The Bumbles Blog

ON SPORTS ~ Don't Hate Me Because I'm A Pats Fan...

2012-01-28T20:32:00.000-05:00

I grew up rooting for the underdog. At least I wanted to. Is it my fault that all along the way, the teams I felt bad for ended up growing into champions? What do you do when your lovable loser transforms into the hated favorite?

You enjoy every second of it, that's what. Success is incredibly difficult to find in professional sports. It is nearly impossible to string together a dynasty. Winning breeds jealousy. When the Patriots won their first Super Bowl against the heavily favored St. Louis Rams in February, 2002 they were America's sweetheart. Patriotism after the 9/11 attacks in the form of the little football team that could. Everywhere we went (except for St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Oakland) we got smiles and pats on the back at the glimpse of the Patriot logo we sported.

When they won their second Super Bowl against the Carolina Panthers in 2004, they were favored but still a team that most of the country admired and applauded. They weren't just lucky or a fluke, they were a force to be respected.

When they won their third Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005, they were favored again and this time they started to become annoying. The haters came out around every turn. The Patriots were cheaters. Their pretty boy Quarterback, Tom Brady, had gone from a sweet innocent kid to someone who dumped his knocked up girlfriend in favor of a Super Model. Their coach, Bill Belichick, had no personality. They were big meanies, that's what they were. And their fans were spoiled rotten.

It isn't my fault that the Jets stink. Or the Dolphins. Or the Bills. Maybe if they didn't, the Patriots wouldn't win the division and go to the playoffs most every year. I started rooting for the Patriots when they stunk. Bad. Their ownership was a rotating joke. So were their coaches. And worst of all, so was their stadium. We sat on metal benches. Just like a high school team. To watch them lose. All the time.

So I know that some day in the future the Patriots will stink again. Tom Brady will grow old. Bill Belichick will lose his mojo. The sparkly modern comfy stadium their championships ushered in will be half full for a team that loses more than they win. And I will be miserable again.

So yes. I revel in every victory while they happen. I know how lucky I am to have a team I love be the best in the league with consistency. And I find it maddening when they don't win the Super Bowl every year. That's the level of expectation that such success builds. The bigger you are, the harder you fall. So if the Patriots don't win the Super Bowl against the New York Giants this year, I will be wicked pissed.

I grew up a Giants fan. I still root for them when they aren't playing the Patriots. Many folks do in New England. When the Patriots were terrible, their games weren't televised. The region watched Giants games instead. In the 2008 Super Bowl, the Patriots and Giants duked it out. The Patriots were just one drive away from winning it all and going undefeated for the entire season. That's never been done before. But the Giants, the underdogs, pulled victory away from the Patriots and shocked the world - much like those original Patriots did to the Rams back in 2002. It broke my heart.

I'm a Patriots fan. I want my team to get revenge from four years ago. And I don't care if the rest of the world is rooting against me, thinks I'm spoiled and lucky. But just be careful what you wish for. If the Cinderella Giants win again, they are poised to become the league's next great team. And not long after that, the sporting world will become annoyed with those guys next.

ON FUN ~ Child's Play...

2012-01-23T15:07:00.000-05:00

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am over 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Your children get only one childhood."

~ LESSON #37

I will work very hard to remember this lesson as baby Sammy grows into a little boy. Too often today I think society works against this lesson. Kids always want to be bigger or older than they are. They want to tag along with the big kids, not need a booster seat, do things themselves and do them long before they are really ready. Adults need to make sure kids get to be kids. That they learn to play pick-up sports instead of just constantly dragging them around on organized travel teams. They need to be free to run through neighbors' yards playing hide and seek with friends instead of trapped in their fenced-in property for fear of stranger danger. They need to be encouraged to make decisions about choices that are appropriate for kids. They don't need to be pushed into a ton of structured activities, dressed like slutty teen stars and forced to practice, study and work instead of playing, laughing and living.

Kids should do their homework, their chores and be involved with team or group activities. But not all the time. That's the part that grown-ups get sucked into. I am thankful that in our neighborhood there are wonderful parents that we can model our own parenting after. Their kids create games of their own to play outside, they aren't allowed tech gadgets or video games before a certain age, they take summers off from sports to spend time together as a family, taking road trips, exploring nature or just helping out with the yard work.

These kids that we have watched grow up around us are polite, helpful and happy. They are smart, kind and funny. And of course they get grounded, fight with their siblings, pitch fits and sulk. They are kids. And that is part of growing up. They have plenty of time to get there. In the meantime they get to play and experience the childhood they will remember fondly when they are old and weary, wishing they had time to be a kid again.

ON FUN ~ Don't Mind The Tree...

2012-01-18T21:39:00.000-05:00

One downfall to having a fake Christmas tree is the fact that it doesn't die. The natural browning effect is a nice cue to take down your tree and get it out of the house before those endless dry needles permeate every nook and cranny. The fake tree is truly ever-green. It looks exactly the same from the day you put it up to the day you take it down. Some would say, it holds up well. The danger in this is that it doesn't prompt you to get your ass in gear and un-decorate it. You have to remember to do this all on your own.

I felt that it was too soon and harsh to take down the tree on New Year's weekend. I mean really - do you realize how long it took me to get the thing up to begin with? Bit by bit I would hang a few more ornaments on the tree from day to day, during one of Sammy's naps or when he was awake and content to hang nearby, watching me decide which item to hang where. All of that extended decorating time meant that the tree could stay for an extra weekend after the holiday festivities came and went.

The following week I developed a truly nasty cold that grew with determination from a sore throat to a cough to a melon head stuffed up like no one's business. I didn't have the energy to pick up Sammy, much less take down the tree. Somehow, my cold never infected the boy, or the husband. For this I am eternally grateful. Andy remained healthy and able to watch after Sammy and we didn't have to deal with a sick baby. And the tree was still pretty to look at while I sniffled on the couch.

Last week I was in recovery mode and finally found my way to the shower and ventured outside. I was sick of being stuck inside with that tree and decided that an ornament storage box would make the un-decorating business easier and somewhat exciting. I dragged Sammy to four different stores in search of a box. At every turn I was told that they had sold out the week before, or packed up the holiday stuff in exchange for the next holiday's trappings. I looked online for one instead. The only one that I liked was not sold online - in stores only. But no longer in stock in the stores - seasonal item. Foiled again.

By the time Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday came and went, the electric bill had arrived to let us know how much more our bill had become because of all of those Christmas lights - inside and out. The tree went dark. Maybe if we didn't turn it on, it would blend more nicely into the green wall behind it.

Sammy turns six months old next week. In celebration, perhaps I'll light up the tree one last time and find a few moments here and there to take it all down. Then again, I could leave it up for his first birthday - give that Christmas in July business a try.

ON FUN ~ That's Right, I'm Old...

2012-01-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

"Growing old beats the alternative - dying young."

~ LESSON #36

Well, it took 35 lessons before I got to one that I call my own. One that I use as a mantra. I have never understood why people bitch about their birthdays. Because they don't want people to know their age? It makes them feel old? Well, duh! Birthdays mark another year of living.

