living a life of gratitude

It's somewhat by happenstance that I'm posting this around Thanksgiving - but timely, nonetheless.

A few weeks ago, I was able to spend some time with a friend (and colleague) who was visiting Minneapolis. She's awesome... and she has done quite a bit of research on spirituality, positive thinking, meditation, and all that jazz. 

I'll admit that I'm not very familiar with all of that, so may not explain this all very well. Thanks to her, though, I have been thinking about it more. She did an informal "session" for a few of us to teach us about some of the basics. One of the things I really appreciated she wasn't to push or negate any religious beliefs of anyone. She shared some info herself, we listened to a recording, meditated for 5 minutes looking at a candle flame (which actually isn't as strange as it sounds), and did a couple of other activities.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what I'd think about all of this... but I was pleasantly surprised and left with a few take-aways that have kept me thinking since then. Thanks, Tiffany!

1. Take time for you. Think about it - how much time do you spend thinking about others, doing things for others, working for others? .... Now, compare that to how much you think about yourself and do things for yourself. This is where the idea of meditation comes in - and not necessarily like you may be imagining - sitting cross-legged, saying "ohm...." repeatedly. It's about taking a few minutes to do clear your head and think about you. Sit however you feel comfortable. Take some deep breaths, even for 30 seconds... sit quietly for 5 minutes... spend 30 minutes or an hour clearing your head. And, get really crazy - take a whole day to yourself (gasp!) Who has the time? Right? You do - just take it. It's not selfish. It's necessary.
2. It's OK to Recommit. It's not uncommon for us to get down on ourselves when we fail at something - and we all fail. I messed up my diet and ate that cookie (or box of cookies); I was late (again); I screwed up on (insert most recent mess-up here). We have a tendency to be really hard on ourselves, beat ourselves up, and not let things go. But, whatever wagon we've recently fallen off of, we need to learn that it's OK to recommit ourselves to our goals and move forward. So what if I ate the (box of) cookies? I'll do better tomorrow and I'll recommit to (insert name of wagon here).
3. A life of gratitude. This has been what has stuck with me the most. Related to (#1) how we don't take time to reflect and (#2) our tendency to look at the glass half-empty. Thinking about the things we're grateful for can help lead to a life of more positive thinking, and help us to remember that life isn't so bad, or hard, or insane, after all. So, take time for yourself (#1) and think about what you're grateful for (#3). And, if you get sidetracked and stop for a while, it's OK... just recommit (#2) to remembering what we are grateful for.

So, what does it all boil down to? In the past few weeks, I've been trying some little things. And, I'll have to admit that I've had to recommit a couple of times already to #1 and #3 because (surprise) I've been busy and I haven't taken the time. But, I'm trying.

Tonight, I'm taking time for me - sitting down and writing, which is something I enjoy doing for me. And, tonight I am thinking about some things I'm grateful for: 

• Tiffany for making me pay attention to these things. 
• vacation days so I can be off until next Monday, because I hardly ever take time off. 
• a job to take vacation days from.
• Tiffany for giving us a burned copy of her birthday-mix CD so I haven't had to hear the song I hate the most for weeks!
• friends who call to tell me random things that make me laugh (I'm looking at you, KVO).
• family who will love me no matter what.
• and - you, for humoring me and reading what I write.

What do you think? Is there anything here that made you think?

And, in the spirit of Thanksgiving this week - what are you grateful for?

people watching

People watching is something I enjoy, a lot and I think most of us do. I was thinking about this today from a couple of different angles. First, there is the fun one - where you're in a crowd of people you don't know - like when I was at the State Fair the day that K.I.S.S. was performing and there people walking around in their K.I.S.S. t-shirts and their faces painted -- and even better, the people who were in full-out super fan K.I.S.S. costumes.

At the state fair, and many other large gatherings, you're bound to see lots of things - mullets, people with dogs in clothes, stylish people, not-so-stylish people, people holding hands, people fighting, people laughing, drunk people, tall people, short people, purple, blue, or rainbow hair ... and the list could go on forever.

