Taking a Break

No posts for a while--doctor's orders! I'm not kidding. My doc says I'm not getting enough sleep. Since I'm already working on several other writing projects, I need to lay low on this for a while.

Till next time...

Query Letters

Query letters are little gems that you have to write to introduce yourself and your writing and your piece, along with mention of any research and previous publications. You should know the editor's name and what they are looking for. Your tone should be appropriate to the journal/magazine/publishing house by whom you wish to be published.

I have a stash of query letters; however, I'm not consistent at sending out my work. I'm really busy - it's not just an excuse. Right now I'm sitting on one of my kid's beds listening to him snore, and typing in the dark. Thank goodness for light-up keyboards, which I insisted on getting on my last purchase of a laptop. I knew I'd be spending a lot of time in the dark with my keyboard.

Back to the subject at hand... all previously written query letters are slightly different one from the other, and none apply to my current essay. Therefore, the hours spent on typing up query letters in the past have only just prepared me to type up a new one again; they were practice.

I have an essay I'd like to submit to a family-type magazine, and I'm going over their submission guidelines. They want to know everything about the essay, but they don't want to see the actual essay. Huh? They only want to know about it. And they want this distillation in about a page.

Why not just ask to read the essay?

And they want experts and citations. My little essay is not really bent that way, but I can tweak it. I need to count words and see if I can fit the rather lengthy essay into a publishable format. So there will be cutting...

This is only the first place I'm thinking of sending it. In all, by the time I have written and polished a piece, and it's just sitting there looking pretty, there is still a lot to do. So I'm going to *sigh* write up a draft query, and look up a couple of statistics before I can join my kids in their snoring.

The Yard(a poem from my dad about his yard)

Now, that I have retired I wonder how much I perspired

To get all the stuff and gear, and buy the house that I have here.

I think of working days & hours required to be a success or get fired.

As I remember it then, we had a yard, house and a den,

I don’t think it was quite so hard to maintain that yard.

That yard was the place you went when your mother’s patience was spent.

You kids are driving me nuts go outside or I’ll beat your butts.

So out we went to hide and seek, dig holes, make forts, catch snakes, and kick the can

And I never remember my Dad being mad when he saw the fun we had.

He knew what a yard was for, to entertain your kids and others by the score.

They were glad that all that mess, was out where it should be…

Because that was purpose of the yard you see.

Now things have changed and I lament, the yard is gone and in its stead

I have some crappy flower bed. Now I have lots of time and I find the yard job is mine.

And the yard is not a place for recreate or play; it’s become my job, my work all day.

It no longer takes a couple of hours, to mow the grass and plant a flower.

Even now that I’m an old fart, the yard has become a work of art.

I have to visit the GOD's at Lowes each day, buying stuff to keep it perfect that way.

The work has grown, the task too hard, so I have employees to tend the yard.

What we used to do with shovel rake and hoe, they have machines that whack, grind and blow.

It now reminds me of days of old, when I was boss and my people I told,

Get busy you buggers all, blow the leaves, can’t you see its fall.

And just like then as I order them about, they look at me as I shout,

What’s this asshole talking about…

Dave Walker

Being a Stoner

In the mid-1850's a woman named Lucy Stone married Henry Blackwell, and kept her maiden last name. This was just not done at the time, and you can imagine some of the struggles they went through. She had to sign documents as "Lucy Stone, wife of Henry Blackwell." This couple lived a long, happy life together, and Lucy was supported in her decision by Henry.

By the early 1900's the expression "being a Lucy Stoner" referred to a woman who chose not to change her last name.

According to one source, 80% of women today take their husbands’ last names when they marry. But what happens if you like your last name? What if you don’t want to change it? Go back 20, 30, 40 years ago and remember what it was like. Did you know anyone who kept her last name after she was married? Was she a bad mom?

If we women are confused, you can bet our men will be too. If I don’t change my last name, does that mean I don’t love him? Does that mean I am planning to leave him in a few years?

