Wordless Wednesday (Freedom Riders Edition)

This is the fourth (and last) of the Poetic Winter Photography Challenge. This week's theme is calm.

My son and I visited the Freedom Riders exhibit this past Sunday for classwork he had to do.

The exhibit was held at Tallahassee's Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, which has closed its regular operations due to budget issues.

Even though the museum is mostly closed, some of the kid activities were still there:

A chance to get things whipped up into a frenzy remains.

But it is still possible to create calm:

Wayne (not surprisingly) wanted to do a lot more playing with the leftover youth-related activities than reading of the historical information about the Freedom Riders. I guess being there, reading the material and looking at the pictures, is a start.

But my sense that it is almost impossible for a  2012 12 year old (or a 47 year old mom, to be honest) to really understand the courage and risk that the Freedom Riders exhibited in 1961 leaves me feeling unsettled.

Non violence, in times like 1961, was not "calm." The Freedom Riders experienced something related to each week of the Poetic Winter Photo Challenge.

Solitude - sometimes making the right choice means doing it by yourself

Warmth - the original Freedom Rider bus was set aflame by Klansmen

Passion - the Freedom Riders were consumed with protecting constitutional rights

Calm - although it was tested over and over, the Freedom Riders maintained a commitment to nonviolent activism

 "The Freedom Ride created an unbelievable sense: Yes, we will make it.

Yes, we will survive.'

Congressman John Lewis, an Original Freedom Rider

The Poetic Winter Photo Challenge is sponsored by Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud, Faith of Sweet Violet, Rebecca of Bumbles and Light, and Alicia of Project Alicia. Thank you all for the work you put into sponsoring this!

Improving Nutrition A Sprinkle At A Time: Future Fortified

My physician recently advised me to start taking Vitamin D3. When I went to the store to buy some, I faced rows of shelves offering me choices: various formulations, flavors, and strengths.

Adolescent girls, pregnant women, new mothers, and young children in developing countries don't have the luxury of countless mineral and multivitamin choices, nor do they always have a nutritionally rich food supply. They desperately need access to essential nutrients, such as vitamin A, iodine, iron, zinc, and folic acid, to survive. (The first 1,000 Days, from pregnancy through the second year of life, are especially critical.) Beyond improved health, investing in improved nutrition supports progress in education and poverty alleviation.

When I first learned of the Future Fortified program, I was attracted to its practicality.  For example, Future Fortified encourages the use of home nutrition packets, small packets filled with a combination of micro and macro nutrients that are sprinkled onto a child's meal a few times a week. These packets are a proven cost-effective way for mothers around the world to get essential nutrients into their children's (and their own) diets while continuing to consume local foods.

If you are one of my usual readers, you know I love using my blog as a vehicle for messages about causes and ways we can all work together for good. This particular cause had a special appeal to me because the reality of hunger was brought home to me last summer when Tenley and I visited Guatemala. Tenley's sponsored child, Estela, is six years old and the youngest of 10 children. Her family lives on around $60 dollars a month. In Guatemala, the reality of "work for a day, eat for a day" was strikingly obvious. Work is difficult to come by; it is not a matter of willingness to work but rather availability of a job to do.

Future Fortified fills a need, does it efficiently using common sense, and invites us to help in ways as simple as a tweet or as personally involved as a donation.

To learn more about Future Fortified and to discover ways you can get involved, visit their site here.

You can also follow Future Fortified via Facebook and Twitter.

Lastly, this infographic provides an overview of Future Fortified in addition to outlining ways you can become involved in the Future Fortified blogger alliance!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Future Fortified. To thank me for my contribution, Mom Central donated $20 to the Future Fortified campaign.”

*Some of the factual content within this blog was taken from the Future Fortified website.

Truman Would Tell Me To Stop (A Mama Kat Writing Prompt)

This week, random.org "chose" Mama Kat prompt number five for me: What is the one "vice" you can't give up?

My vice is not immoral or illegal. It doesn't even cost a lot of money.

It is (drum roll please) the nightly snack.

I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't have a nighttime snack. There were times when it was something "lighter" (like a Weight Watchers ice cream snack when I was on Weight Watchers). It's pretty much a 47-year-old habit, whether light or "heavy."

