LinkUP: The Hidden Benefits of Laziness

Today is it. The day all the fun and games ends. It's back to school and work after the best 2-weeks of totally lazy luxury of the year. Oh how I will miss you. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need for structure and school and chores, but I do not have to like them. I much prefer the whatever life.

As in…
"Hey Mom, isn't it time for bed?"
           "Whatever."
"Hey Mom, what's for dinner?"
           "Whatever."
"Can we watch TV?
           "Whatever."
"Can we sleep in?"
           "Whatever."
"Can we have candy for breakfast?"
           "Sure, whatever."

Yeah, yeah. Sloth, one of those cardinal sins, but it just feels so good to let go of all of the hustle and bustle that accompanies homework and regular meal times and good nutrition and basic household cleanliness. I too grew up being told and thinking that laziness was a failing, but properly planned, laziness can be a wonderful reward and a nice break from running on the proverbial hamster wheel. I mean, why does laziness get such a bad rap anyway? Synonyms for lazy are idle, indolent & slothful. Those sound bad, no? But what about laze? As in bask, relax, unwind, lounge, loosen-up, de-stress, chill. Those all sound quite lovely, yes? 

The fact that laziness might actually be good for us is not necessarily fashionable in our society of "be all you can be" but perhaps we could rethink that, at least every so often. Perhaps once in a while, we could put down the to-do list, unplug the phone, forget the gym membership and to the dirty dishes in the sink and laundry in the basket, shout a big enthusiastic, "Whatever!"

Thank you to the good folks over at Trifecta for an interesting prompt today. I do not know if I did it justice, but it was fun to think about!

Quote of the Day: "Sometimes take time to be busy with nothing." --NatureGirl

Geeeee Wiz! How Not to GiveUP (or GiveUP at First and Then Try Hard Not to GiveUP After a While)

If more than 4 people read this silly blog on a regular basis, I might be able to call this a triumphant return, but alas, I am alone in the kitchen, Hunky Hubs returned to work today, and the children are still nestled, much as they have been for going on 2 weeks now, deep in their beds. Besides, confetti is such a pain to clean up. But, I am thrilled to say that, in celebration of my lackluster return, I am posting in one of my very favorite spaces to hang in the blogosphere with the always gracious host, Ms. Jenny Matlock and her weekly celebration of all things syllabary. Today we honor the Letter G. As in Gee, I wish I knew what to write about.

2013 was a bit of a year of transition for our family. HipsterGirl, the oldest, has been in and out of the house with college and jobs for the past couple of years, but has now (mostly) packed her things and (mostly) moved (mostly) all the way out of the house in search of broader horizons. FlyBoy, whose name shall now be MissionMan for the next 18 months, left home in July to brush up on his Tagolog for 6 weeks before heading to the rural countryside of Quezon City, Philippines to serve a full-time, two-year mission for the LDS church. EBoy and Ballerina are still at home (meaning they sleep and eat here) both of which are done with somewhat reckless abandon! I do miss having little ones around all day and spending my whole day being mostly "Mommy" but by and large, I am enjoying the transition and the growing up stage of the wee ones. The problem has been figuring out MY growing up stage!

So…I GaveUP. Mostly. I mean, I kept on with my daily routines this year and I enjoyed them and my life, but I stagnated for sure. I took comfort in the slump. I made peace with the extra few pounds. I gave up writing because it is hard. I gave up all but my routine exercise because working out hard is hard. I gave up eating the way I know I should because it is hard. I basically let anything go that was hard to do. But let me tell you, the "easy" life, is not all it's cracked up to be. In fact, it is quite boring and uninspiring. So I think I am going to try to unGiveUP for 2014. How is that for conviction!? I hate New Year's resolutions. They do not seem to work for anyone. I do like goal setting, and I do like recommitting. So, I think that is what I will call it…a New Year's recommitment to continue my Growing up process. And it is a process. Bumps and bruises are expected. Ups and Downs a given. Theoretically and statistically speaking, I am only half way there…I have much more Growing to do…hopefully it will be inward growth and not a continuation of the bit of outward growth have experienced over the last while. After all, even a good pair of yoga pants can only take so much!

Quote of the Day: “I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. If you’re making mistakes, you’re doing something,” – Neil Gaiman author

WiseUP: Excuse Me, but I Have a Flat Tire and I Don't Speak Mandarin

I know I have not been around much lately. I guess I will take the time to try to formulate why sometime soon, but not now. Right now I want to share something funny from a friend and fellow blogger. I hope she does not mind. We have known each other a very long time, and I am sure she is perfectly aware of my buttinski qualities. I am not really butting-in here as much as riding her coattails and sharing the lesson I learned from her lesson...