Let’s consider a world in which men change their last names when they marry. Think of the business implications where brand recognition is critical. You hear slogans: our name is everything; all we have is our good name; we stand behind our name. Do women have the same luxury?

When a woman hits her stride in her profession, it becomes more difficult to change her name. Given the high state of separation and divorce and throw in the prospect of changing your professional name more than once or even twice, and things start to get complicated.

How is a prospective employer supposed to know, when they contact a previous employer, that my name used to be something else? Many HR firms are doing this research without first consulting the job candidate. Everything is automated and electronic.

Your name is your identity. It’s part of who you are. It suggests things about you and may connote your ethnicity, heritage, religion, and more. It stands to reason that people will also have opinions about a “Fitzpatrick” or a “Goldberg” or, in today’s world, an “Ali.”

Taking someone else’s name is not an easy decision for everyone. The other 20% of women who keep their names, these so-called "Lucy Stoners," have healthy families and loving spouses and work to keep the family feeling comfortable, of course they do. It doesn’t make them any less of a good wife, good mother, or a good person. To propagate that old stereotype in today’s world is a shame.

The practice of changing one’s name is a social construction. It’s not the law, and it was never the law! To young women: you don’t have to change your name. Many choose not to and for many different reasons. Guess what? The world doesn't come to an end; your friends will still be your friends; your parents will still be your parents.

There are many reasons why a woman chooses not change her name. I wish I had known one woman like that when I was growing up.

For more go to the Lucy Stoner League page. And sorry for being so misleading in the title - ha!

Finding Happiness in Eight Branches

Recently a friend of mine who is going through a tough time said to me, "I just want to be happy."

I'm no therapist, but as I was listening to him talk about various troubles, I thought that he could have stopped right there. This was the most true and honest thing he said all night. But he made this tremendous statement and then kept on going. To me, this statement was huge, but he drowned it out with a bunch of other racket. He probably doesn't even remember saying that.

And anyway, what would he do about it if he did stop to think about what he was saying? Would he then make all the changes he needs to, to find happiness? Isn't it easier to just let it ride?

Janet Abel, my yoga instructor, recently published an article in Tidewater Women magazine (page 10). It begins, "Everyone wants to be happy… we can take steps to make it more likely to manifest in our lives." She goes on to lay out the Yoga Sutra and the Eightfold Path.

1) 5 Yamas - non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, moderation, non-accumulation of stuff
2) 5 Niyamas - purity, contentment, self discipline, study, devotion to a higher truth
3) Asana - yoga postures
4) Pranayama - breathing
5) Pratyahara - turning attention inward
6) Dharana - focused attention (like on breathing)
7) Dhyana - meditation - putting negative thoughts aside
8) Samadhi - connection to the Divine

I swear that I didn't read this article until today, when my friend Lauren pointed it out to me that it sounded a lot like my bento box thing. Or maybe it's that what I wrote sounds a lot like this philosophy, even down to the eight things. Janet's article is really great, and worth a read.

It has not escaped my attention that my 3 big bento box things - writing, love, and work - are the same 3 things that are in the subtitle of my blog. It's the trying to get it all done part that's a killer. I believe I can decipher a way to do everything I want to do. I don't know how, exactly, but I'm working on it… Working on a way to make it more likely that I manifest in my life the things I want to be there.

Bent-over...

What's my sandwich? Or rice or whatever. I'm back to these basic questions. I'm thinking about them abstractly b/c it makes it a little easier to deal with. The three things that take the biggest trays in the bento box are:

LOVE, CREATE, WORK

Love - I'm compelled to do this love thing. Sometimes recklessly, but always deeply and involuntarily.

Work - This is something I'm good at, whether painting a room, making a sandwich (sorry for bringing that up again), or working on computers. Point me in the right direction and I will go--sometimes not getting up from a computer for hours. Not that this is healthy. Work tends to bring me stability and joy. Someone else is steering the ship.

