A Year of Blogging: January 31, 2011

Today is Backwards Day. Not to be confused with Opposite Day, which we celebrated on January 25. Although, it seems the two days are similar. And popular with school age children. Why are we letting school age children create so many days? I'm kidding. I like kids, so I don't want to get any hate mail. But it seems very silly to have two days, very similar to each other, within the same week. I think having either Backwards Day or Opposite day is sufficient. We don't need both. Today is also 'Inspire Your Heart With Art' day. I am not much of an artist, or an art lover even. I can draw stick people. There are very few art pieces in our house, and the ones we have are mostly landscapes. I could look at mountain landscapes all day. The other artwork in our house is the work of my incredibly talented niece. I currently have two pieces of her artwork on our refrigerator. Although I always end up asking her 'what is it?', I enjoy her work. And I was so thankful that the large, round object with a head and 'AMY' written in her four year old writing was in fact, NOT her vision of Aunt Amy, but rather a turtle; and she wrote 'Amy' as in 'To: Amy'. Art comes in many forms, including photography. I sorted through photos this weekend, updating my albums with pictures from the end of last year. As I went through the pictures, I realized I took a lot of pictures of the mountains in NY when I was there in October. I put them all in a little album that doubles as a picture frame. I chose my favorite and put it on the front. I put this little album on my dresser, so that each day I can see the pictures and feel grounded. In just a couple of days, every time I look at this picture I feel inspired, connected, and happy. I honestly feel my heart sing. This art that inspires me is the most beautiful of all art: nature. (this picture is the road to my Mom & Dad's house, although from this perspective, you are driving away from their house).

A Year of Blogging: January 30, 2011

Today is Escape Day. We all have those moments where we wish we could just run away; escape. Whether it's from your job, your family, the housework, or just the day to day ups and downs of life. This time of year, a lot of people are looking for an escape from winter. Everyone has their favorite method of escape. Some people like to take bubble baths, others might like a day at the spa. Parents enjoy a night out without the children. For others, sports are a method of escape. My favorite way to escape is to take a vacation. Especially if I am going home to NY. It helps me unplug from the day to day things that pull me down; recharge my battery, and refocus on what is the most important to me: my family. But it's not always possible to hop on a plane and head to NY. Reading provides another great escape. A well-written work of fiction transports you to another location or time. Even non-fiction works can move you. I frequently read books about the Civil War, and it is so easy to get lost in the 1860s. Everyone needs an escape. Even if it is just for a few minutes each day. Take care of yourself first, the world will wait.

A Year of Blogging: January 29, 2011

Today is Puzzle Day. I don't mind doing puzzles, but it isn't one of my hobbies. I think because I already have too many hobbies, and try not to add to it! Every time I've gone to NY lately, Sydney wants to do a puzzle with me. It's always the same one, a Disney Princess puzzle she has at my mom's. She says 'Lets do a puzzle' and we start the puzzle, and then after a couple of minutes, she goes on to something else. By that point, I'm determined to finish the puzzle, so I stick it out. It's a children's puzzle, so it doesn't take long. My sister has always loved doing puzzles. The year that 3D puzzles came out, Mom bought her one for Christmas. It was Notre Dame Cathedral. My sister worked and worked on that thing. It frustrated my mom, it frustrated me, but my sister kept going. I think it stood 3 or 4 feet tall when it was done. It was neat, but not for me. One year, Laura made puzzle pictures for everyone. She did the puzzle, glued it, then matted and framed it. The one she made for me is a mountain scene, and goes perfectly in my bedroom. She put a lot of work into all of our gifts that Christmas! There is a running joke in our family about puzzles. If you have a puzzle, and my mom is around, you might hear us say 'hide the scissors'. Mom's sister, Aunt Arlene, told us that as a kid, Mom would get scissors and cut the puzzle pieces to fit. And this is not just a tall tale told by an older sibling. Mom has tried to do puzzles with us, and she quickly gets frustrated. I have even heard her say 'Oh, where are the scissors?'. So we usually don't include Mom when we are doing puzzles. Erich's Dad likes to do jigsaw puzzles, so for a couple of years we bought him a puzzle. One of the malls in Cincinnati has a nice puzzle store, so we would pick out a very elaborate puzzle for him. Since he was a German teacher, we thought it was really great if we found something German related. Then he complained to Erich that everyone always bought him puzzles for Christmas. (You have to know him, after 10 years, I'm still trying to figure him out). So we stopped buying him puzzles. I guess he likes them, but was tired of only receiving puzzles for Christmas. I do enjoy doing crosswords or word searches. Which are also puzzles. Word searches are great ways to kill time in airports or on the airplane, if you aren't sleeping. I also play many online games which are brain teasers or puzzles. I have read that keeping your brain active may help with the fibro fog, so I play these games as ways to stay sharp. At least, that's my story!

