Usually I only write about products I like. However, I have recently come across a product so bad I feel it's my duty to warn my readers about it. You all know how much I love Weight Watchers products. Usually they're very good, sometimes they're OK, but I've never come across one that was revolting until now. I can not begin to tell you how disgusting the Weight Watchers Chocolate Chip Soft Cookies are. I'm not even going to post a picture here because I'm pretty sure I'll get sued for copyright infringement on a review this devastating.
My husband's favorite dessert IN LIFE is chocolate chip cookies. He LOVES them, and he's not picky about how they taste, honestly. In the seven years I've known him, I've never seen him turn down a cookie until last night. To his credit, he choked one down, but after that we decided to benevolently bequeath them to Ashlan, who also LOVES chocolate chip cookies. We told her she could have the whole box if she wanted, but my God, even SHE couldn't eat them.
Being MBA's, we discussed how on Earth this product make it through development, focus groups, and test marketing. The mind boggles.
Truly, my friends, this is the most disgusting food item I've run across since brussels sprout.
Now, I do hope that I have prevented a few people from purchasing these. We can only hope that if the sales aren't good, they'll go back to the drawing board and give us some palatable cookies. I'm not brave enough to try the Oatmeal Raisin ones, but I'd love to hear from you if you've had them.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
A Warning to My Readers
Friday, May 16, 2008
Yoga
I am really groovin' on yoga. Yes, yes, I know that I barely even know what yoga is. Nonetheless, I'm really proud of myself with how well I've been doing in class. Also, I love how good it makes my body feel.
As I mentioned on Wednesday, I was really stressed. During ESL class (at a point in which my services weren't needed, and I was NOT the focus of attention), I felt compelled to do a Forward Fold as a way to calm myself. I also did Exultant Warrior without the arm movements. Just a little over the top for doing in ESL class. :)
Yesterday I asked my yoga instructor what poses she recommends when we're out there in the world and need to calm ourselves. She said first and foremost we have to breathe. There we go with that breathing thing again! Then she recommended Forward Fold (Yes! I have great instincts) and showed us a new pose we could do if we had a few minutes to ourselves. It's imaginatively named Legs-Up-The-Wall pose, and I employed it last night as Rohan crawled all over me. (I didn't put a pillow under my butt, though. I should try it both ways and see what works best for me.)
Anyway, I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. You can move your legs all around on the wall, even kind of sitting cross legged, with your back on the ground, your butt and legs on the wall. Very comfy, nice stretch, and quite calming.
2. The weekend.
3. The prayer flags I got in the mail today. I got paper ones for inside and cloth ones that I hung outside. The definitely have great vibes.
4. That I listened to my inner voice today and decided not to do my treadmill at 6:06 a.m. I knew it would make for a very frantic morning, what with 35 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes to ice my feet, and then trying to get a shower. Rohan could have woken up at any point during that time, and I knew it would have been horribly stressful. Instead, I listened to myself, took a leisurely shower and got all pretty before the little guy woke up. And I dutifully did my treadmill when he took his afternoon nap. No problems whatsoever!
5. Blogger.
As I mentioned on Wednesday, I was really stressed. During ESL class (at a point in which my services weren't needed, and I was NOT the focus of attention), I felt compelled to do a Forward Fold as a way to calm myself. I also did Exultant Warrior without the arm movements. Just a little over the top for doing in ESL class. :)
Yesterday I asked my yoga instructor what poses she recommends when we're out there in the world and need to calm ourselves. She said first and foremost we have to breathe. There we go with that breathing thing again! Then she recommended Forward Fold (Yes! I have great instincts) and showed us a new pose we could do if we had a few minutes to ourselves. It's imaginatively named Legs-Up-The-Wall pose, and I employed it last night as Rohan crawled all over me. (I didn't put a pillow under my butt, though. I should try it both ways and see what works best for me.)
Anyway, I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. You can move your legs all around on the wall, even kind of sitting cross legged, with your back on the ground, your butt and legs on the wall. Very comfy, nice stretch, and quite calming.
I am grateful for the following...
1. Yoga!2. The weekend.
3. The prayer flags I got in the mail today. I got paper ones for inside and cloth ones that I hung outside. The definitely have great vibes.
4. That I listened to my inner voice today and decided not to do my treadmill at 6:06 a.m. I knew it would make for a very frantic morning, what with 35 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes to ice my feet, and then trying to get a shower. Rohan could have woken up at any point during that time, and I knew it would have been horribly stressful. Instead, I listened to myself, took a leisurely shower and got all pretty before the little guy woke up. And I dutifully did my treadmill when he took his afternoon nap. No problems whatsoever!
5. Blogger.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Bloggers Unite for Human Rights: Microcredit
It's no surprise to my longtime readers that I am extremely supportive of microcredit. Even before I read Muhammad Yunus' Banker to the Poor, I felt that offering small loans to people in developing nations was a wonderful way to give back some of the riches I've been blessed with. Once I finally delved into the book by the Nobel Laureate, however, I became even more convinced that beyond simply offering someone a hand up, microcredit changes lives. Pure and simple.
In developing areas where people DO have access to credit (which isn't always a given), the interest rates are often so high that entrepreneurs either don't take out loans or they struggle to pay them back. This situation can even result in a form of indentured servitude, where lenders only give enough money for borrowers to make a tiny profit--enough to barely subsist on--thereby ensuring repeat business. Yunus speaks of a woman who borrowed every day from the money lenders. She made stools, and the lender gave her enough to buy the raw materials, then told her she had to sell him the stools in order to pay off her debt. He gave her just enough money to keep her involved in that cycle, just enough to feed herself and her children.
