Thankful . . .

November 24, 2011 · Leave a comment ·

…for a wonderful man who walks beside me in this world, who won’t let me take myself too seriously, who provides so I can follow my dreams, who helps me raise these two beautiful children we created together.

… for friends who love me for who I am, warts and all, who help when I ask and even when I don’t (but I should), who call bullshit when necessary, and encourage me always. (NOTE: No photo because I am blessed with so many friends all of their photos wouldn’t fit on this page).

… for family, related by genetics or by choice, who show me from where I came and who collectively, share the experiences that make me who I am. (Again no photo because I am blessed to call many people family).

My husband, my kids, my friends and my family, those are the big ones, if I lost everything else tomorrow, so long as I had them, I would survive.

I am thankful for a host of other things that make my life more pleasant, including:

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. to Dennis, even though the smell of turnips, hell even the thought of turnips makes me gag, some how it just isn’t Thanksgiving with out at least the THREAT of turnips appearing on the table. Miss you.

We’re Doing It Wrong

November 21, 2011 · Leave a comment ·

I’m going to state the obvious. As a society, our values are completely bass ackwards. This post has been brewing for a while, but the whole Penn State fiasco was the straw that broke the proverbial camel.

I’m sorry, but you see a man engaged in sexual activities with a 10 year old boy and your first thought is to call your Dad? How about opening your mouth right then and there? How about screaming “HEY WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”

A friend pointed out that Jerry Sandusky was a well respected powerful coach at the time and the lowly grad student probably feared for his future. My response? WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? Why are coaches, athletes and celebrities elevated to deities but teachers are blamed for all that is wrong with this world?

I went to a Division One school and the “Win above all else” mentality was and is nauseating. I get more Alumni email about sports related programs than any other topic. I understand the value of team sports. Working well as part of a team is crucial to success in the working world. But for these schools, it isn’t really about the players, it is about the MILLIONS of dollars of income the sports programs bring in from the sale of broadcasting rights and Alumni donations. This leads to the idea that The Team, and The Organization come before all else and that is just wrong.

Like most things, there are degrees. Is the team more important that your desire to go out and party the night before a big game? Yes, team first individual second.
Is winning more important than playing ill or with an injury that has the potential to be debilitating if left untreated or re-injured? Not in my book.
Is the team more important than basic respect for others and common human decency? No. NO! NO!!

I like what Brené Brown says in her post about Penn State.

“In an organizational culture where respect and the dignity of individuals are held as the highest values, shame and blame don’t work as management styles. There is no leading by fear. Empathy is a valued asset, accountability is an expectation rather than an exception, and the primal human need for belonging is not used as leverage and social control.”

I usually don’t like to write about problems unless I’m offering a solution, but I’m at a loss on this one. The solution seems so obvious, be nice to each other. Respect people and treat them the way you want to be treated. In other words, put people first!

Obvious, but apparently unattainable.

Touch-a-Truck

November 19, 2011 · Leave a comment ·

The PTA sponsored a Touch-a-Truck event as a fundraiser last weekend. We took Mim and had a blast. Trucks are COOL!

The weather was perfect allbeit a little breezy. They had an awesome turn out and raised some money. There is talk of making it an annual event.

Mainstream Media as the Consummate Instigator

November 17, 2011 · 1 Comment ·

The other morning I heard on the radio that “President Obama is coming out against swag”. Well, the headline worked, it got my attention then, it pissed me off. Not because I’m all gung-ho about coffee cups or branded pens. No, it ticked me off because the presentation of this story is just another shining example of the level the to which, the media has sunk.

President Obama signed an executive order banning the purchase of promotional items with tax payer dollars. I disagree with eliminating swag completely, but that is for another blog post. If you read far enough in the article, you learn that this same executive order also mandated a 20% reduction in requisitions of cell phones, computers, travel and the executive fleet. To my way of thinking, THAT is the story. Sadly our attention spans have been diminished to the point that I bet most people never got that far. All they heard was ‘no more swag’ and really how much money can eliminating pens and coffee cups save?

There were actually two iterations of the story by the Jim Kuhnhenn of the Associated Press. This is the story I heard practically verbatim on the radio (let’s hear it for originality! YAY!). The next day I was reading my local paper and came across this version of the story.

This second version is even more intriguing because it talks about the four finalists of a cost-savings contest run for government employees. This, THIS I want to know about. We all know the times are tight. No one really likes having to do more with less, but is a fact of life these days. The only way we are going to get our economy back on its feet is if everyone does their part. I want to hear stories about how people are doing the same with less.