The pessimist will say that they mark one year closer to death. That would be troublesome were we to know what age death would come. But we don't. It can come anytime. To have another birthday means our time hasn't come yet. Good, yes?

Also, to complain about a birthday can be an insult to someone around you. It can make someone older than you feel even older to have someone younger say that they are at that "old" threshold. It can make someone who has lost a loved one feel annoyed with your careless thoughts. The same for someone who is struggling with a serious illness.

Don't you realize that life is all we have? That it is to be celebrated? To be appreciated? That a birthday is more than cake and presents or a number to fill in on a form? It is the anniversary of the miracle of birth. A moment to admire the wonder of being alive. A time to appreciate what we've learned and what we still need to do. People who get to have lots of birthdays are the luckiest people of all. Our new nephew was born just yesterday. I can't wait to celebrate his birthdays with him.

ON FAMILY ~ Tradition...

2011-12-18T20:23:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year - the holidays. Regardless of your beliefs, everyone has certain traditions they follow each year. Maybe that is boycotting malls or getting tipsy at the office party. But more often I think it involves gathering with family and friends to celebrate. Everyone holds on to their personal traditions with a death grip. This becomes complicated when families merge.

Thankfully, my family and Andy's family had traditions that did not conflict. Not coming from an overly religious upbringing, Easter was never a big deal in my family once we got beyond Easter Egg age. It has always been a time to gather for Andy's side. Getting together at his Aunt's house each Spring on the Cape has always been fun for me, and my family is not put out because of it. Because we spend Easter with Andy's side, and his family in general is more local to us, we have been spending each Thanksgiving with my side. Thanksgiving has become more scattered for his family over the years so as a result, we aren't the only folks MIA. Christmas is the final remaining biggie of the holidays. Where does the tie-breaker fall so to speak?

Andy's family has always gathered on Christmas Eve. My family has always celebrated more on Christmas Day. So each year we have split the holiday between the two, starting out up here and then making our way down there. It has always felt a bit like how Santa must feel, always on the go from one festive spot to another, with a trail of presents crammed in the vehicle. Except Santa's sleigh works more efficiently than sitting in icy traffic on the Mass. Pike.

Last year, we took over the hosting of Christmas Eve. We were more centrally located for everyone and had more space for the little ones to run laps around the tree, hyped up on sugar and the anticipation of gifts. Because we were hosting, we weren't exactly able to pack up and hit the road mid-evening to make our usual arrival at my folks'. And there's no fun in waking up in one house and then traveling to another to open gifts on Christmas morning. So we invited my family up for Christmas Eve and had them stay over to celebrate Christmas Day in our home instead.

Luckily for us, our families get along. Everyone is friendly, fun and welcoming. They don't get together all that often, but it is enough for everyone to be able to have a social conversation and enjoy each others company. For us, it was the best of both worlds, having everyone come to us. Sure, cleaning and decorating the house, preparing food and drinks and entertaining the masses is a lot of work. But not having to drag ourselves, the cat, luggage and packages from state to state, in wintry weather throughout the night is not a lot of fun either. We've been doing it for over 15 years. It is nice to have others come to us for a change.

The tradeoff for this is that two family's traditions have been changed. Andy's Aunt no longer hosts Christmas Eve. I know that she loves entertaining her loved ones. She had close family friends in the neighborhood that would stop in to join us every year. They aren't about to make the trek over to our place like they did to hers. The bustle of everyone wreaking havoc in her home made her home feel more vibrant and brought back memories. She lives where she grew up, in her parents' home. This home was the center of family memories for generations.

My parents no longer host Christmas Day. Growing up, we moved every few years because my father kept taking on better opportunities within his company. We never lived near where my parents grew up and where our extended family lived. Christmas was always just the four of us, my parents, my brother and me. My mother has a mammoth collection of ornaments, and her tree overflows each year from them. They mark places, people and events that are important to her and to us as a family. Some of them are homemade baubles and others are fine crystal tokens. We could go off and spend Christmas Eve visiting our friends and their families, but Christmas Day we spent together as a family. My mother's tree is no longer the one with all of the gifts placed beneath it. My father's old Christmas records are no longer our musical entertainment that morning.

This shift in traditions has been bittersweet I'm sure for Andy's Aunt and for my mother and father. They have had to let go of the traditions they provided for so many years. With baby Sammy in the mix, we have created our own family, ready for some new traditions of our own. First on that list is the merging of the people that Sammy loves the most - his family. My side, Andy's side. They aren't sides to Sammy. They are one family unit. I feel blessed that this unit lives near enough to work to make this happen. And that they care enough to give up some of their own favorite things to help create new ones.

Andy's Aunt still makes her yummy meatballs and spoils all the kids with endless gifts that are perfect and make each child feel special. My parents still bring up favorite ornaments for my brother and I to hang on my tree, just as we have done on theirs every year. But the traditions aren't about the home, the food or the gifts. They are about seeing each other to share a hug, a laugh and letting the kids go a little nuts from too much excitement. Families can't always be together for the holidays. Sometimes you have to make a choice between two sides. Trying to do both can generally make things more stressful. Have a guilt-free holiday and create new traditions wherever you roam!

ON FUN ~ Forget The Joneses, Keep Up With Yourself...

2011-12-14T16:07:00.000-05:00

Image found at Revolution From Home

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now."

~ LESSON #35

I'm goal oriented. I like to make lists. Things I need to do. Things I want to do. It helps me not fritter away my day, sitting on the couch and watching bad TV instead of paying the bills, washing dishes and buying groceries. There's a lot to be said for watching Real Housewives marathons. You can feel pretty damn good about yourself in comparison to some of the shallow, psycho behavior displayed there. But I tend to have guilt creep in to my head while trying to imbibe in my guilty pleasure, being lazy. Lists and goals help to motivate me and allow me to get better things done in a more organized, less time consuming way so that I can relax at the end of the day with a beer and bad TV, guilt free.

So it is natural for me to take stock. To look around my life and see what I've accomplished and what's still to be done. I'm not talking about just the chores list. I mean quality of life in general. I've come a long way. I once told my parents in all seriousness when I was in college that I never believed it would be possible to own my own home. I have clawed my way out of debt twice. And now I sit in my own home that we bought and renovated and love completely. I still have not forged my path towards a career that makes me fully happy. On my own terms, with my own hours, doing something that brings me joy. Writing and being paid for the words that I string together is a goal still on that to do list.

But setting goals to motivate and taking stock of them to acknowledge the things you've worked hard to attain are different than auditing your life. Auditing your life, for me, involves comparing your situation to others'. Worrying more about keeping up with the Joneses instead of doing what you do and realizing there's a lot of value and validity in that.

If you spend all your time making lists and feeling like a loser because you didn't get it all done, or that the things you've crossed off are less important than what your friend accomplished is not valuing yourself. Your only real goal - the real goal for any of us - is to live our lives. You can't do that when you're constantly fact checking it. Learn from your past but don't dwell on it. Make the most of what you've got going on - for yourself. Or at least, that's what I've gathered from all those afternoons watching Dr. Phil.

