You know it's the holidays when everyone starts talking about money.
Bossy is hosting a Poverty Party on her blog, where she shares all about her family's current debt and encourages readers to do the same. I'm not quite there yet but have been fascinated to read the comments and click on some of the links to see what others are up to.
The Domestic Goddess is joining her, at least for the day. DG usually writes on other things, but all are close to home.
Anjali at SheStartedIt (great blog name, yes?) had the same thoughts this weekend when she opened her credit card bills and saw they were actually lower.
All three women live or lived in my neighborhood. I feel fortunate to have met them in real life and even more so to continue to know them on their blogs.
A continuing theme in my adult life is my frustration with making friends. I enjoy the company of women but since hitting adulthood have sometimes felt as though it is hard to make or maintain friendships. There were several women whose company I enjoyed at my first admissions job, and I still think fondly of them, but almost none are people I'm still in touch with. After I moved away to my second job, I felt pretty sophisticated at age 25, thinking that I understood now about work friendships versus "real" friendships, reflecting on the lack of continued contact with people I'd really enjoyed and who had reached out to me in a variety of ways--a very kind group phone call cheering me on at the end of my first day at the new place; offering to host me when I traveled in their town--but then contact faded.
But staying in one place for 11 years blended it for me and changed my mind again, at least a little. While I was wary of making friends in that office based on some ugly, overly personal scenes (roommates tattling on each other to the boss about who did what instead of working, for one egregious example) and worked hard to be friendly but keep things light, eventually I realized that lots of these people were fun, around my age, and doing cool stuff. So I started hanging out with them, going to Big Head Todd and the Monsters concerts (remember them?!) or football games together. And when some of them started moving on to other jobs, I stayed in their rolodexes and email lists.
Many of them moved on when they started their families. Eventually I started mine as well, and as I transitioned to staying at home, all around me, I saw groups of moms who appeared to be friends, people who could pop in on each other, hand off their stinky babies while gathering supplies, all the things I thought would be the currency of new parenthood. And I started looking for women who could be that circle for me.
And I did find them--I've met some great women everywhere from the library to the playground to the mom-groups to the support organizations I've joined. They've brought me meals and vice versa in good times and in crisis. We've watched each other's kids and traded toys and clothes. But I rarely felt like a soulmate with these women.
At one point, pouring my heart out to my oldest best friend about this, she reminded me that what is needed most to create friendships is time. And at this point of our lives, while having babies and maintaining careers, choosing schools for kids sending us in different directions, time is a luxury few of us enjoy. We can snatch it here and there but it is hard to be able to put in the time. And at the same time, a friend in her 50s reminded me that we would someday have more time--kids in school and more independent activities, careers at a more predictable point--and we'd be able to look back on these times and realize what we'd built.
That's a lifeline of sorts for me. I don't want to rush through these years but hope that there is a point where I can look back and see that the snippets of chatter on the sidelines of the soccer field, or edge of the pool, or aisle of the supermarket, have led to mutual memories.
And in the meantime, I've grown to rely on Facebook and blogs in a way I never expected to. I was lucky enough to go to a college that was one of the first to be on the budding internet. (How old am I? I'm so old, two of my friends' emails were Steve@place and Scott@place. No, really. Pre-.edu and everything.) But you know what? I didn't get it. One of those friends was trying to explain the idea of email to me and I remember wrinkling my face, trying to understand the attraction. "Why wouldn't you just pick up the phone?" I asked. My true geek friends were lost on how to explain it if the appeal wasn't immediately obvious. In my own defense, these were the days just before the Macintosh, when personal computers were still less than terrifically helpful for people without a love of or need for programming.
But now, when my best chances for socializing are when the boys are in bed for either naps or overnight, it's hard to just hop on the phone at a decent hour. And the computer is a lifeline.
So one of the things I'll be doing this month is giving a mini-tour of my blog links. Several of you (my 10 readers) have asked what my connections are with one or another. So I'll be grouping them in a few posts by way of introduction, expanding my bloggy circle. And as a way to say thanks for letting me in to your lives.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Seeking Balance
Today was a rare day with the boys with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Swim lessons were cancelled, they were playing together happily and TV free, so we started baking, together and not, and then I was out of vanilla and the wheat germ smelled rancid (though I don't use enough wheat germ to know whether it smells any different when fresh), so I said, "Hey, wanna walk to town?"
