There is nothing better than being comfortable. That comfortable pair of shoes that you can walk all day in, that corner of the couch that is indented perfectly to match your curves, the blanket that is the perfect weight to keep you warm or cool no matter the temp. I realized today, as I was chatting with my friend of 15 years, that the best way to describe our relationship is comfortable.
We have the luxury of working together, which gives us the unique first hand understanding of each other's workday. We know who ticks us off, what ticks us off, and what makes us laugh. We know each other's husbands so we can discuss how wonderful they are, and what sweet things they have done for us. We can also confide about when they are driving us a little crazy, which is close to never.
We share the same faith so we can have deep discussions about how God is working in our lives. We can be honest when we feel close to Him and distant. When He's teaching us a lesson we don't want to learn we commiserate about what we are going through. We have raised our children on the same principles and we have shared what has worked and what hasn't.
Her children are a few years ahead of mine so she has let me in on numerous secrets about dealing with in-laws, wedding planning, sharing holidays, grandchildren and patience.
She recently had a surgery and was out of work for ten weeks. We spoke on the phone and I visited her, but I didn't realize how much I missed her daily company until she got back to work this week. We work well together and I work better when she's around. I am once again comfortable. I love my friend Linda and I love being comfortable.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Sprinkles Are For Winners
Life is full of wins and losses. When I was growing up it was very clear who was a winner and who was not. Organized sports was not the norm. Parks and Recreation Departments had one job: keep the stoners and gangs out of the park. They were usually not successful. So we played in the street, in the back yard and on the railroad tracks. We played marathon games of whiffle ball, kick ball and cops and robbers. We played to win and to gloat. We either sent our best friends home crying and furious or we went home feeling the same way. The next day we were all best friends again and we played the same game.
Raising my own children in the 1990s saw the advent of the premise that everyone's a winner. Due to our busy, both parent working lives Parks and Recreation met our demands to entertain our children by morphing into the activity café where we chose what kind of fun our children will have based on the programs they offered. We structured our children's free time to include valuable learning experiences and skill building programs instead of just hanging out in the back yard playing kickball.
Being the soccer fans that we were, we indoctrinated our children into the world of soccer programs. Jerseys, boots (the official word for soccer cleats. DO NOT use the word "cleats") and shin guards. Adorable five year olds on the field all huddled around the soccer ball like a swarm of bees. Then there was always the one child who was on the other side of the field picking dandelions, usually my kid. The interesting thing about these soccer leagues was that no score was ever officially tracked, though all the parents tracked it, and at the end of the season everyone got the same trophy. Everyone was a winner. I guess this had its merits. It gave our children confidence to participate and not get discouraged. It reinforced a positive self image. But it also didn't teach them about real life. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. If you are not good at something you should really find something else to do. You can and will be crushed by your competition at some point. It's okay to lose. It's okay to win.
There's a commercial on TV lately where Flo, the insurance lady we all love to hate, is giving a pep talk to a new insurance guy. She assures him that his mistakes are temporary and he will learn and offers to take him for ice cream. "With sprinkles?" he asks excited at the prospect of the special treat. "Sprinkles are for winners." She sadly informs him. A victory in life, much like a victory in sports, is only sweet when you know the taste of defeat. Save the sprinkles for your victories.
Raising my own children in the 1990s saw the advent of the premise that everyone's a winner. Due to our busy, both parent working lives Parks and Recreation met our demands to entertain our children by morphing into the activity café where we chose what kind of fun our children will have based on the programs they offered. We structured our children's free time to include valuable learning experiences and skill building programs instead of just hanging out in the back yard playing kickball.
Being the soccer fans that we were, we indoctrinated our children into the world of soccer programs. Jerseys, boots (the official word for soccer cleats. DO NOT use the word "cleats") and shin guards. Adorable five year olds on the field all huddled around the soccer ball like a swarm of bees. Then there was always the one child who was on the other side of the field picking dandelions, usually my kid. The interesting thing about these soccer leagues was that no score was ever officially tracked, though all the parents tracked it, and at the end of the season everyone got the same trophy. Everyone was a winner. I guess this had its merits. It gave our children confidence to participate and not get discouraged. It reinforced a positive self image. But it also didn't teach them about real life. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. If you are not good at something you should really find something else to do. You can and will be crushed by your competition at some point. It's okay to lose. It's okay to win.