I love going to these types of things with my friend Emily, because we can say what we're thinking without saying a word. We've known each other long enough and have been to enough stuff together that when we want to comment on something, we do it with our eyes. Because I saw it, and I know she saw it, and I know we're thinking the same thing. And vice versa. Sometimes our eyes say nice things (Oh that's cute or that guy is hot) and sometimes our eyes say things that are kind of judging (let's be honest).Yesterday at the St. Paul Craft-stravaganza was no exception.

But it's not always judging. This morning, for example, I was in church I saw an older woman who looked like she was crying. I wondered:

• Did something happen recently that triggered something? 
• Does she really love the song they're singing? (I did - it was one of my favorites.) 
• Maybe her grandchild was one of those three kids who just got confirmed up front? 

I saw the young man sitting next to her (presumably her grandson?) put his arm around her, and they looked at each other, and she smiled and wiped her eyes. I never found out the answers to any of my questions, but it was really endearing, nonetheless.

I once played a game with someone where we picked people out of a crowded bar and tried to figure out: what do they do? who is that with them? what's their personality? have they been married? do they have kids? It's all based on assumption - and not necessarily being petty or judgmental, but it was more about curiosity. Curiosity about something we wouldn't find the answers to - but fun in the process.

So, the other aspect of this I was thinking about was the more personal, long-term kind. Watching people we know over the years - what do we see, learn from, and know about them? A common example here would be parents. We watch them and -- whether we like it or not -- will likely eventually turn into them, at least to some extent. We learn work ethic, how to treat people (and how not to), about honesty (and dishonesty), political beliefs (or disbelief), faith (or not), and, again, the list goes on... Fortunately, I've been pretty darn lucky with pretty darn good parents to watch. But that's not the reason I bring this up - at least not for today.

Left: Lavaine 
Right: Me & my godparents (I'm the cute baby)
Thanks Amanda for letting me use these pictures!

We recently lost a wonderful member of our family - a father, grandfather, brother, son, cousin, and godfather (to me and, I believe, 11 lucky others). Although he was my mother's cousin, he and his wife are like another uncle and aunt to me - and their kids are my cousins. We spent a lot of time together when I was young, so I had a chance to watch - and here's what I saw (from both him and his wife): kindness, laughter, a contagious smile, love, affection, and faith. To those of you who know him, this comes as no surprise because I know you saw the same things - and maybe more than I'm not articulating well.

But, last week, I had a chance to hear what someone who I had never met saw and learned from Lavaine. It was a radio clip from a member of the family that owned his workplace; he sent condolences on behalf of the company and shared some memories of having him as a colleague and a mentor. This is a world I knew very little about, but it was so interesting to hear how he affected others outside of the family and the ridge. 

In the audio clip, he said things like: 

"I worked with him ever since I was like 10 years old... [list all of the various positions he held]. I had the fortunate to work under his supervision when I was in high school and college."


"He taught me the importance of customer service... communication, attention to detail, hard work, completion of a project (even if I didn't want to do it!)."

"He would always say we always make errors - everyone makes them - what you do is you admit it, you resolve it, you learn from it and you move on."

"I wouldn't be who I am today. He has done so much for me, for my family, for our business... etc."

First of all, how cool is it that they thought enough of him to do this radio spot about him? It's not something I've probably ever heard on the radio. Second, I find it really interesting to hear this side of things - something I was not at all familiar with - his relationship with and value to his colleagues. It definitely made me smile. :)

What about you? Any good people watching stories?

cookie monsters

On Saturday we had our monthly girl time scheduled - a newly started tradition with Abby, Shannon, Emily, and myself. We have typically been meeting after work during the week for dinner and drinks, but for December we opted for making Christmas cookie baking and it was a lot of fun - except we were bummed that Emily was sick and couldn't come. We started early and went to lunch, got groceries, and hit up Target and finally got back to Abby's to start mixing and baking.  As we were unpacking the supplies, I asked Abby if she had a rolling pin.  Nope.  We thought briefly about trying to find a rolling pin substitute, but then decided against that.  So they got started mixing and I was off to Target, again. Good thing - we didn't buy enough peanut butter either, so I was able to pick that up while I was out. :)

