Monkey Stole My Money

I once had a monkey steal $10 in currency from my bikini top while at a tourist stop on the Amazon River. (I had the bill tucked inside and it saw it.) I never got it back because, after all, who wants to fight a monkey? That's the sum of the story.

For your edfication, here's a story about an octopus who stole a camera: http://vimeo.com/10966874

Nothing Better Than a Hot Fresh Muffin!

A tradition I have started in my family is making muffins. Actually, it's not so much that we make them, but I make them and now that I have brain-washed my kids into thinking that there is nothing better than a hot, fresh muffin for a hungry tummy, I'd like to think of it as a tradition. In addition to being something that will remind them of their mother long after they have left home, I feel like I have found a way to counter my paranoia of them eating processed food 3 meals a day. I know what goes into them, and sugar aside, it's a pretty good bunch of stuff.

So, every third weekend or so I make muffins. I freeze them and we pull them out for breakfast, snacks or quick meals-on-the go.

Whole Grain Muffins

4 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup ground flax seeds

5 tsp Baking Soda

2/3 box of bran flakes (I use Total cereal)

3 cups sugar

1 cup 5 grain cereal soaked in 1 c hot water for 30 minutes prior to adding to the mix

5 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 quart buttermilk

Mix in large bowl. Fill greased and floured muffin tins and bake at 350 until done.

25 Random Things AKA Topics for My Blog

1. I love being a mother.
2. Being on Facebook has made me question my life's decisions - er rather, is motivating me to pursue the things I always thought I would but never did. Or maybeit's just time for me to conduct a mid-life retrospective...
3. If I had known about scooters in college, I probably would have bought one and driven it at 40 miles per hour between Decorah and wherever I needed to go.
4. I have terrible allergies.
5. I sometimes feel faint when I get a shot or when talking about medical procedures.
6. I'm considering allergy shots. If you read numbers 5 & 6 you know that my desperation must outweigh my fear of passing out!
7. Years after seeing a movie, I can see the same movie again and think to myself, "This seems familiar... I wonder if I've seen it?"
8. Chocolate is my favorite "food" and as a purist, I believe it shouldn't be mixed with fruit, liqueur, or creams...
9. My favorite exercise is walking stairs while listening to salsa music. Don't do it anymore though...
10. I enjoy Nordic Walking.
11. In 7th grade I sang "Feelings" in Spanish for extra credit (ie. I have no pride, but do have some chutzpah) and in 5th grade I sang, "God Bless America" for the Hampton Flag Raising ceremony, at the time the tallest flagpole in Minnesota. I still have a letter from Steve Sviggum who commented on me being more nervous about falling off the milk crate they'd put up for me to stand on than singing...
12. I have a favorite mug. If you ask me about it, I could tell you its many merits.
13. I miss speaking Portuguese and Spanish.
14. I once directed traffic at Xfest.
15. No matter how hard I try, I just can't tell a joke well.
16. Bitter and sweet are two words to describe my life. Good seems to be tempered with bad more often than not. Yet, I consider myself an optimist. I just have to work at it sometimes.
17. I love to star-gaze, especially when the city lights and sounds aren't there to distract from the purity of the night sky and the serenity of nature.
18. The internet has improved my life exponentially. What I don't know, I can always look up and usually find. And every day reinforces that fact that I don't know an awful lot.
19. I believe that there are many paths to the same destination.
20. I would like to go to Machu Pichu someday and also to return to Brazil with my husband and children.
21. On that vein, I don't know how returning will affect me emotionally - the poverty of children in particular will be challenging, especially now that a/I'm older b/I have my own children/have gained mother's perspective of the world. Update 2014: Returned in 2012 with my family. Things have changed. For the better. And with it, progress brings its own challenges. Another topic for another day.
22. I flew in the cockpit of a NWA cargo plane as the care-taker for a dozen horses going from Minneapolis to Japan.
23. In 1997 I lived in Venezuela - 8 months of intensity good and bad.
24. I've worked in IT for almost 20 years now. I was an English major and music minor. Believe it or not, my education and profession do not conflict with eachother.
25. Sometimes I think I wear a sign on my forehead that says, "Walk up to me, start a conversation under the pretense of being friendly, and then tell me something really weird or offensive." Really. I could tell stories.

Discussion Topic - Advanced Education

I broughtthis into my blog from my Facebook page - There are way too many threads here, but it is definitely fodder for discussion. I would love to hear your thoughts, even if just one question is something that makes you go, "hmmmmm..."

I preface this note saying that I believe my four year degree was a good use of my time and money. Probably should have gone on for a masters and still could, but that's another note. Anyway, the assumption I'm starting with is based on my belief that an advanced degree, especially as we compete for our jobs on a global level, if not already, will be a prerequisite for a well-paying career. That said...

What advanced education do you think young adults should get these days?

What questions should this based on?

Should ability to repay loans or get immediate employment be a consideration?

Do you think razor sharp skills in one area trump the skills gained by a liberal arts or diverse background?

I personally have found my career journey a longer one given my college degrees in English and Spanish. I would gladly trade the the many tables I waited on and phones I answered for a more enriching start to my career. It was a rough many years - that was the hard part. On the other hand, I wouldn't trade my degrees for anything. I've found that the skills I acquired as a result of a liberal arts background allows me to bring a different perspective to my work. I like to think of it as rounding out the edges, especially in IT where needle-sharp technical knowledge is expected.

More questions...

