Cook with your children, not for them

I have recently taken on a new task with my kids at work. I am cooking with them.
Most children you and I would normally come in contact with do not have any childhood trauma to deal with. Trauma like this will often lead to substance abuse or eating disorders. But as all children get older they will encounter situations where they are exposed to things we can not control and that can also influence their decisions of what to put in their bodies.
I have educated myself in nutrition over my years of formal education. Cooking comes easily to me and I have found it to be a very rewarding activity. Especially when I can teach others how to prepare a more healthy meal.
Teaching children of all ages how to cook and how important it is to be aware of what they put in their bodies may be the most rewarding task I've taken on yet.
Just letting kids participate in the process of preparing a meal helps them feel important. It can also mold their eating habbits for life.
I'm always looking for new things to cook with my kids. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Next time you're preparing dinner (Thanksgiving is a great time), remember to include your kids or grandkids in the process.

The joy of dating...

I haven't updated this in such a long time....because I forgot my password and I've learned it is very hard to get in again after that.

Lately I have settled in nicely to my (what I'm discovering might be permanent) position as the third, fifth, seventh, or any other odd number wheel among my group of friends. We go to the symphony, dinner, the movies, and many special events together. They even let me come over now and then when I'm in need of someone to cook for. I think we both get great pleasure from an event like that though.

Going on dates lately hasn't been something I've been trying too hard to do. I have no real reasons. I'm not bitter. I'm not overly picky. I'm definitely not having trouble finding someone to date. Instead, I am highly amused by the few dates I have been on in the past few months. For all those of you who are married out there...this should be a fun reminder of why you're not single anymore.

• A good one was the man who offered to buy me a car on our first date. While talking about what we might do for a second date, this man saw my car and the dent in the side of it. At first I was slightly embarrassed about my car, but then he suggested that maybe he should buy me a new car on our second date. Some might think he was kidding, and I did too. I quickly found out he couldn't have been more serious. I was no longer embarrassed, but now I was frantically looking for the fastest excuse to leave and not have a second date. I might be old fashioned, but I never thought a new car was they way to a woman's heart. That, and being a little to forward was what cost him any further dates.


• This one may be my favorite. I was invited to a social event with a man I've known through friends for several months. We get to the event and meet his friend and his friend's girlfriend. At that time I believe it is a double date or even just a friendly way to get to know each other better. Soon I am introduced to two friends of the other girl who is with us. This is where I show how naive I still am. I think these other girls just happened to be there by chance. I'm not one who needs to be babysat so when the boys seperate from the girls for a few minutes I try to join in the conversation. Suddenly the girls either won't speak to me, or are very short and almost rude with what they say. I excuse myself to find the boys and figure out why this happened. End result: One of the other girls was actually on a date with my date (neither of us knew this), and another one of their friends had previously been dating my date for several months and may have still been dating him. Next, I meet another lovely young woman speaking with my date. She had the very same thing happen to her just a month or so earlier, with my date. How many dates does one man need in one night? I believe most men who are so bold to make more than one date in a night at least try to schedule them at different times. Very confusing, but in the end very funny.


• I went on a date just last week with one of the first people I ever dated. Though we didn't date for very long, I'm surprised he could remember anything at all. I went through a number of events that occurred while we were dating and he didn't remember a thing. One very unforgetable date was our first one. I wasn't old enough to date and he wanted to go to a movie with me so my parents came. Yes, this is embarrassing for both parties. If you ever had a date where someone's parents came along, would you EVER forget it?!


• I had been on a date with one gentleman before and I decided to meet him at his house for our second date. We met there and were planning to go out from there. First, he couldn't decide where we would be going. I offered several suggestions thinking I might know the area better. This didn't seem to help him. We spent at least thirty minutes playing this game before we made a decision on dinner. Next, we were about to leave the parking lot when he told me he forgot something and we needed to go back. I decided to go inside with him. I then found out he forgot to put gel in his hair. Men should not be more particular about their hair than women. We didn't stop dating for that reason, but he never learned to make a decision for any of our dates. I shouldn't have to do all the work while he spends time on his hair.

My current difficulty lies with trying to find a polite way to turn down a date. I went on dates for fun when I was much younger but now that I'm older I don't have the patience to make conversation with a person I couldn't (or didn't want to) talk to when I first met them. I've been asked to dinner, special events, and many many things with people I'd rather not go with. Maybe I'm so comfortable with going to these events with my dearest friends that its much harder to find someone I would have as much fun with. For now, I'm much to comfortable with this routine to change it. Maybe I'll consider letting someone else join us if it's really the right person.