December Photo Project- December 2

Christine: 1

Yuletide Buffet: 0

Tonight was the first night of our Yuletide Buffet that I have been planning for 2 months now. It's part of the Yuletide In The Country event at The Genesee Country Village & Museum. This thing has been giving me anxiety for weeks now. It went off without a hitch. (We have 8 more nights though...)  This is part of the dessert buffet.

BTW Folks, if you go to a buffet, especially one that benefits the museum and it's programs, (or any not-for-profit) please don't take a cookie, or a roll, or butter, or any food that you aren't going to eat for that matter. If you aren't sure DON'T TAKE IT. It's a buffet, we're a really friendly place, you can go back up.

 It's wasteful and costs the museum money. Understand that please.....

Hmmmm.................

I love when I read something that makes us look like good parents.  You know, like I've got it under control. Like I know what I'm doing.  In fact I may be a little smug about it. To myself anyway.

Like this article that discusses the fact that in a recent study, kids that ate margarine regularly had IQs that were lower by about 4 points than kids who ate butter.

Man, do we have this one in the bag.... Have you been paying attention? All we eat is real butter. And it's even organic.... I NEVER NEVER buy margarine..

I have saved my child 4 precious IQ points without even really trying.

A second after high fiving myself over this I rememembered that the main reason I only buy real butter is because my mom fed us margairne  my entire growing up.......

George Washington's Letter at RMSC

This past Monday, on the Facebook page of the Rochester Museum & Science Center, they asked:

 "Did you know that the museum has a letter written by George Washington"

Heck no, I didn't know that! And in our household these days, he's called General Washington BTW....
At any rate I didn't know it. And given our recent foray into the Revolutionary War, I thought how neat it would be to take my girl there to see it soI asked if it was on display. It is not.

But.....

They told me that I could come by their library and ask to see it and they would be happy to show it to me.

Really????

So I did! I called and made an appointment and today my girl and I went to see what we could see about the George Washington letter.

The librarian, Lea, was a wonderfully kind woman who not only had the letter out and waiting for us, she spent a great deal of time talking to us about it. The letter is dated August 1776 and it's contents are regarding the Stockbridge Indians desire to join the patriots. The libriarian had also taken out a book so she could show us a passage about the same thing! Seriously!!!!

You can read the text of the letter here if you are interested.

The libriarian wore gloves so she didn't get anything on it, but she let us TOUCH THE LETTER (twice actually) ....The paper is made of rags so it felt a little different. However, that was not the big deal. The big deal was that WE WERE TOUCHING SOMETHING GEORGE WASHINGTON ONCE HELD IN HIS HANDS!!!

As you know from my Laura Ingalls Wilder letter, this kind of thing is pretty thrilling to me.... REALLY THRILLING actually.

My girl was feeling very shy and nervous about touching it. I told her she better do this because she's probably not going to get the chance to do this again...Probably ever....

The envelope. Where he wrote his name, General Washington..... OMG!

She was feeling a little overwhelmed. She didn't really want her pic taken but I told her she's probably love it for the rest of her life. Apparently that convinced her.

Later we ran into my friend Sara who works in collections and her boss, Dr McIntosh who is the Director Of Collections. They gave us a little behind the scenes tour where we saw a ton of neat things, including:  

A Mastadon head!!!!

Hummingbird Nests

General Grant's Cigar!!!

A piece of an outfit worn by Red Jacket WHEN he met with George Washington after the Revolutionary War ended....

Afterwards we enjoyed thier beautiful garden.

It was a pretty wonderful afteroon and I can't help but be thankful that we live in a world where every day people have access to things like this. All I did was ask nicely and pay my admission. That my 6 year old girl could see and touch a tiny little piece of our country's history was an experience one can't have everywhere in the world.

We're not special. We're not rich. We're not famous or notable in anyway. And yet, there we sat next to Washington's letter. Museums in general are important for this very reason, and we are lucky indeed!

Say What?

While we are on the subject of my daughter, I have a little secret to share.

And I don't even know why I'm bothering except to say that it's something I've gotten a lot of  negative feedback on and while it's not that common, I can't seem to get all worked up over it like many people I've come in contact with. It's kind of surprising to me.

So here it is.

Sometimes.....Perhaps 15% or 20% of the time.

My daughter.....

Calls us by our first names.

Are you shocked?

I would almost be surprised if you were not, judging by the reactions of those around me. I think I had no idea the amount of people I know who can raise one eyebrow....

There are a lot....

Grandparents, naturally, are scandalized.... I mean really. My mom told Emma that in their house she was not allowed to call me Christine. I told her not to worry about it. Then my mother told Emma that if we were out in public and she called me Christine, people would think I was not her mother....I asked why on earth we care about what complete strangers think? It was like a tennis match with my daughter as the ball....

I have no need to prove her lineage to strangers. While I am very proud to be her Momma I don't need to wave that at you like a flag or something. And honestly, if you see us together, you'll probbaly guess we're mother and daughter anyway-We look similar and I'm usually tending to her....

Perhaps I should explain the context a little. Mostly she calls us Mommy or Momma & Daddy or Dad. Sometimes, if she's laughing and giggling she'll throw in a Christine or William or "Chrissy, can I have a popsicle." or if we're at the store "CHRISTINE will you look at that!"

