Flower Power

Posted on January 22, 2011 by joanienaz

Although I have a degree in science, my track record as a gardener is an embarrassment to me. Ever since I pulled up a marigold and ran into the house with it to show my mother that the seeds we planted had sprouted, my impatience has been a hindrance to the development of a green thumb. Mine has more of a bluish tinge.

 But I have discovered that I can grow bulbs. This is due to the fact that they will grow in spite of all my attempts to thwart them. They are sturdy little buggers.

I don’t plant anything fancy or exotic. Miniature daffodils, tulips, and iris is my repertoire. They bloom in succession, and then they are gone, leaving me wondering what to do next, which may be the topic of another post.

While they are around, they are pretty cool, and my schedule is not interrupted to care for them. The school bus stops in front of our house, and the kids may pop off a few blooms, but mostly these cheerful vessels of color hang around looking perky through even the latest Easter.

Right now the dafs and tulips are coming up together, in an unprecedented display of solidarity. It’s going to be an interesting year, I just know it!

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Bully for You!

Posted on January 21, 2011 by joanienaz

Bullies are everywhere. Not only do they inhabit playgrounds and patrol school yards, but they wear suits and lurk in offices, and cut us off on the freeway. It is ironic that adults try to teach children how to stand up to or avoid a bully, when they are often powerless against them in the workplace and on the street.

I was seldom bullied as a child. I kept a very low profile, and was at times almost invisible. This can be an effective strategy, if you don’t mind completely disappearing. Bullies have powerful radar which should be avoided at all times!

As an adult I have had a harder time disappearing. Perhaps I simply tired of being invisible. When you are a parent, it is important to take a leadership role. Once you become a leader in one area of your life, you are hesitant to give that up in the other areas where you dwell.

Bullies smell leaders and seek to diminish their power. They feed on their energy and suck the life from them. Anyone with an opinion to share is a target.

So, how can you avoid those who would attack you like a pack of hyenas? Bullies tend to travel in pairs and groups. They love the company of those who are willing to let them lead and admire them in exchange for their protection.

Movies are made and novels are written about this very theme. I’m only providing commentary and a few tips. Never let them see you sweat. Hold your head high and smile. Give a sincere compliment. Avoid retaliation. Disappear from sight as necessary.

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Risk Factors

Posted on January 19, 2011 by joanienaz

Risk-taking comes in many forms. Educators encourage students to take risks and challenge themselves. Parents tell their children not to take risks with their safety. Gamblers take risks with their money, and daredevils take risks with their lives. “Acceptable risk” is a term that has always baffled me. Acceptable or not, if your gamble doesn’t pay off you are not going to like it.

When I was a child, I did not like taking any kind of risk. I did not want to give a wrong answer and embarrass myself. I did not want to get hurt. Things haven’t changed that much for me. But if I find myself in an unpleasant situation, I will risk something worse in order to get out if it.

My husband calls this the “green grass syndrome”. I’m absolutely convinced that I can find a better situation than the one I find myself in somewhere else. Fortunately, I haven’t applied this concept to marriage. But I have changed jobs a bit…

Frankly, life is too short to spend it doing something you dislike all day long. In today’s economy, this idea is a big risk. Maybe I’m a gambler after all.

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Controlling the Uncontrollable

Posted on January 16, 2011 by joanienaz

When you discover yourself a victim of circumstances beyond your control, a too-common event in these turbulent times, it is tempting to grasp control of something completely unrelated. Some common reactions to the frustrations of extraordinary or even ordinary events may include, but are definitely not limited to:

1. anger

2. more anger

3. tears

4. a combination of anger and tears

5. violence (never a solution-only leads to more problems)

6. blame

7. all of the above

8. none of the above

Just how common is a reaction to frustration that doesn’t involve #1-7 , namely #8? I have no idea, but I suspect it’s worth investigating further. Reaction #8 probably involves a great deal of thought. Thinking usually prevents us from behaving in ways that cause damage to ourselves and those around us (excluding premeditated crime, of course!). Thinking may even allow you to find a solution to a dilemma.

The expression, “two heads are better than one” leads us to believe that thinking in groups and shared discussion may also be beneficial in problem-solving. This process, however promising it sounds, will not work unless there is also listening involved.

The above thinking process, taught to students as “think-pair-share”, if implemented with sound judgement, may even help to avoid human-caused crises resulting in the frustration that is the topic of this post. How effective it would be for natural disasters, I can’t say.

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A Watched Clock

Posted on January 14, 2011 by joanienaz

Is there anyone who watches a clock more intently than a student? Why is it so difficult for us to sit still and listen? Everyone watches the clock at one time or another, for a variety of reasons. We are in such a hurry that we forget to make the most of the moment.

So, let’s stop watching the clock one day this weekend. Pick your least busy day, and hide the clocks. This may be extremely difficult for some of us to accomplish, as we decorate each room in the house with one. All of our electronic devices come with them now. Analog or digital, they are everywhere. If you are over the age of 40 and you take off your glasses, it may be easier for you to avoid clocks because you won’t be able to focus across the room.

