Thank You, Nicolas Cage!

Seven years ago The Family Man became my favorite Christmas movie. I have had a lot of favorite Christmas movies -- White Christmas, A Christmas Carol -- including some that I'm a little ashamed to admit: Home Alone (the first, NOT the sequel) and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation....it's SO stupid and yet I laugh!

At first glance, The Family Man doesn't seem like a Christmas movie in the traditional sense. Aside from the story beginning on Christmas Eve, there's not a whole lot of "festive" going on. But it has many of the plot characteristics of A Christmas Carol. The main character, played by Nicolas Cage, makes a wonderful modern-day Scrooge. He is slightly less Scrooge-y in the financial sense, but every bit as Scrooge-y in the emotional and relationship sense. The story, in a nutshell, is that he finds out what his life would be like if he had put a relationship as a priority instead of his career development. He comes to realize that his life would have been so much better, so much more satisfying if he had.

Ok, so why does this movie beat out the amazingly wonderful George C. Scott Christmas Carol? It was released at a time in my life when I was very unhappy in my relationship. I hadn't been able to quite put a finger on exactly what was bothering me -- there were lots of little things but none of them were really IT. After watching this movie, I knew with certainty that the person I was with was actually quite scrooge-y when it came to the emotional and relationship world (ours, specifically), and that I would not, repeat NOT, have the kind of emotional union, nor the life partnership, not to mention the basic, everyday collaboration, that I longed for and believe I was designed for.

It's amazing to me that a movie could bring such focus and clarity, but it did. Six months later, after clearly communicating my goals and needs for our relationship (something I had previously been unable to do) and getting rebuffed, I was single again. It wasn't long after that that I meant DH, my ONO, and my life has been so much better, so much more satisfying. I don't know about the other guy.

When "wheeee!" is spelled Wii

My Mom had a fabulous idea for Christmas gifts this year. Now that there are 6 of us, it's hard to know what to get, especially since she's in a different climate and the boys grow so fast and change so quickly.

Instead of trying to find 6 separate gifts, she sent a chunk of change and suggested that we get a Wii. It was nearly a miracle that we found one (thanks to ONO) but we did and opened it today as Carter leaves tomorrow for a visit with Bethany in Venezuela.

It's rare for parents to see a teen aged boy smile like this.

Darkest Day

Today is Winter Solstice. There were 11 hours and 15 minutes of daylight today....if you want to call it that. It looked like this outside most of the day:

Luckily, I was able to run today. It really, really helps. It just might be the cure for my SAD, or at least a significant treatment. I've decided this because when I think about the rest of winter, I think 2 things:

1) The next 6 months brings a daily increase in sunlight.

2) Soon after New Year's I will begin serious training for the coming running season.

Just thinking about those things gives me a boost of positive energy.

Even so, while I'm not a pagan, I can totally understand why the Sun has been worshiped for thousands of years. Right now, in many places in the world, the new solar year is being celebrated.

Yes, it was worth it

I ate 7 of these for breakfast today.....

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Candy Cane Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
• 1/2 cup peppermint candy canes, crushed
• 1/2 cup white sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, white sugar and confectioners' sugar. Beat in the egg, vanilla and peppermint extracts. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. Cover or wrap dough and chill for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Divide dough into halves. Color one half red by mixing in the food color. Roll a small amount of each dough into a 2 inch long worm. Roll them together in a twisted rope and curve the end like a cane. Place onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 1o 10 minutes in the preheated oven. In a small bowl, mix together the crushed candy cane and remaining white sugar. Roll hot cookies in the sugar mixture. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. In a small bowl, mix together the crushed candy cane and remaining white sugar. Roll hot cookies in the sugar mixture.

***********************************************************************************

As always, I had lots of help. Maybe he'll be a naked chef?

BIG Snow

While ONO worked on the basement this morning, the mini-muffins and I ventured out into the wintry whiteness.  It was very, very cold and windy, and yet.....kind of fun!  That's how I always feel after the first big snow.  Check with me again in the middle of February.

