Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Words never spoken more true
Skadi: "Dear God. Make my mama not sad anymore because hers is my mama."
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The best ever...
spicy food?
Name your best ever spicy food meal, please.
(Just something we were talking about today, trying to come up with best meals can be hard. So many of my favorite meals are surrounded around events and I don't necessarily remember what I ate at some.)
My best ever spicy meals...
a few come to mind.
Name your best ever spicy food meal, please.
(Just something we were talking about today, trying to come up with best meals can be hard. So many of my favorite meals are surrounded around events and I don't necessarily remember what I ate at some.)
My best ever spicy meals...
a few come to mind.
- Green chili from El Chapultapec in LoDo... before Lower Downtown Denver was actually cool and LoDo. I ate there when I was 18 with my then boyfriend. I cried their green chili burnt my mouth so bad. But for years after I went back for more.
- My husband's green chili - modeled after El Chapultapec's but with a twist - smoked pork loin.
- My first time eating Thai food when I was 18 also. It was spicy, and a bit hot, but the flavors were a taste sensation. I had never had anything so flavorful in my entire life.
- Spicy tuna rolls from Pete's Sushi restaurant in Alaska.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Window up or down?
On the way home this evening it was gorgeous. Warm, sunny and the car felt vaguely hot and stuffy. I rolled the windows down.
Leif: "Roll my window up, I don't like it down!"
Skadi: "DRIVE FASTER MOMMY!"
As a parent, every once in awhile you get a very clear glimpse into your child’s future and it is one of the most amazing things to see. And then you wonder if it is real. Will they REALLY be like this? Will I be hobbling around saying, “I KNEW you would be an engineer?” or "I knew you were a wild thing from day one!"
Leif is a pretty open book. My reading of his crystal ball says he will be an engineer. He says he wants to be a scientist, but I am pushing engineer. He also says he wants to come back and work with me after he goes to college. That would be really cool and all but at age 5.5 I am also guessing he is envisioning living with us… which I will someday put the kibosh on because I don’t want him to be one of “those” guys. But I am saving that discussion for later.
The non-mom part of me hopes he finds his way somewhere else because the world is so wide open with possibilities. But the mom part of me would love to have him nearby and he would fit in well here. Right now, this is what he aspires to do. Leif doesn’t like major deviations from his routine and while he seems to enjoy traveling, he enjoys more being at home in familiar surroundings. He likes his windows rolled up.
Skadi, on the other hand, is going to be my jetsetter. She recently requested that we go to the Cayman Islands. She enjoys flipping through catalogs and magazines and sometimes gets bent out of shape if I throw away a catalog before she has had the opportunity to flip through it. “Why is this in here mommy?” she squeals when she finds a catalog in the trash. She snatched the "Pottery Barn Kids" catalog out of my hands this evening before the mail could even land on the countertop.
The other day she found the new “Food and Wine” magazine and flipped it open to the ad inside showing a family of four standing in a beautiful blue crystal clear lagoon petting rays.
Skadi: “Where is this mommy? Is this Seattle?”
Me: “Nope, it says it is the Cayman Islands. You have to get on a plane to go there.”
Skadi: “I want to go to the Cayman Islands.”
Me: “Yeah, I do too Skadi.”
Skadi: (Yelling to Hans as he walked in the door) “DADDY WE ARE GOING TO THE CAYMAN ISLANDS!”
And for a solid week we have heard about the merits of going to the Cayman Islands.
Skadi usually starts the day by telling me where she would like to go that day. Up to this point it has mostly been going back to places she has already been – Seattle, grandma’s house, the zoo in Denver. But Saturday it was a zoo anywhere, “it doesn’t have to be Denver zoo mommy, there are lots of zoos!” (Just like she has heard that phrase before.)
For the first time I get that she is understanding the possibilities of going new places, places to “explore”, places with new things to see.
Skadi is a mover and shaker and I see her traveling the world. I don't know what she plans to do for work... but her window is down whipping her hair around her face.
A few weeks ago a number of the children in her class went to China and she was ready to hit the road with them. (It also cracked me up that while these kids were in China they were blamed for EVERYTHING. Me: “Skadi who drew on the Wii remote?” Skadi: “Alex drew on the Wii remote.” Me: “Isn’t Alex in China?” Skadi: “Yes, Alex is in China AND he wrote on the Wii remote, can we go to China?”)
There has been enough talk of the Cayman Islands lately that she has AB and I craving a beach and sand too… someday.
Leif: "Roll my window up, I don't like it down!"
Skadi: "DRIVE FASTER MOMMY!"
As a parent, every once in awhile you get a very clear glimpse into your child’s future and it is one of the most amazing things to see. And then you wonder if it is real. Will they REALLY be like this? Will I be hobbling around saying, “I KNEW you would be an engineer?” or "I knew you were a wild thing from day one!"
Leif is a pretty open book. My reading of his crystal ball says he will be an engineer. He says he wants to be a scientist, but I am pushing engineer. He also says he wants to come back and work with me after he goes to college. That would be really cool and all but at age 5.5 I am also guessing he is envisioning living with us… which I will someday put the kibosh on because I don’t want him to be one of “those” guys. But I am saving that discussion for later.
The non-mom part of me hopes he finds his way somewhere else because the world is so wide open with possibilities. But the mom part of me would love to have him nearby and he would fit in well here. Right now, this is what he aspires to do. Leif doesn’t like major deviations from his routine and while he seems to enjoy traveling, he enjoys more being at home in familiar surroundings. He likes his windows rolled up.
Skadi, on the other hand, is going to be my jetsetter. She recently requested that we go to the Cayman Islands. She enjoys flipping through catalogs and magazines and sometimes gets bent out of shape if I throw away a catalog before she has had the opportunity to flip through it. “Why is this in here mommy?” she squeals when she finds a catalog in the trash. She snatched the "Pottery Barn Kids" catalog out of my hands this evening before the mail could even land on the countertop.
The other day she found the new “Food and Wine” magazine and flipped it open to the ad inside showing a family of four standing in a beautiful blue crystal clear lagoon petting rays.
Skadi: “Where is this mommy? Is this Seattle?”
Me: “Nope, it says it is the Cayman Islands. You have to get on a plane to go there.”
Skadi: “I want to go to the Cayman Islands.”
Me: “Yeah, I do too Skadi.”
Skadi: (Yelling to Hans as he walked in the door) “DADDY WE ARE GOING TO THE CAYMAN ISLANDS!”
And for a solid week we have heard about the merits of going to the Cayman Islands.
Skadi usually starts the day by telling me where she would like to go that day. Up to this point it has mostly been going back to places she has already been – Seattle, grandma’s house, the zoo in Denver. But Saturday it was a zoo anywhere, “it doesn’t have to be Denver zoo mommy, there are lots of zoos!” (Just like she has heard that phrase before.)
For the first time I get that she is understanding the possibilities of going new places, places to “explore”, places with new things to see.
Skadi is a mover and shaker and I see her traveling the world. I don't know what she plans to do for work... but her window is down whipping her hair around her face.
A few weeks ago a number of the children in her class went to China and she was ready to hit the road with them. (It also cracked me up that while these kids were in China they were blamed for EVERYTHING. Me: “Skadi who drew on the Wii remote?” Skadi: “Alex drew on the Wii remote.” Me: “Isn’t Alex in China?” Skadi: “Yes, Alex is in China AND he wrote on the Wii remote, can we go to China?”)
There has been enough talk of the Cayman Islands lately that she has AB and I craving a beach and sand too… someday.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Goals update
AB suggested that his cleaning the carpets in the playroom should count as a monthly goal.
Ok, sure, I can add steam cleaning to the list.
Yes, I AM one of those people that will add something to a list just so I can cross it off.
March is only about half way through and I have accomplished my goals. Mostly. Pillowcase dresses are made. Cross stitch is started. Spice cabinet needs to be remeasured and ordered. Then done! (OH and the steam cleaning is done!)