Now that you’re not watching the clock, what will you do? Focus on your internal rhythms. Follow your usual routine, minus the obsessive clock-watching. You might actually begin to relax and enjoy the moment! If you simply must know what time of day it is, go outside and observe the position of the sun. Hopefully it isn’t cloudy.

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Tuesday Rambling

Posted on January 11, 2011 by joanienaz

I’m developing a theme. Tuesday must follow Monday, or what would become of Wednesday? The joy of arriving at mid-week would be considerably lessened if the week were shortened by a day.

Monday has been characterized as traumatic, due to the loss of the weekend (I love the way Hugh Grant pronounces the accent on the second syllable in that movie he did with Julia Roberts). Why do we stress the first syllable, anyway? It makes the end of the week sound weak.

So how to characterize the typical Tuesday? Tuesday’s chid is supposedly full of grace. Is that because he or she has recovered from Monday? Wednesday is near at hand, to give the disheartened hope that there will be an end to the traditional work week, even if it is only two days of recovery time before we do it all again. 

It takes some dedication to embrace a Tuesday. A commitment to the week is necessary. Once Tuesday has begun, there is no turning back. A course has been set and the responsible individual must see it through to its conclusion. On to Wednesday!

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Monday

Posted on January 10, 2011 by joanienaz

The alarm goes off at an unkind hour, waking you from another place and time. You shut it off and wonder who set the alarm on the weekend. A wave of disappointment washes over your head. You pull yourself free from the warm bed into a cold morning, It is definitely Monday.

A hot shower briefly cheers you as you plan your day. It’s not raining, but it is below freezing outside. And foggy. No traffic. You look on the bright side, and your internal fog begins to clear. Red sky in the morning means rain is on the way. But not today!

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Apple Fat

Posted on January 9, 2011 by joanienaz

When was the last time that you cut into a nice, juicy apple and discovered a thick layer of fat under the skin? Never happens, right? My point exactly. Wait! Before you stop reading this, aren’t you just the least bit curious about what new and interesting thing I might have to say about the topic everyone either obsesses about or avoids (healthy eating)?

Dairy butter. Our best friend and worst enemy. Who ever came up with the idea of churning and consuming it, anyway? Well it is tasty. But there is an alternative, also tasty but non-fat…wait for it…Apple Butter!

No dairy of any kind in apples, you say. Well, apparently the name comes not from the animal product but from the consistency. Never tried it? Well it’s about time.

First, cut up some apples. You probably want to remove the peels, but I would leave them on, because that’s the way I get sometimes. Put them in a pan over VERY low heat, and watch them from time to time as they slowly cook beyond the applesauce state into something even better, that may keep longer. Add some cinnamon, but you don’t need sugar if you choose the right apples. I wouldn’t add water unless you want apple soup.

Now, after you have followed the above steps and your concoction has cooled, try some on toast. Or muffins. Or pancakes or waffles. Yes, these are all bready items, but isn’t that where you put the butter? I don’t know about popcorn, but you could certainly try it. Apple gravy? The possibilities are endless…

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Something (Completely) Different

Posted on January 8, 2011 by joanienaz

It’s the end of the first week of January, and you are already settling very comfortably into the new year’s rut. The resolutions that ran through your mind last week kept on going, and are now out of sight. You will be stuck here until the change of the season, unless you take action NOW.

What’s wrong with your nice, comfortable rut? You can do better. Don’t be afraid to live life to the fullest! I’m not proposing skydiving (it’s too cold this time of year). But the time has arrived to try something different.

What did you have for breakfast this week? Boring cold cereal? Try something else. Remember, it’s the most important meal of the day. Put some whole wheat flour in those homemade blueberry muffins. Now, go ahead and slather them with the jam made from hand-picked blackberries that you received for Christmas.

Slice an apple, sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar, and microwave it for a bit. Yum! Out of milk? Grate some cheese into your scrambled eggs, and add some diced tomatoes. Put some color and extra vitamin C in your hash browns with bell pepper. Hungry?

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Off Road Travel

Posted on January 7, 2011 by joanienaz

Imagine that you are driving home through a forest, and you round a curve and notice in the periphery of your vision that a pickup truck is off the pavement on its side. As you briefly consider the possibilities, you decide to pull over. Carefully choosing a spot that is well off the pavement so that you don’t become another casualty, you pull over, stop your car, lock the doors, and jog back to the scene of the accident.

There is no one else around, and you almost chicken out, because you barely remember your CPR training. What will you do if there is carnage? You can’t get a cell signal, so you decide someone has to do something. You jog up the road, trying not to fall down the bank into the river, and arrive at the rear bumper of the truck, which is pointing up toward the trees.

Fortunately, the front end of the vehicle is not attached to the trunk of a tree, or sliding into the river. You crawl around to the passenger side, and someone yells, “I want to get out of here!” A reasonable request, and since the person is not dead or apparently injured, you assist as he climbs up and over the side of the truck.

As you check for signs of head trauma and look for flares, help arrives. You depart from the scene, considering how lucky the driver is to be alive, and how lucky you are not to be the driver, with a bruised leg and a truck in a ditch at the end of the day. You remind yourself to pick up some flares on the weekend.

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