The fury Yunus felt at realizing this woman's plight could be fixed for just a few pennies is what helped propel him on the road to establishing the Grameen Bank and to winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
Our family uses Kiva.org to engage in microlending. The site is particularly good for children because users can go on there and search for loans, actually seeing a photo of the borrowers as well as a short write up about his/her business. Also, once the funds are repaid, the lender can either re-lend them or have the money transferred to their Paypal account. Rohan and Ashlan both have their own Kiva accounts, and Ashlan loves getting updates about her borrowers. To date she's had FIVE loans paid back, and it really is thrilling to see that the process works.
Imagine our joy when, on May 6--11 months early--Mrs. Kuhn was able to repay the entire amount of her loan because her business was so successful!
Victoria Zorida of Peru recently obtained a second loan from Kiva. The first one, which she repaid on time, was to purchase reliable brand name drugs for her pharmacy. In the first loan she mentioned her dream of opening her own clinic and practicing obstetrics, as she'd been trained. Well, the second loan allowed for that! She opened her own medical center last month, as well as another pharmacy. The excellent thing about these kind of loans is that she and her family benefit from them, of course, but so does the community at large.
That's the lovely thing about microfinance. People can take a dream they have and turn it into something that benefits many. Instead of having to wonder where their next meal is coming from, they become more empowered to make choices in their lives and to allow themselves to hope for a better future for their children.
Obviously, microcredit is not a cure for poverty. But for hardworking people with goals, loans offer them a dignified way to provide for themselves.
If you'd like to see our loans or read more about our entrepreneurs, feel free to check out our lender page or our loan map. All it takes is $25 to get involved in this marvelous process.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Breathe
Yesterday and today were ridiculously stressful. "Ridiculous" mostly because it's not as if I have anything substantial to be stressed about. Rather, it was a succession of comparatively small things--running errands, driving the kids around, trying to feed everyone--junk like that.
For the past few weeks, Wednesdays have not gone well. To the point that I'd decided that Wednesday would be one of the two "skip" days I take in regards to exercising. That didn't help at all unfortunately, and things have been steadily getting worse, not better.
Yesterday one of the oracle cards I drew encouraged me to breathe when I'm stressed. In through the nose, out through the mouth, and I must say that advice has been extremely helpful. I've employed it liberally yesterday and today.
Today my card was "communication." When I almost broke down in tears at the grocery store because I couldn't find what I needed, the pharmacist was mean to me, and because so many items were out of stock, I realized I needed to communicate my issues to Hiren.
It went something like this.
"I hate this stupid store," I told him, maturely.
"Don't go there. I told you I'd go," he replied soothingly.
"I'll go to one store on Mondays or Tuesdays when Rohan's in school. Will you get the remaining things from the other store on Fridays after work?"
"Sure. No problem. I'll even go to both stores if you want."
God, do I love that man. So, however petulantly, I did manage to communicate my issues to my husband, who has very sweetly agreed to a plan of action that I think will help a lot. I really do.
There you have it my friends. My advice to you today is to breathe and communicate!
2. That my husband is open to communication.
3. The four heron sightings I've had in the past few weeks, always gliding effortlessly across my path. I know they're a sign, and I get very excited when I see them.
4. The new fountain I bought for my backyard. Yes, I decided against making one, but I really like the one I bought. It sounds lovely.
5. That last night, when I was so tired and frustrated I could have cried, Hiren took cranky little Rohan into the guest bedroom and laid down with him so I could sleep. I don't know what's been wrong with that kid lately. He gets up crying in the middle of the night, but when we bring him into our room he wants to play, not sleep. He sits on our heads and pulls my hair. It's horrible. Tonight we've agreed to let him cry instead of bringing him into our room. Thank God. See--communication worked again!
For the past few weeks, Wednesdays have not gone well. To the point that I'd decided that Wednesday would be one of the two "skip" days I take in regards to exercising. That didn't help at all unfortunately, and things have been steadily getting worse, not better.
Yesterday one of the oracle cards I drew encouraged me to breathe when I'm stressed. In through the nose, out through the mouth, and I must say that advice has been extremely helpful. I've employed it liberally yesterday and today.
Today my card was "communication." When I almost broke down in tears at the grocery store because I couldn't find what I needed, the pharmacist was mean to me, and because so many items were out of stock, I realized I needed to communicate my issues to Hiren.
It went something like this.
"I hate this stupid store," I told him, maturely.
"Don't go there. I told you I'd go," he replied soothingly.
"I'll go to one store on Mondays or Tuesdays when Rohan's in school. Will you get the remaining things from the other store on Fridays after work?"
"Sure. No problem. I'll even go to both stores if you want."
God, do I love that man. So, however petulantly, I did manage to communicate my issues to my husband, who has very sweetly agreed to a plan of action that I think will help a lot. I really do.
There you have it my friends. My advice to you today is to breathe and communicate!
I am grateful for the following...
1. iTunes.2. That my husband is open to communication.
3. The four heron sightings I've had in the past few weeks, always gliding effortlessly across my path. I know they're a sign, and I get very excited when I see them.
4. The new fountain I bought for my backyard. Yes, I decided against making one, but I really like the one I bought. It sounds lovely.
