Big C, Little C, Eensy-Weensy C

I often refer to Colby and Chaco as "Big C" and "Little C" but this weekend we had a really tiny C staying with us, too! The boys landed a dog-sitting job for their uncle's 6-month old St. Charles Spaniel, Charlie.

Big C & Little C were wary when we brought in the equipment.

The wariness increased as they met the intruder .. errr, I mean guest.

Chaco decided he did NOT like this at all and spent the weekend hiding from Charlie.

Charlie had a bit of hero-worship for Colby, who tolerated the attention quite well.

We loved having the BABY here and miss him now that he's back home!

Happy Birthday, Jess-kah!

In just under an hour it's my friend Jess-kah's birthday! I met her in Tanzania last summer ... here she hangs with the evolutionary chain at Ngorongoro Crater.

HAPPY DAY, GIRLFRIEND!!!

Book-Banning Controversy

This morning I was alerted to a movement by a group of University of St. Thomas parents who are trying to remove Margaret Atwood's book The Handmaid's Tale from the required reading list for freshman literature. The reasons they list on their website basically boil down to there is some (a lot of?) graphic language and imagery in the book that they believe will make some 18 or 19 year olds uncomfortable when reading.

This bothers me on so many levels. First and foremost, I am upset that this is still happening today - that a small group of people try to control what others read, that they try to insist their opinions are more valid than the teachers who assign the book. Wasn't there an episode of The Brady Bunch in the 1960s that dealt with book burning? Didn't Mike & Carol Brady teach their children - and the entire neighborhood - that burning a book is never the solution? Obviously these parents didn't watch The Brady Bunch - or at least they missed that episode. It just makes me sad that this is happening now, in 2008. Probably I am naive.

Secondly, I have read the book in question ... I probably read it the first time when I was in high school - what would these parents say about that?! And I remember the book for its themes and commentary and the futuristic genre. I do NOT recall how many times the "f" word was used (which seems to be one of the main complaints of this group.) I do not remember, much less dwell on, the scenes of violence other than to remember the grimness of society in general in the book. Which, afterall, was the whole point of the book.

I believe the parents underestimate their children's ability to read and discuss the book, and I believe they insult the integrity of the literature professors who selected the book and prepared the discussion activities.

So, as this parent group website urged me to do, I wrote to the faculty of the University of St. Thomas. Unfortunately for the parent group, I don't think my email (to the addresses they so thoughtfully provided) was what they were looking for.

My kinda of quiz (sorta)

Does this sound like me? From the results it looks like I am pretty firmly in the hazelnut camp ... Whatever ... LMK what YOU are.

What Kind of Chocolate Are You? Your Result: Chocolate Hazelnut Chocolate hazelnut is so pure and honest... just like you. You are one smart person, with a passion of helping others. We can always count on you to help us out, whether it's a math problem or just a bad day. Don't be afraid to steer away from your plain white tees and straight-cut jeans once in a while, though!
Milk Chocolate
Dark Chocolate
White Chocolate
Chocolate-Covered Fruit
What Kind of Chocolate Are You? Quizzes for MySpace

Introducing ...

The newest United States Citizen! My sister-in-law Mary became a citizen today. She is Irish, and has lived here for ... 25-26 (?) years and been married to my brother almost that long. Guess after all that time she decided it would stick.

The boys & I went to the ceremony, held in the US District Court Building in downtown St. Paul. The room was beautiful - it had draped white netting and lights, like for a wedding reception!

There were about 230 citizens-to-be in this ceremony, from either 37 or 47 different countries (I heard 47, Ben heard 37.) Mary was the only one from Ireland. Somali had the most, with 68, Vietnam and Mexico each had about 17 or 18, Liberia had maybe 14, and then all the rest of the nations had 10 or fewer. No Norwegians, Croatians, or Tanzanians!
Here all the candidates are swearing allegiance to the United States. The judge presiding spoke for a bit both before and after the swearing in. I really liked the message he gave, talking about how the United States is dependent on the diversity of many people from many cultures and that although they are swearing allegiance to the US, they should never, ever forget their homelands and all that they grew up with culturally, linguistically, and musically.

He ended with a John Wesley quote that is one of my favorites:

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

For all the people you can,

For as long as you can.

Then they had a video presentation set to the song Proud to be An American, with photos of the nation, its citizens, and its new citizens. It was incredibly moving; I stood in the back and cried.

I wanted to hug and congratulate and welcome each of the new citizens. I was, truly, proud to be an American.

Hmmm...

So bought the boys new socks at Target yesterday, washed them today.

A pack of 6 pair for each of them.

Carefully packaged in a resealable ziplock plastic bag.

Do people really take the socks out one pair at a time and then reseal the bag?

