family – Page 9 – Peaceful Reader

Beautiful Days…

Focus on the positive

Remember in March when I posted about the amazing meditation retreat I went to in Minneapolis. Yes. Read about it here if you missed it. Sadly I didn’t follow through. Oh I’ve meditated sitting in my chair or walking around the library waiting for a class and that is all good. My goal though is to make meditation a daily practice; one where I literally getting down on the mat, bolster, pillow, floor, blanket, whatever and make it a ritual.

I’m not good with follow through sometimes. The only ritual I maintained as my kids were growing up was reading to them at bedtime. That I did without fail. I began other rituals like prayers, blessings, and poems at dinner time. That didn’t last. We do have meals together-that is a good simple ritual we’ve maintained. So reading and meals are my two rituals. Makes complete sense as books and food are priorities for me.

I got up on Saturday and did it, just rolled up my favorite blanket, lit a peace candle, and plopped myself down facing the wall.

I focused on all manner of positive words, thoughts, and phrases. My eyes closed I just let the thoughts flow freely. I thought about my family, peace, love, harmony, gratitude, forgiveness, my dog, the earth, ice cream, sushi. It was far from perfect but it was a good start. The peaceful feeling stayed with me all day long. I loved it. It’s the honeymoon phase. The important and hard part is to keep it going.

Join me in my 21-day challenge if you’d like to make meditation or any good ritual as part of your daily routine. What change would you like to make?

Namaste.

Everyone needs some meditation…

Last weekend I was able to attend an amazing one-day zen meditation retreat with my brother on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. The day was crisp, cold, and it had just snowed. March Madness.

We arrived at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center 10 minutes before the retreat was to begin. The roads were slippery and the drive wasn’t easy but we made it as we walked through the porch door kicking snow off of our shoes. There were people gathered on the porch all staring at the view out front-beautiful Lake Calhoun-or at the wall. It was a little surreal to walk in feeling like we had already missed an introduction or instructions of some sort. We did have one person tell us in a whisper to find a spot and that at exactly 8 we were expected to be on a pillow.

Not ever having been there it was confusing, plain and simple but on the porch there were hot pots of coffee and water with a basket of tea, people seemed friendly or at least interesting. NO one was talking though. I mean I know meditation is done in silence but I expected there to be a beginning meet and greet kind of time and there was it just came later than expected. We meditated for 30 minutes to start off and then we gathered in the main room and heard a lovely dharma talk and understood that the entire retreat was to be in silence. I missed that memo in the retreat outline-truthfully-it wasn’t there as I guess that is an understood norm for everyone else but me.

I am an introvert and struggle to make daily conversation and hate chit chat yet it was very hard for me to spend the day in silence. I do like to crack people up and often love to make jokes in inopportune moments. This would have been one of them if I wasn’t trying so hard to fit in. I was uncomfortable at first, everyone around me seemed to know so much more. Come to find out almost everyone else in attendance is a regular there. My brother and I were first timers and that made it quite a challenge. By the end of the day though I was thrilled with the experience. We did sitting meditation, walking meditation, and mindful work meditation (which for us was ironing cloth napkins). Even eating lunch was a meditation-and the lunch was vegetarian and delicious. I was able to focus on a few key items in my life that I struggle with and I did a lot of silent (of course)praying for my whole extended family. I loved my one-on-one session with Wanda Isle, our guide for the day.

It was an amazing experience. My brother and I chatted on the way home about our experience, some similar and some different. I was ready to get myself a pillow and a mat and start practicing every day at home. I had the best of intentions.

I looked for cushions and mats-they are expensive. I can just use a pillow though and yet I never once was able to sit down and do this like I know it should be done, not once during my week. I’m a little frustrated with myself. I did do walking meditation once at work when I had some stressful moments and it helped.

I do want to make this part of my regular day, every day. I will work to find some space to do this. I need help though.

Pizza and game night

I’m so excited. Tomorrow night we are hosting our son and his girlfriend for homemade pizza and a serious game of cards.

Even though we live in the same town we don’t see enough of each other. He’s a student, works full time and has his own thing. We talked at our Christmas brunch about a game night and we are just getting around to doing it. Hello Spring.

Because of the book fair/conferences we won’t be able to begin our night until 8:30. That’s okay. They eat late all the time. Because of that I am spending my night prepping most ingredients. I’ll make the dough in the morning. That way it will be easy to assemble after I close the book fair down.

