FRIDAY!

It's the last Friday of the school year, with only a few days left to go.  We are busy making cards and packaging teachers' gifts--candles this year with an extra gift card for the classroom teacher.  And getting all set for summer camp, a session of which starts right away.  Plus this weekend has birthday parties, church activities, and more!  Whew.

I Drank a Green Smoothie!

I did it!  I climbed my own personal Mt. Everest of healthy, whole-food eating:  I drank a green smoothie!  Complete with 3 big leaves of curly kale.

You should know that I don't particularly like juice, fruit or vegetable, and don't even like to smell V-8.  I've seen Green Smoothies and read about their health benefits a lot recently (but also know that people also believe too many of them can be unhealthy, of course), but I couldn't get over their color.  I tried, once before, with a store-bought Naked green smoothie but just couldn't.

But I wanted to, realizing it was quite a milestone these days, or even just so it wasn't a big deal to me anymore. So today, I made one--no pears, not too many bananas, a lot of mango for sweetness and flavor, only one kind of green vegetable.  And I drank it!  And I might drink the rest tomorrow.  It wasn't that bad (or that green--I find the color bothers me much more than the taste.  Well, unless there are pears or too many bananas--I don't really like those in any smoothies.).  But I don't think I could ever do a 21-day green cleanse like some famous people.

Mama says to get opaque glasses so I can't see what I'm drinking!

(But not to dwell on the green, I didn't take a picture.)

BTW, I believe if I were more clever, I could have written this whole post to Katy Perry's tune . . . "I drank a Greenie and I  liked it!"
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Green Smoothie


3 leaves kale
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cups soy milk
1 1/2 cups frozen fruit
1 ripe banana
1-2 tablespoons honey

Blend kale, water, and soy milk for 30+ seconds.  Add fruit, banana, and honey and blend for 60+ seconds, adding more liquid for desired consistency.

Enjoy in a dark-colored glass!

Mommy Hungry adapted from Heather Bruggeman (and more from her onsmoothies here)

Help Bud Be a Boy Scout

Please sign Jennifer Tyrell's petition to the CEO of AT&T who sits on the Boy Scouts of America board and tell him you want the homophobic policies of the BSA rescinded so everyone can be a Boy Scout.  If they eliminate their policy, we'll sign him up.  Help us make the change we wish to see in the world.

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A BIG THANKS to all of you who saw my post/email and signed the petition!

Sleeping in the Rain

The goslings who appear every spring on the edges of a local road were sleeping through the misty rain today.  We love watching them progress from downy chicks to full-grown geese, bigger each time we go to the store!

Hats on to Sunscreen!

Since my childhood, my dad has been telling me to put on a hat.  More recently, he passes around the sunscreen.  I never liked hats much and complied with the sunscreen for longer beach or boating outings, still getting several significant sunburns in my youth.  When the babies were young we used lots of sunscreen, but now, when they get off the bus and play for an hour, I didn't think to put on sunscreen.  We do on longer outings but often forget on random outdoor play.  And never hats.

But, with Dad's skin cancers and repeated warnings about sunscreen, we're more vigilant now.  Even more, the kids now have to wear hats outside!  We all do because the scalp is vulnerable (and never gets sunscreen!) and cancers there are often not detected until late (see Mary Elizabeth Williams's chronicles on the stage 4 malignant melanoma on her scalp at Salon).  Reading this recent post was my main motivation--it argues that sunscreen and hats are habits that must be started in childhood, like helmets and seat belts.  It's not a habit I picked up, despite my dad's gentle suggestions, but it's one we're instilling in all of us now.

Smell the Flowers . . . and Bow

A practice for the summer months . . . . 

"Summer Silence"

In summer, I do not come to worship so much as worship comes to me.

In the morning, golden light splashes across my room,

and roses the color of wine greet me in the alley.

As they bow to me in the breeze, I bow back.

At noon, sunflowers refuse to turn their faces from me until again,

          I give a slight bow.

In the evening, the thunderclouds pile higher and higher,

          gathering pink and purple from the setting sun,

creating a vast mountain hanging suspended in the air.

Again, I pause and bow.

At night, when the pastel sky melts into a dark blue lake overhead,

the rusty beacon of Mars beckons above the horizon,

so that I cannot fail to notice and bend a knee.

The bows are small gestures, I know,

but surely better than all these ineffective words. 

And so in the end,

my praise turns to silence,

and the silence turns to me.

from Sonata for Voice and Silence: Meditations by Mark Bellitini. (adapted), Senior Minister First UU of Columbus, OH

Having a Field Day!

