Category Archives: NaBloPoMo

November 30, 2011 · 9:09 am

Your Smarts Can Make You Weak


This touches an arena that I feel rather passionately about.  The attitude of expertise that says “I’m the head authority on this and do not need to learn anything else.”  “No one like you could possibly teach me something about the world I’m already an expert in.”  This attitude in life does not operate from a place of strength. It makes you weak.

This is especially dumb in leadership roles.  And it pretty much rejects assistance altogether. If you’re an expert in parenting, why read books on the subject? If you’re an expert in marriage, why ever consider counseling or a “marriage building” event? If you’re an expert in education, why explore new ways to reach a struggling student or improve the educational experience for everyone? If you’re an expert in business, why consult a coach? Why do anything to push your current boundaries? Yada.  Feel like you never get any help?  Umm, maybe check yourself here.

I’ve seen it in religious as well as philosophical circles. It’s present in the educational system. Even witnessed it to my surprise in the field of mathematics. And it’s so prevalent in politics (what I call the new religion) today. The idea in general that my way is the right way. Or my way is the only way. There is nothing else outside of that. It’s like being in a cage and it can become a difficult barrier to break through.

This doesn’t just plague leadership roles. Ever know someone who is an expert in everything, even in fields they’ve never touched? I’m reminded of a conversation with someone once about selling the home they’d lived in for 25+ years. The owner voiced many concerns over the idea and work she wasn’t sure might need to be done or even the paperwork involved. “Have you talked to a real estate agent? They could really help you know what you need to do and talk to you about the market right now,” I said. “No,” she said, “I already know everything I need to know about my house and this neighborhood. There’s nothing worthwhile an agent could ever tell me.”    Seriously?

In my mind, this type of mentality is the very source of division and stagnation. There is wisdom and growth at the center of many approaches and views. Thank goodness for the experts in my life who can give me other viewpoints and ways of seeing things. I am not eternal enough to contain all the truth and insight of the universe.

I have expertise, experience and a perspective that is very useful in many ways. But it ain’t everything.  No one’s is.

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November 29, 2011 · 8:45 am

Sometimes Even Nellie Oleson Is Right


I’m known to coin phrases.  One of my favorites? “There’s always a Nellie Oleson.”  Anyone who grew up reading or watching Little House on the Prairie barks a knowing laugh.  And anyone else just stares blankly at me!  Both reactions are fun.  😀  And the statement rings so true.

Fact is, there is always that person somewhere in your life.  That one person who gets under your skin, who acts as a challenge to you.  Whether as a minor yet annoying inconvenience, or as someone whose very existence seems to defy yours.  Perhaps that one person you can’t help but think privately about, “Everything would be a lot nicer if they just would just go away.”

Nellie Oleson exists for you, in some form, in your life somewhere.  And every time you think she’s gone, resolved and moved on, another one pops up in her place.  Her character is able to be so easily understood because there is always someone who plays this part in each of our lives.  After all, Life is always about the overcoming.  Of some thing… even some one.

It’s easy to habitually ignore whatever she has to say.  That nasty ‘ol Nellie Oleson!  She’s always such a pain!   But the fact is, sometimes, as conniving as she can be, as cruel and awful as she can sound – sometimes your Nellie is right.

Nellie has no vested interest in you.  Hurt as it may, and as frustrating as it can be to think she’s won and maybe gotten to you, Nellie has a way of pointing out the truth of the matter, in all it’s rawness.  It doesn’t matter that she’s your wrongful tormentor, nor for how many times.  When she’s right, she’s right.  Telling you what your friends didn’t want to say.  Sporting her evil little smirk.  Pointing out what you didn’t want to see.  That this time, and boy do you know it, you’re the one who is wrong.  Pointing out that flaw you want to forget, making known your weaknesses, revealing who you really are.

You don’t just hate her.  You hate how she makes you feel.  Because deep down it sucks to see yourself without the ignorant bliss or the rose-colored glasses your friends and loved ones are all too happy to loan you.

You’re not always rosy.  You’re not always nice.  You’re not always right.  You don’t always make great decisions.  Sometimes, those pants do make you look fat and sometimes you’re dead wrong.  Sometimes even an emperor needs a loud mouth kid to tell him he’s a fool without any clothes on.   Someone’s gotta do the job.  If your friends won’t, the Nellie in your life will.  The fact is, Nellie has an unabashed way of testing you and holding up the mirror so you can really see yourself.  Think you’re a good person?  Think you’re really something?  Think you’re better than Nellie?  Are ya really?  Even now?  Even under pressure?