ON FAMILY ~ Cat's In The Cradle...

2011-12-08T21:28:00.000-05:00

Wow. Is it possible that I haven't done a post about Tedy the Cat in over a year here?! Because that's what my post archives say. Well, before you get to feeling all sorry for Tedy not getting any attention in Bumble Town, don't you fret. Not even a newborn could detract from the love this cat receives.

Before Sammy was born, we picked up a changing table from Freecycle. The kind people giving it away also threw in the pad they had. It was old and ragged and needless to say, we registered for a nice new one. When we set it up, who do you think realized quite quickly that this new piece of furniture with the cozy pad cover might make a very comfy new bed? I had to run Tedy off of that changing table a gazillion times. It was Andy who realized that the old pad sitting in the basement waiting to be thrown out could make a terrific alternative for Tedy. He was right. We had that stupid old pad sitting in the middle of our floor for months and Tedy sprawled out in it non-stop. He still jumped up on the changing table here and there but for the most part, that nasty old pad suited him just fine.

He also decided that the new stroller that we had tucked in the dining room just to get it out of the way was an awesome sleeping spot. It took a while before we discovered this hiding spot of his. And when we wheeled him out to the family room, he enjoyed the free ride.

When Sammy came home from the hospital, we were a little anxious to see how Tedy would respond. Would he spaz out whenever the baby cried? Run away and never come back because of all the different visitors traipsing in and out? Lash out because the baby got so much attention? Uh....no. Tedy thought this baby was the best thing to happen. It meant that someone was always home to let him in and out and that someone was always up to feed him or snuggle with at all hours. He enjoyed trying to hop up on the lap of whomever was feeding the baby, sniffing him out and settling for a spot on the arm of the chair. He seemed to be immune to Sammy's screaming - I was very jealous of that trait.

One of the baby related acquisitions that Tedy never quite trusted was the swing. He was always quite curious about it but that fast motion, the noises and the fact that when he tried to put his paws on it, it gave way, made him walk right by with a sideways glance every time. As happy as I was to finally be able to move the swing out of our family room and into the play room due to less need of use, I think Tedy was happiest of all to see it gone.

Though some may say that Tedy was just being curious about Sammy, I feel he was truly very protective of the little guy. When I would come home with my little Bumble still sleeping in his car seat, I would place the seat gently on the floor to continue napping while I unloaded groceries. Every time, Tedy would go over and poke his head in the seat to see if that baby had come back with me. And then he would sit there next to it until I came back to Sammy's side.

In addition to doing quality control on the changing table and stroller, Tedy also inspected the diaper bag, Sammy's bouncy seat, his play mat as well as his portable cradle. It seems that instead of going to Petco all these years in search of a bed that Tedy would enjoy, we should have just gone to Babies R Us.

Because Sammy has always been a great night sleeper, it has left us plenty of time to bond with Tedy, just like always. Although we ran him off of all of Sammy's things, we never turned our laps away when he sought them out.

One day, when we built our first fire of the season, I pulled out Tedy's old bed that he had randomly rejected one day back in the Spring. I set it in front of the fire and lo and behold, when I turned around he had snuggled himself right back in there. He now sleeps in it every night again. We've got the baby sleeping in his crib and the cat sleeping in his bed. We have reclaimed our bedroom and Bumble Town is a happy place. Until about 3:30 in the morning. No - Sammy isn't waking us for a bottle. Tedy comes in for a visit looking for something to eat. Apparently he didn't get the message that Sammy sleeps through the night and once again, so do we.

ON FUN ~ Love, Love Me Do...

2011-12-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do."

~ LESSON #34

Is this why you can confess your sins and be forgiven like a get out of jail free card in Monopoly? That simple? Because God inherently loves us all? He/She can't help it? Because we are all His/Her children? Just like a parent loves their child, even if they do something terrible? God loves the human, not the deeds. And that is why He/She can forgive so easily when we confess those sins?

I'm not a formal religious person. I go to different faith's services with interest and questions about why they do things the way they do. I have my own set of beliefs about a personal faith drawn from all kinds of religions and also secular ideas.

Is this lesson saying that God loves even the bad people or that God loves all well-intended people who make wrong choices because of His/Her capacity for forgiveness and caring nature? And the evil people are not loved? God hates them?

I don't get it. Maybe you can translate for me. I do know this. God doesn't love one set of athletes over another when they are competing. So when they win the game, they can thank their parents for helping them grow to success - not God.

ON BOOKS ~ 2011 Reading In Review...

2011-12-05T23:13:00.001-05:00

In the past year, it is entirely possible that our kitty, Tedy, read more books than I did. I blame this entirely on the arrival of baby Sam the end of July. Before he arrived, I felt guilty reading for pleasure rather than reading to educate myself more on child rearing. But those kinds of books required focus, attention and effort. Things that were not my strong suit as a pregnant old lady. So I didn't read a lot for pleasure and the baby books that I read took me a while to get into and through. Once the baby Bumble arrived, I discovered that it is nearly impossible to read with a newborn in the vicinity. And apparently, they are always in the vicinity! So I didn't read much those first few months either. As I returned to work part-time I was able to hit the gym twice a week which meant that I had two whole hours each week to read. It is hard to get much reading done in that small a window of time. But I am slowly building my way back into the world of books. I may have read more board books this year than grown-up ones, but to be able to say that I found time at all is quite an accomplishment as far as I am concerned. I always try to read one more than the year before. Last year's total was 29. This year I have read 11. I've just started another one but highly doubt it will be finished before the year wraps up.

I read 7 works of fiction and 4 non-fiction. That is an increase for me in non-fiction, but that was mostly due to baby prep - not exploring more of history, culture and self-discovery. Of those 4, one was a memoir. I like to dive into memoirs when I need a boost back into reading. I find that they capture my interest more quickly and get the brain cells churning with interest. Any recommendations for a few to explore over the winter months?

On Goodreads' rating scale of 1 to 5 stars, nothing earned 5 stars from me - but then again, nothing earned the lowly 1 star either. My reading landed me squarely in the mediocre range. I gave 4 stars to three books - a baby book, a culture pictorial and a work of historical fiction. I gave 2 stars to a different baby book because I didn't like the author's tone. Everything else got 3 stars - Classics, Thriller, Memoir, Historical Fiction, Fiction and Non-Fiction.

I read a total of 4,200 pages with approximately 25% of those belonging to The Count of Monte Cristo. I never shy away from the Chunksters, even if they may gobble up a lot of my reading time. It makes no difference to me if that time is spent with a few long books or a ton of short stacks - I just want them to be entertaining.

I read 1 book specifically for a group discussion which I hosted right here back in the Spring. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was one of my 4 star reads and it was a joy to be able to discuss it live with a small group of fellow bloggers who seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.

I managed to read 3 Classics and reviewed them, along with 2 more modern fiction works, on the group book blog, Quirky Girls Read. I have loved having that collaborative blog as an outlet for my bookish thoughts. Please stop by to read our reviews, banter and bookish quirks whenever you can. We cover such a wide range of genres every week and it has been a terrific first year.

