.:By Lancer:.

Creative means many things

2012-01-14T15:11:00.000-06:00

Holy cow - was that last post really over a year ago? I could have sworn it's just been a few months. In the spirit of (self-defense) full disclosure: shortly after that last post I completely redefined my life by having a baby. My creativity has gone to things like how to get a newborn to eat and sleep; how to fit into favorite clothes, how to accomplish more with less time, how to mark a first birthday in a fabulously meaningful and creative and unique way, the list goes on.

Entering the ranks of motherhood is a sufficient reason for neglecting a blog, right? Heck yeah. Who watches the kids while all those mommy bloggers put out? Phhhhtht...nannies. Must be nice. Anyway, not here to complain of offer excuses. Starting fresh. Aren't Januaries nice for that? I had plans for all kinds of post-dated ramblings in order to get caught up and give the appearance of productivity. But quite frankly, that was overwhelming and I stared for two hours at a blank page. Either none of those ideas were inspiring or the pressure to back fill while still making forward progress was just too much for this mommy brain. So, here I am. I've been gone but I'm back. There's no further point to this post, and this blog doesn't have much direction for now (I'm working on that little detail - it's not going well, for the record), but here it is, humbly submitted.

Do Something

2010-08-07T06:48:00.001-05:00

Today marks the end of a very long season and the beginning of a long-awaited and much-needed season of recovery. The organization I work for runs on a calendar based on an annual, global conference. The past two days marked the live portion of the event, simulcast to 170-some North American sites; beginning in a few weeks several versions of the event will be translated and hosted in 70-some countries. It's exhausting and exhilarating certainly worth all the pain, but I'm glad the bulk of the work is behind me for another year. Now is a time for regrouping and returning to the things I love that I've been neglecting through this season of chaos.

I realized a while back that I haven't fed my creative self in ages. Sure, I've crammed in moments of necessary output here and there, but I have not taken time to immerse myself in the creative process in, quite possibly, years. Is it any wonder, then, that my soul is parched? I'm so quick to be cynical and my focus feels worn and frayed. I think creativity is a muscle of sorts, and just like biological muscles creativity must be exercised or face atrophy. However, just like biological muscles, once a regimen of practice and training is resumed, creativity restores and is again fulfilling and a source of joy rather than strain.

I love being creative. I won't profess to have mastered any of the expressions I enjoy, it's not about that. I'm creative for the purpose of filling some need in me to create. I like being the one who created more than I need to be the best at whatever I'm creating. Don't get me wrong, excellence matters, but it's not for anyone else to judge. My photos bring me joy, more because the process of hunting and capturing images that I like to look at is cathartic. My quilts bring me joy for years as I touch the fabrics and recall the process of piecing together small things to make one large thing that took shape slowly and deliberately. The cards I make bring me joy every time I walk past the Hallmark aisle at Target and know that I haven't given a dime for overpriced, generic greetings in many years.

If I know all these things, why don't I practice something creative every day? Just like exercising my biological muscles, taking care of myself is so easily the first thing to be eliminated when time is constrained and energy is low. If only I'd carve out the time and force myself to enter into that endorphin-inducing place, I'd find myself a bit less cynical, soul parched and distracted.

Here's to doing something creative everyday. Cheers...

BookSneeze

2010-05-03T22:28:00.000-05:00

“I’m so frustrated with the version of Christianity where we actually think our theology can fit onto a bumper sticker, a t-shirt, or a bracelet. Reality isn’t that simple.”

I’m not sure what possessed me to agree to read and review a book with a specific deadline that coincided with finals week. Had I selectively forgotten that graduate school never fails to overwhelm come the end of a semester? Apparently. In any case, I found myself deeply engrossed, even provoked, these past few days as I devoured the new release from Thomas Nelson, Plan B, by Pete Wilson. I don’t think I’d have picked up the title had it not been graciously provided by BookSneeze in exchange for my honest review; but having read it, I’m glad for the new insights and challenges to some of my standard points of view.

Wilson presents his work in a very accessible, conversational tone that grabs the reader, be it one who’s well grounded or someone who’s not entirely sure of his faith. Moving seamlessly between Biblical accounts and stories of friends and church members he’s encountered throughout his years as a pastor, Wilson helps readers come to terms with situations that seem less than ideal. His relational demeanor exudes grace and puts the reader at ease. While most of his stories fall towards the extreme end of the “not-what-I-would-have-chosen” scale, anyone can take a portion of wisdom from his teaching, whether for a personal situation or to help someone else through their own Plan B. This is a highly recommended, low-risk, high-reward read.

Spring!

2010-04-18T21:20:00.001-05:00

Spring seems like a perfect excuse to write a poem. Fortunately for all the gentle readers out there I'm sufficiently distracted by library school and other fabulous endeavors such that I won't bother entertaining the urge to wax poetic. I'm so glad that I did not know what I was missing all those years spent in a state with no Spring - ignorance truly is bliss (imagine lilacs in June!). Spring is a most stupendous time of year, let's just leave it at that. Actually, one more thought: Chicago is a most excellent place to be in Spring. The vibrant life that so characterizes the city begins to emerge from hibernation. Color and activity abound - it's thrilling. The garden is composted and we're days away from putting in the first of the vegetable starts - the produce market opens in just two weeks! Evenings offer the most delightful sunsets and walking by the river is somehow more refreshing now than any other time of year. There is so much to be excited about these days, here's to life in Chicago and warm Spring afternoons spent in blooming gardens.

Finally Spring

2010-03-27T13:24:00.000-05:00

Spring is my favorite season for so many reasons. Right now I’m reveling in the emergence of crocus in my garden and my own emergence from months of hibernation. Cabin fever has nearly got the best of me this year. Not that we’ve had an overwhelming amount of snow or anything (we took proper precautions to all but eliminate that prospect when we left Alaska). No, it’s been a run of chaotic, full-to-the-brim months in which I did not find or seize moments of replenishment. I haven’t written much, or read for pleasure or taken a photo since the first of the year. All of a sudden I find myself nearly into April and running on fumes. Go figure.

Fortunately, winter seems to have broken, literally and figuratively. We’re officially into no sock weather – boy did my feet object on the one day this week when I did encase them in my favorite woolies. Going without socks is a fabulously tangible way to turn the seasons. My toes have tasted freedom and there’s no going back. At least not until November. I took my Goosey for a walk after work the other day and boy was that a taste of Heaven. Taking in the fresh air, the birds and the river had us both energized and renewed that evening. Sadly, I’ve been swamped by homework since then, but it was delightful while it lasted. Similarly energizing was a compliment I received this week at work from someone who took the time to share a very edifying observation about my writing – just the little nudge I needed to get back in the saddle. I continue to be utterly fascinated by the power of words.

Staying fit in the winter is such a challenge. I love being outdoors but hate being cold so, as a rule, I've never been a huge fan of winter sports. This year I had a nice fling with running, but it’s over now. Tired of the constant battle to stay engaged with the treadmill, I have embraced the fact that my one true love is biking and I really ought to focus my energy where my passion is. Biking indoors isn't much more fun than running indoors but my mind and body are much less at odds when I'm true to my first love. The week ahead holds a couple vacation days for me, so perhaps the first outdoor ride of the season is within reach.

Here’s to spring and beautiful new seasons.

Off and running

2010-01-18T16:05:00.000-06:00

I continue to wrestle with a lack of wit. I have no energy for creative writing or waxing eloquent and I don't have anything fabulous to report so I'll be brief. I spent the entirety of Christmas break ignoring a very worthy list of things I truly wanted to accomplish. More important, I suppose, was taking the opportunity to simply rest and decompress from what was a really rough few weeks. We enjoyed a few days at home (as in: at our house in Chicago and with our families in Alaska) which was cathartic and exhausting all at the same time. As the winter drags on I find myself looking forward to "normal"days at the office, classes, homework, wash, rinse, repeat...I thrive on structure.

The semester got off to a great start last week. Two of my classes are directly related to school libraries which I hope will help stave the agony come finals week when I'm again tempted to question what the heck I've gotten myself into. If all goes well I should only have four more terms to start which doesn't sound like such a bad number (not including the final semester next fall which would be clinical time as opposed to lectures and homework). I keep telling myself the next few months will fly by and I'll be a spectacled, bun-wearing librarian in no time. Easy to say when not faced with a slough of looming deadlines. Ask me again in a couple weeks.

As if three classes weren't enough, I thought the added ambition of running Nashville's half-marathon in April might be swell. I've got the baseline and just bought the most expensive pair of running shoes - heck, shoes period - I've ever had the pleasure of owning, all that's left to do is actually register for the race. And run. I'm highly motivated by goals (apparently) and since I've already proven to myself that I have the will to endure eight-and-a-half hours on my bike, why not tackle a couple hours on my feet? No big deal, right? Ah, but I've discovered running to be different on so many levels and therein lies the challenge. Wish me luck, I'll keep you posted.

Where've I been all this time?

2009-12-14T07:54:00.001-06:00

I like the new King George tune Where've I Been All My Life? That's it. I don't have anything witty to say about it.

I make a killer cranberry-orange-chocolate cookie and despite promising myself there's absolutely no good reason to bake this year, I caved. Guess it wouldn't be Christmas without them.

Two weeks of my life have been consumed by finals - I'm down to two papers to finish today. Ethics. Organization of Information. Fascinating.

iPhone is great. AT&T is a joke.

Homemade marshmallows are fun but messy as hell and hardly worth it.

Homemade vanilla extract is not fun (unless you ascribe to the "swig-for-me, swig-for-the-recipe" method of cooking with vodka). And it's entirely not worth it.

10 days til my 10 day staycation starts. My stack of books is growing.

Winter in Chicago is overrated.

I love Grapenuts.

...we now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

Amen for long weekends

2009-11-29T20:52:00.002-06:00

The time has come wherein I must return to reality. Phooey. Having four days in which to do whatever I darn well please is quite heavenly...despite the fact that I didn't get a much-needed start on the paper that's due in a little over a week.
This weekend I: rested, read a book of my own choosing (this required three slightly frustrating starts since I seem to have forgotten how to select a book of my own choosing - the one I finally settled on was thrust into my lap by someone else and while a gripping story is not very well told), was creative (spent some time with my Nikon, with my old watercolors and I've nearly decided on a design for Christmas cards though I probably won't think about that again until after Christmas), wrapped presents (boxes packed and ready to ship to Anchorage, Chugiak and Afghanistan...yes!!!), I baked (new recipe: rosemary dinner rolls - not so much, old recipes: cherry-cashew granola and caramel popcorn for the Christmas boxes - big win, even sans pecans), visited old friends (has been way too long, school takes such a toll on the social life), exercised (yay for one last walk on the river trail and getting the bikes set up for winter), cleaned (just a little) and I didn't think about work (much). Heavenly indeed.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-25T07:54:00.001-06:00

Celebrity

2009-11-21T23:06:00.002-06:00

I am, quite certainly, not a celebrity chaser. I've done gigs and been around enough to know they all put their pants on the same way as the rest of us. I do, however, love recipes and photography and so when a favorite blogger released a book combining the two, I pre-ordered several copies (review coming soon!). And when she announced a stop in Chicago on her tour, I toyed with the the goofy idea of actually lining up to get her autograph. Silly, I know.

There are several reasons the excursion was not an easy decision. First, it was at a Barnes and Noble. As much as I love books I don't love big, generic book stores. Second, it was roughly an hour away from my house in the middle of the week. While I don't want my existence to be defined by what's immediately accessible, I am a home body through and through. Third, I'm not a celebrity chaser. But I have several copies of the book to give away for Christmas and thought it would be fun to have them personalized and it's been a particularly trying month at work and I was hankering for a break in the monotony.

With much deliberation I took the plunge and set out to the mall to pick the number which would hold my fate for the evening: 137. I was the one hundred and thirty-seventh person in line to have my books signed and picture taken with Pioneer Woman. Oddly enough, it wasn't a horrible experience, despite the two-hour wait. The DH, kind as he was to drive me across suburbia, pulled a disappearing act upon entering the store but my darling friend, HK, was more than kind enough to endure the first hour of waiting with me. The second hour brought random conversations with fellow fans (who were also not celebrity chasers). Mostly we talked of our mutual gratitude that we were not holding an awful number like, say, 294.

I have to give props to Pioneer Woman. While she could have let handlers pass the books under her pen as she scribbled something to be assumed for her signature, she chose instead to sit with each and every person, sign as many books as they lugged to the table (no, the entire stack next to my elbow is not mine!) and exchange pleasantries as she personalized each copy. That's a big, and very generous, commitment. Her two boys were in tow, also signing books, as was Marlboro Man who was handing out cute logo t-shirts. Bookstores have long been one of our favorite date destinations, so this is a fun one to add to the collection of memories. Leaving the store a little after 10 pm, my heart was a bit lighter than when I went in, which is, I suppose, the point of such adventures. Now, I wonder what the lady holding number 294 was thinking as she left the store!

Cheers

2009-11-21T15:57:00.002-06:00

I've had a great little story stewing for a while, but no energy to properly finish it. Comparing myself to a broken, bloody boxer who survived a harrowing bout in the ring only to hear the bell sound the close of round two wasn't a very cathartic writing experience. Writing or otherwise, I haven't engaged with much these past couple of weeks - it's been a little rough.

Oh well, welcome to being a grown up, right? Nobody said it would feel great, I am, after all, the genius who exercised the choice to tackle grad school during the Great Recession. I have many friends who are out of work. I have one friend for whom work is the last thing on her mind since her 7-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia last month. My brother in law is on the other side of the globe fighting to restore a country for nationals who seem only to fight against the efforts being undertaken on their behalf. My heart aches for all of them and I want to go back a few decades to the world I knew as a kid...sigh...

