Last Year:

Last year I had a plan. Well before December I had ordered Elliot some green-striped pajamas, red booties, got lucky that his favorite toy already happened to be some sleigh bells, bought some fake snow at the nearby craft chain and viola it was the cutest darn Christmas card!


This Year:

This year I had no plan. As Thanksgiving weekend came to a close we picked up our pug from his weekend away (boarding at the vet). When we arrived at his hotel (the vet) there was a photographer in the lobby (the waiting room) offering to take photos Christmas photos of your pet at a nominal fee (totally overpriced). I made the mistake of asking if children could be in the photo and in a moment of desperation (knowing I did not yet have a plan for Christmas cards) I said I'd leave the pug here to have a bath, take the baby home for a nap and come back to take their pictures. So we did. And they were not quite what I imagined they would be in my last-minute overly optimistic state of mind.


Notice the cheesy chaise lounge, the curtain for dramatic flair, the fake presents and the stupid scarf on Thomas (they put these on the dogs after baths and I forgot to take it off!). We didn't decide immediately that we were not going to use this photo as our card, but we didn't go straight home and start assembling either.

Almost two weeks ago we took Elliot to see Santa. While he napped in the morning I brought up the brilliant idea of us taking the photo as a family and that could be our Christmas card. Dale agreed and we got busy trying to find any clean clothes that coordinate but didn't look too matchy-matchy. We decided on gray and though it was matchy-matchy, I do believe it was understated. Unlike last year, the photographer elf was rushing and didn't really give us an opportunity to take a good picture and of the ones they took she gave me all of 5 seconds to decide on 1 pose for a nominal fee (extremely overpriced). And again, they were not quite what I imagined they would be in my last-minute overly optimistic state of mind.


Though I must say this Santa is the real-deal (though his elves were off their game this year!) due to our unseasonably warm weather he was wearing this "interesting" shirt instead of his snugly warm coat. But I don't blame Santa, it just didn't work out. Again, we didn't decide immediately that we were not going to use this photo, but we weren't "pulling the trigger"on making the cards either.

Last weekend we decided to do what we should have done all along, what we did last year, to take our own Christmas photo. We started out thinking we would set-up the tripod and take a overdue family photo in front of the tree. As usual we were/are behind on everything and it was just going to take too much energy we didn't have to pull-off the family photo, so the family part was not going to happen AND the tree wasn't exactly decorated yet (except for the lights) so I quickly looked around and realized the fireplace would work perfectly. And viola, the Christmas card was born.

Labels: Adventuring, Kid-ing

Oh my, it has been over a month since I have said anything! I have had many thoughts at the gym, in the car, at work, and more...just haven't had a moment to type them out. These days a not-so-clever facebook status is about all I can muster up. I am sure that you (my five readers) are just all broken-up about this, but don't despair I'm not gone for good.

Labels: Thinking

Our little baby bear started walking today and it is CUTE! He has been walking holding on to furniture for quite some time, so I didn't expect to enjoy it so very much! I would imagine that by next week he will have abandoned the crawling altogether, sad and exhilarating at the same time. I have been in denial for quite some time that he is a "Toddler" but I guess there is no denying it anymore. I just had no idea that my baby would only be a "baby" for such a short time. Some dear friends were in town this weekend so they got to share this with us and it gave us something extra to toast over dinner.

Labels: Feeling, Kid-ing

Labels: Feeling

Labels: Feeling

What I was up against:

Labels: Eating, Feeling

If I were born ten years later I likely would have wound up with an ADD diagnosis (Attention Deficit Disorder), not to be confused with ADHD which adds hyperactivity to the mix which was not at all my situation. In life I always seem to be racing the clock. Sometimes it is self imposed due to procrastination, but mostly it is just how I roll (I cannot resist the temptation to use some wannabe hip-hop slang and I mean no disrespect in doing so). Anway, the point is I tend to move from one thing to another so quickly that I sometimes miss things. Most often I get what I need out of the conversation/television show/book/magazine/fill in the blank. Sometimes I miss and miss BIG.

Recently at work I skimmed an e-mail (I get at least 40 relevent e-mails a day, so I do this for efficiency sake). The Executive Secretary to our Agency Director sent out an e-mail reminding staff of the upcoming Charitable Contributions Campaign where all employees have the opportunity to donate to a charity for a whole year and it's deducted from your pay, pre-tax sort of a thing. Each year there is apparently a kick-off celebration where you can eat donated pumpkin pie (my original interpretation), admire carved pumpkins and eat green things (in honor of "going green"). So when our Director sent a follow-up e-mail with a plea and then the Secretary sent yet another follow-up with yet another plea, I bit and said, "Hey if you haven't had any volunteers for the pie donation, count me in."

The next thing I got was a thank you for entering the upcoming Charitable Contributions Contest! WTF?! I didn't recall anything about a contest? I thought I was baking a pie to donate. Now I need to bake TWO pies, both identical (one for the judges and one for display!)? This is like a real contest (albeit for San Mateo County Employees only)! The fun didn't stop there. A day later an e-mail went out to all 850 Human Services Employees and said, "Come taste a sure to be award winning pie baked by Amy Kaiser..." And if that were not enough another one went out a couple days later saying "Also, just a friendly reminder to come taste a sure to be award winning pie baked by Amy Kaiser..." The pressure!!!