I took time away from baby Sammy to visit the Boston Book Festival again this year - their second. It has improved and even though I was not as familiar with this year's authors on the endless schedule of panels, I was consistently entertained and educated, adding several new-to-me titles to my To Read pile.

I didn't buy any books this year - new, used or digital. 2 were books that I won on blogs. 1 was from the library. 3 were loans from family and friends. 4 were passed along from bloggers. 1 was a free download to a reader app on my iPad. Here they all are - can you match the descriptions to the titles?

DESCRIPTIONS:
1. Who knew one Iowa townspeople could be so interesting?
2. Revenge is not always as sweet as you imagined, back when you dreamed it up in a dungeon
3. I see soon-to-be-dead people - all around me in stormy Florida
4. The world of internment camps through the eyes of children coming of age
5. High society comes with tragic lows
6. If your baby doesn't sleep enough, it will be a fat brat
7. You are in charge of your baby's routine - don't get played by a newborn
8. A model survivor
9. A retro love story that could make Shakespeare proud
10. Solitude can erase morals
11. All babies are worth keeping

TITLES:
A. On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep - Gary Ezzo & Robert Bucknam (4*'s)
B. The Oxford Project - Peter Feldstein & Stephen Bloom (4*'s)
C. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford (4*'s)
D. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (3*'s)
E. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (3*'s)
F. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards (3*'s)
G. The Cypress House - Michael Koryta (3*'s)
H. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott - Kelly O'Connor McNees (3*'s)
I. Fall to Pieces: A Memoir of Drugs, Rock 'n Roll and Mental Illness - Mary Forsberg Weiland (3*'s)
J. The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton (3*'s)
K. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child - Marc Weissbluth (2*'s)

**SPOILER!!!**
Here are the answers to the above:
#1 = B
#2 = E
#3 = G
#4 = C
#5 = J
#6 = K
#7 = A
#8 = I
#9 = H
#10 = D
#11 = F

ON FOOD ~ Thanksgiving Fiesta

2011-12-01T08:58:00.001-05:00

Image courtesy Omar Omar via Flickr

So...Lynn says inquiring minds would like to know what I ended up making for our Thanksgiving appetizer. If you recall, I solicited recipes from all of you, and many of you were kind enough to leave suggestions for me. Some of them sounded great but didn't meet the criteria of make-ahead, easy, portable and vegetarian. Others were ideas already familiar to my family - I was looking for something different. In the end, I turned to one of our recipe books (yes - I do have some of these in the house) in a 5 minute window I had between Sammy's nap and leaving for the grocery store. I didn't find anything all that inventive but it was the best I could do...

Fiesta Corn Surprise

from Jeanne Jones' "Healthy Cooking For People Who Don't Have Time To Cook"

This was billed as a big hit with Jeanne's family who was surprised something so easy could taste so good. It appears to be intended as a side dish since the post script stated leftovers make a great dip or sandwich filling. I decided to just use it as a dip from the beginning.

INGREDIENTS:

1 16 oz. can salt-free corn kernels, undrained

1 3 oz. package reduced fat softened cream cheese

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 4 oz. can diced green chili peppers

1/4 cup chopped scallions

PREPARATION:

Drain the corn, reserving 2 tablespoons of the liquid.

Combine the reserved liquid and the cream cheese in a medium saucepan, stirring until smooth.

Add the corn, red peppers, chili peppers and scallions.

Warm over medium heat.

That's it. The hardest part was finding that damn can of chili peppers at the grocery store. With a hungry kid and a store packed with Thanksgiving shoppers, I called in the reserves and had Andy pick them up on his way home (found with the taco stuff apparently).

I also decided that Andy could actually make the dip instead of me, since I made sinful brownies and festive spinach salad. I also didn't want to risk using a saucepan over flame. Bad things happen when I use a stove top.

Andy whipped this creation up lickety split and upon an initial taste, proclaimed it pretty blah. WHAT?! Too late to change the dish. Into the fridge it went with the hope that an overnight sitting would make it better. I was doubtful, since the original dish is obviously intended to be served warm and immediately.

The next day, when we arrived at my parents' with our baby, cat and all of their trappings, I pulled out the Fiesta Corn Surprise and popped it into the microwave for a few minutes to heat it up. It was a thin soupy consistency and didn't look all that impressive. But when I set it in front of the hungry family with a bag of Stacy's pita chips, everyone agreed it was quite good.

Even Andy felt it was better the second time around. I think that next time, I would either use less liquid or more cream cheese to thicken things up and absolutely serve re-heated after an overnight in the fridge as we did here. This recipe says it serves four (as a side dish). As a dip, it served six hungry adults that afternoon. We would have eaten a ton more if there had been more to eat. I think we were all being polite, instead of scarfing down the whole thing alone.

One quarter of the recipe above results in 123 Calories, 6 Grams of Fat, 16 Milligrams of Cholesterol and 427 Milligrams of Sodium. So, eating far less than 1/4 of the dip yourself would be even less!

ON FUN ~ What Santa & Hockey Have In Common...

2011-11-27T23:08:00.001-05:00

Image courtesy seems Artless

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Believe in miracles."

~ LESSON #33

Well - the first thing that I think of when I hear the word "miracle" is not something faith-based or from the world of health and healing. No. The first thing I think of is the 1980 United States Men's Olympic Hockey Team. If you are a fan of the Olympics, or of inspiring movies, you know the story. Underdog college kids beat the vaunted Russian pros on their way to play for the gold medal, which they win. Good versus evil. Cold War heroics. My "miracle" association to this event is thanks to game broadcaster Al Michaels' famous exclamation of "Do you believe in miracles?!" as the U.S.A. triumphed over the U.S.S.R. It became the name of the movie as well.

The term "Miracle" means many different things to many different people. It probably gets overused in less deserving situations - such as unbelievable sports victories. But however we each define the word, the underlying theme is that something truly remarkable has happened.

My boss is a walking miracle, having beat late stage prostate cancer out of the blue. My son is a miracle, because I feel blessed for his existence and purpose in our lives. The window for conception is so specific it blows my mind that any of us procreate. Jack's Tree is a miracle for surviving and thriving despite being subjected to our pathetic arborist skills.

I do believe in miracles. Like the fact that Santa survives to delight generation after generation; how else can you explain everyone across the world innately agreeing to keep it zipped? For many, this upcoming holiday season also tells the story of a great religious miracle. Santa or Jesus, their miracle is cause for celebration. And finding the perfect gift on sale without fighting through Black Friday crowds is a miracle for the ages.

Believe in miracles and question not why they happened or when you might see one again. Faith in the remarkable is simply a good way to live.

ON FAMILY ~ Sweet Dreams...

2011-11-23T23:08:00.001-05:00

A few weekends ago, I went out for the night to babysit our friends' nearly-three-year-old twin sons. Andy stayed behind to take care of Sammy. Both of us spent the evening awake, checking in on sleeping boys. I did this by the traditional route, reading a book downstairs with one ear on the ceiling above, poking my head in their rooms here and there to make sure all was well. Andy had the luxury of our video monitor to keep watch over Sammy. But being the good hubby that he is, he decided to document Sammy's sleep for me. We like to take notes on what time he falls asleep, wakes up and eats just to keep track of his patterns. Andy went above and beyond that call of duty, documenting all the different positions Sammy got himself into throughout the night. See for yourself...

