LeeAnnRubsam.com

I was wrong in yesterday’s post about Pittsburghians not knowing that it is good manners to say “hi” to strangers when passing.  It is not Pittsburghians who are ignorant on this point; it is just the ones on the part of the Montour Trail that runs behind Susan’s house.

Today I took the trail where it continues on the other side of the highway, and almost all the folks walking and biking it said hello to me before I had a chance.  I will not have to try to elevate their culture after all.  They were a different group: not so focused on building their muscles and seeing how much wheezing they could handle before cardiac arrest set in.  They were the mom-and-dad type with little kids, or the I-am-just-out-for-a-stroll-to-enjoy-the-weather-and-I-don’t-care-if-I-elevate-my-heartbeat-to-its-maximum-potential-or-not type.

I simply cannot get used to all these houses built into the sides of the mountains.  We’ve got some of the same in Door County and the east side of Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin, but most of our state is mildly hilly or fairly flat.  I also cannot get used to how some houses’ front doors open almost directly onto the highway — or else have a goodly flight of stairs up to the door.  I would be a lean muscle machine if I lived here permanently.  If the up-and-down-hill walking did not do it for me, running from the copperheads in the summertime would.

I am developing a theory: even driving the hairpin turns and up-and-down slopes burns calories.  It would be possible to be quite athletically fit in Pittsburgh even without consciously exercising — if it weren’t for Chick -fil-A to ruin it all at the end of the day.

Susan has always been mystified by part of the local culture.  Although their home is only fifteen minutes from the heart of Pittsburgh, many people from their area –even very youngish people — have never been to the City.  Even more of them have not ever been to the other side of it.  They just live and die in their own small corner of the suburbs (suburghs?).

If Susan had wanted to know the answer, all she would have had to do is ask.  One of the natives explained it to me.  They all get lost if they travel outside of a certain small radius.  You see, because everything is in the mountains, there is no such thing as square city blocks.  All the roads wind this way and that, without any organization, rhyme, or reason.  Finding your way around — especially around the city to the other side of it — is nigh-on to impossible.  So they all just stay in their township and the couple of townships nearby.  It is completely a safety issue.  There now.  That makes sense to me!

You might ask, “But what about one of those little GPS gizmos?  Wouldn’t that take care of the problem?”  We tried the GPS gadget to get us to Pittsburgh from Wisconsin.  It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.  It tried to tell us Susan’s address did not exist.  After awhile, it decided the existence was a distinct possibility, but the directions given were not sensible.  If we had listened, we would have ended up on the wrong side of the city, lost forever, never to find Susan or Wisconsin again.

So, I understand.  I would behave myself and stay in my suburb too.

Keeping Fit in Pitt (Part 1)

LeeAnnRubsam.com

I’ve spent most of the day watching the first season of MadMen. I have the laptop perched on my outstretched legs while I knit. I’ve finished a hat. Now I’m working on another project. The only thing even remotely exciting I’ve done today was to make a wee little deviled egg out of a boiled quail’s egg. It was cute. I put it on a plate with lettuce for a garnish.

Jack and Robby have played outside for a big chunk of the day. The pups have alternated between sitting with me and playing outside with Robby and Jack.

The rest of the cottage has been reading (Dorrit) and raking (David) and knitting (Lady) and watching football (Padre).

Tonight there is a dinner party… we’ll eat too much. Some will drink too much. There will be warm beds to fall into at the end and the book I’m reading.

I had THE BEST morning avec ma cousine Sharon.

Girl has a way with the curling iron that I could never hope to replicate (I mean on Turkey day I actually learned that I’m bad at hot rollers.  Hah.).  And she is a lifesaver.  To the point where on Homecoming last year, she came to the sorority at 5 AM (for reals) to do me up so I would look fantastic for the parade.

Today, Marcus’ cousin Beth is gettin’ hitched.  Given the aforementioned facts, it was time to make an appointment with my girl to get pretty and do some post-Thanksgiving catching up.  So I roll over and she’s made coffee and cinnamon rolls and I’m like are you serious?

Other fact?  She won’t let me pay her.  Which is SO NOT COOL because it takes like 2-3 hours to do my hair.  So this time I tricked her.  Because I love Coach and keeping it classy right?  I ran over to Coach (with a coupon…duh.  I am morally opposed to paying full price for that stuff) and picked her up a Gramercy Patent Mini Skinny since, you know, its only like the most useful thing that Coach sells.  Plus, its patent leather so it’s college-proof.  She was pleased.  I was more pleased.  Coach love spread successfully.