This has of course, raised the question of what's next.
In an ideal, money laden world, AB wants to start an outdoor living area. We have ideas kicking around. But alas... I just don't see it happening.
So AB has relented.
Office? Playroom? Master Bedroom? Downstairs bathroom? All good options, but the one screaming for attention. The one where boxes have recently landed.
The office.
The big need for that room is book storage. Or book purge.
And file cabinet purge.
And maybe a spash of paint...
Ok, sure, I can add steam cleaning to the list.
Yes, I AM one of those people that will add something to a list just so I can cross it off.
March is only about half way through and I have accomplished my goals. Mostly. Pillowcase dresses are made. Cross stitch is started. Spice cabinet needs to be remeasured and ordered. Then done! (OH and the steam cleaning is done!)
This has of course, raised the question of what's next.
In an ideal, money laden world, AB wants to start an outdoor living area. We have ideas kicking around. But alas... I just don't see it happening.
So AB has relented.
Office? Playroom? Master Bedroom? Downstairs bathroom? All good options, but the one screaming for attention. The one where boxes have recently landed.
The office.
The big need for that room is book storage. Or book purge.
And file cabinet purge.
And maybe a spash of paint...
Productive weekend
I can't say that I actually did anything goals related... except for be attracted to random pillowcases. Yes, I have inherited a love for pillowcases and the possibilities that surround them...
But, we got loads done. Loads.
First what we didn't do. We didn't mow, trim, edge or clean the yard. Nope, that was done, but in the interest of not only time, but beauty (because I suck ROYALLY and so does AB at trimming shrubs), we paid someone to come in who knew what they were doing. Someone who knew what could be cut to the ground and what could be trimmed gently and who can actually cut a shrub into a cone. (With like three whips of a fancy chainsaw like trimmer that made AB a touch envious.)
I did go rent a steam cleaner and remove all the toys from the playroom so AB could steam clean the carpet up there. And it looks fabulous! Seriously it was pretty ick when we moved in and one of the goals this year will probably be to rip out that carpet (that attracts our pets - who never ever soiled carpets before) and put in bamboo flooring in there and through the upstairs hallway. But that won't happen for some time and since we would like to actually use the room, we steam cleaned. And then wondered how much a steam cleaner might actually cost? And its usefulness in real life?
The kids have spent most of the later afternoon and evening playing up there. Without the toys put back in. This has additionally prompted me to look at all the toys stacked in the hallway wondering how many should really go back in? If a big OPEN space might be more utilized by the kids?
I packed up Skadi's 2T's. Most of them. Some still fit her. But most of them are in a big plastic bin. Sigh.
I got some groceries and whined a little about our lack of decent markets here. I whined just enough to prompt agreement that we should probably stop at Cost Plus World Market on our way to Silver Mountain next weekend. AB has a love of harissa and we are out.
We had an evening off from cooking as we went to a friends' house for game night. Loads of fun. Made me want to do the same. Soon. I only had to play a few games of Uno, until another little boy showed up with a NEW Uno game that shoots cards. Leif has actually decided he would like to spend his piggy bank money on that game instead of continuing to save for the Harry Potter Wii game. I would think this noble and be proud except that I think he is just angling for us buying it for him for his birthday (in 4 months).
And I actually started giving more serious thought to Skadi's birthday party. We officially nixed the gym party. Skadi then decided that she would opt out of inviting her girl friends if only Coach Brett would come to her party and tell her she is beautiful. Sigh.
Yeah, nixed that. Poor neglected three year old never gets what she wants. It will be a small princess dress up party with her four closest girl friends. I am planning a "tea-style" lunch. A pile of dress up clothes. (Cameras) And decorate your own cupcake bar.
One of the last things I got to thinking about this weekend was courtesy of church. How can I better serve others. It's awfully easy to write a check.
AB wants to go to Honduras next year to work in a village that the church has adopted. He is feeling pretty strongly about this and this makes me proud of him.
I am presently reading Stones Into Schools and for the second time, I am feeling particularly motivated and moved to help in this movement to build schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. No, I don't envision going there. I don't think that I could actually go there for certain reasons. However, I would love to do something to raise money for the cause.
Ideas anyone?
But, we got loads done. Loads.
First what we didn't do. We didn't mow, trim, edge or clean the yard. Nope, that was done, but in the interest of not only time, but beauty (because I suck ROYALLY and so does AB at trimming shrubs), we paid someone to come in who knew what they were doing. Someone who knew what could be cut to the ground and what could be trimmed gently and who can actually cut a shrub into a cone. (With like three whips of a fancy chainsaw like trimmer that made AB a touch envious.)
I did go rent a steam cleaner and remove all the toys from the playroom so AB could steam clean the carpet up there. And it looks fabulous! Seriously it was pretty ick when we moved in and one of the goals this year will probably be to rip out that carpet (that attracts our pets - who never ever soiled carpets before) and put in bamboo flooring in there and through the upstairs hallway. But that won't happen for some time and since we would like to actually use the room, we steam cleaned. And then wondered how much a steam cleaner might actually cost? And its usefulness in real life?
The kids have spent most of the later afternoon and evening playing up there. Without the toys put back in. This has additionally prompted me to look at all the toys stacked in the hallway wondering how many should really go back in? If a big OPEN space might be more utilized by the kids?
I packed up Skadi's 2T's. Most of them. Some still fit her. But most of them are in a big plastic bin. Sigh.
I got some groceries and whined a little about our lack of decent markets here. I whined just enough to prompt agreement that we should probably stop at Cost Plus World Market on our way to Silver Mountain next weekend. AB has a love of harissa and we are out.
We had an evening off from cooking as we went to a friends' house for game night. Loads of fun. Made me want to do the same. Soon. I only had to play a few games of Uno, until another little boy showed up with a NEW Uno game that shoots cards. Leif has actually decided he would like to spend his piggy bank money on that game instead of continuing to save for the Harry Potter Wii game. I would think this noble and be proud except that I think he is just angling for us buying it for him for his birthday (in 4 months).
And I actually started giving more serious thought to Skadi's birthday party. We officially nixed the gym party. Skadi then decided that she would opt out of inviting her girl friends if only Coach Brett would come to her party and tell her she is beautiful. Sigh.
Yeah, nixed that. Poor neglected three year old never gets what she wants. It will be a small princess dress up party with her four closest girl friends. I am planning a "tea-style" lunch. A pile of dress up clothes. (Cameras) And decorate your own cupcake bar.
One of the last things I got to thinking about this weekend was courtesy of church. How can I better serve others. It's awfully easy to write a check.
AB wants to go to Honduras next year to work in a village that the church has adopted. He is feeling pretty strongly about this and this makes me proud of him.
I am presently reading Stones Into Schools and for the second time, I am feeling particularly motivated and moved to help in this movement to build schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. No, I don't envision going there. I don't think that I could actually go there for certain reasons. However, I would love to do something to raise money for the cause.
Ideas anyone?
Just wondering...
If everyone wouldn't mind going back and re-entering your comments back for the last 5.5 years?
Thanks!
(Yes, I lost all my comments. As suspected. That bums me, but I needed to make the switch before I paid for inconsistent, ugly commenting service. Live and learn.)
Thanks!
(Yes, I lost all my comments. As suspected. That bums me, but I needed to make the switch before I paid for inconsistent, ugly commenting service. Live and learn.)
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Boys will be boys?
Otherwise titled "Am I raising a mama's boy?"
Hans and I don't really battle over anything. We are pretty easy going people and easy going parents. But one thing we aren't seeing eye to eye on all the time is how to raise a boy.
Me, being the know it all mom, who always knows what's best for her boy, and apparently has loads of experience to draw on given that the last boy born on the side of the family I am close to was 50 years ago - my Uncle Robert. Yes, my tongue is stuck well in my cheek. (He is no model for effective parenting as a son or a parent.)