"Sure!" the older one replied. "But can I ride my bike?" Why not? So out came his bike and his brother's big wheel and I prepared to stroll. Mistake. They are both quick quick quick on bikes now, which leads me to a bit of a quandary. Stay with me through the background.
Our town has started a "First Friday" program, which is great. While I pine for the First Fridays of yore, when my husband and I would pop down to Olde City to see the art galleries and take in art that ranged from excellent to either not-very-good or we-didn't-get-it, with some cheap wine in plastic cups and some sweaty cheese that had been plated too long leaving us wondering if it was part of an exhibit. This isn't that kind of thing, though there are lots of amateur artists, mostly musicians, and some fun little events happening at the various stores and businesses in our little town. Last week, we went to the new creative space that opened recently, where the boys take their Spanish singing class and their let's-not-call-it-dance-class-so-boys-will-come class, and which is now one of their favorite spaces on the planet. (And thanks to something...Sid the Science Kid? Sesame Street? Google Earth? that's now their question of the week: "Mommy? Are we on a part of the world?" often followed by "is it the part where the sun is shining?") They had a "bedtime story," pajamas optional, with a local artist who was reading and selling the books she had illustrated. (Daughter of Bossy was there too and I am hiring her pronto to be a Mother's Helper after seeing her with the little ones.) After that, we wandered in and out of some of the other shops, listening to the music, seeing the specials, finding friends and neighbors all over.
One of the first places the boys wanted to go was a bike shop, which was fine by me, as one of the bikes needs a bell. Little guy immediately sat down and started swinging the pedals around, watching the chain on the gears, completely engaged, as he always is by bike pedals. Fortunately, the owner was amenable to this and steered him to a bike "chaser" where he could backpedal to his heart's content. She kindly offered to show him how to take apart and reassemble a bike some slow afternoon in her shop, which would thrill him (and his father, who is quite an avid biker).
I was more interested in the bike stand that the adult part of the bike was attached to. It was one of those that is not only a stand, but also turns a road bike in to a stationary bike for indoor exercise. I'm interested in one for lots of reasons; it would be nice to have some equipment here as I'm too lazy to go to the gym, for instance (though I would exercise more in front of a tv, and there are none where I might have space for that); but also as practice for being on my bike without fear of injury.
Several years ago, I had a cold that ended with a nasty bout of vertigo that left me still for days out of fear of the spins. Later that spring, I started having numbness on my left side. An MRI led to the discovery of a brain lesion of undetermined origin, but it's likely it was just a nasty parting gift from the cold. Sometimes viruses just attack the brain--or in my case, the myelin sheaths--and no one knows why. I was fortunate--am fortunate--to have an amazing neurologist and great health care plan to cover the MRIs that were needed to get there.
The numbness is gone. The dizziness (thank God) is gone. But the lasting effect, still, is a lack of balance. It's not too bad, except in some specific circumstances. I went canoeing with the kids twice this summer; both times were nightmares, not because of the boys' behavior (though it was excruciating to be in front of the canoe and not be able to see what they were doing to rock the boat) but due to my own skewed sense of balance.
And the other place it's a problem is on a bike. This has been hard on my husband, who I know pines to take rides with me. I have missed it too as I used to be able to bike to town or the train quite easily. Now it feels like the handlebars and the front wheel aren't really connected, and that the ground beneath me is rocking. I know it isn't, but that doesn't stop it from feeling that way. It's unpleasant at best, scary at worst, and a stumbling block with my boys, who are learning to ride, and want to know why I can't.
I told a shortened version of that story to the woman at the bike shop, and explained that I was hoping that some stationary time on my bike would help my brain remember what it's like to really ride. She looked at me seriously and said, "If you can walk, you can ride." She said if my balance was good enough for walking, that I could ride too and just needed to get used to it again, and the only way to do that was to get out there. Happy as she would have been to make the sale, she didn't think it would help.
Her words brought me back to the time right after the vertigo. I did feel like I was learning to walk again. It was hard to get my feet under me. But I did it. I needed to. I had a pretty heavy walking lifestyle at that time (well, by US standards, anyway) and I had to get my feet back under me. Besides, I felt better about the consequences if I had another attack while walking rather than driving.