I have heard some people say that calories are calories, whether you eat them at 10 a.m. or 10 p.m. I have heard more people say that calories before bedtime are not good for a nutrition plan. After all, they are just going to sit there in your digestive system looking for some activity to fuel. Last time I checked, brushing teeth, reading, and sleeping aren't super-demanding activities.

The one time I was successful in avoiding (and not wanting) the nighttime snack was during my and Tenley's trip to Guatemala last summer (see #9 in this post).  We had a satisfying dinner around 6 p.m. every night, followed by an activity (such as a speaker), then took showers and went to bed. The "nightly slowdown" came so early compared to my usual habits that I would read and fall asleep. There weren't nighttime snacks to be had, and I didn't miss them.

I know that my nighttime snack is a grown-up pacifier - I like the routine, I like the taste, I like slowing down long enough to do something pleasurable. When I have a freelance project underway, it marks the end of a long couple of evening hours of proofreading/editing on top of my day job.

When I have thought about meeting with a nutritionist, I have envisioned the conversation going something like this:

Nutritionist: "It is good that you kept a food diary before our first meeting. The skim milk every night is good but what's the deal with the Double Stuf Oreos?"

Me:  "I'll do anything to keep 'em! Run an extra mile! Eat less some other time! I want to lose weight so I am more likely to run faster but I love my evening Oreos."

Nutritionist: "You know that's almost 1,000 extra calories a week, in those Oreos alone?"

Me: "1,000 extra calories that are weighing me down when I run."

Nutritionist: "Run away, as fast as you can, from that nighttime snack."

Me: "Here I go ................."

"If I want to be great I have to win the victory over myself."

- Harry S. Truman

Wordless Wednesday (Everyday Passion Edition)

This week is the third of the Poetic Winter Photography Challenge. This week's theme is passion.

Last week, we focused on demonstrating passion on Valentine's Day.

In fact, we piled on the demonstrations of love.

But for me, it's what happens on the routine days afterwards that

tells me I am loved, passionately.

Want to keep your marriage strong? Never stop courting her. If you develop
 the mindset that you need to win her heart every day, then very good things
will come to your marriage.

--Mark Merrill, President, Family First
(This quote is from Mark's blog "Top 10 Everyday Passion Killers.")

The Poetic Winter Photo Challenge is sponsored by Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud, Faith of Sweet Violet, Rebecca of Bumbles and Light, and Alicia of Project Alicia. Next week's theme is "calm" - the linky will be up on Friday, February 24 and you can find it at any of these sponsors' sites! Join us!

11 Things - (The Teacher Girl Version)

I have been blogging quite a while now, and have done quite a few variations on the "tell us something about you" prompt. When two different bloggers I like and respect tagged me in the "11 Things" meme, I bit.

The "11 Things" post consists of a) writing 11 things about yourself b) answering 11 questions put to you by the person who tagged you c) writing 11 questions of your own and d) tagging 11 people to answer the questions you wrote in "c." I argue that this is a "44 things" post in the long run but I suppose that is splitting hairs!

The first person to tag me was Teacher Girl. This is her "11 things" post.  

Before we get to those 11 (not-so) fascinating facts about me that I promised, here are the rules:

The Rules

You must post these rules.

Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.

Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

You have to choose 11 people to tag and link them on the post.

Go to their page and tell them you linked him or her.

No tag backs.

No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this." You have to legitimately tag 11 people.

11 Things About Me

1.  If my Sag Harbor Jacket and Counterpart pants from Beall's outlet (among other things) wouldn't make me the extreme outlyer, I would go to the Tallahassee Drake Concert on February 24.

2.  Cool people I have met in addition to meeting Kit* from Blogging Dangerously (just online of course) include former President Jimmy Carter.

3.  Kit, via tweet, also suggested cool places I have been. I'll go with:
a) ziplining over a former poultry farm turned into ziplining adventure course in Lula, Georgia
b) Lake Atitlan in Guatemala
c) Onstage as "part of the show" at Xanadu on Broadway

4.  The reason my "big" goal for 2012 (as it was in 2011, 2010, and 2009) is to run a 5K in less than 30 minutes is that in 1995, I ran a "novelty" run that was celebrating Florida's sesquicentennial. The run was from somewhere in Central Florida to the Capitol, Tallahassee. Groups of runners had mile segments. I attested that I could run a 10-minute mile when I registered. Whatever the actual timing was, I know that the rest of my group was a lot faster than me and I held up traffic on Highway 41, with law enforcement trailing me, while I slogged in way behind them. That did not feel good.

