A Christmas Carol

Last night, Mark took me to see Portland Center Stage's production of A Christmas Carol. The show was so wonderful that I don't know what I liked best. The set was incredible, the costumes fabulous, and the actors did a wonderful job. The actors playing Scrooge and Tiny Tim were especially good. And they all put such emotion into what they were doing that I was in tears by the end of the show. If you get a chance to see this, I highly recommend doing so.

Love, Marriage and Prop 8

Keith Olbermann's commentary on MSBN. All 6 1/2 minutes are worth listening to, and I hope a lot of people do.

Who Are We to Decide?

November 4, 2008, is a day Americans will remember for a long time. America elected Barak Obama, a black man, as its 44th president. This is a victory for our country in so many ways, not the least of which is a victory over racism. By electing Obama, we’ve said that the color of a person’s skin makes no difference. In America, a person of color can do anything a white man can do.

And while this is certainly an occasion worth celebrating, November 4, 2008, was also a sad day for me. Because while America as a whole made a wonderful choice, smaller groups of Americans made decisions that are very upsetting and disheartening to me. In Arkansas, it is now illegal for gay couples to adopt or foster children, thanks to 57% of voters in that state. Because of the decision of these narrow-minded individuals, thousands of people will be denied the right to be parents, they will be denied joy of loving and nurturing a child. And even sadder: thousands of children will be denied the chance to live in warm, loving homes with devoted and caring parents. It makes me speechless just thinking about it.

In California, voters took away gay couples’ right to marry. How does something like that even get on a ballot!? I don’t understand how or why, in a “free” country like America, we think we have the right to decide who can and can’t get married. Two people love each and want to spend their life together as partners. What more is there to decide?

We spend billions of dollars on war and watch thousands people die or become maimed for life. We hear about bombings, of prisoners of war being tortured, of parents losing their young sons of daughters while fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. And in the midst of all this horror and blood shed, we deny people the right to be married, to legally commit to the person they love, and to raise a family. Something is definitely wrong with this picture.

Mushroom Hunting

Last Sunday, Mark and I drove up to Panther Creek near Carson, Washington. With all of the trees turning color and the sun shining bright, it was the perfect day for a drive in the gorge. Even more beautiful was the trail we walked on once we arrived. The air was crisp, the leaves gorgeous, and the surroundings very peaceful and relaxing. We hiked for a little over an hour, taking it all in, before we found what we had come for: chanterelle mushrooms. I hadn't been mushroom hunting before, and didn't even know what chanterelles looked like, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It turned out to be really fun. Once we found the first couple of chantrelles and I got to know what we were looking for, the hunt was really on. Another 15 minutes and we arrived in a spot with lots of mushrooms, so many that we filled up two plastic grocery bags in about an hour. It was quite fun to search them out, and very exciting to spot one, usually hiding under a fern or other plant, or even under a fallen tree branch.

Taking a Class

So I've been thinking about going back to school for a long time now, but being unsure of what I want to do "when I grow up," I've had a hard time getting motivated to put in the required time and energy. Finally, I decided that I would take one class fall quarter, a class that was easy and of interest to me, in hopes of getting excited about going to school. With that in mind, I registered for an eLearning class, HTML Fundatmentals: Introduction to website development through the mastery of the fundamentals of HTML, XHTML, and CSS coding for web pages. Intended to give the student the basic skills required to hand-code web pages from scratch. A four-page website will be developed. Topics include: text editors, essential elements, images, links, lists, forms, tables, and CSS-based page layout.

So far the class has been pretty much what I've expected. It's easy, relevant to some of my duties at work, and completely online, so I can do the work when I want. Plus, it's a requirement for the Sofware Solutions Development Specialist program (you can get a certificate of proficiency or AAS degree) which is of interest to me. And, since the Foundation will reimburse me for the class and textbook, assuming I get at least a "B" out of the class, I figured I have nothing to lose. I just turned in my first assignment. 3 days and 3 hours early!

I'm still not sure where I'll go from here, but it's a start.

Kids Say the Most Wonderful Things

I was reading a young adult novel recently about a transgendered kid and my 7 year old saw it and asked what it was about. I told her that it was about a kid who was born into a boy’s body, but felt like a girl inside. She told me that she didn’t get it, so I told her to close her eyes.