So why I don't defer all matters of "boyness" to my husband I don't know.
AB, one of three brothers and himself being male. Might have an idea. I know.
There is a boy in our neighborhood who goes to Leif's school and conveniently lives on one of the parks we frequent weekly within 3 blocks of our house.
Great, right?
Wrong. The kid is awful! He has a horrible potty mouth, he is a brute, he is a whiner (yeah, I know *my* son has *never* whined...) and he is mean.
And his dad is so excited we are nearby and always sends him out to play when we go to the park in addition to giving us his phone number a few times now so we can call in advance when we are coming over.
And I keep losing the phone number.
And AB keeps looking for it and kicking himself for not calling before going.
My tongue was bloody from all the biting I did on Sunday when he and Leif and another boy from the sister room played. AB claims it is all "boy stuff". Leif doesn't take it seriously, he tells me. It's just boy macho crap.
But I do. I despise hearing the things this boy says to my son.
I admit, Leif loves his mama lots and has promised that even when he is 13 he is going to snuggle and love me even more than infinity plus 51 (the Leif to mommy love meter last night). He IS going to remain the sweet little boy that he is and that I am enjoying right now.
I fear what comes next.
Example: Leif had to go and break my heart and decide he wants his hair cut. Like all the other boys in the class. And like daddy's. Short. And so it sticks up in the front.
Just rip my heart out right now!
He did agree to "think about it" until this weekend and if he still wants it buzzed this weekend we can do it.
Correction, AB can do it.
Because I don't think I can.
Hans and I don't really battle over anything. We are pretty easy going people and easy going parents. But one thing we aren't seeing eye to eye on all the time is how to raise a boy.
Me, being the know it all mom, who always knows what's best for her boy, and apparently has loads of experience to draw on given that the last boy born on the side of the family I am close to was 50 years ago - my Uncle Robert. Yes, my tongue is stuck well in my cheek. (He is no model for effective parenting as a son or a parent.)
So why I don't defer all matters of "boyness" to my husband I don't know.
AB, one of three brothers and himself being male. Might have an idea. I know.
There is a boy in our neighborhood who goes to Leif's school and conveniently lives on one of the parks we frequent weekly within 3 blocks of our house.
Great, right?
Wrong. The kid is awful! He has a horrible potty mouth, he is a brute, he is a whiner (yeah, I know *my* son has *never* whined...) and he is mean.
And his dad is so excited we are nearby and always sends him out to play when we go to the park in addition to giving us his phone number a few times now so we can call in advance when we are coming over.
And I keep losing the phone number.
And AB keeps looking for it and kicking himself for not calling before going.
My tongue was bloody from all the biting I did on Sunday when he and Leif and another boy from the sister room played. AB claims it is all "boy stuff". Leif doesn't take it seriously, he tells me. It's just boy macho crap.
But I do. I despise hearing the things this boy says to my son.
I admit, Leif loves his mama lots and has promised that even when he is 13 he is going to snuggle and love me even more than infinity plus 51 (the Leif to mommy love meter last night). He IS going to remain the sweet little boy that he is and that I am enjoying right now.
I fear what comes next.
Example: Leif had to go and break my heart and decide he wants his hair cut. Like all the other boys in the class. And like daddy's. Short. And so it sticks up in the front.
Just rip my heart out right now!
He did agree to "think about it" until this weekend and if he still wants it buzzed this weekend we can do it.
Correction, AB can do it.
Because I don't think I can.
"The SUN man!"
First I am just going to say - and I posted this on Facebook a month or so ago. Seeing some guy jumping and dancing wildly on a street corner dressed as the Statue of Liberty? Not a big selling point to me in picking someone to do my taxes.
However, I will say that for 3.5 months of the year this does provide a huge amount of entertainment to the apparent target audience.
Skadi calls him "the sun man".
The other day, "Hims the sun man, why hims dressed like a sun mommy?"
Yesterday Skadi: "Sun man is dancing mommy! I am going to wave at him!"
Yesterday Me: "Please don't. Please."
Yesterday Skadi: "HI SUN MAN! ROLL THE WINDOW DOWN MOMMY!"
Yesterday Me: "No." (Pressing the gas pedal harder.)
Today: "HEY SUN MAN! HI SUN MAN!" (Followed by loads of laughter. Loads and loads.)
Can April 15th get here sooner?
However, I will say that for 3.5 months of the year this does provide a huge amount of entertainment to the apparent target audience.
Skadi calls him "the sun man".
The other day, "Hims the sun man, why hims dressed like a sun mommy?"
Yesterday Skadi: "Sun man is dancing mommy! I am going to wave at him!"
Yesterday Me: "Please don't. Please."
Yesterday Skadi: "HI SUN MAN! ROLL THE WINDOW DOWN MOMMY!"
Yesterday Me: "No." (Pressing the gas pedal harder.)
Today: "HEY SUN MAN! HI SUN MAN!" (Followed by loads of laughter. Loads and loads.)
Can April 15th get here sooner?
Bye bye Echo
I really hope I don't lose all my comments, but it is a distinct possibility.
See if I hadn't been with Haloscan for 5.5 years then I wouldn't have the old html integrated system whereby they have to go through and pick the bits out of my template.
I just can't do Echo. So glad I didn't pay for the service and opted to test for 30 days. Really glad. It's slow. It's ugly. It's unreliable.
My template is in to have the bits picked out and so in the next few days I will be reverting back to what I should have done on day 1 - Blogger comments.
And if I am really lucky I won't lose all my comments to date.
Why do I not feel optimistic about this?
See if I hadn't been with Haloscan for 5.5 years then I wouldn't have the old html integrated system whereby they have to go through and pick the bits out of my template.
I just can't do Echo. So glad I didn't pay for the service and opted to test for 30 days. Really glad. It's slow. It's ugly. It's unreliable.
My template is in to have the bits picked out and so in the next few days I will be reverting back to what I should have done on day 1 - Blogger comments.
And if I am really lucky I won't lose all my comments to date.
Why do I not feel optimistic about this?
Sunday, March 07, 2010
March Goals Update
This month is good for me mentally... pretty much. Ok, the trip to Home Depot yesterday wasn't exactly good for me mentally... more on that later.
I have always loved crafting - of certain types. I enjoy creating a lot, though as a working mom, I don't often get the opportunity to do this. I needed a month for me, a month not centered around improving our home.
My Orange Tree cross stitch is started and I have been working on that a few evenings a week. I enjoy cross stitching a lot, though not a huge fan of the single stitches. I like to put a color on and move across the fabric. Not do one stitch. Last night I had two colors on the entire page (one page of twelve), I found a single stitch of each color. Not a huge fan of that. But oh well, I can deal and with these huge works of art, this IS to be expected.
Yesterday we went to Home Depot to the kitchen design center where we sat in front of a woman and her book of pull outs.
No, we don't know the brand of our cabinets.
Don't tell me that I have to know this for pull outs, I have found plenty of sites that sell non-custom pull outs.
No, we aren't going to replace the CABINET we want a pull out in.
No, we aren't going redesign our kitchen based on a single pull out. (?!?!)
I went about 10 steps back yesterday from everything I had looked up on the internet with regard to pull outs. Finally she pulled out a catalog from the exact website I had scoured recently, "oh yes, I guess this one company DOES make generic pull outs to install yourself". When I saw that all they are going to do is order it from the same website and put in a Home Depot adder, we left.
I will get the pull out ordered here soon.
Today I tackled the pillowcase dresses.
I estimated I could make one in under 2 hours the other day.
Wrong.
I can make three, including coming up with my own pattern and making loads of mistakes on the first one in under 2 hours. 1:45 to be exact. And I showed you the prices of the ones I found online right? $89 and $98 respectively.
