I found out yesterday while reading the New York Times that Michelle Obama and I share a birthday -- same day, same year: January 17th, 1964. The NYT article was about fashion, and M.O.'s influence on it. I was thinking, it's a good thing they're not writing that about me -- there would be little to say! "She wears nice fleece pullovers and cordoroys and sneakers. Except the days she wears that old, worn-out fleece and yoga pants. She takes her influence from L.L. Bean and occasionally steps it up a notch to Nordstrom's or Title Nine or even a boutique every couple of years or so..."
Jon said if I was on my way to being first lady, I would have people who would shop and put my wardrobe together for me. Then he apologized that I married the wrong person. I said it was okay. Then we went to see "Slumdog Millionaire" and after that I finished reading the very long, very amazing book "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle," both raw, sad and beautiful. When I went to sleep, I dreamed the protaganists were the same person.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Friday, December 19, 2008
Bullies, Forgers & Thieves
Labels aren't everything. I got to the end of the day yesterday -- Thursday -- and realized the following:
1) Aaron was sent to the office for pushing a kid down.
2) Sophie forged Jon's name on the bottom of her reading log.
3) We got the the car after leaving Children's Place yesterday, and I realized Aaron was carrying a pair of pajamas we hadn't paid for.
So, am I raising bullies, forgers and thieves?
Nah! I felt good to realize these are all teachable moments -- perfect opportunities for parenting. None of them were done with malice. Aaron was frustrated because the special day class joins their class for activities, and the boy he pushed makes noises instead of talking and Aaron lost patience and wanted his personal space back. After the holiday break, they're all going to get practice in how to work together and respect differences. (Planned before the incident). Great training for life, where someone is always in your face, or facing different challenges, or you are, or anything else.
Sophie wanted to turn her homework in complete. She'd forgotten to have one of us sign. We insisted she write her teacher an apology note and let her know we'd talked about forgery and she wouldn't do it again.
And of course I'll have to trek back to the store with Aaron and pay for those pajamas.
All in all, a great learning week! And once again, I am grateful for the training I received during my preschool co-op years so that I can automatically view these moments as opportunities, not problems or just bad behavior.
1) Aaron was sent to the office for pushing a kid down.
2) Sophie forged Jon's name on the bottom of her reading log.
3) We got the the car after leaving Children's Place yesterday, and I realized Aaron was carrying a pair of pajamas we hadn't paid for.
So, am I raising bullies, forgers and thieves?
Nah! I felt good to realize these are all teachable moments -- perfect opportunities for parenting. None of them were done with malice. Aaron was frustrated because the special day class joins their class for activities, and the boy he pushed makes noises instead of talking and Aaron lost patience and wanted his personal space back. After the holiday break, they're all going to get practice in how to work together and respect differences. (Planned before the incident). Great training for life, where someone is always in your face, or facing different challenges, or you are, or anything else.
Sophie wanted to turn her homework in complete. She'd forgotten to have one of us sign. We insisted she write her teacher an apology note and let her know we'd talked about forgery and she wouldn't do it again.
And of course I'll have to trek back to the store with Aaron and pay for those pajamas.
All in all, a great learning week! And once again, I am grateful for the training I received during my preschool co-op years so that I can automatically view these moments as opportunities, not problems or just bad behavior.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Notes to the Tooth Fairy
Aaron recently lost his first tooth and was very excited. Actually, he really lost the tooth. It came out during recess at school and he didn't even know it right away. He had several things to write to the tooth fairy explaining the situation, and he was hopeful that she would be able to find his tooth and return it to him, as Sophie always requests to keep her teeth and the tooth fairy has complied with her requests in the past as well as delivering a gold dollar.
He got a note back, plus payment, then wrote another, again asking about the return of the tooth. At some point he asked me if the tooth fairy was real or if it was me. Do I look like the tooth fairy? I asked.
Aaron then wrote up this note, after Sophie questioned the validity of the tooth fairy (upon which I had to inform her that the tooth fairy does not issue payment to non-believers):
SOPHiE DiSAT BlEY EN YOU BATiDO
-AARON
(Sophie doesn't believe in you but I do.)
He got a note back, plus payment, then wrote another, again asking about the return of the tooth. At some point he asked me if the tooth fairy was real or if it was me. Do I look like the tooth fairy? I asked.
Aaron then wrote up this note, after Sophie questioned the validity of the tooth fairy (upon which I had to inform her that the tooth fairy does not issue payment to non-believers):
SOPHiE DiSAT BlEY EN YOU BATiDO
-AARON
(Sophie doesn't believe in you but I do.)
Monday, December 1, 2008
Happy December!
Well, I missed November altogether. I'm still sending out letters to agents. I hope to find an agent this month! Keep your fingers crossed for me!
So back to the book shelf. I had a stack of books I intro'd a while ago. To follow up:
1) The DaVinci Code: This was a fast, enjoyable read. I don't really see what all the fuss was about, though.