Alison Arngrim

Alison Arngrim

Maybe there’s a lesson in all that, a role she needs to play, a purpose to fulfill.  After all, how can we change and overcome what we cannot see?  She may not be soft and cuddly, but Nelly won’t try to protect us from ourselves.

Perhaps even you’ve been a Nellie yourself.  And maybe she’s not as bad as you think.  😉

Fun fact: Alison Arngrim, the actress behind the TV personality of  Nellie Oleson released a 5 star book last year called: “Confessions Of A Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson And Learned To Love To Be Hated.” Check it out!

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November 28, 2011 · 5:42 pm

Mommy Can’t Right Now, She’s Texting


I was struck by a scene in my neighborhood earlier today.  There was a toddler sitting in a wagon by the side of the road, wiggling his butt, obviously wanting the wagon to go.  And his mom (or babysitter?) was leaning on a telephone pole nearby, with her phone in her hand.  Texting, surfing, I don’t know, but she was not talking. And she had completely checked out.

It’s always seemed odd to me when parents disconnect from their children for long hours talking on the phone.  We do all need breaks.  And that’s not what I’m talking about.  Before texting became a reality, there were plenty of people who could not disconnect from their cell phones.  And before cell phones, they could not disconnect from their home phones.  And there was a time before that when it might have been the back yard fence I guess.  Now they can do it more openly and quietly by text.

I don’t know for sure what I think of it.  On the one hand, I value good tools.  And my phone, along with its texting capabilities, is a good tool.  That said, I know when I had computer work to do at home when the kids were little, it was hard for them to understand why I couldn’t play sometimes.  After all, to their little eyes, I was just sitting there staring at a brightly lit box.  Sure, I showed them things and introduced them to a computer at an early age to help both of them with development, learn how to edit school projects, etc..  And later school came to require it.  But still, until they understood and valued the use of a computer at all, they did not get it.  At least a TV made noise and pictures.  They could understand someone staring at it.  They stared at TV too.  But often a computer is a bunch of words, while mommy seemed to stare off into space. I had to work from home to make it work out to be at home with my kids.  I would set them next to me with things to do while I worked, and I planned lots of activities together, but I couldn’t always just stop when they wanted.

There’s a Zen belief about being fully present in whatever you set your hand to do.  I can’t help but ponder these things when I see people staring at their phones while a child goes unnoticed nearby.  I’m not sure what I expect, especially as someone who values her tools, and as someone who probably doesn’t really know what was going on.  But certainly I expected something different.

It’s a different kind of world our kids are growing up in.  I know my grandparents saw that when I was a kid.  I see it for my own kids.  There’s always a trickle-down.  Generations of latch-key kids led to generations of fairly self-sufficient adults.  I wonder what the trickle down is here?

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November 26, 2011 · 10:52 am

Regulating Your Sleep Cycle


As someone who damaged their immune system in her early 20’s from sacrificing sleep, please take it from me and make this a priority if you have issues with your sleep cycle. Our immune system will successfully deal with many things until we sacrifice sleep, diet and sunlight. My sleep issues got worse after having kids and nursing and it took awhile to get my sleep cycles corrected.

I am not a doctor, and any decision you make is yours and yours alone. You should always consider seeing a doctor or another certified health professional. But these are natural ways that have helped me. (I’m allergic to many medications, so these are avenues my doctors have helped me find to do.)  I put this out there in case it might help others find a direction in solving this problem.

1. Melatonin. It’s an over the counter “vitamin” (synthetic hormone actually). Melatonin does not make you sleep per se, it will improve the quality of your sleep, help you get to that deeper REM and help regulate your internal clock again. If you have not dreamed in a while (as is the case for many exhausted people), the first few nights you will likely have a rush of wild dreams as your psyche downloads.  Some people may not experience this. A lot of people do.  Make sure you have plenty of time to sleep when you first start taking melatonin so there’s proper time to be at that deep level of sleep. Two hours will not work.

Melatonin is created from serotonin, so if you don’t have enough of one, you likely don’t have enough of the other. L-Tryptophan (an amino acid found in food like turkey) can also be found over the counter and is what the body uses to make serotonin, which is then converted to melatonin at night. If at any point you start waking up again in the middle of the night while taking melatonin, take a smaller dose or don’t take it. It does seem to build up in the system. Melatonin is processed through the liver, so keeping your liver healthy is also a good idea. Avoid alcohol for awhile, consider milk-thistle to support liver health. Also, low levels of serotonin are associated with increased carbohydrate cravings, depression, heightened sensitivity to pain, and troubled sleep patterns.