Amongst some girl talk and catch up, we managed to make four things:

• Monster cookies - Shannon's choice
• Sugar cookie cutouts (frosted, of course) - Abby's choice
• Peanut butter blossoms - In honor of absent Emily
• Oreo truffles - and my choice

Given how much work we had ahead of us, things went smoothly and quickly over the next few hours.  The monster cookies turned out amazing and as a bonus, they are gluten free!  I think this is the recipe that Shannon used (she was following something off of her iPhone - which reminds me of another topic I'll write about later.)  I think Chelsey has a recipe for these in the church cookbook, too - but I don't know if they are a gluten-free version. 

After the monster cookies, we did Peanut Butter Blossoms.  And although they tasted delicious, they were flat and we're not sure why.  Maybe because the baking soda was a little old?  I'm interested to know if you have thoughts on this because in the pictures on the online recipe, they were puffy and perfect.  But like I said, the most important thing is that they were yummy, so I won't complain. I guess I didn't take pictures during this process, so there's only one - of the end result. 

My choice was Oreo Truffles.  I wanted to try truffles again because when I did this last year before Christmas it ... well, let's just say it wasn't the result I was looking for.  They tasted great, but looked terrible.  This year, however, I got some great advice from Holly to use chocolate almond bark - and it worked like a charm!  In addition to using the almond bark the other key thing was to melt it over the lowest heat setting and leave it there and be patient (something I'm not known for.)  If you haven't had these I highly recommend because they are super easy - just oreos and cream cheese for the inside and then dipped in chocolate.  I used mint oreos and that turned out awesome.  I may try Nutter Butters next time - not sure yet - but I will do this again.  Sorry I don't have a picture of me doing this - Shannon does, so if I get it from her, I'll post it.

We made the sugar cookie dough and stuck it in the fridge to cool for a while when the others were baking.  With her new rolling pin Abby took the lead and did the rolling and thanks to Mom, we had some holiday cookie cutters.  Let me tell you that Abby's first time rolling dough on her own went much more smoothly than mine when I made an apple pie earlier this year.  Ask Mom - it wasn't pretty.  Anyway, I digress.  She did awesome - we let them cool and we frosted (and sprinkled) them.  We ended up using this cookie recipe and the frosting part of this recipe.  Also recommend.  I pretty much recommend everything we made - as long as you can get your PB Blossoms to raise. :) 

And we were happy that Harold (aka Herald - get it?), our Christmas moose from when Abby and I lived together, was there to supervise. :)

All in all, a great day. Shannon called us 'Cookie Monster Baking Machines' - and we were.  It was a great day with even better girls, ending the night watching old Christmas movies - Charlie Brown's Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Classic.

p.s.  E-money, you don't get to punk out next time.  we missed you too much! ;-)

3-0

Most of you know that I just hit a new milestone... and turned 30 on Friday. It's interesting to turn 30 because people have a lot of opinions about it. And there is a stigma around it that people think that the person turning 30 is going to have a meltdown or go into denial. We've all heard of the people who turn 29 again and again because they're in denial. Fortunately, most people have been supportive and tell me that this is a good thing - and that they love being in their 30s. One person said 'Ohhh, that sucks!' I choose to ignore that person.

I'm actually kind of excited about it. Turning 30 isn't bad, or scary, or the end of the world. It's not that much different than being 29, so far. And I think there are a lot of good things that will come with it.

Mom and I joked about it because she says whenever she used to try to tell me about the day I was born, I would say 'not this again...' But since I found out that I was nameless in the hospital for a couple of days, I like to bring that up. This year, I told her that I was looking forward to my 30th birthday... and a few days later, the 30th anniversary of having a name. :) I think, though, that it was worth the wait because my name seems to fit me well.

I got a few cards (thank you!) and my mom finished my APO quilt. I had given her a bunch of my old APO t-shirts from college and asked her if she could make me a quilt or pillows with them since I didn't wear them anymore, but they mean enough to me that I didn't want to toss them. So, for my birthday I got a card with a picture of the finished product and I love it!! Thanks, Mom!

