11

Stuffed Burgers On The Grill

Have you had a stuffed burger? If not, why not? They're incredible. To be honest, I always used to sandwich my toppings in between two patties of b...

absw_toys

Angry Birds Star Wars Toys Are Awes...

For the unlucky few out there who aren't aware, May 4th is officially known as Star Wars Day. Why the 4th? It's a play on words, of course. "May t...

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I Miss My Mom

Six years ago today, March 21, 2007, I lost the most wonderful woman in the world. My Mother. She was a rock, she was giving, loving, caring, fun ...

roscoe1

Losing Your Best Friend SUCKS

[caption id="attachment_213" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Roscoe, the dog who never met a grilled meat he didn't like.[/caption] I'm a Dad. I'm a...

Recipes

11

Stuffed Burgers On The Grill

May 10 no comments

Have you had a stuffed burger? If not, why not? They're incredible. To be honest, I always used to sandwich my toppings in between two pa...

Dad's Thoughts

Team_Ribbon_Logo

I Miss My Mom

March 21 no comments

Six years ago today, March 21, 2007, I lost the most wonderful woman in the world. My Mother. Sh...

Around The House

storm

We Might Be Leaving Kansas, Toto

January 30 no comments

[caption id="attachment_61" align="aligncenter" width="348"] Auntie Em, Auntie Em! Save my beer![/caption] It's about to storm like you w...

Family

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Angry Birds Star Wars Toys Are Awesome

April 29 no comments

For the unlucky few out there who aren't aware, May 4th is officially known as Star Wars Day. Why the 4th? It's a play on words, of cour...

Stuffed Burgers On The Grill

May. 10 Dinner, Recipes no comments

Have you had a stuffed burger? If not, why not? They’re incredible.

To be honest, I always used to sandwich my toppings in between two patties of beef and try to seal it by pinching the edges together. It works, but it’s not the greatest way to go about it. So the other day I was at Lowes and they had a stuffed burger press for sale for a measly $6! Of course, I slipped it in with the other purchases and brought it home.

The way it works is that you press a patty of beef into a cup shape. Then you fill it with your “toppings” and then add a thin layer of meat to the top and press again to seal it. Mine turned out to be about 1/2 pound hockey pucks full of jalapenos, cheese and bacon. Yours could be filled with anything that will fit.

My dearly devoted wife took pictures of the process in making the patties so I could share them with you here. It’s a little time consuming, but it’s so well worth it.

Here we go:

1. Put meat in the press, about 1/3 pound, and press with the small side of the press to create the “cup”.

P5100264

 

2. The cup:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

3. The filling:

 

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4.  The patty topper

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5.  Pressing the patties together:

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6.  Removing the patty:

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And there you have it.  Grill as you normally would, but resist the urge to press your patties to speed cooking.  Everything will ooze out of them if you press on them with your spatula.

Well, not quite, you have to put them on your grill first:

grill

 

Grill to perfection:

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Why’s there only three?  Well these have homemade pickled jalapenos in them, the kids already dug in to their jalapeno-less burgers and that was a mess to take a picture of.

Here’s the sandwich and fries:

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And here it is cut open:

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If I could do one thing different, it would be to pack more cheese inside.  It tends to melt into the burger surrounding it and while you can taste it, you can’t see it.  That was a deal breaker for the kids, and we had to add a slice of American to the top of theirs so they’d finish them.  It wasn’t a taste issue, mind you, it was a visual issue.

Seriously though, get you a burger press and make these as soon as you can. They’re incredible.

Angry Birds Star Wars Toys Are Awesome

Apr. 29 Family no comments

4thwithyou

For the unlucky few out there who aren’t aware, May 4th is officially known as Star Wars Day. Why the 4th? It’s a play on words, of course. “May the 4th Be With You”.

Additionally, there is some history to it beyond just that convenient tidbit of word play. From the official Star Wars website:

One of the earliest known records of “May the 4th” used in popular culture is in 1979, as described here by author Alan Arnold while he was chronicling the making of The Empire Strikes Back for Lucasfilm:

Friday, May 4

“Margaret Thatcher has won the election and become Britain’s first woman prime minister. To celebrate their victory her party took a half page of advertising space in the London Evening News. This message, referring to the day of victory, was ‘May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations,’ further proof of the extent to which Star Wars has influenced us all.”