5. That last night, when I was so tired and frustrated I could have cried, Hiren took cranky little Rohan into the guest bedroom and laid down with him so I could sleep. I don't know what's been wrong with that kid lately. He gets up crying in the middle of the night, but when we bring him into our room he wants to play, not sleep. He sits on our heads and pulls my hair. It's horrible. Tonight we've agreed to let him cry instead of bringing him into our room. Thank God. See--communication worked again!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
NOT Possible
Today was weigh in day, and somehow I gained 2.5 pounds. Bah! NOT POSSIBLE! Don't worry, I'm not upset about. I know it's physically impossible for me to have eaten properly and exercised and had a gain like that. Once again I am chalking this up to added muscle, and I'm moving on.
I have big plans to make a fountain for my garden. Nothing too fancy. A pot with some stones would be lovely. We shall see how I do with that task. I've never done anything like this before, but I'm excited about it. I've wanted one for a few years, but the ones in the stores are soooo expensive that I can't bring myself to lay down the cash for it.
I know I've mentioned that every day I try to draw an oracle card. It helps me connect with my guides and angels, gives me something to work on, and keeps me focused on doing things that feed my soul. I'm always amazed at how accurate the cards I get are. It's fun to know that I'm on the right path. Anyway, yesterday's card was to make sure I talk out loud about things that I love. If you do this, the Universe hears what you love and makes sure you get more of it.
So, here are some things that I love (these are all relatively trivial things; I'm not going to go into the big things like family and world peace and such):
I have big plans to make a fountain for my garden. Nothing too fancy. A pot with some stones would be lovely. We shall see how I do with that task. I've never done anything like this before, but I'm excited about it. I've wanted one for a few years, but the ones in the stores are soooo expensive that I can't bring myself to lay down the cash for it.
I know I've mentioned that every day I try to draw an oracle card. It helps me connect with my guides and angels, gives me something to work on, and keeps me focused on doing things that feed my soul. I'm always amazed at how accurate the cards I get are. It's fun to know that I'm on the right path. Anyway, yesterday's card was to make sure I talk out loud about things that I love. If you do this, the Universe hears what you love and makes sure you get more of it.
So, here are some things that I love (these are all relatively trivial things; I'm not going to go into the big things like family and world peace and such):
- I love seeing new birds at my feeders.
- I love gorgeous photos.
- I love flowers.
- I love good coffee.
- I love being able to make Kiva loans.
- I love my house.
- I love my garden.
- I love how easily I connect to Spirit.
- I love learning about new things.
- I love helping people.
- I love having time to myself while the family is off doing something they love.
- I love playing Scrabble.
- I love this spiritual journey I'm enjoying.
- I love to travel, especially overseas.
- I love how good my body feels after I exercise.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Polish Holocaust hero dies at 98
This gave me chills. I can only imagine the joyous welcome she received when she arrived in Heaven.
Polish Holocaust hero dies at 98
Irena Sendler, who smuggled children
out of Warsaw Ghetto, was 98
out of Warsaw Ghetto, was 98
WARSAW, Poland - Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who helped save some 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto and giving them false identities, has died. She was 98.
Sendler died at a Warsaw hospital on Monday morning, her daughter, Janina Zgrzembska, told The Associated Press. She had been hospitalized since last month with pneumonia.
Born in Warsaw, Sendler served as a social worker with the city's welfare department, masterminding the risky rescue operations of Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during Nazi Germany's brutal World War II occupation.
Records show that Sendler's team of some 20 people saved nearly 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto between October 1940 and April 1943, when the Nazis burned the ghetto, shooting the residents or sending them to death camps.
Under the pretext of inspecting the ghetto's sanitary conditions during a typhoid outbreak, Sendler and her assistants went inside in search of children who could be smuggled out and given a chance of survival by living as Catholics.
Babies and small children were smuggled out in ambulances and in trams, sometimes wrapped up as packages. Teenagers escaped by joining teams of workers forced to labor outside the ghetto. They were placed in families, orphanages, hospitals or convents.
In hopes of one day uniting the children with their families — most of whom perished in the Nazis' death camps — Sendler wrote the children's real names on slips of paper that she kept at home.
‘A true miracle’
When German police came to arrest her in 1943, an assistant managed to hide the slips, which Sendler later buried in a jar under an apple tree in an associate's yard. Some 2,500 names were recorded.
"It took a true miracle to save a Jewish child," Elzbieta Ficowska, who was saved by Sendler's team as a baby in 1942, recalled in an AP interview in 2007. "Mrs. Sendler saved not only us, but also our children and grandchildren and the generations to come."
After World War II, Sendler worked as a social welfare official and director of vocational schools, continuing to assist some of the children she rescued.
Honored in Jerusalem
In 1965, Sendler became one of the first so-called Righteous Gentiles honored by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem for wartime heroics. Poland's communist leaders at that time would not allow her to travel to Israel; she collected the award in 1983.
Despite the Yad Vashem honor, Sendler was largely forgotten in her homeland. Only in her final years, confined to a nursing home, did she finally become one of Poland's most respected figures, with President Lech Kaczynski and other politicians backing a campaign that put her name forward for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sendler is survived by her daughter and a granddaughter.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Trivial Matters
Things have been a bit busy around here lately. One of Hiren's closest friends has been experiencing a very bad situation, so there have been many phone calls and much discussion about how to proceed. I feel very bad for him and his family, and I admit that the situation has made me realize how lucky I am and how trivial my own problems are. It does seem to have come to a resolution at this point; however painful, the worst seems to be over.