This does not bug me. My name is Christine. My best friends are allowed to call me that, why not, then, the creature I love most on this planet? Yes, she is the ONLY person who can call me Mommy, but should she not get to use a salutation that everyone else does?

Does this seem overly familiar? I am, indeed, most familiar to those in my own home. Being called by my name by them does not offend me.

Lack of respect has also been thrown around A LOT regading this issue-I can tell you with certainty, that there are people who respect me far less than my daughter, walking around using my name all day long.

Additionally,I'd challenge that the rolled eyes or the "You're a mean mommy" show a much greater lack of respect than using my god-given name. And while many people may not have a child running around calling them by their name, a great deal of them have disrespectful kids....*Note-We also have the rolled eyes and mean mommy talk and even a "I hate you" thrown in when were're feeling particularly naughty.... But that's a different issue.

What I find interestring about the situation is when she calls me by my name and someone corrects her. IN FRONT OF ME. No, that's not being disrespectful to me at all is it? Who is the one with no manners now?

She's aware that she's not allowed to call anyone by a name they do not want her to use. She is forbidden to call her grandparents Mary Ellen and John for example. That seems respectful to me (using people's preferences..)

And people, this is mostly a joke but my daugher has the ability to say mommy like 300 times in a row. Sometimes my name is a welcome break....

I actually think this is more of a phase than anything, and trust me, I can get worked up over white bread and Gogurt..... I'm not exactly a permissive person. I just can't muster any negative energy about this name thing.

Sometines when she calles me Christine I do call her Child though ;-)

I Bet You Say That To All The Girls

So yesterday after helping  accompany 12 daisy girl scouts to the Rochester Museum & Science Center  to earn a badge, I stopped at my favoirte Italian food store, Rubinos.

I've mentioned this place before. The smells in there just make your mouth water. And they make the best homemade susage ever. Parsley, wine & cheese, being my personal favoirte. I like it so much that even if I'm in there for something else, I make it a point to buy some as I don't get there all that often.

Such was the case yesterday.

So there is a relly cute guy (boy, really) who works behind the meat counter (the irony of this is not lost on me.....) And when I'm ordering susage he flirts with me. 

And rather than being flattered, I find myself questiong his motives. Or his eyesight...Don't get me wrong, it's not like I've never been flirted with, recently even, but this boy is probably no more than 23. And while I WAS showered, I had just been to the museum for 3.5 hours with 12 little girls.... I'm sure I didn't look my "best."

And I'm not a regular enough customer that this boy would remember me so I think he flirts with everyone. Probably to sell more susage. I found myself wondering if possibly he was the grandson of the owner with a share in the susage sales or something. Ok, maybe I didn't think that exact thought until just a minute ago, but I did think to myself "Who ARE you smiling at? Do you not see the small girl next to me???" I have nephews your age... 

When he grinned at me slyly and said "You have a GREAT day now, ok" I almost said, "Whatever." I probably looked confused.

My husband tried to boost my ego by saying something like "I'm sure he WAS flirting with you, not every guy wants a young girl with heavy eyeliner..." Eyeliner???? Where did THAT even come from (*note to self- put liquid eyeliner on the grocery list.....)  At least he didn't say vetrinerian barbie... .

But really, do most  any 23 year old men (boys) want to flirt with women who have daisy girls scouts in full uniform as accessories???

Nothing makes you feel your age more than questioning the motives of men (boys) flirting with you.

Lily Of The Nile, A Novel By My Dear Friend Stephanie Dray

Tomorrow is the official release of my dear friend Stephaie Dray's historical novel about the children of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony.

Lily of The Nile is the first in a trilogy of books about Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene, the Queen of Mauretania. Stephanie uses the transformative power of magic realism to illuminate the stories of women in history and inspire the young women of today. She remains fascinated by all things Egyptian and has—to the consternation of her devoted husband—collected a house full of cats and ancient artifacts.

She's also brilliant. She's a Smith Graduate and  has a law degree from Northwestern. She's wise and funny and I've been reading her writing and relying on her counsel (not the legal kind) since I met her in the 11th grade!

She's also the sponsor of The Cleopatra Literary Contest for Young Women.

You can read an excert from Lily Of The Nile at her website and purchase it from Barnes & Noble.com or Amazon.com.  It will also be in bookstores tomorrow, Janurary 4th.

Local friends, Saturday February 12th Steph will be doing a presentation titled "Love In The Ancient World" at the Greece Barnes & Noble & then signing books. That evening, I'll be hosting a private wine and cheese party/book signing at my home and Steph will be giving her talk, entitled "Bad Girls of The Ancient World" everyone is welcome and it sure to be an awesome evening! Come and meet Stephanie and spend an evening with us!

Christmas Cheer

Tonight we went to Dinner With Santa at the school where my husand teaches.

These are the only photos that I have of her on Santa's Lap. I mean ever, not just tonight. Historically she has been terrified of him and tells me she's "Going to let Santa Surprise Me" just so she doesn't have to go and talk to him.

All she told him that she wanted was a Zu Zu Pet and a Barbie....Guess what? Santa didin't buy either of those things this year! I guess Santa still needs a few things.

After, we went to Starbucks, got some coffees and a kids hot cocoa and went crusing for Chistmas lights. This was one of those houses. It was the biggest one I've ever seen. It's also a really huge house. Look at the gigantic santa in the left hand side of the picture!!!!