And then whilst undergoing the ordeal that is curling my hair, we got to venture into the mystical and wonderful wasteland that is the freshman year of college.  We got to ponder crazy roommates, that one guy that you don’t want to date but can’t stop expressing how into you he really is, and what a maid of honor actually does.  Moral of the story?  Say no to pity-dating and if she crazy (versus she is crazy), RED LIGHT.  Stay away.

Plus despite the fact that I usually hate this question, she was honest and curious enough this morning to ask me if I was converting for Marcus.  I mean, when it comes from people we hang out with, it’s obnoxious, really.  But that’s because if I’m spending time with you and you don’t know that I’m selfish enough that I could only do it for myself, then you are living under a rock.  Period.  But if you’re Sharon, you could probably get away with asking me anything.  Because with her, it’s all real and no judging.

Post-hair, we walk downstairs and David (he’s 16) is huddled over the stove.  Whatever.  I assume he’s making like…mac n’ cheese, right?  No.  He’s making Sweet Tea.  So then I forced him to cough up his secrets, as this girl has never attempted that feat.  And he throws it down just.like.that.  Unreal.

The movie was sold out so we didn’t make it… bum diggs. After lunch I ended up having yet another piece of cinnamon raison bread; I cannot say no to that stuff. Cutting into the loaf was difficult because it is covered in crispy cinnamon piles. My mom and I had the most amazing manicure together–this place only charges 12 bucks and they give you multiple back, arm, shoulder and hand massages. So relaxing. I hardly ever get “spa” type things so it’s a real treat.

We came home to Ellie and Uncle Buddy loving each other in Bud’s kennel. Too cute.

I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Columbus with my in-laws. It was really nice to get out of our house for a few days. Especially nice since I actually get to sit and relax instead of running around doing house work.

Friday night I headed out and met up with B, the husband of one or R’s former co-workers, to grab a bite and a beer at Hooters. Got waited on by one very cute 20 year old waitress that made B and I feel like dirty old men. Good times!

Saturday we met up with B and his wife T and their kids for lunch, and then headed back to the in-laws to let the kids play while we all caught up… We hadn’t seen them since J2 was born!

Heading back to Cleveland tomorrow then it is back to work on Monday.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This Thanksgiving I really took a more active part in contributing to the spread, don’t get me wrong – it was a lot of work, but very much worth it! I was so busy all day preparing everything, that I barely took any pictures.

Everybody, my immediate family as well as some of my extended family gathered at my parent’s house this year for an early Thanksgiving dinner.

Being from a Persian background, our thanksgiving dinner had an Iranian cuisine twist to it. I think its pretty obvious what the Persian influences are, lets see if you think so too.

Persian Thanksgiving Menu:

• herbed turkey
  

• turkey gravy
• cranberry-orange relish & cranberry sauce
• garlic mashed potatoes
• sweet potato casserole

• peas, corn, green beans
• garden salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and celery
• cranberry & carrot rice

• tart cherry rice

• my perfect cheesecake, topped with cherry pie filling and homemade whipped cream

• Napoleon, using Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I recently received a coupon for Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry.

With so much to do to help prepare the Thanksgiving Feast – It was a blessing to be able to use these Puff Pastry sheets.

the recipe:

1. thaw the puff pastry sheets for 40 minutes before baking
2. unfold each puff pastry sheet and cut into thirds, then bake on a cookie sheet for 15-20 min at 400* , or until golden brown and crispy; allow to cool to room temperature  
3. meanwhile, I prepared my traditional pastry cream to use for the filling – the only change I made was that I added a teaspoon of gelatin to the pastry cream while it was still warm, just make sure to dissolve the gelatin in a couple tablespoons of warm water first
4. Split the puff pastry sheets in half, or into thirds, so that you can fill them with the pastry cream – you may need to use a knife to split the sheets of puff pastry. I had some left over cherry pie filling from cheesecake that I spread in on top of on the the pastry cream layers.
5. just assemble the Napoleon by layering the sheets atop on another, and chill in the refrigerator before serving!

This was delicious! My family kept telling me how good this Napoleon tasted =)  I will definitely be using these puff pastry sheets again!