There's a commercial on TV lately where Flo, the insurance lady we all love to hate, is giving a pep talk to a new insurance guy. She assures him that his mistakes are temporary and he will learn and offers to take him for ice cream. "With sprinkles?" he asks excited at the prospect of the special treat. "Sprinkles are for winners." She sadly informs him. A victory in life, much like a victory in sports, is only sweet when you know the taste of defeat. Save the sprinkles for your victories.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Gone To The Dogs
For some reason, whenever the subject of owning a cat or a dog comes up in conversation, people generally ask me if I own a cat. What do I do to lead people to believe I'm a cat person? Is it my independent nature, my sarcastic humor, or the way I fall asleep instantly if I cross a sunbeam? For that matter, what makes anyone a "dog" person versus a "cat" person? I have done extensive research and have come up with the following answer; I don't know.
My research has revealed some interesting characteristics of such species, but there is always the exception. However, I will share with you my findings and let you draw your own conclusions.
Subject one: Me. I grew up in a family that liked cats and hated dogs. So my bias was tainted toward cats from an early age. The cat of my youth, named Sabu, was a huge 18 pound part Angora, part Tom Cat. He was neutered, so that made him mad from an early age. He was your typical cat. He loved you when he wanted to, hated you when he wanted to and terrorized you on a regular basis. A little five pound cat who runs and pounces on you is amusing, an 18 pound cat doing that is truly frightening. I loved Sabu because he was our pet and the closest thing I had to a cuddly animal, but nothing could have prepared me for the love I felt for our first dog.
My husband and I got a dog when he graduated with his Masters. Craig's family was a dog family so Craig was biased toward dogs. He was also allergic to cats, so a dog it was. We got an American Eskimo puppy named Natasha. She was a very good doggie and was our companion through the birth of our two boys, two moves, and me attempting to give her the Heimlich Maneuver when all she had was gas. She died at the ripe old age of 18. We now have a West Highland Terrier named Sherlock who is my constant companion. He has a ton of personality and is fiercely devoted - to anyone who will pet him or play with him.
So through my extensive experience with pet ownership and my observations of other pet owners I have found the following:
Cat Lovers are usually independent, stylish, the oldest or only child, have a sarcastic or warped sense of humor and are allergic to dogs.
Dog Lovers are usually devoted, comfortable, the middle or youngest child, love physical humor and are allergic to cats.
People who own both cats and dogs love a good fight.
I still love cats, but my heart has been stolen by the dog's I've owned, so I've definitely gone to the dogs!
My research has revealed some interesting characteristics of such species, but there is always the exception. However, I will share with you my findings and let you draw your own conclusions.
Subject one: Me. I grew up in a family that liked cats and hated dogs. So my bias was tainted toward cats from an early age. The cat of my youth, named Sabu, was a huge 18 pound part Angora, part Tom Cat. He was neutered, so that made him mad from an early age. He was your typical cat. He loved you when he wanted to, hated you when he wanted to and terrorized you on a regular basis. A little five pound cat who runs and pounces on you is amusing, an 18 pound cat doing that is truly frightening. I loved Sabu because he was our pet and the closest thing I had to a cuddly animal, but nothing could have prepared me for the love I felt for our first dog.
My husband and I got a dog when he graduated with his Masters. Craig's family was a dog family so Craig was biased toward dogs. He was also allergic to cats, so a dog it was. We got an American Eskimo puppy named Natasha. She was a very good doggie and was our companion through the birth of our two boys, two moves, and me attempting to give her the Heimlich Maneuver when all she had was gas. She died at the ripe old age of 18. We now have a West Highland Terrier named Sherlock who is my constant companion. He has a ton of personality and is fiercely devoted - to anyone who will pet him or play with him.
So through my extensive experience with pet ownership and my observations of other pet owners I have found the following:
Cat Lovers are usually independent, stylish, the oldest or only child, have a sarcastic or warped sense of humor and are allergic to dogs.
Dog Lovers are usually devoted, comfortable, the middle or youngest child, love physical humor and are allergic to cats.
