A Skiing Adventure for Christmas!

Blessed snowy winter vacation, hooray!

We arrived in Duluth yesterday morning for Christmas to find huge snow piles everywhere. Good thing we brought the skis! After a great day of family time, Jff, my dad, and I headed to a nearby park area where I have skiied since I was young.

It was beautiful skiing! The snow was white, fluffy, well-groomed and pretty fast. The sun was out and the birch and aspen trees were a perfect surrounding. As we were skiing the long loop, the sun began to set and the lights were slowly turning on. The trail is really varied with lots of small ups and downs that follow the bank of the river. As huband put it, "this is much better than a golf course."

Today, our skiing adventure continued with my step-mom joining us. We headed up the North Shore a few minutes to another favorite skiing destination. Korkki's Nordic is a small, intimate ski area made originally by a Scandanavian farmer who owned the land.  Since then (early 50's) volunteers have built a small warming house and cleared the 10k worth of trails by hand.  With only a single track through mostly pine trees, it is absolutely gorgeous. It is said to be just like skiing in Norway because of both how narrow the trail is as well as how remote it is.

I was a little worried as we drove up to Korkki's because there was a bit of a mist falling, but as we got there, it stopped, leaving the trail just a tiny bit icy-- and very fast. As soon as we got into the trees it was breath-taking. The roughly 36 inches of snow that has recently fallen up here was virtually untouched this morning. The trees were all covered in huge piles of powdery snow and although it wasn't sunny today, the small path through the woods looked almost magical. The trails are wonderful, very varied with small ups and fun hills. The route back on the 7.5k trail is really fast- often sending you through undulating track with nice turns and easy hills. I had forgotten how much I love skiing there!

Although Dad and Husband had a bit of an adventure on the BIG hill just adjacent to the 7.5 loop (this year, my step mom and I declined due to BBF ) we had a great ski and ended with a little bit of time in the warming house in time to see many of the families arriving for an afternoon ski. Although I am pooped for today, the possibility of going tomorrow has piqued my interest- because up here it is no frozen lake or flat golf courses. These trails are made for skis!

Down for the Count: The Stomach Flu Kung Foo Chop

How fickle the body is... I was fine all day. I went into do some consulting work early in the morning for job #2, later a colleague of mine from job #1 and I delivered Holiday cookies from the college to community partners around the city as a 'thank you'  for working with students. This took several hours. In the afternoon,  I met with a student, with another co-worker, and did some work on upcoming programming.

I left work feeling fine, if not a little uncomfortable in my stomach, (but that sometimes happens of late). I got the Y in order to meet LLC for a run a little early and waited for her in the lobby and all of a sudden my stomach felt horrible. Luckily for me, when she got there she also was not up for a run, so we just walked. A few times as we walked I got strange stomach cramps, but nothing too horrible, again, ask any pregnant lady about stomach gas...

As I got home, I really needed to use the bathroom. And again, and again. Maybe just really bad upset stomach? I didn't eat anything funny... Husband was making dinner for himself and both the smell and thought was absolutely a violation. He graciously made me peanut butter toast and got me a sparkling water. Oops. When my body tells me it is uninterested in food, I should always listen.

By 7:00 our plans for a local movie were out of the question. I was on the couch not feeling well, already dozing off. And still I didn't quite get it, instead I was thinking "this brings my pregnancy sleepiness to a new high". Part of the problem is that I am just never sick. I may have allergies or G.I. tract issues, but it is never a body-wide problem... Not this time. By 8:30 the bucket was by my bed, I was in my bed, except for using the bucket. (Thank you, husband).

By 11:00 pm I was still sleeping and using the bucket alternatively and husband was on the phone with the Ob-Gyn.

It is now 3:04 am. I am wide awake, I have barely even had any water and no food, I am praying that the few sips of water, I did take with tylenol will stay down, my stomach is still being loud and obnixious, and I am blogging for a lack of other things to do. I hate the stomach flu and a ruined weekend.

Contemplative Coffee

This morning I met a friend I don't often get to see for coffee. Although it turned out to be a better day to be in bed, we met at a favorite spot of mine that was thoroughly cozy. We had a great time chatting about her job, my job, the baby in my tummy, a recent romantic trist of hers, and a few other things. Although we have fairly separate social scenes for the most part, we have a great time laughing about the little things. I am always amazed at how fast time goes when we are chatting.