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

All in all, I had a great time with my family – and of course the food was ammmmazing too! I’m so glad to have been able to help out with making the dessert and some of the side dishes, and even though it was somewhat tiring – I can’t wait to do it all over again next year!

Question: What was your favorite side dish?

This morning I have:

• made breakfast for the girls
• drank two cups of tea and one cup of coffee
• cut out 5 skirts and 5 bags to be made up later for the market
• done 4 loads of washing and got it on the line (another 2 to go but that’s because I went op shopping yesterday and found LOTS of material!!)
• photographed some things I made earlier this week

and IT’S NOT YET 10AM!!!! 

Am I superwoman?  No.  I was just woken up at the incredibly antisocial hour of 5.25am.  Ah well the rain has stopped and it’s blue, sunny skies all around so I can’t really complain.

So onto finished items!  Last week I had a peek over at Attic24 and saw that Lucy had some really cool crochet birds up on her blog – and  a tutorial to boot.  So I got me some yarn from the stash and set about making up the robins.  I have joined up for the Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap run by Louise over at Twenty Cent Mixutre and thought these might just be the answer.

One more to go and then can all fly away to their new homes.  And all way before the posting deadline – I have to say I’m very impressed with myself!

So I followed the link on Attic24 over to The Royal Sisters blog because I really wanted to see more of the Grandma Twinkles!!  Great tutorial and I got making. 

I spent the time at the beach with my crochet bag and I loved it!  Since finishing this blanket (and I use the word finishing loosely because the ends STILL need darning in!) I’ve not crochet anything and I find I’ve missed it.  It’s easy, it’s relaxing and I can do it with the girls right there!  Little Miss Brown was watching eagerly whilst I made up a star and then stated: “Wow Mum that used to be just rope!”  Then I saw the Grandma Trees so of course that came next.

So I was a happy hooker for a couple of days and am still going strong when I’m just too tired to do anything else!  Isn’t blogland wonderful?  You find these lovely blogs full of inspiration and tutorials for how to make them yourselves.  I also need to say a BIG THANKYOU to the two lovely ladies who have said it’s OK for me to sell things made from their tutorials at my first ever market – how COOL IS THAT?!!!  Many, many thanks ladies. xx

Heelloooo…. What’s up in the big world?

I’m currently in Trondheim, near Lerkendal to be exact enjoying a glass of Siesta atm. So now you know that.

Have had a good weekend here so far. Nice to take a break from the normal countrylife with the same people, same places and the same rumours and the same nag.
So it was about time to take a trip to see the other side of the family me thinks!

Friday was a proper girls-day/night out. Me, Ida and Anette went Christmasshopping but we all ended up buying most stuff for ourselves and decided to put the Christmasshopping aside til later on.
Then we went to Peppes for some pizza and walked Anette to Solsiden later, before we went to the cinema where we met Mia and saw New Moon.
I am a bit disappointed over it though.. Because they’ve changed some of the stuff and there was a lot that wasn’t in it, but it pretty obvious that you can’t fit every detail of a book into a movie. The movie would’ve lasted at least 4-5 hours – if not more.
But both Edward and Jacob were so hot that it makes up for it, haha! So it was pretty epic and I think I love the Twilight-saga a bit more – if it’s possible!

Right now I’m actually considering spending the rest of my Saturday night re-arranging everything in my bag and pack the stuff I don’t need..
Don’t wanna dread it til the last minute tomorrow so..

And on Monday it’s back to mock exams, tests and essays.. A week packed of boring stuff that my future depends on. A relaxing thought, yeeeaaah!!!!!….. No.

Have a good weekend everybody

Welcome to my brain.

Current contents: introductions and navigating family this time of year

     First off, let me tell you a little about my life. I’m a stay-at-home-mom to my 20 wk old daughter (DR). She’s a superchunky, strong-willed, high needs doll of a girl. Her daddy is my boyfriend (BD), and he is crazy in love with DR. I am a breastfeeding (exclusively), babywearing, co-sleeping, attachment parenting, cloth diapering (mostly), homebirthing mama. I lean superleft politically, am extremely Southern, and have much too strong opinions about entirely too many things. My path to motherhood was anything but typical, which makes it all the more special to me.

     Part of that atypical path involved becoming a member of BD’s family (by way of my getting knocked up) before I really got a chance to know them. Yet, I’m usually the one in charge of organizing my little threesome’s interaction with my not-quite-in-laws. This is not really a ship I want to captain.