So I shoveled, and shoveled (and shoveled) and the mini-muffins "helped" me.  Brennan seems to love the cold and snow but Logan 

isn't a fan.  He was done in about 45 minutes, and that was pushing it!  Brennan stayed out twice as long, happy as a clam...or maybe a snowman.  

It's always fascinating to me how two kids from the same parents can be so different.

Winter Running

I know, I know.....I said I was all done with running until Spring.  I just couldn't stay away.  

Part of it was the challenge of running in cold weather.  Could I do it?  Could I stand it?  I wanted to know.  

Another motivator was very 

 fond memories of downhill and cross country skiing as a teen.  Those pushed me to try....there's something about the stillness and softness of snow that is soothing.  Yes, it's cold but it's also wondrous.  It moves the self (my Self) to slow down and be present.

I've run 3 times while it's snowing and right after it has snowed.  A little tricky but very fun.  I decided to try after getting my left calf checked by a sports med. doc here in town.  I was assured that I only had shin splints and not a stress fracture and that they (said shin splints) were caused by the hill running I had done on the U of I campus 

starting in July in preparation for the trail run I did in October.  That trail run definitely exacerbated it.  

Oddly enough, after running in the snow, I haven't had a single twinge in my left calf....maybe it's the extra cushioning from the snow, or I'm landing and stepping off differently to manage the snow, or maybe it was all psychological!

I was a little hesitant to tell ONO that I was going to run again before spring.  I told him and he said something like "Well, I'm not surprised.  I'm well aware of your illness."  It took me a minute and then I said "I don't think of it as an illness."  And he said, "I know.  That's why it is."

I think it's ok if I'm a bit nutty about this running thing.  It's helping me keep the tendrils away!!

Bah Humbug!

Conversation after ONO went through the mail today:

Him: "Are we sending Christmas cards this year?"

Me: "Yeah...."

Him: "Do we have to?"

Me: "Well, we're getting them, mostly from your family so far."

Him: "Just because we get cards doesn't mean we have to send them."

Me: Disapproving look

Me: "Well, I'm not going to participate in your Scrooge-ness."

Him: "It's not about Christmas.....It's about family!"

Grateful

Those of you that live in the area know what a nasty few days we've had weather-wise. The meteorologists called it a "wintry mix" but it sure seemed more like the 9th circle of Dante's hell.

We had hear the ice storm was coming so I planned to get the bulk of the Christmas shopping done on Saturday. It was nasty but not too bad. But then on Sunday I realized that I hadn't paid enough attention to how low the juice supply was so knew I'd have to go out AGAIN and fork out another chunk of moolah to support the mini-muffins' juice habit. AND I decided I should take them because ONO was focused on getting the basement finished and I sure didn't want to interrupt that!

So, grumbling under my breath, I got the boys dressed in coats, hats mittens, shoes, socks, (and for Brennan pants and a shirt) which they protested vehemently, then got myself ready and out we went into the yuck. Very yuck.
(It wasn't this bad at our house.....I just thought the pic was kinda cool.)


We did the shopping, managed to avoid a number of major meltdowns and headed back out to the van. While the boys cried because they were cold and hungry, I put all the stuff into the van, getting cold and wet. Finally, into the car seats they went with more than minimal angry outbursts from yours truly. It was all just SO annoying! (I usually say something much more colorful but it's not appropriate here.)

This outing was really getting the best of me and I could sense the tough, icy tendrils of my SAD creeping up and planning a hijacking. It's a really desperate feeling.....sensing that the THING is almost upon you and feeling nearly defenseless against it. Fortunately (for me) while driving home I noticed two older women standing at a bus stop, with no warm jacket and no head covering. They were soaking wet and looked miserable. The tendrils slunk back just a little when I said to myself "at least you have a warm, dry van and don't have to stand waiting for a bus."