“Now,” I said, “Are you a boy or a girl?”
“A girl,” she answered definitively.
“How do you know? You can’t see yourself.”
“I just know.” she replied.
“Okay,” I said, “What if you opened your eyes and you were in a boy’s body? How would you feel?”
“That would be awful!”
“Well, that’s how this kid in the book I’m reading feels all the time. She looks down at her body and it doesn’t feel like hers. She doesn’t understand why she’s in a boy’s body and not a girl’s.”
My daughter replied, “I feel so sad for her. Is there any way for her to get a girl’s body?”

My point is that if a 7 year old can understand it, then anyone can. I think my daughter would be happy for these women who finally have a body that matches who they are on the inside.

--Stacey, responding to News Blog article in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Vacation and Birthday Part II

Well, it was back to work today after a week's vacation, but I made good use of the weekend! Friday I began cleaning out my garage. A job that was long overdue, despite a bit of progress I made last summer. I'm happy to say that, thanks to CraigsList, Freecycle, and Chris, I was able to get rid of two couches, a bike, a foosball table, a bag of fabric and patterns, an old table I had on the patio, a dusty old box fan, and 5 years' worth of old National Geographic magazines. I also took a car trunk and back seat full of stuff to Goodwill. I'm not finished yet, but wow do things look different now than they did three days ago!

The weekend wasn't all work, though, as I played all three evenings! Friday I celebrated with 9 friends (see photo) at Salmon Creek Brew Pub. There was beer, appetizers, cards, gifts, and just a lot of fun.

Saturday evening my friend Kent had me over to his house for dinner. Kent worked at the Foundation about 7 years ago, but these days we only see each other once or twice a year, so it was a lot of fun to visit with him and catch up on things. And dinner was delicious: lentil pate with baguettes, vegetable toad-in-the-hole (sauted and steamed fresh veggies on a bit of a batter/dumpling-type crust), and homemade peach pie. Oh, and mojitos. It was delicious!

Sunday afternoon Dad, Mark and Chris came to my house for a visit. We chatted for a while and had some snacks, then went over to the Refectory in Portland for their Sunday night blues jam and half-price food and drinks. It was definitely nice to spend the last evening of my vacation with family.

Vacation and Birthday

I’ve been on vacation this week and, though I haven’t traveled any further away from home than Portland, it’s been a very enjoyable week. Sometimes staying home, sleeping in, catching up on chores, and spending time with someone you love is the best way to spend a vacation.

I had a two-day birthday celebration with Mark on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon we took a very nice walk, about 5 miles round-trip we figured, along part of the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail. Walking, talking, enjoying the scenery, the mild summer afternoon, and each other’s company…it was very nice. Later we fixed a delicious (and healthy!) dinner of salmon, salad, and fresh fruit, and then traveled to Horse Brass Pub in Portland to play darts. We’ve played steel tip darts 5 times or so over the past few weeks, and we’re really enjoying it. While Mark had played steel tip darts before, I think that my experience was limited to soft tip darts, and that was probably at least 12 years ago. I had forgotten just how fun playing darts is, and it’s becoming even more fun as I’m getting to a point where I can sometimes hit the spot on the board that I’m aiming for! Horse Brass is our favorite place to play to-date, though we sometime have to wait for one of their four boards. The second attraction is the fact that they have 50 beers on tap. Well, they run out of beer all the time, so it’s probably more like 25 or 30 at any one time, but still a good selection. After several games at Horse Brass, we went over to Lucky Lab on Hawthorne to share one last beer, a basket of potato chips (with Tobasco--my new favorite snack!) and a game of Outburst (board game). Lucky Lab is fun because it’s less crowded than Horse Brass, they have two dart boards, and a selection of board games that you can play while enjoying your beer. The down side is a much more limited beer selection, and the fact that they close at midnight, even on Friday and Saturday.

Thursday’s celebration was a little quieter as Mark needed to finish getting things together for his trip to Glacier National Park, plus he had to get up early this morning to start his long drive. But we still had a nice time eating dinner and birthday cheesecake together, shooting a few baskets, watching a little football, and playing a little more Outburst. I received nice cards from Mark (to go with the beautiful ring, great Keens sandals, and Nano I-Pod he’d already given me) and Erin; an e-card from Mom; a fun posting by Chris on the family website, complete with comments from others; and birthday wishes via phone from Kit and Mark (Todd).

Book Trivia Fun

If you like books and trivia, you'll love the Never-Ending Book Quiz on goodreads.com.

