Pressed Pennies

Our friend Ryan recently introduced us to pressed pennies for collecting while visiting the National Museum of Natural History in DC. His wife actually collects them but for us we immediately thought it would be perfect for our kids. Honestly it would be perfect for any young kid. Now every museum or destination (example rest stops on a road trip) we bring along 51 cents to press a penny. Recently we went to the Baltimore Aquarium and instead of buying an overpriced souvenir in the gift shop both of my kids were thrilled to pick out their picture for their pennies.
If you don't have kids yourself set your nephew or niece up with a penny passport and a pressed penny from the state you live in. Then every time you visit him/her bring a pressed penny to add to their collection. You'll immediately be the favorite aunt, and that's what we all want. Right?!?!

Casual Coasters

I finally mailed out Jessica's b-day gift a month late (sorry again Jabby!) and part of her gift was casual coasters. From her previous posts you know she has been having a dilemma coming up with low cost coasters. I scoured my scrapbook stash and went to work. They key is to use card stock as the backing and embellish each square with paper scraps and flat stickers. I have a Xyron machine that laminates so I used that but you could also use regular clear contact paper that can be found @ craft stores or office supply stores.
Not a scrapbooker? No problem!

Start saving all the cards you get in the mail for holidays and birthdays. It's card stock weight and can easily be cut and laminated. I saved all the cards that my 4 year old got in the mail for his birthday and plan to make coasters out of them. What better way to train a child to use a coaster if the coaster has pictures of Superman on it. This technique may also work on significant others. I thought the days of coasters were over once I had children since most break when thrown or dropped but now I am excited about bringing these into our home. And besides Superman goes with any decor.

Daily Rituals

Recently, I read the nationwide bestseller Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I mostly read non-fiction books on Buddhism or informative semi-manuals like Fast Food Nation. Nationwide bestsellers aren't usually what I prefer cuddle up with, but this book was given to me by a friend who was extremely excited that I should read it. I could tell she had been deeply affected by the book, so I gave it a go.

After just a few pages of reading I thought to myself, "Everybody should be reading this!" As it turns out, everybody was! Everywhere I looked I saw another woman reading the book or if I went into a bookstore it was on the "Staff Recommends" shelf.

Eat, Pray, Love is an exceptionally well written account of one woman's breakdown to breakthrough transformation that I would encourage all women (and men too!) to read. Especially if you are going through a heart wrenching break-up or struggle with the guilt of dealing with depression in an otherwise-seemingly-fantastic life. There are several miracles that take place throughout Ms. Gilbert's journey but the most miraculous part of the book for me is how the author retells her tale without apology.

Thanks to Gretchen's heads-up, I was able to see Elizabeth Gilbert recently on Oprah. It wasn't a choice in Oprah's book club; it was just an interview with Ms. Gilbert about the book and the world's reaction to it. After you read the book, you should definitely go to oprah.com and watch the fantastic conversation.

My favorite part of the interview is when Elizabeth described the two daily practices that she does to keep herself in balance. I have been practicing these two simple daily rituals for the last few weeks and have found them to be rewarding and informative.

The first happens first this in the morning. Everyday when she wakes up she writes and then completes the following question in a journal:

What do I really, really, really want.....?

She remarked that the three reallys are very important because she wants to record what she really, really, really wants in her life. It is not a list of the things you might like but a list what you deeply desire. I look forward to evaluating the patterns that will emerge from recording this statement over a period of time.

Her second practice is to take that same notebook before she goes to sleep and to record:

The happiest or most joyful moment of my day was...

This helps brings gratitude to the forefront and, for me at least, has made me re-evaluate the activities I am doing on a daily basis. The most interesting part of looking for Joy throughout the day is that, because I have been looking for it, happiness seems to be popping up everywhere.

