Picnic Baskets, Chipmunks and Barack Obama...

I was out having lunch with my Mom the other day, and we were sitting near a mother of 3 with her kids and her gal pal. It was a Saturday, so lunch and shopping with the girls is a big To Do on the weekend check list for a lot of people. Anyway, I was very impressed with this woman. She was able to carry a conversation with her friend while handing off coloring books, stuffed animals and a video game to each kid. I'm always blown away at how Moms can do that! It was time for them to order and she ordered for herself, but not for the kids. She had packed meals for all of her children (Super Mom Alert). Now, this place had a kids menu, so it wasn't like the kids wouldn't have anything to eat. The server was totally cool with it and they went on to have a great meal.

Here's what I'm thinking. If a group of six adults were having lunch at a restaurant and 3 of them were ordering but the other 3 brought a picnic basket would they let them stay there? If they say no to the adults, but yes to the kids, is that age discrimination? What if their Mom's packed the picnic basket? I'm not saying that people should walk into Mr. Chow with take-out Panda Express. Plus, to me the issue is not about saving money. What if you want to hang out with your friends, but can't or don't want to eat anything at the restaurant. Like a vegetarian at a steakhouse. I have a veggie friend who would sneak tofu in her purse because she couldn't eat anything on the menu. Yes there are salads, but vegetarians need their protein too, and No seafood doesn't count either (seems obvious I know, but people would suggest the fish dishes to her all the time.) Now, I know there's a MAJOR difference between 3 grown adults bringing a picnic basket and a Mom feeding her baby carrots from a jar...It was just a funny thought:)

As I was thinking about this, I started thinking about theme parks. I know, randoms. Maybe it's 'cause my little cousin is really excited about his trip next month to Disneyland and his Mom and I were talking about it at a family get together the other day (see, I mentioned Moms again..there's the connection!) I recently visited Mickey's House and I do love going there, but it's pricey. Luckily I have a friend that works there...

...and he can get me and a couple of pals in on the house (it's great when we have out of town visitors), but what about a whole family coming in from out of town? I recently met a woman that said she couldn't take her kids to Disneyworld anymore because it's just too expensive. Bummers. And what about people who don't really like going on rides? I love going to Disneyland and Six Flags over My Hammy and all that good stuff, but I'm not a huge roller coaster person. Wait...I take that back. I'm NOT a roller coaster person at all (I'm more of a Small World, E.T. Adventure kinda gal.) I'm a bit freaked out when it comes to heights. It probably has something to do with the time I fell out of a hot air balloon as a kid (okay that didn't really happen, but it's much better than my glass elevator story.) I think Theme parks are really fun, and there are a lot of things to do other than roller coasters...but if someone's not riding all the crazy rides, then why should they pay full price? I mean, I'm not even sure if I'm tall enough to ride on these rides. People like me, Alvin and the rest of the chipmunks should get a special pass or something:)

(ps: I used to LOVE the Chipmunks when I was a kid. I had all of their toys and cassette tapes...yes cassette tapes. This is one of my fave videos that they did)

(okay I'm back...)And again, what about those families that have to pay for Mom, Dad, the kids...wowsers! Plus, Mom AND Dad can't ride on the rides all the time (someone has to hold the Churros), they should be able to split their tickets. Just another random thought (Whew, I kinda feel like Cher right now)

If I could talk to Barack Obama right now I'd ask him to look over these things. I know he'll have a lot of things to take care of like the Economy, and re-decorating the White House and all, but when he's President, these are little things he can take care of fairly quickly and he'll for sure gain major creds for the theme park thingy. So Mr. Future President Obama help us out here and thank you in advance for all that you're going to do.
ps: I LOVED you as Nate in Stomp the Yard and Tom Dilton in Mo Money;)

I'm sorry...how many hot dogs?!?!?

I love the Discovery Channel. No really I do! This isn't an attempt to shamelessly plug the TV series that I'm in that happens to air on that network (check your local listings.) Seriously though, I've always liked Discovery, and I got totally addicted to it when I traveled a lot and would only have a handful of channels to choose from in my hotel room. I could only take so many episodes of "To Catch a Predator." You know when you've watched it too much when you forget that it's real life sadness and start to think it's a hidden camera joke show. Only these guys just punked themselves. I mean really, the guys that keep doing it and keep getting caught...Yikes!

Anyway, one of my fave shows on Discovery is "How it's Made." (Yes Mike Rowe...I dig your show too), but I've always loved shows like H.I.M...it reminds me of one of my fave segments on Sesame Street. You know, the one where they take us to the crayon factory. I thought it was so cool! The most recent H.I.M. that I watched was all about machines at fairs. Like a cotton candy machine, a popcorn cart and a hot dog grill thingy (I clearly learned a lot from the show.) All was well until the narrator said this, "The average American eats about 60 hot dogs a year..." WHAT?!? The "Average American?" That can't be true. So I went to Google. Food Network said it too...it's confirmed. That's too much. Before I posted this blog, I was worried that I might offend people out there who love their hot dogs and don't think there's anything wrong with eating 60 a year, 5 a month, 1.25 a week...then I thought, "IF YOU'RE READING THIS AND EAT THAT MANY HOT DOGS...STOP IT!" Unless you go to that many baseball games, in which case I am now extremely jealous of you.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm cool with the hot dog. Hello...I'm from Hawaii and I'm Filipino! I eat Spam and a whole buncha random stuffs...I can't totally down the H-Dog. I'm just surprised that we eat that freakin' many! It kinda made me not wanna have them anymore. Especially since I just finished reading a book that went really deep into how bad the meat industry is (according to them, it's not good.) Then I realized how much I loved Chili Dogs and couldn't imagine giving that up entirely even though I probably only eat that once a year...if that. But hey, if I'm a cravin' it...give it to me. So I attempted to make a Chili Dog with NO MEAT whatsoever. And I did!

Looks like the Chili Cheese Dog that we know and love doesn't it? Well, it ain't. Both Alicia Silverstone and my friend the vegetarian Karla Mosley could chow down on this bad boy. I went to Whole Foods and hooked myself up with all sorts of faked out "meat" products...and I must say, you could totally fool yourself with what they have out there now days. I even made spaghetti sauce with Vegetarian "Ground Meat." It's not just tofu and tempeh anymore-Although I do love that stuff too!

Now I wish I could tell you that it tasted just like the real thing, but unfortunately...I can't. Don't get me wrong. It was delicious, but we all know what a hot dog taste like and we know it's bad for us...but boy doesn't it taste extra special at a picnic, or at a ballgame, or at a BBQ? Especially with the 4th of July comin' up. With this meal, the Chili was REALLY GOOD, the cheese was GOOD, the dog was OKAY. It didn't taste the same...(duh Kimee.) One of the best parts about this meal is that you don't feel totes guilty and gross afterwards. I'm sure the taste is something you could get used to, but if you're like me and only eat a couple of dogs a year..whatevs. At least it's not 60.