Create - I struggle with this one the most. I'm not sure it makes me happy, but for sure I can catch a buzz. When I'm not doing enough writing practice I find myself playing the violin, or snapping off a role of film at the backyard, or decorating a cake to look like a transformer.

When I become aware of how much I'm doing that is not actually writing, then I quit all these other things to focus once again on writing. Turning back to what I love the most (outside of family) takes all my energy and effort. Writing is a constant battle against a terrible voice that keeps nagging at me to stop. For me this is the worst sort of confrontation of lack of self-worth. I almost never experience this in my daily life. It's only when I dare to stretch out and write that I feel this way. Nearly every time.

And so to do writing practice is less pleasure than a deep need. Like water. Sometimes when I'm forcing myself to drink more water, I remember something my sister once said, "Water sucks." I don't drink enough water like I don't do enough writing. And I suffer for it.

Get Bent-o!

So I literally have done nothing but think about this bento thing, where bento life = convenience life. That's what I am trying to distill all this into. I listed my priorities -

1) My children - love

2) Writing - creativity

3) Career - work

4) Health - mental and physical, inner being

5) Serene environment, outer being

6) Do something for others, give

7) Receive

8)

Is it possible to spend an hour on each of these things everyday? Is it possible to live in the moment without thinking about doing something else to take me out of that moment?

I have a friend whose life seems to be like this: she's a nurse (career), she paints watercolors to sell online (her art/creativity), she volunteers at an animal shelter (does for others), she has a family (love), and a beautiful home that she loves (outer being). She appears to be happy (inner being). She seems to be doing something right, which goes to show me I need to do more actually, rather than less, and that I need to focus my energy.

Ok, so...

1) Love -

This one is easy. My love for my boys is pure, whole, and life affirming. As a mom, I've realized that the decisions I make for them end up being healthy for myself as well. This "mom thing" is a good deal. It's essentially saved me. Helped to save me. I typically tend not to have healthy habits.

In the interest of caring for my boys I set my goal as this - 1 hour with them every day, just to hang. This won't be hard; I'm already doing this. As for romantic love? I'm not interested in working on this right now.

2) Create -

Make time for 1 hour a day to write. This I don't currently do. This is going to be a new practice. Practice. Practice. Love and practice. It seems odd that to be creative one is required to do something so banal as practice.

3) Career / Work -

I spend so much time at work. With this one I need to scale it back and not let it overtake my soul.

4) Inner being -

Going to start meditating twice a day everyday to help manage stress. At this turn, I honestly am aware of my stress level and need to destress as much as possible. Besides meditating, maybe spend a half hour a day trying to be aware of my inner self? I don't know how to do that, but in yoga there is a lot of talk about being present and concentrating on breathing. I will start with that.

Also, schedule all dr. appts and attend all. I usually keep up w/ this stuff.

5) Outer being -

I have said that my goal is to attain a calm environment. Spend 1 hour a day on achieving this through cleaning, organizing, etc. This is where tolerations come into play. Cleanliness is a type of wealth, so sayeth Suze Orman. And I agree with her.

6) Give -

I am voting to help the Rett girls. Last month I helped the Cure JM group win $250K. I need to find a way to give a little more. I can spend half an hour a day on this... It means more than giving a dollar to the guy on the corner. And I always feel bad if I don't have a dollar when someone asks for one. No, this giving needs to be in person. I need to be physically present. Present yourself to become present and your presence becomes a present. Whatever.

7) Receive -

I wrote this one b/c if you give, you must also receive - opportunities, love, good will. This one means being open. There is goodness to be had.

8) _______________ -

There must be an 8th. Eight is my lucky number (along with three) and there cannot be only seven, which is my most inauspicious number. I will figure out 8 in time.

Tolerations, cont.