So here I was at 7:30 trying to make sure Elliot was asleep, cooking dinner so my dear husband and I can toast his Mom's 60th Birthday, and baking TWO pies for a contest tomorrow. I have never baked two pies - yikes! I encountered a bit of weight issue as I put both pies on a cookie sheet which caused the cookie sheet to dip in the center and the pie filling leaked and made ugly pie! They might taste OK, but they are not my finest works. Wish me luck!


P.S. I am too tired to even proof read this, so it is what it is.

Labels: Eating, Thinking

• Woke up to a singing baby boy
• Tried to rationalize with a hungry boy
• Gave temper-tantrum boy his medicine
• Packed the car
  
• Drank coffee while driving the bear to school, me to work
• Hit traffic
• Dropped bear off at school, set-up his breakfast, kisses goodbye
  
• Arrived late for work
• Got a desperately needed car wash during lunch (no longer would the washer fluid clean the shat off)
• Left work early (few meetings today = a lot of work done in less time, that's my justification anyway)
• Drove the hungry bear home
• Fed the hungry bear dinner
• Let the hungry pug out to go potty
• Fed the hungry pug dinner
• Gave the tired bear milk
• Laid the sleepy bear down to sleep
• Checked e-mail, facebook, etc.
• Cooked dinner with Hubbie
  
• Decided not to wash any dishes
• Wrote this post
• Off to shower, watch some tube and hit the hay
  

Labels: Thinking

Tonight while I was at the gym my mind began wandering as it does when I exercise. I began thinking about canned peaches. First I began to wonder how canned peaches get to be that perfect solid color of yellow-orange (not peach) and are completely smooth and absent of any evidence that there was a giant pit in the center, strange and oddly unnatural. I then began to think about how common it was for us to eat canned fruit when I was a child - peaches, pears and fruit cocktail were the most common. How is it that a farmer would allow his family to each such things? One day we would eat fresh fruit straight from the orchard out of a crate that would sit atop our dryer in the laundry room and the next day it was canned peaches. I then remembered a more recent conversation with my Dad where I learned of his love of canned fruit (anything sugary, really) and then remembered seeing him eat peaches right out of the can. How could he like those sickly sweet versions of the real thing? Generation gap. When my dad was growing up his mother preserved jars and jars of fresh fruits so there would be fruit for the winter. It makes sense now, produce wasn't flying in at record speeds from around the globe all year round, so if you wanted peaches in the winter you'd preserve them in the summer. Somehow I feel like Grandma's peaches were probably a lot tastier then the "Del Monte" variety. This got me through about 10 minutes of my work out.

Labels: Eating, Thinking

I just noticed today that on my browser at work my new header is located over my posts instead of its intended location on the left-side. Hmm. I will be working on this and other details that plague me into the wee hours of the night ;) Patience please (I am speaking more to myself - ha!).

I am THRILLED with myself that I figured out how to edit the "html" and remove the duplicate comment link! Yippie for me!

Labels: Thinking

When I was in New York a few years ago, I visited the famous Magnolia Bakery and had myself a few cupcakes. They were good, but not great. I felt like maybe I built them up too much or something. About a month ago a good friend used the Magnolia Vanilla recipe to bake some sweet lovely cupcakes for her daughters birthday. When I ate her cupcakes I was in such a happy place, these were what cupcakes should taste like. I have been mildly obsessed with these cupcakes ever since. When we got an invitation to a gathering with family this past Sunday I decided it was a perfect opportunity to try and master Magnolia's Cupcakes. The recipe was quite easy, it was the frosting that would be my battle for a great little cake. My friend used a cream-cheese frosting which I am generally partial to, but I wanted to see if I could make a great little cake with the butter-cream that Magnolia uses. As you can see from the picture of their cakes they use way too much sickly sugary frosting, and I was not going to make that same mistake. I pulled out a star-tip, slopped some vanilla frosting in a zip-lock bag and viola my magical cupcakes were born with just a thin layer of frosting. You tell me which cupcakes you'd rather eat. Mine or Theirs?

Labels: Eating

Not that you care, but I will tell you anyway. I originally had Dale customize my template so I could use Arial Narrow - the best font ever! Anyway, it has been a giant pain in the a$% every since. That particular customization seems to have made the overall formatting funky and I am tired of it taking me twice as long as it should to write a post. I am going to be playing for a while, so pardon the mess.

Here is a sweet picture to calm your nerves while you wait ;)

Labels: Thinking

Last weekend we took our first family trip to Santa Cruz. We actually took Friday off of work and had three almost-full days there. I am a Westside girl, so we found a great little place to stay not far from the Lighthouse. I spent most of my summers and spring-breaks in Santa Cruz as a child. We had a vacation house just steps away from the best beach in the whole wide world (maybe a slight exaggeration), it is known as Natural Bridges to most people.

As a child we really lived in Santa Cruz, so I didn't really get to know the town the way a tourist or a local would. We would spend most of our days lugging our buckets, shovels, boogie boards and other beach accoutrement to the beach, along with a some sort of white bread sandwich and chips that always ended up with sand in them - ick! Occasionally we would roller skate to the 7-11 to buy mounds of sugary candy and a slurpy to wash it down with.