PFLAG Picnic

A couple of weeks ago, Mark and I drove up to Olympia to join Erin, Kit and Chelsea at the annual PFLAG picnic at Priest Point Park. Here are a few photos.

Children

Last Wednesday, Mark and I went to one of the Vancouver Parks & Recreation noon concerts. The music was good and the company was wonderful, but what really caught my attention were the disabled young adults that were there as part of a Vancouver Parks & Rec summer program. They seemed to be having a good time, eating their lunches, listening the music, talking to each other, and dancing. And though they seemed happy and well taken care of by the Parks & Rec staff, a few tears came to my eyes. I couldn't help thinking how very lucky I am to have two healthy, intelligent, and self-sufficient children. And about how brave the parents of these children must be, watching and helping their children through the challenges they face each and every day.

Fruit Loop

Mark and I spent a wonderful day Sunday exploring part of the "Fruit Loop" near Hood River. Cherries are the big fruit of the moment so we sampled several varieties, later returning to one stand to buy our favorite, which was also the best price. We sampled cherry jam, some absolutely delicious roasted red pepper, ginger, garlic salsa (it was expensive so we wrote down the ingredients and are going to try to make it some time), merlot chocolate sauce on strawberries...We bought cherry cider, which was very good but quite intensely flavored--a little bit goes a long way, and some hand pies which were like homemade Hostess pies. It wasn't just eating though. We petted goats, saw a couple of very relaxed llamas (yarn made from their recently sheared fur was for sale on the table next to them), and watched the smoke from the wild fire near Mt. Adams grow bigger as the day went on. Other than being about 10 degrees too warm, it was the perfect day.

Pets and Fireworks Don't Mix

This time of year we hear stories in the news about pets and how fireworks and thunderstorms can be so stressful for them. We're told to keep them indoors, how to reduce their stress, etc. Well, I found out yesterday just how upset and stressed a dog can get when loud fireworks are going off all over the neighborhood.

About 9 p.m., Mark (Mark, my date--not to be confused with Mark, my brother) were out taking a walk around the neighborhood. We were about two blocks from my house when we were joined by a very friendly dog (golden retriever mix?). Though I didn't recognize the dog, she had on a very pretty collar, so we figured she belonged to someone nearby. However, despite our repeated comments to her to "go home," she followed us all the way home and tried to come in the house with us. We gently pushed her away, told her good-bye, and closed the door. About the same time, several people in the neighborhood started lighting fireworks.

About 10 minutes later as we were sitting at the kitchen table playing a game of Hoopla, we heard a dog whining loudly and a gate rattling. Our doggie friend was trying to push open the neighbors gate and get into their backyard. When she was unsuccessful there, she came to my doorstep, crying, and frantically trying to get inside. She was so upset that she completely tore out the screen of my screen door and scratched up my front door. Though we weren't going to let her in the house, we felt terrible for this very frightened dog (not to mention my poor doors), and so Mark stepped outside with her. He found a tag hanging from her collar and looked for a name and/or phone number, but all it said was "Washington County, Oregon." So, it seemed that she was either visiting the neighborhood with her people, or has recently moved to the neighborhood. Either way, there was a good chance that she was feeling lost and confused with all the added stress of the noise from the fireworks, and didn't know what to do or where to go. Mark walked her back to the place where we first met up with her. The fireworks must have subsided for a moment, or having Mark with her helped her feel more calm, because she got interested in one of the yards. While the dog was investigating the yard, Mark ran back to my house, came inside, and closed the door. We haven't seen or heard from the frightened doggie since.

Poor thing. I hope she got back to where she belongs and that her people were able to calm her down and help her feel better. And that they keep her inside with them this evening.

Pride

Though it's been almost two weeks now since I spent the day in Olympia for the Capital City Pride festival and parade, I'm still thinking about what a nice day it was. The number one reason I enjoyed the day was, of course, because I got to spend it with Erin and Kit. However, there are several other things that especially stand out for me.

During the parade, which was "short but sweet" a couple of entries brought tears to my eyes. The one that hit me hardest was the woman walking with the Tumwater High School GSA (Gay Straight Alliance). She was carrying a sign that labeled her as a teacher and then said "I support all of my students." The other was the heterosexual couple walking with PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays). The woman was quite pregnant and together they were carrying a sign that said "We will love our child no matter who he loves." Both entries were very powerful. In fact, I still get tears in my eyes when I think about them.