     So, we have BD’s dad, mom, step-dad, and step-mom. The dealing with two sets of parents is totally new to me, since my mom and dad are still together. The question is, how do we incorporate both sets of his parents into the every other holiday schedule they share with my family without causing WWIII?

     Christmas and Thanksgiving are the two biggies to deal with. Each year, one will be spent with my family back in Louisiana, and one will be here with his family in Texas. Except this year, both will be here. Every year BD’s dad and step-mom take Christmas Eve, and his mom and step-dad take Christmas Day. It seems logical to me that on Thanksgiving, then, that BD’s dad would get the early big meal and BD’s mom would get a smaller evening meal since she gets the actual day of Christmas. Unfortunately, my almost mother-in-law doesn’t think this is good enough. After throwing what basically amounted to a hissy-fit over hosting the later meal, she called and texted us constantly the week before Thanksgiving not to eat much at BD’s dad’s house and said that if we were even a minute late she would deeply offended. If this how Turkey Day goes, then I am not looking forward to Christmas.

     BD and his family are from Long Island, so I expect them to be a little different from my Cajun clan. Even so, if I have to endure holidays without cornbread dressing, pecan pie, or alcohol, I shouldn’t have to deal with a constant tug-of-war, too. If you’re giving me drama, you better give me a little libation to help me swallow it. Truth be told, I can cook a better holiday meal than either set of parents, and no one is making me stand in a huddle and pretend to pray at my house.

At least there is a green, purple, and gold light at the end of this yankee tunnel.

mama bear out

-RK

I had so much fun playing with baby Camden!  I wish we lived closer so we could play and visit more often.  Enjoy a sneak peek of the 2 days we spent together!

similar to my dressing strategies, i think i prefer simple color schemes that can serve as a palate for decorative accessorizing. love the simplicity of all these. especially the RUFFLE pillows and the casual pillar candle centerpiece.

{via thisisglamorous}

This amazing golf course came to our attention while watching the Golf Channel over Thanksgiving weekend.  This is a golf course specifically for use by veterans of our military (USA).  What is even more amazing is the funds to cover running this course all come from private donations, no federal funding.  There are approximately one hundred and fifty grounds keepers and they are all volunteers and they are all veterans.

Back in 2001 this course was described as a “cow pasture” and the Pepper Roberts came along.  The day after Pepper retired he made American Lake his project.  To clean up the nine hole course and make it available to veterans and only veterans.  Needless to say he was totally successful and because of the success, they are going to add nine holes to the already existing nine holes to complete the eighteen holes.  Now in order for this to happen, they needed to re-design all the holes.  So they called Jack Nickolas who is a legendary golfer and high on the list as a golf course designer.  They asked Jack how much it would cost?  In the interview I saw the guy who was asking said, “Jack did not even pause. Jack said “no charge.”   Now folks I have to tell you that Jack Nichols a “class act.”  I blog about Tiger often on this site, but Jack is a leader in inspiration and Tiger is following his footsteps.

Please follow this link (Click here) and be sure to watch the videos.  The folks who run the course and the veterans who use the course are all inspirations.  Remember, these are the guys who go out into the world and protect our freedom.  They put their lives on the line each and everyday just so we can enjoy the freedom of living in the USA.

I have nothing else to add except to inform you that this golf course is the only one in the US dedicated to our veterans.  I find that amazing and a fact that needs to change.

Peace!

Top 10 List of things I am most grateful for in no particular order.

1. My family, whose unconditional support and love has pushed and encouraged me to do and be better. I am proud of each of them and love the close bond that our family has.

2. My friends, who support whatever crazy idea I have and let me run with it, but also know when to say I should try again. Their honesty, support, and willingness to listen and give feedback are much appreciated.

3. My faith, even though it’s a daily struggle, and I am no where near where I want to be it has taught a lot. It has helped me maintain a positive attitude and continue to be open minded.

4. My health, as I have made more of an effort to be conscious of what I am eating and love the benefits of working out as hard as it may be. My sweet tooth, event planning, and working out will some day all be at peace…lol!

5. My job, that helps pays the daily bills while I grow my event planning business. I am blessed to have wonderful supervisors.