These pictures don't do it justice. This display was incredible with all kinds of lights and statues and nativity and santa... It was so fun and crazy. You can't believe the traffic on this street either. While we were there a bus full of old people drove on by. The street ends a few houses down in a circle. I'm sure the neighbors were thrilled.

A good time was had by all. 

Technology Update, Verizion Are Big Meanies

Excuse my title, I've been reading Junie B Jones again....

I really want to change thaty M to a W in Meanies.... Because Verizion was no help whatsoever in my phone debacle.

I called them to request a new phone. I called the store. I called the 800#. I have had this phone less than 2 weeks.

So the man at the Verizion store in Greece NY told me that he could not help me because "GASP" I broke the touch screen. Apparentlyt this is some kind of mortal sin in the cell phone world because this is the only thing that voids the warranty....

Convienient....

And of course, I didn't choose insurance on the phone.  I had the other phone for like 17 years without issue. Insurance seemed like overkill.

But here is the thing. I really and truly didn't do anything to it.

And the meanie cell phone man told me that these phone are very delicate. And he said it like I was 5 years old so that I could understand him..... That I could have had it in my purse or in my pocket and sit down or bend over and it could crack.

Seriously, he said that. That I could sit down with it in my pocket and break it.

And I do sit down and bend over fairly frequently.

But answer me this people-Why on earth would they make a phone that fits in your pocket if carrying it there would be dangerous? And where else am I supposed to carry it, if not in my purse????  I currently carry a Garmin GPS, a portable flip video camera, a digitil camera and sometimes my nook in my work bag with no incident... They all still work and it's been months.

When I also told them the cell phone had terrible sound quality he asked why I didn't bring it in to them to look at.

I tell you why buster-I only had the thing for 11 days. And I have a life.

One that doesn't REVOLVE around a cell phone.... (but quickly deteriorating into one that does obviously....)

And of course, they can't take the expensive data package off until I get a new phone that doesnn't require a data package. And of course, my actual LIFE then intruded in the form of a child home from school, taking my grandma Christmas shopping, Girl Scouts and today, Work. So I still haven't gotten a phone.

And my husband has this phone too now and he also wants out  because he doesn't need this technology either and would just as soon go back to his old phone. Which means I could have his. But I don't want this device. It's just too much.

And of course, they will take the phone back and give me a new one for a  $35 restocking fee.

I  just looked, I can sell this thing used on eBay for about $100. 

Nice try Verizion.

I also noticed that one could purchase a protective covering for the palm pixi as well.....

And finally, I noticed that I could purchase a used pink Razor phone in working condition for $10.......

I'm thinking about it.

Technical Difficulties

Bess and Adam are across the room and I'm sitting next to a roraing fire and I don't want to get up. So lets talk technical difficulties.

I've been having a lot of technical difficulties. I used  to have this boss at my old job who couldn't wear a watch. Something about his body chemistry messed up the watch and it was always wrong. No matter what watch he wore.

I feel like I'm having that impact on things around me. My laptop randomly died, (I'm on my husband's), the other day my seat belt broke, I mean it just won't stay buckled,(don't worry, it's getting fixed) and I think something is wrong with my beloved front loading washing machine. And I washed my cell phone. It was an old phone. A pink Razor phone. The kids in Pre-school last year had one in the play house as a toy.

So I called Verizion and got a new phone.  A Palm Pixi. For this I needed to upgrade to the more expensive data package. Ok fine, it looks pretty slick I'm thinking and who the heck doesn't need to check their emails a gagillion times a day? Right?

And "oh", twittered the chirpy customer service rep, "You can look at Facebook from anywhere. It's a 3G device!"  Why I don't mention to her or even remember that I think people who have to check Facebook from their phones all the time are complete tools I don't rightly know. (Don't worry all you Facebook peeps, I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about other tools.)

So this slick little phone comes and it's a complete b*tch to set up. And I have to call customer service and it's just a huge PITA.
Then the sound quality on this thing BITES. I mean really. I'm either asking someone to repeat themselves or they are asking me what I just said. It's very frustrating... Very...I don't feel like shouting to have a conversation. That completely throws me, what with my noise issues and all....

And then a few days ago the touch screen developed these cracks. Just DEVELOPED them. I did not drop it or bang it on anything. And when I try and use the damn thing the cracks spread. And now I can't use it at all... So now I still have no phone again.... And now I've used up the "free" phone from Verizion. (And now I know why it was free.)

And through this entire thing I've asked myself how this phone contributes to my version of A Good Life. You know what-It doesn't...Not at all. I've wasted much time setting this thing up, looking at the useless apps (Palm has way less than Apple) and no matter how special I seem to think I am, I don't need to be reachable by email, phone, or text message all the time. Who do I think I am anyway?

The phone beeps when you get any form of message-text, email, etc.. and I found myself  wasting minutes I will never get back, looking at email from, say, TALBOTS.... In front of a compuer I can just delete those. On this Palm, you need to open them before you can delete them.

Wasted minutes. That. I. Will. Never. Get. Back. Do you ever think about that? All the time you spend doing something completely meaningless that adds nothing to your life?  I do, and it pisses me off. I'm not saying I'm walking around having "big moments" all day long but certainly reading emails from stores trying to sell me something while I'm puttering around my kitchen ranks low on how I want to use my breaths on this earth. And even the emails I did want/need were not so urgent that I would need to get them at my parents house, in the store or in the car.