I got home and before dragging in the $100-plus of groceries in the house, I felt another wave of frustration and annoyance wash over me when I saw the inch of ice on our deck. In a huff I started chopping the ice off the deck and stairs so no one would fall and break their necks (namely me!) I'm chopping away and getting pretty ticked off by it, cursing the weather and winter in general and then, I'm not sure why, the truth of what I was actually doing occurred to me -- I'm chopping ice off of our deck, that we OWN, ourselves, and have friends over to enjoy our firepit on, and our kids have little picnics on when the weather is nice. That's attached to your warm, dry, pretty house, filled with your healthy, normal children and your loving, devoted, hard-working husband, filled to the brim with food, that you were able to buy with the money that you earned from your job that brings you personal satisfaction and fulfillment.

Yeah, Lis, you have a hard life. Poor you, having to go out to buy groceries and chop ice off of your deck.

You know, when you're warm, safe, dry and fed, an ice storm is actually kinda interesting and pretty.

Ready for the weather

We got our first "real" snow last night.  The good kind.  The kind you can make snowmen and snowballs out of.  Brennan is very excited about the snow and got dressed for it right after waking up so he could go out and play.

I hope he doesn't want to go to school naked.

Not home

Everyone who reads this expected Bethany to be home by now. She isn't. And as far as I know, she won't be until the official end of her exchange experience.

After the election on December 2 went without any major violence, and the socialist changes proposed in the Referendum failed, Bethany decided that she was safe again and her dad and the Rotary officials agreed. She is staying for now.

Her dad and Carter will be visiting her over the week between Christmas and New Year. Her dad will "assess" the situation and see how things really are. She doesn't want to leave. She still misses us and being home, but she doesn't want to lose out on this opportunity. I understand but.....

I'll say it again.......it's hard being a Mom.

The glow of the season

We put our tree up this past weekend. It's the earliest we've ever done it (that I can remember) and we've all been really enjoying it (except I don't think Carter cares that much).

Logan was especially enthralled with the tree, lights, and sparkly ornaments -- what little kid (including the one in all of us) isn't?!

Befy Update #5

Thanks to everyone who has been thinking about, praying for and asking about Bethany. The last 7-10 days have been very intense, scary and difficult. She was practically frantic by Thursday of last week and asking to come home. Her dad and I had multiple conversations trying to decide what to do and how to do it. We were concerned about how she would handle losing out on this experience, the one that she had planned for and worked hard at adjusting to, and wondering how much of her panic was her (Bethany is just a scooch dramatic at times), and how much was due to real danger. After we heard about U.S. military diverting some ships to the Caribbean because of the election, we decided it was time to pull her out.

Bethany's dad contacted about everyone related to Rotary that he could to get some action. Unfortunately, there wasn't any way to get her out before today, election day, but she'll be on a plane this coming Thursday, December 6. She's currently in a gated community with a family member of her host family's. I chatted with her today and she said she felt safe but is very unhappy about having to come home. That's to be expected. There will be time enough for her to get over her anger and disappointment while she's here for the rest of the year.

For now, I'm breathing a HUGE sigh of relief.

16

This is Carter's version of the perfect birthday celebration....chocolate cake, Dr. Pepper, barbeque chips, and, what's not in the picture, chocolate ice cream.

I can't lie -- I enjoyed it too.


And like anyone else in our house with a birthday, he got lots of help with the candles.

Don't feel much like cooking.....

This is Bethany's latest post:
*************************************************************************************
The political situation and my safety

11:42am Today

Hello everyone, of you have been reading my notes or are remotely in touch with me you know that I am spending an exchange year in Venezuela. Venezuela is very politically unstable right now because the President, Hugo Chavez wants to turn the country socialist. On Sunday there will be a vote on a reform of the constitution which proposes among other things: restrictions of internet access, government control of schools, children would be under the government´s total authority, a mandatory dress code, no drinking alcohol in public, the list goes on. There have been many demonstrations in the cities of Venezuela against the constitutional reform, and since marches and protests are illegal, the army has put these protests down with force, resulting in countless injuries and many deaths. During the lead up to the elections there have been rumours of numbers of things: that Chavez will cancel the elections before hand and enforce military rule, that he will do so after, that the army will put down any marches with even more violence, etc. Everyone is scared and everyone is keyed up. So where does this leave a US exchange student?