5.  It may be a sign that instead of immediately worrying about whether Wayne Kevin is playing too much MW3, I thought, "where can I fit that into the blog?" when my son called these palm trees with protective barriers against the construction around them "C4 trees" because they look like they have C4 explosive attached to them.

6.  My Spanish is probably a little better than I give myself credit for but I have a very long way to go. I would love to do a Spanish immersion program.

7.  I lost the county spelling bee when I was in middle school by misspelling the word "yacht" (I spelled it yaght).

8.  I am pretty much endlessly amused/mystified by signs and explanations on packaging - misspellings, weird logic, you name it. For example, why does Weight Watchers feel the need to instruct the consumer to return the 2nd tray to the freezer?

9.  I love dancing - closest I come these days is blasting the music station on Friday nights coming home from Skate World with my son and him Shazaming the lyrics. Fun but not the same.

10. I had braces .... finally ...... when I was 41. Still glad I did it.

11. I don't talk politics on Twitter.

My responses to Teacher Girl's questions:


1. If you could be any character from a book, who would you be and why?

Anne Frank, from Diary of a Young Girl, because she persevered in her optimism in spite of it all. And dealt with it through writing.

2. If you were going to move anywhere in the world, where would it be?

This is a no brainer all the way. Manhattan. Manhattan. Manhattan.

3. What is something embarrassing that happened to you that you now think is funny?

I'm not sure if I should go here. If you don't want PG+-rated, skip to question 4. When I was in college, I had a water skiing trip to Tennessee coming up with my boyfriend. Some friends of mine offered to teach me how to ski, on Lake Jackson here in Tallahassee. I was having my, um, "monthly visitor." When I was being pulled in after many ski attempts, I discovered just how strongly you contract your inner thigh muscles when you are trying to learn how to ski ..... because the item that had been, um, "interior," was now stuck on my back. Fortunately I grabbed it and threw it into the water before anyone could see but I have never forgotten that incident ..... nor how much inner thigh strength it takes to ski.

4. What do you do when you have "nothing to do?"

A) sleep B) read C) marvel at the fact I have "nothing to do"

5. What was the last book you read?

I am reading Pride and Prejudice on the Kindle I got for Christmas. I really can't believe I am just now reading it. It is slow going, though. I hardly ever have an opportunity to read (see 4(c) above). On audio, I am listening to The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.

6. What are the top 5 songs on your playlist right now?

I don't have just 1 playlist but let me try to cobble something together:
Here's what's on my iPod:
Motiontraxx 180 BPM Lightning Tempo Mix
And except for The Paris Wife, that's it for my iPod - we are having computer issues at home so I have had some iPod transfer issues.
Four other "audio" things that rock my world, though, are:
Any RunRunLive podcast
Guitar music by Alex Pinto
If You're Not the One by Daniel Bedingfield (old, sentimental, favorite)
Defying Gravity from Wicked

7. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Not enough. But the answer (if we're just counting stuff I actually wear, not old castaways in the closet) is maybe 15. My running shoes are my absolute most critical. I am also considering going shoeless for the day on April 10 for the One Day Without Shoes campaign. I guess it won't matter that day.

8. Never have I ever...

Finished a 5K in less than 30 minutes (yet)

9. If _____ showed up at my door...

Tenley Albright showed up at my door I would be so ecstatically happy because I want my daughter (named after her) to meet her.

10. What is something you are afraid of?

Dying in debt. Never getting out of debt. Debt.

11. Tell me something wonderful that happened to you this week (or month, ya know, if it has been a bad week).

I got invited (as did 100% of the world's population) to join Luau on September 16, 2012, for the Boston 13.1 as a part of the Autism Speaks team. And when I mentioned it to my spouse, he wisely said .... an answer that did not include the word "no"! (Luau's post is here.)

My 11 questions.

