WaterPowerPeace Bracelet Anyone?

Yesterday, my husband and I decided it would be a great day to head out to the businesses that we regularly frequent with the goal of selling as many WaterPowerPeace bracelets as we could. We typically run into the same people on a Saturday, and we were hopeful that some of those people would be willing to part with $5 and buy a bracelet.

WaterPowerPeace, you may recall, is the Tanzania water project that we have been working on. We are going to Tanzania in July and are doing our best to help raise money. In case you missed it the first time around, www.indiegogo.com/waterpowerpeace is our project donation site. My motto: If you never ask, you will never receive. By the way, if you go to the site, click on "updates", you can watch a 21-minute video that my husband made of our trip to Tanzania last year.

Or better yet, watch it right here: http://vimeo.com/42737919

For starters, neither of us is any good at asking for money. I really don't know how people do that for a living. But, the project is very special to us. If we are going to ask people for money, this is as good of a cause as you will find, helping to provide clean water, sustainable food, and books to gobs of children. Can you think of anything better?

Off we go. We started at the Brewhouse for lunch. We would stay there until 2:00. From there, we would head to Bert & Ernie's, then the Blackfoot Brewery. We figured those places would be packed since it was kind of a crummy day weather-wise. Wrong. Apparently, no one cared it was cold out, and it appeared to us that everyone in town had gone camping or somewhere else for the weekend.

Lunch was great, but we were a little disappointed by the lack of people and afraid we weren't going to come close to meeting our pre-established goal of 20 bracelets, since at 2:00 we had only sold three. Thanks Aaron, Matt and Amy!

Next stop, Bert & Ernie's. Fortunately for us, Toby was there. Toby is a giving kind of guy, always willing to help out a good cause, and he bought five. We're on a roll now. Thanks Toby!

Next stop, Blackfoot Brewery. We really thought the regulars would be at the brewery. Wrong. There was hardly anyone there, and no one we even knew. Flannery and Cash were working. Once again, a little disappointed that there weren't more people. Not to worry. Business soon picked up, and we were finding the courage to just come right out and ask anyone if they would be interested in buying a bracelet. I spotted a lawyer that I know, so I took off to sell him one. Bonus: two other lawyers that I know were with him, and another friend of theirs that I did not know, but he wanted to buy two. The day is looking up. Then Gerry and Stacy showed up and needed a place to sit. Sit with us. They bought two. Twelve sold at the brewery. Thanks Kelly, Flannery, Gerry, Stacy, Oliver, Joe, Charlie and Jerry! We can't go home just yet, we are really on a roll.

Back to the Brewhouse. As long as we are there, we may as well eat again. We are sort of getting the hang of this. Ten more. Thanks Jen, Wyman, Riley, Chase, Rachael, Skip, John, Kelsey and Al!

We ended up selling 30 for the day, 10 more than we had hoped for. Life's simple pleasures. The good news is $150 goes a lot further in Tanzania than it does in the US. Every dollar really does count. What a fun day.

Smile

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

When life gives you rain, take a picture.

As you know, my husband has been giving photography lessons to a select few. I am one of the select few. I don't think that I am taking really great photos, but I am taking photos and, most importantly, I am paying attention to everything around me. If I never take another picture in my lifetime, I have learned a valuable lesson: pay attention, look, and actually see what is around me.

Yesterday I was complaining about the weather. It was cold, windy, overcast and raining intermittently. As I was driving to work, I looked up the hill at the Fire Tower, and it was such a beautiful sight. Three months ago, I would have been (maybe) watching the road, playing with the radio, probably not have noticed that there was even a landscape, driven on to work, driven home, gone to bed, still ticked off that it was nasty weather, and the 3-day weekend would be ruined.

But yesterday my brain registered that: a, the lighting would be killer with the cloud coverage, b, the vibrant green of spring would contrast with the gray beautifully, c, the Fire Tower is an iconic structure. Put the three together, the perfect photo opportunity. I quickly pulled over to the side of the road, positioned myself so as to miss the power poles, power lines, and other icky items that will ruin a great photo, and started snapping away with my Droid phone. My husband always says you need to use your phone camera more. It is something that is always with you. The quality is great for a blog photo. It keeps you paying attention to your surroundings. The perfect photo is usually not the one you plan for; it is the one that just happens when the right subject presents itself.