It's been a wet weekend here, with lots of slippery leaves, so I've had a weekend to think about what she said with all chances of actually getting on a bike removed. The parallels to other parts of my life are pretty obvious. My husband and I have rather different levels of need of social lives, and we tend to overcorrect and swing wildly from weekends with nothing but chores in the same house but not together, to weekends with way too many social events crammed in. I tend to attract feast-or-famine worklife situations, with periods of downtime followed by completely frantic activity. (Which is balance of a different sort, in some ways--at least it's not all frantic activity all the time.) I want to be with my kids all the time, until I am with them all the time, at which point I start trying to find sitters for them.
After my brain lesion, I was really disappointed in yoga class. Before the lesion, while I was clearly one of the least flexible students in class, the balance exercises were very easy for me. I felt rooted and calm and could hold the poses indefinitely, which was comforting after watching other students' Eagles or other poses look very different from mine. But after, I was one of the ones wobbling with my foot on my knee, unable to achieve the balance needed to feel rooted.
Giving birth twice did that to me in other ways. My whole adult life changed. What I valued, who I thought I was, what I thought I was capable of--all were challenged, and many were changed. And just as I got used to feeling wobbly in yoga class, I got used to feeling wobbly within myself as well.
But if I can walk, I can ride. Unbelievably, I'm right back to Dr. Seligman's class, and learned helplessness. It's depressing, literally, to keep trying things and failing. And there were lots of things I just accepted as part of my post-lesion or post-childbirth life. I tried a few times and gave up, thinking that in the scheme of things you can lose after a brain issue, canoeing and biking and sun salutations were small sacrifices. But what if I'm back to a point where I can do them, with practice?
We had a big weekend around here of readjusting the house for our growing kids. We removed some of the gates on the stairs. We took the safety covers off most of the doorknobs. We moved the older boy back in to a big boy bed (and this time he was thrilled). All of these really were temporary adjustments, as it turned out, though they felt eternal in the moment. Maybe it's time to see if some of these other adjustments are too.
"Sure!" the older one replied. "But can I ride my bike?" Why not? So out came his bike and his brother's big wheel and I prepared to stroll. Mistake. They are both quick quick quick on bikes now, which leads me to a bit of a quandary. Stay with me through the background.
Our town has started a "First Friday" program, which is great. While I pine for the First Fridays of yore, when my husband and I would pop down to Olde City to see the art galleries and take in art that ranged from excellent to either not-very-good or we-didn't-get-it, with some cheap wine in plastic cups and some sweaty cheese that had been plated too long leaving us wondering if it was part of an exhibit. This isn't that kind of thing, though there are lots of amateur artists, mostly musicians, and some fun little events happening at the various stores and businesses in our little town. Last week, we went to the new creative space that opened recently, where the boys take their Spanish singing class and their let's-not-call-it-dance-class-so-boys-will-come class, and which is now one of their favorite spaces on the planet. (And thanks to something...Sid the Science Kid? Sesame Street? Google Earth? that's now their question of the week: "Mommy? Are we on a part of the world?" often followed by "is it the part where the sun is shining?") They had a "bedtime story," pajamas optional, with a local artist who was reading and selling the books she had illustrated. (Daughter of Bossy was there too and I am hiring her pronto to be a Mother's Helper after seeing her with the little ones.) After that, we wandered in and out of some of the other shops, listening to the music, seeing the specials, finding friends and neighbors all over.
One of the first places the boys wanted to go was a bike shop, which was fine by me, as one of the bikes needs a bell. Little guy immediately sat down and started swinging the pedals around, watching the chain on the gears, completely engaged, as he always is by bike pedals. Fortunately, the owner was amenable to this and steered him to a bike "chaser" where he could backpedal to his heart's content. She kindly offered to show him how to take apart and reassemble a bike some slow afternoon in her shop, which would thrill him (and his father, who is quite an avid biker).
I was more interested in the bike stand that the adult part of the bike was attached to. It was one of those that is not only a stand, but also turns a road bike in to a stationary bike for indoor exercise. I'm interested in one for lots of reasons; it would be nice to have some equipment here as I'm too lazy to go to the gym, for instance (though I would exercise more in front of a tv, and there are none where I might have space for that); but also as practice for being on my bike without fear of injury.
