Sunday, December 30, 2007

La vita è bella



This year there were no "big" presents per se.
Well, Emma got a Nintendo DS that we and her mother went in on "half-sies" to make it more affordable...but other than that, the kids got smallish toys, books and clothes - and were HAPPY for them.
No one was sick for Christmas.
The food was perfect and plentiful.
It was a GORGEOUS white Christmas.
We've been sledding and ice skating and no one has any broken bones or injuries.

I cannot help but feel this uneventful, beautiful and wonderful Christmas is nearly miraculous. Life is so beautiful - and we are so very fortunate.


Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Christmas means ....

...baking cookies, getting Christmas cards assembled and sent out, finding Christmas outfits for the kids, the annual Gingerbread House making party, at least one potluck at work, at least one kid singing at a school program, spending lunch hours shopping.

Worrying about who I've forgotten, trying hard to figure out gifts for the teachers and day care providers who I adore and am eternally grateful for - but can't seem to figure out a gift for to save my life.

Watching for boxes to be delivered so I can hide them before the kids see them. Finding a place in the house to hide the unwrapped presents. Looking FORWARD to the mail for once - because it comes with Christmas cards filled with photos and news from friends and family we don't see often enough.

More Christmas baking.

Getting a ham for Christmas day dinner. Running out to Target to search for a Santa Hat and antler ears because: "Mom I need 'em for school!" Running out of Christmas cards, running out of stamps. Another run to Target. Briefly contemplating just handing over my entire paycheck to Target all at once to save the effort of doing it bit by bit... it's all going there anyways.

Waking up in a cold sweat at 2am remembering I haven't given my friends at work a Christmas card and that I must get a gift for my wonderful boss.
Late nights sorting through presents trying to "even up" each child's gift pile.
More Christmas baking.

Mailing out presents to out-of-town family & friends a wee bit too late (sorry - try as I might I'm late EVERY year).

Sprinkling "Reindeer food" outside on Christmas Eve, then wrapping presents after the children are in bed until I nearly pass out from exhaustion. Carefully biting large "Santa bites" in the cookies and leaving partly eaten carrots outside (the flying reindeers eat only SOME of the carrots).

Early Christmas morning negotiations that the kids hold off ripping open all their presents until after we've groggily brushed teeth and found a glass of caffeine.

None of this is a complaint, honest.
It may be a hectic month filled with tons to do...but it's all magical and filled with joy.

I know Christmas is meant to be about Christ's birth. And every year we go to church Christmas Eve and I love the celebration of what is meant to be the REAL meaning of Christmas. But while the kids are young.. Christmas for me is much more about making a memorable time of year for them.

But he's so INSISTENT



I love the look on his face here. Such an expressive little boy.

And so INSISTENT. I don't know where he gets it from. (ha)

Last night in the kitchen as I was dashing out to try and do more Christmas shopping Mr. Man (who is very attached to mommy lately) told me not to go.

Me: I have to go - I'm going to go buy Christmas presents.
Mr. Man: I go with you!
Me: No, you need to stay and have a bath with Daddy because maybe I will buy a present for you, too.
Mr. Man: And THEN I CAN OPEN IT!
Me: No, you can't open it until Christmas.
Mr. Man: But is IS Christmas.
Me: No, not yet.
Mr. Man: Uh huh! It IS Christmas.

Me: (pulling down the family calendar, showing him today's date, pointing ahead 7 shopping days to Christmas) No...this is today..and then HERE is Christmas when you can open your presents.

Mr. Man: No! It IS Christmas mommy!

Me & Hubby exchange a glance..and then we both say: "Well, it is Christmas SEASON, but not Christmas DAY"

Mr. Man: It IS Christmas!! (red faced, foot stomping)

Mr. Man is ADAMANT and I can see I'm not going to win this one. Then I strike upon something to say:

Me: You can't open your present until I've had time to wrap it. I'm going to go buy it, but it might take me a while to wrap it.
Mr. Man: OH. OK. Bye!

Clearly it just takes the right explanation. We just wish we knew what the right answer was more often.

Friday, November 09, 2007

You might be a redneck

If your husband emails you at work with pictures of varmints he done shot to shut the daggone dog up.... you might be a redneck.



If your ve-hick-el takes more than 2 credit card swipes to fill the gas tank... you might be a redneck.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Just because an atheist author wrote it, doesn't make it "evil"

Yesterday I received another email message with the title: "ALERT - Golden Compass". This is the 2nd or 3rd such email I’ve gotten warning me about this “evil” movie the “Golden Compass”.

I guess it’s wimpy of me (or perhaps I'm just not feeling confrontational) that I’m not doing a "reply all" via email and saying that I’ve read all three books and loved them and am looking forward to the day that our kids will be old enough to read them, too. In fact I’m really looking forward to the Dec. 7th release - and I fully expect we will go see this movie.

Here's the rub for me - the people who are emailing this haven't read these books. I have. They're blindly fowarding an email because it's the "Christian" thing to do. These are award-winning* children’s books and the inherent message is that religiosity used as political power can be a very dangerous force. Am I the only one who sees the irony that people are blindly forwarding an email from a church organization campaign without having read or researched for themselves about these books?

Granted Pullman (Philip Pullman, the author) has publicly dissed the Chronicles of Narnia (considered to be Christian-friendly fiction), granted he chose character names (“dæmons” and “angels” and “God”) provocatively – but on reading the books, I don’t see how any atheistic viewpoint or analogy wins out at all.

In fact religious leaders in England (where the books are far more popular) have publicly announced their support of the "His Dark Materials" series and on the basis that the books amount to an attack on dogmatism and the use of religion to oppress, not on Christianity itself.

In my humble opinion the books are highly imaginative, entertaining and thought provoking. They raise several interesting questions about what makes a person a person, what it is to find our path into adulthood, what it is to have a soul, and why we should be cautious not to let the human leadership of the "church" have undue political power over our lives. (And how we should perhaps instead rely on a moral compass (in the book the analogy is the alethiometer - which in my interpretation could be the Bible, faith, our private conversation with God) to be our guide.)

To me, the essence of my faith is that I have a personal relationship with God. I'm not following some rules set down by another human being because they supposedly speak for God. I'm prayerfullly considering what God would have me do - not letting the "religious right" or some other church leader decide for me.

I believe God gave me a brain and free will for a reason.
I believe God wants me to question, reason and discern for myself.
I believe that the still quiet voice I hear is the guidance I need.
I beleive that after years of education in hermeneutics, biblical theory, catechism and history of the Christian church not to mention ample study of the scriptures that I don't need to be spoon-fed rules and regulations for my faith walk.
I'm not down with being told what I can and cannot read. I'm not cool with being told something I found spiritually invigorating and entertaining is "evil".

Again, I find it absolutely ironic and a bit sad that people I know, and otherwise like (friends and acquaintances via Girl Scouting, etc.) are forwarding a message because someone started a chain email saying this movie is “anti-God”.
And by the way, one possible author of that chain email is actually the well-funded and organized campaign by the Catholic League.

This alone makes me think the lesson the book shares about not letting the church have undue political power over our lives is vitally important.

The day your church starts telling you what you can and cannot read, or what you should or should not allow your children to know about, perhaps it's time to educate yourself on what is that is just so bad that people want to spend time and money telling you to avoid it.

*Pullman's books have one the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children's Book Award, and (for The Amber Spyglass) the Whitbread Book of the Year Award - the first time in the history of that prize that it was given to a children's book. Moreover, this summer Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, called Northern Lights in the British edition, was named the best children's book of the past 70 years. A public vote, by readers from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, selected the book from a list of past winners of the Carnegie Medal for children's literature.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Friday, October 12, 2007

Business Travel Made Tolerable

Pardon the preachy tone, but I wrote this sermon sitting in an airport terminal last week observing a few too many that could have used a nice dose of common sense.

1. Pack a snack. Everything else you can find in either the airport or the airplane will be overpriced and unsatisfying compared to your favorite treat. (Mine = Pucca. Japanese chocolate filled pretzels. Yum.)
Also, BYO drink. You can carry on any liquids purchased after passing thru security. Caribou iced tea + Pucca = 2 hours of sipping and snacking contentedly.

2. Wear shoes easy to slip on and off. They still make you walk barefoot thru security these days.

3. Leave time to relax. Give yourself an hour to get checked in and thru security. Don't cut it close to your flight time or you're inviting stress. Also, have ideas for how you'll spend your time while waiting. Whether that's work on your laptop or read a new magazine. Come prepared for the hurry up and wait.