Well, here is the funny part. I just inserted that really great picture. It is so blurry that I can't (won't) use it. I am going back today with a different camera, as it is supposed to be cold, cloudy and raining. Wish me luck.

Two Days Later - Rain Turned To Snow - Memorial Weekend In MT

May - The Circle of Life

"From the day we arrive on the planet..."

Our Wonderful Graduating Friend, Katie

May is a tough time for a lot of people; kids and parents. It is time for kids to leave elementary or middle school top dogs; come fall they will be mere underdogs. It is time for high school students to graduate, leave moms, dads, friends, a supportive community, embark on a new life in a new world. College graduates will leave what has become a replacement home, forced out into the world to do what is expected of them: find a job, no matter where it may take them.

By the way, over and over, I keep running into magazine articles that emphasize the need for students to pick fields of study that actually have jobs available to them when they graduate. Hello! I think that is really, really good advice. You may not want to listen to your mom, but listen to me.

So, I have experienced the transition of my little one from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, high school to college.  I wouldn't trade any of those experiences. They were all great. But here is the real scoop: it is bitter sweet. We so love our little people. We don't want them to ever change or leave. And, yes, they still seem little, even though they are now our size or larger. They have rocked our worlds. I always say each and every age was my favorite age; and there was nothing terrible about the terrible 2's. Yes, I really say it, and I really mean it.

My little one (21) will be a senior in college this coming fall at Macalester College, 16 hours away from Helena. He has been there for the last three years. I think he is pretty ready to tackle the world. He is one of the very fortunate college juniors to have been selected for a "paid" summer internship. I emphasize the word paid. Not all are paid. As I say, he is very fortunate. He has worked hard, and that hard work has paid off. It would seem he has the world by the tail. I also realize that after this next school year, his life will change yet again; some parts happy, some parts sad.

Some may think of that as the beginning of the end. It is certainly the end of summer vacation as we all know it. Summer is supposed to be a time to sleep in and do only fun things. If your take on life is "the cup is half empty", maybe it is the end. For those of you that think "the cup is half full", it is only the beginning; the beginning of a new chapter.

Summer Fun (and my glass is really half full)

So pony up, and get ready for the ride. It is time to start thinking in terms of "the cup is half full".

If you have young kids, you may be thinking, "Yeah, I have better things to do than read this crazy lady's blog post." If you have a high school graduate this year, you probably have a lump in your throat. If you have a child that graduated years ago, you know way more than I do, so I will defer to you. I am just sitting here in this mom of a junior (life is great) headed to senior (things are going to change) mode, but I am a "cup is half full" person, so it is just the beginning. I welcome the new chapter.

Each end has a new beginning. For every door closing, there is a new door opening. For every person that dies, there is a person that is born.

The circle of life.

By the way, the Lion King was my son's favorite movie. And Elton John is my hero.

"I like circles, and I love life. A match made in heaven." ~ Stella

Barley's Angels - Howling Wolf Chapter

 

Not to be confused with Charlie's Angels.

Food, Fun and BEER.

Barley's Angels: Purpose: A growing collection of individual chapters around the world that work with craft-beer focused breweries, brewpubs, restaurants, alehouses and other public beer establishments to advance the female consumer craft beer enthusiast, resulting in increased patronage and revenue from women, while encouraging education and interest in beer among this often under-recognized demographic group, says their website. Barley's Angels is not just a social, beer-drinking club for women. Barley's Angels respect beer and brewing, have a thirst for education, enjoy beer responsibly and act appropriately at all times. (I might be in trouble there.)

Helena has a great local brewery, the Blackfoot River Brewing Company. My husband and I love to go down to the Tap Room, play cribbage, drink a beer, and eat popcorn on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

Breweries and tap rooms in Montana are odd; not the actual brewery and tap room itself, but the laws that govern them. I don't know how much beer a brewery can actually brew, bottle or distribute, but there is a brewery in Missoula that recently had to pull their bottled beer distributed out to a number of cities in Montana because they were selling too much. Huh? From what I hear, there are a lot of unhappy people around Montana. I don't really know all of the details, but it sounds kind of odd to me. What about job creation and improving the economy and making people happy? Isn't it a constitutional right to be happy?