Change is inevitable. Growing pains are painful - go figure. I have a job (no small thing considering that after this week my company is 50% smaller than it was less than a year ago), excellent health, a warm house, and a great marriage. Opportunity stretches out before me, I could very nearly set my mind to do anything I want. The windows are right now framing the most beautiful late fall afternoon and I'm going for a bike ride outside because I can and because it's 55 degrees a week before December. My good friend HK introduced me to Moe's...mmmm Moe's! I just bought four bottles of Lambic, a bunch of my favorite yogurt, some totally unseasonal yet beautiful raspberries and an armful of flowers, vases of which now grace my table and a bookshelf. I'm long done with Christmas shopping and won't be cursed with the inside of a retail establishment until January - best ever! The list goes on - what the heck do I have to be down about?

Salut...Prosit...Cheers to so many good things!

Friday Meme

2009-11-06T11:22:00.077-06:00

Today's meme is brought to us by the Sassy Brit...

List at least 5 BOOKISH things on your desk

(Assuming we're talking about my desk at home since my desk at work is all about debugging and troubleshooting - way too much fun for this blog!)

1) Library: An Unquiet History (been there, gave the presentation, got the A(!!!) and this bundle of trouble is going back to the library asap)

2) Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (all you library types out there holla!)

3) The New Inquisition (let's hear it for the First Ammendment)

4) Bird by Bird (been a while, but I do love Anne)

5) Zen and the Art of Writing (not that I get to read it these days, it's there now just for the heck of it)

List at least 5 NON BOOK things. (I'm thinking some of some of the more unusual items on your desk/table?)

1) Two candles: a fabulous new Orchard scent from MS and a tired, old (read: how dare they discontinue the best scent ever?!?) favorite, Celebration from Village Candles

2) Not-so-fabulous clock - charming in its old-fashioned look, but the daily winding gets old fast

3) Beautiful cobalt jars - perfection in the afternoon sunlight

4) Vintage postcard of Anchorage - gets me closer to the home-sweet-home in my head than hopping on a plane (cheaper too!)

5) "Rachel's Ruler"- Just like it sounds, a ruler with my name imprinted in huge letters. I went to great lengths to dig this out of my box of childhood memories. I can't believe, of all the measuring devices to be found in this house (and there are several between the kitchen junk drawer, my quilting tools, and the DH's rigging gear), I had to go back to my elementary school supplies in order to find a device with millimeters. There it is, a little monument to my penchant for responsibility that I still have school supplies from 1984.

What's on your desk?

Distraction Part 2

2009-11-05T22:47:00.001-06:00

I will admit that the first installment on distraction was a little more me oriented than I’m usually prone towards. Internet, I know full well that how I spend my time is the last thing you want read about and I promise not to turn into one of *those* people who believe the world is a better place because they’ve posted every last tawdry detail the rest of us never thought to ask about. Part I was just a little background information, a glimpse into the running dialogue in my head, if you will. Let’s move right along to my latest findings on conquering distraction, shall we?

Lately there is a constant buzz in my head. Sometimes I’m working on a conversation with myself, sometimes with God; quite often I’m running through one of the many lists of things to be done, be it at work, school or home. If I don’t delay going to bed until I’m tired enough to fall immediately into the deepest sleep, I find myself in a front row seat to a racing mind. Sounds fascinating, I’m sure, but let me assure you it’s quite exhausting. Marcus Buckingham would, in his beautiful English accent, attribute this to my Strength Finder result of intellection. All I know is this buzz drives me crazy and I find myself, at times, craving focus (and Marcus Buckingham....but I digress). I’ve set out to read as much as I can on focus, productivity and efficiency. There’s a lot to weed through so I thought I’d save you a step or two and pass along the best thinkers and thoughts…

Let’s start with my hero, Mike Hyatt. His daily dose of wisdom be it on technology, publishing or productivity never ceases to speak to my soul. Mike, when there’s an opening on the list of people who would love to be mentored by you – please call me, I’m so there. Some of my favorite pieces can be found here, here and here (I highly recommend this last one, it’s incredibly challenging). I’m encouraged to see that the CEO of a major publisher struggles with “email addiction” in much the same way that I do. Although I don’t have much capacity for “fun” reading right now, is recommendation of IT has me very intrigued. Life without my daily Mike Hyatt would be very much like guiding a canoe against the current using a fishing pole instead of a paddle.

A week or so ago I read a piece on Soul City on “What only you can do” which I found to be quite in line with the challenge of eliminating noise from my day. Being a first-born, I have a tendency to own too much and this reminded me to get rid of the tasks that are just as well done by someone else on my team.

Until recently, I wouldn’t have described myself as particularly interested in the pursuit of happiness. Happiness seemed like a momentary gift, something that one encounters on the way through life. But I stumbled on Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project and I’m becoming a convert. She offers 12 personal commandments of which I’m quite fond, particularly number one Being Gretchen. Of course, in my case, the rule would read “Being Rachel” and I’m still trying to define exactly what the rule means, but I’m all over the concept of embracing who I am as well as who I’m not. For instance, I’m something of a homebody. I like to spend time with close friends, I’m not a social butterfly who likes to maintain a busy and varied personal calendar. My downtime is best spent in the quiet of my cozy living room, with a good book, a big mug of spiced tea, and a sweet boxer keeping my feet warm. Eliminating the unnecessaries from my life is helping reduce the noise. This is a great list of productivity rules.

Unfortunately, unraveling and eliminating distraction is not a quick and easy task – it’s a process that can be, at times, quite distracting. But it’s a good process; growing pains are always a good in the end. I promise to keep you posted on my journey and to pass along all the fabulous things I find on focus, productivity and distraction. Right now I’m listening to a talk called “The In-between” that the president of my company distributed last week. I’ve listened to it several times and am still trying to distill what it means for me. I’ll write more on that later…

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-04T11:18:00.002-06:00

Friday Meme

2009-10-30T00:23:00.000-05:00

It's finally Friday (albeit really dang early)! I scored tickets for dinner and a movie at the Gold Class theater this evening so I'm not sure what to do about the pizza part of this fine Friday night. Maybe I'll make an exception and move the pizza up to the lunch hour. God forbid a Friday should pass without pizza! Pizza makes the week bearable.
Of course, after pizza we all know the next best part of Fridays is the memes. Our friends at thedailymeme.com brought us today's slice of new media fun.

1. Do you use Facebook? Why/why not? Do you like it? Why/why not?
I'm on Facebook (facebook.com/lance.rachel) but I think it's just plain silly. I try to stay away because it's just one more meaningless addition to the chatter in my head. Any status updates I make are automatically fed in from somewhere else.

2. Do you use Twitter? Why/why not? Do you find it useful? Why/why not?
I am on Twitter (twitter.com/ByLanceR) and I rather like it. I find the content is of far more value and less self-oriented than the din that is FB. Furthermore, I'm constantly learning on Twitter and finding new and interesting people to engage with.

3. Do you do (or have you ever done) any other type of social networking thing? If so, what? If not, why not?
I enjoy dabbling in social media but haven't gone too deep with much of it. I maintain a current profile on LinkedIn but am not very active there. Additionally, I dabble on ImageKind which I'd like to be much more engaged with, but simply don't have the time. For the most part I think online social networking is not that different than real-world interaction - exhausting. I'm mostly engaged just enough to keep skills relevant.

On being distracted

2009-10-27T22:45:00.007-05:00

Yikes, it's been 24 days since my last post. Well, Internet, thanks for being here for me even after I so rudely neglected you while writing a midterm paper. As a gesture of my true affection, I've written not one, but a series of fabulous ramblings on my current state of distraction. Here for your reading enjoyment is the first installment...

In keeping with this year’s theme of crummy Midwestern weather, our cooler-than-average summer is being followed by a wetter-than-average autumn with almost 30 days of measurable rainfall yet this month. Indian summer is not to be had – I’ve entered that period of time whereby I am perpetually cold, no matter how many layers I manage to pile on my body. Grrr. Oh well, at least the weather is one thing by which I am not distracted. I wish I knew what I did to deserve such a lot in life, I’d gladly undo it. I’ve become an equal opportunity distractionist lately. Regardless of the task, be it sedentary reading or writing or physical activities like cleaning or working out, I rarely find myself in the moment these days. Never mind that my will to procrastinate has nothing to do with whether or not I actually like the activity in question, my distraction knows no bounds.
Now, lest you read this self-description and jump to the conclusion that I bumble about, accomplishing nothing, let me assure you that’s not the case at all. I work full time in a rather intense environment; I recently finished one degree (in less time than required by most) and am now working on another degree. I review YA literature for two publications and will soon post my first review for Adult non-fiction. Until recently I volunteered about 20 hours a month and I’d been maintaining a riding log of 35-40 miles a week (library school seems to be having a detrimental effect on these ventures). I hate being late and have no tolerance for sub-par work; I’ve never owned a t.v. and laziness is a pet peeve of mine. So, I’m dying to know what’s up with this ill-timed lack of focus? I’ve tried to be gracious, in these early days of library school, allowing myself plenty of time and space to acclimate to the expectations and the environment. But gosh darnit I want to get in a rhythm already and quit fighting my procrastinating self at every deadline.

2009-10-24T22:18:00.000-05:00

Somehow we were able to squeeze in a day just for us. No work. No school. And yes, some sun. We bolted out of civilization and headed west. The Mississippi was calling. Loud. We eagerly anticipated the fall colors and cool temperatures, wide open spaces, little or no people. We were not disappointed. Fall was just starting to creep in along the banks of the mighty river, the sky was stunning cobalt, the leaves a crisp yellow. A perfect day.
In the Palisades State Park, we explored valleys, chasing color through the shadows and following the sun streaks back up over the hilltops. The woods were broken with stone outcroppings overlooking the river where an old paddle-wheel riverboat was slowly working its way upstream.
We followed the banks south and came across a little riverside town that seemed like time had stopped in back in the day with white pickets lining every yard and churches on every street corner. A little further on down the road we came to an old cemetery and stopped to wander through. Without looking too hard we found markers from the early 1830’s. I wonder if much has changed there in the last 180 years.
With the sun setting behind us, we cut back east through the massive farms that lay patch worked as far as we could see on both sides of the road, every once in a while a steeple of a water tower rising up over the horizon. All too soon we were back in our own Fox River Valley, headed north towards home. All in all not a bad way to spend my 32nd birthday. In fact, it was perfect!

Please entertain my soapbox

2009-10-06T09:27:00.003-05:00

Without going into gory details I just have to say that email etiquette matters. Folks, this is nearly 2010, email is not a new fangled contraption anymore; technically, email is a few years older than I am (granted, it's only been mainstream for, oh say, the last decade). No matter the generation from which one hails, certain basics ought to be universally understood by now. I feel silly even putting words to the topic here - it's so basic, people! It's not really that much different than the office memo and business letter from days of yore (granted, only one office that I've ever worked in didn't use email and that was 15 years ago), the rules haven't changed, but something about email seems to make people stupid. Evidently a certain segment of the population missed the email boat because I've been among the recipients of a chain of several horribly rude and non-productive emails in the past week. Just when I think we could stoop no lower, another one appears and I'm newly amazed by the lack of so many fine qualities that I look for in professional communication.
As my good deed for this dreary, chilly, I'm-coming-down-with-a-little-somethin'-somethin' kind of a day, here are a few things to avoid as you're drafting your next email. Follow these simple rules and you'll never look like the a** in your email exchanges. You can thank me later (I love tea).

1) No caps. Are we staging a shouting match?
2) No cc'ing up the food chain. Do we need official witnesses for our shouting match?
3) No long, drawn out confrontations conversations. Do we need to see who cries "uncle" first in our shouting match? No matter the level of emotion behind the topic, if more than two replies are required, have a freaking face-to-face conversation. I know this advice seems terribly old fashioned, but email has its place beyond which it is counterproductive and just plain dumb.
4) No embellishing via font styles and colors. Do we need to prove that we can shout with flair? I'm trying so hard not to use the words "junior high" in this post, mainly because I can't decide where best to apply them, but if I did want to go there, this one might be the top contender.
5) No novels. Similar to point #3 above, but slightly different and equally as aggravating, this could otherwise be stated "keep it simple, stupid". If you have that much to say (shudder) call a meeting.

That's it for now. Let's try to get a good handle on five (5) simple tricks. If you're really ambitious, take a gander over here for 101 helpful hints and tips. We'll cover grown-up things like choosing words carefully and managing relationships on another day.
On a lighter note (heavens, what could be lighter than email etiquette), I just splurged on a cup of homemade hot cocoa. It was beautiful but failed to make me feel better. My head still hurts, my stomach is...restless...and I'm still miserable. Sigh...should've gone with the tea.

Master of My Domain

2009-10-03T18:00:00.001-05:00

It is the best time of year. The sun is brighter in a bluer sky. The leaves are starting their color explosion. The smell of wood fires drifts in the crisp afternoon air. I love the fall, it is my favorite of all seasons and it reminds me of growing up in Alaska. I love the cooler temps, especially at night when I can open the window and cozy up under the covers. I sleep so much better with the colder air and I wake up feeling really relaxed and rejuvenated. Until it gets too cold.

Even though it is just the first of October, we have had temps in the low 40’s at night. A little too cold for open windows. When I come home and find my wife doing homework with a jacket, scarf, and hat on, I know it was almost time to crank up the furnace. The next morning, in a stunning 42 degrees, I dialed up the thermostat to a more acceptable level and… nothing. The furnace did not event attempt to ignite. Not good. Not good at all. Considering that this time last year we had to have a guy replace the igniter – I was definitely not happy. I went down into the basement and opened her up. Everything looked fine. I pressed in the little safety switch that won’t let the furnace run with out the cover on and I heard a faint hum. But nothing else. Then I did what most everyone does in these situations, I kicked it. Still nothing. Then I did what most others would do, I went to work.