Here are my plans for the elections as laid out to me by my host family. Classes ended today at 10:00 in the morning when the army came and took over the school for the elections (it´s a voting center). Let me tell you that nothing wakes you up in the morning like fully uniformed men carrying kalishnikovs in your school´s cafeteria. For the next two or three days I will be here in my house in Carrizal, but I won´t be allowed to leave our enclosed compound because it´s too dangerous for people with light skin and eyes. On Friday or Saturday my host parents will drop me and my host sister off at my host aunt´s house in Caracas, and will then go to vote about six hours away in the town they used to live in. From what it seems like to me, there will be deaths in Caracas. I will be packed and ready to go to the airport if Rotary decides to pull us out. Rotary in the United States, however is now negotiating with Rotary in Venezuela and my parents to see if they want to get us out before the elections. I´m fairly certain of my own personal safety at this point, but I´m also fairly certain that I´ll either breath tear gas for the first time in my life, or, I hope to god no, see my first murder. Keep me in your prayers, and I´ll keep you updated.

Lots of love,
Bethany

*************************************************************************************
My daughter's safety has been on my mind non-stop. I have been pushing for her to come home for about a week now, especially since she got sick (she may have Chron's disease). I'm sure it sounds selfish because you all know how much I miss her. There's a little bit of that going on (about .05%) but the rest is pure "Mom Gut" telling me she's not safe and she needs to leave that place.

She's having a very, very hard time because she's become so attached to the place and the people. And if she decides to leave herself, Rotary won't place her somewhere else to finish out the year. If Rotary decides to pull her, they will likely place her somewhere else. It's a sticky situation and meanwhile, the tension and threats of violence increase. On Monday a demonstrator was killed in a town 2 over from Bethany's. Please keep her (and us) in your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully she'll be home for Christmas.

Happy Black Friday

Now that the Thanksgiving victual gorging is over, we can celebrate the beginning of another form of over-consuming.

Apparently I need to engage in this to prepare for the upcoming holiday:

Or this:






Don't get me wrong. I like to shop. I like to get gifts. I like to give gifts. I just get scared and sad when I think about people literally getting trampled for the sake of stuff.

So after I dug out of the avalanche of sale ads in the yesterday's newspaper, I found a few things on-line to help me stay focused and try to simplify:




this book or this book

and this book




And as usual, Mothering Magazine has this article
that speaks to kids and consumerism.

Have a good Friday.

For all my dear ones near and far (you know who you are!),

I am thankful for you.

After watching videos of the muffins as newborns

Me: "Ohhh, they were so sweet."

Him: "Does it make you want more?"

Me: "Ummm, not really. Does it make you want more?"

Him: "Not really. Are you sure it doesn't make you want more?"

Me: "Yup, pretty sure."

Him: "Are you sure?"

Me: "YES!!"

Him: "I sense some waffling."

Me: "Waffle this!"

2 years old -- YAY!

For some reason, Logan's birthday holds special significance for me.  I guess it's because it means I'm that much closer to being able to reason through situations rather than waiting out a tantrum.  Maybe it's because I'm that much closer to wiping my last poopy bottom.  Or, it could be because I'm that much closer to never again having to say "Logan! Don't put (insert one of the following:  Lamby, my clothes, the toothbrush, Daddy's watch) in the toilet!"  

So don't be surprised if you see me giddily putting baby and toddler stuff curbside with a huge sign saying FREE!!! PLEASE TAKE!!!  

Happy Birthday Logan!

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Fall has definitely arrived and as it gets cooler I find myself wanting warm, cozy, comfort food. Here's a soup that's easy AND tasty. I put it in the crock pot and skip the puree step -- that makes it even easier. Serve with crusty bread. Yum!

************************************************************************

Cheddar Potato Soup

• 4 cups peeled, diced potatoes (about 4 medium)
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups milk
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• seasoned croutons

In a large saucepan combine potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Puree in small batches in a blender until smooth; return to the pan. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted. Serve garnished with croutons.

If the shoe fits.....

Logan is a week shy of 2 years and is in the full-blown toddler tantrum throwing stage.

Fun times.

