In the Mind of Students

Attendance is pretty bad at the GED program where I work. It doesn't seem to matter that you CAN get kicked out for attendance, the students seem to know that we'll just keep giving another, and another, and another chance. As long as you're active and learning you're in, even if you're not in every day.

And I wasn't really too concerned about that at first. I mean, attendance is one reason students fall behind in regular schools so I almost expect it to be an issue at an optional program. But then I got to know my students and learn about their goals.

Many want to go onto college. They don't just want a job that pays a little better (and, with a GED jobs pay just a little more), they want to become nurses and police officers. I'm not sure how they've picked the jobs, perhaps from too many career days where recruiters display possible income levels. Nurse's aides, for instance, earn a respectable salary and require a one year program.

But even one year programs are going to be a problem for some of these kids. They say they'll show up every day to college, even if they don't come to class every day. Maybe they're right. College classes are fun and interesting, if you understand what's going on.

I'm worried that bad habits won't die just because a kid's got a GED in hand. Additionally, the skills these kids need to pass the GED aren't necessarily the same skills they would need for college. They have so much working against them and I want only the best for each of them. I guess this is why we tend to celebrate the person who has come from nothing and made such a success of their life. It's the true American dream.

What we don't talk about within the American dream is the ability to overcome bad habits.

Eat What You Want?

I'm a pretty big supporter of raw milk. Frankly, I think there are far more dangerous foods out there, like transfats or E. coli ridden beef and spinach.

If you watch Food Inc. you'll see a woman whose 3 year old son died after eating a hamburger. Libel law prevents her from speaking out against beef companies in a public forum. No really, you can't say not to eat beef, even if it killed your only son.

I don't see any push to end beef production, even though there have been outbreaks that have caused death. So why exactly is raw milk outlawed?

Recently there's been a hubbub about raw milk in Wisconsin. Basically the state is going after an outspoken supporter of raw milk and they almost JAILED HIM because he was a public nuisance. In this case "public nuisance" meant that he appealed his case to the state supreme court.

As much as I support the movement, however, I can't quite get on board with his arguments. He says it's our right to choose what we want to eat. The government shouldn't be able to control food.

Here's a link to his 9:56 minute Youtube soapbox:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgMLbNfmOxk

Um, well, here's where I disagree, at least a little bit. The government SHOULD stop farms and food corporations from feeding us things that will kill us. Remember the red M&Ms? How about farms that don't check for E. coli? I don't trust corporations to do the right thing when money is at stake.

Need more proof that corporations are more interested in profit than in public health? Look at the mines in West Virginia. There's a reason we create laws to contain businesses. We need those laws to exist AND to function.

I believe raw milk isn't dangerous if it's subject to testing for bacteria. If there's a demand for a product, which there is, then the government should ensure that a safe product is available to consumers. If something can be safely produced and safely distributed, it should be allowed. Right now the government protects some companies but not others.

I'd like to see the government try to prevent Doritos and Oreos (for example, there are many, many other products I could list here) from hitting the market. They pose a health risk (look at childhood obesity) but there's no way government is going to forbid their sale. Seriously, what's worse, raw milk that contains natural antibodies, or artificial flavored foods laden with corn syrup, corn meal, and filled with fat.

The raw milk issue isn't just about the freedom to choose what you want to eat, it's about fair and prudent regulations. Whether or not you support raw milk, it should be disconcerting to realize that there is an inequity of practice within FDA, and that larger corporate farms are given more leeway with their products than small independent farmers. And which is more likely to ignore health concerns? It's not the little guy whose livelihood depends on a small market.

Almost homemade

By about 6 today I was starving. The sandwich I picked up for lunch just didn't hold me over, and when I got home, the first thing I did was open the refrigerator.

All I found was beets, turnips, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots and some nearly decayed cabbage. Oh, and a slice of carrot cake. Not exactly dinner.

Perhaps if I cooked vegetarian meals more frequently I would know what to do with a refrigerator full of veggies, but I don't cook as much as I wish I did, and without other staples (like eggs, rice, etc.) I didn't have a clue.