I didn’t even think about the furnace until I got home. And there she was again, sitting on the couch in a jacket, scarf, and hat. Back down to the basement I went. I Googled how a furnace works and found this list. Since when I held down the safety switch and nothing happened, I figured the exhaust motor wasn’t working. Either the valve was stuck or the exhaust pipe was blocked. I tested the valve first by sucking and blowing into it. I heard the switch operating. That left one thing. I opened up the exhaust pipe. At first, nothing. Then I peered down into the exhaust motor from where the pipe attaches. There was something there. I couldn’t reach it with my fingers. I grabbed a pair of pliers and pulled out…a bird. That’s right – a sparrow. In my furnace. In my basement. I put everything back together and held down the safety switch. Presto. Fire! Heat! Warmth! I fixed my furnace! I didn’t have to call anyone who charges $100 an hour to come out and do it. I was stoked – ask me who shared in my joy…go on, ask me what my wife did to celebrate this mastery over my domain. She grunted and rolled over – didn’t even bother to wake up and say thanks! Sheesh, can’t a guy get a little respect?

Today everything is still working. Now I just have to find a way to keep birds and other animals from staging a repeat performance ‘cause you know if a bird can do it, a squirrel is soon to follow…

Randomlings

2009-10-03T15:18:00.000-05:00

Bear with me for a while, I'm trying valiantly to procrastinate some reading so thought I'd do a brain dump here and perhaps recover some sense of focus...we'll see.

I picked the last of our tomatoes earlier this week. In all a fine harvest for the two of us, but not nearly what it could've been. Between losing momentum and getting really busy at just the wrong time, we let quite a few beauties go. Nonetheless, we were very blessed by our little garden this year. I'd say that I can't wait until next year, but I won't tease myself with the idea that I'll have time for gardening next year. With the hopes of finishing grad school before I'm...old...I better focus on classes and leave the fun things of life like gardens (and housework!) to the DH for a while.
Dangit if I don't love fresh tomatoes though. The DH made a thick, rich pasta sauce from some of the not-so lovelies and I used the last of the heirlooms in the most amazing tomato salad - made it twice this week, I just can't get enough (couldn't be simpler: a batch of jasmine rice (swoon), a spoonful of balsamic vinegar, couple spoons of olive oil, handful of fresh mozzarella pearls, 2-3 fresh tomatoes, big handful of fresh basil, little bit of red onion, salt, pepper = heaven!). Today we picked up the first store-bought tomato in a few weeks...sigh...so not the same. There's a few weeks left of the farmer's market, I think I shall make special effort to get over there and stock up on fresh tomatoes. I'm just not ready to let go.

I caved and made the zucchini cake I've been thinking of for a couple of weeks now. It was beautiful. I almost don't recognize the original recipe anymore. I've added an array of spices, increased the zucchini by almost half, doubled the cocoa, subbed whole wheat for almost half the flour and dropped more than half of the sugar completely. Perfection.

Driving into the city (almost) for school two consecutive nights a week...blows. However, I love being on campus and other than the time away from my cozy house it's going well. Only two-ish years and you can call me Librarian Lance. Plenty of time to cross my fingers that the job market looks a little better (read: has any prospects at all) when I'm officially on the market for full time employment. In the mean time, I'll be content with mastering the fine art of procrastination homework.

There is no denying it's almost winter. Where I come from snow is just days away (my condolences to those for whom that is a sad, sad reality). Even though I won't be faced with snow for another couple of months it's clear that there will not be an indian summer this year. As much as I hate being cold there are a few things I'm looking forward to:
- Socks. I've taken up socks again. In bed. Mmmmm - toasty!
- Scarves. Enough said.
- Soup. Have I mentioned that I love soup? We threw together a marvelous vegetable soup with an Asian flare earlier this week - bok choy, cabbage, bell peppers, celery, sprouts, water chestnuts in chicken broth with a good measure of garlic and ginger. Smashing! Next on the list: 3 bean chili a la Lance - beans, turkey, carrots, celery, onion, tomatoes, peppers, cumin and chili powder...yay for soup season.

Tea - another benefit to cold, damp, windy weather. Kobuk. Samovar Spice. Sleepytime. Sleepytime Extra (with valerian!) Market Spice. Good Earth Sweet & Spicy (kudos to Amazon for kindly shipping a case of this little slice of heaven to me every three months). I discovered, this morning, that my kobuk blend makes a nice addition to the simmering potpouri pot once I've brewed myself a cup. I. Love. Tea.

Let's have three cheers for finishing Christmas shopping, shall we? Yeppers, I'm done. Well, basically. I have a few incidentals for local friends yet to cover but the bulk of my shopping is done. I scored on shipping and tax by having Amazon ship directly to AK - woot woot for saving over $100 by being savvy! And here's a shout out to my sister who's acting as my local representative, handling the details of wrapping and delivery which is, I realize, no small task.

Ok, I've whiled away too much of this fine afternoon. I have a fabulous history of libraries to catch up on - Libraries: an Unquiet History is some fun times, let me tell you. My favorite takeaway so far? Harvard has more than 80 libraries. What does that look like?!? Sigh...back to the books. Thanks for entertaining my rambling. Cheers!

Return of the Friday Meme

2009-10-02T21:36:00.000-05:00

Because I know how you've all been missing the Friday meme tradition, it's back! (insert applause...and cut) Here for your reading enjoyment, courtesy of our friends at blazing minds, is a little discussion about the looming flu season...

Are you worried about Swine Flu (H1N1 influenza)? No. Knock on wood, I rarely get sick and since I babysat a child with swine flu (and his three siblings) and lived to tell about it, I'm thinking I'm going to be ok.

Do you think it is as bad as the press make out? No. While it's plenty serious, I think the press is, as usual, having a heyday.

Coughs, colds and flu like symptoms are common around this time of year, do you think people will panic more now if they get the common cold? Probably, thanks to all the noise from the press.

Do you think Swine Flu is a natural disease or man made? I sooo don't have energy for conspiracy theories.

Has your reaction changed to someone who is sneezing, coughing or sniffing next to you since the news of Swine Flu? No, I've always been creeped out by people without manners enough to sneeze, sniffle and blow in privacy. Come on folks, just take a few steps in the opposite direction! I will admit to being a little more intentional about using hand sanitizer (although I'm a little undecided on the value of it but figure I've got nothing to lose given that it's been installed on nearly every counter at both work and school). Now, were someone to insist upon coming to work or school after days of said coughing, sneezing, or sniffling, I might be more inclined to suggest this person stay home and get some obviously much-needed rest.

So, what are your thoughts? Are we in for an Armageddon of a flu season? Are you taking any special precautions?

Let soup season begin!

2009-09-20T22:12:00.000-05:00

I have found there is a silver lining about being incessantly cold...soup! Today's rainy, chilly weather was the perfect excuse to usher in soup season. Chicken noodle soup...barley and turkey sausage soup...potato soup...butternut squash and wild rice soup...black bean soup...white bean chicken soup...vegetable soup...spicy soup...soothing soup...hot soup...cold soup...I love soup! Tonight I made a pot of black bean soup chock full of vegetables and herbs which paired fabulously with the DH's mini whole-wheat corn bread cakes that were absolutely to die for...sigh...my favorite kind of beautifully guilt-free meal.
I think I shall declare this weekend a success - most likely because I did not find myself overcome by Anglo-American Cataloging Rules leading to a minor breakdown and panic about the rightness of my grad school ventures (hey, it's a 4" book of rules re: how to describe items that we anglo-americans might want to carry in a library - enough to make anybody a little nuts!). Can I get an amen? I got my reading done as planned and even a batch of granola and a load of laundry (call me soft, but the rainy afternoon precluded getting out on the bike like I'd hoped). I fought off a temptation to whip up a lovely chocolate zucchini cake, but am still feeling a draw on that front so check back with me in a couple of days. We had a lovely dinner out with friends and I tasted my first honeycrisp apple of the season. My home-office is picked up, the fridge is stocked up and I'm feeling quite well-rested. It's been a good weekend.
Amen.

So many good things

2009-09-18T22:51:00.000-05:00

I'm finding it difficult to pick the highlight of today. Was it the drive to work into a gorgeous sunrise or the hearty workout or indulging in HK's beautiful chocolate cake? or perhaps driving into the blazing, neon sun on the way home from work? Quite possibly the best part of today was enjoying the latest tomato harvest (Why yes, that is a caprese salad made from one slice of a tomato nearly the size of my salad plate - beautiful! And the yellow bad boy on the left was amazing, all 24 ounces of it!)...

Perhaps the highlight should be the fabulous margherita pizza that the DH had waiting for me when I got home and blowing off my homework in order to watch the finals of America's Got Talent on Hulu (Barbara is a sweetheart and you can keep Rascal Flats but oh YES! I called Kevin for the winner from day one!!!).
Today was a pretty darn good day, I must say. My goals for the weekend? Enjoy some quality time with the DH and the cutest boxer ever and finish my reading in good form with time to spare for a dinner with friends and maybe even a nice long bike ride come Sunday afternoon. Yessiree, I do believe fall is my time of year and I'm very blessed.
Cheers.

My Turn

2009-09-13T14:56:00.000-05:00

U2 was fine. There, I said it. The claw was big but it's not like it got up and walked around the stadium or anything. I'm definitely glad I went and it was certainly worth the time and effort, but I can't say that I'm geek enough to have thrilled over the 300+ truckloads of gear and the 4 days worth of installation sprawled out before me. I can now say, based on personal experience, U2 makes great music and puts on a big show. I'm glad the DH had the time of his life and I certainly enjoyed the time with him (he's darn lucky that we enjoyed such fine weather - the forecast earlier in the week was rather foreboding and would have made for a far different experience, me thinks) and I can check one more thing off the list of things to do.

U2360 Chicago - One of the greatest nights on earth...

2009-09-13T11:04:00.000-05:00

"... and this leaves me. There's not much to say about me, but you may want to take a seat anyways..." - Bono.

Last night, the greatest band around rolled into Chicago for one of the best concerts ever held in the US. And we were there. Yelling. Screaming. Dancing. Singing. I can tell you that it is truly amazing to hear Solider Field overtake U2 and have them stop and just listen to the 60,000 fans sing "I still haven't found what I'm looking for". To have been part of it is something I will remember for the rest of my life. The night rocked. They did every song I ever wanted to hear live. The stage was amazing. Huge. Bright. Full of surprises. I stood in awe, drinking it all in. I had been wanting to see them in person for quite some time. They did not disappoint.

What the...?

2009-09-11T20:44:00.000-05:00

This morning, on my ride into work, I pedaled past a little flock (gaggle?) of chickens dining on the yard of a McMansion in one of the most keeping-up-with-the-Joneses neighborhoods I can think of. Perhaps I'm jumping to undue conclusions but I cannot imagine this particular neighborhood association being receptive to the keeping of livestock, no matter how small the creatures. Perhaps it's the newest trend in yard ornaments that I'd simply failed to read about in the latest issue of Finer Things magazine. Really? Chickens?
P.S. It's Friday pizza night!

The Most Wonderful Time of Year

2009-09-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

I know that just a few short months ago I praised spring for being a fabulously life-giving season that I absolutely adore. That's not exactly incorrect, however I'm pretty sure fall is better. The weather is more consistent, the crickets are active, nights are perfect for patio fires, and fresh produce abounds. We enjoyed loads of fresh lettuce earlier in the season and next year I'll be prepared with several staggered plantings so that I'll have beautiful lettuce to go with my plethora of tomatoes, cucumbers et. al. come mid-September. The past couple of weeks have seen us bringing in a cherry tomato here and there, along with the random cucumber, but yesterday the DH brought in the first real haul - note the several tomatoes that are more than twice the size of my fist... Judging by what's left to ripen, we'll be in the produce business for a few more weeks. Yay for harvest salads (current favorite: an ear of roasted corn (heck, go for 2, there's never enough roasted corn), 2 beautiful tomatoes, a quarter cup of chopped cilantro, 2 T fresh lime juice and 2 T olive oil on a big bed of arugala...yum!). Tomorrow I'm going to marinate my first Greek salad, I'll let you know how that goes.

Last weekend we took an extra day off together and did all manner of replenishing activities. Of course we kicked the whole thing off with pizza night - and not just any pizza night, this was the long-awaited grilled pizza! My personal favorite was the olive oil, garlic, tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella (pictured in the background); the DH's classic sausage, olive, tomato, basil and zucchini was good but a little strong for this application. I'm sorely tempted to move pizza night to Saturdays to increase the chances of having time and energy enough to knead dough, heat coals, chop veggies and replicate this beautiful dinner. Tempting, but I'm not sure how I'd get through Fridays at the office without the promise of pizza at the end. Grilled pizza on the patio, watching the sunset, listening to crickets, enjoying the company of my darling husband is definitely a good thing.

So, if the beautifully temperate weather, perfect evenings and garden harvest are the sliver linings, the return of academic demands is definitely the rain on my parade these days. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love school and am fully embracing this new season. That's not to say, however, that I'm fully enjoying the reading and all other requirements when all I really want to do is relax by the fire and listen to the crickets. In honor of a friend's birthday and to celebrate the close of summer, I threw together these lovely lemon mini-cakes garnished with cream and berries. I'm trying not to think about the two long years ahead that threaten to be painfully void of fresh lemon cake and all things relaxing. Oy, let's nip that thinking in the bud and take it one day at a time, shall we?
Here's to the most wonderful time of the year.

Invisible I

2009-09-09T14:24:00.000-05:00

Callie, Nia and Hal are not friends and they don’t hang out together – that much is clear. What’s unclear is why they’ve been implicated in vandalizing the principal’s car. All signs point to their mutual friend Amanda, but they’ll be serving Saturday detention together until they can find her and get some answers. They’re forced to work together to unravel the clues she’s cleverly left behind. As the mystery deepens, the unlikely trio begins to question whether they ever really knew Amanda at all.

The first in a new series, The Amanda Chronicles, Invisible I is a quick, witty and engaging novel for teenage readers. Lennon’s characters come to life as she weaves an engaging tale about friendship and mystery. Plans for the series include interactive websites where fans can participate in telling Amanda’s story. It’s “reading 2.0” – an exciting approach to linking today’s wired readers with books they’ll love.

