I will now take a video game about racing and somehow make it bigger because that seems to be my deal lately. I still remember the first games. The lines and blips on a screen. The excitement was unbelievable. Restaurants were graded on their arcade and bars were acceptable as long as they had a pinball game or something else to keep me occupied. When I was young we lived out of a hotel for a bit while my Dad worked on some fancy shmancy building in North Carolina. It sounds bad but it wasn't. I had a big fat bed and they had a gorgeous pool that I would spend my days in. Meals were at the adjoining restaurant and I would head for the table video game that devoured quarters. Video games were just coming to this world back in the 70's and the transformation has been humungous. I played games through high school and college as a form of stress release. They take you away from real life for a few minutes as you are too busy to concentrate on anything else or you will get blown up, eaten, fall into some hole or even die.
I took a break for a few years with just an occasional trip to D&B for a little fun time. Then the Wii came out and my kids were older and it all lined up. Rockband was a wonderful addition as well. The problem is as an adult now I am having greater and greater difficulty allowing myself to "play games" while there is so much real life to be living. My children are showing me once again that sometimes playing games...especially as a group...can be living. I have always loved board games and family game night so maybe it is ok if it's just on the tv through a system every once and a while. I have been opening my closed off little mind to learning more. I check out the gaming magazine if I have a moment just to check on the games that are good. Forza keeps getting props for being incredible and what kid wouldn't love a game about racing gorgeous cars? So while at the video game place yesterday I noticed the old one was in my budget...a used copy sat there for under $3. Guess what? It still takes your mind off of real life for a little while especially while going 121 mph in the hopes of not crashing your car. The kid who rocked good grades and worked hard with jobs and sports and life found time to play video games as a stress release...maybe this adult should take a page out of her own old life. Now I just have to figure out how to play it without my hands cramping up because I am squeezing the life out of the controller!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Mall, Karate, Mall, Karate
My daughter has been hoarding her gift cards like a squirrel stocks up nuts. Today was the first day just the two of us could get to the mall and hit Justice. We don't really get to shop ever so it was a real treat. We found great bargains and some really cute stuff and quite a few outfits later and some redeemed gift cards and I only had to fork over $5. Then we headed to a private lesson of karate. Master Nam wanted some special one on one time with them. These lessons are precious. The regular lesson was at 5:15 so with just an hour to kill we headed back to the mall. This time we hit the accessory place where she picked out some more deals and used some more cards. Not a penny was spent here. Then, yep, you guessed it...back to karate for a packed house full lesson full of spars and victories! I think it's safe to say they will sleep well. If they don't I sure know I will!!!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
A Little Help with Racism
When your children are little the challenges seem daunting. There are challenges with breastfeeding and growth charts. There are RSV illnesses that make you spend the night outside an oxygen bubble containing your little baby. There is true panic and fear that they will be healthy. Then they get older and those moments change. You worry they will fall. You hope they don't find choking hazards. Then they get even older. You hold your breath as they learn to ride bikes, swim for the first time and head off to first days of school. You hope that they learn well and will develop on time. It is in these moments you realize that other stuff....well....that was the easy part. Now the adventure begins. Now conversations are about being picked on, hurt feelings, mean kids, new fears and night terrors. Awkward moments are spent explaining new bodies and growing up and the damn birds and darn bees. It gets trickier. More sensitive. Plus, now as you speak...as you pass along your ideals about this world...they listen. Hard. So you have to be careful to send the right messages. You have to speak up for things and take stands. You have to teach honesty, integrity and courage. Each day there seems to be a lesson...whether tiny or huge... that you can teach. Within the pillars of ideology we must also explain what is wrong...what is unjust...what is unfair. Seeds get planted while children are seedlings themselves...and one must be careful of what kind of tree is growing.
I don't preach by any means but that doesn't mean I don't cover the hard stuff. I make some things so matter-of-fact that they never need to be an issue. I embrace diversity in all aspects of life and as I show an attitude of acceptance I can only hope it becomes as normal as breathing to them as it is to me. I saw the movie, The Help, in the theater a while back. I loved it. I didn't find it patronizing or preachy though some have disagreed. What I was sure of though was that it would be a wonderful way to show a little girl what things were like without simply trying to explain it. The cinema as well as literature can be a wonderful medium for education. Tonight we were able to stay up late because school is on break for the next few days. We lined up our next Netflix delivery to be able to watch this movie. She loved it. Her big brain and huge spirit already understand the lesson that was being taught.