Several years ago, I had a cold that ended with a nasty bout of vertigo that left me still for days out of fear of the spins. Later that spring, I started having numbness on my left side. An MRI led to the discovery of a brain lesion of undetermined origin, but it's likely it was just a nasty parting gift from the cold. Sometimes viruses just attack the brain--or in my case, the myelin sheaths--and no one knows why. I was fortunate--am fortunate--to have an amazing neurologist and great health care plan to cover the MRIs that were needed to get there.
The numbness is gone. The dizziness (thank God) is gone. But the lasting effect, still, is a lack of balance. It's not too bad, except in some specific circumstances. I went canoeing with the kids twice this summer; both times were nightmares, not because of the boys' behavior (though it was excruciating to be in front of the canoe and not be able to see what they were doing to rock the boat) but due to my own skewed sense of balance.
And the other place it's a problem is on a bike. This has been hard on my husband, who I know pines to take rides with me. I have missed it too as I used to be able to bike to town or the train quite easily. Now it feels like the handlebars and the front wheel aren't really connected, and that the ground beneath me is rocking. I know it isn't, but that doesn't stop it from feeling that way. It's unpleasant at best, scary at worst, and a stumbling block with my boys, who are learning to ride, and want to know why I can't.
I told a shortened version of that story to the woman at the bike shop, and explained that I was hoping that some stationary time on my bike would help my brain remember what it's like to really ride. She looked at me seriously and said, "If you can walk, you can ride." She said if my balance was good enough for walking, that I could ride too and just needed to get used to it again, and the only way to do that was to get out there. Happy as she would have been to make the sale, she didn't think it would help.
Her words brought me back to the time right after the vertigo. I did feel like I was learning to walk again. It was hard to get my feet under me. But I did it. I needed to. I had a pretty heavy walking lifestyle at that time (well, by US standards, anyway) and I had to get my feet back under me. Besides, I felt better about the consequences if I had another attack while walking rather than driving.
It's been a wet weekend here, with lots of slippery leaves, so I've had a weekend to think about what she said with all chances of actually getting on a bike removed. The parallels to other parts of my life are pretty obvious. My husband and I have rather different levels of need of social lives, and we tend to overcorrect and swing wildly from weekends with nothing but chores in the same house but not together, to weekends with way too many social events crammed in. I tend to attract feast-or-famine worklife situations, with periods of downtime followed by completely frantic activity. (Which is balance of a different sort, in some ways--at least it's not all frantic activity all the time.) I want to be with my kids all the time, until I am with them all the time, at which point I start trying to find sitters for them.
After my brain lesion, I was really disappointed in yoga class. Before the lesion, while I was clearly one of the least flexible students in class, the balance exercises were very easy for me. I felt rooted and calm and could hold the poses indefinitely, which was comforting after watching other students' Eagles or other poses look very different from mine. But after, I was one of the ones wobbling with my foot on my knee, unable to achieve the balance needed to feel rooted.
Giving birth twice did that to me in other ways. My whole adult life changed. What I valued, who I thought I was, what I thought I was capable of--all were challenged, and many were changed. And just as I got used to feeling wobbly in yoga class, I got used to feeling wobbly within myself as well.
But if I can walk, I can ride. Unbelievably, I'm right back to Dr. Seligman's class, and learned helplessness. It's depressing, literally, to keep trying things and failing. And there were lots of things I just accepted as part of my post-lesion or post-childbirth life. I tried a few times and gave up, thinking that in the scheme of things you can lose after a brain issue, canoeing and biking and sun salutations were small sacrifices. But what if I'm back to a point where I can do them, with practice?