Invisible I
By Stella Lennon
HarperTeen, 2009, 352 pp, $16.99
Realistic Fiction/Friendships/Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-06-174212-5

One fine day

2009-09-07T21:27:00.000-05:00

We took a little road trip up to Zion Beach State Park. There's nothing like a quiet morning with my camera and the DH on a lovely trail. What a beautiful late summer day for a drive - I can't even complain about the un-godly hour that the DH made me get up and out of the house in order to catch the best light on the trail. What can I say? The lake was lovely, our trail du jour was pristine and we met only Champ, an eight-year old lab and his walker, a spotty deer who didn't stay long enough for a picture, and dozens of orange and black butterflies, one of whom was kind enough to allow nearly 50 photos. I couldn't pick a better way to spend a morning Sigh...

Muscle Man McGinty

2009-09-07T12:23:00.001-05:00

Muscle Man McGinty is the new kid on the block and Tamara Simpson has no intention of giving him a chance to fit in. She’s convinced he’s a wormy liar. When Muscle Man takes on the entire block in a game of kickball, Tamara is sure that the rest of the gang will finally see what she’s seen all along. What started out as the game to end all games comes to a halt when a solemn soldier walks up to the house across the street and suddenly the game doesn’t matter quite so much anymore.

Nan Marino’s debut novel grabs readers from the very start and leaves them wanting more when the last page is turned. The characters are vivid providing an appeal that spans genres, genders and ages in an expertly written coming of age story about friends, rivals, tragedies and celebrations in the turbulent summer of 1969.

Neil Armsrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
By Nan Marino
Roaring Book Press, 2009, 154 pp, $16.95
Realistic Fiction/Coming of age/Friendships
ISBN: 978-1-59643-499-8

Anne

2009-09-05T19:58:00.000-05:00

Has it really been two weeks? Oy...
So, I'm sitting downtown the other day, on a park bench, reading The New Inquisition when a little old lady takes a seat on the bench next to me and starts tossing some crumbs to the birds on the sidewalk nearby. After a few minutes she turns to me and asks if I know why she feeds the birds. Of course I don't know why she feeds the birds so she tells me that it's because "it's the nice thing to do, and if I'm hungry I want someone to feed me." Can't argue with that. She introduces herself and launches into a story about her cat Mr. Louie. Not just a story, actually, but a collection of poems about Mr. Louie, Kitty, and all of the cats she's ever owned. What a dear. Apparently all of her cats were saintly enough to make it through the pearly gates and are now looking down on her with love. She really was a sweet li'l ol' thing with paper-thin skin, striped pants, wildly printed scarf tied around her shoulders, and a plaid newsboy hat on her curly red hair. She thought my dog's name was funny, noting that "it's unique, not like my name, Anne, there's too many of them." She rambled on for a while about all of the driving she used to do with her husband, Norbert (now dead some three years), and she asked where I live. Of course, she and Norbert had visited my town when he'd been alive, they visited all kinds of places. I'm not sure that, were Anne my sweet granny, I'd be all for letting her out of the house to wander around downtown Chicago feeding birds and telling her life story. Call me cynical but I just don't trust everyone to have Anne's best interest at heart. Heck, when she asked my name and where I live I ran the full gamut of risks through my mind before divulging such precious commodities as my name and current city of residence. Why on Earth wouldn't Anne have my best interest at heart? The poor soul was just out to share her bread and some poems about her cats. I try to avoid headlines and don't own a television so my news intake is relatively non-existent yet I think it's safe to say that my imagination ran a little wild when I pictured a tiny, old woman ransacking my house after having tied me to a chair in the kitchen. I hate to think of the images running through the minds of those on a regular diet of sensory overload. I know first hand that one can never be too careful, but at what point does caution stand in the way of genuine human interaction? Thank you for sharing the joy of your poems, Anne. It was a pleasure meeting you.

Guest post: A Little Rain

2009-08-16T19:27:00.000-05:00

As a heavy rain came down and soaked our parched little town, I decided it would be a fine time to jump in the car and cruise over to Walgreens to pick up a print of an SCS ad I had been working on and was especially proud of – this one’s definitely worth framing if I do say so. I threw on a pair of pants and flips and flashed the "ride" sign to El Diablo Blanco and we dashed out the door. I waded across the yard to the gate and turned to see my boxer, who loves nothing more than to play in the sprinkler all day, high stepping it through the puddles trying not to get his feet wet. Sometimes I have to wonder about that dog. During the five minute ride to Walgreens, lightning started to flash and I could hear the thunder rolling in the distance and I thought to myself how smart it was not to be at he Chicago Air and Water show today, that those folks must be miserable down there.

So, I get to the store, park and run in, expecting that all I’d have to do was pay for the print. As I ran my card through the little payment machine the store exploded. Well, almost. A super bright flash and a super loud crack that left me with sunspots in my eyes and ringing in my ears was followed instantly by total darkness. I stood there staring at my debit card wondering what the heck just happened. I turned to look out the store doors and saw a little old lady sitting flat on her rump, legs and arms extended out in front of her and the sliding doors blown off their tracks and folded into the store towards her. The emergency lights kicked in right away and the store managers went running by yelling at each other. Some of the other patrons were crouched down and I saw one guy peaking up from behind a magazine rack. The store had apparently taken a direct hit of lightning. The clerk ran my card again and completed my transaction.

I walked out of the store past the old lady who was still frozen in the same position with the manager trying to help her up and babbling like an idiot about how "this was just an accident" etc. As I got outside I noticed a black pickup sitting next to the curb with its doors open and tires flat and smoking and no one around it. Must have belonged to someone in the store who parked it illegally and ran in to get something. Bet they think twice about parking there next time. I got to my car and saw Goose crouched in the front seat looking up at the sky with all of his hair standing on end. Poor guy, he really didn't know what just happened. I got in and he cuddled up with kisses a-plenty. By the time we got back to the house the deluge had pretty much stopped. I walked in and the DW said, "Dude you should have totally waited 10 minutes to go, the rain just stopped." No kidding...

Books

2009-08-16T13:40:00.001-05:00

Sigh...a rainstorm, Rachmaninoff and a stack of books. A quiet afternoon just doesn't get any better. Today I worked on capturing some of my favorite books for an arrangement on the wall of my office and am now hoping they print up ok. Can I just say that I LOVE a good rain, especially when it breaks up a string of 90 degree days. Hard to say which I love more, though, my books or the rain...sigh.

Books are delightful society. If you go into a room and find it full of books - even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you, to bid you welcome. ~William Ewart Gladstone

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A house without books is like a room without windows. ~Heinrich Mann

Rest and replenishment

2009-08-13T21:18:00.000-05:00

The DH and I managed to swing a much-deserved day off together in the middle of the week. Since there is nothing more cathartic to me than spending time with my camera in a garden, we planned an outing in and around the city's gardens and I really couldn't have designed a better day. The weather was ideal, the brunch was a little weird but good, the gardens were amazing, dinner on the patio was lovely and we've just spent the evening poring over a couple hundred fabulous photos. An absolutely perfect way to catch our breath in the middle of the craziest busy season ever. Here's to time together.

with a vengeance

2009-08-09T21:05:00.000-05:00

Summit wrapped: check. Two book reviews for Signal Journal: check. Next-to-last weekend service with my video team (for now): check. Home office put back together: check (thanks DH!). Card finished for a friend: check. Relax and replenish: ....ugh, still working on that one but every time I picked up a book I'd fall asleep. It's been quite a productive weekend and I'm starting to feel the walls close in a little as I come up on two weeks before school starts. There's so much more I wanted to do with my free time...sigh...

Evidently the gentle, lazy days of summer that I've enjoyed for the past two months are over. We've buttoned up the house and I've resumed my love-hate relationship with air conditioning. Chicago-style summer has finally arrived and the humidity is here with a vengeance. BLEH! That's really all I have to say about that.

The Leadership Summit 2009 has come and gone and what a brutal week that was. In all, it was a success but let's just have another BLEH! I've never seen so much unnecessary disorder - like we've never pulled off this event before. Granted, we're operating with 40% less staff but that should've been cause to work smarter, not an excuse to pull out all the last minute tasks we can dream up. I lost track of all the times I wanted to scream ENOUGH ALREADY! We've become experts at perpetuating chaos and that's just not where I thrive. Oh well, it's over and I'm alive and over 60,000 people heard some great speakers - my favorite was Andrew Rugasira's thoughts on trade vs. aid in Africa - lots to ponder there. I'm glad for the opportunity to be involved with the cause, I really am, but it's been an unbelievably hard few weeks leading up to our capstone event and I'm nervous about what this next season might have in store, it's so undefined. I like to plan things and keep them in order and our "new reality" hasn't left much room for planning and logic and order and I can't help but wonder what that means.

Pizza!

2009-08-01T12:20:00.000-05:00

Take one ball of honey whole wheat pizza dough, flatten it out on a stone sprinkled with corn meal and then smear it with three-quarters cup of fresh tomato-y, garlic-y, herb-y sauce. Top that with copious amounts of beautiful mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, thinly sliced yellow bell peppers, diced zucchini, kalamata olives and reigndeer sausage. Bake for 20 minutes and then wait an eternity for the DH to tear himself away from setting FoxFireFest. This is the Friday night pizza night that almost wasn't. We finally sat down to eat at close to 9:00 and despite the crust being a little on the crunchy side, the pizza was delectable. We checked out a new cooking show on Hulu and then took our tired selves to bed. Tomorrow is a busy day full of FoxFireFest and other summer activities. I still can't believe my good fortune this season - the coldest summer for Chicago in something like 50 years. Amen!

Guest Post: Tree Trimming

2009-07-28T20:26:00.000-05:00

So we have a lovely little apple tree on our property. OK, it’s not really little – it tops out at over 30' tall. In the five years since this has been our tree, it’s never given us much fruit, a disappointing fact we always attributed to a lack of pruning. All the fruit that ever came off of it was about the size of a golf ball – Goose was the only one who ever enjoyed the apples from this tree. Not so this year. With the mix of all of the rain and cool weather, there are apples galore. Big apples (comparatively speaking).

Lately, several of the secondary trunks were starting to bend over and almost break and I began to toss around the idea of trimming these excess trunks. I even did a little research on it. But “we” decided to wait and see if it would be better to trim in a non-fruit bearing month. I came home last night and one of said trunks was bent over and broken at the base. Too much fruit, apparently. So I cut the branch out. Then I let instinct take over and I cut out a few of the dead and crossing branches like the articles online said to do. No problem, I stopped well before the recommended 1/3 of the tree was gone. Rachel was not quite as satisfied with the job as I was – she loves that little tree and preferred to let an experienced professional handle the pruning. But what was done was done. Or so I thought.

In the middle of the night I woke up to fierce winds. According to my Lance Estimation Skills, I clocked the wind, sustained, at over 95 mph from 12.30 am to 2.30 am. Was probably not that spectacular, but still... When we woke up this morning and took El' Diablo Blanco for his morning dash around the block I saw tons’o’trees down throughout the neighborhood. As I turned the last corner, coming up on our backyard, I saw what we had. Our poor little apple tree had even more branches bent over and sagging. Evidently I took out some major support when I cut out the dead and crossed branches. How was I to know we would barely survive a dry land hurricane the very same night I trimmed the tree? I looked at the branches and saw that none were broken. I planned on coming home and tying some rope around the saggers to provide a little "support" until they were strong enough to stand by themselves. But it was not to be. As Rachel and I pulled into the drive this evening, all of the saggers were now brokeners. I had to cut them out too and now we are pushing the envelope on that “never prune more than 1/3 of the tree at a time” rule. Cutting that one real close, actually. And I was informed that if I have done anything to harm the "poor little tree" permanently - that is precisely where I would be sleeping. Come on Miracle Grow – don’t fail me now! - M

Summer time

2009-07-24T23:06:00.000-05:00

Friday Meme: Name the five best things about summer...
1. Fresh produce - I don't care if it's from my garden or one of the many area farmers' markets, I just can't get enough fresh-off-the-vine produce. My current favorite: grilled peaches w/ amaretto sauce and a dab of yogurt...oh my goodness!
2. Sleeping under a ceiling fan with the windows open, listening to the crickets at night and the birds in the morning
3. Breakfast on the front porch swing watching the sunrise and dinner on the back patio next to the fire with a tasty beverage
4. Riding my bike to work - the perfect 11 mile commute and a fully equipped locker room are by far the biggest perks of my current place of employment
5. Drive-in movies (even though they rarely show my kind of flick and I usually fall asleep before the night's truly over)

Closing in on 6 weeks

2009-07-23T07:37:00.000-05:00

My summer of footloose and fancy-freedom continued last night with Ladies Night at the spa-bead bar. A little wine, a little quiche, a little chocolate, great conversation and I designed three great pieces of jewelry - too fun! There's definitely something to be said for time spent in community. I must be careful, with school right around the corner my goal in these final weeks is to be replenishing my weary soul, not getting hooked on expensive pastimes...sigh. Next stop on this fabulous tour: a quaint Galena getaway and stay tuned for the Chicago skyline cruise!

Important reminder

2009-07-21T20:03:00.000-05:00

As far as Chicago summers go, this one has been one in a million and I'm probably one in a million people who prefers this cooler than average year to our standard sweatbox. Today, I took in the balmy temperature out on the patio by the pond while eating lunch with a friend. Our conversation turned slightly more reflective than usual and I realized that sometimes I forget to be grateful for childhood memories full of laughter and light-hearted fun, where jokes and humor at others’ expense were rarely attempted much less tolerated and where relationships were not continuously marred by flesh-tearing sarcasm. I was reminded that families who engage in kind gestures, thoughtful emails, frequent phone calls and warm visits are not necessarily the norm and that I’m fortunate to be a part of a group of people who are safe and authentic, whose friendship I would choose were we not genetically bound and around whom I don’t need to anxiously worry about snide comments or hurtful “humor”. Shame on me for forgetting - here’s to moments of gratitude for my family.

