Welcome weekend!

Apparently, I need to buy a new car and go to Maine. As the wind blows, that way I will go.

Have a nice weekend, blog world!!!

Home is never far away

I am back back back from family time vacation, and finally, after a yucky Monday filled with a seven-mile make-up run and a 10 hour make-up work day, I'm into the swing of things again.

It's invigorating to know, as I am forced to switch so quickly from time with family and friends back to the grind, that home never really leaves us, as long as we carry it with us in the person we show up to be each day in life. It doesn't make me miss anyone less, but it does make me want to do them proud even more.

Signing off for this week (i.e. until this ragamuffin gets a chance to rest...)

Worker bee

@ Plimoth Plantation - July 2011

Time with S's family was a lot of fun!

It was super busy, and I felt so spoiled to be eating out all the time and getting the chance to visit such nice places right in our own backyard.

The last day we ventured out as a group, we went to Plimoth Planation and the Mayflower II, i.e., a replica of the ship.

This crazy actor on the boat went on and on about the pilgrim days, and I did my best to insert modern day characters, like, say, Harry Potter, into the conversation to confound him. He was too good though, and could not be confounded!

As much as it was fun, the visit pointed out to me, yet again, that I am not that good at relaxing! I either like to work, work, work, or I tend to go into hiberation mode and not want to socialize or do anything much at all. I think this stems from being quite anxious in informal situations, which is a shame, because certainly those are some of the most fun and worthwhile of all. At any case, it's something to note about myself, and I hope it didn't rub off too much on anyone with whom I was spending such a good time.

I hesitate to say I should work on this, because, well, the point is that I work on a bit too much and a bit too often. I am glad I have a whole life to practice balance and gentleness, mercy and patience, with myself as with others!

One of the best ways I've found to stop freaking out, because in all honesty, that's what it amounts to, is to remember that it's not all about me. To just stop and listen and be for a bit. To do this all the time would not be much of a life, but to do this as needed is rejuvenating to the rest of life. It is astounding to feel the world and the forces behind it just moving right along while I am still, contributing nothing. It helps put things into perspective.

Now I travel to Maryland to visit my awesome family there for a bit. I am sure I will both miss S dreadfully while I am away and at the same time, feel like I wish I had weeks more to spend during the visit.

The nature and beauty of our mortal lives, I suppose though, is to spend them one moment at a time, savoring them for what they are.

Raw, Real, and MaRRRine

Okay, so the title's a little hokey. But as I post some unedited pictures of today's New England Aquarium trip, I lack the wit to innovate as titles go.

We had a great time. Though Marylanders are definitely spoiled by the Baltimore Aquarium, there was an earthiness about the NE spot that makes it just as fascinating and fun.

By that, I mean that it is smaller and you spend more time looking at the same animals - mostly the penguins and the fish, sharks and turtles in this one big tank surrounded by a spiral walkway - so that they become intriguing creatures over and over again, so much so that they are your friends by the end of the trip, and if you are like me, you are absolutely grateful and awed the God loves us so much to give us animals as our earthly companions.

When we were at an early dinner after the trip (At Sel de la Terre, a lovely French restaurant with the best sandwich-and-paprika-potato-chip lunches), S's dad asked the table about our favorite part of the aquarium. He liked the penguin feeding the best, and took as much video as possible of it. S's mom like this one fish, "the speeder" we called him, who was doing dogged laps around the spiral tank. We'd ask each other, "Where's the speeder?" and sure enough, this guy would zoom by like a speed walker among mere mortals and make us all laugh. My favorite was Myrtle the turtle, a 75 year old tortoise who's favorite food is brussel sprouts.

Tomorrow everyone but Dr. Y, who's presenting at a conference in Cambridge, will have a bit of a breather from all the activity. I will need to run and go to a book study I just joined, and in between, be preparing for the study hopefully enjoying some conversions with the Y's minus one. On Wednesday, we'll do one last touristy thing, though we haven't decided what yet.

In the mean time, I am sure to relive all the color and craziness we saw at the aquarium today. The earth is simply bursting with beauty, and my little mind cannot contain it.

Family Time

Welcome to week one of two glorious weeks of family vacations in a row.

While I am super excited to see my loved ones and have some time devoted just to them, am I not sure these whirlwind adventures will be relaxing, per se. Fun, yes. Funny, yes. Relaxing, not as of yet.

But I am overjoyed to see these people for the first time in a year, and to see S in his bro-element with his (not so little anymore) little brother.

I will try to post as per usual these days, but family takes precedence for the rest of the month. I am oh so lucky to have family as great as mine (if I may boast).