So you go into the tap room (the room you drink in associated with the brewery) and you order a beer. The server gives you a little piece of paper, writes your name on it, and it has three boxes on it. You can only get three pints of beer between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on any given day. The server marks an x in the box for each beer you get. Three strikes (pints), you're out. You can still hang around but you can no longer drink beer. But there is no law that says you can't then wander down to Miller's and drink shots of tequila until 2:00 a.m., if you like. Odd. Tap rooms typically do not serve food, at least the ones I have been in. The Blackfoot Tap Room gives away popcorn. You can also bring your own food into the Blackfoot Tap Room, as long as you clean up after yourself. I don't know if they can't serve food or just don't. My sources tell me that it is the Tavern Association and the legislature that you can thank for all of these oddities.

The Blackfoot River Brewing Company puts out a weekly online newsletter filled with all kinds of information. They let you know what beer they have in the Tap Room for that particular week, bands that may be playing, and any community meetings or functions that may be happening there. Well, the function that caught my attention was the upcoming Barley's Angels Mother's Day beer tasting. That is a fun name. They would be serving two different styles of beer, pairing them with cheeses and crackers. $6. Ladies only. Sounds fun, and cheap.

Three of my friends and I headed out to become Barley's Angels. I could just tell this was going to be a great Mother's Day. Bethany, Becky, Flannery, Mary, and Kody were our fearless female leaders. They took us on a tour of the brewery. They told us all about hops and malt. We now know the more alcohol in the beer, the more calories it will have. We tasted Woolly Bugger and IPA beers. A good time was had by all; a great Mother's Day afternoon. Thanks, girls.

The next Barley's Angels event will be in the fall. They hope to partner up with a local restaurant. Sounds fun to me. So, ladies, head on down to the Blackfoot Tap Room, order up a pint of kolsch or cream ale, and you, too, can become a Barley's Angel. Beer is not just for boys.

Cheers!

For more information, go to : www.blackfootriverbrewing.com

"Draft beer, not people." ~ author unknown

Happy Mother's Day

Who invented holidays?

Well, according to Wiki.answers.com, the Pagans invented the holiday Christmas, with all of its customs, and the early Catholic church renamed it, so that today it is called Christmas.  There is a whole lot more in between, but that is the short answer.

Who invented Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparents' Day and Valentine's Day? Hallmark, of course. I can just see a bunch of suits and ties sitting around a board room table, late at night, eating Chinese, brainstorming. "Hey, we are running in the red. Any ideas on how to get out?" "I know, let's make up a holiday that requires millions of people to buy a $5 card. It is always better to get $1 from 1 million people than $1 million from one person." "Great idea." A holiday was born.

Well, I like Mother's Day. For the last couple of years, though, I have been in the car on Mother's Day driving home from St. Paul, a 16-hour trip. This year I am home, perfect weather, ready to plant my flowers. My perfect day. My perfect son (in my eyes) went to the store last night to get the perfect ingredients for a perfect Mother's Day brunch: smoked salmon, eggs, OJ, flourless grain bread. So perfect. How lucky I am to be his mom. Maybe I should be giving him a present.

Happy Mother's Day to all.

"There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one. ~ Jill Churchill  

Who Shot J.R.?

What were you watching in 1978? Well, if you are anything like me, you were watching Dallas. March 1980, the cover of TV Guide: "Who shot J.R.?" Remember when TV Guide came in the mail each week? The funny thing is we only had about 8 channels back then. Did we really need a guide? Today we have about 600 channels, and the guide is part of the remote, one click away, movies, sports, whatever. Well, in case you forgot, Kristin shot J.R. I think everyone thought Sue Ellen shot J.R. She surely had every reason to, and any jury would have concluded she was justified in doing so, but she was just too much of a lady to shoot J.R. She also knew that gobs of  people wanted to shoot J.R., and it was only a matter of time.

Fast forward: Desperate Housewives, twenty-two years later. Sunday is the series finale. Not just the season finale, the series finale. Boo-hoo. I love the ladies on Wisteria Lane. Can you imagine having neighbors like that? I have great neighbors, but let's face it, we have yet to kill anyone, hurry home, clean up, then meet up at one of the houses on the lane for cocktails and Bree's famous scones. And they always look like a million bucks, no matter what they are doing. Even after they kill someone.