The smaller dosages (mcg) of melatonin did not work for me. But 5mg did. Don’t take it unless you are going to get at least 6 hours of sleep. And take it an hour before you want to go to bed. Today, I don’t need as much or as often (in fact I rarely take it) and I’m much less chronically exhausted.  But it was a life saver when my son started sleeping through the night and I still couldn’t.

I recommend you search some medical sites about melatonin to give you more information as well.

2. Light destroys melatonin in the body, especially the blue spectrum (though serotonin levels do increase during light exposure – sunlight being best). An hour before bed start turning off and dimming your lights. Also, no computer use during this time is also best, as the whole light issue is specific to your eyes. Staring at a computer screen is staring right into a source of light. The last lights you leave on should be yellow tone or even candle-light, avoid blue tone like the daylight bulbs you find. Do not leave a candle burning while you sleep. If you must use night lights, use red bulbs. Completely darken your room.

3. Go camping (tent, not cabin). Seriously, when you do not artificially extend your day with lights and the conveniences of modern life, your body will naturally try to sync up with the sun and other creatures around you. You’ll likely wake with dawn too. A night or two of camping have helped reset my internal clock.

4. Try not to eat a meal within 4 hours of going to bed. That being said, some people benefit from a simple glass of milk before bed. No sugar, caffeine or apples too close to bed. Apples contain a substance better than coffee for keeping you alert.  Whenever I have to drive for a trip, I take a bag of apples to eat while I drive. Works like a charm. Don’t eat them before bed.

5. Probiotics. Some people have trouble sleeping because something’s going on in their digestive track. Probiotics will help iron that out. And oddly, they do have a relationship to correcting in the gut whatever is decreasing proper serotonin/melatonin production.

Good luck, talk to a doctor and hope you get some sleep!

Source(s):

Personal experience
Book: Somer, Elizabeth, M.A., R.D. Food & Mood. Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 1999. (Page 144 on serotonin)

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November 25, 2011 · 10:37 am

Four Dysfunctional Attitudes About Communication


Effective communication is the key to everything. To business, to relationships, to peace.  However people often have some dysfunctional ways of thinking about the subject. Let’s take a look at these and see if any apply.

1. There is no such thing as just one solution! 

Encourage people to always get at least a 2nd (qualified) opinion, whatever the situation is, especially when there are doubts.  There are more equally effective ways up the same mountain than just one.  Seriously, if you reach the summit and find that someone else climbed up a different way, would you shove them off the mountain top for not doing it the “right” way?  Of course not!  You’d probably share a celebratory drink and take in the view together.  Wisdom is found in the midst of a multitude of views.  Holding that kind of outlook has served me far better than most.  It applies to anything in life, health or business.

2. It’s OK for someone else to be the expert.

No human is infinite enough to contain all the knowledge of a single subject, much less of the universe. We should celebrate that wonder and make use of individual expertise by adding the insight and value of others to our lives and teams.  Just because I can doesn’t mean I should or that it’s in my (or anyone else’s) best interest.  Not being an expert in something is not a negative reflection on us.  I’m thankful for the experts in my life.  I can not possibly hold that much information in this one physical and finite body.  I’m an expert in crochet.  I can be that.  Thank God someone else can be an expert in car repair and plumbing for me!  And I’m no less a person for it.

For an expansion on this idea, check out Derek Sivers’ video “Hell Yeah Or No.”

3.  Confrontation is not a dirty word.

Communication is essential to mediation. As someone who tends to communicate fairly well, others often come to me with their frustrations in dealing with someone else.  Many times they hope I will intercede for them.  I listen, but often followup with, “OK, you’ve hashed out your concerns with me, but have you gone to the source? Have you talked to that teacher/volunteer/manager/parent/business/peer that you have a suggestion/concern/issue with? Because they can’t do anything about what they don’t know.” All too often, people avoid confrontation, so nothing is ever addressed. When you feel helpless, the last thing you should do is give up.  Avoiding the person or issue will not often resolve anything.

4.  Emotional Reality and Factual Reality Are Not The Same.

When you’re having trouble seeing things straight, it is also important to keep in mind that although emotional reality is real and it does give us valuable information, that emotional reality and factual reality are not generally the same.  Making decisions based solely on feelings is not a balanced place to operate from.  Many emotions are caused by triggers.  And triggers can be very individual and personal.  What triggers you and what triggers me is not necessarily going to be similar.  Your feelings might be real, but they may have nothing to do with the actual situation at hand.  As hard as it may be, sometimes you have to step outside of that emotional reality with logical mindful intent.