Taste this MORE than Twice

I just heard from my friend Missy, owner and creative genius behind Droolin' Moose, that she won an award this weekend at the Twin Cities Food & Wine Show ~ "Best Kept Secret" for New Products in 2008 !!!

I have shared the snack mix which bears the company name with many of you, raving about it, and now you have proof that my taste is of high quality, as the judges agreed with me.

You can order your own by calling Missy, go to their store in Bloomington, or just ask me to pick some up for you ... I'm heading over there this afternoon!

I didn't know...

There is a TV commercial on right now - I think it's for American Express - which is neither here nor there - and I saw it two or three times tonight while watching the Academy Awards (which made me think of Carla and Ann and the Oscar Party we had a few years back and who knows when we will have the next one where all 3 of us could be in the same room at the same time) - and I really liked the message.

It's a woman talking, and she says (this is the part I like):

I didn't know what I wanted to be,

but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to become.

That's me in a nutshell. Now, this woman ended up (quite by accident, if we are to believe the commercial) a fashion designer, perhaps you have heard of her, Diane von Furstenburg? And, being the impressionable type of individual I am, I actually looked at the clothing she was holding up in the commercial and thought "How cool would that be, to design clothing for women like ME who know nothing about fashion and don't even really like it?!" What does that say about my state of mind that I actually meant it, too?!

I don't know where I am going, but I do believe I am getting closer.

She did it again ...

So, this morning the Knitting Queen and I, along with a third partner in crime, Lisajoan, went to a yarn shop. Again. This is becoming a nasty habit.

I was only going to buy a new circular needle, which I do actually need.

Instead I bought a book of patterns, and some yarn, and some other patterns ... this is not the exact photo of what I got, but it gives you an idea. It's felted bowls. Same technique as I used on my slippers and bags earlier, but now bowls. How cute is that?!?!

We'll see when I actually get any made ...

Some days ...

Every once in a while I look in the mirror and think WHO IS THAT WOMAN?

I am pretty busy right now in my life. Adjusting, even after a year, to living in the townhouse, to working a lot on several projects, on handing over volunteer and staff duties while still supporting a lot of the volunteers and staff at Peace House, working with the boys on their schooling, trying to stay caught up for my book clubs, knitting for my soul, keeping the dogs exercised, trying to watch my own weight and fitness level (though that's a pretty passive role. I just keep watching, wondering if it will ever change.)

So about 10 minutes ago I get an email. From the University of North Dakota. They are announcing a new distance learning Master's in Public Health program for nurses. The focus is community and public health. They work with you to find communities near you to work with in a professional setting. And I find myself as I am reading this email, thinking "Wow! This sounds really cool! I should learn more about this opportunity!"

Because apparently some portion of my brain thinks I could actually fit this in to my life about now.

?!?!?!?!? Yeah, a Master's in Public Health is JUST what I need to complete my life right now, don't 'cha think?

The Next Big Thing

I'm actually salivating at the thought of knitting this sweater. It was designed by a Danish knitter named Ruth, and it will be a challenge to hold off buying the yarn until I am done with the half-dozen or so other projects I have going ... The pattern is available online for free. We should make it a group project and all do it together, except the Knitting Queen isn't allowed to start until the rest of us have already done half the sweater. Otherwise we just get discouraged.

New Tattoo

I am SO wanting another tattoo. Only problems are:

1. What should it be a picture (or design) of?

2. Where on my body should it go?

I'm taking suggestions!

Today's Political Report

A while back I wrote about the Will.i.am YouTube video for Barack Obama, Yes We Can.

Today my friend Diane directed me to the new YouTube video about McCain ... and I just had to post here about it, too.

On Carla's blog, she referred to me as a "proud democrat" who "takes the political process very seriously." And that is true, I guess, though I don't really consider myself an activist. But every once in a while I send out sweeping emails to everyone I know when an issue is near and dear to my heart. Most recently it's been gun control, and there actually is a new bill being considered in the Minnesota Legislature right now, and it's being referred to as the "Shoot First" bill. It's a bill which would make it easier for anyone to shoot first and ask questions later if they feel threatened in any way. Never mind that self-defense is already a stronghold in our legal system. Never mind that there are more gun deaths in our nation than any other. No, some people believe that we need more laws to protect people with guns who decide to shoot other people.

So, I am asking you to help me. Please. Contact your representatives and senators and tell them you do NOT want more freedom of gun use in our society today. Tell them to vote against Senate File 0446 and House File 498.

Please.

Man Made Card

My friend Helen just sent me this link (apparently today is a big You Tube day in my world.) Those of you who have known me for a while know I used to be a Stampin' UP! demonstrator, and I still enjoy making greeting cards with friends.