4. Do not hassle ANYONE. Come with the mindset that air travel is public transit. Really, it's just the same as riding your local subway or mass transit bus. Other passengers may very well be annoying, smelly and/or abusive. Strive to be quiet and undemanding. Avoiding eye contact isn't a bad idea, either. (Again, like on the bus. ) Being undemanding not only will this make the airline employees grateful for (or simply not annoyed with) you, but it may endear you to your fellow travelers.

5. Do not expect anything. Do not expect a drink, a bag of peanuts, an on-time flight, an upgraded seat or even a seat without someone jabbing you in the back all the flight. If you come at the flight time with low expectations, everything you encounter that isn't negative will seem like a treat.

6. Check your big luggage, pack light for your carry on. Nothing is more annoying than some creep who thinks they're too important to wait at baggage claim who drags on a huge suitcase and attempts to cram it into an overhead it won't fit in.

7. If you haven't been upgraded by the time you or the airlines printed your boarding pass, it's really not likely to happen. Harranguing the gate attendant does not help your case. Also, trying to sneak onto the plane for early boarding when you aren't some elite status or sitting in 1st class to attempt to get on the flight ahead of everyone else to get a spot for your luggage - not cool.
And if you're not sitting in 1st class or the forward cabin do not attempt to leave your luggage in the overhead bins there thinking it'll help you make a "quick exit" having your suitcase at the front of the plane. Dude, no one is making a "quick exit" unless the plane is on fire.

8. Don't rush to get on the plane. Especially if you're in cattle class - really, there is NO rush. When they call "All Rows" and people line up - it's not a bad idea to wait for the crowds to thin out a bit. The boarding process goes on for quite a while, so no rush. Stretch your legs a bit for those last 10 minutes or so. Then walk on, claim your seat and relax - without ever having to stand in line.

9. Most people do not want a chatty Cathy sitting next to them. Pay attention to body language. If, after exchanging pleasantries or observations on the weather your seat mate(s) keep re-focusing quickly on their book, laptop or magazine they are sending you clear: "I prefer silence, thanks" signals. Take heed. Most people just want to quietly relax while on their flight, not discuss current events or your health issues.

10. Don't crowd the revolving belts in baggage return. No one knows which bags are coming out first, and if you block the way for others they can't get their bags. Everyone should just STAND BACK a few feet and wait and watch. That goes double for those who feel they are ENTITLED to their luggage faster than everyone else because they were seated in First Class. Folks, baggage handlers have a sick sense of humor. They just throw whatever comes their way up onto the belt. If your specially tagged piece o' luggage doesn't come out first - tough hop. Welcome to the human race, you're no more entitled than anyone else.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

It's been a while since Mama's been on a business trip

The kids are not used to mommy traveling - it's been very infrequent over the past year. I called on my first night away from home this week and was being missed - esp. by our youngest.

Mr Man: Mommy. Come to our house. Come here.
Me: Honey, I'm in Texas. I'll be home in a few days. I'll bring you a little motorcycle, ok?
MM: No, come to here. I neeeeed you.

After that he dissolved into tears. It was hard to listen to - nothing much I can do to comfort him from so far away... but also it was not as gut-wrenchingly painful as I remember from trips when he was younger. Also, I knew it was also because he was overtired. (It was near his bedtime when I called.)

However, today hubby told me the conversation they'd had this morning.

Mr. Man: Daddy, you go to Texas and mommy come back here.

Jeff explained to him that it wasn't like we could trade places - but Mr. Man was adamant. Daddy should go to Texas in my stead and I should come home. That cracks me up - he's a smart little monkey trying to come up with a deal like that.

Maybe it's true what they say about mama's boys and daddy's girls -- because I think that Mr Man misses mommy the most.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Thank You Holly




If it were not for Holly's mad picture taking skills our kids' childhood would be rushing past almost entirely undocumented. Check out Michael's freckles. Too cute!

Beautiful Pictures from Holly


Life is Beautiful / Life is What You Make It

Saturday I made a trip to my favorite Asian grocery in Minneapolis. Only my youngest, Mr. Man, was interested in joining me for a shopping outing.
We had a good trip, he loved his treat: Peach Calpis (which, I have to say, is really an unfortunate brand name. Sure, カルピス is fine in Japanese, but in America, it sounds to my ear ever so close to "cow piss", y'know?).

In any case, recently Mr. Man has been in love with the Shimajiro Potty training - because he's just recently switched to being a "pa-pa-pantsu man!" himself.. And especially while we were at the Asian grocery and he was hearing different languages - for whatever reason he got very interested in Japanese for a change. (Side note: I am not raising bilingual children. They are uninterested, for the most part, in learning Japanese. Believe me I've tried.) At first, though I was REALLY confused.

Mr Man: "Mama, mama. Talk 'sheen to me."
Me: Machine? huh?
MM: Yeah. Talk a-ma-sheen to me.
Me: Like Motors? Bruum Bruum?
MM: (Getting upset) NO!! Ma-sheen!! You know..like using the potty...
Me: Machine?? Like computer?
MM: Yeah.. like on the computer! SHAKA!! SHAKA ganuzu!!!
Me: Huh?
MM: SHAKA GA NUNU!
Me: Oh, wait! You mean: Talk Japanese to you?
MM: (Relieved that his idiot mother is finally making sense) YES!
Me: Oh, like Shimajiro: お仲がむずむずする? Onaka ga muzu muzu suru?
MM: YAH! SHAKA!!!!Shaka ga nu nu.
Me: uh huh. よく出来たね。Yoku dekita!
MM: Shaka! Shaka!
Me: (laughing) Chaka Khan! Chaka Khan!
----
He didn't get my Chaka Khan reference at all, of course.

After this interlude of talking Japanese / 80s music to each other (and Michael likes it, to a point, then tells me to "talk like his mommy" instead) we stopped for lunch. There's a Culvers near us that has a group of folks (The Culvers Jammers) that meets and plays Blue Grass each Saturday afternoon. It's wonderful to sit and hear the mandolin, banjo, fiddles and bass (and some assorted zither players..but maybe that's called the auto-harp?). It feels like a sweet little slice of small-town America and the walleye sandwich isn't bad either. Michael swings his legs on his too-big-for-him chair and picks at his cheeseburger, I sigh as they fall into the chorus. And then it hits me: I truly have the best of all possible worlds.

I have the city - because I work downtown and we can basically have our pick of any kind of fine dining or cultural outing we desire. (And the Twin Cities does seem to be a hot-bed for theatre and has a lively music scene..)

I have the country - because we live on 2.5 acres where it isn't unusual to see people ride by on their horses or hear the occasional whine of a dirt bike or ATV...or hear nothing but the wind in the trees. And at the neighborhood "National Night Out" talk was more on coyote sightings and keeping deer out of our gardens then on break-ins or vandalism. We can grow flowers and plants, burn stuff in our fire pit.. and the kids ride around on the John Deere tractor and in the '73 Chevy pickup and call themselves "Country Girls" without a trace of irony. (Well, not Mr. Man. He just rides his bike around and around making dirt bike noises and announces that he's riding his motor bike.)

I still have tinges of my Japanese life. We take our shoes off and store them in the genkan. (Even if the kids don't know what a genkan is..) My rice cooker is used plenty frequently and we eat 焼肉 complete with real 焼き肉のたれ at least once or twice a week. We have a deep tub and family style お風呂 complete with Japanese bath salts. (Note to those who don't know about Japanese ofuro: In a Japanese bath an extra-deep tub is filled to the top with very hot water in which you sit submerged up to the neck. Most people spend about half an hour in the bath every night. Most children take their baths with their father or mother until they are in the upper grades of elementary school. The family tub is an important place for parent-child communication.) My kids know a smattering of Japanese words and want to eat with chopsticks. They like rice. And Miyazaki movies such as: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (千と千尋の神隠し).

And, I still have the comfort of all that is familiar, too. My favorite tea, incense and all the books I could hope to read. Clothes that fit, and that are cheap, too!

Everything that was a bit difficult about life in Japan is something that is easier here in the States. I don't stick out like a sore thumb, I blend in. I'm free to mix and match from cultures and holidays and beliefs and perspectives - and my kids are all the richer for the diversity. And, when I want my kids to have an experience like I did as a child (riding bikes on their own around the neighborhood, Sunday School, Christmas Caroling, Girl Scouts) - we've ended up being fortunate there, too.

