Not So Wordless Wednesday: Clowning Around And Giving Thanks

Yes, I know that Wordless Wednesday posts are supposed to be, well, wordless, but I felt that this one needed some words.  After all, this is not only my "Wordless Wednesday" post, but also my "What I’m Thankful For" post.  Therefore, in no particular order:

My Wife

I’m thankful every day that B has been in my life.  She’s such a wonderful and caring person and I love everything about her.  She’ll deny it left and right, but she’s also incredibly sexy.  (Yes, you are B!)  I’m even more attracted to her today than I was the first moment I laid eyes on her.  (And trust me, I thought she was very attractive then also!)  I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life.  So thank you, B for being such a great wife and friend to me and such a great mother to our boys.  Speaking of our boys….

My Boys

I couldn’t have asked for two better kids.  Ok, there are times when they’re getting into trouble when I might think I could have , but still they are good kids.  NHL rarely gets into trouble at school and loves learning.  He enjoys spending time with me, B or just playing with JSL.  JSL loves helping people out.  He’ll actually get upset and shout "I help Dada!" if I don’t need his help.  He adores his older brother and loves spending time with him.  The little copycat looks to his brother constantly for cues on how to act and what to say.  (This does lead to us telling NHL to stop doing something and then immediately having to tell JSL to stop also…. cute though it may be!)  I’m so glad that they love each other and us so much.  Every day when I go to work, I wish that I could spend more time with them and every day when I’m packing up to leave, I look forward to seeing them soon.

My Mother

First off, I’m also thankful for my father, sister and other friends and relatives, but this year I’m particularly thankful for my mother.  Last week, she had a little accident.  And by little, I mean she almost died.  She was in her attic cleaning things up and fell.

Now, their attic isn’t exactly safe.  You get to it via a fold down ladder in the garage.  That staircase is about as old as I am (i.e. over 30 years old).  Once you get into the attic, you can’t just walk around.  The floor of the attic is thin enough that it can’t stand the weight of a person.  You need to balance on support beams which run all along the attic.  Years back, my father actually fell through the attic floor and got wedged in the hole he made.  His legs were dangling down in the garage, a sight which was scary then but funny in hindsight.

Anyway, my mother was up there cleaning near the ladder.  The details are a bit sketchy, but best I can make out, her foot somehow went through the thin flooring and she lost her balance.  She fell headfirst towards the ladder.  She hit her head on the ladder and skidded across the concrete garage floor.  Luckily, she wasn’t home alone.  A family friend was with her and called 911.

It could have been a lot worse.  She fell a total distance of about 9 feet (maybe more) onto a concrete floor.  She could easily have been dead.  Plus, she hit the ladder with her head so she could have snapped her neck and been paralyzed for the rest of her life.  In the end, she had a concussion (blacked out as she was headed for the ladder and came to on the ground), a couple of broken fingers, a torn up ear and scratches all over her face.  She’s very, *VERY* lucky!

She’s recovering slowly, but surely.  She’s still dizzy at times and needs to take it easy for awhile.  However, the doctors’ don’t think that any permanent damage was done.  I’m very thankful that my mother is alive and (relatively) well.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Netflix, Roku and Cut Cable, Oh My!, Part 2

Watching Movies At Warp Speed

Previously, I mentioned that Netflix is keeping up with the changing rental climate.  One of those changes is online viewing.  I’m a big believer that the future successor of DVDs isn’t going to be Blu-Ray or some other super-incredible-ultra-high-resolution disc, but no disc at all.  All of the pieces are in place or nearly so.  Internet speeds are fast enough in many areas to support video streaming. Video codecs can alter video quality to account for changes in bandwidth.  Wireless technology allows for devices (*cough*Roku*cough*) to stream Internet videos without needing any wires (save for the power cord). » Read more

Netflix, Roku and Cut Cable, Oh My!, Part 1

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about Netflix.  They’re the online video rental shop that will mail you DVDs from a queue you create.  For many years, I wrote them off as not worth it.  After all, I reasoned, we didn’t rent movies all that often so why pay $16.99 a month when we might rent only one movie that month.  Tis better, I thought, to pay $5 to rent the new release in the local big name video chain.  Boy was I wrong. » Read more

Aloha Friday: A Fun Night Out = Abandoning My Family?

Last Thursday night, I had the pleasure to go see Dr. Phil Plait (aka BadAstronomer) talk.  He spoke of such interesting subjects as the end of the world, Hollywood and eggs standing on end.  Amazingly, he was able to relate those things together into a coherent (and downright funny) speech including some clips from Armageddon and Deep Impact.  While there, I met TechSkeptik.  We had a great time talking about many things before and after Phil’s speech.  (No, not during.  That’d be rude.  Besides, Phil’s speech was too interesting to allow for talking.)

As I went to the speech, excited though I was, I also felt guilty.  I usually go home, make dinner and help get the boys ready for (and into) bed.  Instead of helping out my family, though, I was going to hear a speech for my own enjoyment.  I felt selfish, even though I knew that nights out like this for me are extremely rare.  I really don’t have any friends here that I can have a guys’ night out with.  Back in June, I posted about feeling isolated at times.  That feeling still pops up from time to time.  Yet here I was out on the closest thing to a "guys’ night out" that I’ve had in a long, long time and I was feeling like I was abandoning my family by doing so.

My question for you is this: How often do you have a guys’ or girls’ night out?  When you do, do you feel guilty for leaving your family?

(NOTE: To balance out my night out, B had a girls’ night out of her own the very next week.)


Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

Aloha #14

Cooking With TechyDad: Sneaky Macaroni and Cheese Muffins

JSL loves macaroni and cheese. If we let him, he’d eat “Mac Cheeze” for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Of course, if we let him live off of boxed macaroni and cheese, he wouldn’t be getting vital nutrients. He’s going to keep wanting macaroni and cheese, so we’ve got to somehow find a way to make it healthier. Mixing in chunks of broccoli doesn’t work. He finds those and freaks out. So what do we do? Luckily, Missy Lapine, also known as The Sneaky Chef, has an answer.

This is a very simple recipe. It only has four ingredients: Eggs, Orange Puree, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, and Macaroni.

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First cook the macaroni. After all, you don’t want Crunchy Macaroni and Cheese. While that’s going on, crack 4 eggs and mix them into 1 cup of puree.

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Now, mix in 1 cup of the macaroni and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese. (NOTE: Just before this point, we decided to make a double batch. Thus the sudden increase in the egg/puree level and the massive amount of muffins later on.)

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Take this mixture and portion it out into muffin cups. Top with some more cheddar cheese if you like. (We did ours without and they came out just fine.)

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Bake for 20-22 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

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When they come out, eat.

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NHL liked these. JSL was tired at the time and so cranky in general. I think the muffin shape threw him. He’s used to macaroni and cheese being slopped out onto a plate. Having it in a hand held shape was just too confusing. B and I loved these and ate…. well, we probably ate more than we should have. This recipe will *definitely* be made again and again.

As a bonus, the macaroni and cheese muffins can be frozen for long term storage. Honestly, though, I don’t think they’ll really last too long. They’re too delicious. In addition, I can personally attest to the fact that they taste good cold. *cough*late night snack*cough* The full recipe to this is available on Missy’s website.

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