A Year of Blogging: January 28, 2011

According to my 'official' calendar, today is Kazoo day. I don't really know much about kazoos, so I'm going to write about something more important. Today is the 25th Anniversary of the Challenger Explosion. I feel the news barely touched on it tonight. Maybe I just wasn't watching at the right time. It just doesn't seem it has gotten the coverage that it deserved. That is very sad. ABC World News said it was my generation's Pearl Harbor or JFK assassination. I think that is possibly very accurate. There are a few days that we will always remember, and the Challenger disaster is one of them. I was 9 1/2 years old when it happened. Back then, that extra half year made you so much older! I was in fourth grade. I remember that we had watched other shuttle launches in the gym/cafeteria at school. I remember our Principal, Mr. Lewin, bringing in the one TV the school had. It was maybe a 19"? That seems so small, but I'm pretty sure the 27" I have in my living room now is much bigger than what we had at school. It was on a rolling cart, and was usually kept in the library. Teachers signed it out and it was rolled down the hallway to the room as needed. When the shuttles launched, we had an assembly. Little blue chairs were lined up in the lunch room, and we sat by age. The Kindergartners and first graders sat in the front, fourth and fifth graders in the back. Yet the day of the Challenger launch, I distinctly remember we had a half day. I think it was teacher conference day. I didn't see the Challenger disaster live on television. I remember getting to our babysitter's, her name was also Amy. We all got off the bus, and ran to the house, excited to have a free afternoon. I remember Amy meeting us at the bus, and she was crying. Her face was a mix of sadness and disbelief. When we went inside, the TV was on and she explained to us what happened. If we had not had the half day, we would have been gathered in the lunch room in Stephentown. I probably would have been sitting next to Drew, my best friend. And, like so many children across the country, we would have been glued to the screen. I know my parents talked to us about what happened, but I don't remember their words. I remember everything felt numb; it was surreal. We talked about it in school. We learned more about each of the astronauts, and about Christa McAuliffe. Yet there really was no way to make sense of it. My grandparents saw it happen in person. They lived in Central Florida, and could watch the launches from their house. Even though they were about 80 miles from Cape Canaveral, they could still see the launches. The space shuttle program was big in the 1980s. It was exciting. My grandparents made sure they were outside every time a shuttle launched. They gathered with their neighbors in the cul de sac and looked to the east. And so they were there, that January morning. They saw that infamous 'Y' of the smoke. Grandma knew something had gone wrong, and Grandpa ran inside to turn on the news. It haunted them for years, and I don't think they ever went out to watch another launch. Any of my friends who wanted to be an astronaut rethought it after the Challenger. It was the first devastating event in our lives that our parents could not easily explain. I also think this may have been the start of my fear of flying. The image of that smoke trail remains frozen in our minds. A decade or so later, I found myself studying the Challenger Disaster extensively in college. You wouldn't think a Communication major would be studying the space shuttle. But the Challenger disaster is used to show students what can happen when communication breaks down. It was held up as the 'classic example' of a failure to communicate. In the years since that sad January morning, different people came forward that they suspected the O-rings could fail in cold weather. For whatever reason, this either didn't make it through the chain of command to the top, or was ignored (from what I remember studying it, this is debatable). The lessons to be learned go far beyond science. If you ever have the chance, I encourage you to visit Kennedy Space Center. My Grandparents used to take us there once a year. I know I've been since the Challenger Disaster, possibly once as a teenager. It is a terrific place. I highly recommend the Astronaut ice cream, even though now you can get it in other touristy places. Take some time to honor the adventure and spirit of those we have lost.

