Sloshy Rainboots and A Dead Squirrel

toddler girl outside rain bootsIt’s Wednesday, which dictates the post be somehow related to food or health or science or something practical like that.

But I want to talk about Spring nature and toddler messes. So we’re going to call playing in alley puddles exercise. Ok? Good.

Yesterday, Iris and I spent the day at home doing the usual activities like making and eating food, reading books and listening to music that lets me pretend I’m 16. On this particular day, we were also treated to a mild thunder shower (love). That meant puddles.

Better yet, Iris has a brand spankin’ new pair of rain boots, courtesy of her Auntie Sara. I put two and two together, and made the executive decision to go puddle hunting in the alley behind our house. That made me the coolest mom in the world.

For what was probably close to an hour, I watched Iris stomp, jump and run into puddles, she all the while laughing with abandon and grinning from ear to ear. She did fall a couple of times, but seemed unhindered by her drenched pants and muddy hands. When I deemed she was as damp as she should be, I took us inside. That made me the worst mom in the world.

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Filed under Health, Of Family and Children

A Spring Weekend in Pictures

tall evergreen tree ground viewWe enjoyed a full and busy weekend. I realized it would be best shared in pictures, and so here it is.

Of course, this wasn’t all of it – just some highlights.

That’s an evergreen tree in Seidman Park in Ada, Michigan. My friend, Sara, and I spent a lovely afternoon and evening wandering its trails, and I climbed this tree (not to a very impressive height… I need to remember that I’m not 10).

 

I finally got around to cleaning up and starting to prep the gardens. Every year, I rediscover a deep affection for our backyard, which was covered for so long in a deep blanket of snow.

back yard corner flower garden

Saturday night saw us at an Irish show featuring the New Barleycorn. The hubs, sister and I had a great time, as documented by our dear friend Juj.

two women one man at concert drinking

After a day of everything from petting animals to my sister cleaning our kitchen sink, we went to the annual Sacred Heart Carnival, just a seven minute walk from our house. Iris enjoyed the Euro Bungee. We also hit up the carousel in the background.

mom toddler daughter carnival bungee

These are, indeed, the days.

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The Turncoat Body

Benedict Arnold color portrait paintingI’ve always thought of myself as a healthy person, fortunate in a body compliant with my physical ideals.

That same body, to whom I’ve been very kind in recent years, recently turned on me in two separate ways. While neither situation is serious or permanent, both were nevertheless a glitch in my normally steady health.

First was the slightly elevated cholesterol at the end of January. I was incredulous. How does a dairy-sensitive pescetarian get high cholesterol? Despite the fact that my HDL (good) cholesterol was excellent, that darn LDL (bad) cholesterol apparently enjoyed some winter egg and cream cheese indulgence (I may have cooked one too many batches of creamy white chili). I’m now slightly haunted by what my cholesterol must have measured 10 years ago… Genetics and comfort food are powerful, my friends.

My doctor (who, I must tell you, is endlessly wonderful regarding my health anxiety) says my age, low cardiac risk and good HDL actually counter the small elevation quite well, and I have no cause for alarm. Diet, exercise, a redraw in six months. Calm restored.

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Filed under Health, History Buff

That Old, Familiar Blur

white sun in blue sky

Sometimes good poems just occur, but rarely to me. Nothing astounding here, but it happened:

*

My eyes settle in to that

old, familiar blur.

Running without lenses,

willing my ankle to be sure.

Feeling naked in the sunlight,

shoulders and shins exposed.

Can we now be fairly certain

the winter season’s fully closed?

I see warm people on green grass; it seems

Winter was only supposed.

 

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Freelance Education: Computators and Interwebs

computator buttons wheelsI am constantly astounded by how little I know about computers, the Internet, computerized services on the Internet…

Fortunately, I get to learn stuff like this when I’m researching work assignments. One of my favorite things about being a writer is venturing into uncharted territory every time I take on a new client. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to delve into hospital culture, alternative health, solar energy, travel, memorial stones, HVAC systems and so much more.

These days, I’m spending a lot of time writing about Internet hosting and the vast landscape surrounding it. In some moments, I feel a bit behind the curve, as I scramble to decipher the cryptic terminology of Web development, or look up, once again, an acronym for some programming language.

Still, it’s all part of my education, and kind of a must for a freelance writer. Better yet, many of the folks with whom I’ve worked, both now and in the past, are patient, guru-like sources of knowledge and structure. Invaluable.