Once the Internet allowed Star Wars fans around the world to connect with one another, May the 4th soon became a grassroots tradition each year, with fans online and offline proclaiming it “Star Wars Day.”

See? It’s almost as ingrained in our culture as Christmas and, dare I say, Arbor Day!

So what’s this got to do with toys? I’m glad you asked, anonymous internet visitor. It seems that somewhere along the way Angry Birds, a game some of you may be familiar with, and Star Wars got together and put out a special edition of the ever popular app for smart phones. Interestingly enough, they called it “Angry Birds, Star Wars Edition”.

Anyways, in addition to the video version of the game, Hasbro has just released a slew of great new toys that you and your kids can actually interact with on your own. I was fortunate enough to receive a few of them in return for sharing my thoughts with you on these toys. Read on for my findings.

Angry Birds Star Wars Millennium Falcon Bounce Game

millennium falcon gameNow, I’m sure some of you parents might remember a game in college called Beer Pong. And now that you’re a responsible adult who doesn’t have time for such silliness and irresponsible behavior, you’re thinking that all those hours of effort are going to forever go to waste. WRONG!

Hasbro developed this very Kid-Friendly version of the game, in which the Millennium Falcon becomes your target and you attempt to knock Star Wars themed pigs off of the ship, land your Chewbacca (or other Star Wars Character) Ping Pong ball in the ship itself for bonus points. This game is an absolute blast with your kids.

In my house, my three boys aged 13, 10 and 8, sat at the kitchen table playing this one for a very long time. I had to muscle my way in to get a few shots myself. I was skeptical that it would hold their attention at first, seeing as how it wasn’t digital and on a big screen in front of them, but surprisingly they found the challenge of landing that ball just right to be fascinating.  Also, you can purchase additional, collectible bouncers to add to the fun.

bounceballs

If I were to grade this toy, I’d have to give it a solid B+. The rules and gameplay are simple enough that even the youngest member of the family can participate, but the challenge is great enough that the adults are all going to want to show off who’s still the Fraternity Champ after all these years. If there was one negative I found, it is that sometimes the target birds slide into the ship and it makes it difficult for large fingers (Dad fingers) to retrieve the pieces. That’s a very minor knock on a very fun little game.

Angry Birds Star Wars AT AT Attack Battle Game

at at attack

For play value, you’re not going to beat this game.  This was the second game I received to try out, and let me tell you, even Mom insisted on launching a miniature bird-shaped Han Solo across the room. Full disclosure: Mom tolerates (barely) Dad’s love of Star Wars.

This game is part model building, part catapult strategy and 100% fun! You build up the AT AT and place your Empirical Pigs around the target. Then you grab your Light Saber catapult, a handful of Rebel Birds and take aim.

My youngest son spent an entire afternoon building new AT ATs and taking different approaches to attacking it. I even spent a good part of the day building and demolishing the invading forces. Hasbro has also created other play sets in this same game style. You can choose from the AT AT, Jabba’s Palace and Battle at Tatooine. There may be more than that, but those are the ones I know of for certain.

Hasbro-Angry-Birds-Star-Wars-Fight-on-Tatooine-Battle-Game-Package1

If I were to grade this toy? It’s absolutely an A+ in our home. It’s interactive, it teaches motor skills and best of all, it’s supposed to get destroyed when you play with it. I have a feeling we’ll be hosting a tournament version here very shortly.

Angry Birds Star Wars Foam Flyers

foam flyer

 

I’m going to apologize in advance to the good people at Hasbro. These lightweight, super squishy and extra soft Foam Flyers may be meant to play a larger version of Angry Birds with your other toys, or they may be intended to play a safe game of indoor catch. At my house, it immediately became a projectile weapon to attack my unsuspecting kids with.

It’s soft. It’s safe. It’s about the size of a baseball, and when you have kids you know they’re going to throw something at each other eventually. Given a choice, I’d rather it be this Foam Flyer than their commemorative baseball from the Minor League baseball team.

Any toy you can throw and not break something while indoors gets high marks in my book. We have fun ambushing each other throughout the day, and while I only received the Stormtrooper to try out, I’m heading out to the store this weekend to pick up the rest.

What? A Dad has a right to defend himself in his own home.

