wacky wednesday - did you know?

Today is Wednesday, February 26th, 2014… aka "Tell a Fairy Tale Day"… and "National Pistachio Day"… and "Carnival Day." But did you know it is also "Inconvenience Yourself Day?" Yes, you read that correctly - INconvenience Yourself Day.

The holiday's founder, Julie Thompson, noticed that more often than she liked, she was in her own little world (or lala-land, as I call it) oblivious to the people around her and how her actions impacted them. The more she thought about this, she realized the "problem" was fairly universal and widespread. Gone were the days  of common courtesy and politeness being the rule rather than the exception. Her thinking is that people aren't actively choosing to be discourteous or even rude but they also are not choosing to be kind and generous (with their time, energy, etc.). Without conscious effort, self will always take over and we exhibit behavior that looks like we think we are more important than someone else… like cutting across several lanes of traffic so we don't miss our turn… or not holding the door open for the person behind you … or not saying thank you if someone does open that door for you.

Ms. Thompson decided to actively look for ways to "inconvenience" herself, to put someone else ahead of her. One of her first acts was moving some stray shopping carts that were blocking cars in a crowded parking lot. She had to walk a few parking spaces out of her way to move carts that were not in her way but she said that the smile on the driver's face when he realized he did not have to get out of his car and move the carts was heartwarming.

Does this sound a bit like random acts of kindness? Or the Boy/Girl Scout slogan - "Do a good turn daily." It did to me, too - at first. But Ms. Thompson's intention was not just to do something nice once a day or randomly but to be very intentional about how she lives her life and encourages others to live theirs. I think it's more like the Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." Or as Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, "Do to others what you want them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets." (NLT) When Jesus said "others," he meant everyone - your family, your friends, your enemies, those who are nice to you and those who are not. And he did not add a time quantifier like "daily" or "once a year" - he just said "do."

The Inconvenience Yourself website has stories to encourage you and lists of ideas to get you started. Maybe you could tell the child in your life a fairy tale instead of checking out Facebook once again. Or share your bag of pistachios with a stranger. Imagine what could happen if we celebrated "Inconvenience Yourself Day" every day!
Oh, and in case you are interested, tomorrow is National Chili Day. 

wacky wednesday - winter or spring??

Just two and a half weeks ago the world-renowned groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow and six more weeks of winter were predicted. And, as much of the U.S. plunged into more snow and ice storms, it seemed PP's prediction was, once again, accurate.

But I wonder.

As my sweethearts living in the Charlotte, N.C. area battled snow and ice resulting in three school snow days last week, the unseasonably warm temperatures here in the Valley of the Sun resulted in the mind battle of whether or not it's too early to turn on the air conditioning.

And then there is the tree in our front yard which turns into a giant, white blossom ball every spring - usually in mid-March or later. But this year, even before all the leaves fell off, the "snow" covered its branches - a sure sign of spring.

The National Climatic Data Center analyzed PP's forecasts and announced he has "no predictive skill." I think I have to agree with them. (And I hope my tax dollars did not fund that bit of research… another post for another day!)

wacky wednesday - a crazy little thing called love

In case you just woke up from a coma or have been secluded somewhere without a calendar or media of any kind, this Friday is February 14th … Valentine's Day… the love holiday. The hype this year began BEFORE Christmas when some retailers began displaying heart-shaped decor and red and pink cards galore (kinda sounds like a greeting card, doesn't it?).

So what is this holiday all about?

This was one of three Valentine's Day displays set up outside a local grocery store this week. 

And there were many more inside! Oy vey!!

While its roots go back much farther (to times of Christian religious feasts and celebrations commemorating Saint Valentine (actually there were at least three) around AD 500 or so), Valentine's Day, as it is currently celebrated, began in the United Kingdom in the 18th century with Victorian-style valentine cards, the giving of chocolate and flowers as well as the use of the well-known "love symbols"- hearts, doves, winged cupids, etc. Gifts and cards were typically hand-made by the giver for his, or her, true love. As one would expect, the tradition was picked up by the American colonies and flourished.

Fast forward several centuries and we now find a $14.7 BILLION industry in the U.S. alone. It is conservatively estimated that Americans spend around $277 million each year on Valentine cards alone. And, incidentally, cards and gifts are typically not hand-made among the age 10 and older crowd.