I am cooking a pound of good sausage, sautéing mushrooms, onions, and garlic. I’m chopping tomatoes and artichokes. And I’ll start my tomoto sauce in the morning while I make the dough.

We’ve made pizzas so many times as a family event that we can all help roll, toss, and top our pizzas just the way we want them. I loved that when Tristan’s girlfriend suggested the pizza idea for the game night that his response was “oh if you want pizza, my mom will make pizza!”

He knows homemade is almost always better!

29 days of book love…

I’ve been working with 3rd-6th grade students on biographies and autobiographies. Such treasures are available in this section of the library. Kids don’t usually think about all the variety there and biographies are much more creative than they used to be.

I discovered this book as I pulled books to design this center-based activity for 5th and 6th grade. I wanted them to discover new people for their projects and also just for life knowledge.

Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds; The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo and Dom Lee (2005)

In 1932 12-year-old Sammy can only watch others swim at the local pool except on Wednesdays. Because of his skin color he has to wait for one day of the week to be allowed to enter the public pool. Crazy, right?

As he watches he sees one boy fly into the air and dive off the diving board. His thought is he wants to do that. The next Wednesday Sammy works on diving and his friend Hart challenges him to flip. Sammy continues to work on diving and eventually was able to work with a coach.

His father, though, really wants Sammy to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor. The cool thing is he does-he goes on to study medicine but also continues to dive. He experiences discrimination at every step of his life yet he kept pushing through and challenging himself. At the age of 28 he became the first Asian American to win a gold medal and then he defended his gold medal at the 1958 Finnish Olympics.

What an amazing life he led. I loved discovering Sammy’s life and sharing it with students. I wonder what other treasures are stuffed in our biography section.

Weekly Recipes 10; the Christmas Edition

It snowed here on Christmas Eve afternoon. I was out last minute shopping with my son and as we were leaving our small mall I saw huge flakes flurrying around outside the big glass doors of Von Maur. My face lit up-I know it did. It was amazing. It was magical. I was glad he was driving so I could watch the flakes flying. I guess reading my snow books to Kinders really worked!

Our Christmas has been like that small snowstorm; fast yet filled with joy. Eldest daughter arrived safely into O’Hare airport where her dad gleefully picked her up and drove her here. We feasted on clam chowder, fresh bread, and salad with pomegranate seeds in between church services. It was a peaceful night, happy to be all together our meal was filled with lots of laughter and sounds of soup slurping. After eating we had time to play a favorite card game of spite and malice.

Christmas Day we achieved our goal to stay in pajamas/comfy cozies all day long. Kids were happy with gifts given and received. We lounged, napped, and colored in new themed coloring books. We played Pictionary, another game of spite/malice, and foosball throughout the night. And we ate and ate. Breakfast started with delicious Bloody Mary’s, grits, omelettes, and fresh fruit. In the afternoon we had a small cut of Brie with french bread and rice crackers just to tide us over until our late dinner which was lasagna, broccoli, fresh bread, and pecan pie.

I completely made up the lasagna recipe and I am ecstatic on how it turned out. I have a few butternut squashes from a school friend and I sliced one up and sautéd it in a skillet with coconut oil and cumin seeds. Our family is varied on the meat they will eat/not eat but the one that almost everyone will eat is ground turkey. I, myself, am not a fan as I cannot find high-quality or organic here in town. I have a farmer I could ask but didn’t get around to it this time. And turkey is a bit of sore subject right now with the whole avian flu outbreak. I digress though.

YUM!

I cooked the meat thoroughly, tossed it in a bowl to wait and then sautèd onions and mushrooms together with lots of oregano, thyme, cracked pepper, and sea salt. I added the mushroom mixture to the cooked turkey and I was ready to layer. I totally cheated on my sauce because who wants to spend the entire day in the kitchen so my friend Paul Newman helped me out with his more than adequate jar. I tossed a little of that down first in my glass 13×9-in pan, layered some flat noodles, four across, added a layer of turkey/mushroom mix, a layer of mozzarella cheese, four more flat noodles, the amazing slices of butternut squash, sauce, cream cheese (I completely forgot I needed ricotta cheese until 4 minutes before I started making this, lucky I had cream cheese for a kid-friendly substitute), four more flat noodles, last of the meat/mushroom mixture and mozzarella sauce sprinkled over the top. I poured a glass of water over the top which seems weird but helps the noodles cook. I baked it for 45 minutes with tinfoil over the top and took the foil off for the last 15. I let it rest on the counter top for about 20 minutes as I finished other items and got things to the table. It was bubbly and filled with flavor. Myself I would have just had two layers of squash. Groovy Girl hated the mushroom part and the squash part. Too bad.

