Kelly catie milo
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
A friend asked what she could do about those annoying salesmen?
On my first trip to Mexico, Kim and I went to the pyramids outside of Mexico City.
The tour guide introduced us to a fellow sitting on the grounds who showed us how the ancients squished a certained bug to make a dye and then painted with it on a card. He offered to sell us one. I declined. The lady from Germany bought one.
As we were walking away, our guide said quite unjudgementally, "we all need to make a living."
That was more than 10 years ago and I still regret not having bought a postcard with the bug guts on it.
The guide was right.
We all need to make a living.
My mom was raised during the Great Depression.
She said that anyone who choses work -- work no matter what -- over idleness or begging, deserved my respect.
Saying no to a product that I don't want is a minor hassle compared to the person who has to hear that no.
A few years ago, a friend challenged me to take an extra 3 seconds with greeters and Freddy's and solitictors. It might be the kindest 3 seconds of their work day.
Living with Intent
Week 10 of Weight Watchers: for the first time since I began, I showed a weight gain. Up .2 pounds.
Not really surprised.
It’s been a hot week. Lots more beer in the evening. Less activity. More hunkering down inside air conditioned house.
Our WW coach said that hot weather lends itself to hunkering down.
She talked about living with intent.
She said it is a challenge in the summer to let meal time drift later and later into the evening.
The key to WW is being intentional.
Having a plan for meals so that good choices are intended rather than poor choices happening inadvertently.
The discussion about intent reminded me of women I know.
I mentioned that I can see how women, moms especially, can easily have their intent focused externally. On kids, on house, on pets, on partners.
Many of the women I know and love can and will put themselves and their self interest behind that of their children and other loved ones.
And how that can lead to what some of the other WW attendees (all women but me) call the most dangerous time – late evening.
I’ve been aware that for many women, moms especially, late night can be the only time they call their own. I can see how easily it might be to reward themselves by eating rather than taking the WW philosophy that a gift to oneself is focus, intent and discipline.
Also we talked about self responsibility.
Ever since I started Weight Watchers, I’ve been reminded of my late father.
I can hear so clearly him sitting down to dinner with his belly protruding and saying, “godamit Thelma! You’ve got to stop feeding me such fattening food.”
I think of how much easier my life would have been if I had grown up hearing, “godamit Thelma, I am fat and it’s because of me and my choices alone.”
It’s something that is reinforced in society with litigation.
Smokers sue tobacco companies for their health problems.
I’ve even heard of overweight people suing McDonald’s for serving them fattening foods.
One of the neat things about having spent a little time in Mexico is seeing a county that truly believes in individual responsibility. If you trip and hurt yourself on a crack in the street, it’s your fault for not paying attention.
So there it is. The zen of a Weight Watchers meeting.
Live with intent. Whatever I don’t like about me or my life isn’t anyone’s fault but my own.
Not really surprised.
It’s been a hot week. Lots more beer in the evening. Less activity. More hunkering down inside air conditioned house.
Our WW coach said that hot weather lends itself to hunkering down.
She talked about living with intent.
She said it is a challenge in the summer to let meal time drift later and later into the evening.
The key to WW is being intentional.
Having a plan for meals so that good choices are intended rather than poor choices happening inadvertently.
The discussion about intent reminded me of women I know.
I mentioned that I can see how women, moms especially, can easily have their intent focused externally. On kids, on house, on pets, on partners.
Many of the women I know and love can and will put themselves and their self interest behind that of their children and other loved ones.
And how that can lead to what some of the other WW attendees (all women but me) call the most dangerous time – late evening.
I’ve been aware that for many women, moms especially, late night can be the only time they call their own. I can see how easily it might be to reward themselves by eating rather than taking the WW philosophy that a gift to oneself is focus, intent and discipline.
Also we talked about self responsibility.
Ever since I started Weight Watchers, I’ve been reminded of my late father.
I can hear so clearly him sitting down to dinner with his belly protruding and saying, “godamit Thelma! You’ve got to stop feeding me such fattening food.”
I think of how much easier my life would have been if I had grown up hearing, “godamit Thelma, I am fat and it’s because of me and my choices alone.”
It’s something that is reinforced in society with litigation.
Smokers sue tobacco companies for their health problems.
I’ve even heard of overweight people suing McDonald’s for serving them fattening foods.
One of the neat things about having spent a little time in Mexico is seeing a county that truly believes in individual responsibility. If you trip and hurt yourself on a crack in the street, it’s your fault for not paying attention.
So there it is. The zen of a Weight Watchers meeting.
Live with intent. Whatever I don’t like about me or my life isn’t anyone’s fault but my own.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Why I love Oregon
Some day I will write in more detail about this -- but Tom McCall is one of the main reasons I left Seattle and moved to Oregon.
I was inspired by his vision of the Oregon story.
A place of individuals -- a place where we may not agree on everything, but we agreed on one thing -- this was a blessed place to live and we love it here.
Why I love Rick Emerson: I am a word guy. I can sit for some time to try and craft a sentence that says something meaningful. I respect it when others can simply -- in the best sense of the word -- rant.
Here is Rick's rant on why he loves Oregon. You may not agree with it all -- but I think it shows a love of this special place and a love for individuals.
http://www.rickemerson.com/av/Audio/PDXRant.mp3
I was inspired by his vision of the Oregon story.
