Friday, October 27, 2017

7 Quick Takes about Visiting 1990 for a Week, Adventures with Popcorn, and Things I Don't Understand about Target

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?

1


Last Friday, I accidentally left my phone at my daughter's violin teacher's house. I didn't realize it until I got home, so instead of making the 60-minute round-trip to pick it up (because you know how much I hate driving all over creation) I asked if she'd hold onto it for me until tonight's lesson.

That means all this week, I've been phoneless. It was awful. I was back to getting my driving directions from a Garmin like a savage.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
I will have you note from this picture that I was actually UNDER the speed limit, and that wasn't even staged.

Actually, I'm kidding. It wasn't that bad. It was just... interesting. I'd forgotten what it was like to just sit with nothing to do for 5 minutes while waiting in the car to pick someone up. Mostly, it was just kind of boring.

I guess that's why in the 90's we all knew what ingredients were in the shampoo after we went to the bathroom.

2



One of my daughters needs braces, so a few weeks ago she got X-rays at the orthodontist and we made an appointment to come back and discuss a treatment plan.

Braces is kind of a huge expenditure (it was basically braces or the private beachfront villa in Maui) so I wanted Phillip to be there, too.

So he took off work and everything, only to have the orthodontist tell us we needed to go back to our regular dentist for one more scan before she could make a treatment plan for my daughter.

Seriously? This wasn't information that could have been conveyed to us over the phone? Apparently not, based on the fact that my husband took off work so we could spend an hour driving to the office and sitting in the waiting room reading 6-month old issues of People first. Not to mention the co-pay.

I'm really mad over what a complete waste it was, and it's not the only time I've sat through a pointless doctor's appointment that could have easily been a 25-second phone call instead.

3


I was reading a book to my boys at the library when a particularly chatty 3-year-old approached me. She sat down and listened to the rest of the book, then pointed at my preschooler on my lap and said, "Is that your child?"

"Yes."

"And... is that your child?" she asked, pointing to my 1-year-old nearby.

"Yes."

"So you have two childs?"

"I have 6 kids," I told her, "but the older ones are at school right now."

She raised one eyebrow so high I almost laughed out loud. I was pretty amused by this conversation so far, but she wasn't saying anything else so I prompted, "Well, what do you think of that?"

"Weird," she said.

As if she wasn't the one who'd just been jumping around in the dress-up area like a ninja wearing a bridal gown a few minutes ago.

4


Lately, we've been trying to have the kids eat all kinds of healthy stuff. I think they're taking it pretty well.

I was making a grocery list and asked my 3-year-old what we should have for dinner this week.

"Soup!"

"What kind of soup?"

"Da one wiff kale in it."

(To be fair, said soup is also filled with heavy cream and sausage so it's not like we're scheduling a photo shoot for the cover of Clean Eating here.)

Using the kids as guinea pigs for our healthy experiments isn't always successful, though. The other day I wanted to try making some healthier granola bar-like substitutes for my kids' school lunches. My 5-year-old helped make them and when I pulled out the chia seeds she yelled, "Eww, birdseed!"

Ironically, the finished bars tasted just like I imagine birdseed would taste, except maybe a little chewier, and all ended up in the garbage with a single bite taken out of them.

So that was time and money well spent.

5


We make a ton of popcorn at home. We buy loose kernels and have at least 5 lbs of them in the house at any given time. We always make it in a big stock pot on the stove but honestly, it ends badly about as often as it ends well.

After one particular episode involving kernels that were all either burnt or completely unpopped (I don't even know how that happens,) we invested in this microwavable popcorn bowl and so far it has changed our lives.

We have to do 2 batches to feed our whole family, but it still takes less time and the kernels come out perfect. We bought this over an air popper because of space issues, and you can literally fold this bowl flat and shove it in a cupboard.

The unfortunate part is that since it's a silicone bowl, it looks like a jumbo-sized version of the menstrual cups I was shopping for online a few months ago (take #5 here) and once you make that comparison in your head it doesn't go away.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
Sorry for the visual.

6


You probably guessed it already, but my kids take popcorn to school for a snack almost every day. When I was using the bathroom, the 1-year-old figured out how to get in his sister's backpack, remove her lunchbox, and eat her snack.

You know how moms always complain they can't use the restroom without 2 kids and a dog in their face giving them absolutely zero privacy?

Well, just try it with a toddler who wanders in and literally stands there eating popcorn as he watches you finish your business. I feel like next time I should start charging admission.

7


I don't live conveniently to a Target so I hardly ever go there, but I happened to be nearby and needed something, so I stopped in.

I keep hearing about how Target is the ultimate mom oasis, and although I did see a lot of women wearing babies and pushing a cart with a Starbucks cup in the holder, I couldn't help but feel let down.

From the way the Internet talks about Target, when my 1-year-old started crying I half-expected an employee to rush over with free cookies and do a puppet show or something. Maybe I'm missing something, but it was just like going to the grocery store except with less food.