The music at the festival was enjoyable and the vendors booths fun to peruse, but I think I most enjoyed visiting the information booths. Here are just a few of the many that made a particular impact with me:

• Project:Transitions - "Supporting the Washington Transgender Community with Pride," this non-profit was started and is run by four young people who make me very proud.
• The Provider Project - Provides education, access, advocacy for transgender health. (Kit created both their website and the Project:Transitions website.)
• GLSEN - A national organization fighting to end anti-gay bias in K-12 schools. Starting GSA clubs in schools is one of their initiatives. According to GLSEN;
  
• 70% LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) student report (this is just how many report it) verbal, sexual or physical harassment.
• 90% of LGBT student regularly hear anti-gay comments at school; over a third hear these comments from staff. (This statistic is especially disturbing to me because how do kids learn to discriminate and treat others poorly? From the adults in their lives!)
• 75% of the nation's teachers have received no training about the needs of LGBT students.
• Camp Ten Trees - A non-profit summer camp that devotes a week each summer to LGBTQ (Q stands for Queer and/or Questioning) youth and their families and a week to children of LGBTQ families.
  

Easy and Delicious Summer Entree

Top and avocado half with salad shrimp, salsa, and a little salt and pepper. That's it! It doesn't get much easier than that. I especially like it with a mango salsa. It's also very good with a bit of horseradish cocktail sauce mixed in with the shrimp.

I imagine you could use smaller portions, say a quarter avocado and less shrimp, and serve it as a salad or first course.

My Secret Self: A Story of Transgender Children

This evening at 10:00 p.m., ABC will replay Barbara Walters' 20/20 special about transgender children.

Quote of the Day

I really like this one. I've been pondering it quite a bit.

There are no uninteresting things, there are only uninterested people. –Gilbert K. Chesterton

Protecting Our Rights

I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another. –Thomas Jefferson

It is only through separation of church and state that our freedom to practice any religion we wish, or to practice no religion at all, remains safe.

• Who should decide when and how you pray?
• Who should decide how much money you donate to religion?
• Who should decide how often you attend worship services?
• Who should decide on the religious upbringing of your children?

You should!

The Constitution bars government from meddling in religion. Government should be neutral on theological matters and not seek to sponsor, promote or further faith.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has been working for 60 years to defend religious liberty in America and guaranteed to us in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Quote of the Day

"There are just as many gender identities as there are individuals. Being transgender is just one part of who I am."--anonymous

Marriage Equality, Deb Wallace and Brian Baird

Several weeks ago, I signed the Marriage Equality Petition for Washington State. I, as I imagine did the others from Southwest Washington who signed the petition, received the following email from Congressman Brian Baird and the one beneath it from State Representative Deb Wallace. I have not heard from the other 10 elected officials that it went to.

Dear Ms. Crosland:

Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts about domestic partnership. I appreciate hearing from you and apologize for the delay in my reply.

Let me begin by saying that I take my responsibility to represent the people who live in Southwest Washington very seriously, which is why I deeply appreciate you taking the time to write me. Hearing your comments and concerns on the important issues facing our country is important to me as I work to represent Southwest Washington in Congress. I believe that our nation's government is only as strong as the individuals who choose to actively participate in its improvement, and I am grateful when constituents take the time to contact me.

I share your interest in ensuring equal rights and privileges for gay and lesbian people. I do not believe that homosexual relationships threaten in any way the marriage of heterosexual couples. The strength of individual marriages and marriage as an institution depends, first and foremost, on the commitment and conduct of the people involved.

I have strongly opposed efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit gay marriage. Since its drafting in 1787, the Constitution has only been amended 27 times and has never been amended to single out one group for the restriction of rights enjoyed by others or to allow one state to refuse to recognize the laws of another. Indeed, the framers were clear that a fundamental duty of our government is to protect the rights of all citizens, whether or not those citizens are in the majority, and whether or not the majority supports rights for those citizens.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to do so in the future if I may be of further assistance. In addition, I invite you to visit my website at http://www.house.gov/baird/IMA/email.shtml and sign up for periodic email updates about my work in Congress.

Karen,

Thank you for sharing your support for gay marriage and equal rights. I greatly value the input I receive from members of our community. I've co-sponsored and supported in past legislative sessions the civil rights bill, which provided protection from discrimination in housing and employment, the domestic partnership registry and the expansion of the domestic partnership responsibilities and protections. I appreciate that you've taken the time to voice your support and look forward to hearing more from you on this issue during the next legislative session.