For all the angst and worry I had when I was younger trying to figure out where to make a life - what I forgot is that life would be what I (we) make it. (Sheesh. Now I'm quoting Talk Talk : "Life's What you Make it.") It's amazing that it's ended up being exactly what I would have wanted. Little by little, bit by bit. As if I'd drawn up a wish list and one by one every wish has been granted. Even ones that might not have occurred to me in all my infinite wisdom in my 20s. And still. Life has turned out so much better than I could have planned on my own.

Monday, September 17, 2007

I'd gladly re-live this weekend over again

I didn't manage to take any photos of it to remember - in fact, I've been pretty lousy about taking pictures lately. Poor Mr. Man is growing up so fast and his childhood is largely undocumented in pictures of any kind. However, if in the future they invent a time machine and I need a specific date to go back to: I'd gladly re-live this weekend over again.

The weather was stunningly beautiful. The deepest blue cloudless sky with cool nights and warm enough days. Our kids were all mostly happy, healthy and wanted us around to play with them. They had friends over for playdates and sleep overs this weekend. I baked cookies, washed windows, and hung out our freshly washed bed linens in the crisp sunny fall air in between dispensing hugs, meals and snacks whenever the kids wanted them. Hubby spent the weekend mainly outdoors - and mainly on projects around the house including a new swingset and three new swings hanging from two trees in the backyard. The kids love them.

Nothing too exciting happened but that's what makes it so perfect. Just lots of time at home to hang out with our kids and their friends. I'd gladly re-live this weekend over again.

I know that when our kids are older and I have tons of free time to read, quilt or keep a perfectly clean house I'll miss these days of having a full house and toys strewn all over. I know that when my youngest stops needing me to tuck him in for a nap or first thing when he wakes up to reassure him, I'll miss those sleepy hugs. I know that later this fall or winter when we're all laid low with a cold or flu or some bleak weekend in February or March when we're trapped inside staring at the cold, gray, blah weather - I just know how I'll miss these perfect early fall days.

Last night as I tucked Michael into bed he was trying to stall a bit. He grabbed my hand in the dark and said: "Mommy? About today. Today I had a very great fun day." And I knew it was true. And I said: "That's right. You got to play on your new swingset, swing on the new swings, played with those big girls, (he broke in here and said: "I played with them with my noisy dump truck!"), watched 'Michael, Michael Motorcycle', rode on the lawn tractor with daddy, went for a bike ride in the bike trailer and rode your "dirt bike" (his bicycle, that he makes dirt bike sounds for when he rides it)." And he sighed contentedly and rolled over cozy in his bed.

I'd gladly re-live this weekend over again.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

To my children who I love beyond measure, from your mommy at work.

I wrote this yesterday, Sept 11th, feeling nostalgic and missing my children at work apparently.

Dear Mr. Man,

You crack me up no end. You are such a funny, smart, beautiful little boy. I love it when you look at me with your earnest eyes and say: "I have pee in my body."
We are SO proud of your new found independence in using the potty and dressing and undressing yourself.
Yes, I know you want a dirt bike. Little boy, light of my life, I am very tempted to buy you one because I love the look on your face when you work the throttle and see dirt flying up in the air behind you. Your love of rockets and dirt bikes is giving me a clue to the kind of boy you're going to be. It's not going to be dull!
I love it when you take your little hands and put them on my face to turn my face towards you when you want my full attention. It is an amazing time right now when you tell me sometimes still that you are a "tiny baby" and then, more and more you tell me and show me you are a "big boy" everyday. I'm so glad you still want to be held and carried and snuggled.
I am so sorry this morning that you only wanted me to hold you and stay home all day with you. I hope my holding you and rocking you in my arms helped ease your tears. I saw your brave face when I left you with your pre-school teacher and I hope that today is fun for you, even if it's spent with your friends and teacher and not mommy and daddy. Thank you for the big kiss this morning, I miss you terribly and wish I was home with you all day, too.

Dear Lucy Goose,

You are such a sensitive, silly, beautiful girl - thank you for making me laugh. I'm so sorry I rushed you this morning and I know I must seem crabby to you when all I'm trying to do is get us scooted out the door. Hard as it may be to believe - I think of you and miss you all day, even if it seems like I'm just crabby and rushing and busy when I get you up in the morning.
I really tried my best to tie your Chucks as tight as you like, I'm sorry if it didn't meet your high standards of tight. I know Daddy does it better - he wishes he was here, too. Please understand that I spent extra time making you breakfast this morning, and that's why I couldn't keep re-tying your shoes three more times - we were already running late.
Can I tell you how amazed I am that you love Depeche Mode? What good taste you are developing in music! When you listed off your favorite bands (AJ & Aly, Hannah Montanna, Depeche Mode and Jonas Brothers) I was awed that at 6 (6!) you have such definite (and good) tastes in music.
Sweetheart, I'm sorry your ankles hurt. Yes, I'm sure part of it is from running so much in gym class, and maybe some growing pains, too...but, it may also be my fault. See, I have bad ankles, too. You can blame Grandpa Bob for this one if you like. (I got my ankles from him.) Please don't be too sad about your ankles. It's nothing Advil can't fix, and as you get older you'll realize it's really not such a big deal in the big scheme of things. I know that's hard to understand now, because any hurt is a big hurt.
I love you, be brave. You'll make friends at your new school - you'll see. Just keep being Lucy. Hang in there - you can watch Harry Potter and eat Starbursts when you get home, and then it'll all feel better. Just think: each day you're getting closer to being able to read all on your own - and just you wait, that will make you SO happy when you can sit with a Harry Potter or Phillip Pullman book and read and read to your heart's content.

Dear Emma-roo,

I know now that you're getting so grown up that it's too embarassing to have me say "I love you" in front of your friends or to hug on you at school, so I hold back when they are around. But you should know no matter what I always love you SO much.
Thank you for the BIG hugs last night. I may joke or play (and you do, too) but I felt your "I love you" in those hugs, and I hope you know how much I adore you when I peck you on your cute short hair and hug you tight.
Lucy and I are both missing you (yes, even Lucy. She wanted you to come home with us last night) - but your mom has been missing you terribly, too - so be good to her. I know you wanted to come to our house last night, but it's your mom's turn to love on you, so be sure to be good and don't keep pestering her to come over - I know you know why, if you think about it.
Did you know that Melissa, the little girl who came to visit the weekend before last, hasn't taken off the necklace you gave her in days? Em, you have the most giving, kind and generous heart of any person I know. You made her very happy - and you make us very proud.
I know school is getting a little harder this year - but I'm glad your teacher is so nice. Even so, as you get closer to middle school don't be surprised if life gets a little more complicated with each passing month. I'm sure you've noticed by now that life gets kind of funky when you get closer to being a teen. Pimples, bras, friends that don't act very friendly... nothing you can't handle, though. You'll do well - you've got some amazing advantages.
Girl, you are SO smart. And SO loved. Whenever you need a break, some help or just a shoulder to cry on we'll always be there to catch you, hug you, hold you and comfort you. You're surrounded by people who adore you. You can do whatever you want to do - and I can tell you're going to do it in fine sassy style (You are such a stylish girl now! I am SO impressed with your taste in shoes and clothes!) and surrounded by friends, because you are gifted at making friends.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Michael, Michael Motorcyle!

Observations / Lessons Learned from the end of summer

1. Doggie day care for 2 two dogs costs more than all-day care for my 3 children. What is wrong with this picture?

2. Given enough time, most people will really come through with the money they owe you. I prefer not to say anything about the money - I just wait without saying anything. So far, this is working for me. (I just got paid, yesterday, for Girl Scout cookies that were delivered in February of this year.)
*The possible exception to this rule are places of business (e.g. paid off car loans, mortgage escrow account checks) - because they will take their own sweet time returning money you've overpaid them to you.

3. As for me, I really need to drive a stick shift. It appears to be something in my genetic makeup because my Dad strongly prefers manual transmissions, too.

4. You can't fight genetics - but through ample amounts of counseling you can try to make your character flaws less obnoxious to others.

5. There are two things that I find unforgivably tacky :
a. Not sending a Thank You note or acknowledgement of receipt of a Wedding gift.
b. A guest that bring a gift of wine to a dinner party - opens said wine, has some and then takes it home with them.

All other manners and rules appear to be made to be broken, in my humble opinion..but the 2 above are pet peeves.