Final Thoughts

Normally, we don’t rush out to buy the latest “themed” toys because many of them seem rushed to market to capitalize simply on the theme’s fleeting fame. Any number of super hero toys that we’ve owned have inevitably fallen short of the mark.

My honest impression of these Angry Birds Star Wars toys is that they put a lot of thought into making something that won’t be played with one time and then relegated to the top shelf of the closet, never to be seen again until it’s Yard Sale time. These two games that I received will get a lot of use in the coming months.

Image source: starwars.com

Image source: starwars.com

 

 

I Miss My Mom

Mar. 21 Dad's Thoughts no comments

photo

Six years ago today, March 21, 2007, I lost the most wonderful woman in the world. My Mother. She was a rock, she was giving, loving, caring, fun and fantastic. There aren’t enough words to describe her.

For the last 8 years of her too-short life, she battled dementia. They said it was a form of Alzheimer’s. We visited tons of doctors and specialists, and never got a definitive diagnoses. It was horrible.

Today marks the sixth anniversary of her passing, and it still hurts just as much today as it did back then, to know that the world, and my children have lost such an amazing woman. She never complained, she never put herself first and she loved her grandbabies with all of her heart. They didn’t get to truly know her as she once was, two of them barely remember her at all, but they were loved with a heart so big, they can still feel it today.

On March 23rd, it will be my father’s 75th birthday. We have nothing but great memories of our time together with Mom.  They were married for just shy of 50 years, and were together for nearly 55 years.  And he misses her every day. I miss her every day.

To try to explain her in a blog post would be a herculean effort. I would be writing for weeks, at a minimum. This is a woman who never drank, never cussed and never had a bad word to say about anyone. She endured life with my father and myself, and she loved us without question. We were awful people, still are in fact, but she was our number one supporter no matter what.

It’s on this day, I want to remember the woman she was, not the woman she became thanks to Alzheimer’s. It’s a disgusting disease that robs a person of everything they are. I would so deeply appreciate it if those of you who visit this site can take a minute to click this link: The Alzheimer’s Foundation and make a token donation to the cause for a cure. If you can make it in her name, I would be eternally grateful.  Joneta C. Mothershead, Loving Wife, Mother, Sister, Aunt and Grandmother.Obviously, you don’t have to and I won’t judge you if you don’t.

Six years to the day, and I still miss my Mom. She was and still is, the best person I have ever had the privilege to know in my life.

Losing Your Best Friend SUCKS

Mar. 11 Dad's Thoughts 4 comments
roscoe1

Roscoe, the dog who never met a grilled meat he didn’t like.

I’m a Dad. I’m a husband. I’m a best friend to two, four-legged animals. Roscoe and Jewels are my adopted babies.

Let me back track a bit here. When we first moved to South Carolina from Maryland, nearly 9 years ago, we had a Beagle named Buddy. He was a stubborn animal, but so good with the kids, and so friendly and loving, he was part of the family. Unfortunately, he got sick shortly after we moved in and got settled and we had to have him put down. That was god-awful miserable, especially since we weren’t expecting it. Luckily the kids were mostly all so young, we didn’t have to do a lot of explaining and dealing with the pain. It about killed me, but I’m a big boy and I got through it just fine.

Fast forward a year or so, and we adopted Jewels as a puppy. She’s a Rottweiler/Lab/Something mix of a mutt and she came home to us at 7 weeks old. She’s the sweetest little dog you could hope for. The problem we had was that she was bored during the day and would dig under the fence to escape into the world. Despite my best efforts at plugging the holes, she always found a new one.

jewels

The world’s most finicky, persnickety dog.

That’s when I had the bright idea to get her a friend. A dog to hang out with in the backyard, have adventures and keep her occupied. So we went back to the shelter and looked around. In the outdoor pens, this big lummox of a best game trotting up to me before we ever got inside. He was huge, nearly 100 pounds and was pure white but for a few brown patches. I wanted him immediately. He was the first dog to come greet us and he really looked like he wanted a loving home. So the wife relented and we brought Roscoe home that day. His name was her idea, I wanted to call him “Old Paint” since he looked like a horse, but she refused.