So, in everything-else-seems-very-unimportant-news, I shall attempt to post about comparatively trivial matters. Today is, of course, Mother's Day. I got to sleep in until nearly nine, *happy dancing* and I got to do two more Kiva loans, which was what I requested in lieu of presents. However, my dear, sweet husband also surprised me with the coolest Sigg I have ever seen. Since I'm a huge Hello Kitty fan, I was THRILLED to get it!
Yesterday we went out to lunch with a few students from ESL class. We went to an Indian restaurant that another of our students is the chef at. It was a lovely time, and particularly enjoyable because none of the students had ever had Indian food before. Yay for being introduced to new cuisines!
2. My mom. Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
3. My new Sigg!
4. The lovely photo on today's entry.
5. This amazing photo as well. It's an electrical storm around an erupting volcano. Pretty cool, huh?
So, in everything-else-seems-very-unimportant-news, I shall attempt to post about comparatively trivial matters. Today is, of course, Mother's Day. I got to sleep in until nearly nine, *happy dancing* and I got to do two more Kiva loans, which was what I requested in lieu of presents. However, my dear, sweet husband also surprised me with the coolest Sigg I have ever seen. Since I'm a huge Hello Kitty fan, I was THRILLED to get it!
Yesterday we went out to lunch with a few students from ESL class. We went to an Indian restaurant that another of our students is the chef at. It was a lovely time, and particularly enjoyable because none of the students had ever had Indian food before. Yay for being introduced to new cuisines!
I am grateful for the following...
1. Absolutely everything.2. My mom. Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
3. My new Sigg!
4. The lovely photo on today's entry.
5. This amazing photo as well. It's an electrical storm around an erupting volcano. Pretty cool, huh?
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Yoga Kicked My Ass
I have been lulled into a sense of complacency by my very decent and non-threatening yoga teacher. Until today when she kicked my ass.
It started out innocently enough with a Downward Dog. Not exactly my favorite pose, but still it's better than Plank. However, then we had to lift our leg and shake it all around and then bring it forward under our bodies, and I'm not sure what happened after that. It's all a blur.
To my credit, I did everything I was supposed to, and I'm quite proud of my body. I mean, seriously people, I weigh 273 pounds! Just the fact that I can do much of anything is pretty impressive in my opinion. I am really very good at Forward Fold. Thank God because we do that all the time. But my favorite, FAVORITE pose is the warrior pose my instructor calls Exultant Warrior. Try it yourself and see if it doesn't lift your spirits.
2. The rain today that has made everything gorgeously green.
3. Baked Cheetos.
4. Whole Foods and the Feed 100 bags they sell. I LOVE these bags--they zip up into their own case, and they're just the right size to tote on your shoulder.
5. Carnations.
It started out innocently enough with a Downward Dog. Not exactly my favorite pose, but still it's better than Plank. However, then we had to lift our leg and shake it all around and then bring it forward under our bodies, and I'm not sure what happened after that. It's all a blur.
To my credit, I did everything I was supposed to, and I'm quite proud of my body. I mean, seriously people, I weigh 273 pounds! Just the fact that I can do much of anything is pretty impressive in my opinion. I am really very good at Forward Fold. Thank God because we do that all the time. But my favorite, FAVORITE pose is the warrior pose my instructor calls Exultant Warrior. Try it yourself and see if it doesn't lift your spirits.
I am grateful for the following...
1. Yoga class.2. The rain today that has made everything gorgeously green.
3. Baked Cheetos.
4. Whole Foods and the Feed 100 bags they sell. I LOVE these bags--they zip up into their own case, and they're just the right size to tote on your shoulder.
5. Carnations.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Dropping Like Flies
The pounds, that is. I lost ANOTHER 2.5 pounds this week, bringing me up to a total loss of 19.5. Yay!!!!!!! I thought I'd probably maintain this week since I had such a big loss last week, but nooooooo. *happy dancing*
I am really proud of myself for the amount of exercise I've been doing. Exercise is always the hardest thing for me to do. I can control my food intake much easier than I can force myself to get on the treadmill, but I've been doing great with that. Since I started back on WW on February 4, I've exercised at least 5 times a week with only two possible exceptions: one when I was really sick, and once during the trip to Toronto. Even then I'm 99% sure that I exercised 4 times during those weeks. So, yeah. I am amazed by myself.
I can't believe how much has changed in the past three months. In January/February I was still trying to claw my way out of depression. The meds were helping a bit, but it was still such an effort to keep going. In fact, on January 28, I asked Hiren to call our health insurance company and set things up so I could go to counseling. Because it was simply too overwhelming for me to do it myself. I promised him I would go--which in and of itself was a big deal to me--but I couldn't deal with the insurance company. And honestly, it's not like our insurance company is horrid or anything.
I remember back then that I tried to spend a little bit of time on myself. I'd sit in Panera--eating unhealthy foods--and read Depression for Dummies. I remember that I prayed to God, "Why won't you help me? I'm doing everything I can to overcome this." And the still, small reply I got was, "No. You're not doing everything. You need to start exercising."
Eventually I finally stopped waiting for motivation to strike me and got off my ass and got on the treadmill. Of course, even now sometimes I don't want to exercise. If I'm on track to do my five times a week, I'll let myself slide a little bit. But if I'm not, I force myself to get moving. It's the way things have to be, and I've come to accept that.
It's so worth it. I feel so good now. Sometimes I do get sad, but I've become more sensitive to myself. I realize that if I'm hungry or tired I can feel sad, so that's what I ask myself first. Right now I'm feeling a little sad, in fact, but it's because I haven't eaten breakfast yet. I've become adept at recognizing what's wrong with me so I can fix it.