1.  This Daily Good piece discusses selflessness, altruism, and perspective. As an example, it cites Tim Tebow's generosity in inviting people in need to his games in Denver, and the ways in which he extends himself off the field. The post asks, "What is your privilege?" and encourages you to share it with someone who would benefit from it, who wouldn't otherwise have access to it. What is your privilege?

2.  This Daily Good piece shares three parables that "give perspective." What parable or story gives you perspective?

3.  This Harvard Business Review article talks about the challenge of reinventing yourself, using Margaret Thatcher's career as an example. The author says, "Thatcher's story is ours as well. We might see the need to evolve, but towards what? When the formula is working, how do we determine the shifting point? How do we come to value the polar opposite of everything by which we have defined ourselves? Have you faced a shifting point in your life? Any advice from that time?

4. Another great question from the HBR article referenced above is this: What is your dark side and do you like it?

5. This iJourney.org piece by David W. Hawkins says, "High power, like high voltage, must be handled with respect." Have you seen high power abused? Had it and lost it? Tell me more.

6.  Yes, I do like Daily Good! You gotta go with what works. In this article, Richard Whittaker talks about his quest to interview architect Paolo Soleri, who reportedly did not do interviews anymore. What was a time a door was closed to you but you decided to go for it anyway and hope "the way would open for you"? 

7.  I didn't take all of my questions from Daily Good. This post from Raising Happiness talks about body image in relationship to advertising. What are your thoughts on body image and how far would you go to change your body?

8.  Another Daily Good post talks about how teamwork can foster creativity. Talk about a time that a group you were in "felt the flow" - especially if egos "blended."

9. Some of my favorite food memories involve eating a common food in an uncommon place, such as the gyros that I ate with my niece and her friend when we were in Chicago. It was just a mall food court, and we had eaten other "nicer" places on the trip, but the conversation was so good that the gyros felt like fine cuisine. Do you have a similar memory?

10. Would you rather have someone recognize you fomally in public, or informally and in private?

11. Are tattoos right for you? If so, tell us about what you have/want to get?

My 11 Tags:

Jennifer at Run for the Boys

Arnebya at What Now and Why

Karen and Gerard at Right Where We Belong

Susan of Susan Fields

Velva of Tomatoes on the Vine

Robin of From the Ashes Yoga

Sara and Abe of Two in Tally

Amy of 365 Thru Amy's Eyes

Liesl of Mama's Log

Jessi of Breathe Easy

Ginger of (Not) Just Another Mom of Twins

*Kit earned her way onto my 11 Things list by responding to my tweet about what I should say for my "11 things about me." I am sucking up to her because she's in charge of #wineparty on Twitter and oh, the power that gives!!

Oh Brother (A Mama Kat Writing Prompt)

These are not my children (this is an iStock image) ........

What? Did you think my children would behave like this to each other?

Well of course they would, and they did!

As an introduction to this blog post, I must share with you that the shrillness of my scream at my 12 year old tonight, in the Zaxby's drive through (yes, the window was open and the employee was standing right there) when I yelled "STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" would have shattered glass. I know it mortified my 15 year old. The two of them had been sniping at each other, the car was making a weird noise, and the drive through experience was taking longer than usual. I lost it. I don't think my daughter, at that moment, considered her brother an asset to have around.

Carry on, prompt........

This week, random.org "chose" Mama Kat prompt number five for me: Share a story about a sibling.

I could have random.orged again, since I don't have conventional siblings. But you know the best prompts are the hardest ones.

I have had the brother who was born before me, who did not survive. He is the one my son's middle name is after (Kevin). Obviously I never knew him, but I have always admired my parents for having enough hope to try again. I guess I might not have been here if things had unfolded differently.

Then there are my two half brothers, my father's sons from a previous marriage. While I have usually written pretty freely about my children, in deference to Mike and Gary I won't go on and on. I will say this: we grew up in different households. The man who raised them after my father and their mother divorced did a bang-up job. They are kind and intelligent (hey, we do share DNA after all!). I have the benefit of getting to know them as adults without ever going through an immature sibling squabble or snit.

Three brothers. Each of them has influenced me even though we weren't "regular" siblings.