What other dysfunctional attitudes about communication can you think of?
Think about it and share your thoughts in the comments.

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November 24, 2011 · 11:05 pm

Apparently It Is Easy To Make Butter When A Ninja Is Involved – A Thanksgiving Mishap


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Lightly sweetened butter, that was supposed to be whipped cream.  I poured off the liquid already.

Everyone knows that whipped cream is a requirement for pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

It’s pumpkin pie season!  My favorite.  I didn’t have ready made whipped cream, so I whipped out the carton of heavy whipping cream I keep on reserve for chocolate ganache and whipped up a batch. LOL. See how punny I am?

I love this time of year.  Pulling out old family recipes, taking time not to be stressed about the world and just be thankful in this sacred space.  It’s a special day of magic really.  The kind that only love and gratitude can create.  I like this day.

ANYway… When the need arises, I usually whip up little batches of whipped cream with one of my small food processors. (Only the real stuff for me.)  It’s a great way to cheat at all sorts of things, like whipped cream and cream gravy. I have cooked from scratch all my life, but I have never really been able to master a rue. How do I get around that?  Blend some flour, spices and milk in a blender and you’ve got instant cream gravy or stew thickener. Corn starch too. I love me my food processors!

Truth be told, I’ve been through a lot of them. I love frozen fruit smoothies too. Been making them since I got out of college and could buy my first machine. However, I like the all fruit kind and I don’t water them down with ice. Which is actually harder on the machines. Ice shatters easily.  Frozen fruit does not.  Those drink wands? I burnt out three of them. Along with several small food choppers and blenders. Then there was the small Cuisinart I brutalized until it finally had plastic bits cracking off it from the sheer vibrational impact of frozen fruit blending in a machine that was never designed for what I was putting it through. But my frozen goodie product was yum!

Later I finally got a Magic Bullet. OMG! I loved it! Still have it too. (If you don’t want yours, I’ll take it!)  However, you can only make a small bit at a time.  And my kids love smoothies too.

So then came the opportunity to own a Ninja. Sam’s Club had one left on clearance for half price. It’s one of the smaller models, but I took one look and grabbed it. Hell yeah. Strawberry/Spinach smoothie tonight!

It’s a little finicky, but my Ninja works well. The larger model might be less finicky.  Mine’s really designed to make the smoothies that you water down with ice. And if you do, you will have no trouble with it. However, as you already know, I don’t like adding ice. Probably doesn’t help that I don’t have an ice maker. But I did figure out that if I toss in the strawberries and other frozen fruit in alone, before adding spinach or anything else, it will powder them nicely and then I can easily add my yogurt and greens. But not until then. (It helps to use sliced frozen strawberries too, btw.) Once you have that figured out, it works like a dream blending up a whole pitcher of smoothie at a time. 😀

So back to whipped cream. A small food processor will help you whip up the good stuff in no time without pulling out your blender and all the clean up. (I’m all for practical and the least amount of work.)  Add your cream, a tad bit of honey for sweetener and blend until it looks right. Voila. Whipped cream.

Along come Ninja. This is the first time I’ve used it for whipped cream. In about 20-30 seconds I had whipped cream. Upon tasting, though, hubby didn’t feel it was sweet enough. So I added more honey and blended away. About another thirty seconds later, I had chunks in my cream and by another 30, it was butter. It wasn’t until I opened it up that I realized what was going on.

Stupid Ninja, I wanted whipped cream for my pie and now I don’t have any at all.  So now I have instead a delicate sweetened cream butter I’ll have to decide how I want to use. Grandma Leona would have been jealous.

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November 23, 2011 · 2:02 pm

Three Communication Tips To Help You Get Your Point Across


If I’m not careful, I can be a talker. As a natural at the art of capturing a story, it’s a gift. But it can also be a weakness. Here are three tools I’ve found useful to help me stay trim in my communications and remain effective in the long run.  This includes marketing and sales.

1. Remember that people communicate (and retain) information best in three main ways: audio, visual and kinetic. A balance of the three seems to work best. Honestly, sometimes we need to shut up and let a picture say a 1000 words or let someone get a literal handle on something. But beyond that, the truth is that some people retain and communicate best by hearing their own thoughts expressed in audio. Which means, get them into the discussion and you’ll get the best out of them.