I do have great neighbors, though. Some of us have keys to each other's houses. One will take in the mail and paper when another is away. One will make sure to put the trash out. One will pick up packages left on the doorstep. A few years ago, I ended up cooking my Thanksgiving turkey in the out-of-town neighbor's oven because the electrician hooked my new oven up incorrectly and it wouldn't get above 200 degrees. That is what neighbors are for. Sometimes you need an egg or a can of tomato paste. If the neighbor is home, great, call, run over and borrow. If the neighbor is gone, you have the key, go help yourself. Last summer, I was out of town but came home to find out that the neighbors desperately needed powdered sugar and red food coloring for the red velvet cupcakes they were making with the nieces visiting from Washington. That is what I'm talking about. That is what makes a good neighbor. I help myself at your house; you help yourself at mine. If you need a bottle of wine, it is in the storage room in the basement. Remember, though, always take wine from the top shelf. The bottom shelf is good stuff we are saving.

Trivia: Wisteria Lane is actually named Colonial Street. It is located inside Universal Studios Hollywood and was featured in the original Leave It To Beaver, Gremlins, The 'Burbs, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Back to Dallas. In 2010, TNT announced they were producing a new, updated series of Dallas. The new series is a continuation of the original series and will primarily revolve around J.R. Ewing's son John Ross Ewing III (remember little John Ross?) and Bobby Ewing's adopted son Christopher Ewing. Various stars of the original series are supposed to make an appearance. (possibly from a rest home?) The new series is due to air on TNT in mid-2012. I have my doubts. Times have changed, and the Dallas days are long gone.

More trivia: Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing) is actually from Townsend, Montana.

When Dallas ended, I thought life would never be the same. The same goes for M*A*S*H, and don't forget Friends. Then came Desperate Housewives. It, too, will soon be gone, but life goes on. Maybe the Dallas plan is to pick up where Desperate Housewives leaves off. Maybe the girls from Wisteria Lane will end up living at South Fork. We all know any one of the Wisteria Lane girls is capable of shooting J.R.'s son John Ross, especially if he is anything like his father. Susan's husband, Mike, was killed by the loan shark, so maybe Susan will marry Bobby Ewing's adopted son Christopher. The possibilities are endless.

"People change, things go wrong. Just remember life goes on." ~ author unknown

You're Not the Boss of Me

How long have people been saying, "you're not the boss of me?"  I Googled it to see what I could find. Aren't you just amazed at the wealth of information you find when you Google something? I found instances of it being used in publications dating back to 1883. So you know if that was the sentiment in 1883, it probably was the sentiment in 1773. It is human nature to want to boss people around, and it is also human nature to not want anyone to tell you what to do.

I remember my son at an early age informing me that I was not the boss of him. Where does a small child pick those words up? Maybe Disney movies. Maybe Barney. Maybe he heard me tell my husband that. I doubt it, because I don't think I ever told him that, but who knows?

Recently, I was instructed by a person on what interaction I may or may not have with a group of people and what I may or may not say to this group of people. Seriously? If this had something to do with national security and lives would be in danger, or if I was trying to get elected and this person was my campaign manager, fine, fire away. It doesn't come anywhere close.  As you can probably tell, I am quite incensed over this. First off, this person is not the boss of me. Secondly, this person plays no part in my life and has no say in what I do and don't do. I appreciate that this person may have an opinion to offer; have at it; I will listen; but don't tell me what I can and can't do just because you say so.

So how does one person get another person to do something without that person thinking they are being bossed around? Nothing creates more resistance than telling people what they "should" or "have to" or "must" or "ought to" do, says Marshall Rosenberg, some guy I found on the Internet that has written an article on Compassionate Communication.

"You're not the boss of me" was my (childish?) way of reacting to someone telling me what to do. I thought if I wrote about it, I could stop obsessing over it and move on. I will let you know how that works for me.

Here is the good news: I read Marshall Rosenberg's article, and I loved it. Whether you are dealing with international disputes, relationship, business, classroom, or parent-child conflicts, the information found in the article will help you learn to hear the human being behind the message, regardless of how the message is framed. It gives great insight into the different ways people talk and the different ways people listen. I encourage everyone to read this article. You will not be disappointed.

www.nwcompass.org/compassionate_communication.html

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." ~ Mark Twain

Going on a Lion Hunt

Okay. Not really. But I am going to Africa. I actually got to go a year and a half ago. It was a trip that changed my life. But wait. Thirteen years ago, I had the amazing experience of going to China with my sister-in-law to pick up her newly adopted daughter/my newly acquired niece. By the way, her birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Aubre. That also changed my life. So I guess the reality is that any trip can change your life. In Africa, though, I actually get to help people. I can't wait to see my little friend, Salma.