As we prepared for our trip, I started making a list of all the things I wanted to do with baby-bear that I did as a child, and these made the cut for our first trip:

*Natural Bridges (of course)
There is so much to love about Natural Bridges besides the beach. During the fall or winter you must take the easy-breezy Monarch Butterfly walk. When you are not with a baby in a stroller or that needs carrying, you must walk along the tad pools, and if you are so inclined you could crawl around in the bushes and pretend it is a fort. My dad still has a few photos that show the first bridge connected.






*Ferrell's Donuts

Elliot had his first donut! And as you can imagine, he loved it! Though I am pretty sure this was not my first donut ever, it is in fact the donuts I have the earliest memory of eating. They don't stick in my mind simply because they are the best donuts ever, but because my Dad would always go out before any of us were awake to get the Sunday paper and Ferrell's donuts. As we made our way to the kitchen for breakfast that pink box with a powdered jelly donut (or two) would be waiting for me and my Dad to share as we read the paper (I read the comics mostly), always put a smile on my face (one that resembles E's above).





*Clam Chowder at Stagnaro's

If you like clam chowder, it's some of the best. I had a brief period from about 12 until my mid-twenties where I wouldn't eat the stuff because I had discovered it had clams in it, go figure!







Sadly there were some places that no longer exist like Lip Smackin' BBQ or The Junker (known to others as Paul's Diner).

I also wanted this trip to be the first of many we have as a family and for us to start new traditions, so we added some new things:





*Tacos Moreno




They call it a corn-quesadilla, but it is really a taco...with Al Pastor, pinto beans, cabbage, salsa, queso - yum! This was baby-bears first meal in Santa Cruz, he had the flour quesadilla which is just like a quesadilla we are used to seeing, it was his first of many fried things he ate during the trip.













*Marianne's Ice Cream

We we certain we needed desert after our dinner at Stagnero's as they are only known for the clam chowder. We wanted ice-cream, did a little web search and came across an ice cream spot that I then recalled a friend mentioning. I don't recall every visiting this fine establishment, though it has been there right on Ocean St for over 50 years. Maybe it is because we always had cartons of ice-cream in the freezer, so who needed to go out! It was truly delicious, though when we got home we learned it is up for sale! Hopefully someone worthy snatches it up and maintains the quality.



*Engfer Pizza









This was Dale's pick because as a good wife I had to let him pick something! It was a yummy new pizza place on the East Side (which I mildly objected to patronizing) but it was well worth it. Great selection of beers on tap, wood-fired pizza and ping-pong. We ordered a pizza with jalapeños because I like almost everything spicy (except ice-cream), but it was a little too spicy for even me. Elliot had his second fried item, his very own giant slice of cheese pizza.











*Westside Farmer's Market









Whenever we stay somewhere with a kitchen I like to hit up local farmer's markets to feel local and have at least one fresh, local-fare meal at "home". Elliot tried his first tamale, love it! OK, just the masa, not the spicy chicken filling.










We are already planning our next trip, but from the looks of real estate we won't be buying our vacation home anytime soon.

Labels: Adventuring, Kid-ing

I must admit that I was depressed to realize we would be giving birth to our baby boy while during George W was in office. Yes, I really thought about it. For the rest of his life he will have to say, "George W. was president when I was born." But when he is forced to say this I will remind him to also say that he was born on the cusp of change, that when he was a year old the Civil Rights Movement celebrated two more giant successes:


> Today a great leader for the Lesbian Rights Movement Del Martin died at 87 years of age and just a little more than 2-months ago she was pushed to her wedding ceremony in a wheelchair after a long fight that resulted in a California Supreme Court decision giving gays and lesbians the right to marry.


> Today for the first time in history, 45-years after the celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, we nominated an African American, Barack Obama for presidency.

Thanks for listening!

Labels: Thinking

Chapter Three: Getting There Faster Than Everyone Else

Don't get me wrong, I like to drive above the speed limit and am in no mood for a "Sunday Drive". And although it is hard to articulate, there is a line that is crossed when some drivers take fast assertive driving to a whole new level of snippy, speed around you, weaving through traffic, only to get caught at the same red light as everybody else. I laugh at these drivers! (and they may have laughed at me too once or twice).

Labels: Thinking

• Yesterday, rusty and out of practice, I returned to piano lessons. It was not exactly "just like riding a bike" but it was not ground zero either. The highlight was when I played "When The Saints Go Marching In" using both hands!
• Today I introduced Elliot to Ben Folds and we sang all the way to work and back (Ben's my favorite piano man).
• Today I thought about how I used to play along on the piano with my Mom. She would play silly songs for me to sing and often find ways that I could play along, like playing the melody to "Heart & Soul" while she played the harmony or chords with two-hands!
• Tomorrow I will practice the piano.
  

Labels: Thinking

I haven't read a single book since Elliot was born (excluding excerpts from reference material), not that I read a whole lot before he was born either. I wouldn't say I love to read, but I do love the idea of reading. As a child I hated reading and my mother spent every summer vacation trying to get me to read. I would sit there counting the minutes until the allotted time frame for which I had to read was complete (sometimes she got smart and required me to read x number of pages). Instead of just reading the books I would see how long it would take to read one page and then calculate how many pages I would have to read before I would be done with my 1/2 hour requirement. I would test this theory by seeing how long 2 pages took, and then 3 and so on. It's no wonder I had trouble with comprehension - HA!

In college I got into reading from an academic perspective, as a Sociology major you didn't really have much of choice. I enjoyed the theory, but I fell in love with reading the real life "stories", though they were often sad and made you somehow feel hopeless instead of hopeful.