Friends

In Seattle I have 3 girlfriends and we call ourselves the Jitterbugs. We were in the same MOMs Club, we each had a 6 month old kid and long story short we met every week in each other's homes for playgroup for the last 3 years. We experienced everything together, even the births of our 2nd kids. We included the husbands in this circle of friendship by having J-Bug family dinners every other month and Moms Night Out.
And now even though I am across the USA, in Maryland, we still talk via email daily. I honestly couldn't imagine life without them. If a few days go by without an email someone finally hits the send button with an email title "where are you???"
One of my J-bug friends, Wendi, sent this article to all of us and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. It's made me think about how I am approaching possible new friendships. I've found myself comparing women I meet to the J-bugs or else I'm immediately attracted to befriending someone that reminds me or looks like one of the J-bugs. I'm like one of those people you go on a date with and all they talk about is their ex-boyfriend/girlfriend. Sure, it's humorous and I know now that I need to stop and be open to new friendships by letting go of the J-bug comparison chart.
The article also had me thinking about those women in our lives that we have let go of. The friend that knew you before marriage and kids and who you thought was your "Best Friend Forever".
I'm thankful I have the J-bugs and also Jessica, we have withstood the test of time and distance with our friendship. But their are a few women out there that I often think about.
Kisha Howard
Brooke Spradlin Carter
Kelly Riale
Jeanne Hughes
Where are they? What are they doing with themselves?
And then their are friendships like the one I have with Cindy, she reads this blog and I read hers and it makes us feel as though we are still connected to each other. But we barely talk on the phone or email anymore. And I mourn the loss of that.
In short...friendships...they come and they go. Check out the article and then pick up the phone and call your old BFF.

Wrapping Paper

Every year I try and come up with a clever way to wrap gifts for the holidays that is both environmentally friendly and frugal. As I passed a neighbors' house I noticed a box on the front lawn with the word "FREE" on it, I just had to stop and take a look. Not only did I find several hardback books for me and my husband but I also scored 2 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper. I think my family will be shocked this year to see actual wrapping paper on their gifts, I'll leave out the part that it was free. Here is a list of ideas for wrapping your gifts this year.

1. Children's Art Work: If you have children that are in school I'm sure, like me, you have a stack of artwork sent home from school. After proud placement on the fridge the artwork gets moved to a folder in our house and then when holidays or birthdays arrive I wrap gifts in the kid's art. There is no possible way to keep every masterpiece my sons make so I spread the love to grandparents and other family members.
2. Old Magazines: I'm not a fan of using newspaper because of the ink transferring to your fingertips. If you have an Oprah fan on your list and you just so happen to subscribe to Oprah magazine, take the time to pull out some cool pages to wrap the gift. This is the key, I think, to make the present look unique and well thought out. Another example is to use pages of recipes from multiple magazines and use it wrap the gift for the "chef" in your family. Take the time to pick and choose the pages and because each wrapping is catered to that individual it won't come across as looking "cheap".
3. Fabric: I'm a children's clothing designer so I have quite a stash of odd remnants of fabric. But fabric is something you can pick up for cheap or almost free at yard sales. This is a great wrapping for the crafter/quilter/sewer on your list. The wrapping is part of the present!
4. A Present Within a Present: I can't remember who I did this for but I remember it was a boy gift. I found this awesome vintage t-shirt and wrapped the t-shirt (as if wrapping paper) around a hardcover book, using double sided tape to keep in place and adding a ribbon for the final touch. You could even have a t-shirt wrapping paper theme and wrap all your gifts in t-shirts, I'm sure you would get quite an applause for the creativity of it. I've also used this idea at baby showers and used a cotton baby blanket for the wrapping of the actual gift. A perfect environmentally friendly gift- no waste!
   
5. Outdated Manuals: Go through your stash of manuals that have come with every appliance or computer program you purchased and purge the ones for the programs/ appliances you no longer own. Makes a great wrapping for the "geek" on your list. They may get a chuckle out of your original windows 95 manual and the bonus is you also purged random clutter in your life.
6. For those of you who have adopted my Movie Book Space Saver Idea and don't know what to do with all those DVD sleeves you thought to save, tape a few together and wrap your child's gift in that.
   