7:10 - SLEEP
7:35 - Go Bruins! (Andy was watching the hockey game)
7:46 - Hi Mommy
7:47 - Point (Saturday Night Fever dance move) - Go PATS (Patriots game the next day)
7:58 - Daddy ordered pizza
7:59 - Where's Monkey? (Sammy's favorite blanky toy)
8:50 - Almost an hour (asleep) - Bruins 3-1! (score update)
8:55 - TD Pats (hands over the head = Touch Down)
9:29 - Daddy's listening to the Dead so I have to dance (the Grateful Dead are one of Andy's favorite bands)

9:39 - B's are going to win, Daddy's happy and I'm still asleep
9:49 - I was in this position but returned to this
9:50 - 6-2 Bruins! I wonder if Tedy is in his bed (Tedy the cat is scared of the hockey horn whenever the Bruins score a goal)
10:42 - Dreaming about Patriots touch downs on Sunday (I'm just curious what Andy was doing the past hour instead of drawing)

10:57 - I hope that Trey and Ryan behaved (the twins I was babysitting)
11:00 - I wonder what I will learn tomorrow (awwwwww)
11:29 - On the move
11:31 - I'm scratching my face now but I'm asleep. Daddy is running out of witty things to write. I've noticed that I have grown in these illustrations.

11:35 - Moving again. I may wake up this time
11:38 - Still moving - Kick, Punch & Shake
11:39 - Asleep??
11:41 - Daddy's rocking out to Neil Young - I don't hear it though
11:45 - Moving

11:47 - I rolled over today! I shouldn't move that much because Daddy has to write more
11:52 - Daddy's getting tired. He thinks I'm going to sleep till 5AM. Good night! (he did sleep until after 5AM - and his Daddy got up and fed him)

I am thankful this holiday for such a wonderful, thoughtful, caring and entertaining husband - the best father Sammy could ever hope to have. I am also thankful for a baby that likes to sleep through the night - through lots of wiggling.

ON BLOGGING ~ Amy Wins!!!

2011-11-20T23:18:00.001-05:00

Well, my week off from writing blog posts and visiting yours instead was indeed a challenge. The break away from writing made me full of ideas to use for future posts. Why is it that when we need to write something, nothing comes, and when we need to not write, our thoughts become full of writing ideas?

I was spotty in my attempt to reclaim that reader however. I did get to stop by and visit with some of you - reading through a month's worth of posts and catching up on your hopes, dreams and daily dishes. I haven't yet gotten to the rest of you. I will try to do more of that this week and get back into my regular blog hopping routine.

The Reclaim Your Reader event showed me that the other half of blogging, the visiting half, requires dedication and I admire all of you who never waver in your support. I aim to be better soon and have learned a bit more about the approach I need to take to make it happen.

As for the winner of the $25 Amazon gift card, I did a very unscientific and low-tech drawing - I ripped up numbered squares of paper, shuffled them around in a hat and drew one out. The winner is Amy of The House of Seven Tails. Sounds like she could really use the card right about now too so I am very pleased she turned out to be the winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated at any level - hopefully future events will bring more attention to the visiting side of life in the blogosphere :0)

ON BLOGGING ~ Something Sticky...

2011-11-10T20:51:00.001-05:00

Image courtesy Mahalie via Flickr

In order to explain why I will not have any fresh content appearing over the next week, I wanted a blurb to appear at the top of my blog letting visitors know. It used to be, in Blogger, if you wanted to create such a blurb, referred to as a Sticky Post, you simply wrote a post, published it, and then went and edited it for a publish date in the future. It would stay on your blog until that point in time ahead of everything else.

Blogger fixed this little loop hole so that posts scheduled for the future would actually only appear on that date in the future, even if they had been published first. Now what to do for a Sticky Post?

Simple. In fact, this way makes more sense. From your Design tab on the Dashboard, you simply click Add A Gadget, select either the Text or HTML Gadget box, type in whatever you want your Sticky Post to say and save it, drag it to the top of your Posts section and call it a day.

When you are done being Sticky, just go back in to Design and Remove that Gadget via the Edit link.

It would be even simpler if Blogger would just create a little check box in Post Options within the regular post box that said Make Sticky. It would be even better if it also had an Until When field to indicate the date you wanted the Sticky status to disappear. But hey, I'm just a Bumble. What do I know?

ON FOOD ~ Thanksgiving Appetizer Needed...

2011-11-10T11:21:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy Baked Alaska blog.

I need help. In more ways than one. But today, what I am most in need of is a recipe. Oh sure. I could hop on Google and search that way. But I don't really know what I'm looking for so I thought I would just describe it to you and let you guys be my Google.

As confessed multiple times here over the years, I do not cook. Andy does all of that. What I can do is bake because I am extremely motivated to eat chocolate and other sweets. I can also mix and toss and marinade. I am generally in charge of salads, beverages and cheese plates when entertaining or attending parties.

For Thanksgiving this year, my mother has asked that I bring my holiday salad as well as an hors d'oeuvres. Already, I have had to look up how to spell hors d'oeuvres so this little assignment has become unnecessarily challenging. Lets just call it an appetizer and move on.

The only appetizers that I know how to make are ones that my mother makes. I would like to bring something that is new to her so she has something fun to try on a day that generally sees her doing all of the work.

I would also like this appetizer to be something that my vegetarian brother could eat.

It needs to be simple, able to be made ahead of time and easily transportable since we will be driving two hours to get there on Thanksgiving day.

Oh, and it needs to be really really really kick-ass tasty.

So, please share your ideas for me and my minimal culinary skills. Feel free to link to the recipe in your comment or e-mail it to me if you prefer. I'll be sure to share my cooking/prep experience as well as my family's review of what I made.

ON TRAVEL ~ Travel Like You've Been There Before...

2011-11-09T18:50:00.000-05:00

How do you plan a trip? Do you go online, to the library or contact the Chamber of Commerce and pour over guidebooks, articles and brochures about the location you will be visiting? Once you've narrowed down the sites/restaurants/hotels you'd like to visit, do you rely on the comments and reviews from other travelers online to decide on your final itinerary? I think that's how most of us plan our travels. Random tosses at a dart board, hoping what you come across is something cool to see or do and the opinions of strangers with potentially entirely different agendas than your own guiding you in your final choices. We work so hard and save so long to take that trip. Why do we use this method to plan our dream vacation? Because it is the only way available, right? Not any more.

Uptake, the travel search engine with the largest online travel library in the U.S., has decided the best way to travel is like you've been there before. To not be the typical tourist, but to be explorers with an inside scoop from folks who know the place inside and out. To let you become that explorer, Uptake combines their travel library of information with your connections in the know about where you want to go - your Facebook Friends.