Well I paid $8.99 for the pink flowers pillowcase from Pottery Barn Kids (it IS actually hard to find the *right* pillowcases for this. The pattern has to be oriented correctly and I don't need sheets with it.) Then I bought the white pillowcases for practices on clearance from PBKids for $1.99 each.
Ribbon spools of 5 yards for $1.99 each color from JoAnn's. Shiny, sparkly thread was the big expense at $5.99.
Proof:
They are a touch big on her. (Glad I didn't try to do this last year.) But that means she can have them for a few years! They are quite adjustable too.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
When I am a big mucky muck...
If I RSVP to a meeting I will understand that means I will BE there!
I will remember back to being a little (bitty) mucky muck and how life changing it can be to know that a big mucky muck is coming to MY review.
Yeah, you guessed it. The big mucky muck and his entourage were a no show.
We even prepared additional material to bring them up to speed and provide background.
Oh well.
The meeting went great otherwise and not only do I think it moved me and my team up in the eyes of the mid-range muckies, but I also think it helped my credibility to my own team to see me stand up and vigorously defend our program.
My lead engineer that I pulled in is notoriously late and resistant to change on the team. Really like the guy and respect his technical ability... and it is his amazing technical ability that keeps him on the team.
But dare I say that he got it?
In today's team follow up meeting I heard him repeat the same phrases that management stated on keeping on schedule and the importance and uniqueness of this project.
I smiled a bit...
I will remember back to being a little (bitty) mucky muck and how life changing it can be to know that a big mucky muck is coming to MY review.
Yeah, you guessed it. The big mucky muck and his entourage were a no show.
We even prepared additional material to bring them up to speed and provide background.
Oh well.
The meeting went great otherwise and not only do I think it moved me and my team up in the eyes of the mid-range muckies, but I also think it helped my credibility to my own team to see me stand up and vigorously defend our program.
My lead engineer that I pulled in is notoriously late and resistant to change on the team. Really like the guy and respect his technical ability... and it is his amazing technical ability that keeps him on the team.
But dare I say that he got it?
In today's team follow up meeting I heard him repeat the same phrases that management stated on keeping on schedule and the importance and uniqueness of this project.
I smiled a bit...
Hypochondriac Post #4
Graduate school was, in many ways, a step back for me. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that my colleagues also pursuing Ph.D.’s in physical chemistry and chemical physics weren’t the most touchy feely things in the world.
Add in to that my being a member of the opposite gender....
I suspect now that many of these guys came from my same mold. It was not awkward at all to sit in a room together and eat lunch and not say a word to each other. Walking in the lab didn’t merit people to stop what they were doing and welcome you or ask how your day was.
It was easy to settle back into that groove whereby interacting with others was not a necessity. I think back to the doctor’s office whereby I would see a person a few times a year for short spurts and would know so much more about them then the fellow grad students I worked with day in and out. It wasn’t until my final year in grad school that I realized I had developed good relationships with a handful of these guys… after only 5.5 years!
The doctor’s office was really the turning point for me. Talking to others and starting conversations is something that comes a whole lot easier for me now, though I often wonder if my teams tire of me always asking “how are you today?” when they walk into meetings. I wonder if they see through me and I wonder if they see me as a fraud asking this question!
Then on days when my team members phone me and share personal stories or events, like “oh, my dog of 15 years was put down today” or “I really enjoyed this book and wanted to know if you would read it and discuss it with me” or little things like when random smileys pop up on their e-mails. (Can I just say that while I use smileys in blogs and personal e-mails I am not sure if I have EVER used one in a work e-mail?) I feel that no, they know that I really do care. They don’t have to know that I learned this and that it was a long process, they just need to know that I do care. Because I do.
AB commented the other day when we were talking about the daycare rooms at school and I was trying to reconcile the fact that the parents of kids in Skadi’s room for the most part aren’t digging the room we picked for our kids saying it is “cold” and “unfriendly”. I balked a little! It is not! AB’s response was, “well not like you and I are the most warm and fuzzy people around to judge this”.
Nope, I am not. I tend to say things out of turn. I say things that don’t make sense to others. It isn't my natural impulse to hug my team members and I am not always the first friend to offer help. I sometimes have a blank look on my face while I try to process if a question requires a response and what, if any, an appropriate response would be.
As Robison stated in his book - it isn't a disease, it's just part of what makes me "me".
Add in to that my being a member of the opposite gender....
I suspect now that many of these guys came from my same mold. It was not awkward at all to sit in a room together and eat lunch and not say a word to each other. Walking in the lab didn’t merit people to stop what they were doing and welcome you or ask how your day was.
It was easy to settle back into that groove whereby interacting with others was not a necessity. I think back to the doctor’s office whereby I would see a person a few times a year for short spurts and would know so much more about them then the fellow grad students I worked with day in and out. It wasn’t until my final year in grad school that I realized I had developed good relationships with a handful of these guys… after only 5.5 years!
The doctor’s office was really the turning point for me. Talking to others and starting conversations is something that comes a whole lot easier for me now, though I often wonder if my teams tire of me always asking “how are you today?” when they walk into meetings. I wonder if they see through me and I wonder if they see me as a fraud asking this question!
Then on days when my team members phone me and share personal stories or events, like “oh, my dog of 15 years was put down today” or “I really enjoyed this book and wanted to know if you would read it and discuss it with me” or little things like when random smileys pop up on their e-mails. (Can I just say that while I use smileys in blogs and personal e-mails I am not sure if I have EVER used one in a work e-mail?) I feel that no, they know that I really do care. They don’t have to know that I learned this and that it was a long process, they just need to know that I do care. Because I do.
AB commented the other day when we were talking about the daycare rooms at school and I was trying to reconcile the fact that the parents of kids in Skadi’s room for the most part aren’t digging the room we picked for our kids saying it is “cold” and “unfriendly”. I balked a little! It is not! AB’s response was, “well not like you and I are the most warm and fuzzy people around to judge this”.
Nope, I am not. I tend to say things out of turn. I say things that don’t make sense to others. It isn't my natural impulse to hug my team members and I am not always the first friend to offer help. I sometimes have a blank look on my face while I try to process if a question requires a response and what, if any, an appropriate response would be.
As Robison stated in his book - it isn't a disease, it's just part of what makes me "me".
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Face time
I should really be headed to bed so that when my alarm goes off at 5:48am tomorrow morning I will bound out of bed and scurry down to do my exercises instead of roll over and complain that I didn't sleep enough. I really should.
But I have this big meeting tomorrow. Big big. Big as in when I stood in my manager's office the other evening with the lead engineer saying, "We have a meeting with X", she said, "yeah, I should probably be there, put it on my calendar".
It's a project review that would be typical except that the invitees are enough to make me gag a little. I didn't even have time to wonder if I was overreacting with my stomach flip flops before I got a note indicating that I might be feeling a touch nauseous at the list of invitees, but the goal of the meeting is the same as it is every quarter and to not get sidetracked. He suggested that it was just good for me to get some face time (which in my heart I was wondering if this is what they do before they fire you).
I am not sure I completely bought it at the time and so I quickly came up with my couple of people that "needed" to be there. And wow are they thrilled that I decided to pick on them!
Tomorrow I will be meeting my maker... or at least the person who signs my bosses bosses paycheck and his entourage.
And I will try not to say anything wacky, call them all by the right names, not say "umm" too much, not blush uncontrollably... and not look like I got absolutely no sleep. (Going to go work on that one right now.)
But I have this big meeting tomorrow. Big big. Big as in when I stood in my manager's office the other evening with the lead engineer saying, "We have a meeting with X", she said, "yeah, I should probably be there, put it on my calendar".
It's a project review that would be typical except that the invitees are enough to make me gag a little. I didn't even have time to wonder if I was overreacting with my stomach flip flops before I got a note indicating that I might be feeling a touch nauseous at the list of invitees, but the goal of the meeting is the same as it is every quarter and to not get sidetracked. He suggested that it was just good for me to get some face time (which in my heart I was wondering if this is what they do before they fire you).