I hope everyone’s holiday was filled with as much joy as we had and no arguments which are bound to happen even in the coolest of families. We have more exciting events planned for the next few days but eldest daughter returns to Chicago on the morrow and flies back to Brooklyn to continue her work with Gimlet Media. Happy Holidays!

Let it snow, Let it snow (so we can build a snowman)

{young groovy girl with two snowpeople creations}

We don’t have any snow here. A relative has shared gorgeous snow photos of Colorado but no snow here in the Midwest or at least in our corner of Iowa.

This is unacceptable for Groovy Girl. She believes snow is part of what makes Christmas magic. She loves pulling on her tall furry boots and heading out into the snow to play still. But the snow has to come for her to do that. She is the only one of my kids who loves winter weather.

In order to help her out I’ve read books about snow and snowmen at school to kindergarten classes. Here is a list of my favorites:

1. Alice Schertle’s All you need for a snowman (2007): softly illustrated by Barbara Lavallee with flowing text that moves you forward from one page to the next. The pictures make you want to linger though. I love everything that Alice writes. The cover art above makes you want to flip inside.

2. Alison McGhee’s Making a friend (2011): Illustrated by Marc Rosenthal with soft wispy pictures and text that tells the reader the simple water cycle as the boy builds the snowman and watches it melt only to come back to life the next winter. Great for seasonal conversations as well.

3. Lois Ehlert’s Snowballs (2001): My classic go to story of a snow family taking on new life with a variety of crazy fabrics and household items. Kids love the end pages that shares all the items Lois’ used to create her snow family of kids, dog, cat,mom, and dad. Will inspire you to grab your craft bag and head out into the freezing cold to create the perfect Ehlert snowman.

4. Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick’s Stranger in the woods (2000): With exquisite photographs we see woodland animals all trying to discover who has come through the woods. The lyrical text is filled with kid-catchy sounds making the pictures come alive. I love reading this aloud with the chick-a-dee-dee-dee and the stuttering porcupine. The mystery is bigger than just the snowman though so keep turning the pages. I love ending with a few suggestions on how students could help feed local animals through winter.

5. Daniel J. Mahoney’s A really good snowman (2005): I like this book because it’s more than just a snowman story. It’s about family and sticking together. Jack wants to build a snowman with his friends for the annual snowman competition held at the town park. His little sister wants to help but they send her off to do her own thing. When Jack realizes she needs his help he leaves his friends behind to stick with his sister. It’s a lovely story, cute illustrations, and a good lesson in teamwork.

6. No snowman post of mine would be complete with out mentioning my favorite snowman movie…Jack Frost with Michael Keaton as the aging rocker who is killed in an accident after playing a gig on Christmas Eve. Sounds tragic and their are tearful moments but the story is a light-hearted look at a young boy dealing with grief and a father-turned snowman dealing with leaving his family behind. Love to watch it every year.

Most links for books lead you to Red Balloon Books in St. Paul, MN when available. Buy independent this holiday season. Buy everyone on your list at least one book. And send us some snow…

I did it! I set a goal and persevered…

I managed to stick with it and finish the story I started for National Novel Writing Month-November. From afar I’ve watched other writers tweet and post about this amazing challenge and I was curious. I don’t know what spurred me on this particular month but I went for it.

And I finished with more than 50,000 words. I think my story has something to say to teens and young adults, it’s a little bit thrilling, and filled with a cast of cool characters. I am going to spend December combing back through it, revising it, and trying to add to it. I would love to find the right path to publication.

This month has been a month of firsts and I’m so glad I can add #nanowrimo15 to my list of accomplishments. Groovy Girl danced along side professionals from the MN Ballet; this was super thrilling to her, my husband and I took a mini-vacation together (these are pretty infrequent), and I got together with two college friends that I hadn’t seen for many years and I missed them in my life so much-nice to write 50,000+ words in a month and have a wonderful gathering with old friends.

