I was a latchkey kid and spent a lot of my time in my childhood sitting on the floor in front of the television. I would watch truly terrible television and either not know the difference or not be particularly bothered by it. Growing up in Northwestern Pennsylvania didn’t provide us with a lot of sunshine to compete with the glowing tubes, but even when it was sunny, I often preferred to stay indoors. It was a habit. And I could hardly tear myself away.

Contrast that with my two years at graduate school when I didn’t own a television. The only tv I watched then was at my friend’s on the occasional Thursday for a small “E.R.” party. Yes, martinis were involved. (more…)

| Filed under Life in General

2012 is not a year I made a formal resolution. It’s the year I made a decision to live the way I wanted to and to take action to live that way. It’s amazing when you look back at your day/week/month/year how often you do things you know are contradictory to how you want to live. Like when you find yourself in the drive-thru again. And again. (You really intended to get the salad but ended up with burger and fries again.)

I have made 2 pledges this year in keeping with my desire to make my life less contrary to my values.

ONE: I have pledged to run 500 miles this year. When I signed up to do that, it didn’t seem like a lot, but then when I broke it down, that turns out to be nearly 10 miles every week. No matter the weather. That is really not like me and totally not on my pace. And I know this summer is going to be a scorcher that means all bets are off, but despite my distinct lack of progress on this front, I have not surrendered and will at least get close.

TWO: I have signed up for the Cook for Good Fresh-Start Challenge that runs from February 18th to March 2nd. I was first introduced to Cook for Good when I picked up the wonderful book Wildly Affordable Organic (if that’s an affiliate link, it doesn’t put money in MY pocket) at the local library. I was inspired by the concept. Besides, who doesn’t want to save money on groceries and make healthful meals for their family? And because my 5 year old son has a very strong aversion to any meat that isn’t bacon, I needed to learn how to cook more plant-based meals.

The Fresh-Start Challenge is designed for people like me: the well-intentioned who have a tough time getting started. It uses two weeks of daily recipes and guidance to have you cooking most of your meals at home from scratch on week one and then all of them on the second week. The bonuses are that they are healthful meals, inexpensive, and can help you save money in the long run. Because even the ultra-wealthy don’t have the nerve to say that they wouldn’t like more money in their pockets.

This comes at a time for me when expenses in my life are only going up. If I can scale back on my grocery bill while improving the health of my family, then that’s what I will do. That’s my pledge. Go sign up and join the challenge with me. And let me know that you have, so that we can cheer one another on.

image by Mette Finderup, modified

| Filed under Life in General, Parenting

Reading through quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is both awe-inspiring and humbling. It is proof about the power of words. In looking through them, I found one that is especially relevant for me personally lately.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

I have a lot to be angry about, but I am making the decision not be angry or hateful or spiteful. I want to let go of it. Shed it. Hate and bitterness weigh you down and ultimately hurt you more than the one who has committed crimes against you.

I was at war in 2011. I didn’t want to give up the fight out of principle. Not because I cared so much about the outcome. More that I didn’t want my opponents to win. Vitriol shouldn’t be allowed to win, I thought. But then, there was that word again. “Winning.” We all know how crazy that word sounds now. It’s a punchline. (more…)

| Filed under Life in General

There is a demarcation. It’s not invisible. Creatures of nature are allowed to be, as far as I’m concerned, relatively undisturbed – if they do their part and stay outside. If they cross the line and enter my home, all bets are off.

Bugs are not allowed. Spiders are generally captured and set free as we have a common enemy. But I recently discovered a mouse in the house. At first, it was a blur and a caught glipse of a tiny tail. Then it was the evidence it left behind in the pantry. I took defensive measures. I took a trip to Costco and bought a bunch of plastic containers. Anything a mouse could get into was repackaged into bins. The pantry was cleaned out, over 2 bags of garbage filled (not kidding), and everything wiped down with bleach.