7. Old Calendar Pages: With the new year ahead the 2007 family calendar will soon be making it's appearance in the recycle bin, give it a detour and use it as wrapping paper and you'll be using something twice before recycling. LOVE THAT!
8. This idea is for Gift Tags: If you use a photo processing place to print your pictures you may have too many copies of one shot or else what you thought looked awesome on the touch order screen is actually horrible. Or maybe, like me, you have a box hidden deep in a closet of random-not-so-good pictures from back in the day of film processing. Recycle those pictures as gift tags. Cut them to size and write the To and From on the back. You may want to embellish the pictures with funny mustaches and balloon phrases, I'm sure the humor will be much enjoyed.

Finding my Groove Spot

My oldest son is in a special needs preschool and right now he is labeled "Developmentally Delayed". But he is currently being evaluated for Autism. Today when I was picking him up from school he was in the multi-purpose room for rhythms class. This class is for all 4 year olds in the school and it led by an extremely energetic man called Motor Ken. He plays music and gets the kids so excited about doing the hokie pokie, along with other dances. It's exciting to get these glimpses into his world, to see how he reacts in the classroom, who he plays with etc. It's also nourishing to my spirit after being a SAHM for 4 years to know what he experiences everyday without me. As I peer in I search for my blond headed child, I spot him and watch.
He's not dancing.
He's not singing.
He's just standing there.
He has a blank look on his face.
He is staring directly across the room from where he is standing but he's not watching anything.
He is blankly staring at something...nothing.
He has withdrawn into himself.
It's a face I know well.
It scares the shit out of me when it happens and I try to avoid it at all costs. Typically what brings this face on is large gatherings. He can't handle it, it's too much stimulation and so he withdraws. So the urge I have is to go in there and take him out of the situation, but I can't. He's not being harmed and these are the lessons we want him to learn how to cope and deal in. To avoid looking at my withdrawn son, I start to notice the other children in the room and I smile and laugh to myself as they dance and move their little bodies in ways that is so freeing. If only as adults we could get rid of our inhibitions and just dance. Who cares what you look like, you are moving and dancing and damn it feels good!
That is the face I see on many of the children.
I'm struck by this one little girl, she has a walker...the tiniest walker I have ever seen. And she is in her groove spot, enjoying the music as she balances, not so gracefully on the handle bars of her walker. And I think to myself how hard it must be to parent a child with that type of physical disability. How do you go to the grocery store? I thought getting 2 kids out of car seats was hard, I can't imagine adding a wheelchair or walker to the mix.
But then the grass is always greener!
Right?!?!
How much easier it must be in social situations to have this physical disability to explain why your child is acting the way he/she is. Sometimes I think it may be easier than having a "normal" looking child who acts differently. Where people are quietly, sometimes not so quietly, asking why my son is laying under the table at the restaurant, is reciting an entire episode of Backyardigans word for word, or better yet is repeating the same line from a show or movie over and over again for a half hour straight.
To Infinity and Beyond!
But I am sure these parents who have physically delayed children wish the walker/wheelchair didn't immediately define the capabilities of their child. This little girl that I observed today and later talked to was clearly intellectually on par for her age. The conversation I had with her I dream of with my own son. Don't get me wrong Logan is extremely bright and can talk...but he can't really have a back and forth conversation without a lot prompts. I hope that every parent is at least thankful for that...that their child can tell them what they did at school today, their thoughts and dreams that are so creative and imaginative at this age.
Logan's school has opened my eyes to the disabled people that I encounter in every day. I've never honestly thought one way or the other about disabilities. I've always just tried to look at the person and not the machine they use. But now seeing these little 4 year olds trying to make a go of this world brings me such joy. And they are a reminder to me to try new things...find my groove spot...and not to care who is watching.
Just dance!

The Microplane Zester

My favorite new kitchen gadget is the Microplane Zester. It must be some kind of recipe trend but it seemed like recently every new recipe I wanted to try required zest. Lemon zest, orange zest, or finely grated ginger.

Not one to want more in my kitchen than absolutely needed, mainly because it is exceptionally small, I didn't believe I needed a microplane zester - until I had one.

After ruining a perfectly good chicken fried rice dinner because the not-finely-enough chopped ginger overwhelmed the entire dish, I decided to spend the $9.99 on the zester to see what all the fuss was about. It was money well spent.