So tomorrow I'm going to go to the Verizion store and demand  request a new phone. Clearly the one they gave me is a piece of crap. And it's going to be a normal phone. That I can hear well on. And speak into. And I'm not texting and I'm not looking at the internet and I don't want an alarm to sound every time Talbots wants to sell me something with Free shipping. And I want that expensive data package taken off. I just want to be able to be reached if say, my house is on fire or my daughter is sick or I need to speak with Jeannine on my way home from work.Technology is great when you need it/use it, but when you don't it's just extra clutter and as much trouble as plastic toys from china when you have more than you need.

Cats, Thanksgiving, Seth Godin & My Husband Who is Apparently Going To Drop Dead

Well it's been a few weeks and here are the things I'm thinking about:

1) Do the rest of you cat owners out there ever think you're going to come home to a dead cat someday? Because, me, I think this.  Half the time there are papers overturned and things on the floor that shouldn't be when I get home. The other day the curtains were actually RIPPED down and the curtain rod bent.  While I was sitting at my desk, she jumped into the shredder bin.... I rescued her from the toy box the other day. Is my house unusually dangerous for a kitten? Do kittens randomly get themselves killed in household accidents when their owners are away?? Kittens are new territory to me. I also got my cat at work and things there are going along swimmingly. I would hate to have to tell them I killed their cat.

2) My Thanksgiving was lovely as was Bess and Adams. I'm fallingf behind again and I'm determined to make it this last sprint until the end of the year with them. I'll be sad to see them go.

3) Seth Godin rocks. I've just discovered Seth and loved Linchpin. I went to preview his book Tribes on my nook and there was no content in the free preview. So I emailed him to let him know because there is nothing more frustrating than downloading a free book preview and having nothing there. I've never bought any book where the preview was not there. Anyway, I thought Linchpin was such an awesome book that it was a shame that he was out there with a possibly frustrating situation to eBook customers. Anyway, he emailed me back. And then his published emailed too to tell me no one ever told them that before. They had no idea about the free preview being useless. The eBook price was also wrong on the B & N site.  Neat. Isn't the internet grand? Check out Seth Godin if you want to be the best at whatever it is you do. Go. Make. Something. Happen.

4) We're in the middle of updating my husband's life insurance policy and they are thinking of not insuring him because of his crazy high blood pressure. The crazy thing is he doesn't HAVE  crazy high blood pressure. He's literally in the best shape of his life and works hard to maintain that.

You know how they send out a nurse to take your vitals when you get new life insurance. Well this nurse took his blood pressure and it was like 157/100 (They sent me to the hospital when I was pregnant with a lower blood pressure than this) She told my husband she gets "high readings a lot" Well that wasn't real inspirng. Later my daughter held up her vetrinerian Barbie to me and told me that "this looks like the lady who came to see Daddy today." My husband confirmed that his nurse did, in fact, look like vetrinerian Barbie. Which left me to wonder if she frequently gets high readings because she looks like a Barbie, because she has a bad cuff or becauause she can't do her job. The next week, his nurse at school took his blood pressure 2x per day all week and she got his normal readings. Vet Barbie called back because she forgot to do something when she was there. He explained the situation to her and she took it again and it was like 150/100. At this point I don't even think she's a nurse. At the very least, I think she may be doing it wrong.

Over the weekend the insurance people canceled my daughter's child rider on his policy because as my financial advisor explained to me today "They don't like to have a rider on a policy where the person might need to "use" the policy. I think that was her nice way of saying DROP DEAD.... She was also calling to ask me about my husband's "dangerously high blood pressure." Don't worry all, he's seeing a Dr just to be sure, but it really is fine. He was  there a few weeks ago with a foot injury and it was fine then as well.

The other obvious answer to this is white coat syndrome which he has never had before. Which would lead me to believe it's veterinarian barbie syndrome. At which point I will want to kill him ( However, I won't as his life insurance situation is currently so tenuous.)

They are requesting a new nurse come out and take his vitals. It better be an ugly one.

Dear oh Deer

So along with my ax to grind with Amazon.com, I killed a deer tonight.

No kidding.

On my way home from work, while driving on the expressway, a deer ran out in front of my truck. I swerved to miss it. Luckily no one was in the other lane because I didn't look before I swerved. I hit the deer with the front  drivers side corner of my truck. The whole truck shook and the deer was tossed to the side. It was dark out and the cars seemed to be driving so fast and I had that whole anxiety thing where your arms get all heavy and it's hard to breathe after stress thing. And I didn't want to stop on the darn shoulder of the road.  I got to my parents house because I was picking up my girl and checked that I was ok and so was the truck.

After assessing that I WAS ok, my dad asked "Did you kill it" and I answered "I sure hope so." Because I hit it hard. So hard that I spent the rest of the trip praying that the deer died on contact. (Well that and crying)

The funny thing is, usually when I got to work, my husband leaves me the car in the morning and he takes the truck because I have considerably farther to drive and the car gets better gas mileage.  He took the car this morning. After he left today he called for a minute about something and I said "Hey, why did you take the car today" and he said "Oh...I don't know."

We have an older Chrysler 300 that has a really pointy nose. So pointy that it would have scooped that deer up like a spatula and deposited it on my windshield. On the drivers side.