Sometimes, of course, it's more than sleepiness or hunger, but I've also developed coping mechanisms for those times as well. I pray. I do visualizations. I make sure that I'm feeding my spirit. It's really very cool how far I've come.
Now, I'm going to go eat breakfast. :o)
2. Guidance.
3. That not everyone thinks like me. It takes all kinds to make up the world, and I'm grateful for that.
4. The gorgeous day I'm about to go enjoy. After breakfast.
5. The red breasted woodpecker that's been hanging out at my feeders. I have a thing for woodpeckers, for some reason.
I am really proud of myself for the amount of exercise I've been doing. Exercise is always the hardest thing for me to do. I can control my food intake much easier than I can force myself to get on the treadmill, but I've been doing great with that. Since I started back on WW on February 4, I've exercised at least 5 times a week with only two possible exceptions: one when I was really sick, and once during the trip to Toronto. Even then I'm 99% sure that I exercised 4 times during those weeks. So, yeah. I am amazed by myself.
I can't believe how much has changed in the past three months. In January/February I was still trying to claw my way out of depression. The meds were helping a bit, but it was still such an effort to keep going. In fact, on January 28, I asked Hiren to call our health insurance company and set things up so I could go to counseling. Because it was simply too overwhelming for me to do it myself. I promised him I would go--which in and of itself was a big deal to me--but I couldn't deal with the insurance company. And honestly, it's not like our insurance company is horrid or anything.
I remember back then that I tried to spend a little bit of time on myself. I'd sit in Panera--eating unhealthy foods--and read Depression for Dummies. I remember that I prayed to God, "Why won't you help me? I'm doing everything I can to overcome this." And the still, small reply I got was, "No. You're not doing everything. You need to start exercising."
Eventually I finally stopped waiting for motivation to strike me and got off my ass and got on the treadmill. Of course, even now sometimes I don't want to exercise. If I'm on track to do my five times a week, I'll let myself slide a little bit. But if I'm not, I force myself to get moving. It's the way things have to be, and I've come to accept that.
It's so worth it. I feel so good now. Sometimes I do get sad, but I've become more sensitive to myself. I realize that if I'm hungry or tired I can feel sad, so that's what I ask myself first. Right now I'm feeling a little sad, in fact, but it's because I haven't eaten breakfast yet. I've become adept at recognizing what's wrong with me so I can fix it.
Sometimes, of course, it's more than sleepiness or hunger, but I've also developed coping mechanisms for those times as well. I pray. I do visualizations. I make sure that I'm feeding my spirit. It's really very cool how far I've come.
Now, I'm going to go eat breakfast. :o)
I am grateful for the following...
1. Progress. Thank God for the progress I've made.2. Guidance.
3. That not everyone thinks like me. It takes all kinds to make up the world, and I'm grateful for that.
4. The gorgeous day I'm about to go enjoy. After breakfast.
5. The red breasted woodpecker that's been hanging out at my feeders. I have a thing for woodpeckers, for some reason.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Spiffy Dude
As part of my daily routine, I ask God and my guides to bring me gifts that day. Lately my gifts have included being able to watch lots of these birds at my feeders. This is a male rose-breasted grosbeak, and yesterday I had FOUR of them at my feeders at the same time. It's so cool that, before I started feeding birds, I never even knew a bird like this existed, but now I get to see it often. I always get a little thrill when I see one there.
The females are kind of weird looking. They look like mutant sparrows, but they're still pretty cool. You can check one out here.
It appears I took a break from blogging. Huh. I didn't know it had been that long since I'd written, so sorry about that. I guess time just got away from me.
I went to a psychic fair this weekend and saw this woman, Lai Ubbered, who was absolutely phenomenal. She told me lots of excellent things that made me very happy. She also informed me of two of my past lives, one of which explained three major, completely irrational fears I've always had. I felt exhilarated after I heard that, even as she kept apologizing to me for what had happened to me.
2. Rose breasted grosbeaks, of course!
3. My husband.
4. Green tea.
5. Being able to make Kiva loans.
The females are kind of weird looking. They look like mutant sparrows, but they're still pretty cool. You can check one out here.
It appears I took a break from blogging. Huh. I didn't know it had been that long since I'd written, so sorry about that. I guess time just got away from me.
I went to a psychic fair this weekend and saw this woman, Lai Ubbered, who was absolutely phenomenal. She told me lots of excellent things that made me very happy. She also informed me of two of my past lives, one of which explained three major, completely irrational fears I've always had. I felt exhilarated after I heard that, even as she kept apologizing to me for what had happened to me.
I am grateful for the following...
1. That I know.2. Rose breasted grosbeaks, of course!
3. My husband.
4. Green tea.
5. Being able to make Kiva loans.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Pained Wisdom
I am a judgmental person. It's true. Of course, when we write in our blogs, we tend to minimize our flaws in many areas, even when we're laying bare our soul in others. I do tend to judge "up" rather than down, by which I mean I'm more disgusted by a rich, (fake) blonde trophy wife than I am of some guy panhandling on the street. But, for example, I can be extremely disdainful of drug addicts, even though my weight gain is a nearly identical issue.
Why do I admit this? First of all, I want to stop doing it. I'm pretty good about quitting bad habits when I publicly admit to them. Frankly, I've been reading a lot about reincarnation, and I've come to realize that sooner or later such thoughts and comments will come back to bite me in the ass. Beyond that, however, I don't want this entry to sound preachy, so I am admitting that I am just as guilty of being judgmental as the next person.
Here we go.