I am not sure I completely bought it at the time and so I quickly came up with my couple of people that "needed" to be there. And wow are they thrilled that I decided to pick on them!
Tomorrow I will be meeting my maker... or at least the person who signs my bosses bosses paycheck and his entourage.
And I will try not to say anything wacky, call them all by the right names, not say "umm" too much, not blush uncontrollably... and not look like I got absolutely no sleep. (Going to go work on that one right now.)
Which is worse...
The other day I went in to our season's pass on Tivo and killed Bakugan, Transformers, The Amazing Spiderman and thought about killing Clone Wars, but then thought twice that AB might miss that one.
Leif has tuned out to the TV. He has absolutely no interest whatsoever in watching TV anymore.
I wish I could say I thought this was a great idea and that instead he was reading or playing outside. But nope.
"Can I play a Wii game mom?"
"Well can I play a game on your phone then?"
"No? Can I play on the computer then?"
He is ALL about the interactive play.
We work hard to rein him in on the Wii... and my phone (which contains his favorite games - Battleship and Uno)... and the computer.
Part of me thinks that the interactive play is better for him then veging on the couch watching TV. But I am actually not convinced.
Sure, playing Wii he is far more active and I do think he is improving his coordination and dexterity. Have I mentioned that the kid stomps me at sword fighting? And on Saturday he ran 2.6 miles in 10 minutes on Wii Fit - that can't be bad for him, right?? I think it has helped his concentration too. (I can't get him to look away when he is playing...) But you know, call me old fashioned, I am just not sure this is the best thing.
Leif is going to have a tendency, like AB and I, to absorb himself in technology. AB and I both enjoy computer games (though neither of us has had an opportunity to play in ages) and before we had kids could waste an entire day conquering the world or ridding it of all evil.
But 5 years old? And do I even admit that Leif knows the parental controls 4 digit code? And not only that but has gone into the Wii store and purchased a game on his own? Technology seems to come easy to him - he uses the word "download" in his sleep. Literally. I have heard him.
We have tried a few different tactics - Wii as reward worked for a little while. Taking away Wii privileges for negative behavior worked as well. If you want Leif to do something it is easy to offer Wii or suggest losing Wii privileges. He jumps like no ones business then.
I remember being in 5th grade and staying in from recess to play Lemonade Stand and Oregon Trail on the computer. I LOVED those games. Loved them. I remember my teacher MAKING me go outside. Yeah, I feel like my teacher.
At church the other day our pastor suggested that interactive entertainment or interactive being is the wave. Expecting people to sit and listen without participation is a cause for decline in the church. As he spoke about this I sat there thinking of Leif... he has caught that wave and is riding it like a pro.
But I don't want him to live in fantasy land.
How to handle this? What is the answer?
Leif has tuned out to the TV. He has absolutely no interest whatsoever in watching TV anymore.
I wish I could say I thought this was a great idea and that instead he was reading or playing outside. But nope.
"Can I play a Wii game mom?"
"Well can I play a game on your phone then?"
"No? Can I play on the computer then?"
He is ALL about the interactive play.
We work hard to rein him in on the Wii... and my phone (which contains his favorite games - Battleship and Uno)... and the computer.
Part of me thinks that the interactive play is better for him then veging on the couch watching TV. But I am actually not convinced.
Sure, playing Wii he is far more active and I do think he is improving his coordination and dexterity. Have I mentioned that the kid stomps me at sword fighting? And on Saturday he ran 2.6 miles in 10 minutes on Wii Fit - that can't be bad for him, right?? I think it has helped his concentration too. (I can't get him to look away when he is playing...) But you know, call me old fashioned, I am just not sure this is the best thing.
Leif is going to have a tendency, like AB and I, to absorb himself in technology. AB and I both enjoy computer games (though neither of us has had an opportunity to play in ages) and before we had kids could waste an entire day conquering the world or ridding it of all evil.
But 5 years old? And do I even admit that Leif knows the parental controls 4 digit code? And not only that but has gone into the Wii store and purchased a game on his own? Technology seems to come easy to him - he uses the word "download" in his sleep. Literally. I have heard him.
We have tried a few different tactics - Wii as reward worked for a little while. Taking away Wii privileges for negative behavior worked as well. If you want Leif to do something it is easy to offer Wii or suggest losing Wii privileges. He jumps like no ones business then.
I remember being in 5th grade and staying in from recess to play Lemonade Stand and Oregon Trail on the computer. I LOVED those games. Loved them. I remember my teacher MAKING me go outside. Yeah, I feel like my teacher.
At church the other day our pastor suggested that interactive entertainment or interactive being is the wave. Expecting people to sit and listen without participation is a cause for decline in the church. As he spoke about this I sat there thinking of Leif... he has caught that wave and is riding it like a pro.
But I don't want him to live in fantasy land.
How to handle this? What is the answer?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
What's cookin'?
I have had an unofficial goal/resolution this year that started somewhat by accident. Or at least I wasn’t entirely conscious of saying “I am striving to feed my family better foods this year”.
In the last 6 months or so – particularly since the end of the growing season here locally and coinciding with the funk I found myself in last fall, dinner options were repetitive and processed. I felt like it was all I could do to get something on the table. This wasn’t like me at all. I am not sure where that person emerged from that purchased dinners in a box. But I tell myself now that sometimes you just have to do what you have to in order to keep things moving and keep cannibalism from taking hold.
There are loads of reasons to try and eat better, it’s better for us health wise and it’s better for the Earth in general. Thankfully my kids tend to be string beans and are very active – I don’t see childhood obesity being a problem with my kids. But I think a lot of my new desire to feed my family better foods has to do with cancer. Cancer runs on my side of the family and my mom’s cancer figures prominently in my mind. Cancer has also stricken other people we know. I fear that by feeding my kids heavily processed foods, that I may encourage unhealthy eating that may (or may not) contribute to problems and diseases later on in their lives.
Lucky for me, my kids like (for the most part) good foods and they make this easy on me. They are also relatively independent when we get home from work/school on the weeknights, allowing me to get dinner on the table fairly timely (most nights). My son is obsessed with fresh fruit and Skadi lights up when she *gets* to have broccoli for dinner! I have a real need within me to encourage these good habits now before they are replaced with less healthy alternatives.
We don’t have a vegetable garden in our new house and I expect this summer we will be doing a lot of work in the back yard – so it won’t happen this year. I pulled out a book recommended to me by Rockergirrl last year and have been flipping through the pages with the kids trying to decide what will be in a few containers in our back yard this year. Someday I will get a raised vegetable bed, but for now, we will do containers. And one thing I am looking forward to in the coming months is venturing back to the Farmer’s Market. Last summer we went at least every other week if not more often and amazingly enough, ate nearly everything we purchased each week.
My approach that is working so far this year is to find a few recipes on the web each week that look good, require minimal prep time and that the kids will like. Then we hit the grocery store during lunch for the needed ingredients. Hitting the grocery store during lunch does a few things for me:
- the kids aren’t there to beg for fruit snacks, Cheetos, etc.,
- I know I have to move quickly through the store and can’t dawdle, so I stick pretty hardcore to the list,
- and I get fresh foods every week, I am not relying on boxed foods that have no real expiration date,
- and very few of the recipes I am looking for use processed foods, so I am not buying them.
- My grocery bill… it has been cut nearly in half.
I expect this to continue to be a slow process to really get us to where I want to be. It has been a year and a half since we have had pop in the house regularly. This was a big one for AB and me. Leif never could stand the stuff and we hoped to keep him deluded with the notion that carbonated beverages are icky. (Skadi has no such delusions and loves the fizzy stuff.)