2) Palace Walk: This one took me 60 pages or so to really sink into, though I liked it from the start. It slowly lowers you into the vat of this conservative Egyptian family 100 years ago. I felt like I lived in that house by the middle of the book. The women were not allowed out. The father was a philandering tyrant beloved by all and feared by his family. It was weird to realize that this is how many people live still. Excellent portrait of a family and a history and an Arab culture.
3) Run: Ann Patchett strikes again. I want to read more and more of her. Again, I was dropped into a close-up view of a family, with lots of juicy secrets. It's a story of family, politics, and a tiny drop of mystery in the form of a family statue passed down through the generations. I heard her non-fiction "Truth and Beauty" is great. And Bel Canto is still my favorite.
4) The Hakawati: I'm still toward the beginning of this one. It's a big book and I saved it for last. Hakawati means storyteller and I'm enjoying the stories weaving through the text.
And now back to work. Happy December!
So back to the book shelf. I had a stack of books I intro'd a while ago. To follow up:
1) The DaVinci Code: This was a fast, enjoyable read. I don't really see what all the fuss was about, though.
2) Palace Walk: This one took me 60 pages or so to really sink into, though I liked it from the start. It slowly lowers you into the vat of this conservative Egyptian family 100 years ago. I felt like I lived in that house by the middle of the book. The women were not allowed out. The father was a philandering tyrant beloved by all and feared by his family. It was weird to realize that this is how many people live still. Excellent portrait of a family and a history and an Arab culture.
3) Run: Ann Patchett strikes again. I want to read more and more of her. Again, I was dropped into a close-up view of a family, with lots of juicy secrets. It's a story of family, politics, and a tiny drop of mystery in the form of a family statue passed down through the generations. I heard her non-fiction "Truth and Beauty" is great. And Bel Canto is still my favorite.
4) The Hakawati: I'm still toward the beginning of this one. It's a big book and I saved it for last. Hakawati means storyteller and I'm enjoying the stories weaving through the text.
And now back to work. Happy December!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Halloween
The neighborhood yards have been transformed into graveyards, ours included. The rain began yesterday, so it's a real change of seasons as we move out of October. "It's the most wondrous day of the year!" I woke up saying. Sophie proclaimed it the best holiday of the year and both kids were ready in their costumes to get to school early. Let me tell you, that doesn't happen often.
Why? Why is this THE holiday? In our neighborhood, it's especially big, and kids and parents come from all the neighborhoods around to trick or treat on our flat, sidewalked, decorated streets.
It's not tied to anything religious, at least not in this country. People get to embody whatever character they want -- and often, the darker the better. My kids left as a Dark Skull Warrior and a Vampire. Anything goes. A house on our block is transformed into a haunted house each year, actually too scary for most kids -- those that go in come out crying.
Is it more about candy or roaming the streets in the dark, with access to every house's front door, and the only requirement to say thank you for the candy, at least when prodded with your parent's glow stick?
What IS it? I think that's what great about Halloween -- there's no hidden agenda or message -- it all flows from the subconscious out onto the streets, something out of our deep pagan past, and so satisfying.
Why? Why is this THE holiday? In our neighborhood, it's especially big, and kids and parents come from all the neighborhoods around to trick or treat on our flat, sidewalked, decorated streets.
It's not tied to anything religious, at least not in this country. People get to embody whatever character they want -- and often, the darker the better. My kids left as a Dark Skull Warrior and a Vampire. Anything goes. A house on our block is transformed into a haunted house each year, actually too scary for most kids -- those that go in come out crying.
Is it more about candy or roaming the streets in the dark, with access to every house's front door, and the only requirement to say thank you for the candy, at least when prodded with your parent's glow stick?
What IS it? I think that's what great about Halloween -- there's no hidden agenda or message -- it all flows from the subconscious out onto the streets, something out of our deep pagan past, and so satisfying.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Gettin' Back on Board
Delinquent, that's me. Books due back to the library, permission slips to the kids' teachers, and that desk, that desk I can't find anything on. Oh, and the laundry -- but at least it's clean, just in need of folding. Of course the longer you wait, the less there is to fold as things get snatched out of the basket. But right now, I'm settlin' the score with this blog, and gettin' back on! (I thought I'd try dropping a couple of 'g's, since that seems to be in vogue.)
God, I was sick of talking about sandwiches! And now I'm in the antithesis -- a "Fall Detox" diet with no bread or sugar, among other missing things. But I do get to keep chocolate -- as long as it's unsweetened. And I'm drinking a lovely coffee substitute called Tee-chino, mixed with hot almond milk. The thing is, I'm not a caffeine addict -- really I just enjoy hot drinks -- so that works for me.
I was LOVING sitting at my desk working every morning for a couple of weeks. Then I went and added exercise back in to the equation, and this is my first time at the desk (except checking email) the whole week! Plus I worked in Aaron's Kindergarten classroom Monday - but that was so fun! And, oh yeah, I had to do online traffic school, too.