Seven weeks and counting

2009-07-19T22:29:00.000-05:00

It's been a beautiful but oddly unsettled summer. The activity at work continues in the frantic, unruly fashion that began when we lost half of our staff which has led me to be extra intentional about replenishing on the weekends. We've done so many of our favorite things so far this summer: camping, biking, gardening, festivals (both working and attending) and we've spent many an evening on the patio, next to a fire, reading aloud (this summer we're working our way through the Narnia series) or just dreaming. The garden has been a joy to work this year, it's been a while since I've had time or energy to fully engage with the yard. We have four varieties of tomatoes progressing nicely and I'm in utter awe of lettuce - I had no idea it could be such a little miracle plant. Will it ever stop growing and filling my refrigerator with mounds of tender, crispy, sweet salad fixings?

In an effort to come in out of the heat, I took up running in the little gym at my office during the (fabulously brief but brutal) heat wave that we endured back in June. Since then running has been a great cross-training option and I've alternated with my regular biking. Today I ran my first race in...many years. While my time wasn't what I'd like, it was great for being less than four weeks into a new venture, but what was really great was coming away with that runner's high that inspired me to plot out twelve more events that I'd like to run between now and the end of the year. The energy in the midst of 3,400 fellow runners was utterly contagious. Those last hundred yards were, perhaps, the most alive I've felt in months and the drive that remains, pushing me to get right back out there tomorrow and add 10% to my distance is invigorating. I'm hopeful that when I look back on 2009 I will see it as the year I rediscovered running, rather than the year of the Great Recession.

Looking ahead, I have only six remaining weekends until my life is again consumed by commuting, classes, books, papers and the like. I'm not sure that the decision to delay the beginning of my grad school experience was the best choice, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this summer of non-commitment. I've made it my mission to fill the remaining weeks with things that I love that will be life giving and memorable long after school takes over. This week is ladies night at the Spa/Bead Bar, next weekend the DH and I are getting away to a quaint little place out west in Galena, and in three weeks we're taking a cooking class in the city (this has long been on my to-do list for date nights - I'm so excited I could almost spit!). Summer is moving right along and before I know it it will be over, but we're definitely making the most of these footloose and fancy free days. By Labor Day I ought to be one happy (and tired!), gratefully blessed girl.

A Mess of Fun

2009-07-02T19:14:00.000-05:00

I can't say as I can remember why, exactly, I set out to make these adorable but somewhat daunting "cupcake pops". I guess I was just looking for something fun and out of the ordinary for my friend's birthday. Mission accomplished. They were on the messier side, preparation wise, so I'm not sure I'd elect to produce them again, but they went over so well at the office that all the mess was more than worthwhile in the end. I have to admit that I did enjoy channeling my inner Martha Stewart - I'd like to think I've discovered my calling because how fun would life be if I got to decorate cupcakes all day? Alas, it's back to managing projects and tracking down bugs. Sigh...

As good as it gets

2009-06-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

I had to know, when I woke up at 6:37 this morning sans alarm or whining dog, that today would be a good day. Any day that I can wake up any darn time that I please is a good day. For the first time in quite a few days I had a great night's sleep - no work happenings or allergies or hacking from the DH to disturb my slumber. Today's forecast was for sunny skies and warm air, so we packed a lunch and headed west.

The sunny skies were only moderately so making for less-than-ideal photo ops, but it was delightful nonetheless. I captured a few shots of the hills just outside Galena - I definitely have some work to do on my landscapes, but not a bad start. It's such beautiful country out that way. The DH settled himself just a little deeper into my heart when he voluntarily rolled my favorite playlist (Carla Bruni, Adelbert, and several other French artists) and shared a few thoughts from my latest read (Firstborn Advantage). Our dog, in typical fashion, provided comic relief as he took in the scents with his jowls blowing in the wind. The three of us walked down Main Street in Galena and even Goosey enjoyed the fabulous shops, popping up in the windows to take in the displays (he was less interested in the jewelry displays - it was the stuffed raccoon that really got his attention). He came pretty darn close to scoring a lick of an unsuspecting woman's ice cream cone - she laughed, luckily. It's not every dog who can make friends this way.

We returned home with enough time and energy to prepare a real dinner and work a little in the yard. I tried a new pasta recipe courtesy of my "virtual friend" PW. She can get away with using things like heavy cream and butter, but I just can't bring myself to be so extravagant and so, in my usual manner, I made a few modifications towards the lighter side (and then promptly took two steps backwards by adding handfuls of fresh mozzarella pieces - divine!). We capped off the lovely day with a summery strawberry shortcake next to our little patio fireplace which is on its last leg and about to be retired after seven years of faithful service. I couldn't have dreamt a more delightful day.

It's been far too long since I've felt rested and replenished at the start of a new week. Here's to beautiful summer days and Sunday drives.

sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever so you can rest

2009-06-11T12:00:00.001-05:00

Luxury has arrived....maybe. I've finally got the chance to dig into my summer reading (pay no mind that my "summer reading" references the same stack of 21 books on my nightstand (yes, I counted) that have been there since last fall. I'm a collector. I can't help myself, I love books. Sometimes it's more important to me to read wide instead of deep. I digress. 21 books and no time or energy is a sorry place to be, so here I am, capitalizing on a day all to myself. What, you might ask, did I have to do to gain a day all to myself? See the post title? Yep, I've managed to contract one heck of a summer cold. So, here I am in bed.

It's actually been a rather productive day. I'm getting pretty dang familiar with the macbook pro the the DH bought me for school that I haven't touched since I decided to put off school til fall. I've participated, via skype mind you, in an utterly needless crisis at my office. And while I was annoyed to discover I'd missed the mailman, having an anniversary card to send out, my mood improved rather quickly seeing that the good man brought me two more books to add to my summer reading (Jane Eyre and First Born Advantage - absolutely can't wait!). How did he know I'd be spending the day amidst the company of books? Right now I'm taking a break from a highly recommended Henry Cloud and listening to Rachmaninov wondering why it hasn't rained yet and contemplating how badly do I want lunch. Since nothing in particular sounds scruptious enough to get me out of this bed, I think lunch will wait.

Rachmaninoff is one of my favorite things - don't ask me to identify many of his works, but I sure do love them. Rachmaninoff accompanied by the sound of rain is even better, but I'll take what I can get on a day like this.

Watermelon. Perhaps that's the ticket for lunch. Watermelon is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful creations. I love watermelon. But that's what I had for breakfast. And dinner. So perhaps I can come up with something else for lunch. Speaking of summer (I know I was speaking of watermelon, but watermelon and summer truly ought to be synonymous), you know what else I love about summer? Color. Even under today's overcast skies the grass and trees and flower beds are alive...sneeze sneeze. I saw the most amazing colors in western IL/eastern IA a couple of weeks ago, but that day was also overcast and so the pictures would not have done justice to the rolling farmland quilted in all manner of golds and greens. I have made a personal goal to return to the area, sooner than later, and capture the scene (perhaps I should finally invest in that wide angle I've been lusting after...). My gardens, on the other hand, have not failed to deliver in the area of color so far this season. Now, if only the vegetables come through in the same manner...ahh, Pandora (I love Pandora!) is playing my favorite song, Alla Turca (yes, yes I know, not a Rachmaninoff, but I love so many things!).

Sadly, my medicine head is fresh out of random thoughts. Here's to quiet days at home with good books...

Still kicking

2009-05-10T20:59:00.001-05:00

The long wait for an inspired post drags on. One would think that a trip to Colorado would provide some spark of creativity, mais non. It was fabulous, we saw and did absolutely everything we set out to see and do, but the best I could do with that venture was let the pictures speak for themselves. There's also the recent trip to Alaska, but that too failed to deliver by way of a writing brainstorm. My life, both of those trips included, has become a vicious cycle of over-stimulation and exhaustion. Not sure how I missed this ride during the entire season of tackling both work and school full time, but I've never felt quite as incapacitated as I have lately. There are plenty of words to describe my current state, but I'm too tired to gather them all (and besides, who wants to recant this feeling?!?). I've given up on trying to understand why or how I arrived here, I'd just like to get my head back in the game and feel fully engaged again. Anyway, enough rambling. This experiment was supposed to be about gratitude, so let's get on with it. The season has definitely shifted - there's green everywhere I look, blossoms high and low and the birds are constantly heralding the arrival of warm weather. Yesterday we put in three types of tomatoes, three types of lettuce, bell peppers, carrots, corn and cucumbers along with several new perennials and a new raspberry patch (I'm actually really excited about this year's garden, I'll post pics this week). Hallelujah!!! This morning I enjoyed several hours of peace and quiet on the patio next to a happy little fire, simply being. Come mid-afternoon our neighbors decided to add their blend of clatter to the mix and I just couldn't stand it (now accepting suggestions as to a clever noise-reducing strategy). So this evening the DH took me to a movie (as a non-Trekie I can attest that the newly released feature film is definitely worthwhile) and dinner. Now I have a cup of Sleepytime and three new episodes of Cesar Milan to catch up on thanks to my friends at Hulu. Not a bad way to end a decent weekend. Sigh...maybe this is the week I actually start to feel "normal". Is it just me or is life in the suburbs moving really dang fast these days?

A pattern?

2009-04-18T08:19:00.000-05:00

Obviously I should read my own blog more often - I see here that I've recapped the perfect pizza twice now, in case anyone is interested. What can I say? It's been a rough few weeks and my beautiful pizza is one of the few constants in life. I think I need to just admit that sans procrastination, maintaining a blog isn't nearly as appealing. It's just another chore and I've been rebelling chores of any type lately. I haven't been scoffing responsibility in the name of doing something more fun, I just haven't had the resources within me for anything more than the essentials: sleep, work, eat, repeat ad infinitum. I'd like to blame the changes at the office, somehow a 40% reduction in staff is equivalent to a 125% increase in workload for the rest of us and I haven't yet built up the muscle to manage it well. Go figure. I'm not sure if that's what's got me down or if there's a different storm brewing in me that's yet to be fully recognized. Either way it's exhausting.
Enter: vacation! (Hugely contented sigh here) Why haven't I been embarking upon these vacation-for-no-reason things long before now? There's certainly something to be said for getting away to an unfamiliar place with absolutely no agenda. Who knew? Of course, we weren't gone nearly long enough, not until the day before we left did I realize that I hadn't yet spent time listening and trying to figure out what's really going on in my soul. Neither had it occurred to me to give any thought to what my next steps could (or should) be. I'd simply been enjoying the mountains and the driving and the resting. I really couldn't have asked for a better getaway, Boulder spoke to my weary self like no other place I've been. I'll definitely be going back and next time I won't have so much exploring to do - just more resting. There's something to be said for choosing a vacation carefully - we came across several hot deals and were torn between tropical destinations and big city lights. But none of those places were "us" - there is no real draw to those places for us and so we waited until Boulder came along. Boulder with its cafes, mountains, lakes, bikes, trails, trees and sky - far, far, far away from urban sprawl (I didn't set foot in anything more mainstream than a Safeway in over a week - amazing!) All I can say is amen and amen for Boulder!
Careful not to let this blog become just another chore, and in an effort to break the sleep-eat-work cycle, I'm off now for a bike ride. Details (and photos) of the trip to Boulder yet to come...

Back in the saddle

2009-04-17T19:46:00.000-05:00

It's Friday, and of course that could only mean two things: pizza and a meme! I love Friday night! Pizza night! at our house. We're not adventurous pizza consumers - no, we know exactly how we like our pizza. So far my extra-chunky tomato sauce is king and the DH has turned out the best dough (he's been getting home earlier than me and with more energy for kneading), but we're trying to incorporate more honey and whole wheat flour so it's still a work in progress. There's a little science to the toppings, must be careful or the top gets a little soggy, the must-haves include: reindeer sausage, roma tomato, zucchini, red or yellow bell pepper (never green!), red onion, black olives, crushed garlic, fresh basil and oregano, mozzarella, and parmesan. There's nothing like it - cheers for pizza!
And in honor of the vacation from which I just returned (still transferring close to 750 pictures!), today's souvenir themed meme comes courtesy of our friends at Friday5
1. When you travel, what kinds of souvenirs do you like to bring home for yourself? I always look for a Christmas ornament and things I can't get anywhere else
2. Is there a certain kind of souvenir you always bring back for a particular someone? Not really...I guess the DH always gets a t-shirt when he's not traveling with me.
3. Of the souvenirs you’ve collected from your travels, what is your favorite? Perhaps the scarves I bought in France when I was 17 - I still wear both of them every winter.
4. What’s the silliest souvenir you’ve brought back for yourself, or what’s the silliest souvenir someone has brought back for you? Cheesy might be a better word than silly - I bought a souvenir ulu on one of my visits home to Alaska. But it's actually really handy, especially in the summer, I use it on fresh herbs all the time.
5. If you were going to send someone a souvenir from places you visited today, what might it be? From my office? Hard to say...I guess, in a moment of weakness, I caved this afternoon and finished off the last of the Rocky Mountain Chocolates that I brought back from Denver for my team, maybe I'd wish up a few more of those, but that doesn't really answer the question.