Last night I watched as a 40-year-old Indian man who only speaks Punjabi carefully wrote out every letter I spelled to him, "h-o-u-s-e. No, it's 'S.' Like this letter here," I told him pointing to an example of S on his worksheet.
I glanced over at his composition book, where he'd laboriously written two words for each letter of the alphabet, "apple, ant, bat, button..."
"You did a very good job," I told him, indicating the notebook.
He smiled shyly and pulled out an ancient children's writing book that he'd copied the words from. He gets one day off a week and he spends two hours of it in English class. He obviously spent much more time than that copying words.
This is what Punjabi looks like:
I honestly can't say that I could EVER learn how to write like that. Could you? Let alone do it with a smile?
This is Arabic:
This is what Daoud, Muftah, and Houria are used to writing like. Oh, and they write from right to left, not left to right. Again, I don't think I could EVER do it, let alone declare, as Daoud did on Tuesday, "I LOVE Arabic!" Only, of course, he was speaking about English. He's been here for three months, and when I told him last night that when you have words like "write" and "wrinkle" you don't say the "w," he grinned gleefully, like I'd handed him a present.
Last night I watched as the 84-year-old Chinese dentist, Chen, walked slowly across the room and said to the 78-year-old Chinese engineer, Lee, "Congratulations!"
"Huh? Pardon?" his friend replied.
"Con-grat-u-lay-shuns!"
Lee smiled at him in confusion.
"You opened your mouth today!" See, the older Chinese students are extremely reluctant to speak English because they're afraid of making mistakes. They write very well, but they don't speak well. Our class's mantra has become "Open your mouth!" thanks to Chen, who has used his position as the oldest student to gently try to bully the other students into practicing their spoken English. I write it on the board every day before class, ~*~OPEN YOUR MOUTH~*~ Sometimes the students will call it out to me as I write it.
Now for the judgment part.
Next time you go to McDonald's and get disgusted because the person waiting on you doesn't speak English perfectly, please remember that it could very well be my student. Who is trying very hard to learn English because she wants to get a better job so she can leave her controlling, cheating husband.
Or maybe you're behind a Middle Eastern man in line at the grocery store. Don't think "terrorist" and glare at him because his wife has a headscarf on. Think that maybe he had to flee his country because he pissed off whatever dictator was currently in power. And that maybe he makes jokes in ESL class about his wife beating him, as she smacks him and laughs.
There is so much more going on than we could ever possibly know.
Why do I admit this? First of all, I want to stop doing it. I'm pretty good about quitting bad habits when I publicly admit to them. Frankly, I've been reading a lot about reincarnation, and I've come to realize that sooner or later such thoughts and comments will come back to bite me in the ass. Beyond that, however, I don't want this entry to sound preachy, so I am admitting that I am just as guilty of being judgmental as the next person.
Here we go.
Last night I watched as a 40-year-old Indian man who only speaks Punjabi carefully wrote out every letter I spelled to him, "h-o-u-s-e. No, it's 'S.' Like this letter here," I told him pointing to an example of S on his worksheet.
I glanced over at his composition book, where he'd laboriously written two words for each letter of the alphabet, "apple, ant, bat, button..."
"You did a very good job," I told him, indicating the notebook.
He smiled shyly and pulled out an ancient children's writing book that he'd copied the words from. He gets one day off a week and he spends two hours of it in English class. He obviously spent much more time than that copying words.
This is what Punjabi looks like:
I honestly can't say that I could EVER learn how to write like that. Could you? Let alone do it with a smile?
This is Arabic:
This is what Daoud, Muftah, and Houria are used to writing like. Oh, and they write from right to left, not left to right. Again, I don't think I could EVER do it, let alone declare, as Daoud did on Tuesday, "I LOVE Arabic!" Only, of course, he was speaking about English. He's been here for three months, and when I told him last night that when you have words like "write" and "wrinkle" you don't say the "w," he grinned gleefully, like I'd handed him a present.Last night I watched as the 84-year-old Chinese dentist, Chen, walked slowly across the room and said to the 78-year-old Chinese engineer, Lee, "Congratulations!"
"Huh? Pardon?" his friend replied.
"Con-grat-u-lay-shuns!"
Lee smiled at him in confusion.
"You opened your mouth today!" See, the older Chinese students are extremely reluctant to speak English because they're afraid of making mistakes. They write very well, but they don't speak well. Our class's mantra has become "Open your mouth!" thanks to Chen, who has used his position as the oldest student to gently try to bully the other students into practicing their spoken English. I write it on the board every day before class, ~*~OPEN YOUR MOUTH~*~ Sometimes the students will call it out to me as I write it.
Now for the judgment part.
Next time you go to McDonald's and get disgusted because the person waiting on you doesn't speak English perfectly, please remember that it could very well be my student. Who is trying very hard to learn English because she wants to get a better job so she can leave her controlling, cheating husband.
Or maybe you're behind a Middle Eastern man in line at the grocery store. Don't think "terrorist" and glare at him because his wife has a headscarf on. Think that maybe he had to flee his country because he pissed off whatever dictator was currently in power. And that maybe he makes jokes in ESL class about his wife beating him, as she smacks him and laughs.
There is so much more going on than we could ever possibly know.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Humming
Things are humming right along today. I got caught up on some reviews I needed to do for Angie's List and did some administrative work for a group I'm starting.
ESL class is tonight, and I'm going to ask Veronica if she wants to have coffee over the weekend. She told me the other day that she was happy to get a job at Wendy's. "I was thought I'd be able to practice my English, but they're all Mexicans except the manager!" She's just a riot; it will be a pleasure to listen to her practice her English.