As a post-college adult I discovered books that were fiction but that blended reality, sometimes unsure which was which. The Tales of The City series (OMG! there's a new book!) were the first in this style of books that I began to enjoy for that "Frasier" quality. Lighthearted enough to read before bed, but not too far off the mark to have really happened.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to my daily morning radio news (of which I am sure Elliot will complain about as soon as he starts talking) and there were two Murder Mystery authors being interviewed, on Forum with Michael Krasny - strange, I know. Both of these authors based their stories right here in the great bay-area. I was too anxious to read them, so I hoped on amazon and viola they appeared one day at work in my littile 'ol mailbox!

Anyway, I am so excited that I took a chance on this first one...Judgement Day. This story is written by a San Francisco Lawyer about a legal duo who has 8 days to save a man who is sitting on death row at San Quentin from being executed. Every night I came home, ate dinner, washed dishes, prepped Elliot's food and showered a little faster than usual just so I could steal 30 minutes to see how the case was progressing. It was an excellent story with wonderful little historical facts about San Francisco from the people who know the city. If you have lived in or near San Francisco, you'll have fun with this story - I promise. I don't think it has hooked me on the genre of Murder Mystery, but I will keep an open mind as I read SharpShooter - food, wine & murder in The Napa Valley - eeek!

Labels: Thinking

Elliot is really into the telephone, always has been. As soon as he could lift our cordless phone he started putting it into his mouth. When I am on the phone in his presence I try to hold it next to his ear and get him to realize someone is talking, though he usually just grabs it and sticks it in his mouth. Today after I got off the phone with Daddy I handed him the phone and said, "Talk into the phone", "Whose there", "Somebody wants to talk to Elliot" and so on. And of course, he did not talk back. Then I had a brilliant idea and I began dialing POPCORN...You know 767-2676 (though I learned many years ago 767-5555 works too)! So I dialed POPCORN and I got the following message,

Labels: Thinking

This morning after breakfast and coffee with my favorite guys I put on my workout clothes, strapped on my roller blades and went skating. I often find it hard to make time for exercise on the weekends because it takes time away from something that "needs" to get done. But it was a beautiful morning, so I went for it! Earlier in the week (no laughing!) I read an article in Real Simple (I said, don't laugh!) about making time for doing things that make you happy (duh!). I admit it, I am one of those people that gets so wrapped and overwhelmed with all the things that "need" to get done and often (like the article said) it becomes debilitating because I get "depressed" about not having time for me or things that make me happy. The little nag on my shoulder tells me ...

"Me time is selfish"
"Only lazy people put there feet up when there are dishes to be done"

Hell, the fact that I made time to read a stupid article in Real Simple was a huge step for me. I actually left the office to grab some lunch, brought it back and instead of eating while responding to e-mail I turned away from my computer, ate my lunch and read this article...normally even if I would make time for a magazine it would be to quickly flip to the page with the yummy recipe or quick orginizational tip, toss it aside and eventually recycle.

When I got back from skating we put Elliot down for a nap, I had a bite to eat and then sent Dale on his way to go have his exercise time. Normally I would take this time to do all the dishes, pickup the clutter, put away the toys, and throw a load of laundry in the washer. Today I am taking time for me! I made myself a delicious Iced Soy Mocha, chatted with a good friend, got back into bed where I am watching an episode of Frasier and writing this post. After I am done I think I will go futz in the yard because I stumbled upon these beautiful pots the other day and am just dying to put something wonderful in them! So even though we have a babysitter coming over tonight, I am not going to do the dishes, pick-up the clutter, and I am just going to continue to enjoy "Me Time". There is a slight possibility that I will race around 30 minutes before she arrives trying to make the place presentable, but change doesn't happen over night...baby-steps!

Labels: Thinking

I didn't know what to write or what to say after we lost Dale's Mom, I still don't. Then on my sweet Elliot's Birthday I began writing his Birth Story, and for days after I would add a bit here and there. And as another "milestone" hit us, I decided I needed to talk about that "in the now" so I will get back to his Birth Story some other day. Elliot had pneumonia back in April (not life threatening, and I realize not "in the now" but necessary background) and since then has had to take a pulmicort treatment twice-a-day via a nebulizer machine. Also at that time he decided he didn't want "Mommies Milk" anymore, so we started formula. Though I often joke about him "not wanting me anymore", I really was ok with the transition because I knew I would be a happier mommy not stressed about pumping and getting enough "food" for my little guy.

On July 7th we went to the doctor for Elliot's 1 year exam - a Well Check is what they call them. At this appointment the pediatrician asked if we were ready to move him to whole milk...and before she could finish I said, "Of course, we were hoping you were ready". Heck, I already had a gallon of whole milk waiting in the fridge at home!

Starting that same evening we began blending the milk and formula in his bottles (and sippy cup) starting with a 70/30 split of formula/milk and by day 3 we were on a 50/50 and as our last can of formula was empty yesterday I made his first bottle of plain old milk. From Mommies Milk to rice cereal...to mushed up fruits and veggies...to bites size pieces of real food...his last connection to baby food was his special baby milk. And as I was giving him his evening treatment and getting ready to make his bedtime bottle I realized I would also need a new "routine".