I think that's why he took the car today.

I think my guardian angel was watching over me.

The deer's angel, however, was nowhere to be found.

Sunday Nov 7th, 2010

November 7, 2010

Making chicken stock from roasted chicken we had  for dinner. Waiting to see if my girl is going to throw up again as she did before bed tonight. Hoping flying chunks did not infect me as well.  Time change catching up to me. Tired. Going to bed to read.

W. Colder, Dry.
R. 9:55

When Life Gives You Quince. Part 2

 So where were we?

Quince Jelly

Oh yes, no job in sight, no museum experience and an an overwhelming desire to work there....

I tried going through the normal channels that one would use when trying to get a job somewhere.

And I didn't get far. 

About that time, the idea of doing a blog for them popped into my mind. Being such a fan of the museum, a blog writer and blog reader, I knew I would love to read a blog about them. They did have a Facebook page but it was not updated very often.

I flew my idea past a few people over there.

It didn't go far. 

Finally, I took a chance and created a dummy blog and figured out what their president/ceo's email address was and contacted him directly telling him I was interested in doing this for them. He emailed me back in 20 minutes with a invitation to come in and meet him.

I fixed up my dummy blog a little more, came up with an outline of what I thought I could do for them and set out to meet him. I brought a resume and wore a suit. I acted like it was a job interview. I met him and told him why they should have a blog, that I would love to do a blog for them and that I would do it for free as a volunteer. However,I also told him that my goal was to get a job there eventually. That I viewed this blog as an opportunity for us to get to know each other better. I pointed out that I was a good manager and that he probably needed a project manager for.... Something.... I wasn't pushy but I was proactive.

He had me back to give a presentation to a larger audiance. I created a nice presentation and again, went to the meeting like I was interviewing for a job.Once I got the ok for the blog, I worked at it like it was a job.

During this time I met a lot of people, and best of all, someone showed me all around the village so that I had things to write about. Like my own personal guided tour!  In that time I kept in contact with the CEO, looked for blog material, talked with him about the direction of the blog/Facebook and kept reminding him that although I have no museum experience, that I'm a good manager. I was honest about my skills, what I would like to do, what I would not like to do and frankly, what I can't do.

My husband, supported this decision to work for them for free. Some others in my life were a little skeptical that this was a "career path" at all.

I officially started the blog on May 1st. 6 weeks later, my now boss, the CEO, offered me a job as a "Special Project Manager" working for him. Special actually means that my job could/would entail a lot of different projects but that he couldn't tell me exactly what I would be working on 6 months from now. This is fine with me and is EXACTLY the kind of job that I like and thrive in. To be able to work in a museum I love, learning about many of it's different parts, and utilizing my strengths is a dream job for me. I have more goals that I would like to achieve in the future but this is where I am at right now and I'm having a great time.

So how do you get your dream job?

1) Decide you want to work somewhere you are passionate about. This was easy for me. It may not be so easy for you. But what do you love? You may be a computer programmer but what else do you love? Comic books? Cooking? Crafts? Nascar?-I bet all of those places need a programmer some time. I don't know what it IS for you, but I bet you can think of things that you have skill sets for that you could utliize in a new way.

My friend Deanna works for a human services organization as the Intake Coordinator and Assistant to the Vice President. She could do the "tasks" of her job at any number of places, but her job satisfaction comes from the subject matter of her tasks. My friend Stephanie is an awesome writer-She could write novels or she could write textbooks-She writes novels because that is what she loves. My friend Mari started a business, coaching businesses. She could have started a business teaching people Microsoft word, but her passion lies in elsewhere. I really think people's job dissatisfaction comes more from the subject matter of their jobs, than the actual tasks that surround said job.

2) Volunteer. This was key in the whole equation. First of all, it's a place I'm passionate about so it wasn't hard for me to offer to spend some time out there as a volunteer. I wouldn't suggest you volunteer at a place you don't feel passionate about just to get a job because what would be the point of that? I mean you're looking for your dream job here people.

NO ONE is going to turn away free labor-Not in this economy. Besides, if you don't like it it there you learn that BEFORE you go hog wild and quit your day job-You can walk away knowing you tried it out and it wasn't for you. If you don't have experience in the field you want to work in, volunteering is a pretty good way to get some. And finally on the thought of volunteering, if you offer free labor you may get to be a little choosy about what you would like to do. There is nothing wrong with working your way up from emptying the wastepaper baskets, but you may be able to avoid some of that if you do the work for free.
 .
3) Think about how you are different. Think about what you can offer them that they don't already have. Be a little creative. I'll tell you, the first line on my real-life resume is that the last project I managed was a $15 million dollar infrastructure redesign/implementation. That did not get me a job. What got me a job was that I was already writing a little blog of my own that sparked my imagination to create one for them. Sure, my project management experience made me credible as a manager of sorts once I knew some people but that resume line did NOTHING to get me in the door before they knew me.  I had sent them THAT resume on MORE than one occasion. It was ignored. In this instance my blogging was worth way more than my prior work experience to get myself in the door.