For the first time I am able to properly grate ginger and it is make all of my Asian cooking sing. Not to mention being able to buy cinnamon and nutmeg sticks and zest the spices fresh. It really does make a difference. The fresh spices have a cleaner vibrate flavor in baked goods or just on my morning oatmeal.

Here is my favorite new Zesty Recipe:

Zesty Lemon Yogurt

1/2 cup Plain nonfat yogurt (Preferably Total Greek Yogurt)
1 Tablespoon Honey
4 walnut halves broken into pieces
Zest from 1/2 a lemon

Zest lemon into yogurt and mix well.
Drizzle honey over yogurt, then top with walnut pieces.

Perfect for breakfast, desert, or a snack. It is high in protein and low in refined sugars.
Enjoy!

Guitar Pick

What do you do with those plastic fake credit cards that you get with all the credit card offers you get in the mail? I use to give them to my kids to play with as pretend credit cards but then after thinking about the financial problems many Americans have with credit cards I thought I better stop. Don't want to create credit card issues in a 2 and 4 year old. :)
I get so many of these fake credit cards and I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what crafty thing I can do with them.
This is the first thing I made: Guitar Picks!All I did was trace a guitar pick on the plastic credit card. Cut it out and sand down all the sides till they are smooth.
Send a bunch to your environmental, guitar strumming pal for the holidays.

Damn Blogger and their picture Problems

Ok I just had to post a rant about Blogger because I have posts ready to share with you but I can't freakin' get the pictures to upload to them. Blogger is apparently having problems. Anyway I just wanted to let you know to stay tuned.

My $5 closet makeover

My son's closet was in desperate need of attention. I happened to pick up some odd pieces of a Closetmaid wire closet organizing system off of Freecycle, which was free as all things are on Freecycle. I then bought the wall brackets at Home Depot for 5 bucks and went to work. I installed a shelf on opposite sides of his closet.


And then I reached a "problem", I need some sort of bin or storage basket to hold all of pajamas on top of the shelf. Immediately I thought like most people : I'll just run out to Target and pick one up. But then I stopped myself...wait i can use what I have and make it work.
So I took the hanging canvas closet organizer that I already had and cut off the bottom 3 bins.
It fits perfectly on top of the shelf and now his pajamas can be organized by season, fuzzy footed jammies in one bin, long sleeve jammies in another and summer sets in the third. And yes for those of you that don't know me, all of my closets are this OCD organized.

Then I took the rest of the hanging organizer and put diapers and wipes in it so that it can live over the opposite shelf.
































Here is the finished closet. Not bad for 5 bucks, eh?

I am not a Weekend Warrior

I've been in Colorado for about five months now. I knew when I moved here that the transition would be a learning experience but I had no idea what I would learn. So far, I have discovered that I very much like living with my boyfriend, that riding a bike isn't terrifying but fun and that I am not "A Weekend Warrior."

My definition of Weekend Warriors are the people who work jobs they have little on no feelings about week after week after week. These individuals live only for evenings and weekends when they do the things that bring passion into their lives. Of course, there are all kinds of weekend warriors from sport nuts to ballroom dancing fanatics. Most of them see their jobs as a means to an end - the end being the weekend. I am not judging these people; most of this country's work force would probably consider themselves weekend warriors. The reason I bring it up is that I am failing miserably at it.

In New York City, I worked as a Box Office Manager at various Broadway Theatres. For the first four or five years it was a dream job. I loved it. Now don't get me wrong, it was still work and I definitely didn't want to go some days, but I enjoyed that I was playing an important (albeit offstage) role in the production of high quality theatre. As the years moved along, I knew that I would not be able to do it forever because it was rote, boring, and I didn't feel like I was moving myself forward in any spiritual, emotional, or educational way. The job was what it was and it would always be exactly that.