Since I am supremo exhausted, here is an abridged recap of fun family days 1 and 2 with The Y's:

- After a 3 hours of cleaning the house, and one delayed flight, greet family at the airport.
- Walk through airport terminals and garages to car.
- Drive to the McDonald's. Discover someone walking through the drive thru. Somehow manage to get yummy food.
- Hang out at the hotel eating french fries and chicken.

- Ride in the new Mustang; fun for all.
- Discovering just how adorable O the Cat is (yet again).
- Brunch.
- Trip around Houghton's Pond.
- Family rock skipping contest.
- S's Dad constantly threatening to jump into the pond with clothes on, before he tells us he almost drowned as a child. (All true. How/why would I make it up?)
- Go back home and watch the Cantonese movie Hard Boiled.
- Coffee break.
- Dinner and Pho So 1 Boston. Way too much food.
- Grocery Shopping.

Tomorrow's it's off to the New England Aquarium!!! Can't wait to see how we fare at stealing a baby penguin. Wish us luck!

Operation Update: O the Cat

It's been over a month since O the cat has graced the face of a blog post!

I bet you think that S and I may be hiding him.

Perhaps that he is lonely, starved for attention, and thirsting for love.

Of course not!

Instead, the past month...we discovered that O does not like water. We had to wash his hand one day, and this caused a major freak out and some slashing of his momma's skin. He's also still a big fan of the wider world, and will run onto the porch if at all possible and hide under the deck chairs so as not to be scooped up and placed back inside. He remains scared of plastic bags, but so enamored of throws that we now have names for his buddy pals "Rug," "Matt" and "Blanket."

Just today S worried aloud if he could ever love a human son as much as he loves O.

So things are going well.

In case you're still not convinced, let the pictures do the talking -

O helping Mommy work from home



Helping Daddy ease into the weekend



Practicing his strength and agility



A completely self-satisfied hombre

 We love you, O! The appropriate amount, as allowed by law. And then more.

Stars, stripes, lights and liberty

So the fourth of July was nice! We obviously had our share of relaxation and food throughout the weekend, which was a nice start to the holiday and a good chance for S and I to reflect on how grateful we are for our independence and what it means to be independent in general. Some good discussions were had, in between the yummies, of course.

We decided to stay local for the fireworks this year, because the town we live 2 minutes away from alternates between doing a fireworks display and another summer event year-to-year, and this year, they were putting on a show!

It was really fun to and sentimental to see homes displaying their flags and other decorations as we drove around town.

I still get excited about the different holidays I remember celebrating growing up and the traditions behind them, like cookouts and sparklers and being out of doors during this time of year, and all of the red, white and blue.

We grabbed a double bacon cheeseburger and some cajun fries before heading to the fireworks display. It was really easy to get parking and enjoy our meal on the lawn, people watching and listening to the craziness around us. There was a band playing Sweet Caroline and Woolly Bully and these other ridiculous songs, and a skate park where the teenagers were congregating.

The fireworks left something to be desired in their finale, but they were really pretty! I always like the gold displays, but this year I really liked the red-white-blue fireworks. They reminded S of the ice cream popsicles that the ice cream man sells in summer.

We also liked listening to the little ones reacting to the fireworks, and the silly things they said. Some were scared, others would scream after every blaze, and one kid, according to S, asked his mom if there were real stars lighting up the sky. Sweet.

It was a fun night, and I was thankful to spend some time with our neighbors in the area enjoying the freedom and liberty that we take for granted every day here in America. Seriously, we a hugely blessed group of people.

Happy Independence Day to us!

Happy Independence

 

Sitting on a porch in the humid night air…

Writing down thoughts and watching fireworks fly by.

Thank goodness it's summertime.

Good eats

There's nothing like a lazy Sunday on a three-day-weekend weekend. Normally, Sundays are a clean-the-house, do-the-laundry, try-to-delay-the-work-week kind of event. On three-day-weekend Sundays, wedged between a Saturday of decompression and a Monday full of fun, there's a free pass to really kick back.

Part of the kicking-back perks include not rushing to do anything, and that includes food. Food on lazy Sundays is a favorite affair around here. On weekdays, we usually eat just one full meal together, if that, but sometimes on weekends we get lucky. Which makes me think today would be a good day to post about how awesome I find it to live with someone with a different diet lifestyle.

I eat an increasingly plant-based diet, and I am currently striving to all but eliminate processed foods from my everyday use as body (and soul) fuel. S describes his diet as panoramic, which is to say, he eats everything and anything, except, he says, bugs.

