here.
Have a great day !

Retail me this.... or how 'bout them cuss-tomers*.....

As a worker in retail for many, many, way to many years, I have seen my share of irritating cuss-tomers*.
Here is a short list of their antics today in my store:

Some cusstomers are needy and consider you their personal shopper. (even though you are carrying 4 boxes that you can barely see over and you're trying to talk on the walkie-talkie and help another patron)

Others talk to their friends loudly, so I can hear about how they can get what they want much, much cheaper in another store. (fine, hurry, go there)

A few (today it was more than a few) act like our stuff is a gift on Christmas morning and proceed to rip our product out of the packaging, tear off the inside tags, change their mind, then ball it up and stuff it wherever they happen to have considered it last, sans the packaging that we have to now find. All this even though we have 1 or 2 on display and it is done when our back is turned. (I'll bet your mom found cookies under your bed too)



Many adults and adults with children get furious that we do not have a public restroom.(we are in a mall with lots of public restrooms) We are talking angry, cause they "can't hold it all that way". (try really hard, please)

And you gotta love the mothers who bring in their children who start screaming and crying over heaven only knows what and the mom continues to slowly shop and ignore the child who will then scream and yell louder, while we are trying to be nice, answer phones, conduct business as usual and keep from praying for death to help end our misery. (please take your child out of the store or let us employees give your child a real reason to scream!) (do not judge me on this one, I raised 4)



Another good one today was when the cuss-tomer asks you about the return policy and you tell them what it is and they say, "Well, thats not right, I just returned blah, blah blah...". So I reply, " You are correct, It's not right. I just made it up because my feet hurt".(our return policy is on the reciept, on signs in the store AND it has not changed in 5 years)
AAAaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhh.

Sometimes I can bear it, leave it at the store and come home.
Today was not one of those days.
It got to me.
No troublemaking cuss-tomer today actually recieved the pummeling they so totally deserved, (they can sleep soundly in their ignorance) but I had to vent, and you my loyal readers get to share my pain.

Please, be a kind shopper, treat things as if they mattered without leaving a trail of destruction for lowly hourly workers to clean up, because it is my prayer for you unkind shoppers that you experience the same kind of attitude and treatment that you share with us.
10 times over.
No, lets make it 20.
Plus a head cold.

Thank-you for listening.
I am grateful.

*That is not a typo. Some shoppers make me want to cuss.