Best regards,

Deb

Deb Wallace
State Representative
17th Legislative District

Check out my legislative website: http://hdc.leg.wa.gov/members/wallace/

Kaiser

I don't know how long it's been in place, but Kaiser Permanente is now providing training to their practitioners in treating LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) patients. This should be part of training--and ongoing training--for all health care professionals. I'm glad to see Kaiser has taken a step in the right direction and is striving to provide "culturally competent care."

Kafka on the Shore

I've recently been listening to an audio recording of Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. I wish I was better at reviewing and writing about books because it's definitely one of the best books I have ever read/listened to.

I first became aware of the book when I read that it was one of The New York Times' 10 best books of 2005. It caught my eye because I had read The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by the same author and had really enjoyed it, though I found it a rather unusual story.

As I've been listening to the book, I've been thinking to myself that I'm probably not picking up on everything the author is trying to say. According to a Wikipedia article, the author, Murakami, "...stated that the secret to understanding the novel lies in reading it multiple times. Murakami: 'Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader. To put it another way, the riddles function as part of the solution. It's hard to explain, but that's the kind of novel I set out to write.' "

Besides the riddles, the story contains many references to music and musicians, both contemporary and classic, as well as literature. In fact, one of the main characters spends a great amount of time in a library reading. What a wonderful way to spend time!

The story is full of both the real and the surreal. The two main characters are unusual, the 15 year perhaps wise beyond his years, and both very endearing. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to read a contemporary, thoughtful novel.

It's Okay, It's Only Love

Gender Identity vs. Sexual Orientation

The more people I talk to, the more people I find who don't realize--or just haven't thought about--the fact that gender identity and sexual orientation are two different and independent things.

Gender identity is the gender of your psychological self, the gender your brain and soul know you to be. This may be male, female, both, or neither.

Gender Identity

(Psychological sense of self)

man -------- two spirit/third gender -------- woman

Sexual orientation is the gender you are attracted to. This may be male, female, both, or neither.

Sexual Orientation
(romantic/erotic response)

attracted to women---bisexual/asexual---attracted to men

At the time of birth, a person's gender identity and sexual orientation have already been established. They are a part of how they were made.

Pill instead of Liquid

I just read an ad in Prevention magazine for a pill that is now available for colonoscopy prep. Anyone who has had to drink the awful liquid as prep will be interested. From what I read, you need to take between 12 and 20 of these pills, depending on your doctor's instructions, but you get to choose your own 64 oz. of clear liquid to drink with it. Imagine drinking tea, apple juice, and or 7-Up instead of that nasty, salty stuff!

Rush

On Sunday, June 1, I was fortunate enough to attend the Rush concert at the Clark County Amphitheater, the band's second stop here as part of their Snakes & Arrows tour. What a great show! One of the things that really stands out for me is the amount of energy the guys had, especially during the 2nd half of the show. After nearly 35 years together, and on a tour that's lasted over a year, they still get up on stage night after night and give their fans an amazing three-hour show.

Besides the obvious--songs from the Snakes & Arrows album (I think they played nearly all of them)--the set list included several songs from Permanent Waves, which is probably my favorite Rush album overall. The song that probably got the biggest audience response was "2112," though the crowd--which was much bigger than when I saw Rush in 2004--sang along to many of the songs, including "The Trees," "Natural Science," "Limelight," "Freewill," "The Spirit of the Radio," and "Red Barchetta."

The stage effects for "Witch Hunt" were especially impressive, including lights and fire that really fit the tone of the music. The stage lights in general were just amazing, with five huge UFO-like light fixtures that went up and down, independently of each other, during the show, providing a wide range of effects. I can't begin to imagine the man power it takes to set up, take down and move all of the equipment from show to show.

And then, of course, there were the videos, a Rush tradition I think, which really show the band's sense of humor. Scottish kilts, Barbie dolls, Jerry Stiller, Lil' Rush, chicken...

What a great evening! My only regret is that I procrastinated so long in buying tickets that I ended up third row from the back, standing on tip-toes the entire evening so that I could see the stage. I still had a great time though!