6. I love books by Phillip Pullman. And here I was worried that I'd having nothing to read after Harry Potter.. The "His Dark Materials" triology is even better! (Though it feels like blasphemy for me to say that out loud because I loved the HP series so much.)

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Hubby on business trip = Invitation to Disaster

Very early on in our marriage, maybe even before we got married, Jeff taught me this important corollary to Murphy's Law -
The first rule of the business traveler:
"If something can go wrong, it will go wrong while I am away"

I accepted this way back when thinking: OK. Sure, the furnace may go out. The roof might leak. I am woman, hear me roar - I can cope.

But now, coming up on nearly 7 years of marriage, I see the painful truth of how bad things truly do seem to happen most often when Jeff is not home with me.

Here's a short list..
Sept 11 tragedy: Jeff is on a work trip in Chicago.

Miscarriage of our 2nd pregnancy: Jeff is on a business trip with his German boss, can't get home for days.

I am broad-sided by a guy who ran a red light which totals our car while I am 22 weeks pregnant with Michael: Jeff is in Germany.

And now.. when Jeff's new job means that he ever so rarely has out-of-town trips..he had a sudden trip to Austin, MN. And and the 35W bridge collapses.

Granted, I am not personally affected by this major catastrophe (besides the bad traffic I fully expect to experience on my commutes to and from downtown for the foreseeable future) - but we also sprang a sudden leak in a roof vent that dripped rain water into one of the rooms of the house while Jeff was in Austin. Of course, in comparison to the non-stop local news coverage of the tradgedy in downtown, the leak felt like nothing to worry about.

Monday, July 30, 2007

How we know he's been listening...

I was wandering around the house just after bath time last night saying: "Where's Evan?" When I muttered this within ear shot of Mr. Man he looked up with me with a big smile and said: "He ran away with a spoon!"

That's his daddy's boy.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Where did the summer go?

I knew July would be busy. It had everything I was looking forward to: the newest Harry Potter movie, the final Harry Potter book, my birthday, Mr. Man's birthday, the 4th of July, our annual trip to Race4theCure in the Brainerd Lakes area, the closing on our old house (SOLD!).. but seriously, what happened here? How can it be nearly August? Shoot - Target has had back-to-sale displays up for weeks now. On Monday I saw the school buses learning their new school-year routes around the neighborhood. It's sad but true.. summer is more than half-over.

We have a new truck with a snow plow attachment on it. I figure it's the next logical step in our adaptation to rural life at Rancho Anderson.
We got the huntin' dog, the air rifle (for the voles and groundhogs wrecking our yard with their tunneling), now we have a classy '73 Chevy rusting gently on our cement slab parking spot.
I'll resist the urge to use it as a lawn ornament propped on cement blocks when the time comes..though wouldn't it look nice next to our faded out wooden well cover with a circle of lawn gnomes around it? NOT.

Anyhow, for now the truck is the new favorite toy for the boys at our house. Who wants to ride the John Deere lawn tractor when there's a NOISY TRUCK to go 4-wheelin' in?

Sunday, July 01, 2007

To my great surprise, we have a new dog

My dog Callie pre-dates my wonderful husband. When we married we were both package deals. I fell in love with, and pledged to help raise his beautiful daughter who pre-dated me (she was about 18 months old).
I told him I couldn't relocate to Minnesota without my puppy, Callie, just about exactly the same age as his daughter.
Callie, like my stepdaughter, is quickly approaching the age of 10 this August. She's a wonderful, mostly mellow, meek and loving dog. If anything, she's a bit neurotic and when she feels abandoned or when a stranger approaches the door while we're not home, she's liable to make a mess on the carpet out of fear. (Or, at least this is my theory.)

Hubby, after years of comments about how little he cares for dogs (especially shedding dogs, and dogs that drag mud and dirt into the house on their paws) was at his wits' end when we moved to our new house and Callie had a few accidents.

I chalked this up to her needing to adjust to the new house. Hubby, not so much.

He knows I'd never give her up - so he looked for alternatives. Would I consider letting my parents take her back to Ohio? While that might not be bad for Callie (would she even miss me if she was being doted on by my mother or stepmother? Both are wonderful dog lovers and would walk her, feed her treats and love her dearly)...I didn't think I could bear it. She's the one constant in my life for nearly a decade. She rode with me faithfully every weekend to Chicago. She moved to Minnesota with me. She hunkered down with me through two torndaos. She slept on the foot of my bed, not leaving my side each time I was stuck in bed sick. She's been my faithful, wonderful dog - I couldn't send her away.

So, to my great surprise, today hubby decided to get ANOTHER dog. His theory was that Callie would adjust better somehow with an additional dog to keep her company.
He suggested a visit to the Humane Society at brunch, and by 2pm we were the owners of a Pointer from points unknown.

The jury is still out on this - but for now, we've welcomed a new member to the family: Miley.

Welcome Miley. We plan to feed you up (poor Miley is terribly underweight. She was a stray before the Humane Society found her) and take good care of you. Please let us love on you and take you for walks, OK? Also, the cat is NOT for eating.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

I think I'd like to take up tennis next...

I've noticed a pattern.

I introduced my dad to the Macintosh computer and in a short period of time our relationship changed from my being his ad-hoc tech support and his asking me what to do to fix problems on his iMac to him knowing WAAAAY more about how to burn music, edit movies and all other facets of the Mac than I could ever hope to know.

I showed my friend Holly my new love of quilting (I can't say I introduced her to quilting because, shoot, she grew up sewing and doing needlework with her Grandmother) - and quickly she outpaced me in ability, quality of her handiwork and she's prolific. She's produced what must be dozens of truly beautiful quilts in the past few years. She amazes me.

I showed my friend Shelli my blog, and she quickly knew more about blogging than me! Her posts exceeded mine not only in frequency but in quantity and quality. She has made oodles of blogosphere friends, has cool thingies on her blog, her own domain name and slick widgets that boggle my mind each time I visit her blog...while meanwhile I stick to freebie Blogger and my rambling thoughts and mundane observations.

All I can surmise from this is this new motto for myself:

"Stepping stone for many, expert to none."

Truly, I say this with no bitterness at all. While I consider myself to be a bit of an early adopter I realize I'm spread too thin with too little time to get serious about most of the non-work geeky things I find interesting.

So, while I may be able to occasionally show people new things, they quickly grow past my introductory level of knowledge to do amazing things. I'm really very OK with that - because I'm happy to keep puttering along at the pace I'm at. Dabbling, but not being nearly as proficient or prolific.

Maybe someday when my kids are older I'll get more serious about one of my many interests. Until then, I'm happy to watch my friends and loved ones do amazing things, and to sit back and watch.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

別府へ手紙

Hi E,

30 earthquakes? And earthquakes centered in Beppu? That’s wild!
Are people worrying that Aso-san is waking up? (Maybe you already know this – but I was told it’s a dormant volcano.) Glad to hear they seem to have stopped for now. I don’t recall hardly any earthquakes during my time in Beppu – are people there surprised at all the activity I wonder?
I have to admit, earthquakes terrify me. They’re my number one fear, seriously. Tornadoes, Typhoons – don’t even phase me a bit. Earthquakes freak me out. I’ve been through quite a few – a couple of big ones in Okinawa, the big Kobe earthquake, and some measurable ones in Tokyo.. and rather than decreasing my fear, over time I’ve just become more & more scared of them.

It’s impressive you’ve picked up conversational Japanese (reading katakana and hiragana already) in just a year – that’s really great! I think it really helps being in the “inaka” (countryside). Beppu does kind of force one to learn Japanese just to get by – to handle the post office, grocery store and the bank and the ATMs.
I can still remember when I’d been given the bad advice to bring a cashier’s check to Japan. I came with a little cash, but the bulk of my savings (what I planned to live on until my first paycheck) in a cashier’s check. Oita Ginko had never seen one before – so they sent it first to a larger bank in Tokyo, and then that bank sent it BACK to the US and requested the US bank wire the funds. It took something like 6 weeks or more – and I was really frightened I’d never see the money again. (And it was all the money I had in the world at that point!) I’d go in, periodically to the bank and inquire whether the money was on the way and attempt to explain over and over that the check should be considered as cash.