My son is an example of someone who performs best through discussion, not just listening. He has an unusual visual impairment with a kind of blend of parallax and monocular vision (and medical terms I find difficult to describe).  Due to this, his thoughts literally form best through discussion and the hearing of his own voice. Once he’s been a part of the discussion, he’s your man and knows exactly what to do. Without it, he has a harder time putting his thought process in order or “getting it” because he has no mental black-board to “see” things in his mind. When he can verbalize thoughts as they take form, the quality of his work is amazingly better, because his brain is wired that way. It’s been an interesting path of discovery for us at home and I’ve learned to tailor my communication for others as a result.

2. There is a book that I love called: How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less, by Milo Frank. I listen to the audio version on a periodic basis to remind me how to trim my words and get to the point.

3. Once words are spoken, you can’t take them back. So if it’s the wrong words, or just too many, the problem is the same. I like to keep in mind an old adage that goes something like this: “Better they wonder why you didn’t open your mouth, than why you did!”

These are some thoughts that have helped me in both my professional and personal communications, as well as marketing.  I hope they help you too.

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November 22, 2011 · 4:20 pm

Look What I Found! Vintage Finds!


I lucked into some vintage finds at a thrift store today. I’m pretty pleased with them! How much did I pay? Now that’s my little secret!

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Vintage finds from today!

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I love the bee earrings! They will definitely become hat pins. The fake pearls are hand-knotted and over all look great, though two of the beads are flaking. Also found a sweet little silver chain.

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A cute little locket in the shape of an envelope.

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Came with a stamp inside!

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Recognition of this guy can definitely date you! It's Ronald McDonald's friend Hamburglar! Playing hockey! This mug is from the McDonald's Sports Series from 1977. This is going to be my new coffee mug!

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This pretty dish needs washing, but will look beautiful full of peppermints and ribbon candy! My Grandma Dot used to keep a dish of ribbon candy every year during the holidays. I haven't had ribbon candy in years!

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This awesome Steven Harris tie totally got my funny bone! I love the outdated computer equipment pictured all over it! I'm not sure what I want to do with this just yet, but I definitely wanted to give it a home! There were some beautiful silk Hawaiian ties there as well, but I decided not to get them too.

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November 18, 2011 · 6:31 pm

Life Has Taught Me That All Too Often You’re Better Off On Your Own


People let you down.  Teams, bosses and employees let you down.  Friends make promises they don’t keep.  Family members have insane expectations.  Colleagues take advantage of you and your work.  Leaders pretend to be people they aren’t.  Managers abuse their power.  Religious people prove to be hypocrites.  Atheists and politicians too.  Armchair warriors who can’t help but to give out a cyber punch/ jab/ pinch.  Like an abuser, justify it with “They deserved it.”  The people with those handicapped tags that aren’t really disabled and who cut you off in a parking lot so they can swoop quickly into that front row parking space before you pass it.  I’ve been cut off in parking lots by more people with temporary handicap tags lately than ever.  Wtf?

People who pretend to be experts at something they are not.  Receivers with no sense of gratitude or conscience.  And the guilty who take their guilt out on others when they fail.

And it generally boils down to a selfishness at heart.  A general disregard for a fellow human being.  The one right next to you, not the stranger from another culture you’re trying to impress.

It’s kind of like how family all too often treat each other worse than they would a stranger.  Biting the hands that feed and nurture them. Devolving into a vicious cycle of dysfunctional relationship and communication to rule the rest.  And now days, a couple of conversations online makes you familiar enough to take a punch, familiar enough to receive judgement and be devoid of rights to safety. Familiar enough to be disliked or hated, never having met face to face. And based solely on a paragraph or two.  I feel like a bit of my soul bruises every time I hear someone talk about how they hate someone else.

Have people disappointed me lately?  You bet.  People with enough life and professional experience to know better.  People who’ve received enough kindness too.  People who should know the value of a team, of a cause, of a single person or an act of selflessness.  How a betrayal of trust ruins it for all.  And how gratitude always wins.

Has it been everyone?  No. Not by a long shot.  But enough repeats to get to me.  I know better than most how tough life can be, so as patient and laid back as I can be, it takes a while to build up.  I wrote the emotionally charged title on purpose.  Because I know it speaks to the feelings of a lot of people lately.

This Thanksgiving, of all times, let’s think about this.  And not just football.  Take accounting, of ourselves, of the relationships we allow in our lives, of the examples we allow our children to see.  Recognize reality for what it is.  Take responsibility for ourselves, because others are not as invested.  Demonstrate patience and tenderness with others, because we know what pain is.  And savor the gems in our lives, rarer today than ever.

