Password to Paradise

Mistyped passwords cause problems. This week, after trying to access one of our family accounts, I just couldn’t open it. For some reason, my husband opened it on the first or second attempts. Once I finally got the password working, my family offered to celebrate my “big accomplishment” with a special dinner. They’re funny people. Maybe I should have saved time by changing the password and keeping it undercover for a few days.     

Whenever you start a new account, you need to create a fresh password—unless you commit the big security no-no by using the same code for everything. Regardless of the codes we enter, if we don’t know the right password, we’re in big trouble. Watch how they affect us:

                                     https://youtu.be/jQ7DBG3ISRY

The guy outlined several of our most frustrating password challenges. If you could create the perfect password to access joy and happiness, what would it look like?

Not Just Leftovers

Usually around mid-afternoon, I start thinking about dinner preparations. When I’m especially unmotivated, I dig in the freezer for leftovers, hoping to heat up a quick meal. Anyone foraging around in their freezer long enough might uncover a hidden treasure, maybe some spare burgers or chicken breasts. If not, there’s an app to help out. See for yourself:

                                         https://youtu.be/tAG3IIQ1vw4

When you tire of holiday dinner leftovers, order something more exotic through the app. Who doesn’t enjoy sampling food from their neighbor’s plate? In many cases, it helps to know who’s providing the bounty. What surprise have you received, but discovered a bigger surprise in  learning who provided it?       

What’s for dinner?

Our kitchen is closed, at least that’s what the sign on the refrigerator says. It’s really not closed, but sometimes I wish that were true. My husband cooks and enjoys it, so I’m always happy and relieved when he prepares a meal. Although I’m the only one at our house who prefers not to cook, we are a family of big and little foodies. We like watching the cooking shows, sampling different foods and visiting new restaurants. At our house a commonly heard question is: “What’s for dinner?”

Fortunately, my family doesn’t always expect a gourmet meal. Last week one of our kids raved about a friend’s home-made mac and cheese lunch. Our children like our mac and cheese, so I figured this friend’s lunch must have been great! When I approached the mother about her recipe, she laughed and willingly described her very simple “secret”—jarred cheese sauce poured over wheat pasta.

I froze for a second and hoped that our kid, with the discriminating palate, wouldn’t show visible signs of disappointment about the recipe. No worries. My little munchkin, who has helped make oven-baked mac and understands the complexities of mixing in specialty cheeses for fuller flavor,  grabbed a pen and wrote down both ingredients. Of course, if I try to serve wheat pasta for dinner, I’d hear, “Hey, what is this stuff?” I suppose we can all benefit from expanding our perspectives on creating  simple meals. Watch this:

I probably wouldn’t serve that food combination for dinner. Maybe that’s the beauty of a meal, if it’s quick, healthy and it works for you—go for it. Things don’t always need to be expensive and complicated. What do you enjoy that’s simple, yet satisfying?