A wonderful life

Taking advantage of my time off from class (which makes for freer evenings and weekends) I've been on a roll with my list and recently watched It's a Wonderful Life (#98) and wondered how it could be that I've never seen this movie. I also wondered how I could have been so completely wrong with my notions of what the movie was about--I thought it was a Scrooge story with George Bailey's character as Scrooge--you know--someone who is a downer on Christmas.

To me, this movie wasn't really about Christmas, or a Scrooge, but about someone who had dreams for their life, who sacrificed some of their dreams for the happiness of others, who believed in something greater than themselves, and who understood the power of people and the power of people working together working together for a common purpose. And in the end it wasn't the places he'd seen, or the things he'd done, but rather, it was the people in his life and who he was to those people that gave George all the joy and happiness he needed.

Perhaps these themes seemed even more poignant to me given the current economic climate, my own desire to travel and see the world, and the fact that my dad worked in a bank for all of my growing up years.

Whatever the case--I loved this movie. I'm glad I finally made a point to see it, and I'll try not to feel snubbed by others when they exclaim, "HOW could you get through 30 years and NEVER have seen It's a Wonderful Life?!?!?" (since this is what I've been asking myself too!).

If you've never seen it, I'd highly encourage you pick it up (add it to your Netflix queue, borrow from a friend, or pick up at your local library)--I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Through the looking glass

I'm working on checking #25 off my list and finally this spring feel like I can finally see the light at the end of this tunnel. Things came to a head last month when I had a big work event right around the same time as the end of one of my masters program classes. The annual work event had been in the planning stages for 5+ months, but my degree program has been in process for the past 3+ years. A blog post a few weeks ago detailed some of my frustrations.

But the work event was a success, and I met some fantastic people including several of this year's News21 fellows, one of whom is a photographer who took the photo above at dinner one night. The photo is the candle on our table reflecting through the frosted rings of the photographer's empty water glass--and I was reminded that the light at the end of the tunnel isn't always clear, or in focus, or always visible, but it's there, slowly but surely drawing us forward.

A shout-out to AJ Maclean (a 2010 News21 fellow from Syracuse University) for letting me use his photo on my little 'ol blog--check out his other work here!

Mrs. Butterworth takes on Gumby

Last week I crossed #100 off my list.

I wasn't sure what to expect, certainly not the dark, candle-lit room, or the range of shapes/sizes of the people around me, or the cheerfulness of the instructor. And although painful and frustrating at times, it was definitely a positive, first experience!

A shout-out to to SIL1 who graciously invited me out to a free yoga class that her church sponsors. The class started off well with each of us on our mats, laying on our backs, palms outstretched and open, clearing our minds from the worries of the day and allowing our bodies to relax from the stresses of the day, focusing on the worship music in the background and the sound of the instructor's voice. After the next hour I was grateful we attended a Level 1/Gentle class--I have no idea what it means to "soften" the shoulders or the hips (I think I have enough "softness" in those areas already!). And "dropping the hip bone into the socket"--how do you even get it out? I can't even feel my hip bones given all my "softness"--does that count?

I was frustrated that I wasn't doing things "right" and that I couldn't see the instructor to mimic her moves (did I mention it was dark?), but eventually I just relaxed and did what I could (and tried to eye the older gentleman on my right to make sure I wasn't totally out of sync!). And there were some things that hurt, and I tried not to grimace too much and to remember to breathe, and to remain relaxed and not forget to breathe and to control the shaking of my muscles while trying to remember to breathe (anyone see a pattern here?!).

But by the end I was extremely relaxed and ready for a long nap (and bedtime!). And though I felt more like Mrs. Butterworth than Gumby, I'm ready to try again, and even picked up a Yoga for Beginners DVD at the library (so the next time I go to class I can feel a bit more confident in what I'm doing).

I'd always thought of yoga as a "new age" type of thing, but in recent years had several friends remark about the stress-relief benefits they'd experienced in going to yoga classes. After attending a class myself, I think, as with so many things, it's the intent and focus with which you do it, rather than the act itself--does that make sense?

(Plus, I'm hoping the additional stretching will succeed in making me taller!)

An update on 101 in 1001...two months in!

I've slowly but surely been working away on my 101 list. I actually thought I would do blog posts as I completed things, but alas, that was not meant to be (at least not right now!). But, despite my silence, there are several things that I've been able to check-off in the past two months--here are a few highlights!

#4 - Join a Bible Study/small group
Done. Through the church I attend, a group of young women started meeting in mid-February. We meet every-other Monday night and are working through Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit, a study by Beth Moore. Meeting every other week provides some additional time to complete the homework assignments (Beth Moore studies are intense!) and cuts down on my drive time! Better yet, I'm getting to know some people in the church!

#74 - Start a wine journal
Sister-in-law 1 gave me a wine journal for Valentine's Day (how sweet is that?!)--so far I have two entries and am looking forward to adding more!

#88 - Get my ring cleaned
Completed earlier this month when I remembered to take my ring warranty with me to JCPenney's on a recent shopping trip with my mom and aunt. All is well and it shines like a star again!