With the launch this week of their new Travel Q&A platform, Uptake allows you to type in a personalized question right from the home page about wherever it is that you want to go. And then, by typing in your Facebook login, their technology filters through your friends' and acquaintances' data to provide you with a list of who you know, who know about where you want to go.

Once your friends have been filtered you can check off the ones you want to reach out to or just reach out to them all. Your question that you typed up is put right on their Facebook wall. They can either reply to you through Facebook or go right to the Uptake link and post information there.

Your question will also be posted on Uptake and anyone on there can go ahead and respond as well. Uptake will then provide you with links to the pages from their library of information about the specific places recommended to you so you can look up all the details and also read those consumer reviews. But to me, the innovation of filtering Facebook for people you know, who know you and your tastes, and who are familiar with the place you want to go is the real edge. I bet you weren't even aware that you knew people familiar with wherever it is that you want to go. And maybe they aren't directly familiar, but may have close friends or family of their own who are.

So go give it a whirl. If you are planning a getaway somewhere, type up a question looking for the best beach no one knows about, what kind of hotels are near your planned sightseeing locales or what kind of suitcase to pack for the weather when you visit. Even if you are only looking to liven up a weekend in your own region, use Uptake's new Travel Q&A feature to ask your friends for their favorite fancy restaurant in town or if anyone has an opinion on that new museum exhibit. The possibilities are endless. It is kind of like a travel Twitter with a filter to send out questions only to the people that have the knowledge to respond.

**Full disclosure. I write for and edit Uptake's Restaurants Blog. However, I was not paid to write this post or even asked to do so. I wrote it because I thought their new approach and innovation was wicked cool. Now, if ever baby Sammy would let us have a night out - nearby or on a road trip - I could really put this technology to great use!!!***

ON FUN ~ I Pass On Grass...

2011-11-08T21:22:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy Dominus Vobiscum via Flickr

These days, I spend a good chunk of my time as a stay-at-home mom. I work in my office two days a week and am home with Sammy the other three. Somewhere in that mix I also put in another eight hours from home for my boss. The best of both worlds. Especially on an absolute gem of a day like today. A week ago, we were struggling without power after a Nor'Easter over Halloween weekend. Today, it hit 70 degrees and was nothing but blue sky. So Sammy and I took advantage of it with a nice little walk around the neighborhood.

We met Vinny, a large but harmless dog who enjoys joining folks for walks in his neck of the woods. We watched the leaves turning all shades of pretty. And we saw a bunch of other stay-at-home moms mowing their lawns.

Am I now expected to mow the lawn?! Is this what moms do when the rest of us are at work? I thought the guys were supposed to handle all the yard stuff. Garbage emptying, leaf raking, grass mowing, snow shoveling. My mom always handles the gardening - unless she needs a new bed dug out. That gets added to dad's outdoor duties.

Andy spends lots of time tinkering around outside in his shed. That's where he keeps all of his important machinery. Something always needs to be maintained, repaired or used. Other men in the neighborhood are always stopping by to borrow this tool or drop off another to be lent to us for some time consuming project of great importance. Mowing the lawn is a production. There are methods for best accomplishing the task - which direction to go, how low to cut, whether to bag or to mulch. Sticks need to be picked up so as not to damage the blade. Lawn furniture and random toys need to be cleared. Edging needs to be trimmed with a weed whacker. The cat needs to be sent out of harms way. This takes all day. Or so I was led to believe.

And then today I see these super women out mowing their lawns with great precision and simplicity. Drag the machine out, push or drive it quickly across the lawn, then put it back in time to handle the kids returning home from school. Not a project. Just another expeditiously handled chore managed in the time it took me to walk through their part of the neighborhood.

On the one hand, I could use this information to expose Andy's dilly dallying for what it is - an escape from less interesting and more annoying things I have been waiting for him to do. But on the other hand, this could backfire on me. I could end up inheriting the lawn mowing chore.

And lets face it. I don't want to mow the lawn. I want to use that imaginary free time I would have to mow the lawn blogging with you instead. Or reading that book I've been trying to get to since Sammy was born. No. I think I will keep this mom-mowing business to myself. Let Andy continue to spend an entire day with it even though I know it could be done in a quarter of the time. And pray that he doesn't decide to pop home for lunch one day and drive by one of those moms working their mowers.

ON BLOGGING ~ Powerless Situation...

2011-11-03T22:59:00.000-04:00

Image by

Welcome to our weekly BlogAnon meeting where we confess a particular blogging sin and turn to you for support, suggestions and that blogging bond so we know we're not all alone. Don't be shy. Read along and let us know if you identify with us this week.

Maybe I don't want to live with Laura Ingalls in the Little House On The Prairie after all. This used to be my dream as a young girl. I would run home from school and sit down in front of the TV with my best friends and watch Little House. We would sit and watch with envy as precocious "Half-Pint" was well loved, independent and funny. She got to do cool things we could never dream of being able to do in our modern world. We would go tromping off into the woods behind our neighborhood and pretend to live off the land, until our parents called us in for dinner.

After spending much of the past week without power thanks to a Nor'Easter dumping wet snow on heavy branches filled with leaves not yet fallen, I hope I never have to rely on fire for warmth unless I am doing so willingly at a campsite. Sammy and I would hunker down inside while Andy went out and chopped up logs in his shed. Then I would spend all day feeding the fire to keep us warm at night. This is no way to live. When we ran out of firewood we packed up bags filled with our electronic devices and chargers and crashed at a relative's house who was out of town.

I do not have a smart phone. Maybe it would make me smarter since I discovered after Andy took his smarty pants phone with him to work that my outdated flip phone was out of juice in a powerless home. Without a car charger, Sammy and I were out of touch for an entire day. I did have a radio to listen to, but no way to communicate with others. Most of our neighbors were either working or had left for brighter and warmer pastures. Sammy decided for the first time ever that he wanted to take a nap for the entire afternoon so I was tied to the house.

I did read quite a bit. And I was able to draft up some writing on my laptop before that battery died. Other than that I spent the day stoking the fire and entertaining the cat. All I could think about was all of that blogging that I could have been doing. And how much I have missed the opportunity to do so on a more regular basis since Sammy arrived. I like being connected - virtually. Nothing against hanging out with our neighbors, but I enjoy the connections the blogosphere has brought me as well.

Now that the power is back and we have returned home, Sammy is back to boycotting naps lasting longer than 45 minutes (perhaps I should build him a fire every day?). My free moments have been spent doing laundry, washing bottles, washing the firewood smoke out of my hair and picking up wood scraps tracked throughout the house. Very little time for blogging - again. I am looking forward to my Reclaim Your Reader event in a few weeks. I hope it will bring me back to blogging by becoming inspired by reading your blogs. Sign up if you haven't already.

No, I'd rather not trade places with Laura Ingalls after all. I don't think I could put up with that Nellie Oleson. And living without power would not be as cool as it seemed when I was ten. But it would be kind of funny to see what kind of blog good ole Half-Pint would have created.

ON FUN ~ Why So Serious?...

2011-10-25T19:34:00.000-04:00

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does."