A week later, as we were leaving the house, my husband emptied the garbage so that the dog wouldn’t help himself to it while we were out. Our garbage is in a cabinet, and our dog rips the door open to help himself to a stinky snack. Bastard. (more…)

| Filed under Life in General

Today has been something of a tough day for me for reasons that no one wants to hear about and I won’t waste your time with. But I got to have a nice intermission (mostly – except for those damned text messages from my sister) from the madness that has been my Wednesday to attend the Triangle Interactive Marketing Association’s (TIMA) Futurist Panel luncheon. I loved this panel; it included some great interactive super stars from the Triangle.

• Marshall Brain of “How Stuff Works”
• Phil Buckley of Capstrat
• Mike McTaggart of Atlantic BT (& President of the AAF)
• Lisa Braziel of Ignite SocialMedia
• Gregory Ng of Brooks Bell

Marshall Brain asked a great question at the end that is super-pertinent to the customers I serve and to some of the issues I care deeply about. He asked if there’s any hope for the little guy to compete with these corporate giants. How do you get heard when these corporations have ubiquity? (My wording – his thought.) (more…)

Tags: social media, strategy, sustainability | Filed under Marketing, Media

I saw a really cool vintage ad the other day on Jezebel. When I saw it, I loved it. It resonated with me. Very simply, it was an ad about how great Legos are. The hint was that it’s a great toy for girls, too. There was something empowering about the ad. The toy wasn’t about gender. It was about imagination and fun. (more…)

Tags: Gender, parenting, Toys | Filed under Life in General, Parenting

When I was in college, I had 2 epiphanies. The first was that I was taking myself too seriously, which was leading me to live a very unhappy life. I did a 180 and became the person most people called “silly.” I still stand by that decision to let myself be silly because people also often describe me as one of the happiest people they know (most of the time).

The second epiphany was this: you are the choices you make. I have an older sister who has made every decision with her life I wouldn’t have made. Though we grew up in the same house with the same rules and are very close in age, we couldn’t be more different. Part of the reason for my epiphany is her life. I won’t dwell on her life, but I will tell you what this has meant for me. (more…)

Tags: decisions, priorities | Filed under Life in General

2011 was an eye-opener for me. I’ve been through a lot this year – both good and bad. What I can hope that I gained was some improved insight and perspective. My most painful moment was losing my father, and this has been made worse by some of the fallout that happened after (I’ll save details for another post). My most inspired moments have all involved watching my son grow another year – a happy, smart, and very sweet boy who fills me with pride every day.

I have also made some more conscious decisions about how to live my life in light of the best and worst of the year. I realize that I do many things counter to my own values and declared priorities.  Here are a list of things that I am changing and what inspired me to do them. (more…)

Tags: buy local, eat local, ows | Filed under Life in General

I know I only revamped this blog a year ago, but in that time my priorities and interests in how I want to blog have changed. So, hold tight while I don’t update this blog and instead prepare for my new one. I have a lot to say, and the new blog, while preserving the attitude, will not preserve the old look or focus.

Sometimes, writing is like feeling your way around in the dark. You end up getting your toes stubbed and knees klonked, but eventually you find the light switch. As long as you’re not on the set of Saw, everything will turn out all right in the end. See you then.

| Filed under Life in General, Web & Tech

A post on Facebook by a friend made me want to post about this. He woke this morning to find that a missed call was labeled from his brother. But his brother passed away a year ago. In that time, he hasn’t been able to bring himself to remove the entry from his contacts. I have it on good authority that he is not alone in keeping numbers from loved ones who have died. Because my dad’s number is still on mine.

My entry for the particular phone number in question used to be labeled “Mom & Dad.” It wasn’t until after my dad was seeing someone who moved in with him and the new girlfriend’s voice was on the answering machine that I decided to change the entry.

I’m likely getting the new iPhone when it comes out. Before I bother to move over any of my contacts, I will be cleaning up the list considerably. The decision is going to come soon if his number appears on my new phone.

We move on in so many other ways so soon. What is it about a phone entry that makes us slow down and hold on? Is it the wishful thinking that one day we’ll see a missed call? Is deleting the entry too much like letting that person vanish? Like accepting?

Do you still have entries on your phone of people you’ve lost? How long has it taken you to delete them? Was there something that gave you the permission you needed to do it?

Tags: iPhone, loss, phone | Filed under Life in General, Web & Tech