A place of individuals -- a place where we may not agree on everything, but we agreed on one thing -- this was a blessed place to live and we love it here.
Why I love Rick Emerson: I am a word guy. I can sit for some time to try and craft a sentence that says something meaningful. I respect it when others can simply -- in the best sense of the word -- rant.
Here is Rick's rant on why he loves Oregon. You may not agree with it all -- but I think it shows a love of this special place and a love for individuals.
http://www.rickemerson.com/av/Audio/PDXRant.mp3
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
The Big Trip
100 kids, 40 parents - two and a half days on the road, here in the Newport High School gym
Friday, June 16, 2006
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Monday, June 12, 2006
Why did I eat the way I did?
A friend asked: what did you eat as a kid? Well, a lot of TV dinners.Oddly, my mom was a great cook. She knew everything. She grew up on a farm and could cut up a half a cow into various steaks. Could make everything from scratch.
So when she no longer had to?
She didn't.
We had TV trays when I was a kid.
Aluminum folding trays -- one for each of us.
We would sit in front of the TV in the frontroom and eat the TV dinners.
It was like flying first class in an airplane.
It was like being in the future.
Now, kids could make dinner.
Each person could have something different.
It was the beginning of the processed and fast foods.
No wonder that two generations after -- 63% of the population is obese with hypertension.
However, today -- thanks to the Cooking Channel and Weight Watchers, the family is eating better. We get excited about making things from scratch and seeing how much unprocessed food we can use.
Going back even further in time for a moment -- I remember when I was going through my granola period in college. I was home for some vacation and making a loaf of bread.
Mom reflected.
Her mom had made homemade bread.
She made it for lunches for my mom as she was growing up on a farm.
Mom said her childhood dream was to get sliced bread.
It was a status symbol.
Mom said, the rich city kids no longer ate homemade bread.
Now, just a generation later -- mom reflected on her college son thinking it was cool to make bread, rather than buy it.
More below on TV dinners from the History of TV Dinners:
A confluence of factors accounted for the instant popularity: the baby boom, the advent of refrigerators with big freezer compartments, and the mesmerizing nature of a new home entertainment medium.
Given that cartoons and sci-fi movies tended to be on around dinner time in the '60s, kids like me hated to tear ourselves away from that massive Motorola in the family room. What better solution than to eat in front of the TV - and what better meal than one designed to enhance our viewing pleasure?
"The original TV dinner was an interesting concept. It was something new," says Mike Donovan, a Rowan University professor of radio, television and film. "You could argue the original TV dinner broke up the family unit, but I don't think it had anything to do with it," Donovan says, noting eating in front of the television actually extended the time a family could be together.
What changed all that, he adds, was the advent of cheaper, smaller sets, which gave rise to the contemporary phenomenon of multiple sets per household. Today, a latchkey kid can take his microwaveable meal to his room "and watch MTV 24 hours a day,"
My heart is smiling today
It was my senior year in college.
My aunt and uncle were visiting me at my off-campus apartment.
I loved Adline and Kernie.
They loved me unconditionally.
So, for some reason, I thought it would be nice to "cook" them lunch at my apartment -- something I hadn't ever done.
So, I purchase some TV dinners and cooked them up.
Of course, Adline raved.
I didn't know how to plan a meal, much less cook it at that age.
Fast forward: my children are 10 and 11.
After watching informercials for months on this product -- we go to the store and buy it.
immediately, the kids are making their own smoothies.
Saturday night Kim had a meeting and the kids asked me to stay out of the kitchen so they could cook.
At the appointed hour, dinner was served.
The table was set.
Out came some cooked taquitos (from the freezer, but one of our favorites) and a special bean dip with lots of goodies ground up.
For desert, chocolate mousse.
What a delight.
Six weeks ago I began Weight Watches. Biggest thing for me was how it focuses on good nutrition. Kids have gone right along with it.
Parents always want their kids to have it better than they did.
Too often, it's easy to bring your kids material wealth that you didn't enjoy as a kid.
I think there is an important relationship between character and having it "too easy."
But here is a clear gift to my kids that is different than my childhood.
If they can plan and make a healthy dinner at 10 and 11, then I am confident when their aunt and uncle visit them in college, they will manage something better than TV dinners.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Friday, June 02, 2006
How many groups can you offend in one 60 second political ad?
http://vernonrobinson.com/media/miller_mariachi.mp3
This is real -- not a put on.
"Vote republican or else we will have gays and illegals having fiestas in the street."
This is real -- not a put on.
"Vote republican or else we will have gays and illegals having fiestas in the street."
Catie gives a great speech
Catie and her 4th grade presentation
It was an exciting morning.
My daughter was so excited about her oral presentation to her 4th grade class.
She was performing an oral biography of Sacajawea
She had designed a costume, researched the life and memorized a speech.
First up was a young boy who talked about DaVinci.
He did a great job. Wonderful use of hands. (I should mention that I used to be a judge at speech tournaments.) Of course I thought his presentation was even more remarkable given his oral presentation skills in a second language.
Finally, my Catie girl got up.
She was poised.
She waited to start.
Clear.
Wonderful.
Polished.
All 5's.
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