The lead on the first article “President Obama is coming out against swag.” is everything a good lead sentence should be; concise, and attention getting and it also meets the most crucial of today’s media standards, it is controversial. (You just know some swag provider is out there right now. Launching a “SAVE THE SWAG” campaign, but again I digress.)

My point is this, the article could have focused on the winners of the cost saving initiative, it could have talked concretely about cell phone usage or laptop assignments to government employees. It could have been constructive, but instead, it opted to play the elimination card.

Is swag overused? Yeah probably. Is it is an effective tool when selected carefully? Oh yeah.

Do we always have to be out to get any sitting president?

Well, it sells.

Am I nuts? Was this a good portrayal of the situation? What do you want would you like to see covered in the news?

Karate

November 15, 2011 · Leave a comment ·

Mim started taking Karate in the spring. A few weeks ago, he participated in his first tournament. He earned a competitors trophy (which is a nice way of saying he came in fourth out of four), but more importantly, he had fun and can’t WAIT to try it again next year.

Soon!

November 12, 2011 · 1 Comment ·

Mother Nature is having a rough time. Two weeks ago it was Snowtober. This week it has been sunny and sixty degrees. Still, ski season isn’t far off.

SEE!? There’s snow on them thar hills ;). Ok so maybe we aren’t ready to hit the slopes quite yet, but one sure sign that ski season approachith is the annual Ski Gear Sale at Gunstock. My neighbor Becky turned me on to this little gem of an event. Perhaps little isn’t quite the right word. It is HUGE and there as skis of all makes and models from down hill racing to cross country.

We didn’t make it with the kids until lunchtime and still we found bargins. I found gently used boots for each kid for $30 a piece. Skis for my kids (1 Intermediate skier and 1 beginner) were between $75 and $90 including bindings. Ideally we’ll get at least two years on the skis for each child. That might be optimistic for Fish, but at least I can hand her gear down to Mim. Even if we get one year, the total cost is less than what I usually pay to rent gear for the season. Now, the difference is that the rentals are brand new, but experts confirmed that the equipment we bought was all in great shape and could probably be resold when the kids outgrow them.

Now if mother nature could get her act together! DO NOT PANIC my snow hating friends. I’m not asking for a blizzard (yet), just temperatures cold enough to sustain snow making. That will tide me over for now 🙂

Special thanks to Becky! I definitely needed skis this year and we weren’t sure we were going to make it to the sale because Mim had a Karate tournament. She agreed to be my personal shopper and snagged me a great pair with bindings for just $99! Let’s hear it for awesome neighbors!!

Roasted Squash Soup

November 9, 2011 · 1 Comment ·

Squash was never one of my favorite vegetables as a kid. It was usually boiled to death and splatted on my plate as a runny gooey mess. As an adult, I tried the Common Man’s squash with butter and cinnamon and ohhhh my. Suddenly squash had potential. Later, I visited Canterbury Shaker Village and found Squash bread, a bread that is soft and moist with a slight sweetness too it. Yeah, squash is definitely moving up in my levels of culinary appreciation.

Mmmmmmm Soup
Those two delights involve the sweeter side of squash, but it has a savory side too and that my friends is best experienced in roasted squash soup. Susan Nye, from Around the Table with Susan Nye, created my preferred recipe. You can download the newsletter that includes a funny background on squash and pumpkins as well as the recipe from Susan’s web site

The recipe is easy and the results are hearty and tasty. You place the squash and other veggies in a roasting pan with spices and balsamic vinegar and pop it in the oven. When it is almost done, a little wine is added. The squash is pureed (I used a blender) and simmered with chicken broth. The result is a soup that is flavorful and warming. It melts on my tongue. My favorite part? It freezes beautifully; I freeze it in both large and single servings and serve it as an appetizer or reheat it for lunch or a quick snack. This soup is a yummy way to get your vegetables.

I first met Susan through a now defunct email list. In her own words, she is a “food writer, entrepreneur and cook… a corporate dropout, I left a twenty-year career in international sales and marketing for the fun, flexibility and fear of self-employment.”