...3) Bedroom needs to be cleaned up 

4) Pack 1 box

5) Pack another box

6) Find all the parts to the crib and sell it/get rid of it

7) Sell or get rid of the fish tank

9) Write to Lee's mom on his b-day

10) Set up my Web site

11) Set up O's web site

12) Join a gym

13) Take boxes to Mom's house

14) Clean out the shed

15) Get rid of old clothes

16) Buy space bags for linens

17) Do TM on Sept. 11/12

18) Go through clothes

19) Go through the boys' clothes

20) Finish Fenn's baby book & photo albums

21) Finish Bear's baby book & photo albums 

22) Order the photo book from Shutterfly 

23) (private)

24) (private)

25) (private)

26) (private)

27) (private)

28) (private)

29) B-day cards/gift for Dad - in progress - Done! Well, he came to visit us at the beach and the boys and I gave him a card and b-day presents - one of them was a glass of shells and small stones from the surf in OBX.

31) Write Gaucho Heart

32) Write The Lucky Side of the Menu

33) Write Tristan de Cunha

34) Write The Awesome Adventures of Fella & Echo

35) Write Chocolate the Donkey

36) Arrive at work on time

38) Set aside time for writing everyday

39) Create the boys' summer camp folder

40) Put away the boys' folders in a filing cabinet

41) Get Camper groomed - he got a bath, still need to make that appointment

42) Find glasses - I keep looking. I'm afraid the place I'm going to find my glasses is at the store when I buy a new pair. 

43) Box up books I'm not using

44) Get my book journal current

45) Get new brakes - Amos is getting married and won't be working on cars again until Sept. That's OK b/c I'm not going to be back in town until Sept. 

46) Get car inspected

47) Get oil changed

48) (private)

49) Make hair appt

50) Organize front desk  

This is where I am today. I just deleted a bunch of stuff that I either started or that I finished. I can't actually remember what all the (private) things are, but failing all that... if I get everything else done, then the other stuff that I keep thinking about will also be able to get done. 

The goal, I haven't forgotten, is to achieve a solemn environment. That is my goal. I want to be able to sit down and not have to think about getting up to do something else. 

Here's my word of the day - CHANGE. I think it's appropriate on this day that Hurricane Earl comes to OBX and makes me get out of taking vacation a couple days "Earl-y."

So Far So Good

1) Desk at work is messy - done

2) Car needs to be cleaned out - done

3) Bedroom needs to be cleaned up 

4) Pack 1 box

5) Pack another box

6) Find all the parts to the crib and sell it/get rid of it

7) Sell or get rid of the fish tank

8) Mail the cell phone rebate - done

9) Write to Lee's mom on his b-day

10) Set up my Web site

11) Set up O's web site

12) Join a gym

13) Take boxes to Mom's house

14) Clean out the shed

15) Get rid of old clothes

16) Buy space bags for linens

17) Do TM on Sept. 11/12

18) Go through clothes

19) Go through the boys' clothes

20) Finish Fenn's baby book & photo albums

21) Finish Bear's baby book & photo albums 

22) Order the photo book from Shutterfly 

23) (private)

24) (private)

25) (private)

26) (private)

27) (private)

28) (private)

29) B-day cards/gift for Dad - in progress

30) {hidden} - in progress

31) Write Gaucho Heart

32) Write The Lucky Side of the Menu

33) Write Tristan de Cunha

34) Write The Awesome Adventures of Fella & Echo

35) Write Chocolate the Donkey

36) Arrive at work on time

37) Do yoga twice a week - done!

38) Set aside time for writing everyday

39) Create the boys' summer camp folder

40) Put away the boys' folders in a filing cabinet

41) Get Camper groomed - he got a bath, still need to make that appointment

42) Find glasses - I keep looking. I'm afraid the place I'm going to find my glasses is at the store when I buy a new pair. 

43) Box up books I'm not using

44) Get my book journal current

45) Get new brakes - Amos is getting married and won't be working on cars again until Sept. That's OK b/c I'm not going to be back in town until Sept. 