And it worked. Jewels quit digging, and adjusted to life as we had hoped. Roscoe was already five or six or seven years old at the time we got him, (nobody really knew for sure) and apparently came from a pretty neglectful house. He wasn’t one to play fetch or roll over or any of that other cool-dog-trick stuff, but he was lovable. He like to have his ears scratched and he loved to eat. Sometimes to the detriment of our dinner on the grill. There were times he’d sneak off with hamburger buns behind my back and times that he’d drive you crazy for that steak bone. But that’s all he wanted out of life.

Also, being a hound of some indeterminate origin, he loved to sneak out of the yard when the kids wouldn’t lock the gate, or when I accidentally burned down part of the fence with my grill. (don’t ask). When he would get out, he would point his nose in one direction and keep following it. We must have spent over $600 in fines from animal control to reclaim him from the pound. We’d get calls from families who found him and took him in, and they lived 20 miles away from us. He traveled wherever the hell he wanted, not giving a damn. When he finally got tired, he’d lay down and someone would retrieve him. And he never gave a shit. He’d come home, panting with that goofy grin on his face, and wait patiently for a snack or dinner. This dog, while he was never rowdy, definitely gave me a fit. And after the anger would wear off, we’d be fast friends again. He never quite understood what I was so upset about, he was just exploring.

Fast forward to today, almost 6 years later and he’s in bad health. His hips have failed him, his appetite is all but gone, and he’s just miserable most of the time. Selfishly, I put this decision off for too long, but finally today, we had him put to sleep. If anyone tries to tell you that losing your best friend is easy, they’ve never loved or known the love of a great dog. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to experience, and I’ve done it before with other best friends.

It’s funny, how easy it is to forget they’re dogs and get to relying on their presence and companionship. It’s easy to forget about them in your busy, day-to-day life and at the end of the day, they still love you completely and unconditionally. All they really ask for is some food, love and attention. And Roscoe personified “best friend” in that respect. He was smelly, stubborn and mostly wanted to be left the hell alone, but he was a big old baby too.

Having to tell my boys was even harder than having to tell myself. We explained to them how he was hurting and how this was better for him in the long run. We told them it was ok to be hurting and sad. Then we all cried and hugged and accepted that we should celebrate the time we had with him, instead of mourning the times we’ll no longer have. It’s still a fresh wound and it’s going to hurt for a while, but we can sleep at night knowing that Roscoe no longer has pain in his life.

So, this is my farewell to my buddy, my big ol’ goofy boy. Roscoe, we’re going to miss you buddy.

Rest In Peace Fella.

Camping With Kids – The Maiden Voyage

Mar. 11 Family no comments

popupYou may recall that I posted a quick entry here about us becoming the proud new owners of an old camper.  Well, after about a month of off and on work, I finally got all the repairs taken care of, reassembled the camper and we got stocked up on some essentials to help us make roughing it a little less rough.

This weekend coming up will be our maiden voyage. My father and his lady friend have invited us to come camping with them in Sycamore Lodge, an RV park in North Carolina. Having never been there before, we’re really looking forward to this trip.

The kids are excited about finally getting to camp out and we’re just counting down the days. This will be our first trip, although it won’t be my first trip.

You see, when I was a kid, my parents and I used to go camping every month from April to November. When I say camping, I don’t mean in tents and sleeping bags, but rather in a large travel trailer that was more like a rolling hotel. But that was fine by us. We didn’t want to rough it so much as we just wanted to get away from life’s responsibilities for a little while.

traveltrailerMostly it was fun. We belonged to a camping club with other families and we traveled all up and down the Eastern Seaboard. The club was full of people who were mostly pushing retirement age, their children had long ago grown up and moved on with their lives and I often found myself as the only child among them. So it wasn’t great in a sense that I had a lot of friends to hang out with every trip, but the people were an eclectic and fun bunch never the less.

There was a group of men who were in a band together. They played mostly country music and would typically get together every Saturday night and play for all of us to enjoy. When my parents were voted to be the leaders of the club for two years, we had even more fun. We’d organize game days, yard sales, events, etc. And it was a blast.

old menI always hated to go, but usually found a way to have fun after we got there. There were campfires, playgrounds, arcades, mini golf, visits to the local area to tour what they had to offer. The older men were always willing to teach me something if I was so inclined to learn it from them. The jokes and the stories were always a blast.