We had a big weekend around here of readjusting the house for our growing kids. We removed some of the gates on the stairs. We took the safety covers off most of the doorknobs. We moved the older boy back in to a big boy bed (and this time he was thrilled). All of these really were temporary adjustments, as it turned out, though they felt eternal in the moment. Maybe it's time to see if some of these other adjustments are too.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
MPM--Last Week of Work Edition
So sad my last week of work happens this week. I loved this job, as temporary as I knew it would be. But it goes out with a bang with three days of work so I need to be way prepped. We had a fun week last week, with similar amounts of work and less preparation than this week so hoping all goes better. We had a lot going on, including everything from a public transit adventure for me (3+ hours to get home! A hero from my former office who rescued me by driving me the rest of the way!) to the dog's birthday (really her adoption day of course--we've had her for 6 years! Yay dog!) to an amazing knight-themed birthday party for the older son (jousting with pool noodles!) to a public "bedtime story" at the place the boys take their dance and Spanish singing classes. It was hectic but it was easy to feel connected to the town this week. Now they are settled in watching Schoolhouse Rock, which they just discovered, and I'm done shopping for the week and ready to get going.
Monday: Taco night. Give the boy a thrill. (and with real beef! ooooh! splurge.) Also using black beans and rice to help in my own efforts to eat less meat.
Tuesday: Slow cooker Autumn Pork Roast. Baked sweet potatoes. Salad.
Wednesday: Chicken burgers (Tandoori style) on pitas. Salad. Beets.
Thursday: Leftovers.
Friday: Noodles, or out. Sadly, our high school is out of the playoffs. (Ok, only semi-sadly as that really increases the availability of babysitters.) But two cousins are in a school that is still in playoffs, and one is in the band and one is (nominally) on the team. (He's jv, but gets to suit up.) So we might go see them play, if it's not too cold, or there's the temporarily shelved pizza tradition.
I rediscovered sweet Italian sausage this weekend. That sauce went fast. Might do that again in a new permutation. We'll see.
Have a great week everyone.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
How Could I Forget? FFoF
Wow, I know I was tired on a Friday when casting for a meme and I forgot Four Foods on Friday! Friday is even in the name of the meme. Sheesh.
Without further ado, this week's questions and answers. I like the red, white, and blue theme!
#1. Name a food you like that uses a red sauce or anything red in it.
The reddest thing we eat are tomatoes. Since an unfortunate Hawaiian Punch incident I try to keep the red food coloring to a minimum in this house. But gravy? (What Italians in my area call tomato sauce, not the brown stuff.) All the time. I can't find a canned or jarred one I like, and I'm no expert in making my own, alas. So we buy what's on sale and throw in more garlic, red wine if some is open (or about to be), and Italian seasonings and call it a sauce. I'm experimenting with cinnamon in there too, though that is a clear white flag that I am no longer even attempting to re-create the sauces of my childhood.
#2. Name a food you like with whipped cream in it or on it.
I am not a whipped cream girl, though I have happy memories of it on long bus rides with the band in college. And otherwise, I adore the Icebox Cake my (not-Italian) great-aunt used to make. This is Smitten Kitchen's version, but my aunt just laid them side by side and they were still awesome.
#3. Name a food you like with blueberry in it.
Again, not my favorite (though I am a fan); but my husband's all time favorite dessert is blueberry buckle, and just this morning I had an awesome cookie with blueberry jam in the middle:
2 cups oatmeal
2 sticks butter
1 c brown sugar
1 ¾ c flour
A little salt
1 tsp?? baking soda
Chopped nuts
Pre-heat oven to 400. Mix till blended. Grease 9x13 pan. Reserve about 2 cups of mixture, pat rest into greased pan. Spread your favorite jam over bottom (I used a 9oz?? jar of raspberry preserves?? I’ll double check…I’ve made ½ one flavor and ½ another flavor) I’ll double check recipe, but I always use more jam than they call for. Bake 25-30 minutes. Recipe called for 1 c firmly packed brown sugar, but I didn’t use that much.
That other half was blueberry and it was delicious in its unexpectedness.
#4. Share a recipe for pasta or dessert or a beverage.
I just did. Enjoy. And I bet if you are a whipped cream person it would be yummy on the above cookie! And it was nice for a 10am farewell as well.
Check out what other people are doing (and don't miss The Best Babysitter Ever's recipe either!) here. And have a good week!
Without further ado, this week's questions and answers. I like the red, white, and blue theme!
#1. Name a food you like that uses a red sauce or anything red in it.
The reddest thing we eat are tomatoes. Since an unfortunate Hawaiian Punch incident I try to keep the red food coloring to a minimum in this house. But gravy? (What Italians in my area call tomato sauce, not the brown stuff.) All the time. I can't find a canned or jarred one I like, and I'm no expert in making my own, alas. So we buy what's on sale and throw in more garlic, red wine if some is open (or about to be), and Italian seasonings and call it a sauce. I'm experimenting with cinnamon in there too, though that is a clear white flag that I am no longer even attempting to re-create the sauces of my childhood.