Remember Field Day?  That elementary school outdoor  break in the school routine, with games, chaos, parents, and cold drinks?  I loved Field Day--not because sports were particularly my thing, but because I liked the holiday-like atmosphere:  it was the only day we could wear shorts (this was the 1970s and there were no shorts in my school); there was a lot of class pride, with special team names and classroom t-shirts with our names on the back (made at the local t-shirt shop, you know with rainbow sparkle bubble letters pressed on with big hot presses, same place you had your Star Wars shirt made with your name on the back!!  One year we were the Schakett's Super Sonics, lots of letters!); we drank ice-cold, dripping-wet Cokes out of various Igloos; we picnicked outside; there was no work all day; and a general air of chaotic happiness reined with lots of yelling and rooting and running around..  I dreaded the balloon pop, but otherwise enjoyed the races enough, like three-legged race, water balloon toss, all the relays and speed races, and the big finale tug-o-war competition.  We each got 3 or so events, choosing our best players for their best events--I think we even did advance time trials in PE.  I was a filler but always on tug-o-war because I was the tallest girl in the class (and often the grade).  If I remember correctly, ribbons were awarded and classes got points and could win.  Again, this was the 1970s--we competed, kept score, won and lost with no points just for participating.

Today was totally different.  Classes stayed together with no interaction much less competing.  Games were almost cooperative ("soccer croquet") or at least non-competitive with everyone getting a turn at everything and no winners--they just stopped when they were finished and then often just did it again.  Mercy, they didn't even all start together with "On your mark, get set, go!"  Six graders oversaw the relatively calm activities (ball toss in hoops with self-reporting of scores, clothes relay (we had this), wet ball toss (less messy than water balloon toss), etc), with just a few  parents in attendance, and almost no cheering.  I did cheer for Sis and Bud when it was their turn.  It seems odd to root when you can't win, though there was a general air of help and support.  And still lots of fun, essentially an extra-long PE class (except, disappointingly, they NEVER go outside for PE!) . . . I wonder if it will be more like an old-fashioned field day when they are older?  I'm not sure kids today would no what to do with that!

And they'll never top those t-shirt shop t-shirts!!

Follow-Up

We saw Mama's doctor today, who will be referring us to Dr. Roboto!  Yep, Mama wants a special DaVinci robotic hysterectomy--tiny incisions, short  hospital say, less recovery time!  We'll see.  Don't know what the turnaround time is, though still probably relatively soon (i.e. summer).

Right Now

Raining as we leave a lovely lunch at Bloodroot, with favorite marinated tofu cabbage salad, best grilled cheeses, and a Grand Marnier custard over strawberries.

Right Now

Field Day is on!  Though under a cloudy sky ....

And the school parking lot looks like a minivan rally!

Happy Birthdays!

To Goo, on his big test day (that has to be lucky, right?), and to Gong!

Right Now

Albus wants to place fetch with me and his toy mouse....nothing like the love of your cat at dawn.

Right Now

After putting off bedtime more than an hour with various complaints (maybe she should do that exercise!), Sis is now sawing logs, which only means one thing:  she's getting sick.

It's not quite the first week of the month, but given her track record February to May, I won't be at all surprised if she has a fever in the morning.

Good Luck!

Super-special best wishes to Goo, who sits for the D.O. equivalent of the U.S. Medical Licensing boards tomorrow--for 8 hours!!!  We'll be thinking of you!!

Complaint Department

An enlightening exercise from the ever-inspiring blog of Toni Bernhard, author of How to Be Sick:


1.  Make a list of the complaints (dissatisfaction/unhappiness) in your life, i.e. places/events/people that you wish were different.

• Kids who stay up way past bedtime (I can hear them chatting now.)
• The ache in my SI joint from stresses today.
• The loud firecrackers being set off by the neighbors right now.
• Not knowing if field day is cancelled tomorrow due to forecasted rain.
• The encroaching heat of summer.
• Mama's discomfort and illness.
• Not being confident about driving to Pilates.
• Having a long to-do list before Mama's surgery this summer.

2.  Divide the complaints into three groups--things over which you have no control, partial control, and total control.

• None:  firecrackers, field day, summer, illness
• Partial:  bedtime, driving, SI joint, to-do list
• Total: none!

3.  Toni recommends, "it’s worth thinking about what kind of skillful action might lessen these [partial-control] complaints—which would, in turn, ease our suffering. I define 'skillful action' as speech or action that relieves suffering in ourselves or others."

• bedtime:  maybe change bedtime ritual?  Or just relax about this here at the end of the school year.
• driving:  keep practicing and accept my limitations, at which point I will either not mind as much or transcend them.
• SI joint:  hating pain, as Toni notes, hurts more than helps; mindfulness practice can help me address both the pain and the stresses.
• to-do list:  there are certain things that need to be done, but I can lower my expectations as well as ask for help

Toni concludes:

Once we become mindful of our tendency to complain, we can begin to see that our peace and contentment don’t depend on controlling every circumstance we find ourselves in; they depend on learning to respond skillfully to those circumstances. 

When we truly recognize that we have no control over most of our complaints, it’s easier to accept that many of our experiences in life simply won’t be to our liking. Acknowledging and accepting this, we can begin to take those unpleasant experiences in stride. When we do, we’re likely to find that our tendency to complain subsides. What a relief that would be!

