Category Archives: Random Thoughts

>How can I be Green when the ground is White?

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>The compost bin is snowed in, the garden is covered with a mantle of white, and my rosemary plant didn’t survive the move indoors for the winter. What’s an environmentally conscious mom to do?

The thyme plant is flourishing. We add thyme to almost every soup and stew and casserole. If only I could grow time as well….
The basil plant is alive, but not doing as well. If I can nurture it through the winter it might thrive on the deck in spring.
I still make bread in my breadmaker, incorporating local honey from the farm market.
The rhubarb in the freezer is good with the apples from the music department fruit sale.
Speaking of the fruit sale, the oranges are good in my daily lunches and the grapefruits on weekends. The rinds, though. What to do with the orange peels? In spring/summer, I would compost these.
I have a lot of oranges. Even eating one a day isn’t enough to finish the entire case some years. Should I buy a juicer? Is it worth the money? In my tiny kitchen, would it be worth the space?
The tomatoes – oh, the tomatoes! I still have tomato soup and tomato sauce in the freezer. The last batch picked before the killer frost ripened oh-so-slowly on the kitchen counter. Honestly, we ate “fresh” tomatoes until Christmas.
The reduce, re-use, recycle philosophy lasts year round. Thrift stores are great places to donate and to shop. This is both frugal and green.
Then there’s the BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag, what did you think I meant?!) philosophy. As the trend spreads, some of the reusable bags get cuter and stronger.
Cloth napkins are working well for the family. I wash them with the regular laundry each weekend. We still have the package of paper napkins we bought in November.
Amigo continues to get audio books from Paperbackswap.com. He loves searching the titles and choosing for himself. I love the price tag (free; I just pay postage when I send one out).
Time magazines go to La Petite when we’re done. Working Mother and any others around the house go to the drawer at school destined for cutouts.

Maybe I’m doing alright on this green philosophy. I do enjoy winter, but I’m looking forward to spring, too.

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>The usual three ring circus

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>Juggling. Juggling work, family, home. Juggling the needs of aging parents and needy kids. Juggling tennis balls that become eggs that become watermelons. Juggling several large fruits with one hand while holding a cup of coffee in the other…okay, back to the topic.
Is family life really about keeping all the balls in the air and keeping them moving, or is a more accurate metaphor that of a tightrope walker? Balancing on that thin wire, holding a number of props weighing us down…let’s see how this can look.
On my school/work shoulders, progress reports and an upcoming IEP. Added to that weight was a directive to move “my things” out of my old classroom. The boxes they thought were mine, however, were actually old curriculum materials. I threw several away, hoped they weren’t valuable, and labelled the rest for storage. Then, and only then, I returned to my desk and my gradebook.
On the other hand, or the other shoulder, Husband had the week off during Amigo’s final exams which helped with the odd schedule that always accompanies finals. I could stay after school for an extra hour because I didn’t have to rush home to take the kiddo to an appointment.

Rather than go on and on about the uneven balance of work and home and outside events outside my control, I’ll just call on a skill many mothers possess. I’ll climb on that tightrope, look straight ahead, find a focal point, and breathe. In, out, in, out. Then a deep cleansing breath, and I’m there, on the other platform, still holding all of my burdens, but at least able to hang onto something for support.
That’s what it’s all about; support. The safety net below our tightrope is real and necessary. I think my next task is making sure that net is in good repair.

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by BOCA. I can’t write about juggling without thinking about my grad school friend, Deb, who found herself competing for attention with a very real juggler.

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>Things to do on a "snow" day

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>

  • Feed bunnies, turn on TV.
  • Read School Closings crawl. Resist temptation to cheer loudly.
  • Give Amigo the news.
  • Attempt to sleep a little longer (easier said than done).
  • Turn on coffeemaker and computer.
  • Plug in the crockpot with chili for supper.
  • Send Husband on his way with the observation that our indoor-outdoor thermometer doesn’t handle double digit negatives: the negative sign is where the tens place is. It may say 14 degrees, but it’s really 14 below zero.
  • Override thermostat program to keep house warm enough for people today.
  • Watch the Early Show (Weather Dude Dave is in Green Bay and looks c-c-cold!).
  • Start the breadmaker. Plain white bread sounds right today.
  • Make oatmeal for kiddo.
  • Change bunny litter boxes.
  • Start a laundry load: napkins and towels.
  • Take Twitter, blog, and Plurk breaks!
  • Make lunch, watch news.
  • Take a few phone calls.
  • Slice and serve the fresh bread with butter and (homemade) jelly.
  • Stir chili – wow, the house smells good!
  • Move napkins and towels to dryer.
  • Check in with CNN and The Weather Channel
  • Take another blog break!