When I used to do my demonstrations, women would talk about their husbands and the lack of understanding they received at home ("isn't it just cheaper and easier to BUY a birthday card?") - men just didn't get it.

Well, this man does. Enjoy!

World's Fastest Knitter

While at the Knit Out on Saturday, I had a brush with fame! Sitting directly behind me was the World's Fastest Knitter - complete with her Guinness World Record Certificate to prove it. Miriam Tegels of the Netherlands came to Minnesota just for this event!

A local cameraman recorded her and put it on You Tube ... if you go watch the video, right at the moment she pulls out the certificate you hear a woman say "Look at that!"

That's ME :-)

Yarn, Yarn, YARN

Well, yesterday I once again fell under the spell of the Knitting Queen as she convinced me to attend the Great Knit-Out at the Mall. And let me tell you, it took a lot of work to convince me. I think we wrangled over it for at least 4 seconds and one email exchange.

She actually was volunteering, teaching people to knit. Don't know that I have the patience to do that, but she did get an awfully nice thank-you goodie bag, so I may consider it next year.

I got some fun give-aways - patterns, a few skeins of yarn, some needles, a magazine. And we met a Knitting Author ... Kristin Nicholas, and we both bought her book, had her sign it, and announced we were now her groupies. I don't know what she thought of that ... and I guess two 40-something moms saying they are groupies to a knitter is kinda odd (scary?)! But what I came away with most is that people are weird. I have never met a knitter, one-on-one, that I didn't like. But boy, put them in a group and put that group in a line - and they turn nasty fast!

And the most bizarre thing about it is they stood in long (and I do mean L - O - N - G) lines for a VERY long time .... for nothing. The majority of booths were NOT giving away anything. Yet the people continued to stand in line and growl if you looked like you were looking at a booth over their shoulders without having done your time in the line. Quite by accident I ended up walking around the Mall THE WRONG WAY. I had no malicious intent, I was not trying to slip anyone a fast one. So I approached each booth facing the oncoming line, and I just. do. not. get. it.

Why they all chose to stand in line is beyond me.

A rough day

Good morning, all. I am having a hard time focusing this morning after reading about yet another school shooting. Each time I hear of this type of news I have feelings of fear, anger, shock, relief, and pretty much the same reactions as pretty much every other mom out there.

But this one hit a little closer to home. Remember how in the last post I said that one family was not in the group picture because they drove from northern Illinois? Well, Carolinda, the mom of that family, is a faculty member at Northern Illinois University - where the shootings occurred.

Carolinda and I have a shared history; we went to the same junior and senior high schools and while we were never close friends, we did know one another. Then later, in college, we lived in the same student cooperative, where again, we weren't close, but we share a lot of memories and have friends in common. We really enjoyed meeting up this week at the Dells, sharing what our lives are like now and reminiscing about the past.

Until a week ago I had never heard of Northern Illinois University. Now tragedy has struck, and I have a friend who is there.

So I'm having a bit of a rough day.

People at the Dells

This is most of the group that went. We are here, waiting for the train to take us back to St. Paul. One family was from northern Illinois, so they drove - and thus are not in the station photo.

The train ride home was smooth and easy. The train ride there, however, was anything but. The train was scheduled to depart St. Paul at 7:50 AM, but the day before we heard that snowstorms out west had delayed its departure from Seattle, so we knew it was going to be a couple of hours late. We were not too disappointed with the thought of sleeping an hour or so later, so all was good.

We arrived at the station at 9:30 for the 9:55 departure ... at 9:54 they announced the train would be delayed another half hour. OK.

At 10:25 the train rolled in and the passengers leaving it were allowed off. We were not allowed on.

At 10:45 they announced a half-hour delay due to mechanical isssues. At 11:15 they announced another half-hour delay. At 11:20 one of our group volunteered to run to Subway, 2 blocks away, to get sandwiches for all us starving people. At 11:25 they announced immediate and rushed boarding for all passengers so that we could depart. At 11:26 we called the sandwich gopher and he rushed back, with 2 of the sandwiches in hand. Lucky Ben & Ty won the jackpot and got to eat.

At 11:45 we were still sitting at the station. At 12:00 the train moved. About 3 blocks. Then stopped again. We sat there for another 45 minutes. At 12:45 the train moved again. Backwards. Back to the station.

At 2:00 we finally departed for real. We SHOULD have arrived in the Dells around noon. Instead we got there about 7:30 PM. Tired. Hungry. BORED.

But once there, we checked in and hit the waterpark, and all was good.

Come back tomorrow for more pictures and stories!

The Great Dells Adventure

The boys & I just returned from a whirlwind trip to the Wisconsin Dells ... a couple pics to whet your interest, and the rest of the story in a day or two!