This friend is an intelligent, educated, capable woman. She is a wife and mother and writer. She is also human and as such, sometimes, not often, but sometimes, human crap happens to her. She blogged about just such a day recently. I share her post, not for the little chuckle at her expense, although that is included at no extra charge, but rather as an example of just how things in life are sometimes out of our control. How sometimes we have to be willing to laugh instead of cry. Sometimes we need to be able to step back, take a breath, take a chance, roll with the punches and then be willing to share it with hundreds of strangers.

This is Shelley, and this is her story...

                                                Why I will Never Be An Actual Grown Up

Quote of the Day: "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life...it goes on."

--Robert Frost

EatUP: Comparing Apples To Oranges and also Corn Dogs?

Food. I love it. And sometimes I hate it. We have grown up in a society here in North America, where food is a constant source of both of these emotions. It really should not be that way, but it is. I never really thought much about the food that I was putting in my body until I reached my mid-twenties. I ate what I wanted and I was active, and I never gave my body or my nutrition much thought at all. As I got older and wised up to the crap that was served and labeled as food, I started giving it more thought. I won't bore you with the details of the last 20 years of trying to figure out what is right and what is wrong when it comes to food, but I have figured out that what we eat should be food. Not the stuff that passes as food, but food, food.

 |fo͞od| noun--any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth


So, "nutritious" is the key I guess. My thought as a religious person is that food is the stuff that God made for us to eat. Each of us may have our own idea of what that is, but I think we all can agree that no God created Twinkies or Wonder-bread. My ideal is to eat food that is as close to the way God made it as possible. The fewer steps between its creation and my mouth the better. I know, it seems simple enough, but "junk" food is cheap, tastes good, and is highly addictive. In fact, cost is one of the major reasons that people state for not eating as healthy as they could. (Highly addictive and tastes good are the real reasons by the way.) So here we all are with the love/hate relationship.

All of this hot air is to make one observation. On my drive home from the grocery store today I passed a fast food establishment whose marquee advertized corn dogs for $.79! Cheapo! But when I unloaded my groceries I did a quick little bit of math. I bought a 3lb bag of Apples for about 4 bucks. That worked out to $ .33 per apple! Two apples for the price of one corn dog. I also had a bag of mandarins. They were about $3 for three pounds, coming in at about $.12 per little cutie. That is about 6 oranges for the price of one corn dog. Still sound cheap?

I know, I know...corn dogs taste good. Love. Hate.

Quote of the Day: “Do you know what breakfast cereal is made of? It's made of all those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners!” 
― Roald Dahl

BreakingDOWN: Gidget and the Beave at Twilight

Ok, so let's not make a big deal about my obvious absence the last few months. No biggy. Just life.
And for my first bit of blogginess back in the ranks, I have nothing important to say. Yes, as usual.

In this post, I am going to come off as a total lazy bum, who does nothing worthwhile with her time but watch old TV shows, but I believe it is worth exposing all of my skeletons to make a point that no one cares about but me. Yes, as usual.

So, last week, I am lying in bed waiting for the Hunky Hubby to finish his rather lengthy nighttime routine so I can shut out the light, watching an old episode of Leave It To Beaver. Yes, I realize that is the only kind of episodes of Leave It To Beaver. The Beave had spent some birthday money on a model despite his parents' very sound advice to put the money away in the bank. He then lied about the source of the model etc etc. Mayhem ensues and June and Ward have this conversation.
"Don't you think the Beave is too old to lie to us?" June asks. Ward's response is pretty good I think. "No, but he's too old to think he'll get away with it!" Priceless right? Golly, I wish parenthood were that well scripted nowadays.

Don't worry, in the end young Master Cleaver realizes the errors of his ways, apologizes for all of his wayward behavior and concedes that his parents' advice was indeed sound and that he was foolish for not heeding it in the first place. All of this is done with words like golly, and gee thrown in for good measure, but in the end, mom and dad really did know best.

Fast forward a few days to me doing some mundane chores with the TV on the background listening to an episode of Gidget. There is a little contrast of note. Gidget was up to some scheme as usual, and when her father offers his advice, "Golly gee Dad, you're such a square." or something like that, is offered as rebuttal. In the end, her father was right after all, yet Gidget, unlike the impish Beave was unwilling to offer like apology or concession.

