Project File: Cream Puffs

My first attempt at pastry! I made cream puffs and they were delicious. Who knew they were so easy to make?

Special Person's Day

It was Grandparents and Special Person's (or maybe it was Special Friend's) Day at E$'s preschool. Since his grandparents aren't nearby, I was called on to be his Special Person. Aw.

I'd been to similar types of things when Maddog was that age so I thought I knew what to expect: snacks and a little bit of singing. I was wrong. No snacks and nothing so organized like a song circle. We played with green play-doh for an hour.

I'm happy to take a few hours off work to play with my favorite nephew, but I can play with him any time and I was kinda hoping to see a bunch of cute 3 year olds singing songs like "Hot Cross Buns" or something. I did get to meet some of his friends (he even remembered to introduce me) and he told me the girl sitting next to him "worries a lot." I didn't get a lot of details about why she worried so much, but I thought it was pretty funny he said that. She did have her brow furrowed while playing with the play-doh...

Managerial Proficiency

Last week I took a 2-day training to assess my managerial proficiencies. On the first day, we watched an outdated video about Bill, and his team of managers and the staff they supervise. Based on these scenarios, we answered multiple choice questions about them and our results are compared to the 700,000 managers who have taken the training to evaluate our proficiency in 12 competencies needed to be an effective manager (according to the methodology.) On the second day we got our results and attempted to interpret them with an HR consultant

So. My results? I scored in the 6th percentile for Thinking Clearly & Analytically and 9th percentile in Time Management and Prioritizing. That means 94 percent of the 700,000 people who took this class think more clearly and analytically than I do!

In contrast, I scored above the 90th percentile for Decision Making, Giving Clear Information, Setting Goals & Standards, and Training, Coaching and Delegating.

I met with the HR consultant and told her I was surprised with those low results, especially since, well, I am an analytical thinker with a science background who is always told she thinks quite logically and pragmatically. Besides, how can I make good decisions and give clear information if I can't think clearly? As for time management, I am annoyingly punctual and have never missed a deadline. Her response? "Hmmm...that's strange. You scored really high on everything else so your profile is actually really great. Well, I wouldn't worry about it. Feel free to take one of our classes if you want..."

Weird, no?

Eye of the Tiger

It's Chinese New Year on February 14th. This is the year of the Tiger. And because I was born before the lunar new year, I'm half-sies on the zodiac signs--back half of the Tiger, front half of the rabbit. I don't mind at all.

However, I am slightly offended that the U.S. Postal Service has issued one of the lamest Chinese New Year stamps for what is one of my years:

Um, why is the tiger no larger than the price of the stamp? Lame.

Happy New Year!

Kicks reversion

At dinner the other night, the topic of properly tying your shoelaces came up. MT demonstrated, and I immediately went to put my shoes on and try out the new technique.

Until I realized that I was wearing Vans slip-ons. And that I don't really own shoes with laces. (Except my running shoes, and maybe a pair of old Vans I wear in the summer.) Does this mean I'm either too lazy to be bothered with laces or I'm reverting back to childhood when shoes were always slip-on or velcro?

Here are instructions for tying shoelaces (It's called a Granny knot):

1. Entire Right lace crosses over Left lace.
2. Then bring the Right lace under the Left lace.
3. Hold end of Right lace in right hand, hold end of Left lace in left hand.
4. Pull both ends at the same time and tighten.
5. Then make your traditional bow to finish up the process of tying your shoelaces the correct way.

Your bow will look perfect. The bow won't look crooked on your shoe. It will lie perpendicular to the length of your shoe. And, more importantly your shoelaces will not come undone because you tied them in a Granny knot. You tied them the right way. The only difference is that with the Granny knot you always start with the Right lace always crossing over the Left lace.

So there.

Project File: Thank You!

Project File: Vodka Infusions

We had a mini vodka infusing party this week, using mint, rosemary, peppercorns, cranberries and citrus fruits in various combinations. Sadly, we will have to wait a few weeks before we can drink it.

Kicking off the new year...with a new age...