We took the train from St. Paul to the Dells ... and that was an adventure all in itself! The station there was so cool, it was like stepping back in time.

(There is no one we know in this photo, it's just to give you an overview of our favorite part of the resort we stayed in.)

Why do people do this?

Recently for one of my jobs I was coordinating a group of high school students who were entering in a talent competition. There were clear rules about age, type of talent, and methods of performance. Very clear rules.

One mom asked me if we could bend the rules for her daughter. Asked me just 36 hours before the competition, too, mind you.

When I apologetically and sincerely replied that although I was pleased at her daughter's interest in our competition, we could not change the rules for her.

So the mother sent me a note saying I had missed something remarkable [by not letting her daughter compete] and that she truly felt sorry for me. And the attitude in the email was just plain snippy.

My first response was to laugh. Then I felt insulted, and wanted to write back to her and say not to waste her time feeling sorry for me, as I surely didn't need it. Then I wanted to add that I felt sorry for her daughter.

What I actually did was delete the email and chalk it up to life's experiences.

But it BUGS me. And obviously I am still thinking about it now, 8 hours later.

Man, I gotta get me a Coyote!

I love reading and looking at Daily Coyote - the pictures are wonderful and I daydream about the lives they are leading.

But today there was something new on that blog - this question:

Can I make a donation to you & Charlie & maybe even Eli?

And then this answer:

By popular demand, I bring you a Donate button. If people want to give me money for being alive, well, then I will let them. (Proceeds go to Charlie's happiness and safety; I still drive an '89 Ford with no power steering. At least it keeps me toned!)

Somehow I don't think daily pictures of a standard poodle would inspire people to send me money.

Prom Fiasco

This just in ... the Hollywood writers' strike is going to ruin Prom 2008.

How, you may ask?

Well, with the writers on strike, the awards ceremonies are in jeopardy. If the awards ceremonies don't happen, there is nothing to televise.

If there is nothing on television, the knock-off dress designers who each year fashion the season's prom selections off of the red carpet favorites have no inspiration.

If the knock-off designers have no inspiration, the young women preparing for the dance of the year then have absolutely nothing to purchase to wear.

You may think that the writers' strike is about television shows and Hollywood disputes, but this proves that it is affecting every family with a teenager in the entire nation. This tragedy is hurting every prom planner. This horrific situation could ruin the whole year for teenage girls.

They just don't realize the harm they are doing ....

Monday Morning Check-In

It's Monday. Another weekend over. Another list of plans which didn't go as planned. But it was a good weekend nonetheless ...

1. I cleaned. Not a ton, and really it was more putting things away than actual cleaning (no sponges were wet.) But it made such a difference in how I felt when I walked into the dining room to actually SEE the table, and to actually be able to sit in any of the 6 chairs that I wanted to.

2. I reconnected with a friend and we saw 27 Dresses. Chick-flick, romantic comedy, not gonna win any awards, but fun.

3. I continued a week of healthy eating and the dial on the scale moved a little more to the left :-)

4. I earned some money, working on a project for my Chicago client.

5. I bought yarn and knit a while ... total relaxation and food for my soul!

6. I took the dogs to the dog park. They have been so neglected lately between the extreme cold and my level of busy-ness, they have not had the opportunity to run and run and run for a few weeks. They loved it and my guilt was assuaged.

7. I bought milk. Seriously, this had been a problem for me lately, managing to get to the grocery store before running out and needing such basic staples as milk. So the fact that I remembered - and acted on it - before the boys came back from their dad's was pretty darn good!

Now for what I planned to do but didn't ...

1. Didn't get my financial stuff in order so that I can get my taxes done. (This was my #1 goal for the weekend. I made a small start.)

2. Didn't finish up a work project for a local client that is getting dangerously close to being delinquent (yuck).

3. Didn't change the sheets on the boys' beds. Oh well, they are kids.

4. Didn't excercise. But am continuing to pay my monthly fee to have the right to not exercise at the gym.

Well, 7 goods and 4 bads. Not a horrible ratio, I guess. And Good #3 has me happy this Monday morning!

Brief Political Foray

A friend just directed me to this YouTube video, created out of / inspired by Barack Obama's speeches.

I am still wavering a bit on which candidate I am backing, but this video was powerful - and I think the message may resonate with you regardless of your candidate and even party choice. I think it captures what the average American is saying in this pre-election period, no matter which candidate you think is best prepared to make it come about.

(and it also shows me how techno-savvy and young-voter-oriented Obama's campaign staff is...)

(and it indicates to me that I am old and out of it, as I only recognized FOR SURE one person and I *think* I knew who two more were ...)

Oh, just a normal Saturday .....