~ LESSON #32

Is this a nicer way of saying, "laugh at yourself along with everyone else?" Does it mean that we should not be so self-absorbed? Or egotistical? I'm not sure, really. To me, being serious about yourself is a good thing. It promotes self-esteem and the strength to pursue your dreams.

But you do also need to be able to laugh at yourself. Laughter is healing and it provides great perspective. It is not often intended to be cruel when it is directed towards you. Usually it is an instinct to chuckle at little mishaps because we all have them.

However, I don't want to be a laughingstock. I want others to take me seriously. To see me for the strong and capable person that I am. To know that I am the best woman for the job, the best friend for guidance, the best partner for support.

I don't take myself so seriously. But I sure do hope someone does.

ON MOVIES ~ This Is The End...

2011-10-23T21:30:00.000-04:00

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Endings...

About three months ago, I left everyone hanging with the Monday Movie Meme.

I created this meme three years ago and never missed a week until my son Sammy was born. It is quite challenging to come up with a new topic each week for three years. It is also quite challenging to come up with movies or actors that you haven't highlighted in your selections before. Things can get stale otherwise.

Each week I would come up with a topic idea on the fly based on events happening in our real world. It was a fun way to personalize this meme and give visitors a window into our world.

As Sammy's arrival approached, I considered farming out the meme to select guest bloggers to keep the meme going. But to be honest, I liked the fact that our son's birth would legitimize a long term hiatus of the meme that had become more work than pleasure. And so, I abruptly stopped the meme, as well as posts of most any kind for several weeks.

Loyal and new meme participants alike carried on the torch in their own ways. Some continued the original format as new hosts on their own sites. Others used their Mondays to talk film on their blogs with a different spin. I am a bit protective of the Monday Movie Meme name and format, but recognize that I don't own a copyright to it and am honestly just happy that it may have inspired others to carry the torch so to speak.

We don't have much time to watch movies any more. And it is going to take us several decades to get through our Netflix queue of titles we learned about through our little meme. I wanted to take the time to formally thank all of you for playing along week to week or leaving comments with your responses here and on participants' posts.

I have no intention of reviving the Monday Movie Meme again, because I don't want to "jump the shark." But I felt it wrong to just kill it off without giving you the motivation behind things. After all, good movie murderers have an insidious past history that explains why they butcher teenagers in their path. I thought you should know the reason behind the plug being pulled on the Monday Movie Meme. Here are our favorite endings in film. Share on your blog movies with endings that felt complete to you and link back here so that others can find you. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

Sports - Miracle, 2004 (reclaiming national pride)
Horror - Friday The 13th, 1980 (never assume the bad guy is dead)
Kids - Toy Story, 1995 (everyone should be reunited with their toys)
Drama - The Color Purple, 1985 (never was there a more deserved reunion)
Historical/Period - Dangerous Liaisons, 1988 (being the mastermind can bite you in the ass)
Comedy - National Lampoon's Vacation, 1983 (who doesn't want to hijack an amusement park)
Romance - When Harry Met Sally, 1989 (friends make the best spouses)
War - Schindler's List, 1993 (always powerful when reality meets imagery)
Action - The Gauntlet, 1977 (Clint Eastwood leaves carnage in his wake)
Classic - The Wizard of Oz, 1939 (there's no place like home)
Thriller - Se7en, 1995 (jaw-dropping)

ON FUN ~ Changes...

2011-10-20T19:55:00.000-04:00

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"However good or bad a situation is, it will change."

~ LESSON #31

Boy oh boy do I live this lesson every day now. Sammy is screaming his head off for some indiscernible reason for a good 30 minutes. I mean bloody murder kind of screaming. Like his mother is pulling off his toenails slowly kind of screaming. Which of course I'm not. I'm doing laps around my house and switching him from shoulder to shoulder as often as possible to avoid the one armed Popeye muscle a la those tennis players like Nadal. I'm bouncing, dancing, singing (maybe that's why he's screaming) and shushing. Oh when oh when will this ever end?

And then his eyes lock on to something random - an overhead light, the TV weather forecast, a piece of furniture he never noticed before. And the screaming stops. Its over. Afraid to awake him from his calm trance I just keep doing whatever it was I was doing when he stopped, unsure if my hopping on one foot or patting his back or humming that terrible jingle is what is keeping him happy or if it truly is just that dust bunny in the corner capturing his attention.

So there we are for another 10 minutes or so in peace and quiet, the TV stuck on the wrong channel because I'm horrified to disrupt the calm and chance reaching for the remote taunting me a mere foot away on the table. Just as my left arm is about to fall off from being frozen in a never ending Red Light, Green Light game with a baby, and a very hungry cat tickling my ankles looking for dinner, reinforcements arrive. Andy is home from work.

His arrival snaps Sammy out of his trance and he turns to see who has arrived. Spinning around, I hold my breath to see if he will start screaming again or remain calm. Andy greets his little Bumble with a big hello and receives a slow growing toothless grin that turns into a big smile and happy coo. Hurrah!

Relieved and eager for peaceful family time at the end of a long day I look down into my arms, just in time to see sweet Sammy's smile turn into a quivering chin and a pouting mouth that emits a long crescendo of a wail. Just like that, the switch has been flipped. In less than an hour, we have gone from hysterics to dead calm to joy to misery. Nothing is static in the world of a baby. Just as nothing is static for any of us. And as a result, I hand my precious little crying boy over to his father and head off with the cat for something to eat.

ON BOOKS ~ A Day With The Bookies...

2011-10-18T22:09:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, all of Boston's Copley Square was overrun by bookies. Not the gambling kind - the reading kind. And I was among them. For the second year, the city put on its free book festival all day long on Saturday. This event is more than your typical book sellers and author signings, though those are certainly there. The focal point for me is the plethora of panels scheduled throughout the day. These sessions are categorized just like genres in books - Non-Fiction, Fiction, Kids, YA and Poetry.

They also throw in some interactive events such as quizzes, Writer Idol (where they perform 3 minutes of random manuscripts turned in by hopeful writers), spoken word and Flash Fiction Open Mic (where you can read your short story to the crowd). There are Workshops about the craft of writing and the process of publishing. This year they even created an audio version of those Create Your Own Adventure stories that you could download to your phone and then experience the story as you were guided along the city. There is a stage for musical performances, a place for kids to make their own books and keynote speakers - both for kids and adults. My biggest complaint about this festival is that there just isn't enough time to do it all. I would love to see it spread across two full days - but that might keep things from being free to all.

I was not very familiar with any of this year's authors on the various panels but there were some topics up for discussion that piqued my interest. So I hopped on to the commuter rail, leaving Sammy behind for a day with Daddy while I treated myself to a bookish day in the city. I even had time to read on the train! What a luxury :0) Here is a snapshot (verbally) of my day...

FOOD - IN AN ACTUAL RESTAURANT!

OK. So this has nothing to do with the actual book fest. My train was late so I missed the first half of a panel about how the internet keeps us isolated despite social networking. I decided to skip the end of it and get some lunch instead. You know, go be social in the real world instead of alone at a panel. I must tell you that it was a dream to wander into this fabulous little restaurant (Coda in the South End) and have a leisurely lunch instead of passing by the window with drool on my chin as I pushed a stroller and fussy but cute baby (who also has drool on his chin for different reasons altogether). I highly recommend the BLT & E which involves cream cheese and a fried egg.

