I got my eye on you!

Supervising teenagers is a dangerous and challenging profession. Without any help from others, they are genetically driven to do stupid and dangerous things. And they certainly won't take much advice from anyone who just might...might...have some clue about how life works.

But before I go off on a tangent about teenagers (okay, MY teenagers...not just teenagers in general), let me get to the point of this. Which is not just about supervising teens. It is more about supervising teens who are dating.

So far, in our house, that has been our oldest son...Son20. Now that he is 20, we pretty much just hope that we've taught him well enough that he won't do every stupid thing he thinks of. And we know he has plenty of condoms. And the girl he dates is pleasant and mostly polite and they seem to treat each other with respect and affection.

But he wasn't always 20. There were the girls he dated when he was going through high school. And along the way, there were all the rules about how one light must be on when the two of you are watching TV...you can't both lay down on the couch under the blanket to watch TV...you can't take the girls to your room even if they really do want to play Nintendo...etc...etc...etc. And for the most part, he is a good kid and listened.

But it may be different when Daughter14 finally starts to date. It might be time to break out the intimidation stick and beat a couple boys with the stern looks and threatening presence. The problem is, I just don't have it in me. I'm pretty thin...so I don't look very threatening. And I have some concern that my stern look really looks more like I might have a bit of gas. So we might have to think outside the box on this one.

Like the first girl Son20 dated. Her parents were nice and polite. But for some reason, the kids always preferred to get together at our house to watch TV rather than go to her house. It wasn't until after they broke up that Son20 revealed the reason. It seems when they would watch TV at her house, the rule was the door to the family must stay open. Well, no problem there. But just around the corner from the family room door, in the living room, her dad would take that opportunity to clean his gun. Every time. It was the cleanest gun in Connecticut, without a doubt.

It was also the two most intimidated kids on the east coast!

I don't own a gun. Not a real one anyway. But I'm sure I've got that Nerf pistol around here somewhere!

Wanna catch a movie?

A couple of days ago I got an e-mail invitation from Dorky Dad's Facebook page. He invited me to check out our movie compatibility. How could I resist? I mean, if we only lived about 1300 miles closer together, we might even be able to catch a movie together. Just two good blogger buddies hanging out at the cinema.

But then I took the little quiz. Oops!

While we scored as "casual buddies", it seems clear that if we tried to choose a comedy we would both enjoy, the entire outing would end in a war of raisinetes and goobers. On the other hand, we do seem pretty compatible on the...uhhh...love stuff. But I don't think I'm driving 1300 miles just so Dorky Dad and I can share a box of kleenex while we sniff our way through The Way We Were.

But the fun thing about this Facebook movie compatibility test was that it also let me compare my score to any other friends who had taken the quiz. Again, how could I resist?

And who would I match up with best? Jessica from Oh The Joys!

It looks like we could spend a fun evening at the movies and not have any difficulty at all in finding a movie we would both enjoy. Sounds good to me!

So Jessica, just let me know when you're free and I'll meet you in the lobby.

I'll be the one in the Park Ranger outfit. ;)

Let me be your hero!

I know, I've not written for a while. Bad blogger! But I've had to write so much for work that I was tired of writing. I wasn't totally absent. I've tried to visit your sites now and then. But sometimes leaving a comment was even more typing than I could manage. And some of you have written just to check on me...and I'm greatly appreciate that!

But while things at work left me not wanting to write, it didn't entirely stop me from having some fun. No way. I definitely needed some recreation and the kids have provided it. They have totally sucked me in and now I'm addicted.

That's right...I'm a Guitar Hero!

The kids have been playing this thing for months. Guitar Hero I and II. And of course, Rocks the 80's. I've watched from time to time...but it didn't have that much appeal. Until the finally talked me into trying just one song. They finally put that cherry red Gibson SG in my hands...and I was a rock star.

OMG! How is it possible to have that much fun without really playing the music? I don't know...but I did! Single player mode or multi-player mode. Choose your level and off you go, rocking the house with some awesomely hot licks. Iron Man. I Love Rock and Roll. Killer Queen. Free Bird. I can play them all!

Okay, so I mostly play on the Easy or Medium level while the kids are doing Expert, Career Mode, etc. Big deal. I can always play when they aren't around!

I don't own any leather pants and it has been years since I've had long hair. But don't let that stop you! Go ahead, throw your keys and your undies. Well, gentlemen, you can hang on to your undies! But you can still stand on your chair, hold up your lighters (or in these days, your cell phones), and enjoy the show!