This is what two knitters do on a Saturday ... The Knitting Queen and I started at Depth of Field in Minneapolis, then went to the Yarn Cafe in Maplewood, then decided we needed to go to Coldwater Yarn in Excelsior.

Six projects later I came home.

This pile will turn in to a felted bag, 3 pair of socks, a baby cardigan and hat, and a baby blanket.

CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Where's the beef? In my basement!

Yesterday I bought 141 1/2 pounds of beef! Yup, you read that right.

A former neighbor emailed a while back with the offer to go in on the purchase of a cow. Her aunt and uncle have a farm, Prairie Horizons, and they sell their beef directly to hungry families.

The boys and I had our first pound of ground beef today for lunch, and it felt so good to be cooking and eating it. I talk the talk a lot about going organic, eating foods with less processing, eating more whole foods, and focusing attention on what I put into my body and my children's, but it's sometimes hard to be consistent with those intentions.

Now I can feel good that not only are we eating high-quality, non-chemically "enhanced" beef, but I also am so pleased to be supporting a local family-run farm. And with nearly 150 pounds of it in my freezer (that was a quarter cow, for those who are wondering) I won't have to buy any for a long time. I just sent an email to a neighbor farmer of these beef people, where I can get pork and chickens. I am excited at the prospect of not having to purchase any meat products from the grocery store!

My freezer is full and my heart is happy.

No words needed, call me a love-sick teenager ...

New Knitting ...

I am starting a sweater. I haven't made a sweater in over 20 years. Wish me luck!

This one is supposed to be pretty easy, so we'll see. I love the asymmetry of the front, and the fun buttons. I am doing it in a beautiful Peruvian wool that is kind of blue-grey. Haven't picked out the buttons yet but I saw some that were made out of nuts when I bought the yarn that called to me.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

It oughtta be a holiday!

What fun to go to Google today and see this:

50th Anniversary of LEGOS!!!!!

In this household, that makes today pretty much a national holiday!!!

(Really, ask the boys in excitement? No, says the mother. Awww..... say the boys.)

Peer Gynt

This weekend I went to see Peer Gynt at the Guthrie. One of the treats I have allowed myself is season tickets to the theater. I have missed live theater in recent years and so when the Guthrie called last fall, I said YES, sign me up!

Peer Gynt was AMAZING. I beleive I read the book in a class on Ibsen at the University many, many moons ago. At least I have a copy of it, and two books on Ibsen, on my bookshelf. However, I have no memory of it at all. I was musing about it with the friend I took along to the play that perhaps I read it in Norwegian and that's why I remember so little ...but I don't own in in Norwegian, so it's going to remain a mystery.

What amazed me the most about this production was the translation. In reading reviews, I learned (or maybe re-learned?) that Peer Gynt as Ibsen wrote it is full of word play, rhymes, jokes and puns. In every English translation up til now, the translators have focused on getting the meaning of the play, keeping it amusing, but not putting in as many rhymes, jokes and plays on words as Ibsen did. I find that quite reasonable, I mean, how can you translate rhymes to rhymes - what are the chances that two words that rhyme in Norwegian are going to rhyme in English? How can you just make up rhymes in English and maintain the meaning of the original text?

Well, Robert Bly did. I still don't know how he did it, but he did, and he did an amazing job of it. (As an aside, who knew Robert Bly - I think of him as the man with drums - is fluent in Norwegian??)

Now I do want to go back and read it in its original format, to further my appreciation and amazement at Bly's miraculous work.

HIGHLY recommend this for those of you in the Twin Cities!

Health Update

Well, it's been a full week and I'm doing really well on the eating side of getting healthier, not so good on the exercise side, though. I actually dropped 5 pounds this week :-) I know from past experience that the first week is always big and then it tapers off, so I don't have huge expectations - but am celebrating this morning (I held off from weighing myself all week long until this morning.)

So - this week's plan is to hold steady with the food and bump up the movement.

I habb a cohwd

Last night I was lying on the counch minding my own business when

BAHM!!!

All of a sudden I have a cold. The yucky, achy, just want to stay in bed kind of cold.

Tomorrow better be better.

I think they do it on purpose

Well, I have just spent the last 65 minutes on the phone with Capital One. See, I have a Capital One credit card. They show these commercials all the time, and their website says, you can change your reward structure any time you want to. So heck, I believed them, and thought I would give them a call to make a change.

As soon as they found out the change I want involves lowering my interest rate, I got transferred to another department. There I was on hold for 23 minutes. I timed it. Then I got cut off.