When things get really bad I want to call him a monster but instead I call him a monkey. At least is sounds slightly endearing and I still get the firm feeling of the "M" coming out of my mouth.

I used to love "falling back"

Ahhhhh......the good old days......the days when you look forward to the end of daylight savings time for the extra hour of sleep. Staying up a little later on Saturday night and watching ALL of SNL.

That all changes with very young children in the picture. Children who don't have any concept of "sleeping in." Children who believe that "when the sunshine is ready" (Brennan's way of understanding when you sleep and when you're awake) you're supposed to be up and going. Monday it was 6:00 am. Today it was 5:40 am. Seriously!! Go back to bed!!

Befy Update #3

It seems like a long, long time since Bethany left for Venezuela. We're actually 4 days shy of 2 months. That's not that long. But when it's your daughter, and the only other female in your immediate family, it's a long time.

Yesterday I was missing her female comraderie so much that I slept in her room, in her bed, under the quilt that my Nana, her Nana and I worked on. It's only a simple quilt, but it's girly and was made with lots and lots of love. It felt good being under it and thinking about where I came from, the women who have been (are) ahead of me and the woman who is behind me. That helped. I didn't feel quite so alone.

So, here is her monthly update:

My second month in Venezuela, or no quiero regresar!

Hi guys in the US, I have just completed my second month in Venezuela, and I am very content, and very settled in. My Spanish has grown by leaps and bounds, and people I talk to for the first time say that my Spanish is perfect ( but it´s only because they haven´t gotten to know me well). I CAN say everything I want to say 99 percent of the time without my dictionary, which is a big improvement, and I understand practically everything people say to me, which makes my time in school a lot easier and a lot less frustrating. Now I´m focusing on learning the culture so I can really start to integrate myself in to the life here.
Something I´m really satisfied with are my friends. I´ve come to wholeheartedly love and appretiate the friends I´ve made, they are so great, and in the 1 month I´ve been in school, they have already supported me and helped me through so much. My social life has also picked up, although it´s hard to negotiate around my host family´s plans, mostly because my host mother likes to change them at the last minute.
Speaking of my host family, I finally feel comfortable living here as part of this family, that it took two months to feel that way wasn´t their fault but mine. They welcomed me from the first day, and always included me in family activities and duties, it just took me a little while to shed my ingrained politeness and step out of the guest-shell I had been living in. I can´t imagine the pain I´m going to feel when I have to go back to the states in July, it will probably top the pain I felt at leaving my family in the US, since this time I know that it isn´t garaunteed that I will see them again.
The only thing that throws a shadow over my exchange so far is the political situation here. For those of you who don´t know, the President of Venezuela is Hugo Chavez. Chavez has been slowly gaining power by taking over the public schools, which teach the poor children who can´t afford private school, that Chavez is close to a God and will solve all of Venezuela´s problems. He has also taken over the free television channels, so the poor are constantly fed propaganda. At the same time, he is trying to push through a major reform to the constitution which totally bans access to the internet, restricts free speech, sets a country-wide dress code, and takes over control of what all the schools in Venezuela teach. Chavez will have no trouble passing this reform, since the National Assembly of Venezuela was handpicked by him, after an earlier constitutional reform. While Chavez focuses on gaining power, there is a shortage of wheat, sugar, eggs, milk, and cooking oil, and bread is starting to be rationed ( the other day my sister and I were sent to buy french bread, and they would only let us buy three small loaves per person). There have been marches in protest in Caracas and Maracaibo, which were put down violently by the government-controlled police. Many people were injured in Caracas, and a girl was killed in the march in Maracaibo. I saw all of this on the last non-government controlled station in Venezuela CAN-TV .
Despite the disturbances in the big cities, I am perfectly safe here, for those of you who would worry. As long as I lay low in the streets and don´t participate in any protests I should be fine. Daily life here continues as normal , and I can still go to school, and although the necessary food stuffs are a little harder to find, I have never gone hungry here.
Everyone take care of yourselves in the United State, and now that I am happy here and having a great year. I´ll write again in a month!