The point? Leave It To Beaver ran on television from 1957 to 1963. Gidget was on air a bit later. 1965-66. Things had started to change. In the era that Beaver was the standard, children not only looked up to their parents as role models, but even relied on them to help them solve problems, negotiate the big world and help them transition into adulthood. Less so with the perky pixie Gidget. She and her friends seem to want to figure things out on their own, without the intrusion of pesky parents. Parents were fuddy-duddy conformists, out to wreck any fun the young people might try to have. The kids knew what they were doing and certainly did not need the "grupps" interfering and making a mess of things they knew nothing about!

Flash forward to today. The worst thing that an adult in the 60's could be was "out of touch" and "square". Today? Sheesh! Pretty sure I cannot even write it. When was the last time that any of us saw a show geared toward teens where the parents were held in a place of respect and honor rather than ridiculed and belittled? Where they are looked to for guidance and the wisdom they possess? How about a show or movie where the young people are the heroes and heroines who solve their own problems with sheer grit, ingenuity and fortitude? Granted, not bad qualities, but usually it takes more that 13 years to develop such character. I am sure that both types of entertainment are out there, it just seems that there has been a slow degradation in our society of many things, including the honoring of the wisdom and knowledge that comes with life experience.

I have no answers. Just an observation and a long rant.

FessUP: Progress Is Slow & My Buts Are Still Big...

 I am not terribly adventurous. Too afraid of looking stupid or causing permanent bodily harm I suppose. I know. But I do have the desire for more fun and more adventure in my life and for the past couple of years have been blogging about that desire. Ok, five years, but who's counting. I am obviously a slow learner and much more adept at talk than action because little has changed since my first manifesto nearly three years ago and its follow-up all about my big buts! But I am working on it. I admire people who can jump in with both feet but I am more of a dip my toe in to test the water and then more than likely chicken out because it is too cold kinda gal.

So, in light of all that, I will not pretend and make some grandiose statement about how I have changed and am now jumping in with both feet, turning cartwheels in public and going bungee jumping next week because, let's face it, I am not going to follow through on that. BUT I did take a step (yes baby step) in the right direction.

I have long admired an old pal of mine for her adventurous spirit and spunk. She is an amazing gal and so much fun! This girl belongs to a group called Be Silly . Once a month her group and other spinoff groups gather for themed photo shoots. Their pix are so amazing. I just love them. And I love love love getting dressed up in costume. Always have. I dress for halloween every year much to the dismay of Hunky Hubby and the kiddos I am sure. I have wanted to get a group together for a long time but put it off. Until this month. The theme was "Decades" and I finally just put the word out and got some girls together and we had a blast! I think most of us were reluctant and a little self conscious at first, but after a bit we warmed up and let ourselves go some. It was like play. Grown up play and it was fun. I almost cry when I look at the pix because I see a glimpse of us reluctant ones relearning how to just let go and have fun. It is hard sometimes when our bodies don't look just as we would like, or age is starting to show on our faces, to feel comfortable in front of the camera. But I felt like we were not taking pix of wrinkles or imperfect bodies, we were taking pictures of women who have lived and loved and who are once again learning to have fun and to love themselves at every stage of life.

When all is said and done, my grandchildren and great grandchildren will look back at my life and photos of me and think...Man, that broad was fun! And no one will even care what size jeans I wore...

Quote of the Day: "May you build a ladder to the stars. And climb on every rung. May you stay forever young." --Bob Dylan 

EatUp: What is Food?

A couple of weeks ago while meandering the aisles of the grocery store, trying to decide what to bring home since I almost never make a list, I was struck by and odd notion that I am sure is not new. There was SO much food. I mean like SO. MUCH. As in quite literally a 100,000 square feet of it. From the floor to over my head. Aisle after aisle, shelf after shelf, and yet for all of these items, very little food. And by food I mean, you know, food. Stuff that grows. From the ground, and isn't in a package, or has very little packaging anyway. It made me sad and a little bit sick to my stomach. How are Kool-aid and Cheeze-its food? I saw a grocery store clerk taking what I can assume was her break as she walked toward the employee lounge with a bag of Cheetos and a bottle of iced coffee drink. That is lunch? For real?

Now, don't get me wrong. We all like the taste of junk food. I love, and I do mean LOVE, ice cream. Oh and Snickers. We bake cookies around here quite often. An occasional donut has crossed these lips, although I must admit that I never feel very good after one does. I do not want to get on a high horse and pretend that I am so amazing that I never succumb to temptation and convenience. I do. I have children. Sometimes convenience just takes priority. But I am really feeling the need to get away from that. Honestly. Just look around your own grocery and do some quick mental math on how much of what is for sale is actually food. One quarter? An eighth? It is sickening really. And sad, since I am well aware of the inextricable connection between diet and health.