I went to the library with Daoud yesterday and got him a library card. He checked out a few Arabic/English books and a set of CDs. That man is learning English faster than I would have ever thought it possible. He said to me, "In one year you will know Arabic!"
"No, but in one year you will know English," I replied. He's brilliant, I'm telling you.
My stuffy allergies have somehow morphed into a bucket of fluid inside my head. When I bend over, it feels like I've just jumped into a pool and gotten water up my nose. This needs to go away QUICKLY or yoga tomorrow is going to hell.
1. The happy little sounds Rohan makes to himself when he just wakes up from a nap.
2. The great job the city does on picking up trash and yard waste.
3. Tissues.
4. Angie's List. God only knows how much trouble (and money) they've saved us.
5. Lovely spring days.
ESL class is tonight, and I'm going to ask Veronica if she wants to have coffee over the weekend. She told me the other day that she was happy to get a job at Wendy's. "I was thought I'd be able to practice my English, but they're all Mexicans except the manager!" She's just a riot; it will be a pleasure to listen to her practice her English.
I went to the library with Daoud yesterday and got him a library card. He checked out a few Arabic/English books and a set of CDs. That man is learning English faster than I would have ever thought it possible. He said to me, "In one year you will know Arabic!"
"No, but in one year you will know English," I replied. He's brilliant, I'm telling you.
My stuffy allergies have somehow morphed into a bucket of fluid inside my head. When I bend over, it feels like I've just jumped into a pool and gotten water up my nose. This needs to go away QUICKLY or yoga tomorrow is going to hell.
I am grateful for the following:
1. The happy little sounds Rohan makes to himself when he just wakes up from a nap.
2. The great job the city does on picking up trash and yard waste.
3. Tissues.
4. Angie's List. God only knows how much trouble (and money) they've saved us.
5. Lovely spring days.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Weigh In Day
I told you I gained a half pound of muscle last week. Yes indeedy. I have proof: according to my (often maligned, but this week venerated) scale, I lost 3.5 pounds this week. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a total of 17 lost, BABY, thereby earning me my 15 pounds gone banner. *happy dancing*
I have a funny from last night's ESL class. We were discussing situations when a student would call the police and when they wouldn't.
Veronica, a lovely Mexican student whose spoken English is actually very good, raised her hand and said, "I had four or five hunks in my backyard last night and I DIDN'T call the police. I think that's very good."
All the native English speakers looked at her. Dead silence in the room, because the non-native speakers had no idea what she was talking about.
Aaron, the teacher, recovered superbly. "I think you mean skunks, Veronica."
"Oh, yes. I had four or five skunks in my backyard and I didn't call them."
I was laughing so hard it was fortunate that class ended right then. I walked over to Veronica and, giggling, explained to her that "hunks" means handsome young men, so she'd said she had four or five handsome young men in her backyard. She laughed as hard as I did, pausing only to say, "Oh, no! I wouldn't call the police on THEM!"
1. Little Rohan. That kid forced a burp up from the very depths of his soul while we were eating dinner. It was a man sized burp, and he worked hard to pull it out. I think we all laughed for five minutes.
2. ESL. Love those people.
3. The rain that reduced the pollen count to more tolerable levels.
4. Progress.
5. Flickr.
I have a funny from last night's ESL class. We were discussing situations when a student would call the police and when they wouldn't.
Veronica, a lovely Mexican student whose spoken English is actually very good, raised her hand and said, "I had four or five hunks in my backyard last night and I DIDN'T call the police. I think that's very good."
All the native English speakers looked at her. Dead silence in the room, because the non-native speakers had no idea what she was talking about.
Aaron, the teacher, recovered superbly. "I think you mean skunks, Veronica."
"Oh, yes. I had four or five skunks in my backyard and I didn't call them."
I was laughing so hard it was fortunate that class ended right then. I walked over to Veronica and, giggling, explained to her that "hunks" means handsome young men, so she'd said she had four or five handsome young men in her backyard. She laughed as hard as I did, pausing only to say, "Oh, no! I wouldn't call the police on THEM!"
I am grateful for...
1. Little Rohan. That kid forced a burp up from the very depths of his soul while we were eating dinner. It was a man sized burp, and he worked hard to pull it out. I think we all laughed for five minutes.
2. ESL. Love those people.
3. The rain that reduced the pollen count to more tolerable levels.
4. Progress.
5. Flickr.
Monday, April 28, 2008
How to Overcome Depression*
*This entry is for me to refer to if I ever fall into the abyss of depression again. Obviously, I am not a medical professional, so take from this what you find helpful and leave the rest.
My depression was so bad. Not many people know how bad it was. I shared some of it with a few people, but most of it I kept to myself because that’s how I am.
I remember being so proud of myself if I managed to get a shower. How desperately hard it was to go into a store and shop for groceries. I would sit outside in my car and try to work up the ability to go inside. I thought about suicide after I’d been on meds for…oh, about six months. I remember telling my shrink that the meds weren’t doing it on their own and that I obviously needed to find other ways to get myself out of the depression.
These are the other ways.
1. Exercise. This is hands-down the most important thing I had to do. I kept waiting for the anti-depressants to kick in and give me the motivation to start exercising. They never did, so finally I made myself exercise without the motivation. Funny thing, that. Motivation often follows action; it’s not always the other way around.