4) Work for something besides money. This is a lesson I am learning as I go. I'll be completely honest here, up until now, I have usually worked just for money. Money is important and I'm not going to tell you it isn't. I've been lucky and have always liked my jobs well enough. But I choose the jobs based on their ability to pay me well and keep on paying me well and hopefully pay me even more in the future, not from a greater sense of purpose or love of subject or anything like that. That is not wrong.  This job pays me less than my last job. But the ability to work somewhere I really love has given me a sense of peace about work that I've never had before. It's just different. I used to envy my husband because his job as a teacher paid him in more than just cash. I wanted that. Now I have that too. Don't get me wrong, I still think you can make a good living doing something you love but consider your happiness as well as the salary when you look for that dream job.  I recently spoke with a high earner whose job is a nightmare. She told me in no uncertain terms that you can't put a price on happiness. And yes, there are times that one just needs a job-There is nothing wrong with that, you don't need to be all self actualized when you need to pay the bills. But it is a nice, lucky situation when you can be.

I've only been at this for  6 months now and I have a lot to learn about this museum and museums in general. It's been fun getting back into the world of work and I feel very lucky to have this experience and work in this place.

Check out my museum blog here. 

You can like us on Facebook here.

The museum is closed for the season (with the exception of special events that are planned) Today on lunch, I needed to deliver a book to someone so I put on my coat, heated up some chai tea, and had the village to myself as I walked all over!

Life is a Bowl Of Quince

For me anyway.

Part One because this is a LONG story

I got these quince at work. They were in a crate labeled "Free". ( I got a free cat there too)  I'm making jelly out of them (the quince, not the cat)  tomorrow on my day off. At a party there 2 weeks ago I got some handmade cheese and saw a movie about the underground railroad that was filmed where I work. And someone called me about a month ago so that I could come take a picture of pioneers plucking a dead goose. I've also seen an historic clothing collection, met a minor 70s TV star and entered an agricurtural fair and I'm not even a farmer. I also write press releases, purchase commercials & work on the website and this summer, held, in my hands, a letter written by Laura Ingalls Wilder......

The other day I was talking to someone about a conference we are hosting in March and I asked if I could take one of the workshops....

The one to make a pewter spoon.

The person I was talking to said yes and mentioned (in case I wasn't aware.)

"You know, you make the mold too, You get to keep it"
"The mold?" (eyebrows raised)
"Yes!"
"What? In case I might want to make a pewter spoon at home?"
"You might."

Hmmm....These people ARE my peeps! I really like that there are others more excited than I to make a pewter spoon. I like that there are people besides me who want to make a pewter spoon.

So how did I get this job with dead geese, pewter spoons and old fashioned fruit?

I made it up.

Right about now you are thinking "Well who would want this job anyway?"  Right??? And the answer to that is, no one I know, except, actually, me...

This is a job that plays to my strengths and incorporates my interests because I helped create it. I'm not telling this to you to brag, I want you to know how I did this because it worked for me. And I've never gotten a job in this manner before. And I really LIKE this job. And I think this would probably work for you too if you wanted a job in a place where it was not obvious that you were particularly qualified to work.

First of all, let's back up.

I'm the official blogger and Special Project Manger for The Genesee Country Village & Museum. (yes, it even says "Special" on my business card, I think it's because they really like me ;-) ...At my other place of employment I was just called "Project Manager" nothing special about me there folks....)

Basically, as an adult I've always wanted to work in this place. I adore this place. On my lunch I usually just walk around like a visitor.

The problem was, when I started looking for a job they were not hiring. There was no position that existed called (Special) project manager and I have no prior museum experience.

Yeah I might not hire me either.....

Come back tomorrow for Part 2 and find out how I got this non-existent job.

In the mean time head on over to the museum website and take a look at the video I put in the Facebook feed today. (You can see it on Facebook too) but I particularly love how it looks from the museum home page.

The Jell-o Gallery

So you may have gathered I like museums.  Last week someone told me about a museum that was close to The Genesee Country Village & Museum where I work,  so I had to check it out.

Yes folks, today I went to the Jell-o Museum in Le Roy.

Actually it's called the Jell-o Gallery, being that it's only one room. There is also a transportation exhibit in the lower level that was fairly interesting with an ox cart to an automobile from 1908 (which made me think of Adam.)

For a tiny museum with a very limited subject matter, it was cute. There was the story of jell-o which was nice, antique molds and uniforms from the jell-o plant, (Cute dresses for all of the ladies!) Original artwork that the first jell-o ads were created from, an interesting experiment where they found that A bowl of lime Jell-O, when hooked up to an EEG machine, exhibited movement which is virtually identical to the brain waves of a healthy adult man or woman (True, this test was done more than once) As well as a lot of (pricless???) jell-o (artifacts??)

I'm not an overly big fan of jell-o but the museum was close to where I work, was only $4, and Jell-o has it's roots in the lovely town (that I had never been to) of Le Roy.  So all in all, not a bad way to kill an hour. (Which is the most you would ever need to see the Jell-O gallery. ) It's on the grounds of the Le Roy historical society which has a pretty  nice garden.I don't know that I would make the trip out there from my home just to see the gallery but it's a fun stop if you're in the area anyway.

The only disappointment (other than the fact that it was pretty cold in there.) was that I was hoping that I could purchase some funky flavor of jell-o. Pina Colada or Margarita (which may, unbeknown to me, be avaliable at my Wegmans.) or something that failed in jello test markets like Asparagus/Orange-Something  interesting. There was no jell-o to be had.  If I owned the jell-o museum this would be the first thing on my list because if you don't want to eat jell-o after being at that museum, then you never will. There were  lot of neat jell-o items, including reproductions of  the original molds (which I inexplicably wanted at that very moment, dreaming of serving Jell-o at my next dinner party...) Don't worry I abstained and tonight am happy I'm not thinking of serving Apple and Carrot Molded Salad  at my next party.