Last October we had an almost real fall here on the Peninsula, due to an uncharacteristic California cold snap. I love seeing the leaves changes color. I love the feel of fall. I'd hoped to see some change on the way to Lake Tahoe last weekend, like last year, but there wasn't much of anything to see. It was a great weekend, anyway -- a moms' weekend away to scrapbook with a close-up view of the lake and a nice walk thrown in. I laid down pages in our family album for January through June, 2008, so it was like a slowed-d0wn, sped-up version of the first half of the year -- reorganized and stylized and frozen in time on 22 pages. Scrapbooking is a great way to complete a book! While I work on getting my "real" book out into the world. I am still looking for the right agent for the job.
God, I was sick of talking about sandwiches! And now I'm in the antithesis -- a "Fall Detox" diet with no bread or sugar, among other missing things. But I do get to keep chocolate -- as long as it's unsweetened. And I'm drinking a lovely coffee substitute called Tee-chino, mixed with hot almond milk. The thing is, I'm not a caffeine addict -- really I just enjoy hot drinks -- so that works for me.
I was LOVING sitting at my desk working every morning for a couple of weeks. Then I went and added exercise back in to the equation, and this is my first time at the desk (except checking email) the whole week! Plus I worked in Aaron's Kindergarten classroom Monday - but that was so fun! And, oh yeah, I had to do online traffic school, too.
Last October we had an almost real fall here on the Peninsula, due to an uncharacteristic California cold snap. I love seeing the leaves changes color. I love the feel of fall. I'd hoped to see some change on the way to Lake Tahoe last weekend, like last year, but there wasn't much of anything to see. It was a great weekend, anyway -- a moms' weekend away to scrapbook with a close-up view of the lake and a nice walk thrown in. I laid down pages in our family album for January through June, 2008, so it was like a slowed-d0wn, sped-up version of the first half of the year -- reorganized and stylized and frozen in time on 22 pages. Scrapbooking is a great way to complete a book! While I work on getting my "real" book out into the world. I am still looking for the right agent for the job.
Monday, October 6, 2008
And the Winners Are...
Sandwich Week has drawn to a close and it's time to award prizes to the winners!
1st Place goes to Joyce!
For the best and simplest classic sandwich with the best description that made me want to drop everything and make it right away. Also, she said it was "no contest" so I had to give her a prize. And she's my mom, and when I saw the words "no contest" I thought at first I would have to cancel my contest, but luckily that wasn't what she meant. Joyce says:
No contest. The best sandwich is on white bread with a little mayo. Hellmans of course. The sandwich consists of a few slices of fresh tomato(right off the vine) and some lettuce. The secret is the warm tomato right off the vine.
2nd Place goes to Wendy!
Wendy submitted several entries, but the one that caught my eye was this one. Wendy says:
A Hummus-sprout-type-thing with homemade seedy bread that I had in Mexico at a restaurant in the village called S'nice.
Both winners will be receiving a crisp $10 bill in the mail to spend at your favorite sandwich place. Congratulations!
By the way, I had to disqualify Jon (my husband) from entering, as during sandwich week he brought me a sandwich from the local deli - pastrami - which, like Wendy, I haven't had in a long time, but I'd started thinking about. The problem was, Jon had them make it on the usual wheat bread I get sandwiches on, but you must never, never make a pastrami sandwich on anything but rye! Jon made a mistake, and I have forgiven him, but I can't forget how he brought a temporary cloud over sandwich week for that day. But it was nice of him to pick up a sandwich for me. And now, it is time to move onto other things, as this really isn't a recipe blog after all!
1st Place goes to Joyce!
For the best and simplest classic sandwich with the best description that made me want to drop everything and make it right away. Also, she said it was "no contest" so I had to give her a prize. And she's my mom, and when I saw the words "no contest" I thought at first I would have to cancel my contest, but luckily that wasn't what she meant. Joyce says:
No contest. The best sandwich is on white bread with a little mayo. Hellmans of course. The sandwich consists of a few slices of fresh tomato(right off the vine) and some lettuce. The secret is the warm tomato right off the vine.
2nd Place goes to Wendy!
Wendy submitted several entries, but the one that caught my eye was this one. Wendy says:
A Hummus-sprout-type-thing with homemade seedy bread that I had in Mexico at a restaurant in the village called S'nice.
Both winners will be receiving a crisp $10 bill in the mail to spend at your favorite sandwich place. Congratulations!
By the way, I had to disqualify Jon (my husband) from entering, as during sandwich week he brought me a sandwich from the local deli - pastrami - which, like Wendy, I haven't had in a long time, but I'd started thinking about. The problem was, Jon had them make it on the usual wheat bread I get sandwiches on, but you must never, never make a pastrami sandwich on anything but rye! Jon made a mistake, and I have forgiven him, but I can't forget how he brought a temporary cloud over sandwich week for that day. But it was nice of him to pick up a sandwich for me. And now, it is time to move onto other things, as this really isn't a recipe blog after all!
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