Salma is tucked under my left arm.

I am going to be gone for five weeks. I have never been away from home for five weeks. Who will mow the lawn and clean the house? Well, I don't ever mow the lawn (Chris does), and I probably have let the house go longer than five weeks, so I don't know that that is much of a problem. Time to stop worrying about that and get on with packing.

I am giving you a heads up because the fundraising campaign begins today. I apologize in advance, but I also hope you will find it in your heart to help with our project.

http://www.indiegogo.com/waterpowerpeace

I love TOMS!

"You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give." ~ Winston Churchill

Life 101 - Fight Your Own Battles

Are you a helicopter parent? If so, it's time to land your chopper, and fast, says some tweet I found on the Internet. I tend to agree with that piece of advice.

We all know one. They are the parents that feel the need to sweep all obstacles out of the paths of their children, in an attempt to resolve their children's problems, and to try to stop them from coming into harm by keeping them out of dangerous situations, says Wikipedia.

To some degree, those of us with children have all fallen prey to being labeled by others a "helicopter parent." It is pure, unadulterated instinct to protect your child.

Last weekend, Chris and I went to God of Carnage, a play written by Jasmina Reza. It was at the Myrna Loy Center. It was so entertaining. First off, you can't go wrong at the Myrna Loy. They serve beer and wine in the theater. There are four characters in the play, two sets of parents, that meet, trying to resolve a problem that happened between their two children in the public park. One child hit the other child with a stick and knocked two of his teeth out (incisors, I believe). Any parent could find him/herself in one, or more, of these four characters from time to time. Maybe that is why I thought it was so funny; I could so relate.

I could relate because my child had a tooth knocked out by another child at recess in the 1st grade. I could also relate because I became quite hysterical when the principal told me that the kid that did it would never do such a thing. Hello. Never? No parent, or principal, should ever back themselves into a corner by saying this child would "never" do anything like that. As my little 1st grader was sitting in the principal's office, for the first time ever, missing a tooth, the message to him was loud and clear: "Little Johnny would never do that, so YOU must be lying." Well, I was not going to stand for that.

I had a discussion with the mother, who, by the way, was mortified that her son had done it. He admitted to everyone he had done it, which was very refreshing and made the principal look like a buffoon. The kids were playing soccer, and my child had the ball. When the other child couldn't get the ball from my child, he simply bashed him in the mouth with his fist. The other child's mother offered to pay for my child to go to the dentist. Nothing was required medically because it was nothing more than a loose tooth ready to come out. If anything, this bash helped the process along. I had to take my child to the dentist just about every time he had a loose tooth because he couldn't bear the thought of pulling his own, so this playground encounter actually saved me $50. The thing I was hysterical about was the principal making such a ludicrous statement. My son told the principal his side of the story, and the principal simply dismissed it and did not believe him. Crap happens; not with the intent of inflicting pain and knocking out a tooth, but a little 1st grader gets frustrated playing a game and lashes out. Pretty simple and pretty understandable. It does not mean that the little one was a heathen (uncivilized) or anything, just 1st graders sorting out life on the playground.

Back to the play. Veronica, the helicopter mom in the play, was hysterical. She was also my neighbor years ago. Her dad lives across the street from me still. "Veronica" now lives out of town, but she was required to spend a lot of time in Helena rehearsing for the play, which means we got to spend some time with her, as she was staying at her dad's. We love "Veronica" in real life. She is funny, witty, smart, and delightful to chat with. She is also single with no children. I spent the 90 minutes of the play trying not to laugh the entire time, which was incredibly hard to do, but "Veronica" pulled it off with perfection . She would make a great helicopter mom.

Most of the time, I think it is best to let your kids fight their own battles. You can certainly help guide the process, but there is a lot to be said for two little people figuring out the best way to get over a hurdle. There will be many hurdles in life, might as well get a jump start now.

"To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone." ~ Reba McEntire