At the time, I had enough Japanese to say: “Where is the money now?” And I sketched out a picture of Japan, and the US. The poor teller I’d asked pointed to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and I remember bursting into tears (around week 5) and saying: “It can’t be in the Ocean! It can’t be in the Ocean!” (Umi? Sore ga muri desu! Umi ga dame desu!) I’m sure I scarred that poor teller with my outburst and she never wanted to wait on a gaijin again!

I know just what you meant about your comment about how it's hard to get past the "surface" there. It is really hard to get past that “tatemae” layer with Japanese.
The cliché stuff about it being a homogenous society is really all too true. There are nationalists (minority) and others in Japan that really prize that homogeniety. That and the traditionalists that still hold stock (in varying degrees) in old class system in Japan (e.g. Eta, the untouchables) and it carries over to gaijin, too. The hierarchical nature of Japanese society makes for a rather exclusionary reality. It’s not something people are very forthcoming about, either – it’s rather subtle. Just like how talking about racism in America is taboo often, too. So on the surface there’s much talk about international this and that – and “gaikokujin” – but it does in fact stop at the surface much of the time.
Also, not unlike the US – these notions are stronger in the countryside than in the big cities. You’re right it would be a very different experience in Tokyo – where it’s a veritable United Nations compared to Oita and non-Japanese are so much more a part of everyday life that they’re barely noticed.

And I’m sure you’ve noticed that certain foreigners are more welcome than others, too. Or, perhaps that’s changing now? Japan seems to me to have become more progressive in this area in just the last 15 years. In fact, when I first came to Japan back in 1987 they still had signs above restaurants in Tokyo saying that Okinawan’s weren’t allowed to enter. Just like pre-Civil Rights era for black Americans!
Now shima-uta /“Island style” is all the rage – but it’s not that far back that Okinawans were discriminated against. (And most Japanese don’t consider Okinawans to be truly Japanese. Most mainland Japanese would say Okinawans are a different race due to their Ryuuku island heritage. Well, that and decades of US occupation - not to mention the still heavy US influence due to all the military bases.)

I had a friend who was born and raised in Beppu – but her last name was “Kaneyama”. Sounds Japanese, right? But her family name gave away the fact that she was third generation Korean. Although she spoke no Korean, and looked and sounded Japanese for all intents and purposes.. she was excluded from some schools, many better jobs and had diminished dating prospects – all because she wasn’t Japanese enough.

Given some more time, I’m sure you’d end up with a bunch of Japanese friends. But honestly, I think it takes a certain kind of Japanese person to be open to make friends with someone a bit different from them. Considering how hard that “group think” mentality is pounded into them (esp. in Jr. High) it takes a special type of person willing to step out of their comfort zone.

I ended up dating a few Japanese men during my time in Beppu – and through their circle of friends, and a few close Japanese female friends I made, I ended up getting a lot of lessons in Japanese culture. My Japanese friends used to remark: “Carolyn, you’re more Japanese than Japanese!” – because I made such a strong effort to follow etiquette, made my own plum wine, learned all the seasonal greetings and customs. I really tried hard to be a good student of the culture. Still, I ended up leaving Beppu when it was evident that I’d never ever really fit in.

There are a few foreigners in town that have married locals and had kids – stayed forever after in the area. I made friends with a couple (one runs his own juku, another used to teach yoga classes – though I don’t know if she still does) and while they’d blended in – they still had the same experiences I did with getting stared at in the public baths, etc.

I left when it was clear that if I did marry my boyfriend at the time and stay in Beppu – I’d have to resign myself to being a sort of second class citizen forever after. No matter how well I could read, write and speak Japanese .. I’d never be able to vote, I’d never be able to completely blend in (and I have dark hair, but still) – I’d always be a little bit different. Some people would be overly nice to me because of it, and ever so often, some people would hate me on sight because of it (I ran into “sabetsu” on just a few occasions) – and there’d be little I could do about that.
It’d be different if it were Tokyo, for sure. But, Kyushu is still Kyushu.

But I digress.

-----

This is an excerpt from a letter I wrote this week to a new acquaintance living in the town I lived in over a decade ago. So little has changed there, in some ways. It's funny, but when I look back on how I almost chose to stay and make a life there, I simultaneously miss it there so very much and am very nostalgic for the place, people and time - but I also know very clearly that the life I've ended up having is a far better one in so many ways than the one I might have settled for had I stayed there.

Also something that puzzles me is this - why do I so deeply identify with a country that is not my homeland? Why do I still pine for a place that, logically, I see did not and would not ever embrace me?

But then - I'm also pondering deep questions like: "Which is better, liquid or cream based hair dyes?" today. Ha!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Nothing says 'home' like a Garden Gnome of your own...


Initially I protested hubby's purchase of this...lawn ornament.
But, like the garden...he's growing on me.

Monday's Child


My absolutely beautiful newest nephew is truly fair of face.
Congratulations Marty & Kristin! Welcome baby Braeden!

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Thurday's Child

Monday's child is fair of face;
Tuesday's child is full of grace;
Wednesday's child is full of woe;
Thursday's child has far to go;
Friday's child is loving and giving;
Saturday's child works hard for a living.
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
is fair and wise, good and gay

It's not just because I'm Thursday's child that I love Thursdays so much.
They feel like Christmas Eve. It's almost the weekend. It's Farmer's Market day.
For whatever reason I'm most inspired to write on Thursdays. (Not so good for work productivity, mind you..)

An interesting observation: in my nuclear family 3 of the 5 of us (me, oldest daughter, youngest son) were born on Thursdays.

Our middle daughter, born on Tuesday, has a middle name of "Grace" - and while I was pregnant with her we called her Grace. Turns out she's full of grace by her birth date anyways.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Moved


4 season and deck
Originally uploaded by Geeky Mama.
Still unpacking, but starting to enjoy our new home very much. The old house is listed on the MLS now and our fingers are crossed for a quick sale.

One of the best things about our move was the help and humor my friend Sharyl's husband Mark provided. He cracked me up constantly with his funny comments - so when I look back on our move, I think of all the laughter, not so much all the lifting and carrying.

Here's an example of Mark's sense of humor:

We've just pulled up to the new house, it's lunch time on Saturday. I'm telling everyone to come on in the new house for Subway sandwiches and cold beers and Mark has just wandered through the empty new house checking it out.
I'm standing on the front porch and he comes over to give me hearty congratulations. After a hug and lots of raves over what a great place Jeff and I have found he asks me in a more serious tone of voice: "Do you mind if I Bless the house?"

To put this in context, I should explain Mark and Sharyl are good practicing Catholics. And, every home I've ever lived in I've walked through and prayed over - to bless the house (back in the day my mother and grandmother would anoint the doorways with olive oil as they prayed, too).

So I said to Mark: "Oh, that's great, thanks - want to walk through and pray over the house together?"

He said: "Nah, I meant that I gotta take a crap, OK? Maybe I should have said Christen the house instead?"

I laughed so hard I almost blessed my pants.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Observations:

1. All my life I've struggled to grow my nails out. When I'm slightly nervous or mildly stressed my nails are flimsy and chip or break easily. They annoy me and I can't help myself - I nibble on my nails and end up having to clip them off.
Apparently when I'm under a greater level of stress for an extended period of time I grow nice long lovely nails. Who knew?! I've wasted oodles of money on Sally Hansen and vitamins and gelatin when all I really needed to do was be overly busy and about to move! My lovely long nails are sure to be ripped right off when we move furniture and boxes 10 days from today - but I think I'll take pictures of my hands on May 17th just for posterity.

2. It is FAR too easy to call up the local energy company and start up or stop service. They didn't ask any personal questions. Not my SS#, current account number, nothin'. They didn't need to know anything but a street address.
Why mess around with TP-ing someone's trees when you could just have their power shut off with one 30 second phone call? I'm just saying. Not that I'm evil enough to do this to somebody, just noticing it's a leetle bit too easy as it is currently.

3. We've packed well over a dozen boxes. Maybe even 2 dozen. And the house is just now starting to feel.. just right. Not over-cluttered, but also totally livable. We have the essentials (enough pans, tupperware, plates and dishes, clothes and linens) to live comfortably ...and this leads me to think: Why don't we dump every last one of those boxes at the Goodwill or stick it in a crate to Tanzania? Obviously, it's excess if I can live without that stuff. (Though, those boxes contain about almost all the kids' toys. That would be too cruel...)