Tastes of History

Mama and I have taken to watching Chef Walter Staib's PBS series, Taste of History, which focuses on the foodways of 18th-century America.  We knew of Staib from the historical restaurant, City Tavern, in Philly, where we've eaten twice (most recently with t he kids over Memorial Day weekend)--the first time, ten years ago, we actually met the chef, who came out to talk to us and signed our copy of his cookbook.  He is famous for researching, recreating, and celebrating colonial foodways.  And it's not just baked beans and apple pie but surprising combinations of fresh ingredients and international spices (and meats many Americans don't eat anymore--kidneys, oxtail, or tongue, anyone?).

But we didn't know he had a tv show--Emmy-winning, no less--until we visited the Tavern again.  And it's wonderful!  There are historic houses, costumed interpreters, old recipes, and open-hearth cooking!  Plus his charming and enthusiastic explanations, in his endearing German accent. With soccer over for another half-hour, we just watched the episode where the chef goes to Montpelier and cooks for the interpreters reenacting James and Dolley Madison.  You can watch the fourth season now on PBS, or old episodes on WE, I think, or on DVD, which is what we have.

It's really perfect tv  for us in these anxious times.

Chunky Smoothie

We're still forging ahead with healthy smoothies from my new blender.  Today:  Strawberry-Almond Smoothie adapted from Nourishingmeals.com.   It reminds me of an Almond Energy Blast we made years ago, which would also be great with strawberries.


And today, I bought kale so that I can finally try a green smoothie!  More on that when it happens.


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Strawberry-Almond Smoothie

1 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight

1 1/2 to 2 cups water 

2 to 3 cups fresh or frozen strawberries

1 tablespoon raw honey (we used closer to 2+)

1 whole vanilla bean (we didn't use this)

Place the almonds and water into a high-powered blender. Add water and blend until very smooth, about 30 to 60 seconds. Then add the berries, vanilla bean, and honey, blend again until smooth. Serve immediately. Source:www.NourishingMeals.com

Almond Energy Blast

1 cup low-fat low-sugar vanilla soymilk
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
6 ounces firm silken tofu
1/4 cup dry-roasted almonds

Blend.

Right Now

Watching Euro 2012 with Mama, who came home not feeling well (vertigo + disc tears + cramping = doesn't feel well most of the time).  She'd be napping if England and France weren't tied.

Life Cycles . . . in Texas

Birth:  This weekend my cousin R was honored at a baby shower for her first child.  Hope it was a wonderful day!

Marriage:  Soon, my Aunt T (Gommie's sister) and Uncle R are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary!  Congratulations!!!

Death:  On Friday, my Uncle T (Gommie's brother) and his wife Aunt A honored the life of her grown son, who died a month or so ago.  Our thoughts are with them.

Presenting the Hungry Family Circus!

Remember how we saw the traditional, old-fashioned circus a few weeks ago, with one tent of acrobats, trapeze artists, tumblers, etc., as well as other displays of juggling, stilts, etc?   Sis was enamored of the ancient Chinese yo-yo aka the Diabolo and learned how to get it started and keep it spinning, while Buddy was introduced to the rudiments of juggling.

Well, the circus continues.  I got Buddy a set of scarves and he has been practicing arcs and back-and-forth tosses.  And this weekend, a Diabolo arrived in the mail for Sis, who is really pretty good at the basics (and it's much harder than it looks!).  So this afternoon, Bud was juggling, Sis was yo-yoing, and I was juggling, too!  Mama was helping Sis with the finer points of keeping the spin going.  All we needed was some good old circus organ music!

It's like we were channeling P.T. Barnum, who lived around here (and was a Universalist, too!) a century and a half ago . . . .

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Mommy Hungry's Tips on Learning How to Juggle:

1. Get three bean bags, koosh balls, or hacky sacks (tennis balls are too hard to catch easily and bounce away when dropped).
2. Practice  tossing one ball back and forth in a nice arc.   If you drop it a lot, practice sitting down.  Also, to keep your arc in one plane, practice facing a wall so you can't throw the ball forward.
3. When you can do that, add the other ball and practice tossing back and forth.  See #2, if needed.
4. Now, put two balls in your dominant hand and one in  your other and continue the back and forth.
5. Repeat, repeat, repeat.  And don't get discouraged because it takes everyone time to learn how to juggle.
6. Best yet, once you learn, like bicycle riding, you don't really ever seem to forget and can surprise and impress friends for years (really, aren't you surprised I can juggle?  I used to be able to do pins for a few tosses!)

OR, better still, buy the Juggling for the Complete Klutz book (with three bean bags!), which is what really helped me learn to juggle (after an initial lesson from my cousin, Frere Jacques) and probably where I got all the above ideas anyway!

And if I can learn to juggle (and successfully teach Mama . . .and maybe Goo (I can't recall)), then you can learn, too!