We still have frozen pizza or something else quick and easy on Wednesday night (pick up night). And there are days where I feel like I haven’t quite gotten my act together and a Zatarains jambalaya mix sounds awfully tasty. And those days I can’t get to the grocery store without the kids I sort of suck at saying no when Skadi holds up a fruit snacks box declaring “Look! Tink-oh-bell mommy!” Canned fruits and veggies are a rarity, but not completely absent. And I am not quite sure how to get rid of chicken nuggets – though the kids were very partial to the chicken schnitzel I made the other day. These are the thinkgs we will continue to work on the coming months.
But the main point is that we are trying and I believe we are on the right path.
I shared a list of recent recipes the other day here.
Here are some more:
Cajun Chicken Pasta : Oh my goodness this rocked. This rocked big time. Really delicious and the kids ate it while picking out the bell peppers - but oh well. I kept the cajun seasoning to a dull roar thinking about the kids. But then added more later for AB and I.
Bacon and Mushroom Pasta : Another one that everyone - including the kids - loved. So they didn't eat the mushrooms, that's ok, more for me.
Beef Stroganov : I love beef straoganov. I really, really do. AB has been converted and he now loves it too. What's not to love? A dark roux with sour cream. Umm yumm. The kids, not terribly fond of this, but they get noodles with butter and beef that I pulled out before dumping delicious roux over it.
Ham and Bean Soup : This one is probably the closest to my recipe. It's easy. Cook a ham bone down and save the stock - or use hamhocks and chicken broth. Either way is fine. Soak Great Northern beans overnight in water. Strain. Saute an onion sliced thinly until browned. Add the ham broth or chicken broth and the ham or ham hocks. Cook until beans are soft. I had a working lunch the other day and brought this to eat. My team despised me. Oh and nope, the kids don't eat this so much. They will however eat the ham I pick out for them.
Crockpot Chicken Makhani or Crockpot Indian Butter Chicken : This was alright. The kids and AB liked it. I wasn't blown over because to me, it didn't taste a whole lot like chicken makhani. It had a bit of that flavor, but not blown over.
And because I thought today that I had awfully wonderful children, I decided to make them cookies. I could do the standby chocolate chip cookies that we all love... but I was craving oatmeal cookies. I found these that would probably be acceptable to my chocolate fiends. Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies. They taste like a baked "no-bake cookie".
Hypochondriac Post #3
Continuing into phase 2 from this post.
In early high school I joined the gymnastics team. I was pretty good and I enjoyed it. I loved the meets. One day our coach called a meeting where she ranted and raved. She was irate at our team and I had no idea why. She talked about the petty arguments, the backstabbing, the lack of team cohesiveness and then threatened to quit and disband the team.
I was in total shock!
I had been completely out of the loop with the gossip and the back biting going on. I had no idea if it was directed at me or not and became a bit paranoid!
This is something that continues to this day. I have a horrible time picking up on even not so subtle cues especially by people I am not really close with. It often takes me awhile to realize that I have annoyed someone and without it being brought to my attention I wonder how much I would simply miss. How many friends I have lost out on because I never realized their cues that I was doing something wrong.
In groups of people I am not terribly close to? I have rhino skin. I don’t get my feelings hurt and see most statements directed towards me as constructive criticism that I try to learn from. This makes it easy for me to work on a variety of teams and I think it makes me a decent leader, I don’t tend to get my feelings hurt. However, the opposite is true when I get to know someone well – my family and my close friends - my feelings get hurt preemptively and my rhino skin turns to tissue paper. I look for things that I fear I am missing otherwise based off of history.
After gymnastics team that year and swearing I would never go through that again, I fell in pretty quickly with the kids who hung out in the park and smoked – the punk rockers. I had been friends with a few of them since moving to Colorado, but suddenly it was the most inviting group. They didn’t chide me for not wearing my hair just right, or not having a bag from Espirit or clothes from Benetton. I found many of them to be very straight forward. If you ticked them off, they told you so. Expressing indifference was a rewarded quality among my crowd. Brusque, rude behavior… not a problem! I floated along with this crowd and established a few friendships that have stood the test of time.
It wasn’t until I was in college that I realized I had to conquer my “shyness” in order to succeed.
I was working in a histology lab when I was a freshman in college. I was assigned the embedding station with Shana for the day. I didn’t look forward to this because she would talk. Talk and talk about people I didn’t know about nor, really care about. That day we sat down at our station and she said, “I had the most fabulous and weird night last night”. Then there was silence.
“Oh,” I replied lost in my own thought. What was I supposed to say? I had no idea.
She stopped, turned so she was facing me and said a little annoyed acting, “well do you want to hear about it?”
In my mind I was fighting saying - not really – but it dawned on me that the polite thing to do is to say enthusiastically, “YES!” So I said that. I think it was at that point that it first dawned on me that I needed to learn the proper responses to questions like this. But it wasn’t until I moved to Boulder for college, took a job in a dermatologist's office and started dealing with the general public on a daily basis, that I really HAD to put it in motion.
I enjoyed my job at the dermatologist and easily got along well with Dr. Stinkbug. He started increasing his expectations of me and my job there and I fulfilled them. I started working in the rooms with him as an assistant which I really loved. I worked my butt off in his office and when I wasn’t manning the histology lab I was working in rooms and setting up biopsies and other procedures.
Note that I did not say that I was heading into the rooms, introducing myself to patients, talking to them about their procedure and setting up for the procedure.
One day, early in my career at the derm office the doctor told me, “you know, you are really, really smart.” (I took this as the compliment it was meant to be.) And then he went on, “you are one of those people who can probably do anything you want to, but if you plan to go into medicine, then you have to know that if you don’t speak to people, you make them REALLY uncomfortable”. He was one of the first people who was brutally honest with me about what I needed to do to succeed.
I hadn’t realized my job actually had people on the other side who I needed to interact with. I was just doing the job I enjoyed. I spent the day watching his nurse, Jan, who was a very warm and tender person. I watched how she walked in to the rooms. Walked around to face the person in the chair and warmly announced, “Hi! I am Jan and I am Dr. Stinkbug’s nurse. How are you doing today? How is the weather outside? What a pretty dress you have on today! Do you have any questions about the procedure we are going to do?” And with people she knew a little about it went even deeper, “tell me how your daughter is doing! What college is your grandson going to now? How is your job going?”
I went back to my apartment and recited these lines. “How are you today? What is the weather like out there? Do you have any questions?” I was like a broken record.
And I went back in to work the next day and recited these questions to every person whose room I walked into. It seemed terribly monotonous. And I knew what the weather was like out there, there were windows and a door to outside in my lab. But people bought it! It seemed as though I was doing what people expected of me! And despite the fact that I didn’t really care what the answers were to the questions I asked of them, I enjoyed my work even more because for about the first time ever I was succeeding at interacting with strangers! And eventually, when I got to know the patients who came back repeatedly, I built up relationships with these people!
Success!
In early high school I joined the gymnastics team. I was pretty good and I enjoyed it. I loved the meets. One day our coach called a meeting where she ranted and raved. She was irate at our team and I had no idea why. She talked about the petty arguments, the backstabbing, the lack of team cohesiveness and then threatened to quit and disband the team.
I was in total shock!
I had been completely out of the loop with the gossip and the back biting going on. I had no idea if it was directed at me or not and became a bit paranoid!
This is something that continues to this day. I have a horrible time picking up on even not so subtle cues especially by people I am not really close with. It often takes me awhile to realize that I have annoyed someone and without it being brought to my attention I wonder how much I would simply miss. How many friends I have lost out on because I never realized their cues that I was doing something wrong.
In groups of people I am not terribly close to? I have rhino skin. I don’t get my feelings hurt and see most statements directed towards me as constructive criticism that I try to learn from. This makes it easy for me to work on a variety of teams and I think it makes me a decent leader, I don’t tend to get my feelings hurt. However, the opposite is true when I get to know someone well – my family and my close friends - my feelings get hurt preemptively and my rhino skin turns to tissue paper. I look for things that I fear I am missing otherwise based off of history.