46) Get car inspected

47) Get oil changed

48) (private)

49) Make hair appt

50) Organize front desk  

50 Tolerations

1) Desk at work is messy

2) Car needs to be cleaned out

3) Bedroom needs to be cleaned up

4) Pack 1 box

5) Pack another box

6) Find all the parts to the crib and sell it/get rid of it

7) Sell or get rid of the fish tank

8) Mail the cell phone rebate

9) Write to Lee's mom on his b-day

10) Set up my Web site

11) Set up O's web site

12) Join a gym

13) Take boxes to Mom's house

14) Clean out the shed

15) Get rid of old clothes

16) Buy space bags for linens

17) Do TM on Sept. 11/12

18) Go through clothes

19) Go through the boys' clothes

20) Finish Fenn's baby book & photo albums

21) Finish Bear's baby book & photo albums 

22) Order the photo book from Shutterfly 

23) (private)

24) (private)

25) (private)

26) (private)

27) (private)

28) (private)

29) B-day cards/gift for Dad

30) {hidden}

31) Write Gaucho Heart

32) Write The Lucky Side of the Menu

33) Write Tristan de Cunha

34) Write The Awesome Adventures of Fella & Echo

35) Write Chocolate the Donkey

36) Arrive at work on time

37) Do yoga twice a week

38) Set aside time for writing everyday

39) Create the boys' summer camp folder

40) Put away the boys' folders in a filing cabinet

41) Get Camper groomed

42) Find glasses

43) Box up books I'm not using

44) Get my book journal current

45) Get new brakes

46) Get car inspected

47) Get oil changed

48) (private)

49) Make hair appt

50) Organize front desk  

I did this list as quickly as I could, in 1 basic seating, and without trying to think it out too much. Some stuff should be quick - like make an appt. Some stuff will take longer - getting the baby books together.  

Only 2 weeks to get everything done? 50 items divided into 14 days is... about 3 and a half things per day. Did I mention I'm going on vacation next week? I'm not going to let that stop me! I'm going to take action and get as much done as I can. Some things might actually be easier to do when I'm out of my usual environment. 

The Winding Path Away from Mediocrity

I said something previously about getting the piddly stuff done and it feels like swatting at gnats - you only do it when it's in your face and you have to get it done. Am I just going to go through life with this attitude? Do I want to hold onto these ideas?

Then I read an article by Chieko Watanabe - she's a really interesting life coach type of person who lives in Seattle. You can check her out @ chiekowatanabe.com.

I subscribe to her [Success Habitude] emails. Her latest topic addressed the 'gnats' in my life. I really like what she had to say and I like that it came on the heels of me being so negative about that.  

This is what really got to me: "...your personal energy is one of your most valuable resources. Protecting this asset is critical to ongoing success as an entrepreneur." For me you can substitute 'entrepreneur' with 'mom' or 'writer' or 'person' (as you can see, I haven't yet worked out the bento box -- to help with these issues).

Further, she says that the way to PROTECT YOUR ENERGY (vital!) is to get rid of energy leaks. "The easiest place to start? Tolerations in your physical environment." What I call gnats she calls tolerations. 

Tolerations/gnats are the lightbulbs you don't change right away, the car that needs to be washed, and bills you need to address. She says these are zapping our energy and to 'fix' this stuff, start a "cleanse."

She offers an assignment:

1) List 50+ tolerations 

2) Spend 2 weeks zapping these gnats. 

3) Enjoy renewed energy

Step 1 - become aware; step 2 - become active; step 3 - enjoy. 

Questions: does tolerance zapping make it into the bento box? Why are these things so difficult? Am I mistaking tolerances for essentials? Is that why the bento seems so hard to pack? 

Scared to do the first step of the assignment above for fear that it will 1) zap my energy and 2) I won't be able to accomplish essential bento-type goals. This is foolish and yet, my brain is telling me that this is a valid way to think. 

If BENTO LIFE = CONVENIENCE LIFE, then I'd better take a look at what is going on and try to figue it out. Where is the truth, beauty, love, and art in all of this? Is this a path only to accomplish goals or is it a path to true (sic) happiness?