4. It is a sad sign of this day and age that I couldn't help but worry.. and in fact thought very hard about calling the non-emergency police phone number when I saw a rental truck (think: U-Haul) parked, without a driver, in the no-parking area in front on the office tower I work in downtown. Maybe I'm just a worry-wart - but my mind just goes "Oklahoma City" right away.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Another reason to love the month of July

OK – I know I am a big ol’ dork, but I have pre-ordered my Harry Potter Book 7 for home delivery ON the day of release from Amazon. Immediately, first chance to do so. I've talked a lot to hubby about how I will be unavailable come July 21st - he can just expect he's on his own that weekend with the kids.. and WOW, isn't it great I won't have to take vacation days because I'm pretty sure I can finish the book in under 48 hours of consecutive reading that weekend...

When we made an offer on the new house he and I both talked about WHERE I would read my new Harry Potter book this summer. Seriously, I'm not even kidding.

That, and I’ve already planned to go see the latest Harry Potter movie immediately after it’s released on July 13th (after all that’s my birthday – I’ve already told hubby all I want for my birthday this year (35!) is to go see the movie).

Besides - I've always loved the month of July. It's my birthday month, it's the time of year we typically go to the Brainerd Lakes area for Race for the Cure and our annual family vacation in Pine River near my SIL's cabin. It's when Mr. Man was born - so we have our biggest party of the year (family and friends and a Bouncy Castle!) in July.. Plus there's Independence Day, fireworks, bbqs, some of the best weather of the year -- what's not to love, right?

But now I’ve read that Crowded House is releasing the first album in 10 years on July 2nd.

I didn't know it was possible, but I am now EVEN MORE EXCITED for July. I am now LITERALLY counting the days to July because it seems ALL GOOD THINGS are going to be in July. I know I'm a dork - but this year, at least from the looks of things I'm jotting on my calendar in advance, it sure looks like July is really just like a month 'o joy for me.

Oh July. I'm more excited than a kid waiting for Christmas. Only 57 days and counting. Woo hoo!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Holy Cow - we bought a new house!

After over 2 years of working with a realtor, we finally made an offer that was accepted (we've made a few other offers)- and our tentative closing date is May 18th. I'm almost afraid writing it in the calendar (or this blog) will jinx it.. but it really seems like it's going to happen this time.

Woo hoo!!!

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Muffin Top, n. (mu-ff 'in top)


Muffin Top, n. (mu-ff 'in top)
Originally uploaded by Geeky Mama.



It's probably just me - but it is cracking me up that hubby found this cereal at the store. And the kids love it!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Mama is pissed off by the New York Times again.

Here's the sort of news story that pisses me off.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/us/26center.html?ex=1332648000&en=f291ce3ee416425f&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

The BIG headline reads: "Poor Behavior Is Linked to Time in Day Care"
But then, even a cursory look at the facts (within the very article the headline is referring to) shows that the headline is false for the most part.

"The effect was slight, and well within the normal range for healthy children, the researchers found. And as expected, parents’ guidance and their genes had by far the strongest influence on how children behaved. "

...and then further disproved by this statement: "On the positive side, they also found that time spent in high-quality day care centers was correlated with higher vocabulary scores through elementary school."

So, let me get this straight. It's a slight effect. If you're a good parent - teaching your child to be respectful, to listen and obey authority figures such as their school teachers and your genetics are such that you are or were a compliant child and your child is also compliant (as opposed to defiant or oppositional) - day care or not, your child will likely not be disruptive in school.

But that's not what the headline says. Nor does the headline read: "High Quality Day Care Correlated with Higher Vocabulary Scores; Poorly parented kids with genetic behavioral disorders may be disruptive in school" ... which is probably far closer to the truth.

The headline is intended to play on the very guilt and fear most working parents already have. The: "Am I doing the right thing?" or "Should we move where it's less expensive, so we can have just one income... but then, the schools aren't as good?" Because folks, it's usually a trade off. It's not like all these mothers and fathers are working just for the fun of it. Usually they HAVE to work in order to provide for their children. That's just how it goes these days.

Moreover, what really burns me up is this sort of speculation in the article:

"The authors and other experts argue that preschool peer groups probably influence children in different ways from one-on-one attention. In large groups of youngsters, disruption can be as contagious as silliness, studies have found, while children can be calmed by just the sight of their own mother. "

Note the word: MOTHER. And by the way, just the sight of me does NOT calm my children. What a load of crap. Even my most withering glance sometimes just gets an eye roll from my kids. It's the frightening tone of my voice and the fact that I'm counting: "One....Two.... Three..." and they know when I get to three that they're going to get a negative consequence to their misbehavior that would end that silliness or disruption.

But seriously, the article mentions mothers more than once. No mention of fathers, because apparently it's not their fault if their children are in daycare. It's those mothers. The ones who think they can "have it all" by working AND having children. How dare we? Shouldn't we know that by attempting to work outside the home we'll be shortchanging the future of America? Creating more aggressive children? Granted, potentially those children will have greater school-readiness and better vocabulary scores if they've been in a good pre-school day care - but still, we're hurting these children with our selfish desire to work outside of the home.

Chuh!

Here's my thought: I pay a ton for good day care. I feel blessed every day that we can pay for good day care - and think that ALL working parents should be able to afford it. Ah... but it's supply and demand, isn't it? So, what's the solution?

Highly paid (highly government subsidized), highly trained excellent day care for all, free of cost to all parents who can prove outside employment. This ought to be a government provided benefit. The child to care giver ratio should be 1 : 2 for children under 12 months, 1: 3 until 33 months, and 1:5 from 33 months thru age 5.

We should hire retirees/grandparents who want to hold children and just read to them, we should hire young mothers who are attending college at night, we should hire teenagers for after school jobs who want to play on a playground with a group of rambunctious toddlers... we should hire anyone who loves chidren and is willing to submit themselves to extensive training and a deep background check to prove they aren't a pervert.

I hope to God that some day instead of jobs at McDonalds my teens will be able to get after-school jobs at a "Toddler Center" or nursery school.

Other countries (Japan, Netherlands, China, Singapore, Belgium, France) do this - why are we so far behind in this area? If we truly have reached the point in time when we need every adult man and woman working productively in order to sustain our national economy then we seriously need to be re-thinking child care and child care subsidies.

Moreover, I never want to hear a repeat of this 1950s "Leave it to Beaver"-esque crap again. Mothers work outside the home people and have done so in increasing numbers for nearly a century now, get over it. In 2007 half the workforce is female. Half or more of that female workforce is probably a caregiver to a child or elderly adult. Times have changed and it's almost never an option for a family to get by on a single income. Stop funding studies to prove the "damage" to children and start looking for creative solutions.








Thursday, March 15, 2007

Too Stoopid

Michael's newest expression: Too stoopid.

We went for a walk Tuesday night because it was in the mid-sixties. Still, there was a bit of melting snow on the edges of the walking path (40+ inches takes a while to melt away even in record warm weather for March)..so daddy pushed his tricycle along the snow - thinking Mr. M would think it was fun.

Mr Man yells: "No daddy! No daddy! No snow! Too stoopid!!"

Later the same night I'm changing his diaper before bed and say: "It's time for bed now. Are you going to climb into Michael's bed?" He answers: "No, it's too stoopid. I sleep in Mommy's bed."

We're not sure where he picked this new line up - but it makes us laugh a couple times a day lately.

Beware the Ides of March

This morning at the bagel shop I go to daily as I walk up I overhear two very odd conversations.

Employee 1: ..just don't get wearing green if you aren't Irish.
Employee 2:...so wear something that represents where you grew up.
Employee 1: (who is Asian in appearance) ...
Employee 2: (not realizing she's offended) Where DID you grow up?
Employee 1: Andover*
Employee 2: Oh. Well then. (Flustered. Realizes her assumption of Laos or Vietnam was no good.)

(*for those of you who don't know, that's a northern suburb of Minneapolis)

Second conversation is between a homeless, very hippie (as in, child of the 60s, flowing gray beard) looking man I frequently see playing a battered clarinet in the skyway and the manager of the bagel shop who's standing at his cash register.

Manager: ..yeah you'll have to talk to the owner about that.
Hippie dude: I'll go talk to the MAN. Yeah. Yeah. And then...when I find the MAN I'll find the woman who's got him by the balls. Ain't that right!
Manager: ..um, ha ha.. (unsure how to respond)
Hippie dude: (walking away) ...cause that's how it is. Behind the MAN is always the woman who's got 'im by the balls.

Manager rings up the customer in front of me. I step forward to pay, but the homeless guy is back again.