After gymnastics team that year and swearing I would never go through that again, I fell in pretty quickly with the kids who hung out in the park and smoked – the punk rockers. I had been friends with a few of them since moving to Colorado, but suddenly it was the most inviting group. They didn’t chide me for not wearing my hair just right, or not having a bag from Espirit or clothes from Benetton. I found many of them to be very straight forward. If you ticked them off, they told you so. Expressing indifference was a rewarded quality among my crowd. Brusque, rude behavior… not a problem! I floated along with this crowd and established a few friendships that have stood the test of time.
It wasn’t until I was in college that I realized I had to conquer my “shyness” in order to succeed.
I was working in a histology lab when I was a freshman in college. I was assigned the embedding station with Shana for the day. I didn’t look forward to this because she would talk. Talk and talk about people I didn’t know about nor, really care about. That day we sat down at our station and she said, “I had the most fabulous and weird night last night”. Then there was silence.
“Oh,” I replied lost in my own thought. What was I supposed to say? I had no idea.
She stopped, turned so she was facing me and said a little annoyed acting, “well do you want to hear about it?”
In my mind I was fighting saying - not really – but it dawned on me that the polite thing to do is to say enthusiastically, “YES!” So I said that. I think it was at that point that it first dawned on me that I needed to learn the proper responses to questions like this. But it wasn’t until I moved to Boulder for college, took a job in a dermatologist's office and started dealing with the general public on a daily basis, that I really HAD to put it in motion.
I enjoyed my job at the dermatologist and easily got along well with Dr. Stinkbug. He started increasing his expectations of me and my job there and I fulfilled them. I started working in the rooms with him as an assistant which I really loved. I worked my butt off in his office and when I wasn’t manning the histology lab I was working in rooms and setting up biopsies and other procedures.
Note that I did not say that I was heading into the rooms, introducing myself to patients, talking to them about their procedure and setting up for the procedure.
One day, early in my career at the derm office the doctor told me, “you know, you are really, really smart.” (I took this as the compliment it was meant to be.) And then he went on, “you are one of those people who can probably do anything you want to, but if you plan to go into medicine, then you have to know that if you don’t speak to people, you make them REALLY uncomfortable”. He was one of the first people who was brutally honest with me about what I needed to do to succeed.
I hadn’t realized my job actually had people on the other side who I needed to interact with. I was just doing the job I enjoyed. I spent the day watching his nurse, Jan, who was a very warm and tender person. I watched how she walked in to the rooms. Walked around to face the person in the chair and warmly announced, “Hi! I am Jan and I am Dr. Stinkbug’s nurse. How are you doing today? How is the weather outside? What a pretty dress you have on today! Do you have any questions about the procedure we are going to do?” And with people she knew a little about it went even deeper, “tell me how your daughter is doing! What college is your grandson going to now? How is your job going?”
I went back to my apartment and recited these lines. “How are you today? What is the weather like out there? Do you have any questions?” I was like a broken record.
And I went back in to work the next day and recited these questions to every person whose room I walked into. It seemed terribly monotonous. And I knew what the weather was like out there, there were windows and a door to outside in my lab. But people bought it! It seemed as though I was doing what people expected of me! And despite the fact that I didn’t really care what the answers were to the questions I asked of them, I enjoyed my work even more because for about the first time ever I was succeeding at interacting with strangers! And eventually, when I got to know the patients who came back repeatedly, I built up relationships with these people!
Success!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
February Goals - Nearing the End
As February winds down I am looking back on my goals progress. The primary goal to get a pull out for the spice cabinet is not completed only because we decided before ordering online we should really make a pass at Home Depot. They might also have some alternate suggestions to consider and can offer advice on fitting a pull out for our extra tall top cabinets. (Height of the cabinet hadn't really dawned on me until it came to measuring twice.)
We did however get the cupboard reorg completed and are very happy with the outcome of that. Someday I expect I will relearn where my measuring cups are now.
The wine closet wasn’t one we planned to tackle, but as luck would have it we obtained a great wine rack and put it to use. Now I can tell exactly when we are getting low on white wines (like we are now).
So the spice cabinet pull out will extend into March, which is fine. March is going to be a bit of a relaxing month for me with goals. I have two things planned…
See this dress? It is a pillowcase dress.
And it is $89.
See this one? It is $98. It is lined and has an M on it, so it is $9 more.
I am POSITIVE I can make one in two hours. I just know it.
March goal is to find an adorable pillowcase and make Skadi a dress.
My second goal is The Orange Tree. I special ordered the fabric I wanted – black 18 ct Aida – could not believe you can’t just find this stuff at craft stores… And the black 14 ct Aida isn’t sold in a large enough sheet at my local craft stores. So it was going to be a special order either way.
Ordered two weeks ago…
Apparently all cross stitchers are procrastinators?
Or maybe they had to weave it from cotton fibers?
Whatever the reason it is on its way here and should arrive before March 1 in time for the new goal!
I won’t finish it… I will be lucky to get one tenth of it done during the month of March. But getting started is often half the battle.
I am leaning towards an April goal of the library. I have boxes stacked randomly, a lamp to hang and I just discovered the perfect under the window shelf/seat combo unit that will go perfect. Paint? Just maybe...
We did however get the cupboard reorg completed and are very happy with the outcome of that. Someday I expect I will relearn where my measuring cups are now.
The wine closet wasn’t one we planned to tackle, but as luck would have it we obtained a great wine rack and put it to use. Now I can tell exactly when we are getting low on white wines (like we are now).
So the spice cabinet pull out will extend into March, which is fine. March is going to be a bit of a relaxing month for me with goals. I have two things planned…
See this dress? It is a pillowcase dress.
And it is $89.
See this one? It is $98. It is lined and has an M on it, so it is $9 more.
I am POSITIVE I can make one in two hours. I just know it.
March goal is to find an adorable pillowcase and make Skadi a dress.
My second goal is The Orange Tree. I special ordered the fabric I wanted – black 18 ct Aida – could not believe you can’t just find this stuff at craft stores… And the black 14 ct Aida isn’t sold in a large enough sheet at my local craft stores. So it was going to be a special order either way.
Ordered two weeks ago…
Apparently all cross stitchers are procrastinators?
Or maybe they had to weave it from cotton fibers?
Whatever the reason it is on its way here and should arrive before March 1 in time for the new goal!
I won’t finish it… I will be lucky to get one tenth of it done during the month of March. But getting started is often half the battle.
I am leaning towards an April goal of the library. I have boxes stacked randomly, a lamp to hang and I just discovered the perfect under the window shelf/seat combo unit that will go perfect. Paint? Just maybe...
Hypochondriac Post #2
One of my common phrases has always been, “I was a painfully shy little girl, but I overcame it”.
However, over the last year or so and particularly when I was reading about Aspergers with regard to Leif, I am wondering if I was really all that shy?
Because I actually think that a lot of my behaviors are more in line with a child with Aspergers than an introvert. I think I will hit this area of Aspergers in three posts - this is the first of three posts with regard to introvertedness/shyness vs. Aspergers.
A few years ago my mentor laughed when I said I was an introvert and said that he would have never pegged me professionally as an introvert and found it puzzling that I was once shy. As an expressive expressive person speaking to an analytical analytical, this was huge to me.
Mild tangent here over to social styles. I think this can be a good tool, however, I think that it is only a tool. In my social styles class there were only two analytical analyticals. Myself and another guy. Both of which our teacher said she wouldn’t have pegged us as such an extreme. She referenced later on our presentations class whereby we gave two of the funniest, most interesting impromptu speeches individually. By definition of analytical analytical, we shouldn’t have been comfortable in this situation at all, yet she found it interesting that we both thrived and didn't display any signs of being uncomfortable with the situation.