A Year of Blogging: January 27, 2011

Yesterday was Chocolate Cake Day. If I hadn't been sick with a stomach bug, I would have made a nice yummy chocolate cake to celebrate. I had hoped to make a cake last weekend, and never got to it. I'll try again this weekend. I have a checkerboard cake pan, and I was planning to make a chocolate and cherry cake- so the checkerboard would be alternating squares of chocolate and cherry. Erich thought that would be a good combination. I don't know if I'll be that elaborate- the checkerboard cake is actually a pain in the butt to make (I have no idea why I wanted to make it last weekend), but at the very least I'll make a chocolate cake (or cupcakes) with vanilla frosting. Chocolate cake has always been a part of birthday celebrations in our house. It is my father's favorite. Sometimes he would get a fudge marble cake, which is a yellow cake with chocolate cake swirled in. Sometimes he would get a chocolate cake with raspberry frosting. I never cared for that, it was too sweet for me (and that's saying something!). But the most special treat was the Chocolate Mayonnaise cake. Did you just wrinkle your nose? Most people do when I talk about the Chocolate Mayonnaise cake. I haven't made one in years, but I know I could get mom's recipe. The mayonnaise replaces the eggs and the fat you would normally have in the cake. You really don't taste the mayonnaise when the cake is baked. It is a very moist cake, and extremely rich. You don't want a big piece. Chocolate Mayonnaise cake is my dad's favorite. My mom still makes it a couple of times a year. And I bet- if I didn't tell you it was a chocolate mayonnaise cake, you wouldn't know the 'surprise' ingredient. My sister usually wanted a chocolate cake for her birthday too. I rarely had chocolate cake for my birthday. There were so many other options: cherry, strawberry, carrot. We usually made a carrot cake for Mom's birthday, using the family recipe. All this talk of cake has me hungry. I'm definitely going to make one this weekend- and likely it will be chocolate. What a yummy day!

A Year of Blogging: January 26, 2011

I'm a little behind with my daily blogging. January 26 was Australia Day. Last week, I wasn't sure what Australia Day was. Fortunately, I work for an international association. We have chapters in several countries all over the world. Including Australia. While my primary responsibility is to handle the US Membership; occasionally I interact with the other chapters. In fact, I met the head of our Australian chapter and his wife at a conference a couple of years ago. They were lovely people, and so easy to talk to. Although I did have a hard time with their accents sometimes. I email them semi-regularly. On Monday they emailed me and were telling me that Australia Day was Wednesday. They said Australia Day is the equivalent to 4th of July in the USA. It is summer in Australia right now. There have been devastating floods in Australia (or OZ as they call it), people have lost their homes, their livelihoods, some have even lost their lives. I see it on the news, and just cannot imagine what that must be like. Today I had a lovely email from our Australian chair, and he was telling me what they did on Australia Day. He played trombone in the brass band he belongs to, at a lake, while people enjoyed crocodile, or kangaroo burgers. That seemed so exotic to me, but I remember him telling me that kangaroos in Australia are like the deer here. There are so many that they are almost a nuisance. He also told me a neighboring town had a horse race planned, but had to cancel it because a pack of kangaroos got on the track just before the race started. Reading that made me laugh. I know the organizers of the event probably weren't pleased, but for some reason it made me think of Mary Poppins. Overall, I think it sounded like a lovely way to celebrate your national holiday. Very similar to the way we celebrate Independence Day. Well, except for the kangaroo burgers!

A Year of Blogging: January 25, 2011

Today is Opposite Day. All I can think of is 'Opposites Attract'. When I was younger, I was struck by how completely opposite my Grandparents were. I even told my parents once that my Grandparents were mismatched- Grandpa Primeau is a very strong personality. He can be beligerent, and is always very forceful. Grandma Primeau on the other hand is usually very meek. On Mom's side of the family, it was the opposite. Grandma Wager was the strong personality, very independent. Grandpa Wager was a very calm, gentle soul. My mother said 'Yes, but could you imagine your Grandpa Primeau and Grandma Wager together?' and that thought was very funny. Two bulls in a china shop funny. I guess it is true that opposites attract, but I don't think you have to be complete opposites. Erich and I have some similar interests- reading for one. We are both intellectuals. Stupidity irritates us. Yet he is more science driven and I am more history and English. Our tastes in music, movies, books are worlds apart. He grew up in the city, in a small family. I grew up in the country and have an extended family that now numbers nearly 60 people. He is quiet and I'm a chatterbox. Our political and religious views are so far apart, they aren't even on the same spectrum. Yet somehow all of it works for us. Perhaps if you are too much alike, there's not enough different to spark your interest. Yet, if you are too different, you have no common ground. Cheers to everyone who found the balance between being clones of each other and being from other planets!