6. My grandparents and great-grandmother, who taught me invaluable skills and helped encourage my creativity through reading, sewing, crafts, baking, woodworking, and sharing their world travels. I hope to pass along the same skills.

7. Former supervisors and teachers, that taught me invaluable skills. I stumbled along the way and used the lessons as stepping stones because of their belief in me.

8. Reading is fundamental to growth and being an avid reader from a young age, I am grateful for my education. Reading opened the doors to many new worlds that I would not have known about and it also encouraged my creativity.

9. For the small but essential things such as home, transportation, and food. Not everyone has these things and I am blessed to not only have them but have the opportunity to help others and give back.

10. That in America I have the freedom to start my own business and be successful in something that I am passionate about, event planning!

On Thanksgiving Day, first I slept in! {A Beautiful thing}. Then the kids and Eric left for Church to help with feeding a large group of people Thanksgiving Dinner (lunch) there. Some were homeless and some just couldn’t afford to buy a large meal, they met lots of people and had a fun time.  I stayed home and prepared our Dinner. Turkey went in the oven and got everything pretty much started or ready for the last steps…. so I got to relax and even read some of my book! {A Beautiful Thing}.

My Family came for Thanksgiving Dinner. It was YUMMY!

Then at Dessert time…

My Uncle, Aunt…

and Cousin came over.

We hung out, checked the sale ads for Black Friday,

talked and ate Pumpkin Pie, Strawberry Shortcake {A Beautiful Thing},

and Apple Pie with Ice Cream…

There was demonstrations of relatives who have passed on…

And even some sibling love.

Hope your day was just as enjoyable!

P.S. each set of relatives took a child from us, so we had the house to ourselves. {A Beautiful Thing}.

November 28th

Today’s activity was decorating the house for the holiday. We have our tree up! This is a big deal for us because we are usually last minute scramblers when it comes to putting the tree up. LOL! This is seriously the earliest we’ve ever put it up.  It was a lot of work because it required us to rearrange the living room.  But it’s done! I also hung a wreath on the front door and some snowflake ornaments on the pocket doors.

I used to decorate a LOT more than I do now.  With two kids, I just feel like our house is already too cluttered to add too much to it.  I’m sure eventually, as the number of toys dwindles and the kids get older, I’ll get back to it.  But for now, I’m happy with just a few little things.

Our tree!

Last year I decided I was no longer buying presents for my cousins’ children. I hardly ever see them (except for holidays or their birthdays), and their parents – my cousins – can’t be bothered to send me a card/email/FB wall post for my birthday. Now, I’m the oldest cousin, and all through college, I sent them birthday cards, Halloween cards, Christmas cards, Valentine’s Day cards, Easter cards, just-for-fun cards, and ten-page letters. I got letters back and Christmas cards. Eventually (ten years later, and after we all had email but still didn’t write) I stopped.

Then they had kids. At first I sent cards and gifts, but I never got a thank you note, or even an email letting me know the gift arrived. (I started using Delivery Confirmation.) Now that those girls are old enough to write, still they don’t send thank yous. (My mom still sends gifts; I don’t know why. Probably because she doesn’t have her own grandchildren, but that’s her own fault and another story for another day. You reap what you sow.) Two more cousins have had babies in the past two years, and at first I bought them presents, but combined with the other, last year I realized, “Why?”

So today I am not spending five hours in a car driving to and from BFE for a first birthday party. Am I being stingy, or am I justified?

They say “you get what you give” (you reap what you sow?), but what about when you give money and time for years and years and get nothing in return? That’s why I’m now giving what they gave me: Nothing.

My grandma just told me she knit 69 vests to give out to all the halmonees and ladies of our church in Fresno. I thought this was amazing especially considering how nice the vests are. I am a pro-knitter’s granddaughter. 

I got a $3 DVD on Black Friday. That is all even though my family went out at midnight to the Vegas Premium Outlets to see if there were any deals. Was fun nonetheless. Here’s a photo of our Thanksgiving Dinner! mmMm. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving & Black Friday! With our leftovers this year my sister had us make Turkey Soup and Turkey Pot Pie. mmMm. I’ll be ringing in the New Year a solid 5 lbs heavier for sure. 

I have come to a not-too-startling conclusion that perfection is overrated especially that oddity known as  the “perfect family”. Who are these people who get along swimmingly with one another and who pass the peas with the perfect smile on their faces? Who are these folks who never have a minor misunderstanding let alone a vein-popping, eardrum splitting argument?  You know who they are: freaks of nature.