Next to us in the cafe was a group of four women meeting to have brunch. There with them was a little baby in a carrier rounding out the table. It made me think more about my determination to continue to take part socially even after I have a baby. It is my hope that friends won't count me out just because I have a bubblebee with me, but instead ask me if I can make it work and if I would like to join. I hope that people will be willing to accomodate a sleeping/happy baby as long as I can manage it without totally changing the social scene.

I realized today that I do have some friends like that, and that hopefully in a larger way, husband and I have couple friends that will be willing to accommodate baby-dom with out too much trouble. In the end this morning, I was glad to have met my pal for coffee, she is someone who can clearly transcend social scene and life stage and I am glad to have her.

Mid-December Musings

I like this time of year- it is a period of time- a month or a little more where I get excited about forecasts of snow, of cookie-making parties, and seeing all the holiday lights up as I drive around at night. It seems like a fun build up to Christmas and I like it most because it makes winter, not always a pleasant season, seem fun.

The holidays, at the same time, are such a hectic time as well. Lots of decisions, parties, food, tasks, and a sort of bustle that can make one a bit crazy. It seems like it takes special care to really enjoy it all, without letting the bustle get too overwhelming. Going on snowy walks, taking warm baths, and keeping up with running has been my ticket this year to really enjoying the season. I believe that instituting a nation-wide napping trend at work during the day is the next step towards a more sane holiday season...but that might be a while in coming,

Today, I noticed a squirrel running across the snow and I had a strange thought sequence... First, I wondered where squirrels sleep when they are not running around (and how do they stay warm?) and then I realized that for all I see them, I know very little about squirrels other than that husband and neighbor have concocted a few plans to kill the many that frequent our yard. Then I thought about how squirrels must have a territory- an area that they consider their neighborhood- because there are squirrels I see all the time in our yard (the one with the broken tail) and the one that I see by the river when LLC and I are running (the albino) and the list goes on. All very interesting, but an odd thing to think about in depth this morning. And probably not a very interesting thing to blog about.

Recently, husband and I went to finish up a little Christmas shopping in a local area near to our house. It was lovely to frequent and support local businesses that I really appreciate having close to us. Plus, I am realizing that the service and friendliness you receive in these areas is unparalleled.

Last weekend as we were trimming the tree I realized that I really miss our cat, Leo. Although I am glad that he is in a good place out on the farm, I realized as I pulled out ornaments and other decorations that Christmas really was his season. He is featured in many of our ornaments and of course, there was the adorable habit of his of sitting below the lit up tree, all curled up on the tree skirt. It is tough to not have him here this season, being so cute. I still feel really sad to know that he had to start over somewhere else, and I miss him everyday very much. But how do you explain the way you feel about it to most people?

On Saturday, I was reminded of the tremendous kindness and understanding of one of my friends. Although I am struggling to describe it, it was just exactly something that was needed. It was considerate, caring, and just really, really a perfect gesture. I think it is one of those tiny things about her that will always stick out in my memory just because of the way it made me feel.

There are times when I think it would be genius to be able to purr like a cat. It lets people know that you are thoroughly enjoying their company without having to say a word and a hiatus in purring also indicates when someone has done something that is somewhat of a buzz-kill. Purr-fect.

Last weekend at a friend's holiday party, I was amazed to realize, AGAIN, what a small world it is. It is really fun and slightly crazy when you realize that several of your friends all know the same people, but that you didn't know that anyone knew each other.

Sometimes is it amazing how great a good cry can make you feel. After telling husband about this really sad, hard situation, tonight. I just let it go, and man, I feel much better although the situation remains.

I am really excited to report that I found time to make my favorite holiday cookies. I discovered them last year and made one batch with a friend. This year I tackled them on my own.... They are really bad for you, but that is why they are soooo good. Chocolate cookies with Andes Mints melted on top of them-a minty, chocolately chewy mouthful that is sublime. I guess I can bake more than just bread!

I will sign off from my random thoughts with a thought about the great river that we live on/near. Last weekend I drove over the river right after a large boat had passed through. It was really beautiful to see the river iced over, except for this very perfect path cut through the ice by a ship. It was strangely fascinating to look at, and it reminded me of watching the ore boats cut through the harbor ice in Duluth.

What did you do today?

So what do I do every day at work?

The best answer is that no day is ever the same. And I love it.

Today, I found myself in the Soccer Dome on campus watching about 50 high school students learn how to play Ultimate Frisbee…

It started about a week ago when I got a phone call from a local urban, alternative high school coordinator for at risk students. He mentioned a program called urban immersion where two other high school groups would come into the city, meet the urban hs students and then have several experiences in the community.  He wondered if there was any space for them to do something here at the college.