Public speaking… this is one thing that surprised my mom when I was in grad school. I was good at it. It isn’t that she thought I would be bad at it, by any means. But it didn’t necessarily fit my shy demeanor. Even now? I actually enjoy getting up and speaking in public and I am not half bad at it.
Off my (somewhat relevant) tangent.
When I headed into kindergarten I had not had any preschool. I had been home with my mom for 5.5 years and it wasn’t like we had bunches of playdates. I met some kids in the neighborhood and she occasionally babysat other kids. But I headed into kindergarten with a lack of social skills. I do not believe that it was a lack of preschool or playdates that caused my lack of social skills. They may have attributed to it, but in no way do I believe that the difficulties I faced with personal interactions well into college, were because I didn’t go to preschool.
I tended to make friends easily as most kids do, but keeping them was a different thing. I had a knack for saying the wrong thing, which then often resulted in the other little girls looking at me funny and walking off. I loved answering questions in class, I loved being at the center of attention (I played Jingle Bells on the piano at our kindergarten Christmas pageant and reveled in being the center of attention) and I always wanted to play the cymbals in music. I enjoyed reading out loud to the class.
What I *think* happened as I look back was that because I didn’t know how to effectively interact in a friendly manner with the other kids, I simply quit trying. If they didn’t want to play with me then who was I to push it? Not to mention, who really wants to spend time with kids who look at you funny when you say something? I didn’t. It wasn’t long before I was spending my recess by myself walking the perimeter of the playground. I remember watching what the other kids were doing and trying to figure out how to behave like them. Some kids saw staying in for recess a punishment, but I was thrilled to stay in and help the teacher with something because it meant I didn’t have to try and interact and it wasn’t in my face that I didn’t have a set of good friends.
In 1st grade we had dancing and I remember being the first one up and in front of the class shaking my booty while the other kids watched and slowly would come up. The shy kids were the last, if they came up at all. We would have annual plays every spring in elementary school and every year I BEGGED for a speaking part. I wanted lead parts and speaking parts SO badly, but was never awarded them. I blogged once about Mrs. Peacock our music teacher. I truly believe that she didn’t give me speaking parts because first, she placated the popularity contest, second, she didn’t like me and third, I had speech problems. It wasn’t for lack of trying for a speaking part. When I was in fourth grade I was finally given a speaking part… I said, “He’s so cuuuute!” and then giggled. One whole line. I wanted the job of memorizing the lines that the other kids had. In fact, I wanted it so bad I memorized all the lines for them so I felt a part of the action.
These things – all told don’t add up to a child who is shy. Instead, I think I became so used to hearing “she’s just shy”, that I thought those were the expectations of me. I didn’t have to learn to interact with the other kids if I was just labeled as “shy”. It was easy!
I wasn’t alone all throughout elementary school by any means either. When I was in third grade I obtained one best friend and she and I navigated our way through the following five years pretty efficiently. Once we hit junior high we hooked up with another couple of girls and had our own little network until I moved at the end of 8th grade. (I was always perplexed that after five years of hanging together, that she never wrote back or returned my phone calls. I figured that once again I had done something stupid.)
Next post - on to junior high and high school.
However, over the last year or so and particularly when I was reading about Aspergers with regard to Leif, I am wondering if I was really all that shy?
Because I actually think that a lot of my behaviors are more in line with a child with Aspergers than an introvert. I think I will hit this area of Aspergers in three posts - this is the first of three posts with regard to introvertedness/shyness vs. Aspergers.
A few years ago my mentor laughed when I said I was an introvert and said that he would have never pegged me professionally as an introvert and found it puzzling that I was once shy. As an expressive expressive person speaking to an analytical analytical, this was huge to me.
Mild tangent here over to social styles. I think this can be a good tool, however, I think that it is only a tool. In my social styles class there were only two analytical analyticals. Myself and another guy. Both of which our teacher said she wouldn’t have pegged us as such an extreme. She referenced later on our presentations class whereby we gave two of the funniest, most interesting impromptu speeches individually. By definition of analytical analytical, we shouldn’t have been comfortable in this situation at all, yet she found it interesting that we both thrived and didn't display any signs of being uncomfortable with the situation.
Public speaking… this is one thing that surprised my mom when I was in grad school. I was good at it. It isn’t that she thought I would be bad at it, by any means. But it didn’t necessarily fit my shy demeanor. Even now? I actually enjoy getting up and speaking in public and I am not half bad at it.
Off my (somewhat relevant) tangent.
When I headed into kindergarten I had not had any preschool. I had been home with my mom for 5.5 years and it wasn’t like we had bunches of playdates. I met some kids in the neighborhood and she occasionally babysat other kids. But I headed into kindergarten with a lack of social skills. I do not believe that it was a lack of preschool or playdates that caused my lack of social skills. They may have attributed to it, but in no way do I believe that the difficulties I faced with personal interactions well into college, were because I didn’t go to preschool.
I tended to make friends easily as most kids do, but keeping them was a different thing. I had a knack for saying the wrong thing, which then often resulted in the other little girls looking at me funny and walking off. I loved answering questions in class, I loved being at the center of attention (I played Jingle Bells on the piano at our kindergarten Christmas pageant and reveled in being the center of attention) and I always wanted to play the cymbals in music. I enjoyed reading out loud to the class.
What I *think* happened as I look back was that because I didn’t know how to effectively interact in a friendly manner with the other kids, I simply quit trying. If they didn’t want to play with me then who was I to push it? Not to mention, who really wants to spend time with kids who look at you funny when you say something? I didn’t. It wasn’t long before I was spending my recess by myself walking the perimeter of the playground. I remember watching what the other kids were doing and trying to figure out how to behave like them. Some kids saw staying in for recess a punishment, but I was thrilled to stay in and help the teacher with something because it meant I didn’t have to try and interact and it wasn’t in my face that I didn’t have a set of good friends.
In 1st grade we had dancing and I remember being the first one up and in front of the class shaking my booty while the other kids watched and slowly would come up. The shy kids were the last, if they came up at all. We would have annual plays every spring in elementary school and every year I BEGGED for a speaking part. I wanted lead parts and speaking parts SO badly, but was never awarded them. I blogged once about Mrs. Peacock our music teacher. I truly believe that she didn’t give me speaking parts because first, she placated the popularity contest, second, she didn’t like me and third, I had speech problems. It wasn’t for lack of trying for a speaking part. When I was in fourth grade I was finally given a speaking part… I said, “He’s so cuuuute!” and then giggled. One whole line. I wanted the job of memorizing the lines that the other kids had. In fact, I wanted it so bad I memorized all the lines for them so I felt a part of the action.
These things – all told don’t add up to a child who is shy. Instead, I think I became so used to hearing “she’s just shy”, that I thought those were the expectations of me. I didn’t have to learn to interact with the other kids if I was just labeled as “shy”. It was easy!
I wasn’t alone all throughout elementary school by any means either. When I was in third grade I obtained one best friend and she and I navigated our way through the following five years pretty efficiently. Once we hit junior high we hooked up with another couple of girls and had our own little network until I moved at the end of 8th grade. (I was always perplexed that after five years of hanging together, that she never wrote back or returned my phone calls. I figured that once again I had done something stupid.)
Next post - on to junior high and high school.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Skadi cake baking
I am trying to get better about using the full functionality of my good camera and not just as a point and shoot. Here are a few shots from Sunday where Skadi and I baked a chocolate cake. They could use a little time in PhotoShop to lighten them, but I will play with that later.
Note my KitchenAid paddle behind her. We could not leave this out of the picture. She insisted it was a tree and it was not moving.
Oops yes. It is Valentine's Day frosting. I am a bit late on this one. But she was obsessed with the can at the grocery store. I caved and then I had to hide it at home to ease my guilt at not doing it on Valentine's Day.
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