So what to do? I don't know. I am hoping others have figured it out already, and I can just hop on the bandwagon. Until then, I am going to make an effort to eat food. I guess that means different things to different people. Vegetarians, vegans, raw foodies, 100 milers, whole fooders, and the list goes on...
School starts in another week and we will be back to the semblance of scheduled, organized lives. It seems like a good time to recommit ourselves to better living and to food. I think I will bloggity blog a bit more as to what I think "food" is, but for now, I am leaving it open to discussion. How do you feel about this. Is it possible to stay away from the processed food-like substances that surround us and feed our kids things that are both convenient (school lunch in particular) and real food? Go ahead...talk amongst yourselves, but comment afterward please, I want ideas!

Also, I am talking veggies over at TheRenegadeFarmer today...stop by.

Quote of the Day: "“The American poultry industry had made it possible to grow a fine-looking fryer in record time and sell it at a reasonable price, but no one mentioned that the result usually tasted like the stuffing inside of a teddy bear.”~ Julia Child, My Life in France

Speak UP: Where Is The Tolerance?

I use Facebook. I am sometimes embarrassed to admit it, because I know I could make better use of my time, but I enjoy keeping up with old friends in distant places and peeking into the lives of all my friends and family near and far. I often chuckle at quotes or cartoons that others post. I rarely pass those along, but I enjoy the laugh. But one that is going around today makes me sad. I am not going to post it, because I would rather not perpetuate it. But the gist of it is that a well know national fast food chain supports several "anti-gay" organizations. I use quotation marks there because those are their words not mine. I personally do not think that most people are anti things, they are usually pro something else and the other side uses that term to make them appear as haters. No one wants to be known as anti this or that. Notice how both sides of the abortion issue use "pro" to describe themselves. As soon as we label people as anti something, it is easy to make them seem like unreasonable, narrow-minded and discriminatory. Unfortunately this is often done in the name of tolerance. What I would like to know is, where is the tolerance for my point of view?

I guess that is why that cartoon made me so sad. It is pitting people against one another. If you asked most of my friends if I am a hateful person, I would hope most of them would say no. I, however, support marriage as a religious institution that should be reserved for heterosexual couples. I also support the rights of states like California to decide for themselves, through popular vote and legislation to define marriage as the majority of the citizens or legislators see fit at this time. I do not think that those beliefs make me a hater. I also believe that each citizen in this country has the right and the freedom to support the causes that they feel important with not only their vote or their voice, but also their wallet. If groups in support of gay marriage would like to boycott this fast food chain and speak out against their policies, then that is their right, but don't call me a hater for doing the same thing. I looked up some of the organizations that the company in question has donated to. There were quite a few, but as a sampling it included the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, National Christian Foundation and the Focus on the Family Foundation. I do not see "anti" anything in those names. It just makes me so sad.

Many of my friends and family stand on the opposite side of this issue from me. We believe different things. Why does that make me a hater? Several of my dear friends have posted the cartoon. I tried at first to just stay out of the conversation, but finally had to put my two cents in. In my head the tone of this comment was not at all rude or confrontational, so I hope it does not come off that way. I hope also that this post comes off the way I intend. I am not angry, just confused and hurt. This was my comment on Facebook. Let me know what you think. Please be kind if you have an opinion. We can disagree without name calling. We are grown ups and Americans...it is supposed to be what we do best, but I think we may be losing that.

"I have seen this one quite a bit today and I don't even know how to approach this subject in a tactful, non-confrontational way. I do not like being labeled homophobic, prejudiced or as an intolerant hate monger for having a religious objection to certain behaviors, but I am not afraid of people who are gay, nor do I hate them. I object to adultery too, does that make me a hater as well? Why am I not allowed to have a religious belief? Why does having and opinion make me a hater? I do not understand how someone taking their personal earnings and putting them toward whatever causes they believe in is hatred? What happened to freedom in this country? I am not asking anyone to believe as I do, but I am asking for the freedom to believe it, and for the freedom to support that belief in a peaceful manner. The only hatred and name calling I see is coming from the other side of this. Perhaps this is not the place for my big mouth to be opened, but I honestly do not understand. I support the right of the people of California to make the decision on this, and they have. Twice. People supporting prop 8 is not hateful. They are speaking their mind with voice and with money. Anyone in support of gay marriage has the right to do so as well. And anyone offended by the way that this business uses their profits can and should boycott. That is using their voice and their money to support what they believe in. But please stop calling me a hater for what I believe..."