This is the part of the post where I tie it all together - HA! You see, Elliot insists that we sing and do silly dances while he takes his medicine and if we don't he will pull his mask off. Each night in an attempt to multi-task, I would make his bedtime bottle while he was having his medicine (and if you have made formula you know the importance of shaking the water and mix together quite vigorously). To appease him I would sing and shake (you know the tune, sing along)...

Shake, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake
Shake your milk up
Shake your milk up

I know I could "shake the plain ol' Milk up" too, but it's not the same! Too many changes all at once, my little boy is growing up, and I will have to get some new material!

Labels: Kid-ing

There were many years I spent eating Fat Free everything, and I mean everything. I would eat it every morsel and multiple portions, but tell myself it didn't matter because it was Fat Free. Later I learned (along with the rest of the world) that low-fat was just as "healthy" and low in calories as fat-free...and it tasted better too. That little bit of fat makes a huge difference in taste. From then I vowed to never eat Fat Free again (unless of course it naturally comes that way).


On April 3rd Elliot went to the doctor for his 9-month Well Exam and the doctor gave us the green-light for giving him dairy (cheese and yogurt). Well with little babes they like them to eat Whole Fat dairy products, so off to the store I went to research and purchase Whole Fat Milk products. We started with the inevitable Yo-Baby yogurt which I was against at first because I always tend to resist products designed for specific "markets" like this, but at the end of the day it is so much easier than buying a big container, portioning it out, etc., etc. Once I settled on the yogurt I moved to the cottage cheese section and picked up some small-curd 4% milk-fat cottage cheese (I wasn't sure 4% mean whole-milk, but I new that 2% was considered to be a "healthy" milk option - remember I am a soy girl so some of this was new to me).


When I got home I sampled the fare that I was about to give my child I was ... well, I cannot explain what I was, but it was the tastiest stuff I have had in a looong time! The yogurt was good, but I think I can go back to the low-fat stuff. But the cottage cheese was AMAZING! That little bit of extra fat was so delightful and creamy. Though I was a tad disappointed when Elliot didn't like the cottage cheese, it didn't take me long to finish it myself.


Treat yourself to some fat today, you won't regret it!


P.S. Thanks for your healthy well-wishes. Our little bear has clear lungs and is gaining some weight back.

Labels: Eating, Flourishing, Thinking

Now til March. From daycare, other parents, his pediatrician, all uttered the same words to us, "Get used to it, from now until March he'll be sick constantly." I know it is odd, but I took comfort in these words. I took comfort know that it was not something with Elliot's immune system, but rather part of what happens to most children when they enter the world. I took comfort knowing that whether he was 6-months or 3 years, his time in enclosed spaces with other children would bring germs and colds galore. Nothing would be gained by holding him back a few years. Well, we are in April now and my poor guy is still sick. In fact, just as he was recovering from what I though would be his last cold (it was winding down the last days of March/first days of April) BAM he got hit with another cold and this time it turned into Pneumonia! All I could think was, "Are you f****** kidding me?!". Our little guy is handling it all like a trooper, especially considering the morning and evening kiddie cocktail he endures - albuterol via a chamber, steroids via a mask and a nebulizer, and liquid antibiotics (I don't take liquid anything, so the fact that he sucks this stuff down is amazing to me!). So we've given up on April and are now hoping for a healthy May.

Labels: Thinking

Chapter Two: The Car Pool Lane

Definition: A carpool lane is a special freeway lane only for buses and/or carpools.You may use a carpool lane or on ramp if your vehicle carries the minimum number of people required for the carpool lane or you drive a low-emission vehicle displaying a special DMV-issued decal. Motorcycle riders may use designated carpool lanes, unless otherwise posted. Please see http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl600.pdf for a more detailed definition.

Important Information to remember:

*If during the posted time frame you are driving slower than the cars in the other lanes of traffic - MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!

*If it is not during the posted time frame and you are driving slower than the cars in the other lanes - see chapter on use of Fast Lanes (coming soon - but here is a hint: MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!)


Back to Chapter 1: Turning

Labels: Thinking

**When pregnant with your first child you get excited when you discover perks meant just for pregnant ladies and if you are me you don't question these perks one bit. One said perk is Stork Parking at BabiesRUs, close parking just for expectant mothers. After you have the baby and make your first trip to BabiesRUs for some "necessity" you quickly realize that Stork Parking is ridiculous. Unless you are under some sort of special doctors orders to not walk "long" distances, pregnant women can walk just like anyone else. In fact, pregnant women should walk, exercise, move and groove, it is not a disability. What BabiesRUs should have is New Parent Parking because the infant carrierers, the weight of the baby, not to mention how damn akward it is to carry. New Parents are who deserve to walk a little less!


**When you are pregnant you may from time to time happen into shops that sell maternity clothes and these nice shops will almost always also offer a place for women to nurse/feed their babies (remember, I said maternity store...a place where pregnant, generally non-nursing people go). After you have a baby you may from time to time happen into shops that sell baby clothes and these nice shops almost never have even a restroom with a changing table let alone a place to nurse/feed a baby (remember, I said baby store...a place where moms (and dads) of babies and young children go).