Where I Decide Not To Forage For Food

Yesterday we went pumpkin and apple picking. While there, I noticed a large tree that had many many shiny gorgeous chestnuts surrounding it's base.

Sweet Chestnuts

I love roasted chestnuts. I love them plain and with roasted Brussels Sprouts. I love them in stew. I love them with a glass of red wine. Love them! I picked some up off the ground. My daughter told me to drop them because she didn't want them in the car.

I didn't listen to her and hid them from her in my pockets.

A while later as we continued to drive I was musing on my luck at finding the nuts and that I was going to roast them for dinner.

My daughter, upon hearing this, asked if I brought some chestnuts with us. When I answered "Yes" she freaked out. She cried and told me to throw them out the window. She told me I shouldn't eat them. That I couldn't eat them. I laughed at her (nicely)  because I roast them all the time. She got really irate. It was pretty crazy because she loves picking plants and eating them. This year especially, she has been all in my herb garden learning their names and which ones are edible. (don't worry, she knows exactly which ones are and which ones she can try and aside from a brief period when all she wanted to do was cut and carry chives around with her, all has been fine. Trust me, you don't want to travel around with a child who smells like onions.)

But she was so irate that I told her I would look them up on the computer when I got home.

And when I got home, I found out the chestnuts were Horse Chestnuts. Toxic to humans Horse Chestnuts......That look a lot like the Sweet Chestnuts that I love. 

Horse Chestnuts

From Poisonous Plants Website: "Horse chestnut poisoning is rarely fatal, but typically causes vomiting, loss of coordination, stupor, and occasionally, paralysis." Most poisonings occur from people roasting and eating the fruit in the mistaken belief that they are the same as sweet chestnuts. They aren’t!

I don't know how she knew I should not eat them or really, what made her feel that way. Did she have a hunch? Was her intuition kicking in while I blatantly ignored mine in the face of free food???? (God, I AM a glutton.....)

I told her I was wrong and she was right and that we should not and would not be eating those nuts. 

At any rate, this all became a very very good lesson about NOT just eating something if you aren't sure what it is/where it came from. And even if you are sure, you need to be really sure. (And possibly, just buy all your nuts at the store.)

However, I think I may be the one who learned this lesson....

More Teeth

I don't really like going to the dentist.

You may have gathered that I've had some dental work done lately. 

I think my dislike of the dentist stems from when I lost that tooth when I was 9 or 10. I need a root canal that took many visits and it hurt A LOT and I now hate the dentist.  I'm  not a good dental patient. I'm just not. I don't make a lot of noise or swear or anything but I gag a lot. And I grip the arms of the chair and mostly I keep my eyes shut.  I look like, well I look like some at the dentist....

Today I went back to start the work on my new tooth. It's a 2 part appointment because they have to take impressions and then make a new tooth.  And remember how I wasn't supposed to eat anything like a sandwich or corn or anything I needed to bite directly into. Well, that probably wouldn't have mattered.

BECAUSE THEY HAD SO MUCH TROUBLE GETTING THE DAMN THING OFF.

I had been given novacaine because while the tooth is dead, they were working a lot around my gums. (My very healthy gums, I might add-thank you cutie dentist man for saying that because it was probably the highlight of the whole 90 minute visit.) and it's probably a good thing I had novacaine because after lots and lots of drilling, they were BANGING on my tooth to get it off. Which made a sound inside my head like they must have been using a hammer. At one point the dental assistant (who I thought was a little rude) said "Does that hurt?" with kind of an astonished look on her face.

When I said "No" she responded with "Well I couldn't tell because you were making such a bad face."
Seriously dental assistant woman, I have someone BANGING on my tooth to get it out of my head. What am I supposed to look like? I'm not at the spa......

My whole mouth hurt a lot, later.

Anyway, this evening I have a temporary tooth in that is a wee bit smaller than my last tooth so I'm sporting a mini Lauren Hutton look. I can't wait for 2 weeks from today when I get my new beautiful tooth. (It better be, for the $500 co-pay-exactly half of the cost of the work.) You think they would have offered me a gold tooth for that price, although with the cost of gold these days, I would have probably had to settle for silver.

I realize this post is not at all related to my blog theme. I suppose a good life includes good healthy teeth and I'm really lucky I have dental insurance. 

I need some sleep

I'm a terrible sleeper.

Actually, anyone who knows me will say I'm a great sleeper-I can nap like anything. At almost any time. In fact, we have a joke around our house that I'm practicing to be a competitive sleeper-My strong points being the "Long Sleep" and "Catnap" categories.

I'm actually just bad about going to bed on time. I'm a night owl and my husband and daughter are rather early sleepers. There is nothing I like more than a few hours of quiet time at night in my house. You can call me late and I'm usually up for a chat. It's peaceful and I tend to be productive at night. In fact, if I could just stay up late and then sleep until 9am with a short catnap around 3ish, life would be grand.

However, life rarely works like this. School every day and a new job have seen to that!