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November 17, 2011 · 10:10 pm

Letter To A Homeless Guy: I Hate Liars


You sir make me angry. Because you are not really “homeless.”  Nor do I think you’re a veteran.  For nearly a year now I have passed by you every day on my way to and from my kids’ school at the noon hour and watched you with your signs asking for beer or food.  And I’ve noticed how you hang out during lunch rush at the corner just long enough and then disappear into a parking lot for the rest of the day.

Your neatly trimmed beard has always been exactly the same.  It’s like your hair doesn’t grow.  And your fingernails never get dirty.  Your jeans always look cleaner and newer than even my own.  Those ball caps and shoes you change out as well.  I seriously doubt you’ve ever served a day in the military.  Nor have those BDUs you were sporting today.  Or that booney hat you’ve pinned up on the side.  Doubt those clothes have even seen a hunt.  You missed the creases on the back side of your pants.  Which tells me you mail ordered them to boot.

Ah, but today!  Today was the kicker.  I passed you wearing those silly BDUs, on my way to the school.  And on the way back, as I passed your corner, I spied you walking back from that parking lot you so often disappear into – with a whole different change of clothes on.

There are people in this world who really are veterans and really are homeless.  If you were one, you wouldn’t need to change clothes and looks to keep up your con.

I hate liars.  You piss me off.

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November 6, 2011 · 3:54 pm

Oklahoma Earthquake & Asteroid Nears The Moon


Listening to the blessed soft patter of rain this morning (something of a rarity this year due to the crippling Texas drought), I’m struck by the surrealism of recent events.  An earthquake of 5.6 magnitude shook my hometown of Lawton, OK last night. Right about the time I was Tweeting that, why yes, I was going to take advantage of that extra hour of sleep afforded by going off Daylight Savings Time.  (I didn’t.) Reports of the earthquake flooded in from Kansas City, MO to Dallas, TX.  And I found myself logging into Facebook to see if my family was reporting it too.  They were.

Luckily, it has not seemed to have caused a lot of damage, but it is scary for Okies none the less.  Speaking from experience growing up there, I can tell ya – we’re used to tornadoes in the Great Plains.  Not earthquakes.  Houses aren’t built for that there.  And as a friend on Facebook pointed out last night, thank goodness there weren’t a bunch of broken gas lines from it.  That would definitely make for a very difficult winter.

Why on earth was an earthquake like that felt across so many states?  Well, in reading  the tectonic information available about this region, it seems that earthquakes east of the Rockies are not as deep as on the West Coast and they spread out more.  Not to mention they are way less frequent.  So even though the epicenter seemed to be near Oklahoma City, OK, the effect as far away as Wichita Falls, TX  and Kansas City, MO was still enough to knock walls.

By the way, if you felt the quake, be sure to report it.

It’s hard to fathom that actual earthquakes of significance took place in my home state this weekend.

You gotta understand, it’s like a joke that turns out to be real.  It’s not like I am not already seasoned (or the whole Comanche County residential area for that matter) to loud noises and the rumbles of the earth.  Lawton resides next to Ft. Sill, where the artillery practice was so common place when I was growing up there, that no one native to the area ever thought twice about it when the ground thunder rolled.  To this day, if I hear a rumble from nearby quarry, which is nothing like artillery fire, I have to think twice before it really even registers.

In Lawton, you could hear the artillery rumble approach your position, rattle store windows, etc. and then leave.  I remember once as a kid when apparently one of the shells went off a little closer to town than usual and some store windows broke.  Not to mention the loud chinook helicopters which seemed to make both the air and the ground rumble at the same time.  We always ran outside to watch those powerful buggers fly in.  All that thunder, rock and roll – not a big deal.

I spent a year of college out in LA and remember experiencing my first earthquake (5.7) Feb 1990.  I didn’t notice it at first and then it felt like a long artillery rumble, lasting about 10 seconds instead of 2-3 seconds at most.  There were girls around me screaming.  People dashing under school desks. I stood there blinking stupidly and said “That’s it? What’s the big deal?”     I was a little disappointed in the experience.  My edgy classmates griped at me, asking me what would it take to impress me.

I suppose I should have had more appreciation.  After all, I grew up up near the Wichita Mountains where a minor fault line does reside, complete with a seismograph somewhere out at Meers, OK, just outside of Lawton.  I remember watching it for awhile at the restaurant when I was a kid.  (By the way, Meers Burgers are the best!)  In spite of knowing about the fault line and seeing little bumps on the monitor, there was never anything of note.  The Wichita Mountains are amongst the oldest on the planet. Mt. Scott, a glorified hill to most folks, is even an ancient dormant volcano.  It was like a joke.

