Black Friday sucks

Posted by random olio

If you are reading this at home, it means you have not left home to brave Black Friday crowds. If you are reading this on your phone while trying to pass the time in line at a big box store in order to get some crazy deals, then you are brave. Maybe you are home and online waiting for that right moment to click “place order” for that bargain Black Friday deal. Hopefully if you are out shopping, it is at your local boutique because you like supporting your neighborhood business.

If you are like me, you are hiding from it all. A colleague from Japan was asking about Black Friday last week. We told her about crazy Americans who trample each other for discounts on TVs, electronics, you name it. A new bra, toilet paper, a trash can? We are crazy!

A week ago Chris was in Hong Kong and happened to be near an Apple store when the new iPad Air was launching. CRAZY. Take a look at the picture taken from outside, and to think that he actually went inside to check it out from the inside. Look at all those people. It is similar to Black Friday craziness in the US.

In all seriousness though, you have to read this Huffington Post article about Black Friday, capitalism, and consumerism. It is so well written, and a good reminder that we really need to get control of the consumerism that is eating into Thanksgiving. Let’s leave gratitude and family for Turkey Day, and let’s leave shopping to Black Friday. We saw that an outlet mall in Washington opened at 10 am on Thanksgiving and would not close again until 11 pm on Friday night. Why? Why? Why? I agree with the author, if we do not shop for that deal for socks on Thanksgiving, they will stop opening on Thanksgiving. Let their employees be with their families.

#SeriouslyAnnoyedAboutBlackFriday

Turkey Day Gratitude

Posted by random olio

Turkey. Mashed potatoes (with herbs and goat cheese). Cornbread stuffing. Yeast rolls (maybe pretzel yeast rolls). Veggies. Canned cranberry sauce (yes I said it, I eat it straight from the can, bumpy can imprints and all). Pie. Don’t touch my pie.

We all have our favorite foods, traditions, and things to do over holidays, and sometimes specifically for Thanksgiving. Yet, do we have traditions for Thanksgiving that actually carry into each day of our year? I have been thinking about that recently. Chris and I have a jar for 2013 where we put a note in it for when we have things we are grateful for. We will open and read them all on New Years Eve and then start again for 2014. I feel a bit like wanting to go and shake the presents under the tree, because I want to see all that we have put into the jar for the year, but I will wait and not peek.

So what are your Thanksgiving traditions? What will you be doing with your family and friends? I will be with my better half. I will miss being with my family, especially my mother-to-be sister, but I know that she is starting the beginnings of traditions for her new family. Her life is about to change in big ways and she has so much to be grateful for — each day is a blessing. Sometimes I am not sure we have the grace to see and feel the awe and wonder of all the moments around us that teach us to be more patient and kind.

Take a slower day on Thursday. Give thanks to all those that have taught you wonderful lessons this year. Hold those that have struggled dear in your heart as they need your love too.

Much gratitude to you today and every day.

Shift

Posted by random olio

I felt off last night. Do you ever have those days when things do not feel right, you feel out of sorts, but for the life of you, you cannot figure out why? Sometimes when I am in that space, I can get cranky, and other times I just feel quiet and introspective. As I was stretching after my run, I pondered if something had happened in my day that might have led me to feel this way. No dice. Nothing came to me clearly. How was I going to get out of my funk? I had gone for a run which usually helped. No luck.

As I continued to stretch the thought came to me, maybe your funk has to do with what you are not focusing on. Hmm. Interesting concept. I then remembered the different conversations I had, ones about specific internal work politics, which can sometimes irk me. I could review all that junk with you, but I will not bore you with the details. What was cool about this post-run/stretch was that when I shifted my thoughts to what I had not been focusing on, I realized I was not directing my thoughts to the right parts of my day.

When I enter that window where I can see my thought shifting the word that always comes to me is: gratitude. It is always that instant ah-ha moment that reminds me I have been mulling over the crappy stuff. If I were to reflect on my day I would say that I was grateful to catch up on a ton of work that I had not had the opportunity to sit and focus on for days. Sometimes it is the smallest of things that can start us down the path to move us from grump to a smile.