Finally freakin' Friday

2009-03-20T22:59:00.000-05:00

Friday means two things: pizza night!!! and memes! Can I get a hooray?!? I can't explain my recent fascination with pizza. All I know is that the perfect combination of crispy, chewy and cheesy topped with tomatoes, peppers, olives, zucchini and reindeer sausage is incredibly exciting to me. So much so that I've looked forward to it every Friday for the past 9 weeks. I love Friday pizza night! I don't even care that pizza is probably not the wisest thing with which to break a four-day, flu-imposed fast - I'm eating pizza tonight! Here's to Friday pizza traditions!
And today's meme is brought to us by the fine folks at friday5...
1 thing you want right now.
1. focus
2 things you've watched lately.
1. Blindness (agonizing)
2. Hell's Kitchen (I love hulu!)
3 sites you’ve signed up for.
1. Heather B. Armstrong
2. Fit Chick
3. 101 Cookbooks
4 things you’ve read recently.
1. Michener’s Alaska (brushing up for a mini book-club yay!)
2. Eat Love Pray
3. Blink
4. Chronicles of Narnia (fabulous read-aloud!)
5 things on your grocery list.
1. Fresh basil
2. Roma tomatoes
3. Broccoli
4. Asparagus
5. Strawberries
....mmmm....primavera with fresh mozzarella and spring veggies followed by a bowl of berries and a little Winking Owl (hey, I’m not proud!)....I love cooking on the weekends. Thank goodness it’s Friday!

Day 77

2009-03-18T17:58:00.000-05:00

I'm beat. Life continues to resist slowing down to a "comfortable" pace and I've still not gotten the better of my writers block. In the interest of getting something recorded today, I'm resorting to simply listing the goings on in my world, read on and then ask me why I'm beat.
In the past week I...

1) chased my dog, carrying a live bird in his mouth, through the house (and then switched gears to chase the released bird out of the house).
2) watched as 27 of my friends and colleagues have been unfunded (no, the process is about 70% complete, I'm not safe).
3) was accepted by my first choice in grad schools.
4) have said hello to another beautiful 75 degree day.
5) woke up to birds outside my window and laid in bed listening through my yoga time...twice.
6) dreamt up a getaway weekend to Boulder, but have not mustered the guts to buy tickets.
7) survived the flu of death and lived to tell about it (if I had the energy).
8) sat by the first patio fire of the season and savored a grilled sweet potato.
9) finally (finally!) found mandarin oranges and bought two boxes (sadly, not Japanese Satsuma, but almost as tasty).
10) celebrated Lance Mackey's third Iditarod victory (now there's a Hollywood story about Alaska I'd like to see - who the heck is Christopher McCandless anyway?!?)

While there have certainly been moments to relish this past seven days, they have, sadly, been somewhat overshadowed by certain others. My efforts to celebrate the pedestrian moments of life are not enough to fight the despondency that comes with watching almost half of my company face the news that their employment is soon to end. While I've certainly got more than ever to be grateful for, it somehow does not seem right that I should be flaunting my blessings while so many others are reeling.
Perhaps tomorrow I'll have a better perspective on it all. Or perhaps I'll turn to my old friend zucchini cake.
Until then...cheers

A day redeemed

2009-03-10T19:57:00.000-05:00

I must have reminded the DH of how lousy my day was at least a dozen times by early this afternoon. There were just so many indicators that this was to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. The worst part came when I got home and went to remove my scarf. My beloved scarf. The most beautiful scarf that goes absolutely brilliantly with 90% of my wardrobe. The scarf that has kept me warm and cozy for the entirety of this uber long winter. The scarf that was not around my neck. How on earth could I have lost my scarf?!?! How would I ever sleep tonight? The campus on which I work is not at all conducive to locating a lost possession, my final meeting of the day was literally 1/4 of a mile from my desk...I had no reason to hope of ever seeing my beautiful scarf again. In a final act of desperation, I skyped one of the developers on my team who was just logging off for the day. He was kind enough to go scout the area around my desk and to my utter relief and amazement there found my scarf - cue the hallelujah chorus!!! So I did a little jig and all but proclaimed my love for this kind soul and my day was suddenly an amazingly different day. I know how sad it is that a little scarf could have such an impact, but as they say, it's the little things that matter.
Also contributing to the greatness of this evening was my little Goosey. We took him on a walk after dinner and in his usual exuberant fashion he brought tremendous joy. Heck, taking a walk at 6:30 with daylight and warm air brings much joy, but there is nothing, nothing, nothing like watching our usually hyper-alert, visually-stimulated deaf dog be taken surprise by a little garden statue of a wolf. He just about jumped out of his harness and his skin and then he proceeded to attack said wolf. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Who knew that a bad day could make such a marked turnaround.

A little help from a friend

2009-03-09T20:01:00.000-05:00

Last week I allowed myself to become nearly consumed by the uncertainty of looming layoffs. I learned that a cheap cynical laugh on the topic might help relieve some pressure, but only for a moment. It's like a beautiful chocolate cake, always tempting you to enjoy "just one more bite" and leaving you to feel like a total slug once you've overindulged. I vow no more morbid humor...or, for that matter, chocolate aka "zucchini" cake. I had a great lunch with a friend today. What I treasure most about this friend is that she pushes me to be a better version of myself and she's encouraging about it at the same time so that I truly believe there's hope that I might actually become that better version. This conversation was not like chocolate cake, but more like summer-fresh berries with a dollop of fresh, creamy yogurt - good tasting and good for you! (Why the food analogies? must be time for dinner) Thinking back on it, I'm reminded of the passage in Matthew that talks about the eyes being like a lamp - "when the eyes are good, the whole body is full of light" (6:22). The choice to dwell on good things, be it with the eyes or humor or my blog, really has an impact on how I perceive the rest of my circumstances. Profound, I know, but given the alternative, I think I'll dwell on it a little longer.

Nosh!

2009-03-08T14:29:00.000-05:00

Finally - a restaurant experience I don't regret! I can fully own that I'm something of a food snob. I can't necessarily define my taste except that I like what I like the way I like it. I'm not a big fan of eating out for several reasons. First, it's very easy to discern food that's been pulled from an array of extra large, no-name warehouse packages and thrown together in the name of "made-to-order". It's a rare prepackaged food that finds its way to my kitchen so I'm not fond of the idea of paying a premium just to be served a plate of convenience. Second, it's become increasingly difficult, lately, for me to not wonder what secrets might be hiding in the kitchen (too much Gordon Ramsay on hulu, I'm afraid); and finally, if I can figure out how to make it at home I will - it's something the DH and I have always enjoyed doing together. But that's not to say I'm not game for going out every once in a while. So earlier this week, in a fit of mid-reorganization anxiety, I decided I need something to look forward to. Not having the time or resources to "get away" right now, a snazzy little brunch in downtown Geneva would have to do. I'm thrilled to say it was probably the best restaurant experience I've had since moving to urban sprawl a few years ago - I highly recommend Nosh (I'd include a link, but they're too cool for school or the Web, apparently). Virginia, our waitress, was an absolute doll, she probably could've sold me a side of beef, I loved her that much. OK, perhaps I don't love her quite enough to break my 20-year abstention from red meat but entirely at her recommendation I did order the tasting of polenta with goat cheese and honey-gingered pears, bruleed oats with blueberries and chicken and Gouda sausage. Utterly, amazingly fresh...as was the fresh-squeezed raspberry-orange mimosa (a little more bubbly than I'd anticipated, but absolutely delightful nonetheless). In all, a beautiful brunch which I would gladly relive with any interested out-of-towners (hint, hint!). Cap that off with a visit to a fancy little grocery store (didn't have what I was looking for - darn food snobbery!), and a little splurge on a brulee torch (a single-purpose gadget that I swore I'd never need for which I'll now need to discover new recipes and means of application), and this has been another fabulous Sunday. Let's hope it's enough to get through the looming results of the reorganization which we've been told to expect this week. Stay tuned for more on that, I may suddenly find that I've all kinds of time for writing about life's celebration-worthy moments. Cheers

Are we there yet?

2009-03-08T01:18:00.000-06:00

Enough with the false starts already. I need spring! Yesterday I got home with just enough time before dusk to indulge in my first outdoor ride in five months and it was heavenly. A much needed end to the crappiest week ever, I pounded out almost 10 miles in about 45 minutes as the sun was setting and I felt better than I have probably all winter. (Note to self: 60 degrees at dusk in early March is so not the same as 60 degrees in April...or May...or (sigh) June...next time bring the sleeves!) My stamina certainly isn't what it was, but it's been a long winter so I'm just glad my losses weren't more pronounced. Tomorrow's daylight savings which means that while it won't be fully daylight when we leave for the gym in the morning, I could, in theory, ride after work in the evenings. But only if the temperature cooperates which brings me back to my opening thoughts...I'm sick of this not-winter-anymore-not-yet-spring business, give me a real season already (and if there's any justice out there in the cosmos, please don't let it be winter)! Anyway, three cheers for stress reducing rides!

Friday Meme

2009-03-06T07:39:00.000-06:00

Today's meme comes courtesy of the folks at Monday's A Bitch...
What's your main means of transportation?
A lovely little Ford Focus (~27 mpg)
What was your first car?
A beautiful old Ford Mustang (too morbid to remember the mpg, paid >$250/month for gas in 1996 when gas was something like $1.25/gallon...couldn't have been good...but it was sooo pretty!)
If you could drive any car, what would it be?
Despite all her shortcomings, I still have many romantic fascinations about my old mustang.
How old were you when you got your driver's license?
18
How many times did it take you to pass the test?
Once
Do you name your cars?
nope

Almost Friday

2009-03-05T21:07:00.000-06:00

Today I went to lunch without my coat and enjoyed feeling the breeze (ok, the wind) on my bare arms. It was 65 degrees and a little sunny - yay! I had a fun date last night, I'm planning a fun date on Sunday, we're planning a getaway for next month to the Iron Horse in Milwaukee (quaint, I know, but give me a break, we're in a recession!), I'm doing my darned best to rise above the bleakness of our economy, the uncertainty of the "reorganization" at work, and the never-ending non-season they call winter around these parts. I've found that need something (ok, lots of little things) to look forward to. Between my zucchini cake and my new books, I might just make it through to the weekend...

An old favorite

2009-03-04T20:58:00.000-06:00

The monotony, the suspense, the desperation...they're all closing in on me in various forms and from all directions. How's that for an intro on a blog that supposed to be about celebrating and gratitude? I've obviously not acquired the ability to make lemonade. Oy...I'll spare the long story, let's just say it's been a long day, a long week, and there's no end in sight....or is there (that's the suspense part, stay tuned for more!)? The DH was sweet enough to recognize a bummer of a day and took me out to dinner and a book store, one of our longest standing favorite date nights. A great little pick-me-up...

If only...

2009-03-03T23:25:00.000-06:00

I'm so ashamed, my desperation for clever content has reached a new low...

Some days it's amazingly difficult to engage with this blasted exercise, please bear with me. Today I uncovered a most elusive bug that's been plaguing me for weeks - despite a touch of smug pride, I felt somehow robbed of my right to celebrate. I suppose, if I must, I'm grateful that nearly half the week is dead and gone and with the passing of two more Mondays I'll find out the fate of my company, my department, and my job...

Did I mention

2009-03-02T20:24:00.000-06:00

...that I love zucchini cake? (No, smart alec, not the same one from last week, a beautiful new pan of stress relieving goodness is bringing much joy to my breakfasts)

Fabulous Sunday

2009-03-01T23:33:00.000-06:00

My first day in years with nothing due and no threat of something coming due on the immediate horizon. Wow, I'm not sure I know what to do with myself. I started the day with all kinds of things I wanted to accomplish and in the end, I'm proud to say, I procrastinated nothing! I got everything done that I needed/wanted to do: yummy breakfast (DH delivered his signature steel-cut oats with cherries and pecans - yum!), church, groceries, lunch, cards (I'm so out of practice, I only got three done in two hours, but it was so nice!), reading (Eat Love Pray - fabulous!), nap, bike (ok, so I only got an hour in, but it's better than nothing!), dinner, breakfasts for the coming week (maple-pecan granola with a touch of peanut butter and ginger and fresh yogurt - yum!), tons'o'dishes and a trip to the library. The only exception to my to-do list today was the item I'd hoped to drop off to be framed - but that wasn't my fault, see, I was actually at the store but the frame lady was amazingly rude and I didn't dare leave my possessions in her care, I had to walk away, it can wait for another day. I think I'll enjoy my assignment-free existence (for now). Combine today's productivity with the clear blue sky and snow-free yard and it's definitely a day worth celebrating.

Finished

2009-03-01T01:20:00.000-06:00

"So to all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or your dancing shoes. Pull out your camera or your computer or your pottery wheel. Today, tonight, after the kids are in bed or when your homework is done, or instead of one more video game or magazine, create something, anything. Pick up a needle and thread, and stitch together something particular and honest and beautiful, because we need it. I need it.
Thank you, and keep going." -Cold Tangerines
My essay is finished. It's late, I'm spent. There's a tremendous weight off my shoulders. Like this silly burden that I've chosen to tote around for two months just dried up and blew away. Now I can move on and finish chores I've ignored and projects I've put off in the name of procrastinating the blessed essay. Now begins the waiting, the limbo, the in-between. The essay is barely final, but already I've devoured a fantastic YA novel (Rules of Survival) and flipped through Cold Tangerines, one of my very favorite, most inspiring books ever. Today I'm grateful that the essay is fini and creativity no longer comes at the cost of a more pressing assignment. Cheers

Friday meme

2009-02-27T03:56:00.000-06:00

It's 3:56 a.m. I'm eating granola and strawberries, and I have yet to go to sleep - today should be interesting. I finished application #1 (yay!) and have only one final round of edits to do for application #2. TGIF!
Today's meme comes courtesy of fiveonfridays...

Are you a dog or cat person?
Definitely a dog person - an inexplicable aversion to cats is deeply ingrained in me courtesy of my mother.

Do you have a dog? Have you ever had a dog?
Currently only a one dog household, his name is Goose. We've rescued 4 older boxers within the past 10 years: two males, two females, two fawn, one brindle, one white, two from shelters, two from foster care, one super old, one deaf.

What is your favorite breed of dog?
Hmmm...(see previous question)

Do you believe that dogs truly are man's best friend?
Not necessarily. Ours have all been fabulous, amazing members of our family, but I think dogs are intelligent enough to reciprocate the affection they're shown. Dogs who are treated like a best friend act like a best friend.