So of course, with all this perspective, it feels strange for the “joke” to become real.  They say this makes it the largest earthquake ever in Oklahoma history.

But if there’s anything that life has taught me, it’s that anything is possible, no matter how unlikely it might seem.  Even a giant asteroid approaching to skim past our moon.

That’s just the way the thunder rolls.

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November 2, 2011 · 11:40 am

Are You Blogging About Crochet?


Because if you are, I want to hear from you.

How about Tweeting about crochet?  Likewise.  Oh and don’t forget to use the #crochet hashtag when you do.

Though I should clarify, if you’re a linker on Twitter, I probably won’t follow you back.  You gotta interact with your followers.  Sorry, that’s just what it’s all about.  (I know, if you’re new to twitter, it can be confusing. I’ll write an article on that later.)

What am I up to?  It’s developing rather organically and not clearly defined yet, but you can call it crochet conniving.  Refer back to my post Cro-pocalypse: The Rise of Crochet.  It was written tongue in cheek, but I am also somewhat serious.

Crochet suffers a deficit online, as least in the US.   Obey Crochet has also written about this.  She is not the only crocheter who thought she was alone in the world.

And more than that, there’s the average public ideas of what crochet actually is to enlighten.  Sure, doilies and granny squares are awesome.  But there’s so much more than that!  Tapestry Crochet, Tunisian Crochet, Broomstick Lace, Miniature Crochet, and Freeform Crochet, just to name a few of the many, many variations out there.

There’s just so much more.  And overall crochet is an incredibly portable craft, not to mention relaxing (ok, once you’ve got the hang of it).  AND its the only fiber art left that cannot yet be truly replicated by a machine.  Even that mass-produced stuff you see at the store, is hand created, often by children.  It behooves us to preserve this distinguishable art.

If you like crochet, join the quest to celebrate it!  😀

Did you know these are also crochet?

Source: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Antonina/pixel-vest

Source: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Asia62/picasso

Source: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Asia62/esmeralda

Source: http://s61.radikal.ru/i174/0901/74/042972f96102.jpg

Source: http://i062.radikal.ru/0812/a7/22f152372e93.jpg

Beautiful Art Crochet - Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mandygreer/5432467879/

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbezmenova/4634502427/

Go ahead and click a link below to “share this.” You know you want to! : )

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November 1, 2011 · 6:58 pm

The Best Time to Grocery Shop Is Halloween Night!


I hit the ground running after getting back from my trip to Cama Beach a week ago and ever since it’s been playing catch up every day.  Whose email did I not answer, whose call have I not returned, what deadline have I not met, what papers from school have I not seen.  Not to mention a freak email client incident that resulted in a lot of lost emails.  Which I rely on to help me remember things.  Eek!  There are a lot of details to catch up on after a 9 day absence!

However, one detail I did not expect to worry about was the dwindling state of the pantry.  As in, down to bare bones.  As in, out of nearly all meat, veggies and fruit.  Ugh!  And I really hate shopping, all kinds of shopping, even grocery shopping.

Does that sound funny?  Well, it doesn’t help that our local grocery store is just too big.  It’s an HEB Plus – the Texas dynasty sized grocery store initially created to compete with Wal-Mart.  The parking lot is too small, and the store is too big.  There is no quick in and out at any level.  No quick parking and it’s not even quick to grab a jug of milk.  Too many displays are crammed into the spaces between isles.  I really hate going there in the evening, or worse yet, on the weekend.  It’s an unpleasant experience for me.  And some locals treat Saturday outings to the store as a family event, with all the taste testing and all.  When that’s going on, count on the isles and cart traffic to be blocked even worse.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love HEB.  Their prices and products are the best.  But it’s impossible to do anything quickly at HEB Plus, which is the only HEB store near me.  And none of the basic items I buy are anywhere near the front of the store.  And there’s only one entrance and one exit instead of two like most places.  On the positive, they generally have things in stock.  The sacrifice, however, is nearly always my time.  You would think shopping there with any regularity would be a full body workout.

So last night, being Halloween, and with each kid having their own plans with friends on opposite sides of the North Austin area, I found myself an hour to kill our grocery list with.  I wasn’t expecting to get much done, but when the kids complain there’s not much for breakfast or lunch and I know there’s not much left for dinner, then yeah – it’s time to do a decent grocery run.