Real families are messy. They have their challenges but are willing to stick together and stick it out for the greater good for when its all said and done, they truly love one another.

One such family that keeps it real (pardon the overused term) is the Lamas clan as seen on E!’s Leave It to Lamas (Sundays, 10:30 p.m. Season Finale, November 29). We have Shayne, noted for being the chosen one on the series The Bachelor, a bit ditzy sometimes but always lovable as she tries to be peacemaker while pursuing her own interests. Then there is her brother A.J, a charming, yet somewhat hapless sort, whose strained relationship with their father Lorenzo (yes, that Lorenzo) is at sometimes painful to watch. Finally, there is solid-as-a-rock, half sister Dakota, and loving, and at times kooky, menopausal mom, Michele Smith.

Oh, did I mention that Shayne, A.J. and Dakota live together?

They do and as you might suspect both tension and hilarity ensue. Like the time when AJ barges in on Shayne and her date. Awkward…Get your mind out of the gutter. They were just chatting but it was awkward nonetheless.

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with little sis Dakota, who seems much wiser, more grounded at 19 than I was at any age.  Although, I could never do it because I’m difficult to live with by my own admission, Dakota has been roomies with her older sis Shayne since she was 15 and living with a brother she says is no problem. For Dakota it’s about being young, having fun and enjoying life — despite the occasional fight or two.

Dakota Pike of E's 'Leave it to Lamas' (photo: Courtesy of E!)

So what is it like having Shayne as a big sister? “Fabulous,” says Dakota, “We’ve always been best friends, except when we were 9 and13 and fought over clothes and toys. As we started growing older, became more like best friends and there no limits with what we share with each other.”

As for Dakota and her brother, they both are “extremely close”. “A.J. has a way of making me laugh and lifting my spirit,” says Dakota.” There is no jealousy between Shayne, or I or A.J. or I”

When Dakota was younger, at times, she was the girly girl that played Barbies with Shayne. At other times, she would be the tomboy, hanging out with A.J. and his “super cute” friends.  To fit in, Dakota would mess up her hair a bit, wear baggy clothes, skateboard and hit a baseball or two. Then after finished hanging with the boys, she would have Shayne do her hair.

It’s because she loves her brother A.J. so much that disputes, hard feelings, between he and his father Lorenzo, who she says is an “amazing person”,  are upsetting. When she looks at A.J., she sees someone who his still young, still learning about life who needs a father to help him work through things.

Dakota, A.J. and Shayne from E!'s "Leave it to Lamas' (photo: Courtesy of E!)

Enough about A.J., Lorenzo and Shayne. What about Dakota?

Dakota has wanted to be a singer since around the age of 12 or 13.  It was on the set of a Jewel music video that she fell love with the craft.  When Dakota told her mother she wanted to sing, she got an “okay honey” but it never went beyond that. About a year ago, an older, more committed Dakota started singing and writing songs in earnest. Six to eight months ago, she began recording. “It’s been a learning experience.” says Dakota who calls her style”pop/rock”, “I’m my biggest critic. I always want to be better.”

Now as for being on a reality series, Dakota says it has been “fun, great” but not a lot has changed in her life. Yes, she is busier with promotions and other possible opportunities. “Doors open for you but the fact is you don’t always have the job,” says Dakota, who other interest lies in acting. “You’ve got to do the work to get it.”

To follow Dakota (@Dakotajpike) on Twitter, click here.

FUN FACTS

She Likes to Get Her Snack On: Dakota has what she calls a “midnight eating thing.” She wakes up about 4 or 5 a.m., goes to the kitchen, grabs something to eat like pizza, donuts, cookies, makes a huge mess in the process and then goes back to bed. Shayne, who calls her”Babycakes”, is usually none too pleased with the mess Dakota’s made.

Favorite singer: It’s Pink, who she calls “amazing”.  Dakota also loves Alicia Keys and Rhianna.

Favorite food: Dakota is s “addicted” to sushi. “It might be full of mercury. But it will be okay,” she chuckles.

A Song that Would Describe Her:  The Fray’s “You Found Me”.  “The song touched me..I was at a certain point in my life two years ago when I found spirituality. I definitely pray. It  gets me through things.”

