Oh Something New From Google! (And it involves travel)

It’s no secret that I love travel planning almost as much as traveling.  And it’s also no secret that I love apps. Plus, you may well know I’m a devoted Googlite/Googlist/Google Aficionado/Googliever aka Google lover.  So when I read this article about a new Google App for travel planning, I was like, “Awesome Sauce!” (Because I mostly speak 6 year old)

It’s called Destinations by Google.  It’s designed for use on smart phones but also works on the computer.  The good news is you most likely don’t need to download anything, especially if you have an Android phone.  But even if you pray to the Apple gods, you only need the regular Google App, which you likely already have. 

To start you open the app or simply type in the Google Search bar on your phone. Then you have a few options:

1.      You have an idea of a destination but not a specific city, type in the area + destinations.  For example: Italy destinations

2.      You know where you want to go type in city + vacation.  For example: Seattle vacation

3.      You want to go to multiple destination type in place + travel or place + vacation. For example: Ireland Travel.  (You will see travel guides for multiple cities and Google maps can give you walking, driving and public transportation directions.

I would like to go see my beloved Seahawks in person, so I can congratulate Russell Wilson on his engagement.  (Surely, he will answer the door when I come a knocking.)  I’d like to take a trip in November when school is out for two days, for goodness knows what. So I picked up my phone and typed into the Google bar: Seattle vacation.

Here’s what popped up:

I was given a quick overview of Seattle and why one might want to visit.  Below that was weather info followed by hotel and flight pricing.  I clicked through to see flight options first.  

I was able to input my November 9 – 13^th desired dates and adjusted my departure airport.  Then I was presented first with what Google determined were the best options (this appears to be based on the best priced non-stop flights).  Below that were additional options (more expensive or requiring multiple flights).  Outbound flights are displayed first, once one is selected a return flight can be selected.  Pricing stays on the screen through each selection.  Once my flights were selected, I was given a phone number and link for United, which I could use to book the flights.  In reality, I would not have clicked the link for this itinerary because one flight was on United, the other on Alaska Airlines.  In my experience its best to book directly with each airline unless you are using miles.

Next, I back tracked to get to hotels (though it would have been quicker to just Google “Seattle vacations” again.  Once I clicked through, I was shown the links to several hotel booking sites. But also the prices of several hotels, their star ratings and their photos.  I was able to adjust the travel dates to see accurate rates.  Only one problem, the hotel calendar maxes out at 6 months in the future.  So I could not put in my November travel dates.  So if I wanted to continue planning, I’d have to go back to one of the hotel booking site links instead of continuing in the Google displays. 

Lastly, I checked out the travel guides.  The original “Seattle vacation” results include photos and links to a few points of interest.  The drop down for the travel guide, displays several itineraries from which to choose.  For example, 48 hours in Seattle.  I never follow them, but I do love to view an itinerary and pick and choose what I like. 

Overall it’s a neat tool, which allows people like me to view lots of details for travel planning, all in one place.  Before, I’d go from site to site or app to app trying to piece it all together and ultimately wait to put it all together until I could do it more comfortably from my computer.  Now, I have something to do while waiting in the doctor’s office, watching swim lessons or zoning out when Hubby is watching another reality show about cars, hunting or outdoor living in some inconvenient place for no good reason!

Ummmm, wish I had a flight to catch right now.  But soon enough, I’ll be flying the friendly skies. So I better get packing or Duckie will have my head (She likes to pack as far in advance as humanly possible).  Talk soon.  - BMK

#freethenipple

After far more deliberation than I ever thought I would have given it,  I've decided I'm team Kim K.   Well, at least on this one issue.   Hear me out...

I don't agree with a lot of what this younger generation of celebrity seems to think is appropriate and what they are willing to do to make a buck.   I love some of Selena Gomez' songs but watching a video of her writhing around on a bed in a bra and panties or just a tee shirt feels like viewing child porn.   And at this point, if you are a woman with your clothes on in a music video,  you are probably making a political statement. I hate the thought that talent is valued far less than nudity and photo-shopped beauty.

