No doubt about it, growing up with siblings makes for a well-rounded individual. Being the third of four brats has its benefits and drawbacks. I had an older brother constantly threatening my life, an older sister bossing me around, and a little brother I was able to take my frustrations out on. Besides …
Running away from home
Unless your childhood was perfect, your family was probably pretty good at upsetting you. Surely we all dealt with this in different ways – the most common being running away from home. Mom would blame you for something your brother did, and the next thing you knew, you were packing up your G.I. Joe or …
Kid Recipes
Life was so simple as a kid. Though I’m still a kid at heart, there is just no going back to the times when I didn’t have a care in the world other than which neighbor’s yard I was playing in. Though it’s nearly impossible to recall the portion of our lives that were …
The toaster mystery
On most toasters, a simple instruction is embedded in the section between the two bread slots. This message, "One Slice ^" surely serves a purpose. I refuse to believe manufacturers would stamp this message on every single toaster for no reason. However, the reason for the etching of this instruction is yet to be revealed. …
Fundraising
As a kid, I never did much fundraising. My parents felt pressuring neighbors into purchasing things to support my school trips was inappropriate. This was fine by me — if Mom and Dad were willing to pay, why would I stand out in the cold while Mrs. Schmidt decided on what kind of pie she wanted? …
Christmas Cookies
The first snow has fallen, Thanksgiving has taken place, and we have moved into the month of December. It would be a shame to reach Christmas before having made several batches of Christmas cookies. Every year, a few members of my family block out their schedule to help make dozens of these delicious treats. Initially, …
Box of Chocolates
As we all know, the Christmas season brings on candy canes, sugar cookies, and the dreaded box of chocolates. I, for one, am not even remotely a fan. Despite my dislike for chocolates, I always trick myself into believing the box may have something good to offer. I struggle with identifying which chocolates are which. …
Shopping Trip
Doing my rounds at a grocery store this week, I saw the cutest little girl on her tiptoes next to the bulk candy. She was quickly scooping large amounts of sweets into several bags. She appeared to be unsupervised and apparently had a master plan. When her parents discovered what she was doing, they would …
Dream
Dedicating eight hours to sleep each night means you spend about 1/3 of your life snoozing. It seems like a waste, until you have the dream that solves a problem or gives you a genius idea. I’ve always been fascinated by dreams. High school psychology taught me that writing down all your dreams aided in …
Hey Pretty Lady!
I was walking downtown this week during my lunch break in attempt to find a good location to camp out for an hour. I wasn’t paying much attention to anything going on around me when I heard a cheerful “Hey there pretty lady!” Looking up, there was a middle-aged man on a bike who (for …