It was the most amazing grocery shopping experience!  NO one was at the store!  Just a handful of dads here and there obviously doing a last-minute candy run.  The isles were mostly clear and there was very little wait at the checkout, in spite of there being only two lines for shoppers with more than 10 items.  In less than an hour, I filled a basket with all our essentials to re-stock the pantry and freezer.  Enough that they had to use two carts at check out to carry all my groceries out.  Plus, they actually had someone available to help me carry it all out to the car.  Awesome! Usually they are just too busy and I would have to leave the carts at the door and drive up for them (another handy program, but not necessarily a quick one largely due to the tiny parking lot and inherent traffic).

Anyway, so I’m pretty much caught up on groceries now.  Except vanilla, forgot that.  And I’m grateful that it did not take more time.

The only thing is, I can’t help but wonder how all this affects HEB.  I can’t be the only person who hates dealing with the logistics of that store.  I want to save money and find what I’m looking for, so I will sacrifice some time to receive those benefits.  But I have friends who will sacrifice money, drive somewhere else and pay more, just to avoid the logistical issues that store presents.  I might not do all my shopping elsewhere, but even I will buy milk and bread at a Walgreen’s over having to go to through the insane trouble of using “The Plus.”  And if my errands take me by a regular HEB store, I will shop there instead.  Even if it’s not in my town.

Time is money, but time is also quality of living.  It’s time taken from work, as well as time with my kids.  In the end, I just want to get what I need and get out.  That’s it.  Not tangle with a time suck.  And others more than I are willing to pay for services that make their lives easier.

More and more this outlook affects how I see marketing today.  I look around and see a lot of tired and overwhelmed people, just trying to make it through their day and get home.  As we evaluate our current economy, marketing strategies and wonder where to focus next, perhaps this is something to keep in mind.  Keep it simple.  Bigger is not always better.

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October 31, 2011 · 8:39 am

It’s NaBloPoMo Time Again!


It’s that time of year! 

Starting November 1st, I shall be stepping up my game and madly striving to write 30 posts in 30 days for the annual NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) November Challenge. 

This year, I didn’t prep.  I didn’t plan.  No thumbnail sketches.  I don’t have any idea how I’m going to get started.  Or any idea how I will end.  But I am committed to trying and that’s all that matters. I’m not even entering my usual blog into this contest.  It’s Aberrant Crochet all the way this year baby!  (And this month, crochet as a subject is definitely optional.)  I’m registered, got my badge up, I’m ready to go.

The first week is easy enough, the second week not too bad, come Thanksgiving and we’re all scrambling.  “Excuse me dear child of mine… you volunteered me for what at the school Thanksgiving Feast??”

Cheer me on?  Please? 😀

Good content, bad content, doesn’t matter.  It’s all about making the commitment to sit down, to write and to publish every day, minimum one blog post a day, pushing our writing skills to the max and without exception! Even when all our ideas are dried up!  Even though we have jobs. Even though we have kids.  Even though we get sick.  Even though our Thanksgiving turkey blows up.  Whatever!  Can ya do it?

Think it’s easy?  Let’s see you try.  Join us over at NaBloPoMo.

Anyone else?

Leave a comment in this post along with a link to your blog (and brief description) if you’re participating so we can support each other and even non-participators can cheer us on! (We’ll need it closer we get to the end of the month, trust me!)

Supporters, post your cheers and websites liberally in the comments as well!

BlogHer recently took over the management of this challenge/contest (yes, there are even prizes), so the entry process is a little different this year. Be sure to read the links below if you want to get involved. It’s free!

FAQ’s here: http://nablopomo.blogher.com/faq

Details here:
http://www.blogher.com/novembers-nablopomo-national-blog-posting-month

Badge Here: http://www.blogher.com/nablopomo-november-2011-badge


Here’s a list of fellow blogging crocheters from the Crochet Liberation Front who are also joining in the challenge.  You might check them out and cheer them on too!  I’ll update this list with more if any others step up to the plate in time for the deadline.

Crocheting Bloggers Participating in NaBloPoMo From The CLF:

(Karen Whooley): http://www.krwknitwear.com/blog

: slackermomof4.blogspot.com

: http://www.freshstitches.com/wordpress

: http://treeinthetitle.blogspot.com

jadesfire: http://madeinoxford.wordpress.com

AkuaLezliHope: http://zencrochet.blogspot.com

crochetcollection: http://crochetcollection.blogspot.com  – This one will have a twist – crocheting a motif and blogging about it every day for 30 days!


Good luck everyone!

 

Go ahead and click a link below to “share this.”  You know you want to!  : )

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