The Stars Aligned

Usually I go through a day adding more items to my "To do" list than I manage to cross off.  By the end of the  week it looks like a book.  Sometimes I wonder if  a list even helps or if it just showcases my procrastination.   Yesterday, however, I managed to cross off 6 of the tasks on my list!  I don't know how it happened... maybe the stars were aligned for productivity.  Whatever it was, I didn't think about all the reasons why I couldn't do something, I just did it.   It didn't even take all that long to accomplish each item. I ended the day feeling great and I wasn't any more exhausted than normal.  I think I was even energized by the feeling of accomplishment.  If only I could repeat this daily, maybe my list would disappear.  But then I guess adding to the list is the only way to keep moving forward.  I don't really want to come to the end, I just want tasks crossed off sooner.  I'll take it one day at a time and hope that today I can continue doing instead of making up excuses.

Kathy

Carrot Cake

Today was my daughter Alyssa's 12th birthday.  She wanted a carrot cake.  I told my son we had to make a cake for her and he asked, "Why don't you just buy one?"  Good point,  I thought, but for some reason I wanted to bake it for her.  I had never made a carrot cake before so I found what seemed like a good recipe online.  I don't have a food processor so I started shredding the carrots by hand on a box shredder.  The first one went fast.  By the time I got to the 5th carrot, my arms were getting tired and I tried to remember why I didn't go buy a cake.  It would have been so much easier!
Then the aroma of whipped butter, sugar and vanilla wafted through my kitchen.  I added the carrots and the batter transformed into a beautifully orange fluffy concoction.  As it baked the kids all gathered around the oven to see how it was progressing.  After about 25 minutes it was a wonderful golden brown color.  I whipped the  cream cheese and powdered sugar frosting while the cake cooled.  Getting the cake out of the pan was definitely a challenge.  First it got stuck, then it sort of came out in large chunks.  But I pieced it together and smothered it with frosting before anyone could see the damage.
I brought out the cake.  Alyssa's eyes widened and she smiled her beautiful smile. "It looks delicious, Mom." she said. We sang "Happy Birthday", she made her wish, and blew out her candles.  I don't know what she wished for, but my wish had just come true. Yes, it would have been easier to buy her a cake, but all the hard work of shredding carrots was well worth the satisfaction of knowing I had created something special for her.
"Mom, this is amazing!" she said, taking her first bite.


Kathy          

Where Are the Keys?

Late as usual, I rushed the kids out of the minivan and into their piano lesson.  I locked the door and as I was closing it I got a funny feeling, "Don't close the door, don't close the door", but my actions were too fast for my hurried brain to stop what it was doing.  As soon as the door was closed, my brain caught up to what was happening.  "Arrggghhh!  I think I just locked the keys in the car!  Great!" I muttered to myself.  The kids had already gone into their lesson.

 I walked into the lesson frazzled.  I could feel my face heating up with embarrassment.  "I just locked my keys in the car", I announced.  

Luckily the piano teacher just said, "Oh no, don't worry you can use my phone and call the police.  I think they can open it for you."  She looked up the number for the local police department and handed me her phone.  I was afraid it might mess up the rest of her day, if we had to hang out at her house and wait for the police.  I knew she had more students coming.  But she showed no annoyance only sympathy for how I must be feeling.  She simply continued the lesson with my daughter, while I sat waiting, hoping the police could open it. 

I don't know how he arrived so quickly, but it must have been no more than 5 minutes and the policeman showed up.  It took him less than 3 minutes to open my door, and there on the floor between the front seats, laid my keys.  I had put them there to hand the piano books to my daughter. I thanked him profusely, but I got the feeling that I wasn't the first frazzled person he had unlocked a door for.  I went back into the piano lesson which was just wrapping up.  I thanked the teacher for helping out and we left on time.  As we piled into the van, heading for a school concert, I started laughing and soon the kids joined in.  I couldn't believe that so much had gone wrong and yet we were still on time, because the piano teacher had helped me fix the problem instead of dwelling on what was wrong.     

Life is too short to dwell on the negatives, I thought.  Even the Mayo Clinic agrees.  On their website at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/positive-thinking/sr00009 it states that positive thinking can:

·         increase life span

·         increase resistance to common cold virus

·         reduce risk of heart disease

 "One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body."

 Though I will try my hardest to never again lock my keys in the car, I know eventually, it will happen.  But this time I will laugh sooner.

Start with a smile, it will help you face the day!

Kathy

My Inspiration

I was extremely lucky in the parent lottery.  Lots of kids have good parents, lots have bad parents, but not too many have great parents.  Mine were (and still are) great!  I'm not saying they were perfect, but honestly, I wouldn't change  much about them.  


Now as an adult, I am thankful for the daily inspiration they provide me.  My mom wouldn't like me divulging her age, but let me just say that I am 38 and they are about 30 years older than me.  They haven't slowed down one bit since becoming grandparents 14 years ago.  My mom is still passing figure skating tests,coaching, water skiing, and regularly wearing all her grandchildren out.  I hardly ever see her sitting still.  

When my dad isn't reading a good book, he is playing goalie (hockey), water skiing, or helping me dig numerous holes in my rock hard garden.  Neither Mom nor Dad has ever taken age into consideration.  They just keep on playing as hard as they can.  They never complain of the aches and pains they must be feeling from all this activity.            
So on those mornings when my body creaks, cracks and aches, I think of my parents and I remind myself that yes I'm not 20 anymore but that's ok.  You'll still find me on the ice when I'm 80.




You're never too old to be active!