Hippie dude: Hey, look, before I go talk to the MAN - tell me, would it bother you if I played here? 'Cause I'm not gonna bother even go to the MAN if it would bother you.
Manager: Yeah, it would bother me. It's too small here - we don't have space for you to play.
Hippie dude: So - how about I get you a tape?
Manager: No, that's OK.
Hippie dude: .. cause I could get you a tape.
Manager points at the ceiling where Kelly Clarkson's music is blaring out of a speaker.
Manager: No, really, we're all set.
Hippie dude: My stuff is better than this crap (pointing to the speakers)

Meanwhile, I'm just patiently waiting holding my money out towards the manager at the register while he tries to get the hippie dude to move along again.

Manager: (getting frustrated) Look, I'm trying to work here.
H.D.: Yeah, I know you're trying to work..
Manager: (speaking to me) What do you have today?
Me: Bagel and cream cheese, please (I hand him money)
H.D.: You know Mike, you don't got to be that way.
Manager: (sighs) You need to go now. (then turns and hands me my change as the hippie walks off).
Me: I'll bet today is one of those days you wish you didn't have to wear a name tag, huh?
Manager: (Laughs and smiles) Yeah!

I step back and wait for my bagel and homeless hippie guy walks up next to me.

H.D.: You know, that guy there - he should worry you. He worries me and he should worry you.
Me: Him? He's a good guy. I buy bagels from him everyday - he's a good guy.
H.D.: No - no - he oughta worry you! (looking a bit frantic about getting his message across)
Me: Oh? Really. OK.

Meanwhile all the bagel shop employees are watching this guy talking to me and trying to figure out how to intervene and get him to leave their customers alone. It was interesting to see the looks pass across their faces, some of them shaking their heads.

It didn't worry me - because like I said, I've seen this guy before - probably even tossed him some change before and he's one of the homeless guys that don't scare me. He plays his music and wishes you well and shouts out vaguely poetic things.

The big group of really drunk homeless guys that hang out closer to my parking garage in the skyway.. well, they kind of scare me. They're all much bigger than me - almost all younger men, often falling down drunk, fighting with each other and occasionally throwing up. Even at 7am in the morning, which is really mysterious to me. Like how could you be THAT messed up so close to the time that the shelter turns you out for the day? This morning there was a group of them blocking both doors between the Hilton Skyway and the International Center skyway. I actually saw two other women turn back rather than attempt to go through the doors. I did a quick head count, it was a group of 6 guys standing on one side and 5 on the other. I took the side where there were fewer guys standing and followed in the wake of another person trying to cross through their group. No problem at all.

Oh the ides of March - I hope today passes without further incident.

For lack of news, I share an old Okinawa story.

Because there isn't anything much to blog about that's happened recently (no funny stories from the Girl Scout Cookie sales) - I've decided to pull a favorite old story out of mothballs for your entertainment.

A true story.

This story takes place near Ginowan, Okinawa. I attended a year of high school and lived in Kakazu, Ginowan for a while circa 1987-1988. I was living with my aunt and uncle and their three very young children. (Even younger than my own children are now.)

This story pre-dates my arrival in Okinawa just a bit, and the birth of the third of my aunt & uncles children. Their oldest daughter, my cousin R, and their son (then a baby) and Aunt and Uncle were on a family outing one weekend to go to Okinawa Expo. It's the old site of an Expo from 1975 that has a great aquarium and some other attractions. It's in the north part of the island, near Nago, on the Motobu peninsula. They took a ferry - I think there is some ferry service also runs from Motobu Port to Ie-jima from Naha port. (Naha is to the south, considerably closer to Ginowan.)
So, the family gets on the sunny ferry and little cousin R, then about age 2, is thirsty. At one of the ever-present (in Japan) vending machines they got the most "child friendly" canned drink they could find - an Orange-y type soda for her. She'd had her sweet orange drink and was sitting on the ferry...feeling very queasy.
Let me pause here to explain something unique about Japanese culture. It is completely socially acceptable, nay, almost encouraged, for folks to sleep or close their eyes and PRETEND to sleep so as not to have to make eye contact, when crammed into public transport (subways, busses, ferries) in Japan. The connotation is that you're so hard working that you're SO tired. Moreover, when crammed into a train near a Gaijin (foreigner) who might - OH NO!- attempt to greet you in English it's always best to avoid eye contact. I tell ya folks, I was like walking valium in the subways of Tokyo. To avoid the chance I might ask them a question like: "Can I change trains to get on the Hanzomon line at Ginza?" (No way I'd ask in English anyhow, but still.. I can imagine their fear of being approached in a language they don't know) - people would promptly put newspapers up in front of their face, or more often instantly appear asleep. Even if it's rush hour and we're crammed in like sardines.. even if folks are standing up in a packed train they would close their eyes and feign sleep. (Now that's a talent! Not only able to sleep standing up, but whilst holding oneself upright and balanced in a jostling train!)

So, back to our story of little cousin R. With her parents on a ferry together with her baby brother. The family is sitting next to a busy Japanese "salaryman" who has, at the outset of the ferry, opened his briefcase to do some work - but then, on finding himself sitting by Gaijin promptly dropped off to sleep. Poor R is feeling more and more seasick and as small children are wont to do - promptly throws up. A DIRECT HIT neatly filling the sleeping salaryman's briefcase with neon orange puke just as the ferry is nearing the dock.

My uncle, thinking quick, gives the top of the briefcase a quick kick shut and they quickly relocate to a seat closer to the door - as the boat will be docking soon and they can slip off of the ferry at the head of the crowd and escape.

Pity the poor man who arrived at his next business appointment and opened his briefcase to discover bright orange puke covered documents.

The kicker here folks: They were MISSIONARIES.

Monday, March 05, 2007

Snow Day!! Woo hoo!


March 2nd
Originally uploaded by Geeky Mama.
This is our REAL Minnesota girl. She stayed out and played in the snow the longest.

Mr. Man is unimpressed


March 2nd Mr. Man
Originally uploaded by Geeky Mama.
He'd rather be inside eating marshmallows off the top of his hot cocoa, thankyouverymuch.

Got Snow?


March 2nd kids
Originally uploaded by Geeky Mama.
Check out the porch swing behind L.Lou - this is what over 2 feet of snow looks like in our yard. (This is not a drift. This is actual snow fall.)

Friday, March 02, 2007

What, you don't grill in blizzard conditions?


Snow_grill
Originally uploaded by Geeky Mama.
Maybe I've acclimated to my new home State a little too fully now.. but I didn't see why my husband should have any trouble grilling last night.

20 mph gusts of snowy wind? Check.
Blizzard "white out" conditions? Check.
Businesses and schools closed? Check.

None of the above struck me as reasons why we wouldn't grill out our steaks. We cleared a path for the grill, put the meat on - let it grill while we waited warm and toasty inside the house keeping an eye on the grill.. no big deal.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Parents Visit

I can tell I must have been a bit stressed out during my parents visit in these ways:

1. My right eye involuntarily twitched the whole weekend they were here. Went away this morning as they boarded their flight.

2. I drove the girls to a birthday party on Sunday afternoon and then voluntarily shoveled out the garage (the muck that melts from the car leaves a mess -- hubby is forever asking me to clear it out from my parking spot) rather than re-enter the house (where everyone was) right away.

3. My mother-in-law, over for dinner with my parents on Sunday evening, more than once, asked me in a kind, but concerned tone of voice: "C, are you OK?" Of course, first she had to get my attention because I was deeply spaced-out looking at something on the kitchen counter. Perhaps...staring at a non-existant spot I was wiping up for far too long on the kitchen counter.

The visit went very well overall - I can't complain. But I also have to admit I feel relieved to be at work today and getting back to our usual routine with the kids. And my eye isn't twitching anymore.

15 weeks and counting...

There was a headline on the NYTimes page and it read: "Mom's Mad, and She's Organized". The teaser of a title worked on me, so I clicked on it - but it was really just some tidbits on the MomsRising.org movement. While this movement does seem like something I could get behind - and in fact, I'm even tempted to host a screening party for the Film they offer on their site -- I can see me hosting that with desserts and coffee more than I can see me hosting another Simply Tasteful or "make-your-own-handbag (for $160)" parties... I'm starting to feel all volunteered out. So, instead of: "Mom's Mad and She's Organized" an article I'd like to read would be titled: "Mom's Stretched to Her Limit - and somewhat Organized".