I have a bento box to pack and another list to make. 

Shopping Online for Bento Boxes ~

A random Google Search produced these 3 contenders (plus many others):
1) Thinkbaby BPA Free Bento Box
The Thinkbaby BPA Free Bento Box is cute, comes in blue and orange, and is BPA free. But it only has 1 compartment; 1 compartment is not enough. Maybe it's enough for a baby. $12.99 from Diapers.com.

2) Japanese style Hello Kitty 2-tiered Bento Lunch Box Chopstick Belt Bag
There are 2 compartments on each tier, is totally cute for a little girl, but a little too fru-fru to take seriously. Plus it's expensive. I'm not sure I like the whole idea of a tier. I'm just looking for a single floor unit. $41.99 from AtomicMall.com.

3) Laptop Lunches
This web site is delivering an entire lifestlye. You can subscribe to their RSS news feeds for weekly ideas on what to serve in the bento box. The people on the page look really happy. The kids are smiling. There are lots of flags from different countries. The bento box really is an idea stolen from Asian culture. The bag that the bento box comes in is as important as the box itself - stripes, daisy, etc. There are 4 compartments - 2 large and 2 small, and everything is on a single floor. $36.99 for the basic unit from www.laptoplunches.com.

Etymology (from wikiped)
"Bento" originates from the Southern Song slang term (pinyin: biŕndang), meaning "convenient" or "convenience." It's convenient to eat and to pack, but to prepare? I'm not so sure about that. Looks like a lot of work would need to go into it. But I'm digging one thing about this - CONVENIENCE.

Typical bento box: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bento_de_luxe.jpg
Restaurant style: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bento_at_Hanabishi,_Koyasan.jpg

I'm kind of liking these pix of bento boxes b/c it has lots of compartments - at least 6 or 8 different kinds of foods are here. In the spirit of "convenience" lifestyle, I'm going to make an attempt at the bento box.

Instead of what's my sandwich, I'll be asking, what's my purple stuff? I think it's a radish, but aside from that,I think it's better not to have a preconceived idea of what all these foods are so that I don't rank something out of an order of importance to me.

A Stool Needs 3 Legs to Stand On

{the clutter thing and the bento box life}

So, I'm still thinking that the sandwich of my bento box (as I said) is work-work, but should be family, but then I never worked it out, exactly, what it would look like.

I used to think of it this way: that life was a 3-legged stool. The 3 legs are love life, family, and work. All three legs had to be solidly planted on the floor or you would fall off the stool. I have fallen off before. At one time I lost 2 of the 3 legs at the same time. Huge fall. 

The stool analogy isn't really working for me right now. I feel like I've moved past it. Plus, I think 2 of my 3 legs are shaky. But I don't feel like I'm heading for a fall. There are a lot of things I'm making positive changes about, so the 2 of the 3 legs are just "Under Construction." 

This is why I'm moving forward with the bento box idea. How many compartments are in a bento box? I need to figure that out. B/c to me, my life seems overwhelmingly distracting. There are too too many compartments. I used to be able to get it all done, but now, I realize, that's not true; I was just kidding myself. 

Maybe if you only get 2/3 of "it" done, and no one complains, then what you've accomplished is that you've done just enough to get people off your back. You work for them and not yourself. Correction, you're driven by them, like a mule. 

This is the pathway to mediocrity.

To be continued...

mae news

So at the bottom of the page is a gadget called "mae news." Basically it lets me enter in the things I want google to search for, and then it posts links to these news stories.

Here are my topics:

1) peace

2) poverty

3) poetry

4) music

5) starvation

6) tolerance

7) love

8) fireflies

9) john lennon

10) sunsets

11) art

12) books

14) children's books

15) literature

16) elephants

17) peinture

18) shoe wine

19) mae fever (this actually appears in "fannie mae" and "freddie mac" news

20) death by hot glue gun (research for a short story)

It's kind of cool to sit and watch these topics scroll through. One or two may never appear.