Kathy   

41 Countries in 41 Weeks

  No we didn't go on a 41 week vacation.  We stayed home.  But for 41 weeks, our family of 5 took a culinary trip around the world.  One Friday night the kids decided they wanted to have Chinese food on our regular Pizza Party night.  So being the mom who always goes a little overboard, I thought it would be fun to supplement our frozen potstickers with some traditional home made Chinese food.  The problem was that even though I am a decent cook I had never made anything Chinese from scratch.  So I spent a few hours searching for recipes on the internet.  I finally decided on potstickers, chicken fried rice and hand made steamed beef curry dumplings.  It took longer to make than our usual dinner, but I learned some new techniques.

The kids set the table for the feast and we all sat down to eat.  Though the dumplings didn't quite look picture perfect, they tasted great.  Even our 6 year old who pecks at food like a sparrow, gobbled up everything on his plate.  We spent the rest of the night watching the kids' favorite movies and playing Guitar Hero together.  "Can we do this every week Mom?" asked Ryan.
"Yeah can we pick a different place each week?"  Jessica and Alyssa added.
I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into, but I replied, "Yeah I think we could do that."
"Let's study all about each country for the week, and make signs with words from the language, and get pictures, and    ........"  Alyssa was fired up.
"Ok.  I think that's a great idea.  You guys can even help me cook the food", I said, starting to think it was a great way to teach the kids more about geography and culture.
The three of them looked at each other, "Maybe you can cook and we'll set up all the other things like posters and stuff",  Jessica said.
"Oh ok.  What country should be next?"  I asked.
"China!"  Ryan said immediately.  "I love Chinese food!"
"We just did China.  Let's do Tuvalu", Jessica replied.
"Tu...what?  Is that even a country?"  I asked.
"Oh yeah, Mom.  It's a tiny island nation in the South Pacific."  Jessica said with a smile.
Ok, maybe I'll be the only one learning here.  I thought.

 So far, we have had the cuisine from 41 different nations, from varying continents. And yes we did have a Tuvalu night. We have taken breaks occasionally and gone back to Pizza Party Friday, but we have decided that our culinary trip around the world won't stop until we have tried all 192 countries.  Not everything is gobbled up as quickly as on the first night, and the kids don't spend as much time learning about each country as I would like, but they have tasted everything and opened their minds to new foods.   Most importantly, we have all enjoyed this family journey staying right at home.  


Spice up your life this week!

Kathy

What? No video Games?

My first grader brought home a project this weekend.  His mission was to interview an older person to find out what life was like in their time.  Coincidentally, Grandma, Grandpa, and Gramps (Great Grandpa), were visiting from Michigan.  So after lunch on Sunday, my son asked Gramps questions from his worksheet like, "What inventions do we have now that you didn't have back then?"   Ryan listened intently as Gramps told him that back in the early 1920's, when he was born, there were no jet planes, only planes with propellers, no calculators, no computers, no cell phones , no refrigerators, and no video games.

"What?  No video games?  Well what did you play with then? There's nothing fun to do without video games!"  Ryan was astonished. 

"Oh we did lots of fun things like play Kick the Can… where we uhh… kicked a can.  Innie I Over…..where one kid threw a ball over a house and the kid on the other side caught it ran around and tried to hit the other kids with it", Gramps explained.

I looked at Ryan.  He wasn't too impressed with those games.  Then Gramps added, "We also used to make our own scooters, kites, and model airplanes." 

"Wow, you made your own kites and airplanes?  Ryan asked excitedly.  

"Sure, we made planes out of wood and rubber bands and they even flew."

"Can you make an airplane with me Gramps?"  Ryan asked.

"Maybe when I come back for Thanksgiving", Gramps replied.   

What a great way to bring a little piece of Gramps' childhood to the present generation, I thought. While I cook, Gramps can keep all the cousins busy making airplanes, instead of having them watch movies.  It will be a Thanksgiving they will all remember…..though I think we'll keep Kick the Can in the past.

Have a great day! 

Kathy

Unimpressed

I was so excited to get this blog up and running. I'm not known for my computer skills so it was a big deal for me to see my web page at the click of a button! I couldn't wait to show my husband what I had done. I was hearing in my head all the great things he was going to tell me when he first saw it.  So when he got home from work last night and he saw me working, he asked me about it.

"Can you email me the link?"  He asked. 

"Sure", I said readying myself for glowing praise.  He was standing right next to me as I opened up my email, so I told him to turn around.   I envisioned him clicking on the link, my web page magically appearing, and him being awed by my work. 

"Why do I have to turn around? Don't you have it up right there?" 

"It's a surprise.  Ok, here click on it."  I said.

He clicked and voila it appeared.  I could hardly wait.  He studied the screen. Then there was silence, a long silence.             

"What's the surprise?"  He asked. 

UGGGHHHHH!  What?  Look right in front of you!  My content appears out of nowhere.  It's amazing, isn't it?  I thought.

"Is it a Happy Birthday message?  I don't see it." He asked still looking.

Birthday message?  Oh I wasn't even thinking about that.  "Uh no, it's just ideas."  I felt like a balloon that had just been popped.

"Oh….. yeah, that's cool.  But I saw you workin' on it yesterday.  I had to turn around for that?"  He asked.

"I thought you would be amazed that you could click on my link and see my web page."  I said.

"Wait, you thought it would be cool for me to click on something and see it appear on the internet.  Don't we do that all day long?" He said with a slight chuckle and a hug.

 Well the hug helped and I laughed too, but mostly I felt stupid.  I guess I need to keep reading all those internet guides.     

Have a great weekend!
Kathy