After a few quick emails and running into a few students that I had previously met, we had the Dome reserved, and college students ready to teach high school students how to play Frisbee.

I cannot express the amount of fun I had watching my students teaching a wide variety of high school students how to play and then playing frisbee with them. With some convincing, I even got sucked into a game and ran around with the rest of them for a while.

So for two hours my job was to watch a bunch of students, have fun, develop skills, and learn new things. I even got some good exercise out of it, and gained instant cred with the members of the college Frisbee team.

Hmmm… So am I okay with running around campus in warm-ups one day and heels the next? Yeah, because then, as a student told me yesterday, “You are a real person”. I can deal with that for a job that I really like.

Tragedy, Part Two

Late last Sunday night I got a phone call from a co-worker. One of the students we had taken with us on the bus trip to Georgia was killed in a car accident over the weekend while home for Thanksgiving. It was just her riding in the car and somehow the car flipped over in the bad weather. Although she was rushed to the hospital, she died later on Saturday from massive injuries.

I didn't know her all that well, but she was well loved. She did everything- and I mean everything- both in high school and college. She had a caring heart and really did believe in speaking up for the voiceless. She was very interested in her appearance, but was also much deeper than that. She was a thinker, and most importantly, a doer.

All week it has been heavy around here. The campus has been rocked by Katie's death. I have been covering for both my co-worker out on bereavement leave and students who attended Katie's funeral. Everything seems out of wack and everywhere I turn there is more really, really shockingly sad news and someone struggling with it. It is fitting then, that today when I opened up the bi-weekly newsletter from our CSA share that Rock Spring Farm, that again I heard Katie's name and all the good that she spread, along with a hearty dose of sadness of her leaving too soon.

It really is an eloquently written story about her, one that I think more people should see (especially students who cared about her):

This weekend, we lost one of most wonderful young women to have graced this farm over the past nine years. Katie ----, a star member of our crew of Harvest Heroes in 2007, died in a car accident north of Rushford on Saturday night.

Anything we say about Katie working on the farm now seems trite, but that's the avenue we knew her through the summer after she graduated from Mabel High School, before she started at ------- College in --------. A self-described high-maintenance, bug-fearing, cheerleading city girl, Katie got in touch with her inner-veggie farmer at Rock Spring Farm, morphing from a timid, awkward, and uncertain worker into a young woman who refused to let somebody else do the heavy lifting, getting dirty, or big-van driving. And she taught us all the importance of doing it all with a great tube of lip gloss and killer eyeliner.

Katie always had something to say, and that something almost always made us laugh. On the other side of that, Katie listened carefully and picked up on the world around her so that she always knew what was going on, both on the farm and in the lives of the people around her.

She wasn't afraid to call people out for slacking off or not meeting the quality standards, or to ask questions, or to shut off Isabel's Raffi tapes. But she also wasn't afraid to cheer us on when things were going well, or to offer consolation when the going was rough.

As befits the stereotype of a cheerleader, she was a master of chalkboard and whiteboard art, and her various renditions of the words "Rock Spring Farm" and "Certified Organic" still grace every writing board on the farm, almost a year after she helped out with last winter's seed inventory. It's the sort of touch that has made us smile on an almost daily basis.

She had a mindful presence, and the sort of personality that didn't always get the credit she deserved because she didn't need the credit to get the job done, or to reach out to her coworkers or friends.

We didn't make it to Katie's memorial service on Wednesday due to the nasty weather, but her passing reminded me of a story told at the recent funeral of another person I wish I had known better, local potter Tim Langholz. A fellow potter related the story of an artist's retreat where he and Tim had worked hard all day, then gone for a walk as the sun was setting. As they walked through the woods, the light was so perfect that they ran back for their easels and brushes, then sat in silence working for some time to capture the scene the had found themselves in the midst of. Finally, Tim turned to his friend and said, "You know, this is not a dress rehearsal." Katie lived like that, lip gloss and all.

On Blogging

When I describe to people why I blog, it ends up being something like this:
I like that I have a place to just write things that I think about. I don't think a lot of people read it. I don't put a ton of energy into it. I just like it. I like that I can look back on old posts, I like that it is not a personal journal completely, and I like the creative outlet. I like writing and it gives me a good opportunity to do it and be very relaxed about it. I like that people who care can keep up with my life without me repeating things 80 times.