If you could come back to life as a dog, would you? Why or why not?
I don't know...I guess so...maybe not...stupid question

Another Weary Thursday

2009-02-26T03:09:00.000-06:00

I'm not usually willing to give much thought towards The Message translation (has a lot to do with my distaste for consumerism, but that's another conversation altogether), but I came across this passage sketched on a coworker's desk this week and it soothed a particular ache in my tired soul - definitely worth celebrating...
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28)

Wow!

2009-02-25T10:13:00.000-06:00

I've impressed myself this morning at the gym. I think it was in an effort to feel better about a recent chest press that didn't go so well that I curiously increased the weight on my leg press. Instead of the usual 175, I tested the waters at 195, no problem...205, no problem...225, no problem...(at this point I'm thoroughly intrigued while at the same time questioning the integrity of the stack of weights) 255, no problem...all the way up to 295 where I was able to complete two full sets. Wow! Why didn't I try that a long time ago? My 30-year-old self is definitely celebrating that!

Way to go, God

2009-02-25T01:25:00.000-06:00

I left the office a little after 6:00 today, just in time to catch the most amazing sunset. I love driving home into the sun, especially on days like today when the blazing ball is just sinking into the horizon. Every once in a while, through a filter of naked trees, I was able to actually look at the sun (hard to do if you think about it), it's really (really) big. The whole sky in front of me was a blend of the most magnificent orange hues and streaked with an occasional whispy cloud or jetstream. God's creativity never ceases to amaze me.

Middle School

2009-02-23T23:31:00.000-06:00

I don't remember the name or face or any interaction I may have had with my middle school librarian. I remember the library itself, it was huge and new and had a very steep roof. Strange that I don't remember this person. I will, however, remember Mrs. Pfeffer for the rest of my life. She's a stranger, recommended to me by another stranger, who was kind enough to let me come visit her library at Springwood Middle School today. While I was only there to observe and chat with her for a couple of hours, the inspiration and sense of purpose with which she infused my goals is so huge - there's hardly any words for my gratitude.

Day 53

2009-02-23T00:38:00.000-06:00

I did not realize, when I set out to be grateful for the minutia, that the minutia would be SO DARN HARD TO FIND!!! On the other hand, maybe that's precisely why I posed this challenge to myself, knowing full well that I need to be 100% more intentional about looking for worthy things to celebrate each day. I knew my brother-in-law would be headed to Afghanistan, I knew the economy would probably get worse before getting better, I knew that the longest days of winter were yet to come. Here I am in the midst of all of that, struggling not to dwell on the myriad things about which I might worry and fumbling along in my efforts to find something beautiful to celebrate. Don't hear me wrong, it's not that I'm not grateful, I am most thankful for so many provisions: a warm house full of things I love to look at; good health (the DH's cough is only minorly annoying these days); a dog who is an absolute joy to have around; good jobs for both of us (frustrating as they may be); stacks upon stacks of books to read (despite a serious lack of time in which to read them); fresh bread and soup for dinner; the smell of cinnamon simmering on the stove; a steaming mug of Market Spice...so many things to be grateful for...what have I ever done to deserve all this and why can't I simply snap my fingers and find something new and exciting to write about?

Spring?

2009-02-21T11:19:00.000-06:00

It's light when we leave for the gym at 6:00. This morning I heard the sounds of dripping water coming down off the roof and birds in our crazy bird tree (I forget the true name of one of our trees, we just call it the bird tree because of all the trees in our yard, this one is constantly full of chirping birds). Spring must be here. I'm not really so naive...more like desperate. Last week, (or was it the week before? I have no sense of time anymore) when we had a couple of days near 50 degrees, (we're supposed to hit that again today, yay!) I was so quick to fall out of the habit of wearing a scarf and coat. I caught myself mentally gearing up for getting the bike out on the road - until I actually set foot outside and realized it's still freaking cold out, despite the increased daylight and the lack of snow. My body is confused, for sure, but I'm not really complaining. The signs of spring are here and I desperately need something to celebrate.

Friday Meme

2009-02-20T07:25:00.000-06:00

Today's meme, featuring random questions about me and the DH, is a portion of one found earlier this week on dooce...

What are your middle names?
Lynn and Todd (don’t tell the DH that I disclosed that sensitive information)

How long have you been together?
Together 16 years, married 12

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
5 years

Did you go to the same school?
Nope (we met at summer camp…cue the awwww)

Are you from the same home town?
Nope, I’m from the “city” he’s from the country (Alaska-style)

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Totally not fond of eating out, our favorite place right now is probably Panera for the free wi-fi and fireplace

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Stuttgart, Germany

Who does the cooking?
It’s one of our favorite things to do together, favorite meal: lemon-herb shrimp and risotto with grilled asparagus

Who hogs the bed?
That’s a very subjective question…it’s not really hogging if it’s done in the spirit of cuddling…I can’t help it if I’m always cold!

Who wakes up earlier?
I have the annoying inability to sleep in

Who does the laundry?
We each do our own

Who's better with the computer?
Hardware: him; software: me

Yes I did!!!

2009-02-19T10:34:00.000-06:00

I had zucchini cake for breakfast - it's delicious with a side of yogurt!

Day 49: Zucchini

2009-02-18T13:11:00.000-06:00

I love zucchini - it's a beautiful food. I love it grilled, baked and sauted. I love to chop it up and put it in spaghetti sauce, chili, vegetable soup and stir fry. I do not, however, like it raw. It's a squash and squash should be cooked (but not cooked to death, mind you). Tonight I made a chocolate cake with it in an effort to squelch the urge I've been fighting for days: to drown myself in cookie dough (disclaimer: I don't make a habit of eating cookie dough, but stress does strange things to me for which I cannot be held accountable). My chocolate zucchini cake is amazing (this picture doesn't do justice, I'm painfully aware that my food styling technique still needs work). I might share the recipe, but not now, it's bedtime. Let's just say this cake is full of moist, chocolatey goodness (and since I substituted applesauce for half the fat, it's "healthy" too!) and it served me well, I no longer have visions of cookie dough dancing in my head. Cheers to comfort food at the end of long days.

Midweek already?

2009-02-17T22:24:00.000-06:00

The slump is starting early this week. The angst of finding a 25th hour in the day is beginning to stifle. Oh the drudgery...

This exercise in gratitude, designed to draw my mind away from the stress of life in a recession is getting tougher. Today I'll celebrate...my shoes. Before you think there's nothing to be learned about me by reading a post about my shoes, consider the evolution. My current pair of standard, everyday, go-to shoes are brown Danskos (courtesy of my brother on my last birthday - awesome!). I'm not saying that I don't have my fair share of heels and balerina flats, but these are the shoes of choice for an Alaska girl. They're more comfortable than anything I've ever put my foot in and they go with almost everything. What could be better? But wait, there's more! They're tall but not too tall - just tall enough that the hem of my pants don't drag on the floor. I hate that! These have a classy yet casual look that's perfect for jeans or slacks. That they're much nicer than my previous go-to brown shoes (the Simple clogs I've been wearing since I was 17 - the first "expensive" shoes I ever bought - I must have a great eye for quality since those suckers are still kicking) goes without saying. The Simples have their place, but they definitely don't belong at the office. And they're a step up from the clunky fisherman's sandles I wore for a few years a while back. My mom hates those shoes, always wanted me to pick something more feminine. Well, here you have it. Cheers for my Danskos

Goosey

2009-02-16T10:21:00.000-06:00

It's been so long since I've appreciated my funny white dog...one more story won't hurt. He takes a ball everywhere he goes. You'd think he's a hunting dog with his beloved decoy or something. Today he brought his ball to bed (it's his "darling" little morning ritual to jump up into bed and cuddle with us approximately 10 minutes before the alarm goes off). Last night he curled up with a ball on the couch and slept with it. Such a funny little dog.

A quiet Sunday morning

2009-02-15T07:20:00.000-06:00

So far this weekend has been fabulously slow. I desperately needed the change in pace. Here, here!

Undecided

2009-02-14T09:14:00.000-06:00

I'm procrastinating a book review that I absolutely don't want to write so I took the geek test and achieved a score of almost 15.5% making me an "official" geek (having more than just "geekish tendencies" but not quite a total geek). Not sure how I feel about that or if it's truly something for which I should be expressing gratitude. But, since I can think of far worse things and since I've had such a fabulous week, it is today's post. Cheers

Friday meme

2009-02-14T01:19:00.000-06:00

OK, I give. Rather than abandon this project all together, I'm going to add a bit of spice to the daily posting grind (sadly, that's what it's been this week: a grind, but I vow to push through!). In the interest of adding a little variety, I declare Fridays to be "Meme Day" - how's that for a catchy title? Thanks to the folks at Daily Meme I will (hopefully) not lack for inspired content. Here goes...

Q1 - Hello and Goodbye: Do you wave at people on trains or boats as they pass by?
Nope - that seems silly - assuming I don't know them and they don't know me, why wave?
Q2 - Library Books: Do you think people who fail to return books to public libraries should face criminal charges?
Hard to say, especially since I've applied to library school. Criminal charges seem a bit harsh, but borrowed material not returned becomes stolen material which is certainly punishable. However, our over-extended legal system does seem to have more pressing matters than library fines.
Q3 - Acronyms: If each of the letters in your first name combined to form an acronym, what would your acronym be?
Rides a bike for fun, fitness, and transportation
Alaska grown
Child of God
Homebody
Endeavoring photographer, librarian
Loves to cook, read, garden
Q4 - Approval: According to a Gallup Poll conducted earlier this week, President Obama's approval rating is 65 percent, which is nearly identical as when he was inaugurated. Do you approve or disapprove of the job the President is doing?
Oh how I hate political conversations - I'd love to plead the 5th. I'm not too impressed so far, his definition of change must be unique (e.g. his cabinet full of ex-Clinton folks). I'll stop there, I'm not so desperate for material that I'm willing to turn this into a political platform.

Mmmm....ginger!

2009-02-12T08:11:00.000-06:00

I'm in love with ginger. I love ginger snaps. I love adding extra ginger to my stir fry and granola. I love ginger bread. I love ginger candles. I have not met a ginger I don't love. Perhaps my next dog will be named Ginger...
Recently I've taken to ginger tea. I can't decide which I like more: the smell or the taste. Together they add up to a most beautiful tea experience. All you need to create your own beautiful tea experience is two tablespoons of grated ginger and two cups of boiling water! Mmmmm...ginger!
So that I'd have something more to share than just my love for ginger, I found a few fascinating facts that I'll pass along. Aside from tasting and smelling heavenly, ginger is evidently a little super-food...who knew?!? Ginger is good for an upset stomach, coughing, allergies, treatment and prevention of the common cold, arthritis, digestion, ulcers and helping to lower cholesterol.

Stairs

2009-02-11T07:15:00.000-06:00

Continuing the quest for everyday celebration, I give you: stairs! Here are three reasons to be grateful for stairs:
1) Stairs are much more efficient than a flat surface (I'm picturing myself, with an armful of books and laundry, trying to ascend to the second floor of my house via ramp - not happening!)
2) Creative use of a few flights of stairs provides a killer leg workout
3) Stairs can be functional and beautiful at the same time, checkout this series of photos

I'll take another, please!

2009-02-10T23:34:00.000-06:00

I know there's snow in the forecast for the end of this week so I'm trying very hard to make the most of every bit of this fabulous weather we've been having. This morning we skipped the gym and instead took the dog for a walk through the neighborhood - the long route, down by the river. Never mind that he chose this day, in all of its muddy glory, to venture off the sidewalk into the piles of partially decomposed leaves and leftover snow muck; all three of us were very blessed by the opportunity to be outside, at 6:30 in the morning, enjoying daylight and "warm" temperatures (warm is, of course, a relative term). I'm not silly enough to think that we have too many of these days in store, but I'll gladly take another!

An exercise in gratitude

2009-02-10T00:44:00.000-06:00

Today marks the beginning of letting gratitude be the ruling emotion when it comes to my brother-in-law's deployment to Afghanistan. I am, of course, beyond grateful that he and so many others are willing to serve our country. At the same time, I am afraid and sad and angry about the circumstances that require them to pay such high costs. It's a toss up, most days, whether gratitude will win out over the fear, sadness and anger. I started this exercise in celebration a few weeks ago not realizing how downright difficult it would be on so many days. I've formed a love-hate relationship with gratitude and I'm finding that it's become something of a haven in my day - a time and space that I must force myself to enter but one where I don't have to think about recessions or wars or disgruntled customers. It's a challenge, that's for sure. Something like building a muscle that was previously not used to full potential on a very regular basis. Now that the world's junk is starting to move in closer to home, I'm grateful that my gratitude muscle is getting a little stronger every day. When you think of it, pray for David and the soldiers in the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), they'll be in eastern Afghanistan for the next 12 months.

A little bit exciting

2009-02-08T22:31:00.000-06:00

Temperatures in the mid-50s in early February cannot be construed as a cause for major celebration. I've lived my entire life in one of two winter cities, I fully understand the mechanics of winter. However, the brief reprieve from the monotonous, torturous, endless winter days is worth a fair amount of gratitude. So forgive me if I mention it yet again: we're having fabulous weather. Today we opened all the blinds in the house and even one of the windows! The sunlight is a little bit exciting - certainly invigorating. The lack of biting cold is a beautiful thing. This afternoon I sat in the fireplace room at the library and worked on "The Essay" (drafts are moving along, slowly but surely), the expansive windows allowed for so much warmth that I might have been hardpressed to remember the date. That is, however, until I set out to walk home and the chilly breeze was quick to remind me that it is, indeed, early February. Brief though it may be, I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be outside, soaking in the fresh air.