#2. Name a food you like with whipped cream in it or on it.
I am not a whipped cream girl, though I have happy memories of it on long bus rides with the band in college. And otherwise, I adore the Icebox Cake my (not-Italian) great-aunt used to make. This is Smitten Kitchen's version, but my aunt just laid them side by side and they were still awesome.
#3. Name a food you like with blueberry in it.
Again, not my favorite (though I am a fan); but my husband's all time favorite dessert is blueberry buckle, and just this morning I had an awesome cookie with blueberry jam in the middle:
2 cups oatmeal
2 sticks butter
1 c brown sugar
1 ¾ c flour
A little salt
1 tsp?? baking soda
Chopped nuts
Pre-heat oven to 400. Mix till blended. Grease 9x13 pan. Reserve about 2 cups of mixture, pat rest into greased pan. Spread your favorite jam over bottom (I used a 9oz?? jar of raspberry preserves?? I’ll double check…I’ve made ½ one flavor and ½ another flavor) I’ll double check recipe, but I always use more jam than they call for. Bake 25-30 minutes. Recipe called for 1 c firmly packed brown sugar, but I didn’t use that much.
That other half was blueberry and it was delicious in its unexpectedness.
#4. Share a recipe for pasta or dessert or a beverage.
I just did. Enjoy. And I bet if you are a whipped cream person it would be yummy on the above cookie! And it was nice for a 10am farewell as well.
Check out what other people are doing (and don't miss The Best Babysitter Ever's recipe either!) here. And have a good week!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Christmas Prep Updates
Ah, memes, how I love you. Especially on Fridays when I am too tired to think of my own freakin' topic and is it December yet? I was afraid not.
With, um, hello, 48 days to Christmas, the emails in the family are starting to fly. "I thought the limit was $50." "I thought it was $150 per family and $25 per kid." (Which is so so so much more than I make in a month right now if you extend it to the whole family I'm hoping for the combo $50 per family and $25 per kid.) "Are we giving to charity?" (I hope so.)
And in the middle of it, Halloween, Thanksgiving tussles, and the whirl of finishing one job and desperate attempts to start the next.
So, this week, thanks to the 100 Days countdown, I did achieve some results. We cleared Halloween and in the post-holiday Target sale I got a clear storage bin with an orange lid for the attic so next year, I will be able to find all the fabric-based decorations that I couldn't find this year. (And, note to self, no one missed but me. Just sayin'.) We pulled down Halloween bit by bit, to the boys' dismay. and got that away for a breather before my (small and staying that way) turkey collection makes its appearance. The Phillies paraphenalia isn't gone yet but I'm in no rush. Still giddy over that, too.
Other "posts into action" this week:
I saw the cranberry sauce sale and hopped on it. It was 5 for $2 (!!!) and so two for me, three to give away, and that's done. I grew up loving the jelly one that came out in the shape of the can (didn't everyone?) but have been converted to the whole-berry stuff. But I split the three leaning to the jelly, since if a family has any kids, that's what they'll want. I'll be picking up more things as time goes on but that was a start.
I have started on my ultimate grocery list for Thanksgiving, and had my practice one going strong. I even found cheap brussels sprouts (though to be honest, I buy them so infrequently, I don't know what a good price is, but this one seemed totally reasonable) at the Farmers' Market where I work and so I am ready to practice on them. I know I ate them when I was little but just got out of the habit. I'll be interested to see what happens next.
We did remember to turn back our clocks. And I totally voted. We felt very lucky; it was so easy. We read that in the last presidential election, 90% of votes in our town were cast before 6pm, so we took the chance that the trend would hold. And hold it did. We picked up my husband from work, drove straight to the polls, walked right in, got in "the blue tents" (as my son called the voting booths) right away, said a little prayer, and made history.
Looking for help getting coordinated for the holidays? Try here.