Love,
Bethany

********************************************************************

Yes, I'm worried and afraid for her. I've already asked her if she'd consider coming home early and she "No way!" Her dad and Carter are going to visit her the week between Christmas and New Years. That will help us get a sense of how she really is.

It's hard being a mom.

Halloween

As you can see, some of us had more fun than others.......maybe next year.

Season's End

So I ran the Allerton Trail run yesterday. It was very, very hard but very fun. The weather was absolutely perfect -- a crisp, fall day (35 degrees), zero wind and buckets of sunshine. I couldn't have asked for weather any better. I got Carter to roll out of bed around 7:20 and we left shortly after that. There were tons of people and the race itself was very well organized. Carter was only able to run this with me because Uni wasn't at the State play-offs....a bittersweet thing, needless to say.

We ran together almost the entire way, which I really enjoyed. We got stuck in the back of the pack at the beginning and were actually walking for a while, but I didn't mind because I got to enjoy the Fu Dogs. It also meant that once things got going, we could have fun moving up, slipping around people when the trail allowed us to. I don't know about Carter but that gave me a sense of strength and momentum. And it was very easy to get distracted by the natural beauty all around.

We trucked along pretty well for the first 3 miles or so, and then my calf started to really hurt and Carter complained about his feet. We started talking brief walking breaks, which helped, but then we had to climb a L O N G steep hill to get to the SunSinger. That really hurt and was discouraging because that part of the trail was divided in half and the runners ahead of us were coming down the trail as we were going up. There were a LOT of them. Of course, there were people coming up the trail as we were going down, but not too many. There was a guy in a jog suit that was designed to look like an American flag -- no kidding!! He was the Stars and Stripes all over and that made me smile.

We continued moving along until about mile 4.5 -- I was feeling pretty low on energy. I should have eaten more. It's always a tricky proposition -- to know how much to eat ahead of time. You need enough to finish strong, but not too much that you end up running for secluded bushes. I erred on the side of not enough. At this point, Carter gave up on me and went ahead. I continued plodding along, got to the Stadium where I did a Rocky-esque stair run and then did the last 1/2 mile. It took me a lot longer than I had hoped but I did finish and I enjoyed myself. That was my goal.

I'm thinking that a mere 6 1/2 months ago I ran my first race ever! the Parkland 5K. The weather that day was 26 degrees and the wind was 15-20 mph -- miserable! My goal for that race was to finish and I did, with an ok time.

I'm proud of myself and happy with my season. I have run nearly 300 miles, 6 races and improved my time consistently. I have better form and while I break a healthy sweat, I hardly ever get winded (I should run harder!) I'm not where I'd like to be but that's ok. And I am paying for the trail run and not resting as much as I should have to manage the calf injury, so I'm moving my workouts to the eliptical and pilates. I don't enjoy either of them as much as running outside, but they'll do. Looking forward to next spring!

Learning is fun

Like most preschoolers, Brennan is very interested in the difference between the sexes. We use the correct anatomical language for body parts so he knows that he has a penis. Lately he's asked us to draw pictures of everyone in his family and/or those important to him.

After I drew all six of us, Michael, "Soft Puppy," Cookie Monster and Elmo, he asked that we draw penises on all the boys. There was some question about Cookie Monster and Elmo but all the others males got something like a penis drawn on them. (I know....sounds weird but a parent's gotta do what a parent's gotta do.) Then he asked about bottoms and stated "Mommy doesn't have a penis but she has a bottom." I confirmed that information. He then said "Mommy doesn't have a penis. Mommy has a pajama."

Gonna have to work on that terminology.

Model Citizen

The holiday catalog deluge has begun. In the mail yesterday we got one for toys, one that I like better than others because of it's offering of toys that require more child imagination and less noise and blinking lights. Brennan grabbed it up right away and began going through the pages with LOTS of excitement......"I want that. I want THAT! Can I have that? I want that." I listened and mumbled indulgent responses for a while and then became more and more uncomfortable. When he said "We can go to the store and get that right now" I'd had enough. I said, "Sweetheart, these are toys that you could get for Christmas. We don't go to the store every day to get toys." He said, without blinking an eye and in all seriousness, "Yes we do."