I also like reading most other people's blogs (depending on what they write about, of course.) It is interesting to see what other people are thinking about, what interesting experiences they have, and most of all I think it is a nice creative outlet that is very informal. I most like blogs where people tell interesting stories about their lives, where I am challenged to see someone else's perspective, know more about the world, and where people are just themselves with what they write. It is also a way I keep up with people who I care about.

Today I read a blog post that reminds me why I love blogs. It is because I get a dose of my friend MK, although I haven't seen her in a while, all while she tells an AWESOME story. Check it out.

The book list that might save me

Lately, I have found myself not reading as much. Why? Unsure.

Some ideas:
1. I do read books, they just are about my gradually increasing stomach.
2. I am too busy. I am working my new job and consulting for my former job 8-10 hours a week.
3. I sleep a lot more now; no bedtime seems too early for me.
4. I haven't been cruising the library's website as much, therefore reserving fewer books, therefore fewer books on my desk at home.

Anyways, the New York Times Book Review list is coming in handy:

100 Notable Books of 2008 
The Book Review has selected this list from books reviewed since Dec. 2, 2007.

My New Thanksgiving Box... and other Traditions from Turkey Day

For Thanksgiving this year husband and I decided we would spend it with both of our extended families in Illinois. We are lucky to have plenty of aunts, uncles, and cousins in the Chicago area and a few of them even live within a few miles of each other. 

Over the last four years that we have been together we have spent a lot of time with Jff’s Aunt and Uncle B and with my cousin Jean and her husband Daryl. Both families have young kids and it has been fun to watch them grow up. It was great to be able to enjoy both sides of our family this year, especially knowing that next year it may be more difficult to travel for holidays like Thanksgiving.

On Thursday we had dinner at 1 o’clock at my family’s and then made it back for a 5 o’clock Thanksgiving six miles away at Jff’s family’s. It was so great to be surrounded by family in both places that we sincerely love- we enjoyed the kids, catching up, and just sharing in many of the traditions of both families. But something occurred to me after the second Thanksgiving of the day… I couldn’t help but realize that Thanksgiving dinner at my family’s had just tasted SO GOOD (and better than at Jff’s…)

This got me wondering… do we always just prefer what is our own? Especially, if it is related to family, traditions, and what we are used to?  I mean Jff and I both agreed that the potatoes were better at my cousin’s, but I would have said that everything was better, and I am sure he would not agree. As I was relating this to my mom, she remarked that my aunt had probably used most of grandma’s old recipes… so many of this things that I have had at Thanksgiving meals since I was a small child. That must be what it is… don’t we just naturally like the things we grow up with, better?

Today as I was at my cousin’s house again, we were laughing about this phenomenon of family preference. She agreed that it all stems from what we are used to, and not always what is the BEST food. I had to laugh when she said, “Yeah, but I do tell Daryl that I really don’t like his mom’s stuffing—she puts ground meat in it-- Yuck!”

Anyways, this got me thinking about traditions and what kind of things our child will be used to and the ways that we all choose what we continue from our families and what things we leave behind. What traditions do we create for our children to pass on or leave behind?

One tradition that began this year with Jff’s cousin Ava, that will we will hopefully always continue, is the Thanksgiving Box. Before dinner everyone wrote on a separate piece of paper what they were thankful for. After dinner and dessert, we opened up the box and Ava read all that notes out loud. It was really fun, and functioned to remind everyone of what is really being celebrated at Thanksgiving. There were plenty of laughs and “oohs” shared during the reading of the cards and in the end it functioned to let everyone know what each individual was celebrating. My favorite list that was read was husband's Thankful card, it read:

I am thankful for:
New babies
Pumpkin bread
Family
Klou
Obama
Nintendo

So this year I left Thanksgiving determined to continue some traditions, and make others my new traditions. First, I vow to find my grandma’s old recipes so when I start making Thanksgiving dinner I can make it the way that is the way I remember it. Second, I will always continue the family walks after dinner- each year there is so much fun had on these treks through neighborhoods and there are great conversations had. Third, I vow to continue my avoidance of the ridiculousness of Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving—I never have taken part and I am glad—I much prefer spending time with family, playing outside, or just sharing a day of rest with people I care about to the over-consumerism of buying things with a zillion people I don’t know and don’t care about. Fourth, from now on all Thanksgivings will include more vegetables (ginger carrots!) and loaves of pumpkin and cranberry bread. And finally, from now on I will always have a Thanksgiving Box to use and to share.