Leadership Training!!!

Nervous and excited for today – I’m attending the Decatur Leadership Institute this fall, and orientation starts today. I looked at the list of other participants, and I don’t think I know anyone. But that’s okay, that’s part of why I’m doing this training.

I’m really interested in what other people have to say about Decatur that’s good. So often I only hear what’s wrong – that the schools suck, that there’s too much crime, that there is nothing to do. But let’s be realistic:

-The schools inside Decatur are really quite revolutionary. With programs for both gifted and special needs, DPS 61 is able to serve a real (and diversified) population. SMASH Camp was offered this summer and was a huge success. The schools can’t magically change the population they have, and many kids come from economically disadvantaged or broken homes – and yet DPS 61 still sees gains and successes.

-Crime is everywhere. You cannot escape it, and to be honest – I feel safer walking downtown in Decatur than when I lived in Springfield, IL and was downtown. I believe that the Decatur Police and Sheriff’s offices are doing a good job and we as citizens should support them. When you see something suspicious – call them. If you see people acting in appropriately, say something. Take ownership of your city.

-And finally – there is ALWAYS something to do in Decatur. In fact, tonight there are two competing events that I want to go to and may not make it to both. There is always music, whether it’s karaoke or live bands, there is an arts council that hosts gallery shows, there are children’s events at the public library and zoo. My personal opinion – people who complain that there’s nothing to do just don’t want to go out and do it.

So – that’s what I hope the DLI is about – learning about the good in Decatur and providing more networking opportunities. How can I, as a young professional, make my community better. Not how can I complain more about it.

A lot of cooking going on…

(For some reason, this didn’t publish when it was supposed to – enjoy now!)

I really enjoying putting a home-cooked meal on the table as many nights as possible. But, there are some nights where it would have been easier to just grab something. Last week, I had one of those nights.

I decided that stir-fry sounded really good, and I had all the ingredients on hand. I chopped veggies, and cooked rice and sautéed my chicken thighs. And I found my stir-fry sauce – store-bought…

I went to twist off the cap, but realized that it had a shrink wrap layer. So, I figured I’d just shake it up first.

But I had already loosened the cap. When I shook the bottle, stir-fry sauce flew everywhere. Including a PLOP on my head. Now, I only lost about 2 ounces of sauce, but it looked like I had committed murder in the kitchen.

I managed to clean up most of it while still cooking, but Tim still saw and made fun of me. You know, the normal reaction. But the most humiliating part though? Working out after dinner and sweating stir-fry sauce on your scalp and forehead. It took two showers to get that crap out of my hair.

Meatloaf Cupcakes? Muffins? Whatever…

I got home late from work, with every intention of making some taquitos for dinner.  Quick, easy and done.

Tim had already eaten Mexican for lunch.

I had the ingredients for meatloaf, but not the full hour and 15 to make it.  So I improvised.  I figured that if the size of the meatloaf was smaller, it would cook faster.  I was right!  Check out the recipe below.

Mini Meatloaf

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 c. milk
• 2/3 c. dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 c. chopped onion
• 2 tbsp. parsley
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. basil
• Pepper to taste
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. dry mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare muffin tin by greasing with cooking spray or oil.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt, Parmesan, basil and pepper.  Add ground beef and mix well.

Divide meat mixture into equal parts and place into muffin tin.  (No need to roll or pat down – just keep them loose.)

Bake for 30 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

While the meat cooks, mix together the ketchup, dry mustard and brown sugar.  Once the meat is cooked through, spread the ketchup mixture over the top and bake another 5-10 minutes.

Carefully remove the meat-loaves from the tin and drain if necessary.  (Meat will be loose while hot, but tighten as it cools.)

We served it with some cheesy mashed potatoes and sautéed zucchini.

A Bit of Tea

Nothing soothes quite like a cup of tea. No matter what the day throws at you: bad news, difficult people, trying situations. The simple act of brewing a warm cup of amber can slow you down and make you grateful for the things in your life that are going well.

I had a troubling day yesterday and few resources to pull from. I love Tim, but there are sometimes that he cannot make everything better. However, when I finally was able to stop, think and calm down with my tea cup- things didn’t seem as bad. Whatever may come, I know I’m strong enough to make it through.

I sometimes just need that cup of tea to help me remember.

And it that doesn’t solve my problem- I can always add a bit of whiskey.

My Heart Hurts

Seems like a trend… Today, I’m writing AGAIN about death and sadness.

Later today, my family’s pet, Molly, going to be put down.

She is probably 15 years old, and isn’t eating and has lost control of her legs.  I suggested it a year ago, when she started to go downhill, but I’m still sad that it’s happening.  I cannot go home to my parents’ to say goodbye, I have to work.  I wish I could be there when it happens… let her know that she’s not alone and that I love her.

Molly is the first pet that I can really remember.  She was there for me when I was lonely, kept my bed warm at night, kept me smiling.  She is a liver spotted dalmatian - she’s the only one that I’ve ever seen.  My great-grandmother had a red spotted one, but Molly’s brown spots were beautiful.

Since I went to college, Molly didn’t really seem like my dog.  My little brother took her on, and cared for her.  But over the years, Mom and Dad got other dogs (currently there are three in the house), and Molly’s spot in the family was shared.  And Molly became grouchy in  her old age.  She simply wanted to lay on her bed and sleep, not be disturbed by the younger dogs.