So of course I ran down to the corner shop to see what I could buy for a main dish. My options were steak, which I don't eat, pork, which didn't sound good, sausages, which really didn't sound good, and fish.

Fish is not really my friend. My mother doesn't (or didn't) like fish so I didn't grow up eating much fish. I suppose it didn't help that we lived in the desert. The worm incident also continues to linger in my mind, but I was ready to give fish another shot today.

Just as I was deciding on marinated swordfish tips or salmon both were swept up by another customer (this is a very small shop with limited supplies). Instead I decided on crab stuffed clam shells that I was told I only had to warm in the oven. They were precooked and cheap! Perfect!!!

So back at the house I had to figure out what to put with crab stuffed clam shells, without much experience with this kind of food. Cole slaw seemed the only option. The cabbage was, after all, almost ready for the compost bin. Why not use it?

I suppose I could have ]mashed potatoes, but I got a wild hair and decided to bake bread. Did I mention I was already starving? Bread, even quick bread, is not exactly speedy.

But I have this great bread recipe.
http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/food-Simple-Bread.html

It takes about an hour, and the result is a hard crusted white bread (but you can add whole wheat flour instead) that smells divine and tastes great. I halved the recipe and put the bread in a bread pan (usually you just put it on a cookie sheet) and it came out perfect.

Not only was it worth the wait, but it made the evening meal feel truly homemade. Sure I cheated with the main dish, but everything else was all me.

What is it about bread that is just so special? It makes every meal so much better.

Second City

I love Groupon.

I had Ticketmaster open when the last groupon deal posted online and ended up saving $74. I already planned to go to Second City in Boston and the groupon people just happened to email me with a deal exactly when I was online buying tickets!

When I was in New Mexico a coworker did Gorilla Tango improv and got me interested in the shows. Gorilla Tango is also a Chicago comedy act, but they had a stage in Albuquerque for a while...

Anyway one of my high school friends had been touring with Second City and I had hoped to catch her act. Turns out she's now quit to move to LA to act more. Ah well. I had really wanted to see her in action because I never would have pegged her for improv. After the show I get it. Second City isn't improv, at least not like Gorilla Tango improv. A shy person could do pretty good with this kind of comedy, assuming they can be unshy on stage. The shy wouldn't make it in improv unless they became an unshy person pretty quick.

So did I like it? Well, I was expecting improv like I've seen before, which it wasn't, but YES, I can say I liked it. It was like the best parts of Saturday Night Live. There were some hits and misses, but overall, pretty good.

So go to Groupon...you never know what kind of deal they might have. Today I ended up buying a $25 coupon for $50 worth of food at Tommy Doyles, which is where we go every other week for our German language meetup. I wouldn't buy just any gift certificate, but if it's somewhere we would go anyway...

The Little Things

I'm not saying my husband is perfect. His feet, for instance, were particularly smelly today. And he could use a hair cut, drinks more milk than is normal, and don't get me started on his hording tendencies.

But all in all, he's pretty wonderful.

We've got a puzzle set up in our bedroom. Since the cats aren't allowed into our room it's really the only safe place. I think we started yesterday, but Gerd worked on it alone today while I took a nap. When I came upstairs earlier I checked to see how much he'd finished.

The puzzle was completely done, but he'd left one last piece for me. He didn't want to finish it without me.

He might not be romantic all the time, or much of a talker for that matter, but he's one of the most thoughtful men I've ever met. And sometimes it only takes one puzzle piece to remind me of how lucky I am.

Local Velveeta

I'm not sure if it's a cardinal sin or not, but last night I covered the contents of our local veggie box with Velveeta cheese.

So much for the benefit of organic vegetables right? I mean, what the heck is in that stuff anyway?

But I'm pretty happy that we were eating vegetables. Seriously, we don't eat enough vegetables. Plus, it can't be any worse than some of the stuff you buy out right? Right?