Snacks-R-Us

http://www.sfa.org/

I just want something else to eat before I stop eating for a few hours. I could use an apple (don't have one) or a banana (ate it hours ago), but there's no fruit to be had. I'm almost considering going to the vending machine (no!), but I open my desk drawer and find... fruit snacks.   That's how it's spelled, all lower case. And it's "snacks" even though I'm pretty sure it's just one snack. 

The subtitle on this package is a veritable cornucopia of "mixed fruit": grape, peach, strawberry, orange & raspberry. Flavors. But there is 100% of your daily vitamin C and no fat, i.e. and no cholesterol.   

All right, so this will do. And then the appetite killer - I check out the ingredients list on the back of the package.   

Here goes: 

1) Fruit (yay!) juice (ok) from concentrate (apple, pear) (This probably means China, because I have never seen concentrated fruit juice that came from America. I'm not able to explain this, but I've consistently read juice labels for 5 years - ever since reaching momdom. Never yet seen "from concentrate from the US" it's always "from concentrate from China" and you know, that just ain't right! 

2) Corn syrup (of course) 

3) Sugar (standard) 

4) Modified Corn Starch (not on my pantry shelf at home) 

5) Gelatin (made from horse hooves I think) 

6) Sorbitol (fresh out) 

7) Citric acid 

8) Natural and artifical flavors (also not in the pantry) 

9) Sodium citrate 

10) Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) 

11) Sodium ascorbate (vitamin C - Again? What about the sodium? Why did I have to fail Chemistry and drop it? Who knew I was going to need it to help my identify my afternoon snacks!) 

12) Mineral oil* 

13) Carnauba wax* 

14) Red 40 

15) Yellow 6 

16) Blue 1  

So the good news is that there is no fat. The asterisks are not mine on numbers 12 and 13, the manufacturer just put them there with a note that says these ingredients add a nominal amount of fat. Nothing to worry about. Still a fat free food! It has the word "food" on the front of the package. 

It's just that, I don't know, when you think about a snack, you don't think about the 16 things that make up the snack.  I think the less the number of ingredients, maybe the better for you. It's not my idea; I've heard this before, but don't ask me where. I've already eaten the daggone snack, but I'm just sitting here not really enjoying it. Not feeling satisfied. Well, OK, maybe a little. 

But I'm wondering if I had eaten a piece of fruit instead, how would I feel. For example, here is the ingredient list: 

1) Apple.   

It would also be fat free. Probably does not have car wax and mineral oil in it. The apple peel does not have Red 40 or Yellow 69. Honestly, I'm feeling totally grossed out.   

And here is my next revelation, which is not making me feel any better. These are my kids' snacks. I just grabbed one or had one in my purse or somehow it made its way into my desk drawer. One of the things that moms do is eat their kids' foods - chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, that kind of thing.   

It packs on weight and it's not healthy food. Why is it that you hear moms saying they should stop eating the leftover food from their kids' plates, when maybe what you should be hearing them say is that they shouldn't be feeding their kids that junk in the first place?   

Listen, I am guilty of this. I work and if I have to come home and throw something together, then it's not going to be gourmet. I usually try to heat something up and then I grab a bowl of cereal for myself.   

I just found out that I have high cholesterol. I never worried about my cholesterol before because I'm a vegetarian. That's right - I don't eat meat! And I still have high cholesterol.   

First of all, I'm not a vegan. I still eat cheese and I think I'm addicted to cow's milk. But this cholesterol has to be coming from somewhere - dairy? For certain, there is too much sat fat in my diet.   

Changes:  

1) Reading the ingredients list on foods 

2) Eating whole grains  

3) Avoid fat and processed foods 

4) Exercise  

How I'm doing: 

1) Done! To my chagrin. Reading ingredients sucks. I found out I don't eat any cholesterol. Seriously, everything I eat has 0 (zero) cholesterol. That leaves only dairy and eating out. I don't eat out that much since I have small children. So that leaves another possibility... genetics. This is really scary. Also, I need to eat better when I do eat out... or maybe french fries are going to fill up my arteries? No more french fries you bastards!  