When you consider a freelance career, or writing of any sort,  recognize that your expertise is limited to a craft. Know also that clients will want you to be experts in their topic. Think of it as free (heck, paid!) education, and soak it all up.

Lovely weekend to you!

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Medical Magic

computer generated organ nerve tissue

Between work, a family medical emergency and a nasty cold, it’s been a wild few days.

Everyone survived, and we’re all on the mend. Blogging, however, is taking a backseat to the above demands.

So I give you this: Medical science has seemingly caused organ regeneration in mice through DNA manipulation. Basically, by tweaking one gene, researchers brought youthful vigor to an aging thymus. We all have a thymus, and it is key to a well functioning immune system.

“Living Organ Regeneration ‘First’ by Gene Manipulation”

Implications? What if we could turn back the clock on the human ticker? What if we could make 70 year old organs function like they did 50 years in the past?

My mind is blown so often these days…

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Filed under Health, Science

Required Watching

Cosmos eye in the sky logo opening

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let me once again mention the new Cosmos, Neil deGrasse Tyson and an amazing opportunity for free, entertaining education.

Three episodes have now aired, and are available to you, without commercials, online 24/7. Adults and children alike are experiencing the beautiful and fascinating presentation of science and humanity that is Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. Happily, so much more is to come. Like, 10 more episodes to come.

I’ve enjoyed all of it immensely, even those times that I tried to watch late at night and ended up falling asleep. NDT has a very soothing voice… it’s like the universe’s best bedtime story. The visual, audio and content are just beyond words. This stuff is epic – and real.

Further, I feel I owe it to myself, my daughter and my society to participate in this happening. Although the subject matter is literally, in part, light years away, numerous aspects of it take place within our atmosphere, and within our bodies. The work that people like Tyson are doing enlivens the past, clarifies the present and, hopefully, guides our future. Maybe a grade-school viewer will be inspired to help us one day breathe cleaner air. Maybe a high school babysitter will share some of what she’s learned with wide-eyed charges. Maybe someone who’s never heard the real, undeniable facts of evolution will encounter a new, fuller kind of spiritual experience. Cosmos provides the opportunity, and we have the choice to seize it.

All you have to do is watch.

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Filed under Current Events, Science

It Feels Like Years Since It’s Been Here

Spring is here.

There may still be snow, there may still be clouds. But the calendar don’t lie.

If you’ve been living in this Narnia with us, breathe in the slightly warmer air. Breathe in relief. Breathe… outside.

Be in Spring.

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March 17, 2014

toddler girl sunglasses Irish paradeToday, my daughter turns two.

Today is also Saint Patrick’s Day.

Obviously, there’s a lot going on over here.

I wish you a glorious Monday. Listen to a little Irish music, if you’re so inclined. Make some merry.

Hug a leprechaun.

Slainté!

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Filed under Of Family and Children, Seasonal

Queue

50s grocery checkout line womanWhen the anxiety rises inside you, go stand in a line. Wait your turn at the grocery store and watch the people of your town go about some of the most mundane and necessary tasks of their lives.

See the college students, stocking up on beer and ingredients for what they fancy is a gourmet pasta meal. See the elderly and obese, confined to electronic mobile chairs, their baskets full of meds and processed fruit snacks for the grandkids. See the aging yuppies and crunchy hipster parents with their reusable bags and organic cookies.

Is there anywhere more safe? They say that to combat a panic attack, one should focus on the present. Stop the past from haunting and the future from taunting by focusing on the here and now, and maybe even doing something.

But waiting in the checkout lane is about as still as one can get while remaining in the thick of life. It’s familiar. It is safe. Everyone is busily observing their own little system within the larger organization and its rules, and you can take comfort in that structure. If you have trouble, perhaps with scanning an item, someone is there to help you, and laugh while saying “It’s alright – everyone has trouble with these.”

You can’t take things too seriously here. We’re all just trying to get our share of eggs, mac-n-cheese and frozen peas. Gotta be polite, because nobody likes running into another cart when the aisles intersect.

Where else have we all gone every week since childhood, and continued to go for most of our lives? Where else can we be surrounded by all of our favorite comfort and fancy foods? Where else are we so reminded of our good fortune at being born in a country that has an excess of food (for those with the car and money to get there)?

Stand in line, and take this all in. Where else can you be so safely, wonderfully still?

“An Englishmen, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.” -George Mikes, Author

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