Quote for the Day

"Evil in Austen, as in most great fiction, lies in the inability to 'see' others, hence to empathize with them." [...] "We are all capable of becoming the blind censor, of imposing our visions and desires on others."--Azar Nafisi in Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books

Thank Goodness for AAA

Last July, as my car was approaching 100,000 miles and I was planning trips to Olympia and Philomath, I decided to purchase a AAA membership. Membership is very affordable and, though I take pretty good care of my car, it made me feel a little more comfortable about the road trips I frequently make.

A few weeks ago I used the membership benefits for the first time, receiving a bit of a discount on a hotel room reservation. But thankfully, in the nearly 11 months since purchasing the membership, I hadn't had the need to call for roadside assistance with my car. That changed early this morning at about 1:00 a.m. as I was driving home from Portland. I had just crossed the I-5 bridge and was merging onto Highway 14 when I noticed that my car sounded and felt funny, and it didn't seem to "want" to increase its speed back up to 60 mph. As I was trying to figure out what was going on, I noticed that the car in the lane next to me was going the same speed--odd because I was only going about 40 mph at this point and the speed limit is 60--and that the passenger had his window rolled down and was trying to get my attention. I rolled down my window and heard, "You have a flat tire." Of course! It all made sense.

I pulled over--thankfully there's a nice wide shoulder on the side of Highway 14 at that spot--turned on my flashers, and called AAA. A tow truck and driver arrived in about 20 minutes. Less than 10 minutes later, without me even having to get out of the car, the tire was changed and I was ready to finish my trip home. I flat tire is never fun, and at 1:00 a.m. in the morning it's a bit scary, but the AAA membership made it a relatively pain-free experience.

My Secret Self: A Story of Transgender Children

A little over a year ago, Barbara Walters did a 20/20 show on transgendered children. Overall, I thought it was well done and quite valuable for those who want to better understand both what it means to grow up transgendered and what it means to be the parent of a transgendered child. You can watch the episode on youtube.com; it has been broken down into 5 segments, each 6 to 9 1/2 minutes long.

Segment 1
Segment 2
Segment 3
Segment 4
Segment 5

Transgender Resources

"Most people simply aren't prepared with the information they need to effectively deal with this, and our hope is to point you to where you will find the resources you need to help your family, and your transgender child, on their journey."--TransProud website

Learning that someone you love is transgendered is likely to create a whirlwind of thoughts, emotions, confusion...This is normal. Thankfully, there are many resources and organizations that provide support and information to family and friends. Here are a few:

TransProud
TransYouth Family Allies
PFLAG Transgender Network
Project:Transitions
Community of Welcoming Congregations

Reading Lolita in Tehran

"The best fiction always forced us to question what we took for granted. It questioned traditions and expectations when they seemed too immutable." "A great novel heightens your senses and sensitivity to the complexities of life and of individuals, and prevents you from the self-righteousness that sees morality in fixed formulas about good and evil..."

These are quotes by Azar Nafisi from her book Reading Lolita in Tehran, A Memoir in Books describing some of the reasons why she believes literature is important, why it should not be censored, and why she enjoys reading fiction so much. I wish I was as articulate as she is; all I can say is that I agree.

Mojito

I tried a new (to me) drink yesterday: mojito. It was delicious, refreshing, and just one drink lasted through two games of pool. (That's quite a while, given that I'm a pretty bad pool player.)

Mojito
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz light rum
- 1 tbs superfine sugar
- Lime wedges
- Club soda
- Mint sprigs

Muddle mint leaves, superfine sugar and lime in a mixing glass. Add 1 1/2 oz light rum and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake. Strain the mixture into a tall glass and top with club soda. Garnish with fresh mint sprig. Sugarcane syrup can be used to replace superfine sugar.

We asked our bartender to not make ours too sweet, and he did a great job. I'm not sure if he made them less sweet by using less sugar or by adding more club soda (he served them in pint beer glasses filled with ice), but whatever he did, I thought mine was perfect!

Quote for the Day

In a world where you can be anything, be yourself.--unknown

Vocabulary

I'm currently reading The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud and enjoying it very much. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good novel to read. I'm about 2/3's of the way through the book and have come across a several words that I'm not completely familiar with. I thought it was about time I looked up a few of them as improving one's vocabulary is always a good thing!

benison: -noun a blessing; a benediction
uxorious: -adj. doting upon, foolishly fond of, or affectionately submissive towards one's wife
insalubrious: -adj. unfavorable to health; unwholesome

New Favorite Salad

Pickled beets, fat free feta cheese, and sunflower seeds. So easy, and so delicious!