You can tell I’m a mom of four because I jumped in place when I saw the library had a new Mr. Putter And Tabby book. Cynthia Rylant has three series my children have all loved: Mr. Putter & Tabby, Henry & Mudge, and Poppleton. We’ve read every one of them we can get our hands on, and they’re reading staples.

Mr. Putter is an old man, and he owns an old cat named Tabby. The early books in the series chronicle his experiences with Tabby and with his neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, who despite being Mr. Putter’s contemporary is quite modern and adventuresome. Mr. Putter is conservative and likes things orderly. The charm of the stories arises from the interaction of the characters and how the scrapes they get into are the natural extensions of who they are.

For example, in Mr. Putter and Tabby Bake The Cake, Mr. Putter wants to find a wonderful Christmas present for Mrs. Teaberry,who always finds unique gifts for him. He decides to bake her a cake, but he’s stymied by the fact that he can’t bake. He ends up spending a hundred dollars on cake pans etc, and then has to stay up all night on Christmas Eve attempting to bake cakes (it takes four tries, one of which ends in a flaming cake). Mrs. Teaberry loves the cake, but she has to wait ten hours to eat it because Mr. Putter then falls asleep on her couch.

My father and mother and Patient Husband and I were talking about Our Favorite Cynthia Rylant Books, with all of us laughing out loud at times when we mentioned the different plots and scrapes they get into. We love the characters, particularly the expressiveness of Tabby and the heart of Mr. Putter, and that’s why the unnatural happiness when I saw a new MP&T book at the library.

The previous new book, by the way, had been no good. Mr. Putter and Tabby Spin The Yarn, or something like that. This one was Mr. Putter and Tabby Spill The Beans. And I’m afraid to say the series had officially jumped the shark.

Whereas before the humor arose naturally from the characters’ interactions and their personalities, these last two books have involved the same setup (Mrs. Teaberry proposes an exciting new project) and the same conclusion (Zeke causes a major disaster). None of it arises naturally from their personalities. There’s no heart. There’s no charm.

I’m afraid this series needs to be retired. While I adored the first ten or so books, it’s as if she no longer knows her own characters and is resorting to the easy ending. And when I mentioned this, my father agreed that the later Henry and Mudge books suffer the same way.

It’s sad. But maybe fifteen books is enough for Mr. Putter.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book for free for two weeks from the Angelborough Public Library and would tell you I don’t recommend it even if the publisher had given it to me as my own copy. But the earlier books in the series are splendid, and I would really encourage everyone to get a look at them, even if you’re childfree, because they make great gifts for kids.

on wednesday, auntie jamie, dad and i went to the minnesota children’s museum.  i am a big fan of the grand rapids children’s museum, so i was eager to go.  when we returned people asked what was better.  it is hard to say…they are both quite different.  one thing i can say about the minnesota version is that on the day we went, i do believe every minnesotan child was also there.  it was ridiculously packed with parents, strollers, grandparents, strollers, and kids.  they also have multiple rooms across a couple floors.  so, the minnesota edition is at least larger than it’s grand rapidian counterpart.

i played with the waterworks area that included bubbles, pipes and water fountains.  i wanted to see how the ping-pong ball would move around in the clear tubes and out of which end it would come, but there were too many kids and i never got a chance to get a ball.  that was ok because i moved on to the bubble station where i could make big bubbles with the wands there.  there is a much larger and nicer station like this one at the grand rapids cm, but i still liked it.

after the bubbles i saw a rat in the museum and ran up to it so i could pet it.  not to worry, it was a supposed to be petted.  there was a cm worker there and she told me the rat’s name was matilda.  i loved her.  i stroked her soft fur and touched her rough tail.  i was fascinated by her…especially since grandpa jim had shown me the squirrels in their backyard and how to feed them chili cheese popcorn.  next to the rat was a king cobra i was able to hold – not really, it was a garter snake and it was behind some glass.  but i was able to see him take a drink out of his water bowl.  there was too much to see to see it all and we had to go so i could each lunch, but we had fun while we were there.

This topic is important to me because I see it everyday in my reality. There are a lot of different things going on within relationships between myself and family. I’m learning more and more that it all has to do with the thoughts created by my mind.

I started noticing that the things my family feared were the same things that I feared. The most common fear is attached to money. Most of my family has the same fear/belief system. It appears that most of them don’t realize it though. I see the same thing within my mind.