But I promise to take a bit of time from my concert tour to write a bit more often in the future.

Blog Action on the Environment

Blog Action Day and many of us are writing about our contribution to the environment. But more than my contribution, I'm mostly reminded of how much I don't do.

Oh sure, I drive a small car that gets good mileage, but I've never given any thought to car pooling. And we recycle our glass and paper and plastic, and yet we still contribute far too much to the landfill. So sometimes I feel like our efforts won't really make a lot of difference.

But one of our choices has proven me wrong. I've written before about our membership in a local farm that engages in Community Supported Agriculture. We just completed our second year of membership. And it has been a fantastic experience. We consistently get far more produce for our money than we would ever get at the supermarket. Everything we get is fresh picked. It is all grown organically. And we are supporting a local farmer. I feel really good about this and the food is awesome! We eat fresh produce every day for the entire summer and our freezer is packed with frozen veggies and tomato sauce and salsa. We'll be eating food from the farm all winter.

And the support of the farm has been a good thing. The membership in the farm has grown every year. This farm had been a community supported farm for several years before we joined, but in our first year, there were 50 members. This year, it increased to 85...and he turned away close to 40 more. But the support of the local community has allowed him to purchase extra farmland and next year he'll be able to provide food to nearly 125 families in the area.

Local. No fuel or pollution to transport it. Organic. No fertilizers or pesticides in the earth. It tastes fantastic. And I actually get to meet and know the farmer that grows food for my family.

This is one contribution to the environment that I really do think makes a big difference.

Still in my corner...

I began blogging one year ago. In that time I've written 127 posts (this makes 128). I've had a lot of fun thinking about topics. I've become a little more tuned in to the little details of my day as I ponder whether or not something would make good blog material. I've had a chance to try to write creatively in both serious and humorous posts. And I've had a blast.

But that is not the best part of this experience. The totally unexpected aspect of this has been building a community with other bloggers.

See, I never expected anyone to really read this thing! I'm not writing about anything deep or thought-provoking. And there are certainly more creative folks out there. So I expected to write for my own fun and that would be it.

But people did read. Many of you read more than once, even! And you keep coming back. While I've only written 127 posts, I've had just over 12,000 visitors!!! And you've left several thousand comments. Some of you know quite a bit about me and my family by now. And that is awesome.

And I've come to read your blogs. I feel like I "know" many of you now and I look forward to each new item you share. And I still open up my browser and read your posts and leave my comments with a certain sense of awe that you are in Alaska, Canada, Tennessee, Australia, Texas, France, the Philippines, California, Minnesota, South Carolina, England, and yes, even here in Connecticut.

Your posts, your comments, our visits back and forth have connected me with people that I would never meet in real life. Some of those visits have been short. Some of us have traded comments and read about each other a whole bunch of times over the past year. And in some cases, the posts and comments have turned into conversations via e-mail, giving us time to share even more.

When I started this thing, I wondered if I would stick with it. Would I run out of things to say? Would I get bored talking about my own life - which frankly, isn't that fascinating. Would I just get distracted and forget. But none of those things happened. I'm still here in my corner and I'm looking forward to Post #129!

And I'm looking forward to more conversations with you.

In honor of me? Aw, shucks.

I gotta give a shout out to the wonderful folks at Sam Adams Brewery. I mean, how often does a big corporation take time to recognize one individual customer? It simply does not happen.

And yet, they did it. They created a brew just for me.


It surprised me that they did it. Yes, I only drink Sam Adams. But no, I don't drink a lot. So the CEO isn't buying a new yacht based on what I spend.

And yet, they must have done this in my honor. They named it after this month. And my birthday is later this month. Coincidence? I think not. I'm taking full credit for the existence of this tasty seasonal beverage.

Oh I'm sure some of you will say...nay, nay Em...it is in honor of the Oktoberfest festival in Munich. Sure, Oktoberfest is the world's largest fair, drawing more than six million people every year. And yes, they serve a special beer at the festival which is brewed only by select Munich brewers specifically for the festival and served in their giant beer tents. And yes, the entire festival kicks off when the Mayor of Munich taps the first keg. But that is way over there in Germany. With their special beer. In the tents.

This is here...with a different special beer...in my house. In the month of my birthday.

Synchronicity.

I'm not really complaining...but...

Almost 5:00 on Saturday afternoon, October 6. This just isn't typical!

I love warm weather. But I also love the fall. If this keeps up, we'll be Trick or Treating with sunscreen! I think I'm ready for a touch of New England fall.