And so I found myself this past weekend, home from a dinner party at about 11:30. My parents had our daughter overnight and so the prospect of a morning to sleep in as long as I wanted was a juicy one. I went to bed at about 12am. At 11:30 am my husband came into our room and asked me if I was ok because I was still sleeping. (Don't get the wrong idea, I only had 2 drinks at the dinner party.) Later in the day I took a 1 hr catnap. Without issue. They say you can catch up on your sleep and I guess I believe that because today I felt just dandy. However, my ability to sleep 12.5 hrs actually makes me think I need to get a better handle on this sleep thing. (and just writing that makes me feel like I should go and get a physical but aside from being able to sleep at the drop of a hat, I feel fine.)

I KNOW it's not healthy, but staying up late is the hardest habit for me to break. I can read or blog or listen to a book on tape and fold laundry. I love being up late and most nights I decide around midnight that I should probably start going to bed. And then I like to read in bed a little. I hate getting up in the morning. This is not good.

So as an experiment, I'm going to be in bed by 11 pm every night. (I'll probably still read a little) I'd love to do 10:30 but I just don't think I can. I'm doing this for 2 weeks. Maybe a month. Maybe forever if I like it. I can't even remember the last time I went to bed for 2 weeks straight by 11. I was probably in the 10th grade. At the end of this sleep experiment I'll see if I actually feel any different.

My goodness, just writing this is making me sleepy.

Night folks!

Where Rachel Ray Has No Soul and I Cook Indian Food

My husband and I are good cooks. What I mean to say is that we like to cook and like different foods and like to make nice things, because really, anyone can be a good cook.  All you need to do is follow the recipe.

Provided you've picked out a good recipe.

And therein lies the challenge.

The other night I was talking to Toni Lynn about food and cooking and I was explaining how the recipes in my favorite Italian cook have something special. They have a depth of flavor that you just don't get from Rachel Ray's 30 minute races to the table. And don't stone me or anything, we've made some Rachel Ray recipes, they were good, but they lacked soul. Her recipes are one dimensional ways to feed your family real food in a reasonable time frame. I get it. It's not all bad.
 

BTW, am I the only one who wants to slap Rachel Ray until she falls down? Seriously, I'd like to stick one of her annoying SAMMIES in her big mouth every time she utters the phrase EVOO.   My husband recently read an article to me from her magazine. It was some dumb ass thing about cooking new foods from around the world with an Americanized twist and how "don't worry, they'll taste as familiar to you as pizza and fried chicken"

OMG, How sad is that? Cooking foods from around the world that taste just like they came from your own country. Does anyone really want to do that???? Do they? Speak up if you do. Especially if I know you because I'll feed you what I made for dinner this weekend to knock some sense into you.


Maybe this sounds like a bit of food snobbery on my part and maybe it is. Hell I eat plain food and junk food and nothing special too. I just don't WRITE about it. If I write about something it's because I like it or care about it. It makes me think. Americanized French food? That is what Rachel Ray thinks about?


I'm also willing to admit that if someone were to pay me bags of money to wax cutsey about SAMMIES, I'd probably do it. There's no crime in it. I just don't have to like it when I see it.

And now that we've covered my hatred of Rachel Ray we can move on.

Back in June one of my husband's students who happens to be Indian, brought him a small cooler full of Indian food that her mother had cooked for him. This stuff was amazing. I mean I've had Indian food before,  restaurant cooking, this was home cooked, southern Indian fare.

There was this rice. And it intrigued me. I mean it came with the Star anise and cinnamon  sticks whole in the dish. It was aromatic and tasted like, well, I can't even describe it. There were just all of these layers of flavor in this one rice dish. That someone made in their kitchen...

There were 3 different kinds of rice actually and I've been pondering that rice all summer (and we've been mostly grilling and eating easy meals with our schedule and the heat-See what I mean...nothing to write about.)

This weekend, with a little time to spare,  (because I'm actually a pretty sucky cook when I rush) I made Indian food, Chicken Tikka Masala (my favorite Indian main meal) and this Indian Style rice with Cashews and Raisins. OMG... Seriously. Coconut milk in the rice cooking broth! The best rice I've ever had IN MY LIFE. It was yellow from the turmeric and sweet from the golden raisins and spicy all at the same time. The chicken had  a mixture of cinnamon and cumin in the marinade.  The flavor in these dishes was so RICH.   Today I made, Rajma chawal (red bean curry) to go with the remainder of the rice for my lunch tomorrow.


These dishes were like a wake-up call to my senses and I liked it! It's been a while since my own cooking has spoken to my soul like that.

(Well except for that lobster popcorn but I fear that boarders on gluttony.)

I don't like Kindergarten

With my new blog theme, I had planned on posting mostly positive and uplifting things.

Hence my lack of writing over the past week.

No, I still have a tooth, don't worry about that.

I'm just a little blue.

My girl started Kindergarten this week and I don't like it. I just don't. You may or may not get this. My lovely friends seem to understand.

Some moms seem to be doing that happy dance that their kids are finally out of their hair. I don't really get that.

I guess I just miss my baby.

Tonight though, as I was cuddling her before bed I had the realization that some day I will miss this too.

Does my mother miss cuddling my brother and I? I wonder.... Probably not me (she likes him better ;-)

Time marches on I guess, this week I just don't like it.

The only thing cheering me up right now are thoughts of butter and Jared Padalecki. (See below)