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>Interview me!

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>The Good Flea had an interview posted on her blog, and I couldn’t resist. I joined in. The questions are hers; the answers are mine.

1. You’re a composter. How did your gardening career start and what’s your favorite thing to grow?

We lived in a small duplex with a plot behind the house that measured about 2′ by 8′. I grew tomatoes and beans because they grew pretty much straight up and didn’t need much space. Now that I have more space, I still grow tomatoes and beans, but I’ve added peppers, broccoli, spinach, and several kinds of lettuce. Oh, and chives, green onions, and a few other herbs like basil and thyme. I hope the zucchini has a better season next summer; I hardly had any last year.

2. Living in Wisconsin, I’m guessing you have a favorite stew or chili recipe. Where did you get it and why is it your favorite? Do you put spaghetti noodles in your chili? Because … ew.

Wisconsin chili is unique in that way: we like to put noodles in it. I prefer elbow mac or shells to spaghetti in mine. In fact, I made a batch of chili today because it was so cold outside! It made the house smell wonderful, so I baked bread to make it feel warmer and smell even better.

3. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Wait. No. I mean, what grade do you teach and why did you choose to go into teaching?

I started out as a music teacher and then decided that I really wanted to teach in a regular classroom. After teaching in day care and preschools and eventually moving into elementary school, regular classroom teaching is still my passion. If I make a move in the future, it would likely be to a virtual school, where I would guide the parents who act as learning coaches for their children.

4. Can you name all seven dwarfs without cheating?

Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Grumpy, Doc, and Bashful, of course. No problem. Who was that pale teenager who showed up at their cottage after she ran away from home?

5. How did you and your husband meet?

We were college sweethearts. Our 25th anniversary is coming up this summer. Wow!

The RULES of the interview game:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

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>My Seven Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

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>Heidi tagged me with the ever popular Seven Things meme. I could spontaneously come up with seven random and useless facts, or I could write an entire series like Bubbly Thorp did, or…well, how about this angle?

I’d rather bake than cook, but I end up doing the majority of the cooking chore because I’m the first one home from work on weekdays. Here are my favorite gadgets to get the evening meal on the table.

1. The crock pot! Chili, soup, stew, or casserole, it can simmer all day while I’m teaching. When I get home, I add the noodles or the dumplings, and it’s ready to serve by 5:30. The aroma when I walk in the door? Priceless.
2. Bread maker! I’m on my third. I wore out the first two. Whether I’m making a mix or baking from scratch, it’s a great time saver. I must learn to knead dough on my own some day, but for now, the bread machine is my friend.
3. Immersion blender. I don’t use it as often as the top two, but it’s a great tool. I can stick it in the crock pot (see #1) after tomatoes or potatoes have been simmering all day, and voila! Creamy soup. I used it to mash potatoes on Thanksgiving and Christmas because it’s so handy and easy to clean.
4. Mixer and/or MixMaster. I enjoy baking, and these two are my assistants in putting many doughs together. Cookies, brownies, quick breads, you name it, they would take much longer if I attempted to mix them by hand. the handheld mixer is more than 20 years old and still going strong. The MixMaster is a hand-me-down from my Mother-In-Law, so I don’t know how old it is. I’m glad she passed it on to me; I don’t think I would have bought one on my own, since I didn’t know how useful a MixMaster can be until this one stepped into my kitchen.
5. My coffee grinder is a luxury, and I enjoy it immensely. I can’t wait to grind my Obama Blend for the Inauguration!
6. Food processor! I use this for garden goodies. I’m still getting to know its blades and its idiosyncrasies. Remember the pepper mush? I’ll fix that next summer. Really.
7. George Foreman Grill. This one makes the list because I don’t use it. The girls (me and La Petite) gave it to The Boys (Husband and Amigo) for Christmas. They’re getting to know George, and we’re watching…and eating well.