While we don’t have a club that we belong to (yet), we’re still going to try to make the most out of every trip with the boys. We’ll only be taking three of them with us, as the oldest son is 19 and in the National Guard, and working on getting full time employment as well. Plus, he doesn’t want to hang with Mom and Dad and his brothers if he doesn’t absolutely have to.

75thFor this trip, we’re just going to see how it goes, celebrate my father’s 75th birthday in style and enjoy ourselves. The next trip is already planned for Lake Hartwell during Spring Break. By then, we’ll have the kids’ fishing poles and we get to spend a day or three learning the fine art of patience on the water. I mostly remember having fun with my parents on our trips and I’m really looking forward to sharing that same experience with my children.

Do any of you camp or have fond memories of camping? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Diet Update – I’m A Failure

Feb. 26 Dad's Thoughts no comments

No Willpower[3]So, a little over two weeks ago, I announced right here that I was planning a new diet and exercise routine. And for the entire first week, I think I did great. For me, at least. I stuck to the plan, fasted for 16 hours a day, avoided alcohol and worked out.

And as always seems to be the case in my life, anytime I intend to try to start something new or get into a new routine, things go to hell.  Let me explain.

The first night of my exercise plan, I was in workout mode. I got through the first set of exercises in my circuit and was starting on the second set when my father called. My father is 75 years old this year and he’s gotten to the point where he talks for hours on end about nothing in particular only to get to his point at the one hour mark. And thus, this interrupted my momentum.

Needless to say, I struggled through the rest of my set, after having an unplanned hour long break between circuits. I also discovered just how out of shape I truly am that night. For the next two days, I was so sore in my thighs, it was all I could do to stand up off the couch. That was expected, having done squats for the first time since I was in high school.

So, my initial momentum was thrown off. Then financial disaster struck us, nothing outrageous, but we had to deal with the stress and figure things out. Then Valentine’s Day and my 38th birthday happened. To celebrate, I had some beer with dinner. Then some more the next night, because you’re only 38 once!

Further, my father’s lady friend had to undergo surgery, he needed help with some things that required my time and talents, the ceiling in our bedroom needed repaired to the tune of almost 2 full sheets of drywall, it was tax time, etc. Basically I have excuses, and I realize that. But I don’t deal well with too much stress all at one time. If I can spread it out a bit, I can deal just fine.

It just felt like everything was going on at one time, and my focus turned to problem solving, not sticking to my plan. I need to work on that, personally.

excusesWhat I’m saying here, is I have just slightly more than absolutely zero willpower. I tried to get back into my routine and just couldn’t work up the same desire as I initially had. But I’m not beating myself up here. I WILL get back up on that horse, and I am working to get everything else in order this week so I can start again next week with a clean slate.

In writing this post, I realize just how petty all of my excuses really are. I allowed myself to fall into the “yeah, but” trap. That’s a dangerous place to be, especially if you lack the willpower to push through it all. I think what I need is a fresh start with a clear mind.

I may have lost this battle, but I will not lose the war. I intend fully to turn 39 in a much better state of health and fitness.

We’re Officially “Campers” Now

Feb. 19 Family no comments

Last week, thanks to a very generous Grandfather, we are now the proud owners of this:

popup

Yep, that right there is a 1988 Jayco JayDove 6 PopUp camper. It’s not fancy, it certainly needs some work, but it was acquired at less than $700 and any problems it has are simply cosmetic. Structurally speaking, it’s in primo shape!

This is a big deal to us, because as any family with multiple children can tell you, travelling expenses are ridiculous when you want to take a weekend trip. Hotels are typically around a minimum $100/night if you want an efficiency where you can cook your own meals at the room as opposed to dropping $100 per day on eating out.

Additionally, we’ve been wanting to get the boys out fishing and hiking, and basically just get them the hell away from video screens. Now, we can.

I remember when I was a boy growing up, my parents owned travel trailers (much nicer than this one, almost like a hotel on wheels) and we would camp out (or RV if you’re a purist I guess) at least one weekend per month from April to October and we’d take a week long vacation every Summer as well. Campgrounds charge considerably less for a site per night than you can expect to pay for a hotel room, and many campgrounds have pools, recreation centers, miniature golf courses, and other activities so that you always have something to keep the kids busy.