In that "grass is greener" way many of us fall prey to as children, I always dreamed of having siblings. I always planned on having more than one child, on the premise that being an only child wasn't "ideal."

I don't know what I could have done differently at the "scream" moment tonight. I know I have a strong tendency to try to stop conflict in its tracks. I know conflict between siblings is inevitable.

I had a stillborn brother and I have two half brothers.

Tenley and Wayne Kevin are fortunate to have one another. Alive and "whole" siblings. Screaming mother aside.

Wordless Wednesday (Construction Disturbance Edition)

This week is the second of the Poetic Winter Photography Challenge. This week's theme is warmth.

To get from our house to work/school is pretty much a straight shot - 10  miles or so - west on  Highway 90. Highway 90 (also known as Mahan Drive) is perpetually under construction. It even has its own FourSquare checkin:

Perpetual construction, especially when it slows down the morning commute,

can leave us all feeling a little "chilly" toward the process.

It's really nice of a local church to remember that these workers are just doing their jobs.

And to extend the warmth of thanking them publicly.

The Poetic Winter Photo Challenge is sponsored by Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud, Faith of Sweet Violet, Rebecca of Bumbles and Light, and Alicia of Project Alicia. Next week's theme is "passion" - the linky will be up on Friday, February 17 and you can find it at any of these sponsors' sites! Join us!

On This Date in 2002 (A Mama Kat Writing Prompt)

This week, random.org "chose" Mama Kat prompt number two for me: Start with the phrase “Ten years ago on this day, I was…” (inspired by Business 2 Blogger). (Note - I used the date of February 6.)

Ten years ago on this day, I was scheduled to play bunco:

First, it strikes me that my calendar system worked so differently (so many more layers) then than it does now.

There was the physical Daytimer, which I could open to see the (handwritten) month at a glance. 

Or the daily page where I could write details of the day as they unfolded:

Or the detailed "addendum" that listed all the spillover from my electronic calendar (that's how I knew (importantly) that I had bunco that night):

And I should add that I did this for a long time, until we had Blackberries and Outlook at my office and I stopped printing out any type of hard copy calendar. The proof is in the binders:

Two observations come out of this exercise:

1) I think I organized myself better when I had more interplay between electronic and paper. I don't have all these sheets of paper now. I am a "paper" girl at heart, even though I have learned to embrace electronics.

2) I miss bunco. The thing I miss most is the camaraderie -- seeing the same 11 women at least once a month, keeping up with each other's lives, enjoying good food and wine -- and not worrying about our day-to-day issues. (Our group ended up disintegrating and I have not found another group, but I do get to sub at other groups occasionally.)

Other thoughts about this time in my life: a) I still needed a babysitter because the kids were 5 and 2. Now I can leave them home alone. I miss Char, the awesome babysitter, but not the need (or cost) of having a sitter; b) I was still getting my acrylics filled in every two weeks (that luxury has been victim to the family budget downsizing). It was fun to have great nails at bunco and to talk about the colors (one favorite was "I'm not really a waitress" red); c) We still had a maid, also an expense that has since been cut, and something I miss the most; d) the haircut I got on that date was undoubtedly scheduled so that I would have good hair for bunco (and I still go to the same stylist now!); e) I am still working at the same place (and I have some hard thinking to do about what to do with the next 10 years, professionally).

Wonder what I'll write on February 6, 2022.

                                          

Wordless Wednesday (Winter Playground Edition)

Finally! My Wordless Wednesdays have structure again thanks to the Poetic Winter Photography Challenge. This week's theme is solitude.

Somewhere, a little boy or little girl is snuggled into a warm home, knowing that the playthings of spring are looking forward to their return:

A bunch at a time:

In twos.....

Or alone.....

These pictures were taken in Bainbridge, Georgia, at the Earl May Boat Basin and Cheney Griffin Park.

The Poetic Winter Photo Challenge is sponsored by Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud, Faith of Sweet Violet, Rebecca of Bumbles and Light, and Alicia of Project Alicia. Next week's theme is "warmth" - the linky will be up on Friday, February 10 and you can find it at any of these sponsors' sites! Join us!