My coworkers do not know how this is possible. They think, at the least, it would be challenging to eat this way as a family, and at most, it would be impossible to survive together. They are not the only ones who believe that mixing diets in a family is a recipe for hardship (no pun intended). Some of my favorite books on diet and lifestyle have whole chapters or sections on the challenges of and solutions to eating differently than those close to you.

I took for granted that these sections must be helpful to other people and that my co-workers opinions must be valid for them and their families. But then, just recently, I have begun to question all of that, based on the culmination of my own experience. S and I have been drastically different eaters for years now, and fairly different eaters since we've known each other. We've had very few if any serious problems relationally based on our different diets. So while our experience might not be the case for others, perhaps it can be equally helpful to others as all the tips out there for making it work. After all, we haven't had to "make it work" much at all. It's been pretty easy and enjoyable for us both.

Here's why I think this is the case:

1. Food preparation of plant-based meals is usually less time-consuming than meals with meat. This means that preparing both a plant protein and a meat protein can almost always be one in the same food preparation routine, without any additional time added on in preparation. Since most plants or plant products can be eaten raw to charred, just working in a plant-based dish or item while the meat cooks is easy peasy.
2. We know we are the boss of our own bodies, and not each other's. S and I do not, beyond a joke or two every now and then, expect each other to like the same foods or eat in the same ways. There is not any social pressure around our dinner table to finish all the food on the plate, to try something new, or to eat what the other is having. This respect goes across all kinds of foods (staples, snacks, desserts, categories) and has always existed between us, even before I stopped eating animal products. There is no guilt, pressure or judgment. For instance, S likes fermented tofu; I think it is disgusting, and I will not eat it. He also likes bacon, which I do not eat based on my dietary principles. We both like sauerkraut a lot, and olives, and french fries. S would rather not eat a ton of beans, or bananas, which I think of as staples, and he dislikes coffee. The trick is not to treat someone's dietary standards any differently than you would their preferences. Everyone's an individual, and that's a good thing!
3. There are so many commonalities between even the most at-odds-appearing diets. We all need water, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, and fats. We all, at different times, crave something sweet or something salty. We all need to eat proportionately, according to our metabolism and to meet our activity level. There have been quite a few days when S and I do not even think about, "How can we cooperatively and compatibly eat today?" because it's natural to do so. For instance:

Lazy Sunday is a beautiful, beautiful time of week -

And both S and I like the ritual of a somewhat special Sunday brunch. See how very fancy we get?

So we go to our mutual favorite place to grab brunch, The Sunnyside Café, and order a super yummy meal.

Oatmeal with brown sugar, raisins, and walnuts for me, with a side of hash browns, and the "Eggpress" for him, with bacon, pancakes, two eggs and home fries.

After a hike, and as a treat in between brunch and dinner, S and I grab ice cream.

A traditional hot fudge sundae for him and a raspberry lemonade Italian ice for me. We go to a local spot that's once again a shared favorite, and bring home our desserts to enjoy on the porch.

Lest you think we never cook, we usually do for dinner.

We have coffee for me, ice water for him, Mediterranean pasta for us both (linguine and whole grain spaghetti with Mediterranean spices, sea salt and olives), apples, confetti beans (soup bean medley with BBQ sauce, Season All, red pepper, black pepper and salt) and pan cooked steak for S. If these look like huge portions to you, they are. The whole thing cost about $4, including one leftover meal.

I point this all out, because as important as it is to very carefully consider a family's eating to make sure it's nutritious and harmonious, I don't think food or diet differences need to translate into difficulties. I think this can even be the case with kids – after all, parents handle picky eaters all the time, and in my opinion, different eaters aren't as big of a challenge. We've never had to argue about food, waste food, or break a budget to contently live different diet lifestyles together. In fact, it's been a lot of fun! So don't worry - everyone can survive, thrive, and still talk to each other at the end of the day without fermented tofu or bugs becoming a big issue.

I promise.

Happy Canada Day!

I'm watching the first big event of the TTR World Tour 2011-2012 snowboarding season. Can you believe it? I might not be on the snow for another 5 months, but it still feels really good to be able to say a new season is underway.

It's also a blast to see all these guys having a great time out there and cheering for the Canadians, even when they themselves are from the US, Japan, Norway, etc.

As we enter our own Independence Day weekend in the US of America, it's always nice to see and remember that the flag is to be honored, but not above all else. The love of being alive - for sharing a smile or a laugh that's just a reaction to existence itself - is a joy we can share with one another, no matter where we live and to whom we pledge allegiance.