If we move in a direction requiring specialization quickly, could we as a society give up an edge? Has diversity in educational backgrounds, at least in business, been a cornerstone of our success as a society? Or is it something else that makes our country thrive? If we changed our mindsets to guiding our young adults into non-liberal arts educations what are the implications long term?

Thanks for reading and responding!

Facebook Protocol

Just learned today about Facebook protocol when breaking up. Did you know you are supposed to remove the tags to photos of X's, the digital equivalent of taking down pictures of previous lovers from the walls of your apartment? Either I'm getting old, or my friends are keeping me young.

Review - The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield

On a rating scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being low and 10 high; I put this at an 8. I must say I wasn't bored reading it. The storyline had some very good twists and vivid characters. The story is about a reclusive, prolific writer who hires an equally reclusive book-worm to listen to her life story with the intent of producing an authorized biography. Something has haunted the dying writer and the story unfolds at her pace, a pace which had enough darkness and interesting twists to keep me reading. The dialogue between the biographer and the biographer at the beginning was stiltled, but as the aging woman settled into telling the story, the prose was easy-going and even poetic. I give this book a high rating because I didn't see the obvious answer to the unfolding mystery. For that, kudos to the author - it bumped my rating up from a 7 to an 8.

"Just Drop a Nuclear Bomb" - ????

At work today, I was speaking with a co-worker who was new to me and joked about trying to solve a data security issue by good-faith in employees alone. I suppose I opened up the opportunity by my likening justifying the ROI on the investment into data security to proving there were no WMD's in Iraq. It's very difficult to prove a negative. It is infinitely easier to justify data security after you have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars; it's easier to prove when there's something tangible than when you don't.

What ensued was a "Yes, instead of looking for the WMDs, we could have just dropped 85Billion and a nuclear bomb and taken care of the whole mess. Problem solved."

How do you respond to that? And better yet, "what good could come of any of my responses other than to make him uncomfortable?" I swiftly changed the subject to the actual topic of our meeting.

Once again (if you know me, you know that strangers will say the darndest things to me...), I was left feeling shocked, but not awed. I'm glad it's out there though. I have a good sense of where he stands and more importantly, what topics to avoid in the future -- at least in the office.

Jonah Varc

Last night my 7 year old and I were reading her children’s encyclopedia. We recently saw a movie that featured the character of Joan of Arc in it so, I suggested we look her up in the encyclopedia.

I started under “J” – No Joan.

Then I went to the “A” section. She was very confused.

“Why the A’s, Mommy?”

“Because her last name was Arc.”

“No. It can’t be. Her last name was Varc.”

“Huh?”

“Her name is Jonah Varc. Because what kind of middle name is ‘of?’ Try looking under the V’s. It’s gotta be there.”

We turned the V section.

“It should be right there, between Van Gogh and Vegetables.”

“Honey, I promise you her name was Joan of Arc. Arc was her last name. Either way, she doesn’t appear to be in your encyclopedia.”

She accepted my statement with a sigh. I don’t think she believed me.

My Favorite Mug

I don't have many favorites, but I'm working on it. Perhaps it comes of being fairly demanding of myself and others. A good thing and a bad thing I'd say, but that's for another posting.

Getting back to the topic at hand, I have a favorite mug. If you go to eBay and search for a Denby tankard mug, you may have the luck of finding one for $50 or more. I have 3 and they are all beautiful. I've only got one of this pattern so if you come to my house and have coffee or tea and you are offered it in this mug, consider yourself in. Anyway, they don't make this model anymore, which is a crying shame.

The reason my mug is so special is that it is the perfect shape and size for a petite adult's hands. The base fits in my hands like it was made for me alone. There's nothing like sipping hot tea on a cold day holding a warm mug like it is an extension of your body. The shape is bowled, tapering at the top, which lets heat out sparingly. The best part is the shape of the rim. It's a sensuous experience to drink from my mug - the gentle slope allows me to place my lower lip under it while the rim above isn't so large that the beverage dumps out, instead flowing smoothly, nourishingly into my mouth.

Call me strange, that's fine - I've been called worse things. I do know one thing for sure, I love my mug.

Laughter Yoga

For the past month I have been trying laughter yoga.

To set the record straight, laughter yoga does not involve getting into a stretching position and laughing instead of focusing on breathing. Instead, the class is a series of actions designed to help you pretend to laugh. For example, one exercise is to mime blowing bubbles and instead of blowing air through the loop you laugh shyly.

The rules are to laugh responsibly (no new pain); no talking; engage with others through eye contact; and have fun.

Doctor Kataria, the founder, has done extensive research on the medical benefits of laughter yoga. While laughter is the best medicine, he's discovered that laughter yoga is the second-best medicine.

The class is not for the insecure, self-conscious or intolerant (technically, it is for anyone...) Once I got past the silliness, it was liberating. The physical effects are many - I sleep more soundly; I feel the post laughter endorphin rush; and during the laughter meditation I've found a way to release my emotions-whatever is brewing that day or stored up for the week. I'm going to keep it up and see what becomes of it!

Why Nuggets?

When I lived in South America, the contortions my host family and friends endured to say my first name made me think it might be easier if they called me by my last name. So, I asked them to call me by my apellido in Spanish. They don't speak Spanish in Brazil. Apellido sounds like "apelido" which means nickname in Portuguese. The long and short of it is I was presented with a long list of options and I am known by Pepita in Brazil. It wasn't until 1998 that I learned that pepita has a meaning other than the name of a famous Brazilian at the time. It means nugget in Portuguese. So, while I offer you these random thoughts, the double entendre is intentional - an homage to another life and what I hope are valuable insights in this one.