At the same time,  I'm totally on board with a woman's right to be sexy.  And the idea that in our real lives we tell our daughters to avoid dressing a certain way, to avoid the rapist.  Then we turn around and say don't blame the victim.   Didn't we just train our girls to accept that they are responsible for what they attract? 

So the whole blow back on Kim K's nude photo is that she's a mom now and therefore it is inappropriate. Also she's sending a bad message to her young fans. 

I'll admit my first reaction was,  oh boy (and why are we supposed to be surprised).   The whole thing seems unnecessary.  I've never felt the need to pose nude,  let alone post a nude selfie. My second reaction was pissed off because the photo she posted was pre-baby.  She failed to mention that in the original post, leaving other moms to feel like failures if they didn't look that good a few weeks after childbirth.   My opinion on that has not changed.

However, in the final analysis,  this is who she is.  A woman who has always been very comfortable showing her body and in many cases profiting from it.   But we live in a free country that guarantees freedom of speech and expression.   And her idea of being a mom is that she gets to continue celebrating her body.   Sure she may have purchased many of those body parts.  But they are now hers to show as she wishes.

So who finally swayed my way of thinking on this? Surprisingly, Amber Rose.   This woman whose claim to fame I understand less than Kim K's, and who has every reason to not like the wife of her ex,  came to Kim's defense.   She defended the right,  and feminist position,  of a woman to not be slut shamed for being proud of her body. As a self proclaimed feminist, and husband proclaimed  Angry Black Feminist, I had to check myself.

I may not agree with her decision to post and certainly wouldn't do so myself,  but she's free to do her.   Personally I hate wearing bras and pantyhose. I consider them to be my sworn enemy.   I give in and wear a bra when my top is too thin, or I'm going to an event where I might make others uncomfortable.   But that's stupid too.  They're my breast and what law am I breaking?   I'm not interested in being topless.  I just don't like cutting off my circulation to conceal my headlights.

Amber Rose and I seem to have that in common.   She posted this photo on twitter for the  #freethenipple movement which is now diversifying to include women of color. The movement highlights the way women are made to feel ashamed of their bodies.  For example it's illegal to breastfeed or be topless in 35 states.   And yes it is 2016.  (But I didn't put the actual photos in this post, only the links, because you might get in trouble at work for viewing them!)

Many men think the feminist movement is anti-man.  Not only is that not true, many of the harshest critics of women are other women.  So let's put an end to slut-shaming for our daughter's sake.  It's our job to encourage our children to share our morals and to show good taste.  But it's not our job to ridicule and pass judgement on others for their choices, which ultimately affect them and not us. 

Kim Kardashian and Amber Rose in one post!  If I keep this up y'all might actually think I'm hip.  That is until I use words like, hip.  Talk to you soon -BMK 

Super Sister to the Rescue!

I’m an awesome sister!  Just ask my brothers.  Or don’t because they’re brothers, so they might mislead you.  Just take my word for it.  I have evidence.

I just got off the phone with my older (like really old... 

... just kidding) brother. He called in a huff, because he’d just received an unsettling phone call. It went something like this:

Phone rings with strange or blocked number.
Brother misses call, calls back because he “always answers or calls back telemarketers to harass them.”
Fellow with Indian accent answers and says he is from IRS headquarters.

IRS: “The local office has sent you two letters to which you were unresponsive.  You are being sued by the IRS for the $1,877.00 you owe.  Do you have a criminal attorney?”

My brother (who happens to be a little lapse in his filings, begins a debate with the guy):  “What address did you send the letters to?  … That’s not my address anymore so of course I was non-responsive.”

IRS: “The letter comes from the local office, I am at headquarters ….”

The call continued in this manner until it was disconnected.

IRS Guy

I held my breath while listening to my brother’s explanation, because I knew exactly what was happening.  My brother was being targeted for identity theft.  Fortunately, he did not provide a current address, nor verify any other information.  Surely, if he was willing, the caller would have gotten him to verify his SS# too. That would be all he needed to file a tax return on behalf of my brother with the refund check electronically sent to the scammers checking account. 

When my brother finished telling the story and I confirmed that he had not given any info, I told him, the IRS will never call you.  That is the most important line of this post.  THE IRS WILL NEVER CALL YOU. 