As time went on, she became more tired, and had trouble with her back legs.  They didn’t quite work like they were supposed to.  But, with quiet dignity she carried on.

However, in the past couple of years, Molly had lost quite a bit of weight.  When Mom called last night, she said that Molly’s spine was clearly visible, she had lost that much more.

I know this is the right decision, but it still hurts.  I hope that my parents are okay today, and that Molly goes peacefully.

How to make your neighbors think you are nuts

Many, many years ago I had a very bad temper.

That’s not true.  I still have a bad temper.  I get mad and I stay mad for a LONG time.  But it used to be worse; when I would become enraged, I would throw things, scream, punch walls.  One time, when I was about 13, I chased a girl down and punched her.  Now, I still think she deserved it, but that’s not the point.  I shouldn’t have hit her.

Since that day – I’ve learned to keep my temper under control.  Hell, even in the past few years, I have stopped yelling at my step-son for stupid things he does.  In a calm voice, I explain why I’m mad and what we can do to solve the problem.

However, there is one story that I need to share, even though it is embarrassing and horrible… I just need to put it out there.

At our old house, Tim and I spent a lot of time putting in raised garden beds.  We built them from cedar, filled them with  compost and topsoil and planted them.  At this same time, we got a dog and named him Marshall.  Thankfully we had a fence, so we could just open the backdoor, and let him do his business.

Now, one of the things that we planted in those garden bed was seed potatoes.  Little pieces of potato that you plant about two inches deep that grow a new plant.  Well, after they had been planted just long enough to sprout, we let Marshall out to do his thing.  He couldn’t have been out there more than ten minutes when I went to get him.  I opened that door, and there he was, running towards me covered in soil.  I was shocked – what did he tear up?  I had four garden boxes, all planted with different things…

He had dug up every last seed potato and eaten it.  Not just dug… ATE them all…

I flipped.  I screamed and chased him around the yard, trying to catch him.  Needless to say, I was not quick enough to catch him.  So, I tried to get him in the house to punish him with a “time-out”.  He wouldn’t have that either.  Finally, mad and tired, I calmly grabbed one of my step-son’s foam covered baseball bats and went back outside to the tree in our backyard.  I screamed wordlessly, beating that tree until the plastic core of the bat broke.

I know that wasn’t the most adult thing to do.

I know it wasn’t the most SANE thing to do.

I know that someone at the old house probably saw or heard me do it.

But, it was satisfying to get it out, and I didn’t beat my dog.

I also didn’t plant potatoes ever again.

The Duggar Family and THOSE Photos

Sorry – I have another sad post… Bear with me.

If you haven’t already heard – the Duggar family (you know, that one with the 19 kids and counting?) recently had a loss. Michelle miscarried her 20th child this week.

Now – I’m NOT going to talk about how many children she has. I personal don’t agree with having that many, but those kids are well taken care of and it’s not my vagina those kids are coming out of.

However, I want to talk about those pictures that TMZ has from the memorial service of their baby, Jubilee Shalom Duggar. (Warning, the photos are potentially unsettling for some.)

While I have never given birth, and thankfully have never miscarried, I understand that many parents that lose a child during pregnancy take remembrance photos. Examples are found at http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org, an organization that specializes in this kind of thing. I cannot imagine how hard it is to lose a child, and compound that grief with never being able to SEE that child. Remembrance photography can help some people in the grieving process, and honor their child even though it never breathed a single breath.

HOWEVER – I feel very strongly that there is a huge difference in taking these sorts of photos for the benefit of the parents and family, and what the Duggars did at their memorial service. Their child was so small – one picture is of Michelle holding both of Jubilee’s legs in-between her thumb and forefinger. There are no “face shots” of the baby shown, but the images shown are upsetting, even to me. It takes a lot to bother me, but I lost sleep after reading the aforementioned story on TMZ.

Now, it is still the decision of the parents of if they want to take remembrance photos. I just feel that with how the photos looked, they should have NEVER been displayed to anyone outside of the family. The fact that these photos got to the public makes me think one of two things:

-That this was simply a publicity stunt for the Duggar’s TV show. Everyone already knew that a 45 year old woman that had given birth to 19 other children was pregnant again. I think a majority of people felt badly for her as a mother losing a child when the news broke that she had miscarried. But displaying that poor fetus (it WAS a FETUS) in front of God and everyone seems to be a cry for people to watch what happens on their show, and not just a family greiving.

OR

-That this is a pro-life move from the MOST pro-life family on the planet. The only thing that I could think of was that the photos reminded me of those repulsive signs from protesters showing an aborted 2nd trimester child. So, maybe the Duggar family is trying to say, “Look, 2nd trimester abortions are killing babies, not just fetuses.” Being a pro-choice supporter, I resent that people feel the need to take this road – women that have to make the decision to abort their child shouldn’t feel additional guilt by being forced to witness what fetuses look like at the stage they abort. These women have already been through hell, and made possibly the most difficult decision of their lives. Don’t rub salt in the wound.

Either way, I feel less respect for the Duggar family today. Not that I watched their show or particularly cared about them before now. I did respect that they followed their beliefs and truly love all the children they have. Now, I just feel dirty for them. I hope that they find whatever they are looking for in displaying these pictures. I just wish I hadn’t ever saw them.