To Be Honest With You

When someone prefaces a statement by saying, "To be honest with you," "To be perfectly honest with you," or "Can I be honest with you?" what does it mean? Lately--and perhaps because I've heard it quite a bit from one particular person-- it's made me think that this person is getting ready to tell me a partial truth (a lie!). Either that, or in other conversation he hasn't been honest, but this time he's decided that'll he'll go ahead and be honest, tell the truth. Or maybe he's just trying to convince himself that he has good reason to not be completely transparent, to tell a "white" lie, to twist things just a bit. Whatever it is, I think it makes me more suspicious about what I'm going to hear, and about the person in general, than if the phrase hadn't been used at all.

The Birth House by Ami McKay

I just finished reading The Birth House by Ami McKay. Set in a small town in Nova Scotia during World War I, the novel's main theme is a the struggle women endure to maintain control over her own body in our male-dominated, male-privileged society.

Though the book started out a little slow for me, once I got into the story and came to know the main characters, I really enjoyed it. The author made the book fun by including newspaper ads and stories related to what was happening in the story. The last chapter is notes from The Willow Book, a mid-wife's reference book.

I definitely recommend The Birth House and, while there is something in it for everyone, I believe women who have given birth will especially enjoy it. I look forward to reading Ami McKay's next book, The Virgin Cure.

Body Smarts Quiz

http://www.realage.com/HealthyYOUCenter/BodyTool/intro.aspx

Optometry Adventures

Visited the eye doctor yesterday, partly because it had been close to two years since I'd had my eyes checked, but mostly because my contacts have been very dry and uncomfortable the past few months. I was really hoping to hear that a different contact would solve my discomfort, but was half expecting to be told that as I get older I'm just going to have to expect to wear my contacts less often and for shorter periods of time.

Well, everything went very well. So far at least. My eyes are very healthy with no signs of glaucoma, cataracts, or macular degeneration. That was what I expected, but it's still good to hear. And I still don't need reading glasses, despite nearing my 47th birthday (knock on wood!). And I'm trying a new (to me) contact that is supposed to be very comfortable. Apparently, the ones I've been wearing for several years were one of the best when they came out, but are now being phased out as they are developing better contact lens materials. So, I'm going to wear these for a couple of week and if everything looks and feels good after that, I'll order a supply. They're more expensive at $6 a lens. That's quite a jump in price percentage-wise considering I was paying under $5 a lens for my old lenses, but since I go through just 2 lenses a month, it is definitely affordable.

Then for glasses. Even with comfortable contacts, I still need glasses, and I'm really tired of the pair I've had for about four years now. Plus, they're scratched and bent, so I definitely need a new pair. Aaron and Kit have both ordered glasses online and have been happy with what they've gotten--both with price and quality--so I decided to give it a try. I found a pair of frames at Kaiser that I really like (at $150 for the frames, only) and then found what look like a very similar frame at Zenni Optical. With that frame, the complete pair of glasses from Zenni, including shipping, is just $26. So, I ordered a pair! I'm looking forward to receiving them in a couple of weeks.

Aaron shared with me a couple of blogs he read while researching the idea of purchasing glasses online. One is about the actual shopping for and selecting your glasses, the other is about the outrageous mark-ups optometrists put on the glasses we purchase from them.

Crew

Kit, with The Evergreen State College crew, will be competing in the WIRA Championships on Lake Natoma at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center this coming weekend. I bet it's going to be very exciting. Though I can't be there, my love and thoughts will be with you, Kit. Good luck to you and your entire team!

Home Ownership and Money Decisions

As any homeowner knows, there's always some kind of maintenance to be done, something to buy, something that takes your time and money. This week I've been working on two projects: getting my garage door opener fixed and looking into buying a new lawnmower. With both, and as is not uncommon, I've had to make a decision on how much money to spend. The interesting thing is that both involve a difference of about $150.

With the garage door opener, I can choose to either have the broken part replaced, at a cost of about $150, or have the entire opener replaced, at a cost of $300. I'm told that the average life of a garage door opener is 15-20 years. I've had mine for 17 years so, statistically, it's near the end of its life. However, I've really never had any problems with it before now, and the repairman says that the motor sounds good. And, he says that he has seen many openers last well past the average lifespan. So, I've opted to have the broken part, only, replaced ($150 instead of $300) and will keep my fingers crossed that the opener lasts for several more years.