So I started again. This time I started pushing "0" as soon as I was connected, to get a real live person. I got one, he was VERY friendly and accommodating, but he just didn't have the authority to make that kind of change, so he transferred me to Tammy in Account Management. Tammy was also pleasant and she said I had to talk to the Rewards Department. After being on hold for just 9 minutes this time, Tina in Rewards picked up the phone. She gave me all kinds of information about my existing account, information I already knew and which really isn't pertinent to the request I am making today.

When I told her my request, she said "You have to talk to an Account Manager to make that change." I said "but I just did talk to them and they transferred me to you!" ... pause ... "Can you hold while I explain it to them?"

So then I was back to a very nice man who sounded as if he was talking to me from India, which he probably was, but he was using a tin can and a string.

He confidently told me that I needed to apply to open a new account, then transfer the balance, and then close my existing account, and that he would be more than happy to transfer me to the people who could process all of that over the phone.

Hooray!

So he transfers me and I get a recording.

"Thank you for calling Capital One Account Opening Specialists. Our office is closed."

And I am still paying the higher interest rate.

They won this round.

Wise Words

Many wise people have pointed out

that it is not so much

what we do

as it is how we do it

that makes the difference in our lives.

I'm so tech-savvy ....!!! HA!

You may notice I have a Dilbert thingee on the side of my blog now. It's called a Widget. Perhaps you already know what a widget is. I didn't. But now I have one. And I may not keep it but it was presented to me to try, so being the lemming I occasionally am, I dutifully followed the instructions and uploaded it to my blog.

I feel powerful :-)

I'm going to bed now

I didn't do anything bad today so I am going to bed now before I ruin my record!

It's about health ...

OK, this year I didn't consciously make any resolutions, but I am announcing here and now - so you are all responsible for keeping me accountable - that I AM going to get into better shape in 2008. That almost rhymes ... shape-eight. Humor me.

Lately I have noticed how hard I breathe after minimal exertion, and sometimes when I lay in bed at night I feel my heart beating faster than I would like it to. I am tired too often, and not able to accomplish as much as I would like to in a day. Or a week. My hours are still pretty good though.

Everyday there are new headlines about what is good for you and what is not good for you, what will promote longevity and what will rush you to an early grave - obviously every one of those "discoveries" needs to be taken with a grain of salt (except those about blood pressure, no salt needed there), but the bottom line is ... yeah, we all know it, eat less and move more.

It's not about losing weight (not that I would mind that!) It's about my grandchildren, and being around to play with them.

So, today, January 20 - which is, by the way, my Mom's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! - is the beginning of my attempt to become healthier. Wish me well, and ask me frequently how it's going so that I know I have to answer to you as well as myself.

THANK YOU!

Fun with Harry Potter

This morning I assigned the boys the task of reading a magazine article and then writing a summary or response in their writing journals. Ty found a fun article on the botany of Harry Potter and we wanted to share some of the things he learned.

1. Voldemort's wand is made of yew -- the tree of death.

2. Harry's wand is made of holly -- the bark of which is used for healing.

3. Lily's wand is made of willow -- the tree of sorrow and grief.

4. A mandrake is a real plant, which, according to lore, screams when you pull it from the ground. And look at the picture of the mandrake root - can't you totally see a person in there?

We are quite impressed with the research JK Rowling did and the meanings behind small details. I know Sirius is the dog constellation, and Lupus is a derivation of the Latin word for wolf. I know there are tons more - and I am betting at least two people will be able to share more that they know .... Carla & Shawn, we await your posts!!

This just in!

On my way home from a meeting tonight I heard the latest news - the Golden Globes Awards were announced tonight (they did not have a whole big extravaganza show due to the strike) and ... as I called it here ....

Best Picture: ATONEMENT!

Sock Mishap

Well I finished pair of socks #4. This is the first one I have done with "regular" yarn -- i.e., non self-striping. And I guess I need those stripes, as I made one sock a good half-inch shorter than the other one. See, with the striped yarn you can simply say "finish the sock at the end of the blue stripe" or whatever, and you don't need to measure. When you don't have those nice stripes telling you what to do and when, you actually have to pay attention.

Apparently this is an area I need some work in.

(And I can't take a picture because my camera battery is dead and I can't remember where I last used the charger!)

Hmmmm......

Has anyone else ever noticed that the amount of time you wish to spend outside with your much-loved canine friends is inversely related to the amount of time so-named canines require to search out and find the exactly perfect spot to pee?

More Magic Socks!

I am liking wearing these homemade socks ... pair #4 is almost done; here are pairs #2 & 3 which I made while up north over New Year's.

My favorite part is that there are no seams! As one of those people who HATES seams and tags, I feel like I have found paradise when I wear these socks.

Plus it's just darn fun to follow the instructions on the written paper pattern and then look down in amazement as the yarn turns into a sock. It's still magic to me.