I didn't realize today was a very special day in history and find it quite amazing that the topic of today's life lesson tied in so appropriately. Those are the moments...when things line up...that I know I am on the right path. She will have questions tomorrow and I will answer as best I can. She is smart and kind and compassionate and will want to know the why and how of this world. The questions are a sign that the trunk is getting strong. Her character are the limbs as they grow out toward the sunlight...full and vast and able to withstand the winds as well as sway in the breezes.
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. "
Martin Luther King, Jr
I don't preach by any means but that doesn't mean I don't cover the hard stuff. I make some things so matter-of-fact that they never need to be an issue. I embrace diversity in all aspects of life and as I show an attitude of acceptance I can only hope it becomes as normal as breathing to them as it is to me. I saw the movie, The Help, in the theater a while back. I loved it. I didn't find it patronizing or preachy though some have disagreed. What I was sure of though was that it would be a wonderful way to show a little girl what things were like without simply trying to explain it. The cinema as well as literature can be a wonderful medium for education. Tonight we were able to stay up late because school is on break for the next few days. We lined up our next Netflix delivery to be able to watch this movie. She loved it. Her big brain and huge spirit already understand the lesson that was being taught.
I didn't realize today was a very special day in history and find it quite amazing that the topic of today's life lesson tied in so appropriately. Those are the moments...when things line up...that I know I am on the right path. She will have questions tomorrow and I will answer as best I can. She is smart and kind and compassionate and will want to know the why and how of this world. The questions are a sign that the trunk is getting strong. Her character are the limbs as they grow out toward the sunlight...full and vast and able to withstand the winds as well as sway in the breezes.
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. "
Martin Luther King, Jr
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Chip, Cabbage and Clarkson
The day pretty much sucked from dawn until now. It's 10:32 pm. I am frustrated and angry...hurt and confused. Last night I was prompted by my motivational Oprah moments to take that energy and put it toward something positive. Easy for them to say as they sit on the stage of Radio City on television....but I gave it my best shot. I needed something that got me going...I went with a little song by Kelly Clarkson that is slowly but surely becoming my new anthem. That music led me to a website where I finally filled out the intensive and detailed CHIP application in the hopes of getting some health benefits for the kids and even myself should the health benny gods choose to be so generous. I have more work ahead of me, more paperwork to deal with and an appointment or two wedged somewhere in between jobs and life. While that processed it was time to make dinner. A bit ago you might recall (should you be a faithful blog post reader) that I created natural food dyes for a job interview lesson. The red cabbage waves to me each time I open the fridge door. "Hey, whatcha gonna do with me?". It nags at me. I hate wasting food even if it IS just a goofy inexpensive cabbage. It bothers me so much so that I found a recipe to use it up. So tonight with the turkey tacos and Spanish rice we had a lovely new side dish. Shredded cabbage, grated carrots, fresh lime and orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and chopped cilantro made a refreshing slaw on the side.
So I will now try to get some rest with the scent of cilantro on my fingers, figures running through my mind and a little song that will continue to push me through these moments of pressure. I will also have a little personal chuckle at perhaps one of the funniest titles I have used thus far about a combination of things never before put together in the history of man. ;)
So I will now try to get some rest with the scent of cilantro on my fingers, figures running through my mind and a little song that will continue to push me through these moments of pressure. I will also have a little personal chuckle at perhaps one of the funniest titles I have used thus far about a combination of things never before put together in the history of man. ;)
Monday, April 2, 2012
Taking Notes with Tony and Oprah
Last week I watched a show dedicated to moving forward. We are held back by our stories. Our past shapes our beliefs, fuels our fears and blocks us from true happiness. Fear stops us. I have been doing a new thing each day to slowly create the habit of accepting the challenges and letting go of the fear. I am hundreds of days in...but I have decades to deprogram. Tonight, I look to the inspirations of life coach, Tony Robbins.