One of the reasons I was so willing to move to Boulder, in addition to getting to live with my super-cute boyfriend, was that I would be forced to leave my comfortable job in Ticketing and do some other kind of work. But what? I thought that with 8 years of managerial experience in NYC I would easily find some type of administrative work that would pay the bills and then I would be able to become a Weekend Warrior. I didn't think about it that way at the time but that's how I imagined it would all work out. I would get some job as an administrative assistant at some hip, edgy Boulder software company or maybe work in the offices of Yoga Journal or even Crocs (both have headquarters near Boulder) and then on the weekend I would write, craft, cook, or bike ride. This I imagined would be a refreshing change to the hectic pace of NYC where you are what you do.

Boulder, CO as it turns out has the highest rate of under-employment in the United States which means that there are more people here with P.h.d.s working at Whole Foods than anywhere in the country. The employment agencies call it the 'Rocky Mountain Tax' which basically means that because it is so freakin' beautiful to live here (and it is possibly the prettiest place on earth with perfect weather to boot) that people are willing to work here for less. Way less. The good news is is that because of this people do not care at all what you do for a job; they only care what you do on the weekend. No one here is judging me because I am just a personal assistant. They are mostly concerned that I am not totally psyched about the upcoming Ski Season.

I initially overcame the Rocky Mt. Tax by landing a decent paying job as the 2nd personal assistant to a millionaire's wife. At $5.00 more an hour than the standard going rate for administrative assistants in this town, I thought that things were going to be alright. But they weren't. I am not happy at this job. And it's not because the woman I am assisting is a crazy, mean, unhappy woman that wants to control all people on her payroll. Sure that sucks, but I knew that she was a bitch when I took the job. The headhunter that hired me told me as much. When I asked her why this job was paying much higher than the other jobs in this area, she calmly told me it was a Bitch Tax. Meaning that because the person I would be working for was such a bitch they have to pay people more so that they are willing to stay. Fine. I saw myself as a mercenary. I would work this crappy office job and become - a Weekend Warrior. I would live for the weekends like so many other happy people residing in Boulder.

Unfortunately, I am failing. I feel bad at this job. It does nothing for my heart, soul, or mind. And having 48 hours on the weekend to do whatever I want isn't making up for it. How do all these people do it? I can't. It won't work. And sure, yes, by all means I can get another job. In fact, I have to. Mrs. Millionaire has fired her main assistant and wants to hire a professional personal assistant that has attened the Starkely Services Academy, which is one of the places in this country where one can train to be various types of servants to the rich. And so, I will move on to another office job which I fear will be similar in personal fulfillment for me but pay even less.

Why can't I do it? Here I am in this beautiful place with a fantastic partner and yet I am fairly unhappy. What I have learned in my first five months is Boulder is something I knew for about the last 3 years at my Box Office job - I need a career - not a job because I am not now and don't think I will ever be able to be a Weekend Warrior. My hats off to you, Weekend Warriors, you are noble people who have found a balance that works for you and brings you joy. This, however, is not my path.

I need a career not another job. If I am going to be somewhere 40+ hours a week it is going to have to be somewhere I feel useful and hopefully appreciated. I need to have a job that is important to me and that I care about. Unlike, my current place of employment where I have carefully hung a post-it note in my cubical that says, "Remember - You Don't Care."

So where am I? I know that I am going to have to take another 'job' soon as I know that I am not made of money but I hope it will be one of the last 'jobs' I will work. As the What Jessica is Reading window on the blog indicates I am currently studying to take the GRE and have to decided to go to Graduate School. For what? I am not exactly sure. I am in the middle of researching that right now. There are several great careers that I am currently exploring - all of which would make the 40 hours a week I will be working for the rest of my life more enjoyable.

So for now, I guess, I will be a Weekend Studier.

Meatloaf, when there is nothing else to make

Whenever my freezer looks this bare I normally head straight to Costco and my local Co-op grocery store to restock, but not today. Today I am beginning a personal challenge, to see how long I can go with what I have on hand in my kitchen. Tonight I made meatloaf. Remember when meatloaf was what was for dinner when Mom needed to clean out the fridge? Tonight I gave it a try and it was fabulous! Now remember to use what you have on hand so if you don't have one of my ingredients try something else. Be creative....it's meatloaf after all.