She offers private chef and catering services as well as cooking classes. Susan is a prolific writer, she blogs, and writes for numerous publications. She is a regular on WMUR’s Cook’s Corner (see past visits on YouTube) and she is also chair of the Board of Directors for the Women’s Business Center in Portsmouth (they are a post unto themselves!). You can find more of her recipes and her wonderful stories on her web site http://www.susannye.com/. If you want regular culinary inspiration or just a new idea for dinner, I highly recommend following her on Twitter too, @SusanNye

Soup, soup for you!!

Double Take

November 7, 2011 · Leave a comment ·

I recently met my friend Melissa for dinner. We met at a mall restaurant more or less half way between us. After dinner, we shopped a little and scored some great bargins. I had a few extra stops and she had a paper due, so we parted ways. The mall in question is undergoing renovations so on the way out, it took a little hunting to locate the ladies room. I did eventually find one in the food court.

When I rounded the corner, I double checked the sign.

Yup, still wearing a skirt.

So, imagine my surprise as I rounded the next corner.

What the !@$%?????

Embarrassed, I scooted out of the bathroom and rechecked both signs. No, I was in the right place. Still there was no one else in the bathroom, so I looked around for the cameras. Finding no one was waiting in the shadows to punk me, I took care of business. As I was taking care of the paperwork, I heard a group of women come in and go through the same process I did.

Of course the one I really felt sorry for was the guy who rushed by me on the way out.

My Girls

November 4, 2011 · 4 Comments ·

I can anthropomorphize ANYTHING, just ask my kids. In my wacked out mind most things have feelings. This is especially true of old toys. I don’t have many from my childhood. My one regret being the time my mother and I mutually agreed to give away my Little People (the wooden ones) and all of their accoutrements.

I do have The Girls, Baby Tenderlove (center), Huggums (right) and Little Lisa (Left). Baby Tenderlove was my confidant when I was a toddler and preschooler. I’m told she absorbed an enormous amount of my frustrations when my parents marriage fell apart. Huggums came later and she wore real baby clothes. Clothes my mother saved from my infant years. She and I explored the neighborhood as I refined my caregiving skills during elementary school (she’s the one who taught me the importance of ALWAYS buckling the baby into a stroller!).

Little Lisa came from a high school boyfriend at the height of the Cabbage Patch Kids craze (I had a mass market CPK, but didn’t find it too hard to allow her to find another home). Little Lisa was made especially for me by David’s sister Joan whom I adored. She also wears an outfit I wore as a baby.

When I was in college, my mom, not quite ready to part with my childhood, asked Joan to restore Huggums (thankfully David and I had parted ways on good terms). I cried when I opened the box on Christmas morning. Joan did an amazing job especially considering that Huggums had um, well, let’s just say her head and her body had divorced one another. Joan managed a reconciliation and returned my pal to her glory.

By the time my daughter was born, my mother had sold my childhood home and during the move, I had rescued a naked Baby Tenderlove. Once again I enlisted Joan’s services and she did an amazing job especially given what she had to work with.

Fish never really took to the dolls, but I never really encouraged her either. At one time all of the ladies mattered very much to me, but these days, they are little more than dust collectors. Still, there is a weird connection, to throw them away seems disrespectful of all the comfort and entertainment they provided over the years. And, while letting them find a new home with another little girl (a la Toy Story 3), would be a noble thing, I can’t. I’ve read the Velveteen Rabbit. Dammit people! These girls have experienced enough. They are real!

“Save them,” my mother-in-law said. “Someday you’ll be a grandmother you know!” I used to be a keeper, but 15 years of being married to her son have broken me of that habit. *Sigh* As happy as they might make another little girl, I just can’t bear to give them away. I bought some acid free tissue paper, gave them a each a kiss and told them to take a long nap until their services would be required by a future generation.

Sleep well girls.

I know. I’m a sap.

Nanowrimo

November 2, 2011 · Leave a comment ·

As I write this, it is Tuesday and my plans for the day fell through. I’m taking this as a sign that I should indeed participate in Nanowrimo.

National Novel Writing Month is held annually from November 1st through the 30th. The goal is to write a novel of at least 50,000 words. The goal is QUANTITY, no Quality. Quality comes during the revision process.

I have multiple novels started, but Nanowrimo is about starting fresh and just getting the words on the paper. I’ve been thinking about it, for the last few years, but now is the time.

November is a tough month with 5 school days off, but I’m going to give it my best shot. I’ve just gotten into a routine posting here and I’ll try to keep that up, but if you don’t hear from me, I’m gunning for my word count 🙂

Live Fearless Lee

Or at least that's what I tell myself