Run for the Cookies (And For Sherry) on February 11

On Saturday, February 11, Wayne Kevin and I will be running in the annual "Run for the Cookies" 5k (me) and 1 mile (him). In addition to our official "cookies" race bibs, we will also be wearing this bib on our shirts:

Sherry Arnold was a runner from Sidney, Montana, who was abducted early on the morning of January 7, 2012, and murdered. Two men are in custody, for this crime (her body has not been recovered). For more facts about the case, visit this link:

This case has resonated with me for so many reasons, including the fact that Sherry was a mom, wife, and runner. I can't change the outcome but I can do my part as a member of the running community to tangibly show my support.

Sherry's cousin, Beth, of Shut Up + Run, has created a virtual run as a way to show Sherry's family the support of runners (and anyone willing to move) from all over the world. The plan is to do this on February 11. And it's simple: run, walk, crawl, row, bike .... whatever ..... a 5K (3.1 miles) while wearing Sherry's bib. Here is Beth's original post explaining this event.

This is simply a support/awareness run. However, there is a way to donate toward a fund for Sherry's children here via the "donate" button.

If you participate in the virtual run, Beth is encouraging you to submit pictures that she can share with Sherry's family (see a few of the early birds here). If you choose to do your own post about this (great idea, dontcha think??!!), please send the link to Beth so she can share it with the family also. Her email address is beth@shutupandrun.net.

To recap the instructions for participating in the virtual run on February 11:

Print out the bib:

A pdf is available here: http://www.races2remember.com/images/previews/Sherry.pdf

Then: 

• Mark your calendars
• Print out a running bib and pin it to your shirt
• Gather your friends, your running club members, your families
• If it’s wet where you are, “laminate” your bib with postage tape and punch holes in it
• If that time doesn’t work, go when you can (the official time for the run is 9 a.m. M.S.T.)
• GO. Run as far and as long as you want. Walk, hike, cycle, rollerblade if you don’t want to or can’t run.
• Please share this on your blogs, Facebooks and Twitters
• Keep it simple. Just run with Sherry on your minds and hearts.
• You can also connect with this event on Facebook

Let's show Sherry's husband, Gary, and Children Holly and Jason that they are not alone.

(Runners at the Sidney (Sherry's hometown) event will release helium

balloons that have notes to Sherry attached during their February 11 activities.)

Now "Board"ing (A Mama Kat Writing Prompt)

Usually, I let random.org "choose" a Mama Kat prompt for me. This week, I am choosing the Pinterest-themed prompt because a) it's easy and b) it's the one I want to do! Here's the prompt: Are you on Pinterest? Share the last five items you pinned, choose one and let it inspire a blog post.

These are the last five items I had pinned as of the time the prompt was published:

These penguin appetizers:

These delicious-looking cupcakes:

These red whoopie pies:

These yoga gingerbread cookies:

(don't try to click to enlarge though!)

And this dollar tree:

And here I must diverge from Kat's original instructions....instead of choosing one of those pins and using it to inspire me to do a blog post, I just must focus on what my boards say about me. You get default boards when you start Pinterest, and then you can create your own (boards are "themes" where you can put pins that relate to each other).

My "Products I Love" board has three random pins. My "Favorite Spaces and Places" board has one pin. My "Books Worth Reading" board has one pin. My "My Style Pinboard" has two random pins. My "For the Home" board has zero pins. My "Stuff to Make When I Have Time - i.e. 2025" has nine pins (one of which I have actually MADE!!). My "Miscellaneous" board has two random pins. My "Images From My Life!" board has eight pins. My "Recipes" board has 17 pins, none of which I have made but gosh the cake batter adult drink is practically calling my name. My "Food Art" board has three pins (two of which I made a long time ago). My "Smarties Creations" Board has three pins (two of which I made).

My boards are disorganized and hard to follow. I think the main conclusion I draw is that a) despite the fact that it is a huge breath of fresh air to walk into a clean, well-decorated home, that's just not where my attention goes; b) if it's something I may be able to make and blog about someday, it gets pinned; c) I like to make stuff .... or dream about making stuff.

Maybe I'll make myself a cake batter adult drink and try to "pin something down" that brings logic to my boards.

In the meantime, I can't close this post without sharing Kat's brilliant Pinterest guide:

A link to the Mama Kat's Losin' It Pinterest Guide can be found here.