1 1/2 pounds of ground beef/turkey/chicken
1 cup TVP
(ok I know I may need to elaborate here. Textured Vegetable Protein is made from soy and I buy it at a health food store. I know many vegetarians are going to scoff me for using this but it's really quite wonderful when mixed with meat. Just one cup will almost double the amount of meat you have. And it's like tofu in the sense that it takes on whatever flavor it's with. Plus it looks like ground meat so no one will know it's even in there. Trust me give it a try.)
1 2-ounce envelope of onion or vegetable soup mix
(If you don't have either try mixing up your own batch with a few bouillon cubes and garlic powder and some dried onion flakes)
Black pepper and salt, to your liking
1 cup of shredded cheese (any kind will do)
1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley or a many shakes of the dried stuff
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of dried breadcrumbs
(this is where real creative kitchen skills will flourish, I always use the end of a bag of cereal. You know what I'm talking about, no one eats the last cup because no one wants all those crumbs in their cereal. Other ideas: stale crackers, the end of the bag of goldfish crackers, chips. The possibilities are endless! Just make sure you crunch whatever it is you are using so that the pieces are really small.)
1/3 cup of water
random add ins: this is where you will scour your fridge and see what is lurking around ready to go bad. I found an almost empty salsa jar, 1 teaspoon of ground flax seed, 1/2 empty jar of baby food spinach, a very small amount of peas that wouldn't even constitute as a serving.
Optional Toppings: barbeque sauce, enchilada sauce, ketchup mixed with a bit of spicy brown mustard.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine everything except the water. Add the water slowly...mix while you add small amounts because if you are using liquid type add ins like baby food you will need less water.
Transfer the meat mixture to a baking dish and form it into a 9 inch loaf. Bake until cooked through, about 40 mins. If using a topping remove the meatloaf after 25 mins and pour the sauce over the top. Return to the oven for about 15 mins more.

Save yourself some $ and watch TV online

I recently was commissioned for a custom project that involved hours of hand sewing. It was extremely tedious but the money I was being paid was well worth it. After the first day though it was hard to gather the motivation to work so I thought I'd watch a little TV while sewing but then I spent precious time flipping through the channels searching for something to watch. Not very productive. Randomly I decided to check the major stations online to see if I could stream something interesting. I had no idea that on ABC.com you can watch full episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, LOST and many more. I was hooked and soon enough the custom project was complete. Who needs cable or TIVO when you can watch full episodes on ABC, CBS, NBC. And there are great open source free ware companies like Miro that is chock full of interesting shows.

Cradle to Cradle USPS Packaging

Did you know that the free packaging at your local United States Postal Service location is biodegradable? According to MBDC’s (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry) Executive Overview, the USPS’s new “products and services are designed based on patterns found in nature, eliminating the concept of waste entirely and creating an abundance that is healthy and sustaining.”
So stop buying those manila envelopes and use the extra money you would spend on envelopes to ship your item priority mail and save some landfill space.

Easiest Quickest Handmade Christmas Present Ever

If you've known me for more the 2 or 3 years it is very likely that you have been given a Hot or Cold Rice Pack. Made quickly and simply with scraps of material and yet a complete crowd pleaser.

Sew a rectangle leaving one end open. Fill 2/3 full with rice and a few drops of essential oils. (Peppermint or Lavender oils smell great.) Sew fourth seem and - your done!

With ribbon or scraps of yarn tie on small tag inscribed, "Freeze for cold pack. Microwave 2-6 minutes for hot pack."

* Try to be mindful of whether or not the person you are giving this present to has a microwave. If they don't, they can still use it as a cold pack but it does decrease 50% of the gift's usefulness.

*The essential oils will wear off after a few uses. Suggest to refresh by dropping a few drops of the oil onto the material of the rice pack before use.

* These are not a great gift for shipping as the are on the heavier side.

* I've given this gift to friends, family, and co-workers. I think it would also be a great hostess gift or teacher gift.

* Finally, I've paired this gift with home-made bath salts, hand-made soap, and a crochet soap cozy and thought of it as a unique spa gift set.