High heels, sore feet, and kids with books

Posted by random olio

On Friday, we had the opportunity to go to the “2014 SMART Gala: Dinner, Auction and ‘Make a Difference’ Paddle Raise.” There were a few reasons I was interested in going. One, we never dress up. Last October, Chris purchased his first suit ever in the decade + we have been married, and I purchased a sassy dress, and gulp: high heels. I am not a high heel kind of woman. I think there was a time in my life when I might have gone down that yellow brick road, but that time has long passed. I can manage in high heels for a few hours, but the end of that night means a foot massage is due. I seriously do not know how Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda did it for so many years, especially in New York City. My own experience concludes that a city block in New York is much longer than a city block in Portland.

I digress. The dressing-up part was fun, and I was hoping to end up with some glamorous photos of me and my better half, but the lighting sucked. So here is a so/so photo. So back to the Gala. The second reason I was interested in going is the charity event itself. SMART stands for Start Making A Reader Today, here is an excerpt from their website :

“One child at a time. One volunteer at a time. One book at a time. Since 1992, SMART has been pairing caring, adult volunteers with children in need of reading support and books to take home and keep. SMART volunteers read one-on-one with students weekly during the school year, modeling a love of reading and building children’s reading skills and self-confidence in a positive, child-driven environment.”

The event included a silent auction, raffle, and live auction, and at the end of the night they had estimated that we raised over $400,000! I was impressed with the span of ages, and the amount of money that was dropped in the name of literacy. One couple gave $25,000 and offered to match another $25,000 if enough folks contributed during that auction — and they did. Timber Joey (the Portland Timbers mascot) was in attendance, and was part of the live auction. The prize? Timber Joey and one of the players would come and read at the school of your choice.

Such fun. I am grateful for all the individuals that donated money to support children, books, and reading. A cause near and dear to my heart.

Double fisting the fries

Posted by random olio

If you ask Chris, he would tell you I double fist my french fries, and I eat them like the world is about to end. He is right. I am not talking about drive-through french fries, I am talking about the perfect thickness, not too thin that they are crunchy/hard, and not so thick that they are almost pulpy in the middle, with just a slight crunch, and golden in hue. Topped with just the right amount of salt, and I am in heaven. Oh, and he is right, I will double fist them and fight you for what is left in the bowl.

Recently I finished reading “I’ll Seize the Day Tomorrow” by Jonathan Goldstein. The author writes a chapter for each week of the year leading up to his 40th birthday. It was not an amazing book, but interesting enough that I finished. He weaves humor throughout the book, and this particular quote, made me think about my two-handing my french fries:

“If manners are going out the window, then I’ll say this: Quit double-fisting the strawberries. I might want to have one myself.”

“How dare you!” he yells. “You’re the double-fister! Remember that time I ran into you on the street and you were eating from a bag of Cheerios with your left hand and a bag of Fritos with your right? Coming down the street you looked like you were wearing mittens.”

“I was wearing mittens.”

“Even worse! What grown man wears mittens?” page 35

Maybe it is all things salt. I am sometimes known to do the same with chips. Just the other day while stuck in our house due to all the snow, Chris and I had lime chips and guacamole. Before Chris had even one chip I had already made a dent in the bowl. He had gone into another room to get something and when he got back he said “hey, leave some for me.” Dig in quick buddy, you have got nothing on me. A little salt, some french fries or chips, and I am a goner.

A precious love story

Posted by random olio

A friend recently told me about a book to read, by Gene Wilder (think The Producers, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). I was curious just by the mere fact that Gene Wilder wrote a book (although it is his fourth), and a love story at that. It takes place during World War II, and usually that would not be my genre of book to read. I am not normally into love stories and I am not usually into war piece books, but I decided to hold it at the library. What did I have to lose?

“Something to Remember You By” by Gene Wilder was a quick read (at 164 pages), but so very precious. The story line moves fast and you do not want to put it down. I could definitely see it made into a movie. I do not want to give you too many details about the story line, but rather I encourage you to pick it up, curl up on the couch and in a few short hours, you’ll have a satisfied smile on your face.