I lead middle daughter's Girl Scout troop, I'm cookie mom for older daughter, and preparing her troop's winter camp presentation. Both are managable time committments - but only because my company has limited travel lately and my husband has changed to a local sales territory. If a big Asian client lead comes along - my organized little world would be deeply impacted. It's as if I'm on borrowed time..putting some volunteer hours "in the bank" while I can.

In addition there is this very worthy cause I've been assisting with at our church - an African Mission in Tanzania. I'm not sure how much time this will take just yet, but so far it's taking a little less time than Daisy Scouts.

I'm a big proponent of volunteerism. In fact, I volunteered a lot in High School and won some award for most hours candy-striping or some such thing. (And if I had a dollar for each time as a naive 14 year old I entered some male patient's room to deliver balloons or flowers and they asked me if I'd seen the movie about Candy Stripers -- which I later discovered was a porno classic - I could've paid for my college education in dollar bills.)

I think giving your time can sometimes be even better than just a plain ol' cash donation. Certainly I think it's setting a good example for our kids. Lucy has helped at "Feed My Starving Children" a couple of times, and the girls WANT to help out when I volunteer in the nursery. If this African Mission trip results in a family trip to Africa some day to meet the people who have so much spiritual strength, but so little materially - I think that will also be a fantastic lesson for my kids.

What motivates me to volunteer? If you'd asked me in High School I'd say it was because I didn't have a social life and I liked the chocolate pudding in the cafeteria at the hospital that I could eat for free after each volunteer shift. Besides, my Dad worked at that hospital, so I felt like my being there would somehow get back to him - if I did a good job. (Attention seeking, wanting to be needed? Yes. Not exactly altruistic. But - not all bad for a 13, 14, 15 year old kid.)

But why now? I stick to things I'm "good at". I'm good at entertaining 5 and 6 year olds with simple crafts and can help organize and create newsletters. I've always been the one creating the newsletters - ever since I was the only one with her own PC in college (that fact ought to freak my kids out when they're older -- mommy went to school back in the day where almost no one HAD a computer), and could figure out PageMaker (by Aldus, version 1.0) on her Apple Macintosh.

I'm good at tracking details - names, dates and phone numbers. I'm dependable - and eager to help. That's 99% of what people seem to need, so it fits the bill. I'm good at delegating. I'll say things like: "I'm happy to do the newsletter but I don't like to deal with the finances. How do you feel about keeping the checkbook for the organization?"

Most of all - I think I like that I'm more than "just a mom" or just a corporate worker bee. I think I must enjoy having these multiple hats. And honestly, it's a bit of a stretch for me. It takes me hours to screw up the nerve to telephone people. And when I come home and there's a message on the answering machine with a question that requires I call back and talk to someone, honestly, it fills me with some dread, even if the answer is easy. It's NEVER easy for me to talk to people I don't know all that well.

On the plus side - I've been able to meet wonderful people and have surrounded myself with people I really like thanks to volunteering. I really truly like my fellow Scout Co-Leaders - I adore the girls in the troop, and I've had nothing but nice experiences with the parents from both troops I've assisted with. I'm making 2 more nice friends in the Tanzania group - one a woman who leads a group that feeds needy people weekly in our area, the other organizes charitable giving around the holidays for people who would otherwise be forgotten or slip through the cracks. These are wonderful women, inspiring women. It's good company to have.

Still - this week on 5 out of 7 nights I'm committed to something related to either Tanzania or Girl Scouts, and it's starting to get to be a bit much. I'm now officially counting the days to the end of the school year because then Girl Scouts will take a break.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Big Brother-esque?

Ever since I wrote that post about Mr. Man's OCD tendencies the heading on my Google Mail is an advert for a special camp in Ontario:

"Fun, nurturing camp for kids with special needs."

Me thinks the OCD subject line triggers this customized advert. Still, scary.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

My Sweet Little OCD Boy

Years after we lived together in college in our off-campus apartments my dearest friend Holly confessed when comparing notes with my husband about how she used to test out my OCD tendencies.
She’d set the can of shaving cream one way in the shower and flip the toilet paper roll so the sheets came from the bottom rather than top-over. Then she’d wait and she how quickly I’d go into the bathroom and set everything back “just so”. I couldn’t help myself. I can’t, even now.
I drive Jeff mad by putting away the car magazines he leaves out in “his” bathroom. I can’t settle into bed at night until the house is picked up to my satisfaction. I can’t (usually) leave the house with the bed unmade. Jeff teases me, gently, about my obsessive need to put things “just so” in the house.
The pillows on the couch go in a particular pattern – zippers facing down. When I find them in any other pattern I set them back – one large, closest to the arm, one small – each side just so.
I’m not “Monk” by any stretch – but it’s there. The obsessive compulsive tendencies I’ve inherited from my father that he says: “All Good Heilmans” have. (What do the BAD Heilmans have I want to know? Healthy mental well-being and good self-esteem?)

Anyways - recently I’ve noticed Mr. Man has most strongly inherited his mom’s OCD tendencies. Of all our kids – he’s the most upset when things aren’t “just so”. We noticed it first when he was just starting to talk and he yelled at Daddy for not zipping his coat the right way!
Then one night this winter when he was going to sleep in our bed he asked for a tissue to wipe his nose and then would NOT lay down or rest until it was in the garbage can in the bathroom. No amount of my assuring him I’d throw it away would calm him – I had to get up right then and throw it away. (Or let him do so).

This morning as we called him down to breakfast from the upstairs he said: “Yay! Breakfast!!” and then paused at the top of the stairs. He saw a wet washcloth that Daddy had left there – probably on it’s way to the laundry and just momentarily waylaid at the top of the steps to the lower level. Without saying a word he picked up the washcloth and put it neatly in the bathroom sink – where wet wash cloths should be, right?

I yelled down to Jeff: “Look what he did!! Oh my sweet little OCD boy!! What a good boy!” Jeff said: “No! Don’t encourage him!!” And I suppose I can see his point..
But I ask you – would ANY mom in her right mind not be thrilled with a 2 year old who has an ingrained sense of need to pick up the house? A natural inclination to tidying?
Heck no! I’m thrilled – and yet again awed by the power of genetics.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Plenty of Inspiration, Little Space or Time


Train_set_crawl_space
Originally uploaded by Geeky Mama.

Thanks to my dear friend, Ang, I have already done some seed shopping. The packets of burpee hybrid cuke seeds and the cutting garden flowers I plan to try this spring/summer are sitting on my kitchen counter winking at me. I also want to plant strawberries, and our usual sunflowers.

The question I am pondering is WHERE will I start these seeds at? Our tiny house is packed to the gills. Probably I'll have to set up grow-lamps in the crawl space and my seeds will serve as scenery for Mr. Man's subterrenean train track.

See that center of the train track? It's just asking for a bunch of sun lamps and seedlings - all the better for the passengers in the caboose to admire, no?

The next question is WHEN will I start these seeds? Luckily, because it takes 6-8 weeks before we can plant the seedlings outside, I won't need to start them before early-April.. because we can't safely plant anything in the tundra outdoors until mid-to-late May.

I figure by April maybe some of my craziness with Girl Scout cookies, the Girl Scout Daisy troop, my sister's baby shower (I'm doing the games), and the African Mission volunteer group I'm involved with should have slowed down a bit, or come to an end. (Cookies and the shower should be done by then.)

So - I stare wistfully at the seed packets. They're a promise of warmer weather, and a dream of a time when when my to-do list might be a bit shorter. Of course, that's sort of like how last September I dreamed this winter would be about sitting in the rocking chair by the fire quilting while it snowed outside.

Here's Friday's poem:

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." - John Lennon:

Quilting by the fire, gardening in the sun, reading in a sunny nook of the kitchen are plans I make and break with myself, over and over.
Perhaps when I am old and gray I will plan to hold my grandchildren close and chase them across the park. And instead find myself sitting in a sunny nook cursing the book on gardening in my hand with the quilt on my lap.

So for now, I'll try hard to cherish the interuptions of: "Mommy! Play!" and the cookies to bake, the clothes to fold the school papers to sign. The never ending heap of laundry to wash, fold and put away.

Man makes plans and God laughs. Mann traoch, Gott läuch.
Maybe I'll start a garden only to sell the house.
Make a quilt only to have it lost in shipping.
Find a sunny nook only to have it grow dark and rain outside.

Life keeps trying to teach me -
Better to enjoy the day for what it is, than plan for what it could be.