It was my birthday this week, and although I'm not for the whole aging process and the fact that when I get carded they hand back my license with a new respect for their elder (look, I can't help that I look young for my age, but I certainly look older than 21), I love celebrating. This week included Psychic Nite, pizza happy hour, dinner & cake with Maddog and E$, a party at Elsa bar, a RockBand potluck, and to top things off, Professional Bull Riding championships at the Garden. (Yes, I was shocked to find out they came to New York, too. )

My birthday year forecast:
A more sociable year than usual is ahead of you, perhaps at times at the expense of work and responsibilities! New connections can be made through shared intellectual and cultural interests. Openness to change is a valuable asset this year. Major restructuring of your life will help you to clear your head and to get your priorities straight.

More sociable? REALLY? Because quite frankly, it's barely over a week into 2010 and I'm exhausted. Last year was insanely busy as it is--I don't know if I can kick it up a notch. Also, I'm not sure about this "restructuring" of my life. I like how it is structured. That seems to imply I will fire some friends and reassign responsibilities.

Happy New Year!

Mall Cops: Mall of America

Really?

TLC aired this as a one hour special and has expanded it into a 12 episode series. The show "shares the story of the men and women who work the security team at Mall Of America."

I worked many years at the MOA, and although it is huge with an amusement park, aquarium and wedding chapel, I really didn't think it was that hardcore. Maybe I was just insulated from the terror while folding jeans at the Gap...

Happy Holidays!

The holidays came a little faster than expected and I found myself less prepared than usual. This year I didn't get around to making all of the things I had planned on. However, I did manage to make holiday cards. I seem to be on an every other year schedule:






















Yes, each one was cut by hand. No folding and cutting. I traced from a template and cut. Like real snowflakes, no two are alike. (Yes, I had a lot of free time over Thanksgiving.)

And here's the one from two years ago, when my mini-donk obsession began:

















HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Meatball Cookoff 2009

It was time again for the annual Meatball Cookoff! As with every year, competition was tough, meatballs were eaten and judged, winners were crowned and good times were had by all.

This year, the winners were:

• Best Meatball (round robin judging): Party Balls
• Best Non-Traditional (non-Italian): Meat Your Maker
• Audience Favorite: Y Tu Meatball Tambien
• The three above competed for the Championship (winner's belt): Y Tu Meatball Tambien
• Best Team Name: Y Tu Meatball Tambien

For the second year in a row, Dirty Cookie (Team: Y Tu Meatball Tambien) took the Audience Favorite trophy, the Championship belt, AND the prize for best team name!

Aside: I was in charge of drawing the names of judges. In the second round of the competition, it came down to Aaron and Dirty and I drew my own name. Yikes. Now, these are two of my best friends--and I have a birthday coming up--so I did what anyone would do: quietly drew another name instead.

Project File: Carrot Terrarium

I recently went to a cousin's wedding (no flashing eyed lobster slaw. whew.) and was handed the centerpiece to take home. I took it, not for the floating candle, but for the nice cylindrical vase. Those things tend to come in handy, and I thought it would be good for a terrarium. Ellen suggested planting some carrot seeds Maddog's piano teacher had given her--that way we could chart the progress of the root vegetables. We'd also have something to eat!

Here we are at 2 weeks...and things are starting to grow...

Brazil nut: okay or no?

My friend Carla once told me the story of a friend of hers, whose parents told her early on that she was allergic to alcohol. She wasn't allergic--they did this in an effort to curb any Girls Gone Wild tendencies. So said friend never drank, thinking she'd go into anaphylactic shock if she did.

One day, Carla and the friend went to the mall and had some Rainforest Brittle, a kind of peanut brittle made with Brazil nuts and cashews. Well, turns out fake booze-allergy friend was, unknowingly, severely allergic to Brazil nuts. Her throat closed up after a bite of brittle and they had to rush her to the emergency room. Don't worry, she survived.

There are a few lessons here:

• Don't lie to your kids about their health
• Get tested for allergies
• Beware Brazil nuts

This weekend I was given a canister of mixed nuts: cashews, almonds, pecans, macadamia (which I already know I am mildly allergic to) and--you guessed it--Brazil nuts. I have never had a Brazil nut before and I didn't know if I had an allergy like fake-booze allergy girl, but her Rainforest brittle story was a warning. However, I was hungry and the largest nuts in the can were calling to me. I was alone, so there would be no ride to the ER, no one to grab the epi pen which I don't own. So I gingerly took a small bite. No sudden closing of air passages. All clear!

