Wednesday, July 20, 2011

New theme

When I started this blog I knew that I needed to focus my intent a little more, but I wasn't sure what direction I should go. Narrowing your interests, at least for me, is damn hard. The phraze "Jack of all trades, master of none" would suit me better if it were changed to "Jack of a few trades, master of none".

The things that I'm interested in (writing, art, cooking, etc.) I am by no means expert enough at to devote an entire blog to it. So I'm thinking about what I could share with the world and it hits me. I am the master of mistakes. Just about everything that I've learned has been from screwing up at least five times. What I lack in foresight, though, I make up for in luck. My mistakes rarely result in serious repercussions. More like a smack in the head, "duh" kind of thing.

The only thing that I'm better at then making mistakes is sharing it with others. This quality of sharing my mistakes with everyone has been a detriment in the world of employment, parenting, college, and just about everything. It's about time that I use this power for good. I plan to post once a week, preferably on Mondays, but I'm no slave to the calendar. Enjoy!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Call for action! Lay face down and do nothing!

I'm calling for you to take part in a super cool sport! It takes no skill and will automatically make you funny and cool. No skill + funny + cool = hip and modern!

You may or may not have heard of parkour. It's a non-competitive sport of urban exploration-on steroids. Practicers run, leap, duck, and swing through the city landscape as though being chased by the Hounds of Hell. It can be dangerous, but it is thrilling to watch.

Did you ever see the opening chase scene in the 2006 Casino Royale? The man being chased was a renowned parkour artist, Sebastien Foucan, and featured some of the stylings that have made parkour so popular. You have probably seen it more often than you realize, in movies, television, and commercials.

A new sport has emerged from this one, that is much more accessible to you and me. Parkour for lazies is what it is called on this website http://weburbanist.com/2010/11/10/parkour-for-lazies-the-bizarre-british-lying-down-game/                                                                                         

  • You basically lay face down.
  • 
  • Have a friend take a photo.

Me at the Boise Capital Rotunda on MLK day!
Top that!
                                                                          

Saturday, January 8, 2011

The Power of a WORD

Now, here is a powerful word. Nigger. There. I said it. And I cringed as I typed. And now I feel kind of awful. Wash my mouth out with soap awful. With the news that there is a push to replace all of the N-words in Huckleberry Finn (of which there is 215 occurences) with the word "slave", I've had to wonder if it is better to remove the word from the original or to show our children the origins so they know what is wrong with it?
My oldest son has been studying civil rights in school, so he's been reading a lot about slavery. He's come home quoting quite a few offensive terms, not in an abusive way, but more of a "Can you believe people used to say these terrible things?" kind of way. While it was shocking to hear those words coming out of his mouth, I was proud of his reaction and I know that he and his classmates are learning that these words are an example of the shame that we used to perpetuate. I'm confident that these kids aren't going to start using these words, because they are learning what these words were really about. Not a cool rap term or a label to refer to a "brother". Changing the way we talk about things is often the first step in changing the action. But we have to talk about them.
So while I think that I can understand why people want to change the word I'm not sure that it is necessary. On the other hand, if these kids aren't going to get to read the book otherwise, then it can't be so bad. Right? I could go around and around on this one. Tell me what you think? I love to hear others' opinions. They help me become better informed.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

What Do You Stand For?

A self help book that I read once (actually, I just skimmed it) suggested that the reader write a mission statement for their life. The first step was to develop a sentence that best describes what you stand for. I never did my mission statement, because that first assignment stumped me. Just one thing that I stand for?
Really?
Well, I think I've got it now. Since my main interests lie in communication and writing I'd have to say that honesty is what I stand for. I believe that the only way to get past all of the misunderstandings, miscommunications, and mis-everythings in our lives we have to be honest. And the place to start is with yourself. If you can be honest with yourself (which is easier said than done, because sometimes I'm not even aware that I've fooled myself...again) then it is ALOT easier to be honest with others. Yup, honesty. And to honor this I am going to spend the next week being as lovingly honest as I can with myself. That does not mean beating myself up, because, honestly, I'm about as great as I am screwy.
What do you stand for?

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Coffee

One of my biggest dreams is to open my own coffeeshop. I have it all planned out, down to the name. I have quit drinking and smoking and now coffee is my only addiction left and I hold on to it with a tight, but shaky, grip. Since coffee is SUCH a huge part of my life I thought I'd share my favorites.

Places- My favorite local coffeeshop is Flying M. Excellent coffee, friendly staff, eclectic clientele. It oozes creative vibes. Favorite time to go is Valentines week when they have their Art Auction to benefit Aids programs. All of the art is donated by people in the community and just walking around looking at all of the things these creative Boiseans come up with is so inspiring!

Coffee- While I do not like coffeeshops that have such a corporate vibe, I do admire how well they have done it. Starbucks offers a free cup of coffee when you bring in an empty store bought bag. It'll say so on the front of the bag. So when I have to study and I am broke I go there and park it.
My favorite Starbucks coffee is Komodo Dragon. It's pretty awesome and hard to find. Bold and balanced. The way I like my men.

Tell me your favorites. What kind, where, when, and how?

Welcome!

I'm so excited! I've been wanting to start this blog for awhile. The only thing that has held me back is that I thought that I had to focus on one passion, like cooking or writing. I love way too many things to do that. So this is going to be pretty eclectic and maybe one day I'll narrow it down. Right now I'm just figuring things out.
2010 was wonderful. We moved to a fantastic little house in a sweet Mr. Rogers neighborhood, my husband got his dream job as music director for the Boise School of Rock, my boys are thriving, everything is just plain good. I'm hoping to continue that for 2011.
2011, I have a lot of plans for you! I'm going to finish my Bachelors, turn 40, run my first marathon (once you get to know me, you'll realize that this is HUGE!), finish my novel, my husband's first CD will come out and he will go on tour, and, well, the boys will continue to thrive.
I'm going to get some sleep and be ready for all of this fabulousness!