Barack and Hilary

This morning on the radio I was listening and the discussion was on Hilary's question of "where's the beef?" which she apparently queried regarding Barack's campaigning.

The announcer put forward a theory that at first I snorted at but then as he explained himself, I found myself wondering and agreeing it could be.

Hilary has always championed herself as a fighter for the people, but she also always chose a career and life path which put her in law firms and political situations. Barack never presents himself as a people's hero, yet his career path has been in grass-roots nonprofits and working to make changes for everyday folks.

So does Hilary look at his background and think to herself "that's what I wanted to do but couldn't (or didn't)?" And does she regret any of her choices which have now led her to a place where she has to publicly question someone who acted on what she claims to represent herself?

Somehow I don't think I am presenting this as clearly as the radio announcer did.

Is she on the offense, questioning him precisely because he has walked the walk while she has only talked the talk?

More on the Movie

Mama Ava wonders if I watched The Great Debaters thinking about how my ancestors could have been involved in race relations in the 1930s ... it is a good and valid question, and the answer is sort of.

Honestly, my forefathers came from other countries quite recently and stayed pretty much completely in Minnesota, so I while I don't know their feelings about people of other races, I am pretty confident they didn't participate in anything like was shown in the movie.

Not to say that they wouldn't have, had they been there. I believe you can't know what anyone would do in any given situation. There was a book written a few years ago by the sister of someone I know here in Minnesota. While the immediate family I know of was "all Minnesotan", there is one branch of the family that are true southerners, living for several generations in Mississippi. And there were some members of that branch who were quite prominant in the klan there. Apparently the Minnesota branch wasn't aware of the extent of the involvement until the research was done for this book, and it brought on some heated discussions and caused some splits in family relations. And it certainly doesn't mean that there is "bad blood" in that family, or change my opinion of the family members here. It just is what it is, I guess.

So maybe I project too much on the African-American boys I saw at the movie. Maybe they did sit there and watch and have the same feelings as I did, of horror that those things happened, but also didn't internalize it any more than I did. We can all sit now and say how wrong it was. And not have it be anything more -- nor anything less -- than that.

3-Movie Weekend

This weekend had been a triple screening one for me. On Friday evening I went with my folks to see Denzel Washington's new movie, The Great Debaters. It's the true story of a debate team from Wiley College in Texas in the year 1935. The all-black school invites schools all over the nation to challenge them to a debate, and eventually Harvard takes them up on it. It's well done and the characters are moving. But what I was most struck by was the 5 young men sitting in the row in front of us at the theater. They were all African-American and looked to be about 16 or 17, and I kept finding myself wondering throughout the movie what THEY were thinking as they watched the way the black students had to struggle to be taken seriously, and the way the white townspeople treated the college, its professors, and students. These young men could be only two generations removed from the families in the movie, they could have grown up with stories of how their own great aunts and uncles suffered. When they heard the same dialogue I heard, and saw the same action I saw, what were the thoughts they thought? Most definitely not the same thoughts as were in my head.

Then Saturday I saw Juno. Polar opposite in tone! Just plain fun, even with the subject matter being a 16-year old girl finds herself pregnant. Allison Janney (of The West Wing) was brilliant as the step-mother, and Jennifer Garner, not my favorite actress by any stretch of the imagination, was also quite good as the adoptive mom. Clever dialogue, interesting character development, enjoyable movie.

But today, I saw what should win Best Picture. Atonement. I knew the bare bones of the story line -- younger sister lies about older sister's boyfriend and then war intervenes with everyone's lives. But wow. Powerful. Compelling. Moving. I don't even have words to share my feelings. I was swept in to this story so completely, I was so emotionally involved, that I was completely exhasuted at the end of it and had to sit quietly in my seat for a while before I could even stand. Not having read the book I can't compare, but I have to believe this was an incredibly excellent screen play.

I'm exhausted from all this entertainment. But it was so worth it, every minute.

Laugh for the Day

This letter in the newspaper yesterday morning made me giggle ... (and giggle harder at the thought of how many people won't get it!)

Eight glasses of water?
Hard to swallow

So now researchers say there is no evidence to suggest that one needs to drink eight glasses of water daily, which the Nutritional Council recommended in 1945 ("Myth busters," Dec. 22). Just think, all of these years we've been diluting ourselves!

Thanks, E-Girls!

One of the favored gifts this year for the boys came from the E-Girls of Denver (daughters of my friend Alice, their names all start with "E".) They sent the boys message fans - you can set a personalized message in the fan blades - it's magic if you ask me - and it lights up whatever you want it to. Here, Ben makes his into a thank you note!

And here, Ty lets the world know what is on his mind:

Merry Christmas!