{Me, Betsy, Angela @Dixie’s on Grand Ave.}

The other major first is that we’ve been preparing Groovy Girl for a long-distance adventure. Passports, bags, summer clothes, bug spray, and books have all been purchased so she can head to Nicaragua on a mission trip through Rotary and our church. Groovy Girl and I have contributed to the shoe box project which helps kids transition to school, and now she will have the opportunity to help in person. She leaves early Wednesday morning and will be gone for a week. Bon voyage. We know she will come back a changed young woman.

I’m saying farewell to November with a huge smile on my face. I’m welcoming in December knowing I will be able to relax a little more, and face new adventures as well. Hopefully I can get back to writing here on a more regular basis. We ate some delicious food on Thanksgiving and it wasn’t turkey-I want to share those recipes with you soon. Until then-be peaceful…

Taking November by storm…

{Scene from Mn Ballet-The Nutcracker}

I feel terrible when I look at this blog that I love so much and see that a month is half over and I haven’t posted books or recipes or even what my life is like. If I review blog posts many of them share a common theme of crazy busy happy life. The month of November has been like that + more, like us amped up on lots Halloween candy.

Groovy Girl is in rehearsal for The Nutcracker with the Minnesota Ballet through her local dance studio. She is excited to use her dramatic and dancer skills in such a favorite production. We’ve gone several times to this show as she was growing up and I remember the first time like it was yesterday. She had on a magical deep blue dress and she couldn’t sit still. Luckily we were sitting on the aisle in a front balcony and I could let her dance next to me as the dancers on stage made her want to dance with them. The performance is soon and I will be happy to watch her perform and then happy to cross it off my schedule.

While she has been busy with that I decided at the end of October that this was the perfect time to try my hand at National Novel Writing 2015 so every spare moment between her rehearsals for Nutcracker and regular dance classes (5) and cheerleading activities I’ve been piecing together a story. I’m at about 21,000 words and I need to write double time to finish by November 30th. I don’t know if what I am writing is good but it feels fantastic to write it out. Several pieces of the story are real events that I’ve always wanted to incorporate into something real.

I also threw in two weekend trips because they were already scheduled and I wasn’t going to give them up. My husband whisked me away to Iowa City for a night away-I was able to do some writing there. I also had a date with two college friends in St. Paul and that provided research as that is the setting for my story. It all works out. That’s my mantra.

Work is also crazy right now even though about a week ago I felt caught up-in that one moment because now I’m racing to get things finished up for conferences and our Scholastic book fair which occur very quickly after Thanksgiving. Oh and I am really looking forward to that lovely day of relaxation with my family. We are eating very unconventionally and then have a playdate with freinds for board games and cocktails at our house. Hopefully by then I will have really caught up in my daily word counts for nanowrimo2015 and I won’t feel a bit of guilt as I hang out with friends.

End-of-the-month dead end

(history.com)

Happy Halloween everyone. I stayed up past my bedtime last Tuesday to write a 3-month review of books from August-October. I spent a fair amount of time cross referencing my GoodReads account. It had the makings of a fantastic post. I got on today to finish it and send it out to all of you but it disappeared into the vast unknown. I must not have saved it properly or the internet just royally messed with me. I’ve looked all through my history. Nothing, nada. I can find every single other page I was on around that time but no sign of that post. *&&%$#@! Time wasted. I will have to go back and recreate the entire thing.

I will do it but my point in working on it last Tuesday was that I wanted it done before the end of the month. November I dive into November Novel writing. Never tried it and for some reason feel compelled to do it now. I admit to being scared even terrified but that’s okay. I have grit.

In other family news this is the first Halloween we are not out there trick or treating with a child. Our 13-year-old is trick or treating with a friend but really only to take her 2-yr-old sister around the neighborhood. The other two are long out of the tradition and I noticed on older daughter’s tumblr page that she’s off drinking holiday brew with friends. It is spooky how they grow up and live their own lives independent of you. We had fun reminiscing about costumes and other Halloween celebrations together. If I had a redo I would have taken one picture for every Halloween and kept a book so I could remember all the costumes and the places we were. Highlights: Tristan as a fish he created and painted himself, a cowboy, Mr Monopoly, Yoda, and Groovy Girl as a small lion our first year in Chicago, Ladybug Girl, The Mad Hatter, a bumblebee, Cruella DeVille, and Kaylee as a pink flamingo and an Indian princess.