Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!  I have one awesome Dad, that's for sure.  

He's the person who taught me cooking basics, back when I was young.  I specifically remember early lessons on grilled cheese and scrambled eggs - two of my favorites that I still eat quite often.  He's funny when it comes to food, though.  My Dad is a meat and potatoes kind of guy who shys away from anything that's too healthy.  If it says fat-free on the label, he doesn't want it.  He's also "allergic to chocolate" which is a total lie!  He will eat half of his dinner, declare that he's full, then make a large bowl of ice cream an hour later!  It's amazing that he's so skinny with the way he eats.  Lunches from his favorite bar and dessert every night, right Mom?!  I remember when I was a kid, it was easy to remember my Dad's favorite cakes because they had other foods in the names: carrot cake and cheesecake.  

I'm an only child and my parents and I are all pretty bossy "eager to help" each other!  Being in the kitchen with Dad is ANNOYING.  

Dad:  Ang, do it this way, do it that way, use that pan, blah blah blah.  

Me:  Dad, go in the other room!  

The worst part of that is that I do the same thing when someone else is cooking!  Aren't we all turning into our parents?  I sure am.  I'm not innocent here, either, as I'm always trying to sway his ways in the kitchen.  

Me:  Dad!  You can't use a wooden cutting board for meat, that's gross and so bad, you could get sick!

Dad: What are you talking about!? I've been doing this my whole life and I haven't gotten sick yet.

Touche, Dad!  

In honor of my dear old Dad, here are some photos of him for you to enjoy:

My Dad's first Hawaiian shave ice, on Maui!

Here he is at Spam Jam.  In addition to "being allergic to chocolate" he also "hates Hawaii".  You be the judge - here you see him perusing the streets of Waikiki, wearing an Aloha shirt, eating (and enjoying) a Spam-flavored macadamia nut!  He liked them so much he went back for seconds, then Santa brought them in his Christmas stocking.

Here's all of us at Spam Jam.  This was my parents' Christmas Card last year!

Besides food, here are a few other things my Dad likes:

My Mom :)  They've been married for 34 years!

My alma mater, Penn State.  Although he follows (University of) Pittsburgh sports more closely and it makes me CRAZY!

Fashion.  This is the signature Mike Anderson summer look - shorts, wool socks, and boots.  Don't forget the cold beer!

The Pittsburgh Steelers.  He's a season ticket holder and makes sure to save the extra ticket for game closest to Christmas for me every year :)

And, of course, me!  I'm his only child and a Daddy's Girl.  Let me tell you, that's NOT an easy job for Dads or Daddy's Girls!

I humored him by doing many things that guys want to do with their sons that he didn't get the chance to do: I learned about tools and how to fix things and change the oil in the cars, helped him build model cars, played basketball and even let him coach my team (I have a friend who still calls my Dad "Coach Mike"!).  All the while I was still taking dance lessons while he had to suffer through all those recitals!  We both probably couldn't count the amount of times we watched the Wizard of Oz together. Every grown man's dream, right?!  Worst of all - I grew up.  I got grounded by dear old Dad indefinitely a handful of times during high school, which really didn't last more than a few hours!  I started dating much to my Dad's dismay.  (I'm now 25 and I think he's starting to get used to it.)   Oh yeah - there was that time when I moved to Hawaii, 5,500 miles away from home - that wasn't his favorite!

That said, I'm sorry I can't be home today to celebrate Father's Day with you Dad!  I'll see you in a month and we'll celebrate then.  Thanks for the cooking (and life) lessons, I wouldn't be the person I am without you (huge heads, knack for telling bad jokes, and all!).  Gosh, we can't ever just be serious, huh!?