If only every day, we could have the clarity of thought to flip a coin and look at the other side. We can have that clarity, but do we do it? Now I cannot tell you that after all that I felt 100%. Instead I think I started the shift internally. Sometimes you have to see how to change course, call it a day, sleep well, and start fresh the next day.

Happy holiday weekend to you!

Should you tell your kids?

Posted by random olio

I ponder questions about my future as a mom. I often wonder with my tendency to be blunt all the time, will I decide to tell my kids that there is a Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, or Santa Claus? What is the right thing to do? On one hand there is fantasy and fun surrounding these mythical stories, but what does it teach kids if they learn that we have been lying to them all these years?

I suppose from a tier of importance, Santa Claus has the most weight. If he is capable of bringing every child around the world a gift all in one night, while riding a sleigh, and going down any houses with chimneys, well that is not a loaded lie! Oh, and about the chimney, the man is fat. And, he has a reindeer with a red light at the end of his nose. How many lies has that added up? 5 so far. I am sure if we really looked at the story, we could count many more.

The Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy carry much less weight from the lie factory. For Easter, the bunny hides eggs. That does not seem so far-fetched. Bunnies dig holes, it could be possible. Was the Easter Bunny a boy or a girl? I am not sure I ever learned where the Easter Bunny comes from, and I do not think I learned how the Easter Bunny was connected to the resurrection of Jesus. Probably did not matter, because all I remembered about Easter was wearing a hideous “Easter” dress from my grandma, going to church, having brunch, and finding our easter basket. A regular Sunday, except for more candy, and a poopy Sunday dress.

Now the Tooth Fairy. I assumed the Tooth Fairy was a girl, probably out of the process of elimination that a fairy was never a boy when I was a kid. I had a hand-me-down tooth pillow, that I put under my pillow when I lost my tooth. I never found it odd that the Tooth Fairy had to lift my head to get the pillow, remove the tooth, and leave my half-dollar, all without my waking up. I have heard very different accounts of what friends received for a tooth, but we got 50 cents in the fancy form of a half-dollar. Calculating that I have 28 teeth, not counting the four wisdom teeth pulled a few years ago (I know everyone might have different amounts), that equals $14 on me. Of the three fictional characters I would say the Tooth Fairy wins. Over the course of a few years of my life, they only spent $14. If there is only one Tooth Fairy, then how come other kids received $20 a tooth (about $560 total). Does the Tooth Fairy play favorites?

I digress. I started this blog to discuss whether to lie to my future children or not. The verdict is still out. I know I sound like a heartless future mom, but I have strong beliefs about not lying to my children. I wonder if I can find a way to go along with the charade, while also telling them the truth. Tell them it is make believe and we can play along together.

What do you think?

Ants stole my jelly beans

Posted by random olio

Yesterday I was remembering an Easter Sunday from my childhood. Before I tell you what happened, I need to give you a bit of context. Each Easter we were given three Easter baskets (we knew our individual baskets based on the color ribbon tied on the top). Before we were allowed out of our bedrooms in the morning, my parents (a.k.a. the Easter Bunny) would hide our baskets and we would be set free to go and find our baskets before breakfast. There was also always a “family” basket that sat on the center of the kitchen table.

Easter 2013 egg decorating (w/niece + nephew)

Since we grew up in Indiana, it was generally cold outside, and depending on how early or late in the year Easter fell, we might even have snow. Due to the weather, our basket hunt was always somewhere in our house.

This specific year I remember finding my last basket next to a sliding glass door behind a heavy drape. Once I found it, I looked down and noticed it looked fairly black. Bending down to pick it up, I screamed. Not out of fear for what I saw, but because I knew there was no way I would be allowed to eat the candy inside my basket. My basket was covered completely with ants. Gross right? In the ten minutes it took for my parents to hide the baskets and for us to find them, the ants had completely ransacked and attacked my Easter candy.

I was mortified. To assuage me, my parents let me know that for that Easter I would get to share the “family” basket with them. I cannot remember if that was a treat for me, or not. All I can remember is that ants took over my basket.

#tooomanyants