Yikes.

Trifecta

Thanks to high humidity, a bad head cold and early on-set of SAD, my head feels like a block of compressed dryer lint. Nothing's getting in....or out, really, and it feels so fuzzy and dense in there. I really wish humans could hibernate.

A mother's pride, a mother's guilt

Uni High isn't typically known for it's athletics. It hasn't had a football team since the early part of last century. But for the second year in a row, the boy's soccer team has made it to the state sectional championships. Last year was exciting for our family because Bethany's boyfriend Michael was one of the star players. It was also the year that Carter broke his wrist requiring surgery and sitting out for the entire soccer season. So THIS year was a big deal for Carter. In preparation for the season he and some friends started playing pick-up games with U of I students during the summer. He got new cleats. He dribbled a soccer ball around the house and showed off his moves to me and whoever else would watch. I'm guessing the other players did similar things because the team played pretty well this season, even though there were a lot of new and younger players.

George and I dragged the mini-muffins to as many of the home games as we could. At first the games were a little boring. If you've ever watched a soccer game, you know what I'm talking about. But then we got to know each of the players by name, and we would marvel at the intricate footwork, the way these boys could go from 0 to 60 in just a few seconds. And, of course, I just loved seeing my beautiful son play, his lanky arms and legs everywhere. I could tell he loved every minute of it.

Last Friday Uni won the regional title against a school they had beat once before. It was a nail-biting game, one that stayed 0-0 until nearly the end when Uni scored, sort of by accident. Who cares?! Now they're going to sectionals! Yesterday we packed up the little guys, lots of snacks, jackets, etc. and expectantly trekked down to Monticello for the game. It was a little cooler than I had expected and the wind had definitely picked up. We watched the first half, me dancing around to stay warm, Brennan and Logan chasing each other, seemingly oblivious to the weather.

The opponents scored twice soon into the first half. Disappointing. Then it started to rain. And the wind picked up even more. It became pretty miserable, prompting the little boys to hide their heads in our legs and ask to be picked up. By the end of the first half, the rain had become a downpour which flipped the "whine" switch....not the "I'm vaguely dissatisfied, make me happy" whine, but the "I'm so miserable, please help me" whine. I was filled with maternal angst, torn between the needs of one child and the needs of the other children. We went ahead and skedaddled back to the van, thinking "they're probably going to lose."

Well, they did. The final score was 3-2. One of those goals was made by CARTER. I missed my son's great moment, the one where he helped save his team's pride by keeping the game from being a shut-out. The one where all his athletic effort and focus culminated. Big sigh. Laced with lots of guilt.


On the left you can see him (white jersey) scoring with a "header." Those are really hard to do. On the right, the goalie and Carter after the game. ( got these pics from the Uni website.)

Thank GOD he's a junior and has another year to play. Perhaps next year we'll invest in rain gear for everyone. And stay no matter what.

Stocking up on basics

I try to grocery shop once every 2 weeks, but I noticed we were getting low on some very important items so the boys and I went to the store while George worked on the basement. We came back with

chocolate syrup
chocolate Teddy Grahams
chocolate chips
Ghirardelli Double Chocolate coffee

Hmm. I'm noticing a theme.

Not to worry, folks. I also came back with 100% juice, whole wheat bread, almonds, dried apricots, prunes, reduced fat Wheat Thins (with 0% trans fat!) and Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax crunchy granola bars. We eat pretty healthy most of the time, but a girl's gotta have her chocolate!

The "up" side of Global Warming?

I guiltily admit --


I'm enjoying the prolonged warm weather.

NOT a morning person

While Brennan was climbing into the van this morning to take Carter to school, Logan said "Hi!" to him in his cheery, toddler way. Brennan grimaced at him and barked "No saying 'hi!' You're in trouble!"

Two things you can always count on

Last Friday I went to a symposium at the University of Chicago. My colleagues/friends/landlords (not in that order) Tim and Joanna made up the three-some and we cleverly called it a "retreat" because we planned to have dinner together afterward. The symposium was an oral festschrift for one of the biggest scholars/clinicians in my field -- a woman who studies, writes about and incorporates into her practice spirituality, diversity and family resiliency. This sounded like something we'd be willing to shell out $120 plus traveling expenses and loss of a day's income for.