So yes, we’re finally going to be campers. It’s a step up from having to sleep on the ground and that’s a huge plus in my book. I did my share of tent camping as a teenager with my friends, and even back in my younger and more limber days, I would wake up stiff and sore from sleeping on the ground. Perhaps, I’m just not built for true roughing it.

As a bonus, I have this set up in the yard right now while I figure out what I need to do to fix up the looks and the kids have already spent two nights camping out in it. It’s almost like having a babysitter built in. They’re not more than 30 yards from the front door, and we can leave a window open to keep an eye on them all night long. A little alone time with Momma goes a LONG way.

First Day of Healthy Living

Feb. 12 Dad's Thoughts 2 comments

starting2

Yesterday was the day. The day I started my journey towards a slightly healthier lifestyle. Instead of my usual truckload of bacon, eggs and hash browns, I had black coffee for breakfast. Instead of deep fried butter for dinner, we made Arroz con Pollo (you can find that recipe here). And you know, it wasn’t half bad.

I figure I’ve had nearly 38 entire years of being and eating whatever the hell I wanted. I don’t regret it so much as I realize it’s time to make a change before it’s way too late to do anything about it. I am following a diet plan known as Intermittent Fasting (IF). You don’t starve yourself, you don’t ingest crazy chemical compounds to curb your hunger, you simply don’t eat for a portion of the day, every day. Read more

Arroz con Pollo – A Healthy Chicken Dinner

Feb. 12 Dinner, Recipes 1 comment

plated

I found this recipe a while back at EatingWell.com and it looked like something my family would definitely enjoy eating. As a bonus, it’s pretty good for you too. Each serving is about 380 calories and that’s important here as we’re all trying to reduce our caloric intake.

So let’s get to it and learn how to make Arroz con Pollo, or Chicken with Rice! Read more

Farts in Cars in the Smoky Mountains

Feb. 07 Family no comments

What is it about a fart that just reduces boys into quivering, convulsing mounds of raucous laughter? I mean, I’m a guy so I absolutely get why a fart in and of itself is funny. I’m not completely stupid. But the amount of joy that a poot can bring to a young boy is immeasurable.

Girls don't see the humor.

Girls don’t see the humor.

My kids, they’re all fart ninjas. It’s like their sole function in life is to either produce gas or to point it out and die from the absurdity of it all. We took them on a Christmas vacation to Gatlinburg Tennessee this past year and our 13 year old, Jesse, tried to kill us with chemical warfare the entire time. And the other two, well, they alternated between asphyxiation by way of methane and asphyxiation by way of laughter.

Myself and their mother, however, failed to see too much humor in being shut up tight in a Dodge Durango, in freezing temperatures and having to endure the most eye-watering, throat closing, noxious gas ever created by a living creature. Seriously, dogs eating Hormel chili don’t smell this bad. I am truly of the opinion that something crawled up inside my son, died and then something else crawled in there, ate the first dead thing and died as a result of it. Either that, or he’s got some Dark Side force gas that shouldn’t be possible in nature.

cloudYou see, when it’s near freezing outside we typically try to keep the heat running the car and the windows up to preserve the heat that we have. As one would typically do in such conditions. Normally, it works out just as you would expect it to.

However, on this particular trek into the Smoky Mountains, we wound up with a visit from the swampy ass of a pre-teen. He was truly in rare form. And it seemed that just as soon as one violent attack on our olfactory senses would dissipate, he’d unleash another round of carpet bombs, designed solely to test our wills.

It's doubtful this would have helped in the least.

It’s doubtful this would have helped in the least.

Finally, after trying in vain to suffer through it in silence and disgust, we relented and put down the windows. If you’ve never been to Gatlinburg, there is a two-lane road that runs through the town and sidewalks crammed with tourists on either side. At best, you move at the blistering pace of 3 miles an hour. What I’m saying is, there wasn’t a lot of wind being generated to help remove the stench.

Welcome to the Smoky Moun...JEEEEZUS What's that smell?

Welcome to the Smoky Moun…JEEEEZUS What’s that smell?

As we rolled down the windows, Aaron said through his shirt covered face, “We’re going to have to apologize to everyone on the sidewalk when that leaks out of here!”.

And that, friends, is the story of our Smoky Mountain Christmas vacation. Do you have anyone in your family that just lights up a room with the thickest, most despicable odors? How do you deal with it?