So how did I spend my birthday? First, I didn't work. I never take my birthday off, but it was a Friday and I thought a long weekend would be a nice way to celebrate. My awesome friend Keri took the day off, too, and took me to lunch and made appointments for us to get our hair and nails done. I did haircut and manicure and she got highlights. Then I went home and changed, and we went out to dinner with a group of great friends and my brother at Cooper in St. Louis Park (an Irish pub). After Cooper, we hit Toby Keith's I Love This Bar for drinks, listened to the bands, even danced a bit, and played some Buck Hunter (a hunting video game). Here's some photos from the night.

So, they say 30 is the new 20. I'm not sure about that, but what I do know is that even though there are a few things that I cannot do as well as I did at 20, there are a LOT of things I can do better at 30. So, bring it on.

Thanks to Keith, Jennifer, Abby, Coral, Shannon, Emily, Keri, Kari, Bryce, and Kat for celebrating with me. And to those who send cards, FB posts, and phone calls. You guys rock!

traditions

The last time I sent an email blast out about updates, I asked if there was anything anyone wanted to see me try or write about that I haven't. I didn't get much response to that question, but did hear back from someone that they wanted to see more about what I've been up to, outside of the kitchen. I choose not to write much about work here, so you won't see a lot about that. Besides work, it sometimes seems there isn't much else that I do that is super interesting, but I'll try. :)

So, Laura, this one is for you...

We all have traditions in our family, friends, and/or work lives. Not surprisingly, one that first comes to mind for me is around the holidays - Christmas, specifically. Growing up, we spent each and every Christmas eve the same way. Everyone went to church, watched the kids in the family who were currently in Sunday School participate in the program, and then loaded up some gifts and went to Grandma & Grandpa D's. By everyone, I mean my immediate family, my grandparents, all the aunts and uncles on the D-side, and all of my cousins. The thing about traditions is that they eventually change, so when G&G moved out of the farm house, we started doing our Christmas eve tradition at my parents or an aunt and uncles home, but the people were the same. And then people get married, have children of their own, and other commitments are added, so the people then begin to change. More people, or less, depending on the situation. It's not just the people that have changed. We've gone from full dinner to doing appetizers, changed the way we do gifts, and have even occasionally added little contests - best dish (even with aunt Belva dressed as Rachael Ray) and ugliest Christmas sweater, etc...


And even though the original holders of this tradition - my grandparents - are no longer here to join us, the rest of us still do this. And hopefully will for years to come. It's OK that not everyone can always come each year, but there is still a great turnout each time. And I get to spend my holidays with the people I love.

The other thing about traditions is that they have to start somewhere. A few weeks ago, my friend Emily and I went out to dinner on a Sunday night because there was a need for a girls' night. The next Sunday, there was another need for a girls' night, so we did it again. At this point, we decided that a weekly get-together was in order and we're hoping that this is the beginning of a long-lasting tradition. For the two weeks that followed, Sunday didn't work out due to Labor Day plans and the Packers' game (her issue, not mine - for the record. *wink*) Instead, we simply moved it to Monday. This past Monday, we went to Granite City for dinner because I had a BOGO coupon that would soon be expiring. The bonus for us was that there was a Mug Club party happening that night because they had just tapped their Oktoberfest beer for the season. Being members of the Mug Club, this meant that we got a deal on Oktoberfest beer, free dinner, and a chance to win prizes! And although we didn't win the prizes, this was so much better than what we were expecting.


The photo above is Emily and me - and our Oktoberfest beers. Our newly-founded girls' night tradition has been a lot of fun and something that I missed dearly. When we were in college, Emily and I had a tradition of going to the Pioneer in Eau Claire every Tuesday after our APO meetings. And then we graduated, she moved to Florida and I moved to the Cities. A few years ago, she moved to the Cities, too - and we've now come full-circle back to a modified version of our weekly tradition.


And if you know us, or one of us, and would like to join some Sunday just let us know! It doesn't even have to be a girls' night. Just a friends' night. With food, beer, dessert, and most importantly laughter and support. See you Sunday, Em!

I'd like to hear about your favorite traditions - new or old, current or past. Feel free to share!