These are some crucial points I will focus on in my journey of moving forward and conquering fear:
--courage is a muscle you can develop
--courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyway
--divorce your story...it's like a relationship that doesn't serve you
--affirmation does not work for creating a change over fears...you need to be challenged so you must be careful about who you have a sisterhood with
--if you are going to succeed in anything you need the right strategy, the right story, a quality state
--you change your state when you have to face something you are fearing...change your body, focus on something you want to be, say what you need to hear
--your life is either a warning or an example to others...you have to decide which one you want to be
--you can switch the fear to power by giving the same amount of energy from one to the other
--so many of the fears that we put out are because we don't want to step out in to the unknown and fear gives us the excuse to stay
They featured a woman who was lost. She was a mother but knew that motherhood was not all she had to offer. She had lost her business and was now focusing on one role. She had become what everyone else needed. They went on to talk about how most mothers get lost here. There are six human needs: certainty, uncertainty/variety, significance, love/connection, growth and contribution.
Certainty is removed with fear. We need variety because we can get bored if we are certain of all outcomes. We say we like surprises...but we like surprises we want. The ones we don't want are called problems. The love and significance that we crave are usually tied up in our childhood and the approval we were always seeking or the avoidance of becoming a failure. It holds us back from growth. Where she had focused her attention and shifted her energy she WAS successful. If she wants to be successful in other areas all she has to do is invest and believe.
--the fastest way to get out of our comfort zone is to be around people NOT in our comfort zone
--DIVORCE the old story and CREATE the new story....and let it evolve. When the old story creeps back in you have to be able to dance with fear and find the courage.
These are some crucial points I will focus on in my journey of moving forward and conquering fear:
--courage is a muscle you can develop
--courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyway
--divorce your story...it's like a relationship that doesn't serve you
--affirmation does not work for creating a change over fears...you need to be challenged so you must be careful about who you have a sisterhood with
--if you are going to succeed in anything you need the right strategy, the right story, a quality state
--you change your state when you have to face something you are fearing...change your body, focus on something you want to be, say what you need to hear
--your life is either a warning or an example to others...you have to decide which one you want to be
--you can switch the fear to power by giving the same amount of energy from one to the other
--so many of the fears that we put out are because we don't want to step out in to the unknown and fear gives us the excuse to stay
They featured a woman who was lost. She was a mother but knew that motherhood was not all she had to offer. She had lost her business and was now focusing on one role. She had become what everyone else needed. They went on to talk about how most mothers get lost here. There are six human needs: certainty, uncertainty/variety, significance, love/connection, growth and contribution.
Certainty is removed with fear. We need variety because we can get bored if we are certain of all outcomes. We say we like surprises...but we like surprises we want. The ones we don't want are called problems. The love and significance that we crave are usually tied up in our childhood and the approval we were always seeking or the avoidance of becoming a failure. It holds us back from growth. Where she had focused her attention and shifted her energy she WAS successful. If she wants to be successful in other areas all she has to do is invest and believe.
--the fastest way to get out of our comfort zone is to be around people NOT in our comfort zone
--DIVORCE the old story and CREATE the new story....and let it evolve. When the old story creeps back in you have to be able to dance with fear and find the courage.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Hunger Games Name Generator
I received a text from my friend a bit ago telling me our Hunger Games names. It turns out if you log on to NY Magazine you can enter your name and sex and it will generate a name for you. Sure it might be random but it's still pretty entertaining.
So if the book club should ever actually read this book, pick a date and manage to somehow get together they better be prepared to call me Nitya Allardyce, Parry Ivory or Grey Wellwood!
So if the book club should ever actually read this book, pick a date and manage to somehow get together they better be prepared to call me Nitya Allardyce, Parry Ivory or Grey Wellwood!
Alton's Baked French Toast
I looked forward to Saturday all week. Saturday meant a break from: getting up early, prepping for work, writing notes to forgetful Dads, packing lunches, showers, feeding animals, etc...all before 8am. Then the work day. Then the rush back to get kids. Then the nightly routine which is ten times more exhausting than the morning one. I love my life and value my babies but on this particular week I was counting down to the weekend. It meant sleeping a bit past 6am. It meant a snugglefest with my girl while catching up on Fashion Star and cooking shows. It was a day of pajamas and Scrabble and too much coffee. (I even read a magazine...shhhh...don't tell!)
The kick off to this cherished Saturday of ease was baked french toast done perfectly. Warm, fluffy goodness oozing with maple syrup. Puddles ready for sausages. The table was full of smiles and this old girl found the recharge that she needed!
The kick off to this cherished Saturday of ease was baked french toast done perfectly. Warm, fluffy goodness oozing with maple syrup. Puddles ready for sausages. The table was full of smiles and this old girl found the recharge that she needed!
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