With the lawnmower, I've been doing some serious thinking about buying an electric mower. I'd like to say that I'm doing it for the environment, to reduce my carbon footprint. But, I have to be honest and say that I'm doing it because I want to make the job of mowing the lawn easier. I know of at least three people who have electric mowers and they are say it's the only way to go. Though electric mowers have less power than gas mowers, and as such don't have self-propelled models, may have a difficult time getting through tall or wet grass, it sounds like they're easier to use. They definitely have to be easier to start than gas mowers, not to mention quieter and cleaner. I believe they are also lighter, which is probably why they're easier to use. My dilemma is whether to buy a corded or cord-free model. The cord-free model--of course--is more expensive. About $150 more expensive. I thought about this as I was mowing my backyard this evening, thinking about what it would be like if I had a cord attached to the mower and plugged into the outlet on the back patio. What a pain! Especially with the posts that hold up the patio cover and the fact that I have to mow not only the back, but also the side of the house. So, I think I've pretty much convinced myself that a cordless model is worth an extra $150 for the convenience. After all, the only reason I'm considering buying a new mower is to make the chore easier!

Now, do I go to Lowe's, the hardware store, Sears, order online from Amazon...

10 Big Diet Myths

I've been reading Weight Loss That Lasts: Break Through the 10 Big Diet Myths by James M. Rippe, M.D. and Weight Watchers. It's a quick and easy read, and I like the format. Each of the "10 Big Diet Myths" is a chapter. The chapter includes the myth, "kernels of truth" or a discussion of the pieces of the myth that are true, and then the real facts according to the author and Weight Watchers. Mostly, the book is reaffirming what I already know--some of what I know first hand based on the dieting/lifestyle changes I've been working on the last few months-- and not giving me a lot of new knowledge, but I'm still finding it interesting.

The author, and Weight Watchers, really goes back to basics in that a calorie is a calorie, and that if you want to lose weight you have to expend more calories than you take in; you have to create an energy deficit. It does matter what time of day you eat, how you combine your food, if you eat carbs or protein or fat. It's all about the calories!

And, the average American underestimates the amount of calories they consume in an average day and overestimates the amount of calories they burn during exercise. I definitely found this to be true as I began recording everything I ate. I didn't think I was doing too badly before, but it's amazing how many calories there can be even in a reasonably healthy diet. If you're truly eating healthy, you may be doing just fine for maintaining your weight, but cutting back quite a bit is the way to go if you want to lose. You have to create a 3500 calorie deficit for each pound you want to lose. That's a lot of calories to cut and/or burn! And when 30 minutes of moderate exercise only burns about 150 calories, but a slice of pizza and a beer add up to about 500 calories, it's going to take some work and some changes to slim down and get healthier.

The thing that rang the most true for me is that each person's diet or lifestyle change is going to be different. For instance: I'm a snacker and I know it. I'm not going to be successful in my healthier way of eating if I tell myself I can't have snacks. So, I have to eat lighter at meal time, and then plan healthy, low-cal snacks (and the occasional chocolate) into my day. And I know that I'm going to drink a glass of wine, or even a gin & tonic or martini each evening so, again, I include that "treat" as a part of my daily diet, and in turn eliminate something else. For me, eliminating all but high-fiber breads, tortillas, and cereals has worked as a good trade off. And those white, overly-processed foods are not good for me anyway. This works for me (on most days anyway), but isn't going to work for someone else. Someone else would gladly go without any alcohol if they could just have a roll and butter with dinner every night!

So off I go to read more about diet myths: You can lose weight with exercise alone; You can't lose weight if you have the wrong metabolism or genes; You can boost your metabolism by what, how and when you eat, etc...and to try to stick with my choice to eat healthier and lighter.

It's a Start

I've thought about starting my own blog for quite sometime, but never took the first step to begin. All kinds of excuses went through my mind: it takes time, who would want to read what I have to say, I don't know if I can be disciplined to keep it up...Yet everyday as I'm thinking about the great books I'm reading or want to read, the things my kids do to make me proud, the good times I have with my family and friends, the things that make me happy and the things that make me angry, and I think: I want to share this with someone. I should blog it! So here I am. I don't know how diligent I'll be, or if anyone else will ever read what I write, but I've come to the conclusion that none of that really matters.