Ah well, the Velveeta was added to make my husband happy. I made a quick run to the corner shop to buy some pork chops (also probably not local or organic) because my husband actually ANSWERED when I asked him what he wanted for dinner. When asked that question, usually I get a "whatever," which is his equivalent for my typical response of "food".

So I'm standing in line and I realize that we need to eat our month old cauliflower before it molts or whatever cauliflower does, and I see the Velveeta. Gerd's favorite vegetable is cauliflower...cauliflower covered in cheese. And if you know Gerd that makes complete sense because cheese is one of his favorite things in this world. I personally don't think cauliflower has much taste, which also helps me understand why my husband prefers it to other greener, tastier veggies. All there is to taste is cheese.

In any case, Gerd's mom makes baked cauliflower that's covered in some cheese I still haven't gotten the name of. I'm sure it's not sold at the local corner shop.

So I made a vegetable melody or medley, or whatever you call clearing out your veggie drawer and topped it off with processed cheese.

And then I made mashed potatoes, because we probably have enough potatoes to last us till winter (and we're guaranteed to get more in our boxes before then). And I snuck some more cauliflower into the potatoes, so I'm now down to half a head of cauliflower.

No telling what the plan is for tonight. I still have parsnips (they taste NOTHING like carrots) beets (yuck) potatoes, mushrooms, turnips, onions, and half a head of old cauliflower.

Breaktime

Well, our first round of IUI didn't work. Not that I expected it to, but of course I had hope. In reality, we only had a 15% chance of it working anyway. But now that it didn't work, we're faced with choices. Choices spurred by health insurance concerns.

Yes a bill just passed about health care, and in it, somewhere, there's something about ending the practice of caps on funding for treatment. So, I could call our insurance and find out what they're going to do about that, but I'm pretty sure I heard that they have until 2012 to make changes to existing policies.

We could do more IUI, and probably would (or will) if money wasn't a question. But we'll most likely move on to IVF, even though IVF requires me to give myself shots....every day.

So I'm taking a break. It's almost summer time and we've joined a community sailing class (something my husband has wanted to do for years now). I've started running along the bay a few mornings a week. I'd kind of like to go camping and have fun this summer. I'm looking forward to putting together my garden. And if I'm worried about what I can or cannot do (valid or not) it won't be much of a fun summer.

So I'll keep up with acupuncture. I'm getting some additional exercise in the form of running, cycling, and yoga. Perhaps I'll start lifting weights. I'll start my counseling again, and I'll watch my sugar and flour intake (to a certain extent). I'll cook healthy meals and keep taking my vitamins.

But if I have to make appointments to get pregnant I might as well do so when I'm ready. Who knows, there's still that last vestige of hope that I'll get pregnant on my own. It's probably misplaced hope, but I really, *really* hate shots. Come fall we'll make another appointment, but not until then.

In the mean time, the swing set in the back yard, the one that keeps reminding me that I don't have kids, has got to come down.

Parsnip anyone?

Even though I don't always win the battle, I am still (slowly) continuing to try to live a greener lifestyle. Sometimes I don't really know where that's going to take me until I'm there. And this time "there" means a refrigerator full of parsnips. Well, parsnips, and onions, and potatoes, and carrots, and turnips, and mushrooms.

I switched our biweekly box to the "Dogma" box which is all grown locally and organically. No, it's still not a CSA, but I think it's still comparable. I'm not getting all of my veggies from one farm that I'm supporting, but I'm buying from several local farms at once. And, best part, it's delivered to my house. They would even put it in my refrigerator for me, but then they'd get a view of all my leftovers I haven't cleaned out in forever, so I'd rather they not.

Anyway, local means in season, or at least something that stores well. Hence I have root crops. I'm going to have to look into the mushrooms, I wouldn't have expected them right now. Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with it all. I think I'm going to have to cook for the week tomorrow. I don't think I've ever cooked a parsnip before, so this is going to be interesting. Any ideas?

Renewal

I guess it may have been the move that threw me off. Either that or Grampa, or just life as it sometimes seems to careen out of control.