People who own both cats and dogs love a good fight.
I still love cats, but my heart has been stolen by the dog's I've owned, so I've definitely gone to the dogs!
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Playing Games
I have always liked playing games. I mean real games. Monopoly, Sorry, card games. Almost every game has some level of interest to me. I do not like the following games: Chess, Stratego, Risk. These are games of strategy. These are games I never win. I like to win.
I grew up in a family that played a lot of games. I learned how to count playing dominoes and Rummy 500 way before I started school. Both of my grandmothers loved dominoes and made sure that time we spent with them included a dominoes marathon. I had one grandma that actually called the other one a sissy because she only liked playing with double sixes. My Grandma who was a diehard domino champion played with no less than double twelves. Even when she had cataracts and had to hold the dominoes right in front of her eyes to see how many dots were on them, she refused to settle for anything less.
My grandma who was a more simple person in terms of domino domination, was more enthusiastic about Rummy 500. She would visit us for a weekend every three weeks or so with Friday night consisting of sitting around the kitchen table smoking cigarettes (she smoked real ones and we "smoked" candy cigarettes that she supplied), and playing cards. We would play for hours until someone reached 500 points, then we'd have ice cream. It was amazing that she never won. She would "mistakenly" miss opportunities to make points that we would then capitalize on.
Playing games with my sisters was usually a different story. They are both older than me by three years and six years so I rarely won a game. To top it off, the oldest, Joanne, cheated. Oh yeah, you heard me. She cheated! We would play Monopoly and she was always the banker because she claimed she could count better than us. When we had to pay the bank she would slip the cash into her own pile instead of the bank. She always won. My middle sister, Jeanne, had a strong sense of right and wrong and never cheated, but she also had a "no mercy" rule and also always won any game the two of us played. However, she was so merciless that she wouldn't just win, she would kill me. I would get so frustrated with her that I would lunge across the board and attack her in a fit of rage. She was bigger and stronger so she just laughed, pinned me to the ground and tickled me. ARGH!!!
Playing games has taught me many life lessons that I didn't even realize I learned.
I grew up in a family that played a lot of games. I learned how to count playing dominoes and Rummy 500 way before I started school. Both of my grandmothers loved dominoes and made sure that time we spent with them included a dominoes marathon. I had one grandma that actually called the other one a sissy because she only liked playing with double sixes. My Grandma who was a diehard domino champion played with no less than double twelves. Even when she had cataracts and had to hold the dominoes right in front of her eyes to see how many dots were on them, she refused to settle for anything less.
My grandma who was a more simple person in terms of domino domination, was more enthusiastic about Rummy 500. She would visit us for a weekend every three weeks or so with Friday night consisting of sitting around the kitchen table smoking cigarettes (she smoked real ones and we "smoked" candy cigarettes that she supplied), and playing cards. We would play for hours until someone reached 500 points, then we'd have ice cream. It was amazing that she never won. She would "mistakenly" miss opportunities to make points that we would then capitalize on.
Playing games with my sisters was usually a different story. They are both older than me by three years and six years so I rarely won a game. To top it off, the oldest, Joanne, cheated. Oh yeah, you heard me. She cheated! We would play Monopoly and she was always the banker because she claimed she could count better than us. When we had to pay the bank she would slip the cash into her own pile instead of the bank. She always won. My middle sister, Jeanne, had a strong sense of right and wrong and never cheated, but she also had a "no mercy" rule and also always won any game the two of us played. However, she was so merciless that she wouldn't just win, she would kill me. I would get so frustrated with her that I would lunge across the board and attack her in a fit of rage. She was bigger and stronger so she just laughed, pinned me to the ground and tickled me. ARGH!!!
Playing games has taught me many life lessons that I didn't even realize I learned.
- Know your strengths
- Challenge yourself
- Show grace
- Have fun
- Never trust the banker
- Play to win, don't play to kill
- Frustration will get you nowhere
Saturday, February 21, 2015
A Prequel to the Oscars
Every year my husband and I take the Oscars very seriously. We hardly go to a movie all year long, but as soon as the Oscar nominations come out, we make in depth plans to view as many of the nominated films as possible. We review which movie got the most nods and start with them. Then we watch the movies we think we'll actually like, which is usually not many. Lastly, we choose the movies that we really have no interest in, but got enough nominations that we feel we must see it to be fair in casting our ballots.