Also, a question about Target: why is everything so huge there? The shopping carts appeared to be the plastic offspring of a monster truck and a parade float.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
Looks like a giant Lego piece.

Merchandise was displayed in these freakishly large baskets I could lay down inside and take a nap.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
Go home, Target. You're drunk.

I don't quite get it, but then again I'm not in on corporate Target's decision-making process. Does research show that making people feel tiny encourages them to buy more stuff? I guess it works for Costco, so maybe.

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11 comments:

Rachel said...

We used a Garmin GPS to get around Cali and Texas when we visited in May! Actually, because neither Angel nor I have phones with data, we've never used phones as GPS devices, so we kind of live old-school all the time. These data phones are probably rather convenient...but I swear they are making people dumber, because when I moved to the US at 17 and learned to drive, I started out by printing MapQuest directions and keeping them in the car when I'd make the road trip from one side of MI to the other to visit my Mom's side of the family, but very quickly I ditched the paper directions because I could remember the exits and could navigate between all my relatives' homes. I still could do that, because all of those places are so familiar. My brother and sisters have been living in MI for 5 years at this point, and regularly visit family, and yet, this summer, when they drove across the state for a family get-together, they had to use the phone GPS, because they didn't know how to get to my uncle's house, and then they ended up getting lost because they only typed in the street instead of the exact house number. And I'm like...seriously? You guys are in your 20s and have lived here for years and can't drive 2 hours from grandpa's house to uncle's house just using your brains? What is happening to the world?
My college freshman sis got her driver's license last month, has been in college for two months, and told me last week that she doesn't think she could find the college from her house if she had to drive alone in the car and with no map. Not like I'm a genius with directions or anything...but man, kids these days.
I had braces when I was 8-9....your daughter has my deepest sympathy. They are the worst. I was the only one who had braces in the US--my parents have since learned that braces are about 1/5th of the price over here. Malaysia has some perks, but I'd certainly take a supermarket like Target or Walmart or Meijer or anything like that...I miss supermarkets in general, I have no brand loyalty, but I like nice clean stores that sell good quality tasty things.

KatieS said...

Find another orthodontist! You will be dealing with and at the office lots, my advice is find one close to home and who runs the office efficiently!

Jenny Evans said...

Pre-GPS I did the same: looked up directions at home, copied them down, and drove to my destination. Now with GPS, I feel like I have to use it the first 20 times I go anywhere. It's because I don't have to look around for when my turn is coming up, or even remember what the name of the street is, because GPS does it for me. I think I will consciously try not to use it sometimes so my brain doesn't disintegrate and leak out of my ears... but it's just so darn convenient it's hard not to!

Jenny Evans said...

I am definitely planning to go to one more for a consultation. This really made me question whether they value my time (or theirs) and whether more things like this will happen in the future making the process longer and more expensive if we go with them.

AnneMarie said...

Haha! That popcorn bowl is hilarious. I definitely cannot unsee that :P I've been thinking about popcorn a lot lately (but I've been too lazy to make it), but now that you've written about it, I think I may have to do that. Maybe this weekend I'll get a batch or two made.

That's kind of cool that you went a week without your phone! I've found that I use my phone less and less; while there are occasional spurts of me texting or calling other people (or vice versa), it seems that most of the day it just sits silently. I even left it behind when I went to the store the other night, and I didn't miss it at all, and it was really peaceful. Maybe I'll do that kind of thing more often. And since my phone is really simple and not smart, I already have to look at maps and write out my own directions, so I don't rely on it for travelling (and I'm seeing that I can find my way better around my city because I'm having to actually learn where I'm going instead of reading it off a phone screen).

Unknown said...

this is the first time I read one of these and I loved it! I had a much needed laugh (esp. The toddler eating popcorn while you use the bathroom)
I'm so glad you choose to share these little tidbits with complete strangers. :)

Jazkabor said...

Target is waaaayyyyy over rated, I too went after all this hype... where was the balloons and parade?

Carolyn Astfalk said...

Does your Target have the giant red balls outside? They're like birthing balls on steroids - except made of concrete. The kids love to climb and slide all over them. Great fun.

Jenny Evans said...

I guess I don't rely on it too much, other than maps and a little texting. It was mostly annoying because Phillip was out of town almost the whole week, and when he's gone I usually text him pictures of the things the kids are doing. I know I could've theoretically taken pictures with a camera, uploaded them onto the computer, and then attached them to email... but that's a lot more work and didn't happen.

Jenny Evans said...

I know, they look like yoga balls you should be able to take a running leap and bounce off of. I'm surprised they haven't been sued. Actually, that gives me an idea...

Unknown said...

That was my first thought, too. After several years of driving 20 minutes to my oldest's orthodontist, I'm taking my younger daughter to the quality one that opened up 5 minutes away.