I may be old-fashioned and a bit of a sentimentalist but I think we have completely missed the mark. Contrary to what Hallmark would like us to think, nothing says "I care" like a hand-made card or hand-written note extolling your adoration for your true love. I enjoy a nice dinner or fresh flowers as much as the next gal but what is really meaningful to me is love shown through words and actions. I think the Apostle Paul best describes real love in his first letter to the Corinthians who were living in a place filled with idolatry and immorality - sound like anyplace you know? He wrote, "Love is patient; love is kind. It does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) 

Enjoy indulging your special valentine with a box of chocolates or beautiful flowers this Valentine's Day but also give some thought to Paul's challenging, yet encouraging, words and make every day a "love holiday."

wacky wednesday - it's just a date

One of the groups I "like" and "follow" on Facebook is Forgotten Harvest, a non-profit organization dedicated to feeding hungry people. Last year they rescued, harvested and distributed more than 40 million pounds of food.

They recently shared an article on their Facebook page that really got me to thinking about the waste in this country. You can read the entire article here but the gist of it is that Doug Rauch, former president of Trader Joe's, plans to open The Daily Table in Dorchester, MA in May of this year to serve the "underserved" population - the "working poor who can afford to buy food but aren't buying the right food"- meaning it is often less expensive for them to buy processed food with less nutrition than it is to buy fresh produce and make a meal.  The catch is that The Daily Table will be part cafe, part grocery store and will use only food that has passed its "sell-by" or "best-by" date or the "ugly" produce making it unusable and/or undesirable in other markets. The Daily Table will be a nonprofit organizaition and after some initial funding to get it started, Rauch expects it to be self-sustaining.

It's an interesting idea. The carton of milk with a "sell by" date of 1-27-14 doesn't suddenly go bad and cause food-bourne sicknesses on 1-28-14. In fact, I've used milk a good week after it's "sell by" date and it has been fine. I've also opened milk well before it's "sell-by" date that has smelled soured. And it went down the sink. The same is true of the "best by" date on canned goods. After doing some digging, I discovered that those dates are pretty arbitrary and unregulated and were instituted to make the American public feel like they are getting "fresher" food.

Most produce doesn't have a "sell by" date but we are a country consumed by beauty so the perfect shiny apple gets picked over the slightly bruised one at the grocery store. Grocery stores throw out literally tons of bruised and wilted produce annually that is, in reality, still edible and nutritious.

But what that really got to me is that 40% of the food produced in the U.S. annually is wasted, as in thrown out, at a cost of $165 BILLION. Holy cow!! I realize that some of that food is spoiled and truly not edible. But if even half of it is usable, there is no reason we should have so many people in our country going to bed hungry or not knowing where their next meal will come from.

Some grocery stores are willing to sell at a reduced price or give away this "out of date" and less than perfect food to food banks if they can come get it. The problem is many food banks and soup kitchens aren't able to do that. Fortunately, there are organizations like Forgotten Harvest whose volunteers work to get that food to the places where it can be used but the quantity outweighs the workers and still too much food is still wasted.

However, getting the food where it can be used is only half the problem. The second hurdle is re-educating and convincing both consumers and watch-dog groups looking out for the underdog that "out of date" and bruised food is still safe and nutritious. As a society, we have been conditioned to throw out food past its date. All of us could stretch our food dollars by using the "ugly" produce that accumulates in our refrigerator and not immediately throwing away the out-of-date food. I, for one, am giving it a try.

This ugly fruit and black cherry Greek yogurt 29 days past its "sell by" date made a delightful smoothie. Richard declared it both "yummy" and "creamy" - and no, he didn't see the ingredients before I made it!

isn't life grand?

November of 2013 is one of my favorite months of all time. I spent the month at the home of our son-in-law, daughter and their family while they welcomed a new baby, Elizabeth "Ellie" Paige, into their family. Living in a house with five kids for a month is one of the most fun things I've ever done. Really.

Yes, it is often organized chaos and almost always noisy but it is also fills your heart with love and awe and wonder. Grandchildren are truly a gift from God - they keep us "younger," they make us laugh and they let us rediscover what it's like to be child-like (not childish) again.

Although they live across the country, we are fortunate to be able to visit our grandchildren and their parents several times a year staying a week or so each time. What I loved about being there a whole month this time was really spending some time with them, one-on-one and as a group. They are a pretty interesting group of kids!

