Happy “Star Wars” Day!

Not much new to report on Project X, still hangry as all hell during the witching hour — I’ve been blasting Adele’s “Set Fire To The Rain” when I’m really jonesing for something deep-fried and it totally helps! — but, I juggled my meal times around to fit my schedule and everything seems to work a whole lot better. Or maybe I’m just getting used to this crazy diet…either way, Thursday was good.

That said, Mrs. Yeti did go into severe chocolate withdrawal last night (no foaming at the mouth, or fainting spells, but pretty damn close) and I did break down and eat one of Greta’s apple wedges after dinner. Project X is very strict on the no fruit after a certain time thing, so, that was kind of a big deal, but, hey, I’ve gorged myself with much worse things than a fucking apple wedge after dinner, so, I think I’m still good.

Anyway, enough of the food talk, the main reason I’m up at this hour is to wish you all a happy Star Wars Day! I’m not sure what Greta and I will do to celebrate this year, but, we do have a play-date scheduled with a couple of her friends, so, I’m thinking I might have to pack a few extra lightsabers!

Oh, and speaking of lightsabers, I found some old pictures of Greta celebrating “Star Wars” as an infant, so, I’m including those here as well. As you can see, we kinda forced her into celebrating at that age, but, even then, she was totally game! So, enjoy the pics, and whatever you do to celebrate “Star Wars” today, have fun, and, may the 4th be with you…always.

L.A. Donut Tour: Day One – Randy’s Donuts (Inglewood)

A good friend of ours is staying with us this week and seeing as we are both between jobs, we decided to have some good cheap fun this visit. No movies at the Arclight, no expensive theme parks or museums, no shopping…just good, old-fashioned donut worship. And what better place to explore the magic of cheap fried dough than in the car-centric Southland? So, without further ado, I give you our first ever L.A. Donut Tour! Yay!

Despite talking about it for years, neither of us had ever been to the world-famous Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood, so, naturally, we started there. We tried a cake donut, a chocolate frosted and a sprinkled and despite the giant, iconic donut on the roof of the building and the appropriately seedy, LAX-adjacent vibe in the parking lot (like all the best donut joints in Los Angeles, Randy’s does not have a dining area) I gotta tell ya, I’ve had way better donuts at several major chains. Sorry, Randy…

However, Greta (who is our tie-breaking third judge on the tour), absolutely adored the bright pink frosting on her selection, so, I’m gonna be generous and give Randy’s two out of five stars.

Here’s hoping for better luck at our next stop tomorrow…

 

Family Road Trip Rule #1: When in doubt…bribe!

Hit the road last week for our annual road trip to Oregon to visit my wife’s family. It’s a long-ass drive, but we love road trips (yes, even with a two-year-old in tow) and the time spent just hanging out with the niece, nephews and assorted brothers and sisters-in-law on the family farm is kind of, well, rejuvenating. I don’t know if it’s the country air or what, but, man alive, do we go home relaxed!

Anyway, I firmly believe that a huge part of the adventure is the actual act of driving there — seriously, we have found that even short-jaunt road trips are great for the soul — and since no one wants to have their soul-cleansing road trip ruined by a screaming toddler, I give you, Family Road Trip Rule # 1: When in doubt…bribe!

I don’t care what your kid’s favorite thing is (be it a food item, a beverage, toy or DVD) but secretly pack a lot of them in your car before you leave. Emphasis on the secret part, if they know how many you’ve packed, your screwed. Bribery only works when your child thinks that the desired item they will do anything for is in very limited supply. So hide your loot well!

Right now, Greta will do almost anything you ask her to for a Trader Joe’s Organic Fruit Leather. I don’t know exactly why she loves them so, but she’d seriously take a bullet for the strawberry variety…it’s crazy.

So, we packed 25 of them in a secret stash in the car, and the minute she acts up or won’t finish her meal or, well, any time she’s just being a typical two-year-old on an eight-and-a-half hour car ride, we bribe her. “Greta…if you do blank, we’ll give you a fruit leather.” we purr in her screaming, red-faced direction, and she calms down almost instantly.

If I wasn’t so happy it worked, I might be a little freaked out by it, but at the end of the day…it works. Like a fucking charm. Every. Single. Time. So, who cares why?

With order restored in our car, we crank up the tunes and resume our lovely road trip in peace…or, you know, until the next big blow up.