Relieved my brother said, “See!  You don’t just sit around all day doing nothing!  You are collecting valuable information!”  I collected this info from multiple news reports I’ve seen over the last few years.  IRS fraud is on the rise and will only increase as technology makes it easier for us to file our taxes electronically.  If you suspect you have been a victim of tax fraud or know you have been a victim of identity theft, the IRS has info on the steps to take at this link.  Alerts can be set up for questionable activity.

Identify theft is as popular as American sports, IMO.  I’ve been targeted before by a former neighbor’s boyfriend (my name was Kimya Morris, hers was Kim Morris and we lived in the same building).  He’d put a cell phone bill in my name and somehow my age was altered to make me about 70 years old.  It was annoying and to this day, I use my middle name when applying for credit, so the credit agencies know it’s really me.  But beyond that I continue living an on-line and in-store life that relies almost exclusively on credit cards.  Because they will refund me my money.  Debit cards don’t offer as much protection and clearly cash is just gone.  Here is a list of what protections you have for each type of card. 

In conclusion, I told my brother, what I’ve told lots of friends and family lately … “Download this app!”  J  Of course there’s an app for that!!  True Caller, a free app, allows all its users to report calls as spam.  How does this benefit you?  The app settings allow you to block calls from all numbers others have identified as telemarketers.  A few questionable calls will ring through with a special red caller ID. These are suspected as spam and you can chose to block them immediately.  Then do your part when you receive an unmarked call that turns out to be a telemarketer and help others by marking it as spam.  It takes a village!  I was getting about 5 calls per day after applying for a mortgage refinance last year.  After downloading the app, the calls decreased steadily.  Now I may get a 1-2 a week at most.

Alright, I can’t just sit around all day and blog.  That might be what people think I do! J 

Talk soon –BMK

Me, sitting around doing nothing all day

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This Too Shall Pass (Oh, and pass the peas, please)

I love cooking.  I love cooking, I like eating.  The other night I had a cookie craving around 7pm.  It was a weeknight and my typical post 7pm habit is to be as close to horizontal as possible while watching TV, knitting or drinking wine.  But this night I sprung into baking action.  1.5 hours later I had mediocre cookies.  Which I needed to convince myself were worth the loss of lazy time.  So now you’re thinking, why in the world did it take 1.5 hours?  Did you make really fancy cookies? 

Nope.  I made gluten free oatmeal cookies following a recipe from my friends (in my head) over at America’s Test Kitchen’s book, How Can It Be Gluten Free.  (They were mediocre only because the flavor was slightly different than a regular oatmeal cookie, but still good)  You see my love of cooking is complicated or weighed down by several factors:

I’m VERY lactose intolerant – You can take a blood test to measure how much of sugar from lactose your body will absorb.  My test showed my blood sugar decreased, meaning I didn’t absorb one drop of lactose and my blood was feening for some sugar! (Which may explain the cookie cravings, right :-) I’m mean I’m not a doctor, but ….)

1. I’m gluten sensitive – This means I can eat foods that contain gluten, but there is a threshold at which I will become painfully bloated, my back/hip pain will be triggered and I’m more susceptible to overall achiness.  Where the threshold lies is a guessing game.
   
2. I don’t eat pork and only minimal beef –I’ve never eaten pork.  My mom said it was a no go, and I’m a good girl.  (Though said mom has since stopped following her own advice)  If you’ve never had pork, the thought of eating pig is really not a turn on.  Thus, I never crave it and have no desire to try it.  I stopped eating beef when I was 12 when a friend found a roach in their burger at Burger King.  I didn’t miss it for 20 years.  Then I found myself living in Spain, aka pork country, and very very hungry.  I was BFFs with the cook at the sandwich stand that made Pollo Tropical (a grilled chicken breast sandwich with a tangy sauce).  My dinner was usually 2 scoops of sorbet from Haagen Daaz or more chicken.  So eventually, I was just too damn hungry to continue to forgo beef.  But after a few years of beef gluttony,  the scale and my unaccustomed digestive system caused me to make it a special occasion meat only.
   