Labels: Thinking

Labels: Kid-ing

There aren't many diets I haven't tried, Nutra System, Jenny Craig, Weightwatchers, Southbeach, and I even got caught in the Susan Powder craze (ok, maybe craze is a little strong). I never tried DealAMeal, but I was found Sweatin' to the Oldies once or twice. This list doesn't even count the hundreds of "DIY" efforts where I followed (or tried to follow) "best practices" of the day (no-fat, low-carb, low-fat, no-carb - geez). Though I am not a proponent of those that want you to eat pre-packed "food", I do recognize that even those programs will work and have some value. Today I thought I would share my thoughts as an unofficial diet critic:


*Nutra System and Jenny Craig are all about convenience. If you don't like to cook or don't have time to cook, and are not overly particular about taste (not meant as a critisism no matter how it sounds), then these programs are meant for you. You select all your meals in advance and everything comes pre-packaged (ingredient control) & pre-measured in individual servings (portion control). It does tend to limit your ability to eat out, which is not always a bad thing. I have met a restaurant or two willing to nuke the food and bring it to you on a plate so you can enjoy yourself and not look like a fool eating out of a carton.


*Southbeach is the ultimate in learning about sugar addiction! The program is broken into Phases - Phase 1 you are essentially prohibited from eating ANY sugar (bread, fruit, etc.). Phase 2 you begin adding in complex sugars (i.e. high-fiber, low sugar foods) and by Phase 3 you are essentially just following a low-fat, portion controlled diet. There is really nothing Southbeach about where you end up, just where you begin. Phase 3 is just about living a healthy lifestyle, eating heart healthy foods, and so on. I think it is a great learning experience and everyone should try this once in their adult lives!


*WeightWatchers has had many iterations (as have the others I guess), some of which used to require that you eat Liver - ick! But the new generation of WeightWatchers is a fancy smancy way of counting calories...based primarily on the age old concept ...


If your daily caloric intake <> your daily calories burned ... Weight Gain


The upside to WW is that you can eat whatever you want, you just have to manage your daily points. You can use more than 1/2 your daily points on pizza or (if you are like me and it is all about volume) then you can make the most of EVERY point and enjoy many 1-point tasty treats like VitaTops! Points are centered around fiber, generally the more fiber the fewer the points. Fiber also makes a nice proxy because foods higer in fiber generally tend to just simply be more nutrituous. You need the Total Calories, Total Fat and Total Fiber to calculate the points value, so eating out can sometimes be tricky (if faster food is your thing, there are a lot of resources for obtaining those values). WW does offer some tricks to help you estimate - palm of your hand is about 4 ounces of meat, your thumb is about an ounce of cheese, and your fist is about a cup of rice/cereal or whatever. I do think this is the most flexible plan out there.


*Richard Simmons, Susan Powder and countless others are all about motivation. They are essetially selling very simmlar concepts to WW in that lowering your caloric intake and increasing your physical activity can result in weight loss.


What each of these plans (and countless others) are really selling are different tools and strategies (built around fewer calroies, no matter how it is worded) to achieve your desired weight loss goal. At the end of the day you just need to determine which strategy is a fit for you. There really is no cure, there is no easy answer....fewer calories, more exercise - that's it (you can skip the exercise, though I don't recomend it for overall health reasons and you'll have to eat even fewer calories)! I will be tempted to try out the next miracle diet and I will be sure to give you my 2-cents!

Labels: Eating, Flourishing, Thinking

I don't eat fast food! This has been my silent mantra for at least the last 7 years. Sure, I occasionally partake in a nibble when we are on the road (i.e. to Fresno, Tahoe or other trip where fine dining establishments are not part of the scenic route). But as a rule, it doesn't make our way into our regular daily diet. In my former life as a student of Sociology, I was a BIG fan of the concept of Ideal vs. Real. The concept was not a complicated one, but still it had the "a-ha" effect on me as it gave me words for something I saw around me (typical of what a lot of Soc concepts do). I would pride myself (secretly, of course) on being able to identify people who were blind to their reality because I did not suffer from this same blindness...I could see clearly, I was special somehow!


One day I was driving home from a party with a friend and her son wanted to go to McDonald's, so we went through the drive through and I ordered a shake and my friend was bewildered to find out that I hadn't been to McDonald's in well over 5 years. How is that possible, she exclaimed?!


I know, I though later, how is it possible?


I think it all starts with a love of food and a sprinkle of calorie watching. And then of course there are political reasons for this as well. But how have I really managed to avoid it all these years? After all, we live in a fast-paced society with a lot of demands on us and sometimes you need it - fast! I was pondering all of this just the other day as I was sipping my coffee and dreaming about dinner (that Dale was going bring home for us).


And then it hit me (like a ton of bricks)

I DO EAT FAST-FOOD!


I had this icky feeling in my stomach (similar to one experienced by Cher in Clueless after she flunked her driving test)


Everyday I drink my Double-Tall 1/2 Caff 2-pump Soy Mocha (now with an addition of 1 pump of honey - sooooo good)
And about once a week I eat my steak quesadilla (light on the queso & with a side of sour cream & corn salsa)


Starbucks and Chipotle - yikes!


How did this happen!?


In order to continue living in my ideal world I have decided to differentiate between good (or acceptable) and bad (or unacceptable) fast food choices.


Thank you for indulging me!


Good Fast Food:


Chipotle (no longer owned by McD)
Starbucks (let's face it, it is consistent and the friendly people are making my drink before I even get to the front of the line - genius training program!)
Anything else I might happen to eat


Bad Fast Food:


McDonald's
Burger King
Anything else I don't or won't eat

Labels: Eating, Flourishing, Thinking

As we enter into Spring, I thought I would leverage this opportunity (again, too much time at work) and stand on my soap box for a moment...