Oh, we cast ballots alright. We are not members of the Academy (yet) so our ballots don't count, but they count to us. We usually make some sort of small wager that will benefit the winner and the loser as well as provide bragging rights.
Over the years of viewing movies that Oscar feels are worthy of the award I've noticed a pattern. Every once in a while the pattern is broken and an unusual pick wins something, but if movies were horses and the Oscars were a horse race there would be some definite odds. Actually, I think Vegas does have betting on the Oscars with actual odds, but I haven't looked that up - yet.
Best Picture:
Oh, we cast ballots alright. We are not members of the Academy (yet) so our ballots don't count, but they count to us. We usually make some sort of small wager that will benefit the winner and the loser as well as provide bragging rights.
Over the years of viewing movies that Oscar feels are worthy of the award I've noticed a pattern. Every once in a while the pattern is broken and an unusual pick wins something, but if movies were horses and the Oscars were a horse race there would be some definite odds. Actually, I think Vegas does have betting on the Oscars with actual odds, but I haven't looked that up - yet.
Best Picture:
- Must be over two hours long. The longer the better. If it's so long it needs an intermission, it's a shoe in for best picture.
- It must be about a serious subject. Comedies are completely out. Any level of humor is suspect but acceptable if it's dark humor.
- It must be rated R. Every so often a PG-13 sneaks in, but is doomed to lose. Apparently, life is an R and PG-13 is too sweet. PG is the death knell for an Oscar. It won't even be considered, unless its animated.
- Must be well known, but not too well known. If a male actor is extremely famous and is nominated he will lose to the relative unknown. The voters of the academy want us to believe that they believe in underdogs.
- Must not have been previously a comedic actor. Comedy is a sign of weakness.
- Must not portray a conservative character. The academy also want us to believe that conservative men are not worthy of Oscar.
- Contrary to their male counterparts, a female lead needs to have principals, however warped, to be worthy of Oscar. Even in the liberal world of Hollywood a woman is still held to a different set of standards.
- Does not need to be naked in the film, but it helps. Another stereotype. Yikes!
- If Meryl Streep is up for best actress, she will win.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Mini-Golf
I love mini-golf. I love the colorful balls, the smell of fake turf and the feel of the tiny pencil in your pocket stabbing you every time you bend over to pick up your ball. I consider every course a work of art. A masterpiece created by some aspiring architect or a janitor who wanted overtime.
There are definite classes of courses. There are the ones built on a fake hill with a water feature running throughout the entire course. This type of course usually means two things; you will lose your ball in the water at least once and you will pay way too much to play mini-golf. Then there are the courses built next to a driving range or real golf course. These courses are usually built to appease the children of the adult golfers and lure the parents into the pro shop. They are usually in some level of disrepair. The windmill doesn't turn, the bowling ball pins don't pivot, They forget to put an actual hole in one of the holes.
But a new type of course has sprung up in malls across America. Glow in the dark mini-golf. This is a brilliant idea! The only thing better than having a bunch obstacles in the way of seeing the hole, is not actually being able to "see" the hole! Glow in the dark courses usually include wooden cutouts of trolls and mushrooms painted in neon glowing colors. It's as if a troll on mushrooms painted the course. These courses are usually in the worst shape since, well, they are in the dark. The employees can't fix anything because they can't see anything and also, it's dark, none of the customers can see anything either, so who cares!
So what do I really love about mini-golf. It is 30 to 45 minutes of uninterrupted connection and fun. I usually play mini-golf with my family. We know each other well and can just have fun. Oh, it hasn't always been fun. When my sons were young we would get to hole 8 and there will have been at least one melt down, two trips back through the entire course to go to the bathroom and the threat of using the putter as a deadly weapon. And that was just me! But now we are all adults, sort of, and there is no competition or fighting, sort of.
The best news is that there is a class two course close to us that is part of a driving range and pro shop. It is cheap, run down and best of all, they serve beer which you are allowed to take on the course with you. The only thing better than mini-golf on a hot sticky summer evening, is mini-golf and a beer. I love mini-golf!