The coffeemaker is a given.
I’m still hoping for a rain barrel or two for Mother’s Day.

Here’s a recipe that uses #1, #3, and #6. Serve it on fresh bread using #2, with a cup of decaf later (fresh ground with #5, of course). #4 could mix up dessert, and we’d have a meal using six out of seven!

This meme is so popular that I can’t possibly tag anyone else. If you’d like to take it on, leave a note in the comments so we can read your responses!

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>I’ll take that advice!

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>I always read the Employee Wellness Newsletter. Sometimes I skim it and roll my eyes, but once in a while there’s an article that makes sense. There was dietary advice this time. Here are a few carefully selected quotes along with my reactions.

“Research shows that what you eat can significantly affect your mood.”
Um, yeah, why do you think my coffee addiction is such a big deal, y’all?

“For breakfast, try oatmeal or eggs. Both contain an amino acid that helps boost the levels
of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel good.”
Yay! I’m doing something right: I often make oatmeal from breakfast. My favorite is steelcut oats with raisins and brown sugar with a hint of cinnamon sugar on top.

“As for the blueberries, save those for lunch. The antioxidants in them will ward off workday stress.” Stress? What stress?! And how about my daily orange? It smells good, tastes good, and adds vitamin C to give my immune system a fighting chance against the kids sneezing and coughing and breathing at me.

“Finish with a small piece of chocolate.”
Oh, yes! I can deal with that advice. My colleague down the hall has a stash of dark chocolate and sometimes even shares it.

But wait…they didn’t mention coffee. Uh-oh. Where does my daily cuppa (or two or three) fit into this picture?

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>Word of the year

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>Resolutions. Goals. Good intentions. Words.
Words?
In another trend sweeping the blogosphere, the philosophy is this: choose a word. The word will be your focus, guiding changes and progress in 2009.

G’s Cottage, the first place I saw this, chose Cultivate as her word. This is a great multi-meaning word. It encompasses nurturing, planting, growing, assisting, caretaking, and many more action words. Cultivate would fit my teaching profession and my gardening hobby and, face it, motherhood.
But cultivate is G’s word. No matter how well it might fit me, it’s not quite right.
Christine, the leader of this movement, provided a long list of words from which to choose. This list, while comprehensive, doesn’t cover everyone’s personality and/or needs. It’s meant to guide and suggest, not limit.

So far, my personal list is narrowed down to these.

Clarify: Think, act, speak clearly. Keep goals in mind: eyes on the prize, while simultaneously focused on the process. Maybe Clarity is even better.
Mastery: Aim high, don’t settle. Improvement is good; mastery is better.
Acceptance: Change is good, but accepting limits is also good. As in the famous serenity prayer, the key is knowing what I can and cannot change, and accepting this.
Willingness: Not digging in my heels, but moving ahead willingly. The opposite might be “grudgingly.” No one sets a goal of being unwilling; it seems to happen on its own. Willing or willingness would be reminders to push forward with a “glass half full” philosophy, working to make the glass overflow.
Balance: need I say more?
Health: this one is almost too broad. Physical, emotional, mental health; my own, my family’s, my pets’ health?
Action: Similar to willingness or willing, this word would remind me that thoughts and ideas are cheap. Action is where the change originates, begins, ends, and succeeds.

Later this month I’ll choose a word, a term that will guide me toward goals that make sense. One word. It will most likely come from this list, but maybe a better one will turn up. Until then, it’s back to school, back to work, and back to (hopefully) a consistent sleep schedule.

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>Four by Four

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>Jill from Charming and Delightful tagged me with the 4 by 4 meme. Yes, I’m still conscious; it was figurative, not a literal tag. Those boards don’t measure a true 4″ by 4″ anymore, either, just like a 2 X 4 is really only about 1 1/2″ by 3 3/4″.