For years I have heard from non-native Calfornian's that we (Californian's, that is) don't know the true meaning of seasons. The East Coast is always heralded as the only place in the world (and by world I mean The US which as we know is the world, right?) that has true seasons. This is just bologna if you ask me (which I know you didn't, but this is My Soap Box). If you buy into the notion that seasons are only defined by "fall colors", blankets of snow, spring flowers and so on, then how do you explain this?!

Labels: Thinking

Until recently I bought in to the notion (albeit on an unconscious level) that when Mom's get taken down they still have to care for everyone (including themselves). I am now annoyed on behalf of my husband for this line of thinking. I was taken down recently by a Sinus Infection (something I had avoided my whole life) and it was so miserable! I had a fever, couldn't breath out of my nose, used almost a whole box of tissue in one day, and for the first time in as far as I can remember I lost my appetite (seriously, I never lose my appetite when I am sick). My dear husband did everything short of bathing me and nary a complaint from his lips. He took on all the care for our sweet Elliot - dressed, his meds (ear infection), diapers changed...took over all the household duties - grocery shopping, laundry, food for me (I could still eat, just not quite so much). Now, this makes it sounds like he only did all these things because I was sick, and I don't mean it that way. These are things we do together every week, but like any good team player (I am spending too much time at work as you can see by my use of phrases like "team player") he kicked it into overdrive to compensate for my inability to "play ball". Thanks hubby!

Labels: Flourishing, Thinking

This whole workin' Mom thing is a killer! What a crazy circus life has become! Throw a sick mom and baby on top of it all and life becomes chaos - manageable chaos, but chaos nonetheless. I have not kept up my "What did I eat today" and I have not lost the weight that I had hoped I would by now...but I am alive and loving every moment I have with my son and dear husband! I have missed blogging, but have been lucky to get even a few moments (usually when I am pumping at work) to read a blog, let alone write a post. But here I am, finally not sick, I have showered, the dishes are done, our sweet baby (who has ear infection #2) is asleep, and though l am feeling the strongest urge to go fall asleep myself, I just really wanted to say hello! Goodnight.

Labels: Thinking

15 years ago I graduated from High School, packed my bags and move to the big city - Fremont! (I moved from Tracy). 6 months later (still in Fremont) I met a boy...who quickly became (and still is) the love of my life. (Photo on the left is courtesy of Jennie Oh, Circa 1997 UC Berkeley)


January 29th, 1995 we celebrated our 1st dating anniversary - we went roller skating. This year on our 14th anniversary we decided to commemorate the occasion by once again going roller skating - and to our surprise the roller rink is still in business. On our drive to the roller rink I suggested that we stop and get ourselves a Starbucks after we skate and Dale suggested Pete's instead. In an effort to get my way I quickly said, "Pete's wasn't around 14 years ago, so we are getting Starbucks", at which point my husband reminded me that neither was Starbucks (by not around, we mean not in Fremont).


This little bit of history made us start recollecting all the other things that were to come... In 1994 ...


*There was no Starbucks in Fremont, now there are 10 (including Newark where there are 2) ; our regular cafe, of course, is no longer in business


*Neither of us owned a computer (and only used them sparingly), now we have 3 (not including Dale's iPhone)


*All the picures we took used film


*I have had 7 addresses since then - 2 in Fremont, back to Tracy, 2 in San Francisco, 1 in San Mateo and now once again we reside in Fremont


*There was no Yahoo!, and now Dale is one of their 14K employees (ignoring the news for now)


*We bought and sold CD's, now we have 4 iPods (not kidding)


*We weren't really in college yet, now we are 1-2 years from our 10 year reunion


*We weren't going to get married nor have kids


*I drove a dark brown 1974 diesel Mercedes and Dale didn't own a car (shortly after mine blew up & Dale bought a 1985 Dodge Colt Hatchback)


*I had been smoking for less than a year, now it has been 2 1/2 years since I quit (Dale has been clean for a year)


I decided we should make a tradition out of it and go roller skating in another 14 years, at which point we got a little weirded out thinking of ourselves approaching 50 and Elliot turning 15 - Yikes (I am less wierd about 50, and more about Elliot being 15)!

Labels: Thinking

When we walked into Erik's Deli today for lunch a nice older gentleman smiled at Elliot as we passed by his table. Later as we were nearing the end of our dining experience the same gentleman came over to us, looked at sweet Elliot, tickled his little foot and said, "Keep Smilin', soon you'll be paying taxes".

Elliot accompanied Dale and I to a fun and delicious night of German Food with friends. Our waiter was quite enjoyable in an unusual sort of way. Near the end of the evening he was struck by how good Elliot had been and asked if he was always so happy and mellow. We responded (proudly) yes and he said, "he will be a great surgeon or an Eastern Religious Leader".

Labels: Thinking

Just when thought Elliot was 98% over a bad cold, he goes and develops Hand, Foot & Mouth! Poor little bear! Thankfully he has not developed blisters in his mouth (OMG - can you imagine!) and he is in great spirits (if it weren't for the spots on his itty bitty hands and feet you wouldn't even know he was sick). It just kind of sucks to get sent home on your first day at your new daycare (a spot openened up at the original place we were hoping for...more on that decision another time). We new as working parents that we would have to take "sick days" to care for our little one, but as my dear hubby said, "I just didn't think it would happen so soon". We didn't even have a real "disaster plan" set up yet...but thankfully Grandma can take tomorrow, Dad will take Thursday and I'll take Friday...hopefully Elliot will be ready to start his new daycare next week.