There are definite classes of courses. There are the ones built on a fake hill with a water feature running throughout the entire course. This type of course usually means two things; you will lose your ball in the water at least once and you will pay way too much to play mini-golf. Then there are the courses built next to a driving range or real golf course. These courses are usually built to appease the children of the adult golfers and lure the parents into the pro shop. They are usually in some level of disrepair. The windmill doesn't turn, the bowling ball pins don't pivot, They forget to put an actual hole in one of the holes.
But a new type of course has sprung up in malls across America. Glow in the dark mini-golf. This is a brilliant idea! The only thing better than having a bunch obstacles in the way of seeing the hole, is not actually being able to "see" the hole! Glow in the dark courses usually include wooden cutouts of trolls and mushrooms painted in neon glowing colors. It's as if a troll on mushrooms painted the course. These courses are usually in the worst shape since, well, they are in the dark. The employees can't fix anything because they can't see anything and also, it's dark, none of the customers can see anything either, so who cares!
So what do I really love about mini-golf. It is 30 to 45 minutes of uninterrupted connection and fun. I usually play mini-golf with my family. We know each other well and can just have fun. Oh, it hasn't always been fun. When my sons were young we would get to hole 8 and there will have been at least one melt down, two trips back through the entire course to go to the bathroom and the threat of using the putter as a deadly weapon. And that was just me! But now we are all adults, sort of, and there is no competition or fighting, sort of.
The best news is that there is a class two course close to us that is part of a driving range and pro shop. It is cheap, run down and best of all, they serve beer which you are allowed to take on the course with you. The only thing better than mini-golf on a hot sticky summer evening, is mini-golf and a beer. I love mini-golf!
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Lean Cuisine
Let's face it. We all hate to diet. Well, at least I do. I hate to join groups and pay them to tell me what to eat. I hate to count calories and keep food journals. None of the nutritional shakes work because I'm allergic to everything healthy. I figured out that if I'm given a system to follow, I spend all my time figuring out how to work the system to still get what I want. So, I've given up on systems. No more Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, calorie counting. I'm just going to eat less. Yeah, right. But there are products out there that force you to eat less. My personal favorite, Lean Cuisine.
Lean Cuisine is made by Stouffers. That's a good start. I mean, anyone who can perfect Macaroni and Cheese in a frozen meal can't be all bad, right? Lean Cuisine has about 255 different types of frozen meals, all of which are right around 300 calories per meal. Perfect. That is, until you eat it. The descriptions are scrumptious. "Succulent shrimp with angel hair pasta in a creamy vegetable sauce." Translation: Four tiny tough shrimp with soggy pasta in a chemically reproduced cream sauce with pieces of red pepper and carrots. Yum. It's actually not too bad, but the problem is, you just get to the point of starting to enjoy it and it's gone. If there were four frozen dinners of succulent shrimp all sitting in a row waiting for me to eat up, then we might have success, but four dinners would equal 1200 calories and that would be all I should eat for the whole day.
I'll keep fighting the good fight, and eating healthy when I can, but until they can make a 300 calorie hamburger and fries that fills me up and tastes delicious, I will eventually lose a few battles. The question becomes will I ever win the war, and what does winning the war look like?
Lean Cuisine is made by Stouffers. That's a good start. I mean, anyone who can perfect Macaroni and Cheese in a frozen meal can't be all bad, right? Lean Cuisine has about 255 different types of frozen meals, all of which are right around 300 calories per meal. Perfect. That is, until you eat it. The descriptions are scrumptious. "Succulent shrimp with angel hair pasta in a creamy vegetable sauce." Translation: Four tiny tough shrimp with soggy pasta in a chemically reproduced cream sauce with pieces of red pepper and carrots. Yum. It's actually not too bad, but the problem is, you just get to the point of starting to enjoy it and it's gone. If there were four frozen dinners of succulent shrimp all sitting in a row waiting for me to eat up, then we might have success, but four dinners would equal 1200 calories and that would be all I should eat for the whole day.
I'll keep fighting the good fight, and eating healthy when I can, but until they can make a 300 calorie hamburger and fries that fills me up and tastes delicious, I will eventually lose a few battles. The question becomes will I ever win the war, and what does winning the war look like?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)