Chicago

2009-02-07T19:23:00.000-06:00

This morning we headed into the city for breakfast and a bit of wandering - one of our very favorite things to do on a Saturday. I was excited to finally try a little cafe I'd heard about simply called Orange. How fun, definitely worth a return trip! I had frushi and seared oatmeal, the DH splurged on cinnamon roll pancakes. My oatmeal was interesting - steel cut oats, doused with a cider reduction and sprinkled with an assortment of dried fruit - tasty, but I'm intrigued enough by other menu items that I'll probably not order it again. Surprisingly, the cinnamon roll pancakes weren't so much sweet as just plain rich - didn't help that they were ginormous. The frushi? Too fun - memo to myself: bring a camera to breakfast! Post nosh, we wandered the beach a little, but found it in an odd state of midwinter bore so we didn't stay too long. I was fascinated, though, to find that the ice could be heard crackling and whispering despite the normal din of the city - amazing! Next stop: Lincoln Park. Since this early February day offered up a glorious 55 degrees, we were not alone in our effort to take in fresh air before the season sets in again. It was so nice to be out in the park, feeling the sun on our skin in February! The animals are always enjoyable, but this visit we really took in the conservatory - I love the humid, earthy air, especially in the middle of winter. I love Chicago - as much as I hate suburban dwelling, living near Chicago is definitely worth celebrating.

Fabulous Friday

2009-02-06T23:15:00.000-06:00

There are, quite possibly, no words to describe my pleasure upon finding daylight when I left the house at a quarter to seven this morning. Yowsa! (Like I said - no words!) Add that to the forecast for 55 degrees tomorrow and I'm one happy camper.
Not sure how I stumbled on it this posting, but it brought joy so I thought I'd pass it along.

Two more favorite things

2009-02-05T21:42:00.000-06:00

This has been another beautiful night of hot tea (Market Spice...mmmm!), vanilla wafers and the soothing sounds of Phil Keagy (interspersed with the utterly disturbing sounds of the DH's unmatched coughing). Two things make this night even better than the last: the smell of fresh bread (the DH made smashed potatoes for dinner and we all know there's only one suitable thing to do with potato water!) and fresh raspberries (I've maintained a lifelong love affair with fresh raspberries and could not help but buy four pints when I found them on sale this evening - I truly believe they God's third greatest gift to mankind (after salvation and dogs, of course!)). Despite being medicine for a weary soul, I'm afraid all of these wonderful evenings are starting to feel a bit glutonous...

More favorite things

2009-02-04T20:49:00.000-06:00

I love coming home from the chaos that is my day to a happy white boxer who acts like I'm a super star. I love listening to Phil Keagy while cooking dinner with the DH and I love spending the evening with a good book in the cozy chair with a couple of vanilla wafers and a big, steaming mug of peppermint tea (never thought I'd reach past the Sweet & Spicy, but peppermint is definitely the one these days). Thank heavens for quiet evenings full of countless favorite things.

Definitely grateful

2009-02-04T00:29:00.000-06:00

I put my foot down and got the DH to see a new doctor today. He's definitely sick (as if the persistent, hacking, raspy cough and general malaise weren't proof enough). Rather than the few, curt questions the first guy asked, Dr. Osten wanted to know profoundly simple things like, "Are you breathing?" Seems there was no discernable sound of air in his lungs. This prompted several other tests, including x-rays, to determine whether we're dealing with pneumonia (worst case) or bronchitis (preferred option). His heart rate was extremely high and his blood oxygen levels were at precariously low levels. Apparently he was very close to being sent straight to ER and if he runs a fever in the next couple of days that's where I'm to take him. Yikes. He received a prescription for the strongest of antibiotics which would kill pneumonia if necessary, as well as an inhaler to aid in the "are you breathing?" area. Shortly before dinner we received the news that it's a bad case of bronchitis and the antibiotics should start to take effect immediately. Tonight I'm very grateful for bronchitis, go figure, and a doctor who cared enough to dig a little deeper.

Date night

2009-02-02T20:37:00.000-06:00

The DH and I tried out a new restaurant this evening after realizing that we couldn't remember the last time we'd planned and executed a real "date night." He took me to Pinstripes, a fab new locally owned place (which is, in itself, hard to come by these days!) that offers bowling, bocce and bistro fare with ambiance that's about as far removed from a classic bowling alley as night is from day. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the butternut risotto (oddly sweet), but the fact that they even have such a thing on their menu (and the fact that they removed it from our bill when I didn't thoroughly enjoy it) is a good sign. The service was excellent, the menu varied and intriguing and the prices reasonable - we'll definitely be back (I'm almost never so generous with my reviews). We've gotten rather out of shape when it comes to making plans and going out simply to enjoy each other's company. We spent less than an hour on our date, and we talked about work almost the entire time - I'm afraid we've forgotten how to unplug. Perhaps we should book every Monday night from here to Christmas and intentionally practice lingering over food and conversation...now there's an idea! In any case, here's to fun new restaurants and trying to remember how to do date night. Cheers!

The dancing continues

2009-02-01T21:47:00.000-06:00

The "essay that wouldn't quit" is coming right along. I'll spare the play-by-play and just say that it's drafted and passed its first review "without concerns." I couldn't be happier with the state of things - considering that I'd originally hoped to be done with the whole thing a month ago. I wasn't feeling too great about certain lines and couldn't figure out how to make them more palatable. So far so good! On another somewhat celebratory note, I just got home after 13 (long, very long) hours out and about, and although the DH (still severely under the weather) is now out and about playing chauffer, he did leave me a fresh loaf of bread to savor. My exasperation that he's not in bed sipping broth and resting his coughing, hacking, wheezing, unwell body is a bit mollified, for now, by the soothing effects of fresh warm carbs.

A little happy dance

2009-01-31T21:04:00.000-06:00

The essay is drafted! Yay for Panera and fabulous mornings spent writing. Now for the revisions...

Bike-O-Vision saved my week

2009-01-30T23:57:00.000-06:00

I've become something of a fan of my Bike-O-Vision DVDs. The production quality could use a little help (so could the name); but when faced with the choice of riding indoors while watching nothing or watching fairly decent footage of beautiful rides one is able to overlook a multitude of sins. So much of riding, for me anyway, is about staying focused and when I'm bored I'm not focused. Playing pretend like I'm actually out touring the European countryside or the National Parks in Washington State is enough to keep my head in the game and my butt on the bike. Here's to Bike-O-Vision!

Day 29

2009-01-29T20:11:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to avoid positive-negative posts, they seem a little cheap, but this one is really legitimate. Today I heard that the eight most popular foods to cause allergies are: milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, soy, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. I'm not allergic to any of them - yay! I love all of those things - in fact I just savored the most wonderful quiche for dinner (courtesy of the DH - what a guy!) that included three out of eight popular allergens. Today I'm gratefully celebrating my own lack of food allergies. Cheers!

Favorite things

2009-01-28T21:26:00.000-06:00

Jill very skillfully combines three of my favorite things: photos, biking and Alaska (or, more specifically, photos of biking in Alaska) and she writes about them really well. She's a little bit nuts for her bike. I found Jill on Fatty's blog. He also writes about cycling really well. Ahhh, the cabin fever is getting to me, I don't want to read about biking, I want to be out on the road!!!But today was good because I got a few miles in this morning (thank Heavens for the trainer!), and I got word that there may be a Talkeetna Challenge this year (despite all the drama going on with the administration at American Lung...stay tuned for more information). Yay for cycling - bring on spring!

Linger

2009-01-27T21:33:00.000-06:00

I'm so tempted to celebrate the beauty of pairing a chilled Lambic with reigndeer sausage & veggie pizza. This day did not offer much by way of worthy moments - just more of the same 100 m.p.h. chaos that has come to be my work day. But that topic would be too easy, so I'll have to pass. I'm curled up in my cozy chair, listening to Phil Keagy, sipping rich cocoa (finally got the ratio of cocoa to sugar to milk just right!), and trying to keep my toes warm. Never mind that I'm also trying to force myself to crack open the project from work that's giving me fits. It's such a beautiful, peaceful evening, I just want to linger in this this quietness all night. I'm oddly afraid that if I give up and go to bed I'll miss something very sweet. I'll take what I can get, by all means, but goodness knows I'd sure be thankful for a few more quiet evenings like this one.

A little faith

2009-01-26T09:14:00.000-06:00

Still dwelling on that blasted essay. Yesterday I got a bit of a lecture from a favorite professor. "Essays don't write themselves," he chastised, before setting out to convince me of all the reasons that I should not be intimidated by this assignment. I'm blessed to have him in my cheering section. Then today the DH paid me a compliment of sorts by bringing me a little homework ("extra-credit" he called it...ha!) from his boss. They want me to wordsmith a section of their marketing strategy. Oy - no pressure there! I have every reason to believe that I'm fully capable of writing this essay...it's just an essay, afterall. Heck, evidently there are people who will believe for me, should I need to rely on them for a while. Faith from others: definitely worth celebrating.

One fine day

2009-01-25T20:06:00.000-06:00

If it weren't for that darn essay hanging over my head, today would have been absolutely perfect. The morning was fabulously quiet and I enjoyed a cup of Market Spice tea and the book du jour, Eat Pray Love (which I'm hoping to finish in time for a book club at the library on Tuesday that I just learned of yesterday...ha!). I made a run to the store where I found some great deals on fun dishes that I don't need. I spent the afternoon figuring out code on the blog which enables the new top navigation and published a bunch of old photos that had simply been waiting for an appropriate place to be posted. For dinner I made a new bread recipe from Gourmet magazine, it's actually considered dinner rolls, even though it's all one piece. The recipe is cleverly titled "Cornstalk Rolls". Of course it looks nothing like their version and I'm pretty sure I forgot the salt, but it was fun to have my hands in dough again, it's been far too long. I could use a few more days like today.

Worth at least one smile

2009-01-24T20:13:00.000-06:00

Meet Chuck. He's hilarious. His human takes great pictures. This one made me smile today.

Lookee there!

2009-01-23T19:43:00.000-06:00

Something about this yogurt just caught my eye...hmmm. I've been making my yogurt lately and when I do buy it it's never flavored, but I couldn't resist sampling this new brand. The plum, lavender, honey was tasty enough, although a little on the sweet side. I wouldn't say that any one of those flavors was exactly discernable. I'm looking forward to the pomegranate, blueberry tomorrow. The story behind the brand is actually more interesting than the yogurt itself, in my opinion. Rachel is a third generation dairy farmer (not to mention a Member of the British Empire!). She inherited the farm from her mother who inherited it from her mother. Today, Rachel is semi-retired but continues to serve as a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of a Welsh county for the Queen of England - wow! It was a fun find - it definitely brightened an otherwise lousy Friday afternoon - but I can't say that it's habit forming. I'll stick with my own brand, guess I'll have to come up with a more original name though. Here's a little celebration in honor of random, fun grocery store finds.

Update: Oy! Pomegranate, blueberry is sweeeet! Required copious amounts of granola (my latest batch is a subtle maple, pecan blend that's just fabulously nutty) to offset the fruity sweetness. I guess it all depends on what you're looking for in a yogurt, but so far I'm sadly not becoming a fan.

Day 22

2009-01-22T20:35:00.000-06:00

While gratitude and celebration are present in the forefront of my mind more than ever before, I cannot deny that there are days when my inner 5-year-old simply refuses to identify something worthy. I guess, as the saying goes, "there will be bad days" but I was optimistic enough to think I could overcome said bad days with a little positive thinking. Bleh. Here we are, a week away from the end of this month and I still haven't written my essay, read the book I'm due to review, or caught up on chores around the house. As much as I love my job, lately it's been a bit like plugging into The Matrix, only in reverse. Far from being a lifesource, I leave at the end of the day with nothing left knowing that I'll be back in a few short hours to give even more of what I don't have. Certainly can't be grateful for that bit of fabulousness. My biggest celebration of this day? The DH topped off some liquid in my car so that the heater no longer blows cold air when I come to a stop - a bonus to my perpetually cold self in the God-forsaken depths of winter. Cheers

How nice!

2009-01-21T20:49:00.000-06:00

Got home this evening to dinner on the table: salad and pasta (an artfully designed recipe by the DH featuring fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic and a fabulously seasoned chicken breast) along with a freshly cleaned kitchen. Doesn't get any better than that after a long day!

Jackpot

2009-01-21T00:51:00.000-06:00

To celebrate my graduation the DH and my parents outfitted me with a new Nikon. Included in the package was the camera body, lenses, filters, memory, battery and bag. A very generous and very exciting gift - in theory the absence of homework was to allow tons of time for practicing the hobby, but somehow that just hasn't materialized yet...but I digress. I've been trying to find a classic camera strap to complete the look, but since I don't want one that shows its age I'm having quite the time...until today. Did I ever score when I stumbled on the vintage gear at I've indulged in an hour of browsing different fabrics and color combinations, trying to decide which one I will want to look at for all of time and eternity. No luck thus far - it's too much pressure and I'm far too tired for such decisions, but it sure is fun to scroll through all the options. I think I've narrowed the shortlist down to five, here's two of my favorites...thoughts and comments most welcome!

Beautiful breakfast

2009-01-19T09:23:00.001-06:00

A friend of mine used to laugh when I'd describe food as beautiful. Not sure why I use that word or why she laughed, but as I was enjoying my breakfast this morning I thought of the word beautiful, and then I thought of my friend, and I smiled. It wasn't a fancy breakfast, just a cup of spicy tea and a bowl of yogurt and granola, both fresh from my kitchen, topped with fresh berries - my very favorite things. It was a simple moment with a thousand details to savor. So, rather than let the it fade like the steam on my tea, I did the only logical thing and grabbed a camera. I'm now faced with the reality that I've plenty of room to grow in the area of food styling - it's a tricky thing to get the subject matter just right when any botched attempts must be eaten! Perhaps the photo doesn't quite capture the beautiful yogurt or the invigorating sunlight and you'll just have to take my word that it was an extraordinary start to an otherwise ordinary day.