Four places I go over and over again (not counting my workplace):
The Post Office – they recognize me as the one who mails books for PaperbackSwap.
Walgreens – a quick stop on the way home, and the medicine cabinet is refilled.
Jo to Go – I drive through for a coffee treat more often than I should. Well, I drive through when the temperature is reasonable and my driver’s side window cooperates.
The public library, more in summer than during school. This is usually a joint trip with Amigo while he looks for audio books.

Four people who mail me regularly:
My mother (and brother and sister-in-law)
La Petite, when she’s away at school
Margalit, my cohort and fearless leader at MidCentury Modern Moms
My grad school friends. That’s four, not one, but since we were dubbed the Fab Five, I’ll count them as one. We no longer teach together, so we email a lot.
I’ll leave the foreign lotteries off the list.

Four of my favorite places to eat, (apart from home)
Confucious, Chinese take-out or eat-in. Delicious.
Mary’s Family Restaurant, a locally owned place with tasty chicken dumpling soup
Blueberry Hill, local pancake house (Amigo and I tried it out last summer and liked it)
Angels family restaurant (a little hard to get to now with road construction, must do it again)
I notice a theme here: these are all local, no national chain restaurants on the list.

Four places I’d rather be now:
In bed, asleep. I need a lot of sleep.
A hotel – any hotel, as long as I’m not responsible for cleaning. And it needs to have wi-fi, and in-room coffeemaker, and the daily paper. I don’t ask for much — or do I?
Shopping with friends — buying optional, talk is free.
A local coffeeshop: good brews, good music. Who needs a bar when a favorite blues musician is playing at Brewed Awakenings?

Four favorite TV shows:
Jeopardy!
Green Bay Packers football games
Scrubs
When Weather Changed History (Okay, I’m a science geek. I admit it.)

Four movies I could watch over and over again:
Always
Sleepless in Seattle
The Muppet Movie (“Not often you see a guy that green, got the blues that bad.” Classic.)
The Terminal

Four people I’m tagging:

Minnesota Matron

G from G’s Cottage

Green Girl in Wisconsin

Margalit at What was I Thinking?

I hope 2009 is starting well for all of you!

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>Hindsight is always 20-20, so enjoy it!

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>Looking back over the year: here’s the way each month started in 2008. I offer the first line of the first post of each month, complete with link to the post should you want to read the rest.

January: Last January 1st was a retrospective like this one, so I offer instead New Year’s Eve 2007.
February: It’s a little like Supermom meeting her Kryptonite.
March: One thing that keeps me judging music festivals is this.
April: When Jordan proposed “Savoring the Season” for her next group writing project, I thought, savor what?
May: I bake bread when I’m home watching a sick teenager. Doesn’t everyone?
June: Some days I think the world revolves around underwear.
July: I can’t call it a la king, or a la queen, for that matter.
August: Dumbledore’s wisdom.
September: A passive chore is something that “does itself” while I’m doing something else. October: Pepper and Potential
November: I remember the days when teachers could have kids bring in candy wrappers….
December: Ah, contradictions. This is a case for “Shoulds are Bogus.”

It’s interesting that none of these First Date posts were election-related. The primary and general elections were huge on the national scene and in my own life. The selected posts do touch on other big subjects for 2008: Amigo’s illness (May), our family travels (June), and the challenges and changes in teaching (November).

May you live in interesting times, and may the interest and challenge be exactly what’s right for you. Happy New Year!

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>Who’s your role model?

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>Try this. It won’t take long. I don’t say that just because I teach math, among other subjects. It’ll only take you a few minutes.

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL?

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9.

2) Multiply by 3

3) Add 3

4) Multiply by 3 again (I’ll wait while you get the calculator….)

5) You’ll get a 2 digit number….

6) Add the digits together to obtain your score.

Now scroll down to find out what your score means.

I’ll go get a cup of coffee while I wait for you to interpret your results.

Keep scrolling (I had to keep the answers under the fold in case you’re one of those people: the people who will skew the math to match the result they want).

Now with that number see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below :

1. Barack Obama
2. Michelle Obama
3. Condoleeza Rice
4. Brett Favre
5. Brad Pitt
6. Dara Torres
7. Oprah Winfrey
8. Ellen DeGeneres
9. Daisy of Compost Happens
10. Katie Couric

P.S. Stop picking different numbers.

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