When we got to the campus and walked the short distance to the School of Social Service Administration, I was briefly charmed by the stately, gothic buildings and all the young, mostly bright faces of students hurrying to class. There is something magnetic about a university campus, especially an old, rich, famous university like U of C. Sometimes, just every now and then, (pretty rarely actually), I see myself on a campus teaching again. This past Friday was one of those rare occasions.

But it only took 5 minutes into the first presentation for me to remember why I left academia in the first place......the rampant narcissism. Oh, and the agonizing tedium of the academic process of doing anything -- by committee and very slowly. The folks involved in this Symposium would make their academic mamas proud because the introducers of the presenters had introducers.

You read that right.....it went like this: there was a peon-type person in the field who introduced a middle tier person in the field who then introduced the big-whig speaker. Sadly, the 8 presentations themselves, with the exception of 1 or 2, were disappointing, with lots of droning on and on about "my study this" and "my study that." This goes to show that some things never change.

After 7 hours of sitting on a backless bench and trying to stay awake, we "retreated" uptown to Lincoln Park for a little S & P (shopping and people watching). Then we went a little further north for dinner at a new Italian restaurant called Il Fiasco (except for a red wine incident, it wasn't). The restaurant had been recommended by a friend of Joanna's and we weren't sure exactly where it was. As we looked for the address, I realized that we were in my old stomping grounds. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped as I took in all the changes that had taken place since I left the City 8 years ago. A trendy restaurant? In my old neighborhood?? And look at that new place! And THAT new place!! Those look really cool!

I probably sound like one of those people that thinks when they move the place they left becomes frozen in time, as a sort of memorial to their presence. I know that doesn't happen. It was just a lot of change in what seemed like a short time. So, along with my very pricey 6 CEUs, I brought home a lingering wistfulness for certain parts of an old life, but a bigger sense of gratefulness that things are always changing.

Mood Lighting

When George and I got married in Santa Fe, we saw this really cool lamp in one of the stores on the Plaza. It gave off a soft, golden glow and revolved so that shadows of images were enlarged on the wall. That particular lamp was WAY expensive, as things in Santa Fe are, and not quite right for our personal decorative tastes -- if I remember right, the images were of cowboys and cacti.

Since then (about 5 1/2 years) we've been looking for a lamp for our bedroom that would give a similar feel. We've found various lamps along the way but nothing that really "WOWed" us in a joint way. We try really hard to get stuff that we both really, really like and we keep looking until we find it.

Before Bethany left for the year she gifted us with a special date. We went to Allerton Park during the day to walk around the grounds and try to get a feel for the 5.5 mile trail that I'm planning to run later this month. Then we strolled around downtown Monticello before we had dinner at Montgomery's on the Square. Sadly, most of the stores were closed except for a new toy store and a specialty shop with blown glass items. The doors were open even though the hours indicated the store should be closed. Music and the beautiful items pulled us to the shop windows. We could see a man towards the back of the store blowing glass. Turns out he was the owner/artist of this gallery. He was gracious enough to educate us about glass blowing and to help us put together a lamp for our bedroom.

You can see it's pretty stunning on it's own:

The blue, green, yellow swirls sort of remind me of the Van Gogh Starry Night. Very, very beautiful and unique.

But look what happens when the lamp is turned on.....

This definitely "WOWed" us and as you can see, it has taken a place of honor in what I call the "George and Lisa shrine." It's where we keep everything with special meaning to us: a kaliedescope I bought when we were on our second date, our wedding photo, our traditional Native American wedding pot, a picture of us on our honeymoon, a crystal heart given as an anniversary present, and a picture of us right before we found out we were pregnant with Brennan. Oh! and the big box George bought for me to keep all the cards, notes, letters, etc. that we have given each other. It's practically full.

I could see why some of you might feel nauseated by this post. Well I'm sorry, I'm just not going to apologize! Ain't love grand!