I learned about Rainbow Looms (the hottest  Christmas toy of the year!) and the "new" way to do long division (must say I am not a fan of Common Core - but I'll write about that another day!). I memorized two Bible verses as I helped them with their Awana lessons. Being up on what's "in" and learning new things keeps our minds young.

Art Linkletter used to say that kids say the darnedest things. I found that to be true when our children were young and am constantly reminded of it with our grandkids. Dinner-table and car conversations are my favorites. Sometimes I laugh until I cry. With three boys you can imagine how much "potty humor" there is. When our kids were young I could keep a straight face and firmly tell them how inappropriate their comments were but for some reason, I just can't anymore. Maybe I realize more now the value of laughter … or maybe it's funnier when it's someone else's kids … or maybe I've learned that children don't have to be perfectly behaved ALL the time. Of course, there are also conversations about what it was like "a long time ago" when I was a child. "Did you have TV when you were little?"    "Yes, but it was in black & white." "You mean ALL THE TIME? (with a look of complete disbelief)" But perhaps my favorite conversations are the random ones - "I  licked all the m&m's right there on the counter so no one would eat them while I went to the bathroom."

As a parent, I tried to play and have fun with our kids as much as possible but other responsibilities (like making dinner or parent/teacher communication or laundry or …) seemed to get in the way more often than I would have liked. But being a grandparent is different. There is more time to play and have fun and to rediscover what it's like to be a child. We played games ALL afternoon instead of making dinner, read stories instead of doing dinner dishes, chalked on the driveway instead of doing laundry, "grew" edible monsters (made of candy eyeballs and other gooey treats) in "petri dishes filled with moldy agar" (lime Jell-o in shallow dishes) and had lots of slumber parties. It's fun being child-like!

I may not have helped much with making meals or cleaning up but I played hard and had fun with the grandkids. I think my "sweethearts" make my life pretty grand!

Children's children are a crown to the aged.

Proverbs 17:6

50 shades of summer… august (the asterisks!)

My Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (a book, not an on-line source) defines asterisk as "the character * used in printing or writing as a reference mark, as an indication of the omission of letters or words, or to denote a hypothetical or nonoccurring linguistic form." It means that there is more to the story. Two items on my 50 Shades of Summer list require asterisks - both were partially done but with an explanation.

I had been in the market for a new cell phone for months but just couldn't make up my mind. I finally got a Galaxy S III in March ... and hated it. My biggest complaint was not being able to see the screen when it was sunny out, even in the shade. Apparently some LCD screens are difficult, if not impossible, to see in bright light. I returned that phone and then stalled. I didn't know what to get - which is why such a silly item went on my summer list. I knew it would force me to make a decision and it did.

After listening to both our daughters and several friends sing the praises of their iPhones AND after "playing" with our daughters' iPhones several times AND after making sure I could read the screen in the sunlight, I finally decided in early August I would get an iPhone. The problem now was that the new iPhone 5s was coming out in September, 2014.

I ordered my phone when the 5s came out in September and received it by the end of September. I most definitely LOVE my new phone. It was worth waiting for!

I have had a lot of help from our kids and grandkids in setting up my phone and using more of its potential. I can see why smart phones are so "addicting" and people have their noses in them ALL THE TIME! But that's a post for another day!

The second asterisk in my list is making a geocache (#5). Actually, making the geocache was no problem and was done well before the end of August. I wanted to use a small cache and bought a "tin" box of Sucrets. After emptying the box, I spray painted it with a textured, tan-colored paint. My plan was to put it in our community by a lake so I packed the box with a note about the creation of of the lake, its name, etc. as well as a FTF (First To Find) token, a log, pencil and SWAG (Stuff We All Get) and then hid it. We checked back in a few weeks (in September) and our cache was gone but we found it in a similar location. Unfortunately, there are too many unsupervised kids there that might (or did) mess with the cache in that location so we need to place it in a different location. After thinking about it for quite some time, I finally have an urban location in mind but need to get permission to place it on private property before it goes "live."

In the process of making and placing my geocache, I learned a lot about making an interesting cache in a good location. I can't wait to make my next one!

List-makers, I think, like the challenge of completing the items on their list. I made my 50 Shades of Summer list to give me something to do, something to look forward to during the l-o-n-g, hot summer. It was challenging to complete all the items but oh so much fun! In fact, I already started making my list for summer 2014!