We had a good couple of days spent with family, exchanging gifts, greetings, and good wishes. The boys & I were buy until the last minute, finishing up some gifts we made. I made mittens for my sister-in-law and neice, and the boys made beaded book marks for all the relatives - Ty is holding up a handful, making it hard to see, but they were a big hit!

Christmas Eve we spent at our house. Steve came over, too, and we all exchanged gifts.


The boys got Steve an automatic-adjusting wrench, and they got me season 10 of Friends - the final season, which I never saw and so now can satisfy my curiosity about what exactly happened to Monica, Rachel, and all the rest!


The boys got each other Legos ... they didn't even bother wrapping them, just left them in the bright yellow bags and made each other close their eyes when handed the bags to try and inject an element of surprise!

Ben's gift from me came in a huge triangular box -- he called it the industrial strength Toblerone, and that really is what it looked like! (it was two books inside.)


On Christmas morning Santa had come to Steve's so we were all there for the "big" gifts. Both boys got a Nintendo DS ... which is what they really, really wanted (and were pretty confident they were getting), and that was the end of that ... they played pretty much the rest of the day!



In the afternoon we went to Steve's sister's house for lunch, then in the evening we went to my brother's house for dinner - a long, full, day.




More pictures and details coming later :-)

huh?

There is a new commercial on TV these days which should be meaningful and powerful. It's about girls in Africa who can't go to school for a few days each month ... because they lack "protection" - at least that's what I think they call it, though right now as I type it that sounds like birth control, which they probably don't have either but that is a whole-nother issue.

Anyway, the "tagline" of this commercial (which is for Kotex, and touts that when US consumers purchase Kotex produtcts, the company will now donate products to these girls so they don't have to miss school) is "Use your period for good."

Ummm, as opposed to using your period for evil?

Finally -- all these years it's just been a hassle -- but now women can unite. And. use. our. periods. for. good.

I will sleep better tonight.

The Daily Coyote

Stumbled across this new site the other day and I enjoy checking it out if not daily, at least once or twice a week. It's pictures of a coyote growing up as a pet (of sorts) and the story of how it came to be.

There is a part of me that wistfully wants to live this woman's life. When I was young I thought I would live a life like hers once I was all grown up. Ah well! I'll just have to make due with my poodle and bichon.

Two Weeks Left

I just spent a few minutes reading my final posts of 2006. I was specifically looking to see if I had made any New Year's Resolutions so I could report in on how I did. While I wrote about the making of resolutions, I didn't exactly make any, other than to say that I was starting Tae Kwon Do which should help me lose weight and be more fit.

Tae Kwon Do lasted until I went to Africa this summer and then I never got around to starting up again. Now I've joined Snap Fitness, and hopefully that will last longer (and, BTW, I can bring free guests any time if anyone wants to check it out!)

As Christmas is drawing near and the end of the year is naturally following, I do find myself thinking about what I want from 2008. 2007 has been filled with so much that I did not plan on, and so much of the change has been so good but some of it is frustrating. I hope that in 2008 I can find ways to better manage those parts of my life which currently frustrate me. Some of it is professional, some of it personal, some of it financial, some of it physical.

I am going to try to come up with a tangible list of resolutions for the coming year. Measureable resolutions. And realistic. (might be a pretty short list!) So that a year from now, when I look back, I can compare where my life is then with where it is now. And celebrate.

TA-DA!!!!

Not only are they both done, but they are both the same size and the stripes even mostly kinda match up! Woo-hoo! (Now the real test is will I ever make another pair?!)

O, Christmas Tree

Earlier this week we put up our tree. We had to find a fairly narrow one to fit in the space available and I think we did quite well! So does our holiday dog whose favorite spot these days is lying on the landing, nearly as high as the tree-top! He must feel really big when he's up there.

New Knitting

I've managed to do a bit more knitting here and there, a few rows at a a time (ok, more than a few rows at some times ... like when I'm watching Survivor or Amazing Race.)

I did another Amazing Shrinking Bag to send to a friend for her birthday. This time I only did the shrinking process once so it ended up being the right size (according to the pattern.)

Then this weekend the Knitting Queen came over to teach me how to make socks.

By my calculations, this is the most expensive sock I have ever owned, and I don't own it's partner yet (well, I guess technically I own it, but there is some assembly required.) I didn't even have to buy the yarn (that was my birthday present! What a nice friend that Queen is) but even if my time was worth minimum wage, this is one high-priced sock.

Luckily I really, really like it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLA!!!!!!!

She knows how to party ....

Home for the Holidays

My friend Shawn introduced me to this company ... One trip through the website and I was hooked. Measure and tape ...
Rub carefully ...
Peel away ....
Wow! What a great decoration!