Labels: Kid-ing, Thinking

Hugs are great! There have been many days over the last 14 (yes, I said 14!) years that Dale has made me stop in my tracks to get (&give) a hug. All of a sudden the stressed, rushed feeling would melt away and everything would be peaceful and wonderful, if only for one magical moment. In the last few days Elliot has learned to hug and it feels SOOOOO good that I don't want to let him go! I bet this means he'll be ready to snuggle in no time! Give someone a good long hug today!

Labels: Feeling, Kid-ing

While I maternity leave I discovered this thing called the Internet. (yes, I am know I am an IT Manager!) BE (Before Elliot) I would spend my days discussing applications, networks, servers, websites and when I was not discussing them I would be writing about them, corresponding via e-mail about them, and so on. So when I would get home at night, the last thing I felt like doing was "surfing the web". Essentially, I never found "enjoyment" in the internet and would only "log-on" for banking, to check e-mail or to purchase something. AE (After Elliot) I starting logging on for enjoyment, reading blogs, the newspaper, finding art for our home, letting myself essentially wander from site to site aimlessly. As my maternity leave was nearing an end, I started getting sad about the internet world I had come to love and would now have to leave behind.


On my first day back at work I realized that I needed non-work related things to occupy my time while I pump! Now I have 3-15 minute breaks each day where I get to "check-in" with the rest of the world! And unlike at home, my 15-minutes of internet usage will not get interrupted by a baby, a pug, or a husband - it is real me time! I guess on some level it has helped with my transition back to work, by not completely disrupting the world I was living in at home. I feel like I really began investing in my personal life (home, family&friends, hobbies) and figured that going back to work would disrupt that - thankfully I was wrong!


What I Ate Yesterday:


*Cereal - I have started putting Joe's O's in my cereal mix, they are just like Cheerios but saltier which works great in my mix but has stopped my hubby from buying them for himself because they are not so good solo!
*Soy Mocha
*Persian Food - overall the food was great, but I didn't like what I ordered (a Persian stew) which is more of a reflection on my tastes than their food. If you are ever in the neighborhood you must try the Mast-o-Moosir which is a yogurt spread that is DELICIOUS!
*A chocolate truffle
*Some tasty 'pineapple pastry packaged treat' straight from El Salvador - yum!
*Leftover Chili Con Carne & bread



Great recipe we tried this week: Chicken & Peppers

This is one of the first times that I didn't measure everything precisely (I was in a hurry) and it turned out GREAT! I left the Thyme and Marjoram out of the marinade (prob. would have been better, but still great without it). The vinegariness of this meal was amazing! Make sure to add plenty of red pepper flakes! We used toasted wheat bread (good wheat bread, nothing flimsy), toasted it in the toaster oven adding sliced mozzarella instead of fontina so it got all melty too. I doubled the recipe so we had plenty of leftovers (tastes good rolled into a HF tortilla too :)) We served it with a simple side salad of mixed greens, tomato, cucumber and a quick dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and garlic.

Labels: Feeling, Thinking

I was in the shower today thinking about the bike ride I just finished (my first ride on my new bike) when I recalled a conversation I had with my dear husband many years ago. I was 'struggling' with my weight then (similar to now) and I told him (attempt to spin my down moment into an up one) that I was actually lucky because my body is telling me that I need to eat better and to exercise whereas he needed (years later) his father to have a heart attack and to hear his cholesterol was high (borderline, but he was only 30) in order to 'eat right & exercise'. We often remark about the fat person ordering a venti-carmel frap, extra caramel, extra whip at SB. And today it occurred to me that we never remark about the skinny people who order those same beverages. I consider myself (even when I am thin) to always be a fat person and realized today that I almost turned my back on my people. So the next time you see a fat person eating a giant burger or having a second helping of something indulgent, don't forget to look for the skinny person doing the same thing because at the end of the day it is our health we should all be worried about.


What I ate today:

Cereal
Soy Mocha
WW Eng Muffin with PB, Morningstar saugsage patties
Dbl Tall 1/2 Caff...
Chili Con Carne with Beans (recipe of the week - halfway decent, quick and freezable)
1/2 mini-bread loaf (sounds like more than it is, I swear)
Some tasty Amaretti cookies

Labels: Thinking

Last night, seconds after Elliot had made what I hoped was his final cry to sleep (so sad, huh?) Thomas began barking and I began my whispering yell reminding him that the baby was sleeping. Often Thomas gives little barks and nothing comes of them, but last night his barking led to our doorbell ringing. I turned on the porch light, peered through the peep hole and decided it was safe to open the door. A woman asked if I was Amy and when I said yes she announced she had a delivery for me. I looked beyond her at her car and wondered what it could be and just as I was about to inquire she began rolling the most beautiful bicycle into our home, "It's from Dale" she said. As I admired in awe this beautiful specimen, she asked me if this was for my birthday, Christmas, or just because and I smiled at her and said, "Just because".

Can Dale be any sweeter?!

Labels: Thinking