I have been thinking that even if a family member is a negative influence, they are family and should be held on to as such. This may or may not be the case. In this process of learning I have figured out that I cannot change another person. I cannot change another persons reactions, but I can change mine. The element I just mentioned is crucial to how I handle so called relationship problems.

For example, I’ve noticed that anything I don’t like about something my family member does, is actually something that I don’t like about myself. It’s almost as if my mind purposely creates situations in which I see things so that I may correct them. If I see something in my reality that I don’t like, its because I’m thinking about something that I don’t like.

The only way that I have found to handle any family problem, is to have forgiveness. I ask myself what I would I want someone to do to me if I was unconsciously causing hurt. If something I said hurt someones feelings, it’s like I myself am hurt. In order for me to be hurt I have to consider the opposite of love as real. I love my family, so if my sibling appears to do something that hurts me, the only thing I can do is forgive. First I forgive myself for believing that what was said was really them, and then I forgive them for not knowing what they are doing.

I have a family member who I feel for some reason is only nice to me when they want something. This family members life is run by the concept of fear and scarcity. They always come up to me like I can read their mind or something. It seems they try and assume that I know what they mean when they don’t speak and just stare at me. I had to ask myself why am I seeing this? What is there to learn from this? At some point in my life I must have done this to someone right? They are always afraid. I realized that I don’t like that about myself. I don’t like to be afraid and in a scarcity mindset. So this family member tends to annoy me a lot because that is a belief about myself that I am annoyed about.

I control my reactions, which means if I get frustrated and annoyed it’s because I’m choosing to. But why would I consciously choose to feel bad? It must be because I believe that a lie about myself is true. Looking at the situation negatively makes the person serve no purpose in my life unless….Unless of course I act out of forgiveness. I forgive the lie I see and see the truth. The truth is I have inner conflict within my mind, or else I wouldn’t see conflict in my reality.

I have a sibling who is frequently upset, always creating a reality in which they feel that they do everything. They complain a lot and it’s really annoying to me at times. I had to ask myself, why am I seeing this? I’m seeing this because it’s a part of me that I don’t like. I don’t like my complaining self, I don’t like my controlling self, I don’t like my superficial self. I see all these things, but these things are not them and they are not me. These things are beliefs in lies. The only way to remove it is to heal our minds.

This may mean that as I heal my mind I enter into a new dynamic of reality in which I don’t see these things. If the people can’t support the change, then I will see new people in my reality.

Things that I complain about in my life – “I’m bossed around, punked by elders.” This is not what it seems. What it really means is that I feel like my life is out of my control. My mind is telling me that I’m not being my own boss, I’m giving my power away. Wake up and take it back. So it’s an internal belief that isn’t true.

I feel like sometimes some of the relationships are not healthy for me because they support my old way of thinking. But then I must forgive the fact that I think the old way of thinking is real.

The most prominent attempt to control me is through guilt. One family member especially tries to impose guilt mentally through reactions and sighs and anything else they can think of. It seems really childish to me, and yet if I’m seeing it I must be doing it. I must be thinking it. Lately I’ve been ignoring it, it must be apart of myself that I don’t like. I mean who likes to feel guilty. I’ve felt guilty about school, about money, about work, and then I see it in a family relationship. It seems to me I must forgive myself of believing in this lie.

Check this out…

I’m not much a planner but someone close to me is a planner. I get annoyed when bombarded to plan because I like to go with the flow. But maybe deep down inside I want to become a better planner. I think this is more reality than the illusion that would say I don’t like planning.

I’ve decided to compile a list of things that I think I don’t like about other people, to confirm what I don’t like about myself. If I don’t like something about myself then it must not be true. It must be a lie I’m believing in.

I’ll make a post with the things listed so be sure to read it. I’ll call it “What I don’t like about people.”

Then I will explain why it really is my mind telling me what to correct about myself.

first thank you.  to my momma.  it’s her birthday today.  we have hard times..but the older we get…the easier it is to get along and let the stupid things brush off your shoulder.

also…a big thank you to The Do Lab.  my years in L.A. have been QUITE the ride.  so many good friends.  good bros.  good sis’.  i love ‘em.  my life would be so boring w/o you.  so so so boring.  so with my cute iFlip they got me for my dirty thirty this year…i made us this.  thank you million times fold.  you guys make living the dream true.

music by: andrew bird “plasticities”