2. Eat healthy. There isn’t much that makes me fall into self-loathing faster than eating a boatload of crappy food. Of course self-loathing begets depression, which causes me to self-medicate with unhealthy foods. It’s a vicious cycle that is nearly impossible for me to stop once I get on it. How can I stop it? See #1, above.
3. Feed my spirit. This is commonly known as “taking care of yourself,” but those words don’t do it for me. To me, taking care of yourself means that you get a shower and eat when you’re hungry. Basic maintenance. Feeding my spirit, however, is a whole different ballgame. To me, that means you’re stepping into a realm that makes your heart sing, that creates great joy.
When I first heard this term, it was in Sonia Choquette’s book Ask Your Guides, and I had NO idea what fed my spirit. It stopped me in my tracks and I had to think about it for quite a while. How sad is that? I now have a list of things that feed my soul, and I make sure to do a few of them every day. Some things are simply a constant in my life now, like having fresh flowers in the house. Here’s my list for my reference and hopefully to help you come up with some ideas for yourself.
• Beautiful stones (crystals and agates and such)
• Good smells
• Reading
• Having an orderly home
• Music
• Tea in lovely cups
• Flowers
• The ocean
• Alone time
• The library
• Traveling to exotic locales
• Turkey (the country, not the food)
• Beautiful photos
• Art
• Art museums
• Watching/feeding the birds
• Being outdoors
• Writing
• Light
• Plants
• Teaching ESL
• Farmer’s markets
• Hello Kitty
• Chimes
• Hanging out at Barnes & Noble
• Walking
• Water (as in the tabletop fountain I bought myself)
3a. Helping other people. For me this is something that feeds my soul, so that’s why I’m putting it here. However, if it’s not something that comes naturally to you and you’re struggling with depression, I urge you to find a way to help someone out, and not by donating money to a cause. For depression, I believe that hands-on helping is one of the best ways to get yourself out that darkness, even if it’s only for the time that you’re actually helping. But find something, anything, to make a difference to someone. I swear to you that I get more out of teaching ESL than my students do. I LOVE teaching them. I am so happy to have met them and to walk into class and greet all of them.
Of course, teaching ESL isn’t for everyone, but there are a multitude of ways you can help out, from volunteering at animal shelters, to becoming a Big Brother/Big Sister, to volunteering to clean up community gardens. If you are completely clueless as to how you can help, I urge you to pick up a copy of Bill Clinton’s book Giving. It will definitely spark your creativity.
My depression was so bad. Not many people know how bad it was. I shared some of it with a few people, but most of it I kept to myself because that’s how I am.
I remember being so proud of myself if I managed to get a shower. How desperately hard it was to go into a store and shop for groceries. I would sit outside in my car and try to work up the ability to go inside. I thought about suicide after I’d been on meds for…oh, about six months. I remember telling my shrink that the meds weren’t doing it on their own and that I obviously needed to find other ways to get myself out of the depression.
These are the other ways.
1. Exercise. This is hands-down the most important thing I had to do. I kept waiting for the anti-depressants to kick in and give me the motivation to start exercising. They never did, so finally I made myself exercise without the motivation. Funny thing, that. Motivation often follows action; it’s not always the other way around.
2. Eat healthy. There isn’t much that makes me fall into self-loathing faster than eating a boatload of crappy food. Of course self-loathing begets depression, which causes me to self-medicate with unhealthy foods. It’s a vicious cycle that is nearly impossible for me to stop once I get on it. How can I stop it? See #1, above.
3. Feed my spirit. This is commonly known as “taking care of yourself,” but those words don’t do it for me. To me, taking care of yourself means that you get a shower and eat when you’re hungry. Basic maintenance. Feeding my spirit, however, is a whole different ballgame. To me, that means you’re stepping into a realm that makes your heart sing, that creates great joy.
When I first heard this term, it was in Sonia Choquette’s book Ask Your Guides, and I had NO idea what fed my spirit. It stopped me in my tracks and I had to think about it for quite a while. How sad is that? I now have a list of things that feed my soul, and I make sure to do a few of them every day. Some things are simply a constant in my life now, like having fresh flowers in the house. Here’s my list for my reference and hopefully to help you come up with some ideas for yourself.
• Beautiful stones (crystals and agates and such)
• Good smells
• Reading
• Having an orderly home
• Music
• Tea in lovely cups
• Flowers
• The ocean
• Alone time
• The library
• Traveling to exotic locales
• Turkey (the country, not the food)
• Beautiful photos
• Art
• Art museums
• Watching/feeding the birds
• Being outdoors
• Writing
• Light
• Plants
• Teaching ESL
• Farmer’s markets
• Hello Kitty
• Chimes
• Hanging out at Barnes & Noble
• Walking
• Water (as in the tabletop fountain I bought myself)
3a. Helping other people. For me this is something that feeds my soul, so that’s why I’m putting it here. However, if it’s not something that comes naturally to you and you’re struggling with depression, I urge you to find a way to help someone out, and not by donating money to a cause. For depression, I believe that hands-on helping is one of the best ways to get yourself out that darkness, even if it’s only for the time that you’re actually helping. But find something, anything, to make a difference to someone. I swear to you that I get more out of teaching ESL than my students do. I LOVE teaching them. I am so happy to have met them and to walk into class and greet all of them.
Of course, teaching ESL isn’t for everyone, but there are a multitude of ways you can help out, from volunteering at animal shelters, to becoming a Big Brother/Big Sister, to volunteering to clean up community gardens. If you are completely clueless as to how you can help, I urge you to pick up a copy of Bill Clinton’s book Giving. It will definitely spark your creativity.
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