3. Lastly, I’m all about texture and smell.  If it’s slimy or it’s not Jell-O, but it giggles, I’m out. If it smells like somebody died, I’m out. (i.e. Hubby’s favorite Norwegian dish, Pinnekjøtt - cured and mutton ribs that are steamed for several hours.  I can’t even be in the house when this is being prepared.  There is no way I’m eating it.)

 

Pinnekjott

So when one who loves to cook has all these limitations, it’s well complicated.  It’s also not helped by my desire for perfection.  I don’t just want to cook.  I want to COOK.  I want you at my table drooling, begging me for more and calling me your Queen!  Too much?  And I want to mix it up.  For years as a one of Beyoncé’s single ladies, I cooked out of necessity and baked for Joy.  I loved entertaining and having an opportunity to get my Martha Stewart on.  But every night cooking was unnecessary and simple meals suited me fine. 

Once I got hitched, I had a captive audience.  And when we adopted Duckie, we adopted an eater. That girl can throw down!  It’s over the last few years that my love of cooking has blossomed.  I now have two in house food critics, whom I greet as my daily culinary challenge.  There’s just one catch.  I’ve waited until the busiest time in my live to want to prepare elaborate meals.  This is the perfect formula for feeling like a failure. 

Yesterday, after squeezing as much work as possible into the 6 hour window, during which Duckie is at school, I picked her up and hurried to her swim lesson.  Hubby arrived during the lesson and I hurried home to get dinner started.  I thought I’d chosen a simpler recipe.  But the chicken cacciatore I started preparing at 4:30pm, hit the table at 6:40pm.  That’s 20 minutes before Duckie hits the hay.

This has pretty much been the story all week.  It’s all part of the adjustment of Hubby not working from home and unable to share in the daytime chores/errands, and  Duckie going hard on the swimming to make the swim team.  At the same time I’m overseeing the renovation of a recently purchased 2 family rental property.  So my plate being so full is leading to their plates being empty, at least until 6:40pm.  At which time, I’m feeling that annoying mommy guilt of having not met the many goals of the day.  Because obviously, Duckie will never be successful in life if she doesn’t have 30 minutes to digest her food before going to bed.

And then, as I was thinking about writing this blog, I had the same revelation I have every time the going gets tough.  This too shall pass!  I’m going to keep loving cooking and hopefully get even better at it.  But Duckie will continue to mature and do more for herself.  Hubby and I will find a balance in the things that need to be done.  And construction (while it may feel like it) is not never ending.  So there will be a time when I get to breath.  And until that time, some nights it may just be PB&J for all.

I like to cook but I’m not a food network kind of girl.  I like details and promises of perfection.  Here are my favorite cooking guides:

America’s TestKitchen – the PBS show and the Cook’sIllustrated magazine provide scientifically tested delicious recipes.  I DVR the show and subscribe to the Cook’s Illustrated website instead of buying the magazine.  All the recipes from the magazine and some from the show are on the site for an annual fee of $40.  I also have their gluten free cookbooks and swear by them. 

The Chew – I’ve previously mentioned I love the show because it’s more than cooking.  But when they cook, something I can eat, they really are cooking live in the studio.  Therefore they are easy to follow recipes.  All of which are on their website. 

Time For Dinner cookbook – Got ground turkey and don’t know what to do for dinner?  This book will give you three meal options to choose from dependent on what else you’ve got in your fridge and pantry.  It also has cook-ahead meals that you can make the weekend before, and ways to make one meal multiple ways to satisfy a family of picky eaters. (Its out of print, but used copies are available for a steal on Amazon)

Kindle – last year I purchased my first digital copy of a cookbook.  I put the iPad in the kitchen and tested out the feel of cooking from a screen.  It’s pretty awesome.  My cookbook shelf is full of books, I don’t take the time to look through.  I was already printing out online recipes.  Now I can search my cookbooks and online in one place and then get cooking.  It also means the recipes are accessible (via app) if I need to check the ingredients while at the grocery store. 

Ok. This post was WAY longer than intended.  I’ve now got T minus 4 hours before school pickup.  Gotta get my Rihanna on and work work work work work work.  Talk soon.

-BMK