Whew. Funny enough, I don't find Brazil nuts to be that tasty.

Live and learn.

My Mom, the Sharpshooter

Mom went to South Korea for a guided apple picking tour. I wasn't entirely sure why the sudden interest in going apple picking, considering she lived in MN for over thirty years and we never once went to an orchard (or farm, for that matter.)

Anyways, she had a great time and it came out several weeks later that she had also gone to a shooting range in Korea. It was only $10. And it turns out Mom is a pretty good shot. Who knew?

Busted!

The institution I work for has made a huge effort to "go green, " which I think is wonderful. I have been advocating for better recycling for years, and I am known in my office for shutting down not only my own computer, but those of my neighboring coworkers (yes, I make sure they have left for the day.) I am also the one who promptly shuts off the light for the copy room at 5pm.

So imagine my dismay and embarrassment when I received this email today:

Hello,
During this week your computer was left on one or more times. This is just a friendly reminder to please program your computer to shut itself down each night. There is a new program that will allow you to schedule your computer to shutdown at a pre-determined time.

The thing is, I remember coming in one morning and noticing my computer hadn't shut down. I have auto-shutdown scheduled for 6:30pm. What they don't tell you is that if there is an error closing a program, the computer won't shut down. So it really wasn't my fault, right? RIGHT?

Paper show

I don't normally post about art shows I've gone to, but Slash: Paper Under the Knife at the Museum of Art & Design was fantastic. Granted, paper cutting is very close to my heart and I wish I had the talent, time, and OCD to do it more often.

Here are two of my favorites:

Shed. Thomas Demand

He takes scenes from found photographs, makes a 3D recreation in paper (yep, everything above--including that yellow sponge--is made out of paper), then photographs it.

Concretion/Conglomerate. Shaul Tzemach

I wasn't sure if it was hand or laser cut at first. It's hand cut. With an X-acto knife. Amazing. There is an extremely high level of OCD involved if you cut paper to mere millimeter widths by hand. (This picture doesn't do the intricate detail justice.)

Please check out this show.

Begrudgingly saving lives one drop at a time

I donated blood today. I will confess that there are incentives for me to give blood: an extra vacation day if I donate five times in a 12 month period AND a free gift each visit. I have been trying to get the free blood donation umbrella for the last several years. They always claim it's seasonal, and I always happen to donate off season. Which means that instead of an umbrella, I am the proud owner of an XXL t-shirt, and countless tote bags.

This time I thought I was going to get lucky: one of my coworkers had the coveted prize, earned a mere 2 weeks ago.

They were out of umbrellas today. I got another tote bag. Dammit.

Also, they gave me a red bandage afterwards that stinks of burnt food. It makes me look like I am either bleeding profusely or part of some resistance movement.


Sigh.

OMG, MINIDONK!

We took a mini-roadtrip upstate this weekend. At one of the Finger Lakes wineries they had a mini-donk! Meet Doobie, the very first mini-donk I've met. I'll admit, he wasn't as cute as some of the pics of mini-donks I've seen, nor was he as mini as I expected. However, he was super sweet and friendly and came right up to me.

No, we did not try to take him home with us.

fungus!

The moss terrarium is doing well enough to grow a little mushroom!

Duck, duck, fowl

Ask any Minnesotan to complete the sentence "Duck, duck, _____," and they will undoubtedly yell, "Gray duck!"

Ask anyone from the remaining 49 states and they will undoubtedly say, "Goose!"

Per Wikipedia:
Duck, duck, goose (called Duck, Duck, Gray Duck in Minnesota) is a traditional children's game often first learned in pre-school or kindergarten.

Also: http://www.gray-duck.com/gray-duck/duck-article.jpg

The funny thing is, Minnesotans are absolutely shocked to learn that no one else in the country calls it Duck, Duck, Gray Duck. Personally, I take a little 10K lakes pride in the fact that we play it our own special way. We also call soda "pop" and mint chocolate chip ice cream "peppermint bon bon."