With, um, hello, 48 days to Christmas, the emails in the family are starting to fly. "I thought the limit was $50." "I thought it was $150 per family and $25 per kid." (Which is so so so much more than I make in a month right now if you extend it to the whole family I'm hoping for the combo $50 per family and $25 per kid.) "Are we giving to charity?" (I hope so.)
And in the middle of it, Halloween, Thanksgiving tussles, and the whirl of finishing one job and desperate attempts to start the next.
So, this week, thanks to the 100 Days countdown, I did achieve some results. We cleared Halloween and in the post-holiday Target sale I got a clear storage bin with an orange lid for the attic so next year, I will be able to find all the fabric-based decorations that I couldn't find this year. (And, note to self, no one missed but me. Just sayin'.) We pulled down Halloween bit by bit, to the boys' dismay. and got that away for a breather before my (small and staying that way) turkey collection makes its appearance. The Phillies paraphenalia isn't gone yet but I'm in no rush. Still giddy over that, too.
Other "posts into action" this week:
I saw the cranberry sauce sale and hopped on it. It was 5 for $2 (!!!) and so two for me, three to give away, and that's done. I grew up loving the jelly one that came out in the shape of the can (didn't everyone?) but have been converted to the whole-berry stuff. But I split the three leaning to the jelly, since if a family has any kids, that's what they'll want. I'll be picking up more things as time goes on but that was a start.
I have started on my ultimate grocery list for Thanksgiving, and had my practice one going strong. I even found cheap brussels sprouts (though to be honest, I buy them so infrequently, I don't know what a good price is, but this one seemed totally reasonable) at the Farmers' Market where I work and so I am ready to practice on them. I know I ate them when I was little but just got out of the habit. I'll be interested to see what happens next.
We did remember to turn back our clocks. And I totally voted. We felt very lucky; it was so easy. We read that in the last presidential election, 90% of votes in our town were cast before 6pm, so we took the chance that the trend would hold. And hold it did. We picked up my husband from work, drove straight to the polls, walked right in, got in "the blue tents" (as my son called the voting booths) right away, said a little prayer, and made history.
Looking for help getting coordinated for the holidays? Try here.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
News You Can Use (and so can they)
For those of you who remember Philly Expatriate's very funny troll for people who are looking for naughty things on Google, there's a new twist to the phenomenon.
Several years ago, my husband and I were in an excruciating long line (pre-9/11) that was moving so slowly we were worried about missing our flight, even though we'd arrived over three hours early. We were getting closer to the front of the line when from somewhere in the snakeline we heard a man raise his voice. "If I miss my flight," he intoned, clearly trying to reach the whole terminal, "I am going to put up an anti-USAir website!"
Even pre-9/11, flying was a little tense, and it was hard to stifle the snickers. This was SO early in the internet era, I'm not sure more than half the people in line even had access to the web. (We were flying to Seattle for a wedding, so maybe we were wrong. But at the time, the internet was still dominated by academe and silliness.) "Ooooh, an anti-USAir website!" we joked later. "So other nerds won't make the same mistake!"
But a few months ago on my blog I started noticing a little trend. I wrote about loving my wireless keyboard and mouse (which ended up causing way more problems than they were worth, but I didn't know that at the time) on a WFMW post. And next thing I knew, one of my comments included a link to a site that sold the keyboards. I didn't post the comment for a few days, debating how I felt about freebie advertising for a place I had no business dealings with. But I appreciated the ingenuity and posted the comment with a disclaimer.
Shortly after that, I had my cathartic Why I'm A Composting Dropout post, and expressed my frustrations with my Earth Machine composter and my complete inability to get the top half and the bottom half to actually stay together. And within a week, I had a very kind and deferential comment from the Earth Machine people, apologizing for my difficulty and giving me suggestions on how to (literally) get it together.
Turns out, that's just the next wave in internet marketing. Companies troll the web looking for complaints and rants that they can help fix online. Check out the news story on this phenomenon from the local news here.
I'm guessing the manager of my 401K isn't looking to try to make up to me online. But overall, I appreciate the companies who are going out of their way to be responsive to customers, even those who aren't complaining directly.
Anyone else have any luck like this?
Several years ago, my husband and I were in an excruciating long line (pre-9/11) that was moving so slowly we were worried about missing our flight, even though we'd arrived over three hours early. We were getting closer to the front of the line when from somewhere in the snakeline we heard a man raise his voice. "If I miss my flight," he intoned, clearly trying to reach the whole terminal, "I am going to put up an anti-USAir website!"