I HAD been doing a pretty good job eating locally, avoiding boxed dinners or anything else that came in a plastic package. I was going to the farm, doing yoga, attending counseling, and getting acupuncture.

During lent I add instead of subtract. I'm not Catholic, so my participation in lent takes on a more protestant/independent/Quaker feel. It's supposed to be about bending yourself back to God. I did so by doing daily devotionals, something I haven't done probably since high school. I also attended church each Sunday (except on moving weekend because of stress, Pagan guests, and a lack of inertia) and attempted to go to one other church related activity each week. I didn't need to add local foods or any of the other things I've mentioned because I was already on that bandwagon.

Overall, I'm happy with my spiritual discipline over Lent. I just wish I had continued the OTHER things I'd been trying to keep doing.

Now that Lent is over and we're fully moved into the new house, I'm ready to renew those other disciplines. It started with yoga at the local community center. Did I mention it's only $90 for the entire year? Of course the one class I attended wasn't the best, but there are many others to choose from.

And yesterday I even made quiche. With homemade crust. (I found one hell of a crust recipe, it's awesome and uses a lot less fat than many other recipes I've seen)

That may not be earth shattering news, but it's a sign of renewal. And it's a reminder that, even if I fail sometimes, I will continue to persevere.

Amazing Sun

I'm a sun kind of girl.

I grew up in the desert catching horny toads among saguaro cactus. In summer I was outdoors (albeit with a lot of sunscreen on) every day for most of the day. Sure, we had rain once in a while, and I had my share of TV watching time, but I think I spent a great deal of time playing in the sun.

And the sun makes a HUGE difference to me.

Today I missed two buses and I didn't care. As I was walking to the bus stop I saw it drive away. No problem, it's a beautiful day. I walked down to the bay and walked up to the next block to catch the next bus. I watched as it drove away. No problem. It's sunny and warm. I don't mind standing in the sun. Now a week ago when it was raining every day? Missing a bus was a crisis. Not today.

Now if only I could find my sunglasses.

Day Three

17 more days.

I miss my husband.

Two weeks is too long for a European vacation that doesn't include me.

Pout.

Culture Shock

When a cafe says they're open from 7am - 6pm, I think they're going to open at 7am. Right?

Not really. Not in Boston.

Something I've learned about living here is that smaller independent stores (the kind you always want to find out because they're so special) kind of operate a different way. If they don't have a person ready to cook at 7, they won't take cook orders, but would you like a cup of coffee?

I realized, as I walked out of a cafe hungry and grumpy this morning, that I'm used to chains (and I often unwittingly grade establishments by the same criteria). I'm used to the quality of food being the same every time you go in, I'm used to standard hours, no minimums on credit card purchases, and a standard quantity of professionalism. If I go to Applebees, for example, I expect the food will be okay, not gourmet, but the prices reasonable, the service reasonably quick, and the soda unlimited.

But when I go out here, I don't know what to expect. Different places have different minimum card charges (the bakery has a $15 minimum, the corner convenience shop doesn't take cards, and the diner has a minimum $10 charge). Some stores are open on weekends, others aren't; weekday hours are just as unique.

And, having lived amongst a different culture before I can call it what it is. Culture shock.

What if there weren't any chain restaurants by you? No Wal Mart? No McDonalds? Would you feel freed from corporate America, or miss the familiarity of it all?

And just to be clear, we do have a McDonalds fairly close by, although I don't think it's got a drive in, and I've never been to it. If you really look, you probably can find whatever chain you want somewhere within driving distance. We've got a Target, Home Depot, Office Max, and Bed Bath and Beyond. Oh, and one Olive Garden. That's about it though as far as chains, at least without getting stuck in traffic for long, annoying periods of time. Clothing store chains are more frequent around Downtown Crossing, but there are an equal amount of small, independent clothing $tore$.

But it IS a different life. Some days I wish I could just walk out to my attached garage, get in my car, and run my errands in normal traffic. No garage, no car, no normal traffic.

And so I'm wondering when I'll get through this phase of culture shock and begin to enjoy the difference.