Why you may ask? It makes me think about life in simpler times. Think before smart phones, and apps, and all the crazy lives we live. Oh, you have lost that memory? I am not so old that technology is hard for me to adapt to, part of my schooling was technology free and part of it was full of technology and the Internet. I am, however, old enough to know what life was like before we were fully consumed by our gadget filled lives. What do I mean, and where is this going? I can remember a time when you would go to a restaurant with the love of your life, and not care what was happening on Facebook, or the news, or in your inbox, and you just sat and enjoyed the precious one sitting across from you.

Even though I was not even a speck of an idea during World War II, “Something to Remember You By” reminds me of a time before our gadget addiction when you would sit down in a restaurant and enjoy each and every moment of that meal. I want that. I want my brain to shut down, and my fingers to stop typing, and my every gadget to stop buzzing. I want more meals in restaurants that allow me to turn it all off focus on my precious one. Do you struggle with turning it all off? If so, start with reading this short novel, sit back and ponder what you can do to unplug and enjoy your loved ones World War II style.

Savor every conversation bite

Posted by random olio

I am always late. I could barely get out the door in the morning if Chris did not say: “I have your bag, phone, etc.” and “We need to leave in 5 minutes” in order to get to his or my first meeting. I do not remember always being late as a kid or even the first few years of my professional life. (Maybe someone from my past can tell me if they remember otherwise). I think I know why I am late for a few reasons. What I do not know is how to redirect myself so I am on time.

Feeling rushed for me in the morning is because there is always one more thing I can do. Respond to another email, or text, or just one more turn of Words with Friends. It might be because I feel uncomfortable and decide to change my outfit at the last possible minute, or I am having a bad hair day and it is taking just a bit longer to tame the mane. So you can see that there are a lot of competing priorities that make it challenging for me to leave the house!

I also have back-to-back meetings on many days of the week, and when one goes over it often creates a domino effect for the rest of my day. However, sometimes one meeting goes over because I am engrossed in a conversation with someone, I am focused on the issue at hand, and want to continue to listen. So does that make it bad for me to be late? Over the holiday I finished reading “Bittersweet” by Shauna Niequist, and while I jotted down quite a few quotes I would love to share, this one is so me:

“I want to really notice each meal, each bite, each conversation, instead of shoving food in my mouth, running out the door, promising someone we’ll connect again soon. I can always tell I’m on thin ice when my list of promises becomes way too long. I have so many intentions and plans, but I lose the ability to listen, to stay, to connect. I’ve been more ravenous and gluttonous than I’m proud of. Less is more is a great idea, but you wouldn’t know that from my calendar.” Page 168

I often have too much on my to-do list, eat lunch while working at my desk, and end up sucking the life out of my day. My first desire to is to be present with the other individual(s), listen to the topic, and find solutions or next steps, but as Niequist says are we really savoring each bite and each comment in our conversations? Is being late bad? Or do we need to shrink our to-do lists, do less and be more?

What do you think?

random olio 2013

Posted by random olio

I know most blogs probably look back at their year, so I am just another cliché. Yet I have to do it. I need to take a moment to ponder all that poured forth out of my mouth and my fingertips. It was fun to look back on some of my favorite posts of the year. A few of my favorites were of course about my better half, who inspires me, keeps me afloat, and well probably the most important, keeps the cranky me away because he feeds me. Other posts were about finishing my first 1/2 marathon, food, farts, and you know those days when your pants are on backwards. These were my top ten favorite posts of 2013 (in no particular order), okay so I could not stop at ten so you get a top thirteen:

Since life is not always about what is MY favorite. I thought I would also share the most read 2013 posts:

I hope you enjoyed my random mumblings, musings, and words this year. It has been an adventure of books, food, introspection, growth, and gratitude. Here is to many more blog posts in 2014!!