SPORTS: WRITERS ON DECK

This panel featured three authors writing about baseball players (Jane Leavy on Mickey Mantle), baseball parks (Glenn Stout on Fenway's 100 year existence) and baseball history (Thomas Whalen on the original Red Sox dynasty). It also delved into how sports writers have had to adapt with the diminished opportunities in beat writing and newspaper columns, turning instead to online publications, investigative reporting and non-fiction books. The crowd was generally older but this being Boston, there was a fairly equal mix of men and women in attendance - both sexes are raised on sports heavily here. As to the craft of approaching writing in the sports genre, the same approach applies here as in many other genres - harness your emotions and passions and use them to make more personal connections with your readers through your words. The best advice was to never meet your idols. They can only disappoint you. In this day and age, I think we are all better served idolizing writers instead of athletes anyway.

TRUE STORY

This session was filled to the brim with adults of all ages and an even mix of men and women as far as I could tell. We were all there to hear from three non-fiction writers about the true stories they documented and the process involved. They wrote about civil liberties (Michael Willrich of Brandeis on the Small Pox epidemic), dynamic families (Emma Rothschild of Harvard on a Scottish family in the 1700's) and survival (Mitchell Zuckoff of Boston University on the rescue of plane crash survivors in Dutch New Guinea in WW2). All of these writers were terrific to listen to - such passion for and knowledge of the subjects they shared with us. They all spoke to the scavenger hunt they embarked on for research and how their books' subjects came about accidentally so it is important to get sidetracked. For them, the internet is a tool that, in paraphrasing Emma, makes them lucky to be able to wander in the archives of history while living when real books are still piled around us. I left this session realizing that non-fiction writers are truly collectors of lost stories and I look forward to reading all of the books covered here. Maybe some day I'll get lucky with my endless distractions and find a worthy topic to turn into a book myself!

MEMOIR: WRITING A LIFE

I am drawn to memoirs like metal to a magnet. Apparently I am not alone. This session was also very full. But it was interesting to note that there were far more women than men here. There was also a small presence of younger girls. Here we were treated to four authors who were brave enough to share their own inner lives in print and in person. There was the humor of running a family business (Ben Ryder Howe's My Korean Deli: Risking It All For A Convenience Store), the sadness of a Cuban child separated from his family for a better life in America (Carlos Eire's Learning To Die In Miami: Confessions Of A Refugee Boy and also Waiting For Snow In Havana: Confessions Of A Cuban Boy), a childhood of self-discovery in the 50's (Maisie Houghton's Pitch Uncertain: A Mid-Century Middle Daughter Finds Her Voice) and the challenge of surviving food allergies (Sandra Beasley's Don't Kill The Birthday Girl: Tales From An Allergic Life). Do memoirists have better memories than the rest of us? No. They tend to keep journals. And they also paraphrase/create dialogue - they don't remember conversations word for word. They also point out that each person tells a different story of the same circumstance because you can't fact check memory. Accuracy in chronology is not as important to them as the story of the events overall. Mixing in humor/historical or scientific facts to parallel your own personal history can make things more universal and appealing to more readers. In the end, a memoir is about relationships. With ourselves, our religion, our family, our politics, our geography, our food, our arts, our geography - or a lament over the lack of any of these relationships. As Sandra said, "no story is too familiar if you find a unique lens to frame it."

I enjoyed my time with these authors, the moderators (Bill Littlefield and Robin Young of NPR & WBUR and author Leslie Gilbert-Lurie) and my fellow bookies. I found it refreshing to be surrounded by folks who were eager for spirited discussions with strangers rather than the solitary engagement with technology via texting and smart phones. There were lots of noses in books, but that is forgiven. And those noses were in real books, not e-books. Authors can't sign your Kindle after all.

ON FUN ~ Shots Help, But Patience Is Better...

2011-10-12T19:09:00.000-04:00

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Time heals almost everything. Give time, time."

~ LESSON #30

I hold a grudge. I truly do. I am still pissed off at my friends who wouldn't let me play in their fantasy football league because I am a girl. I moved on and found another league to play in, and we all know how that turned out for me. So it really isn't worth my energy continuing to feel hurt and angry that my friends were sexist pigs. I'm over it. Really, I am. It did take some time though.

Heartache takes a lot of time to heal too. Missing someone you've loved. Or recognizing that they didn't love you back. Boy does that hurt. I try to employ the bend but don't break law of love myself. Never let a broken heart sink you. You are the captain of yourself, heart included. But that doesn't mean you have to go down with the ship. Hop on one of those life buoys and save yourself. After some time, you'll learn to steer through choppy waters again, and with better success.

Time doesn't make things go away. It does help take the sting off though. A drunken night out with the girls can do that too. But time doesn't give you the hangover all of those shots will.

ON BLOGGING ~ A Bumble's Solution To Time Management...

2011-10-10T18:05:00.000-04:00

I complained on Friday and brainstormed over the weekend. This is what I came up with. Visit the dedicated page for all the details and to find out how to get these ninjas to come and help you...

ON BLOGGING ~ Priority Reading...

2011-10-06T20:17:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy Christine via Flickr

In the past, I have shared my method for reading all of your blog posts. It is a fairly simple concept that worked nicely for me until I had a baby. And then my routine disappeared. The slots of time that were nicely organized in my world now belong to an eleven pound bundle of energy. What little time I have when Andy tags in for Daddy Duty when he gets home from work is generally devoted to work, chores and writing posts. When Sammy agrees to take a nap that doesn't require me to drive or push a stroller, I pick a blogger in my Google Reader folders to visit and catch up on their posts. This happens once or twice a week. Bad baby.

So it is time for an emergency method until I get a semblance of schedule back in my life. And this is the best that I could come up with. Why not just take that time that I spend writing posts over the course of one week and use it instead to read posts that other bloggers have written? Give myself a week off from producing posts and devote my energy into reading everyone else; leisurely and with my full attention.

And wouldn't it be cool if other bloggers did the same thing at the same time? So that we were all just taking one week to visit each other, read and engage without the pressure of trying to balance the creation of posts with the reading of others - which always seems to get bumped to the bottom of the priority list.

If we knew when this week would be, we could spend time the week before putting our best foot forward so to speak on our own blogs, posting funny, cool, informative or inspiring posts for everyone to read when they went visiting the following week. That way we would all have really great writing, photos and videos to check out all week long. We would be entertained continuously. We would meet some new bloggers. We would be able to do more than scan. We would be on a vacation from blogging...in the blogosphere!

I have no creative ideas for a witty name for this idea. I have no abilities to create buttons to promote it. I don't even know if anyone else would want to join in. For all I know, it already exists somewhere out there and I just haven't found it yet. But I do know this. If I don't give this new method a try for myself pretty soon, I'll be missing out on what you have to say. And after spending all day with a baby, I could really use the adult conversation ;0)