Even pre-9/11, flying was a little tense, and it was hard to stifle the snickers. This was SO early in the internet era, I'm not sure more than half the people in line even had access to the web. (We were flying to Seattle for a wedding, so maybe we were wrong. But at the time, the internet was still dominated by academe and silliness.) "Ooooh, an anti-USAir website!" we joked later. "So other nerds won't make the same mistake!"
But a few months ago on my blog I started noticing a little trend. I wrote about loving my wireless keyboard and mouse (which ended up causing way more problems than they were worth, but I didn't know that at the time) on a WFMW post. And next thing I knew, one of my comments included a link to a site that sold the keyboards. I didn't post the comment for a few days, debating how I felt about freebie advertising for a place I had no business dealings with. But I appreciated the ingenuity and posted the comment with a disclaimer.
Shortly after that, I had my cathartic Why I'm A Composting Dropout post, and expressed my frustrations with my Earth Machine composter and my complete inability to get the top half and the bottom half to actually stay together. And within a week, I had a very kind and deferential comment from the Earth Machine people, apologizing for my difficulty and giving me suggestions on how to (literally) get it together.
Turns out, that's just the next wave in internet marketing. Companies troll the web looking for complaints and rants that they can help fix online. Check out the news story on this phenomenon from the local news here.
I'm guessing the manager of my 401K isn't looking to try to make up to me online. But overall, I appreciate the companies who are going out of their way to be responsive to customers, even those who aren't complaining directly.
Anyone else have any luck like this?
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
WFMW--Toys That Are Worth It
Wow. Wow. Wow.
I'm trying to clear my head to get back to other thoughts other than the momentous shift that just happened here.
Keep in mind, for my house, boys rule. So I can't give you great ideas for little girls, as much as I'd love to think that there are some toys all kids would love.
First, Shannon stole my thunder: the Thomas toys rule, especially the wooden ones. I'm a little sad that they are fading in the house (not least because of the huge financial investment of many family members in it). But if I even suggest replacing the train tracks on the train table with Something Else, even the Something Else they are playing with at that moment, I am met with howls and howls of protest, and secretly I am pleased.
Second, as went the country, so go my boys. After a solid four-year dominance, the trains are slowly, slowly, slowly being replaced by cars. You can't do better for the money than the Hot Wheels or Matchboxes, and my kids are at an age where volume counts. But the remote control cars are really coming on strong here. The humongous hit of birthday season (ages 5 and 3) was the Morphibian "shark" car.
Third, the strong back-benchers for us have been the play kitchen; Geotrax; Chicken Dance Elmo; TJ Bearytales; construction-themed lacing cards; and an assortment of electronic toys I can't recommend in good conscience (the Leapster, and, my more-favored, a "computer" with various learning games based on the "I Like It When" penguins) because they are too loud or too easy to memorize and move on.
Finally, the oldies-but-goodies are still huge here. Anything with balls or wheels (scooter, bikes, trikes, soft sports sets) are huge. And books are always popular and even better when twinned with a stuffed animal that goes with it. (Most recent example: my aunt sent my older son a stuffed roadrunner that coos with the book "Lizards for Lunch" and he adores them.) Books that are huge winners in our house that I don't see listed very often include: When Pigasso Met Mootisse; Wacky Wednesday; Double Trouble in Walla-Walla; Fish Out of Water; and Bird Calls, complete with the soundtrack at the bottom.
Also, as the idea here is a "no junk" theme (and we are firmly in the throes of the "Little Plastic Bits" era here), we are working hard on event presents (lessons, events) to cut down on "stuff" and to stretch the season a bit.
Looking for other good ideas? (I am.) Check out today's WFMW at Rocks in my Dryer.
And one other note: In another stroke of pure genius, on Amazon today, they are advertising "Frustration Free Packaging." They are starting with just 19 toys and other items that come without impossible-to-open plastic packages, or 8,723 twist ties trapping everything in place. Next to stringing the lights, freeing the toys was my husband's least favorite Christmas chore and Amazon has eliminated it, at least for these, with promises of more to come. I'm ready to order the pirate ship on principle to support them in this effort.
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