Quote of the Day: "I believe with all my heart that civilization has produced nothing finer than a man or woman who thinks and practices true tolerance."

 --Frank Knox writer and U.S. Secretary of the Navy

Yeah, Well, UpYours...

Have you ever felt picked on? Yeah, we all have. It seems that once in a while a certain level-headed, kind-hearted, non-judmental, minding her own beeswax NatureGirl, becomes the brunt of family jokes. Not necessarily undeserved mind you, but my lifestyle choices are sometimes derided and scoffed at by certain members of my clan, who themselves adhere to some of the same values and principles as I, but nonetheless, find it humorous to point the finger at me and laugh.

I offer an an example as evidence...


MY RECENT ONLINE STATEMENT: Just realized I may be as much of an embarrassment to my kids in the grocery checkout as my mother was to us...


BROTHER: What did you do? Coupons? Or being a chatty Cathy?


KID: BOTH. BOTH OF THOSE THINGS SHE DOES. (Caps were hers, but I do not know why she is talking like Yoda)


ME:  No coupons this time...but a nice conversation with the cashier Cindy, and the next lady in line. Also Cindy.


BROTHER: Oh, you were chatting up Cindy and Cindy? "How funny! How many Cindies are in this place? All at the same time? Are you buying bleach, too? Oh, me, too. Same brand? Ah, how funny. G'bye, Cindy. G'bye to you, too, Cindy!" No that's not embarrassing at all...


ME: Uh. Why would I buy bleach?


BROTHER:  Oh, I forgot who I was making fun of. "You're buying granola, too. Yep, and hummus. Mmmmm! I love hummus, Cindy!"


KID: I love hummus, Cindy! hahah. I was just going to be like. "Oh you buy the same vegan kosher gluten and fat free low calorie diabetic protein bars as me?? Cindy, you shouldn't you are already so thin Cindy it must be all those hot yoga classes, Cindy."


ME: Now you guys are just ridiculous. I would never buy anything fat free and I make my OWN granola! Sheesh!


KID: The bars are fat free is because between the being vegan and kosher and gluten free and diabetic there is only dust left as an ingredient, and as is so happens dust is low in fat.


Again, I say Sheesh!


Quote of the Day: "A man with a hump-backed uncle mustn't make fun of another man's cross-eyed aunt."~Mark Twain

Hang It UP!

I don't care for doing the laundry. Except durning the summer. I love hanging clothes on the line. Seriously. It is so great! The feeling of the cool, damp clothes against my warm skin. The cat winding in between my feet meowing for attention. I find it relaxing and quite enjoyable. Much more so than shuffling the lump of wet laundry from the washer to the dryer like some drowned corpse of the week's apparel. No one hangs out in the laundry room with me while I do the chore. But the kids and the animals will follow me out to the back yard, into the sunshine and fresh air, while I hang things on the line. Win win.


Also, I know that it may seem like it increases the amount of time and energy used to complete the task, but it is actually a time saver in addition to being more enjoyable. How you ask? Mostly by eliminating ironing. Plus on a nice warm day with a tiny breeze, clothes actually dry faster on the line than in the dryer. By the time the wash is done, the line is dry! Here are some hints to make it the best experience possible.

• Invest in sturdy clothespins. They are about a buck.
• Place the line as conveniently as possible in the yard. Retractable is nice. So are the big roundabouts. But line between fenceposts works and I can prove it.
• Shaking out wrinkles and then hang t-shirts upside down, trying not to stretch the bottoms too far apart, keeps everything in a nice shape.
• Straightening out the insides of pockets and pulling or shaking out the wrinkles before hanging things, keeps that bunched-up, linty pocket thing from happening.
• Follow me and you will never iron a button down shirt again for the whole summer! Finger press the button fronts and the bottom edge (that always curls up) by pulling them flat. Then use clothes pins to weight them down. Gravity and the slightest breeze will do the ironing for you. (Unless you are a freaking perfectionist who has to have a crease in the front of jeans and boxers. In that case, there is no hope for you.)
• Turn graphic T's inside out before hanging. At my house all laundry is inside out anyway, so this is no big deal. Turning the graphics to the inside helps prevent fading, because let's face it, no one wants to don a charcoal gray Darth Vader Tee. Lame.

Quote of the Day: "My second favorite household chore is ironing.  My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.  ~Erma Bombeck