2) Just finished my first box of Cheerios and bought 2 more. They're delicious. If I skip b-fast at home, then I have instant oatmeal at work. I switched to soy milk for cereal. I'm not crazy about it, and I accidentally bought vanilla, but I'm "belly happy" when I'm finished. I know that I've done something good for my body.  

3) I used to eat those frozen foods for lunch at work all the time. But these are processed. They have  lot more fat than if you made them yourself. Here's my solution: I bought a loaf of sugar-free, whole grain bread, some natural peanut butter and "simply" jelly (no gelatin or HF corn syrup). I make a mean PBJ at lunch at my desk. Or... veggie bacon BLT. Those are my 2 office sandwiches, and they're great!  

4) I'm still working on this one. I missed yoga class. I almost got on the treadmill last night, but the kids were struggling w/ going to sleep. That's my excuse for yesterday!

Bento Box Life

I've been trying to think of an easier way to get everything done that I want to get done. I swear when I hear people talking about needing to balance out their home and work lives, I just groan. It's such a cliche and I'm not going there.

What I'm talking about is not balance. It's about accomplishing something. Yeah, you know, reaching your goals, getting something done. I know people are all over the place on this--some love to get their stuff done and it's usually the minutiae of daily life. Paying bills, getting the oil changed, mowing your own grass and sometimes the grass for the old lady down the street. When they finish their chores they feel satisfied and feel that they have accomplished something.

I'm not in that camp. I dread having to tackle these small and meaningless tasks. They don't add anything at all to your quality of life. They exist like gnats that you swat at only when they get right in front of your face. But still, most of the time, you have to do them.

I think that if I try to segregate my life into manageable chunks, then I'll be able to accomplish something. I'm not talking about the minutiae. I'm talking about the big stuff. The visual that comes to mind when I think of segmentation is... well ants and stuff like that... but also a bento box.

I am going to try to manage my life by putting it in terms of a bento box. I have to figure out what is my sandwich? What is my juice? What's my carrots?

I'm scarily thinking that my sandwich is work-work. But I think it should be family. As I'm saying this my son is repeatedly asking for milk, and I'm kind of ignoring it. i guess I better go.

"There's no one way that a book becomes a book."

http://www.calvin.edu/news/2009-10/iowa-prize/

So sayeth Lew Klatt, latest recipient of the Iowa Prize - given to artists for an unpublished manuscript. I'm guessing that there are lots of ways that a book will not become a book though.

I write like
James Joyce

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Smart Animals

Smart Animals

I don't know why we keep acting like we're surprised that animals have feelings and intelligence. We are animals too! The other day I listened to Jane Goodall on the BBC. She said, "The most important thing we have to learn from the chimpanzees is humility."

Ugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plbUjdtWua0

I don't usually believe in the death penalty, but this is sad, disgusting, and terrible. The people who help out these animals are awesome! I don't think the IDA is as popular as a lot of the other causes, but, if you have a couple of dollars to donate, you might want to consider giving to these people. As you can see, they were merciful to the animals and did their job.

Herbivoracious - Vegetarian Recipe Blog - Easy Vegetarian Recipes, Veggie Recipes, Meatless Recipes

Herbivoracious - Vegetarian Recipe Blog - Easy Vegetarian Recipes, Veggie Recipes, Meatless Recipes

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Nimrod

I have sent a poem to Nimrod, so wish me luck. Some say that they only send their stuff to places where they know people and that people start up a lot of these places just to publish their friends and to push their own vision. Then a friend, Tom, said that sending off your stuff is like going through hazing. So, ten years of hazing is not a bad thing necessarily b/c not everyone is ready to publish a book right after the mfa.

Fingers x'd for nimrod!

First Blog

This is my first blog. I'm going to use this space to post details about my upcoming book. Can't wait to share it with you! Stay posted.

mlw