#93 - Make scones from scratch
Accomplished last weekend during a baking extravaganza with my sister-in-law 1 (do we see a pattern here with SIL1? She's been super-helpful in helping me crank through my list!). I browsed the internet for a recipe that I thought looked manageable. I used the Cranberry Orange Scones recipe found on the Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea blog. It sounded simple enough, I liked that they included pictures with the recipe, and that I got to use my hands for part of the mixing process. My family agreed that the scones were super yummy. I couldn't find "orange-flavored cranberries" (so I just used regular craisins) and the orange juice I used wasn't "high pulp." I don't like dry scones and these had just the right touch of moistness, and did I mention they were yummy?

Cranberry Orange Scones
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp grated orange peel
3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter
1 cup dried orange-flavored cranberries (I couldn't find the flavored kind, so regular works too)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup orange juice - high pulp
3 tsp orange creme yogurt

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Mix in orange peel. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces, and mix into the flour using your fingers. Rub and mix and mash (with your fingertips) until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the dried cranberries. Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl - orange juice, buttermilk, and yogurt. Slowly add the liquid to the flour/butter, mixing with a fork until you get moist clumpy dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead about 4-6 times, just enough to bind the dough together, then roll/shape it for cutting. Form the dough into a large log, about an inch and a half thick, then cut a slice about every 3 inches. Then cut the pieces diagonally to form the triangular scone shape. Lay the cut scones, about 2 inches apart, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°.

#95 - Do a Girls' Nite Out with my sister-in-laws and cousin(s)
This took a lot of planning but was finally accomplished one cloudy weekend in February. We all live in different corners of the valley (Mesa, Awahtukee, west Phoenix, and Peoria) so we decided to meet in a central location near downtown. I meant to take a picture (to document the event), but my pomegranate margarita must have clouded my memory. The food was yummy, the conversation divine, all in all, a great evening!

Everytime I check something off the list, I'm continually reevaluating the things I have on there. For example, try 100 new recipes--what was I thinking?? Really, trying 50 or 40 recipes would be a tremendous stretch given how often I cook (almost never). And, all the trips I think I'll be taking? Certainly I love to travel, but I most often find myself using my vacation time to visit the same places (Colorado, Omaha, South Dakota). Why? Because that's where my friends/family are and if I can take time away from the office, I'd rather spend it with them than soaking up rays by myself on a beach somewhere!

Watch for more list updates to come in the next few weeks! (According to my stats I have more than 20% of the items completed using only 6% of the time...but some of the items are going to require a bit more effort--like all the scrapbooking I need to finish!)

And the Oscar goes to!

In honor of the Oscars, some of my personal favorites (most of which did not make the Oscars list)...

• Favorite movie when I was a kid: Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and Little Mermaid were all favorites, and still are!
• Favorite movie when I was in high school: The Cutting Edge (I own both the VHS and DVD version of this film)
• Favorite movies now: Pride & Prejudice (the new version), Love Actually, Love Comes Softly, The Christmas Card, The Magic of Ordinary Days (Hallmark Hall of Fame), Live Free or Die Hard (I had to get at least one action flick in here!)

Hard to guess that I'm a romantic at heart, huh?

I have a confession

I have a confession to make. I’m not perfect. I never really thought I was, but sometimes (or a lot), I struggle with perfectionist tendencies. And then sometimes, I have a mini breakdown when I realize I can’t (or don’t) meet my own high expectations for myself.

A recent example made this abundantly clear to me. I’m pursuing a master’s degree, part-time, while I continue to work full-time. Sometimes it seems like I’m on the 40-year track, rather than the 4-year track to completion--it feels like I’ve been in class forever. The truth is that I only take classes part-time, never during the summer (when the classes are condensed to five-week sessions) and there have been semesters where I’ve had to drop a class or withdraw simply because I couldn’t manage the pressures and commitment to class (which run in 8-week installments) along with the pressures and commitment to work. And for some reason, work always comes first.

Lately I’ve been fueled with a recommitment to my program—the end is on the horizon and I’m determined to finish sooner rather than later (which means no more sacrificing school for work). This past month I’ve been faced with dueling priorities—an annual work event that I manage the majority of planning for, and the end of my fourth-to-last-class (and one that I had avoided taking for as long as I could!). I did great in the class until the last two weeks, which coincided with my large work event.

My work event was successful (but stressful!), and once again, my class work suffered. And I learned, again, that I’m not perfect. I could have planned ahead better, completed assignments in advance, and been a better time manager at the beginning of the course. (A little secret is that I often do my best school work under the dark cloud of procrastination.) But this time I didn’t pull through. Once I got over the shock of realizing that my 4.0 GPA was gone (which happened in both high school and college and was shocking and sorrowful then), I was determined to finish strong and complete all the required assignments. All in all I submitted the final 12 assignments late (all due during the last week of class), and the professor was generous enough to give me partial credit for some. But really, what I learned was that, it’s ok to not meet your own expectations. It’s ok to not be perfect. The earth keeps turning, the sun still rises.

I’m not a perfect student. I’m not a perfect employee. I’m not a perfect friend, or a perfect daughter, or a perfect sister, or auntie. I try my best, I often fail, and I’m certainly not perfect. And that’s ok. Because my goal shouldn’t be to be perfect.

My goal is to love others, to be a light for Christ, to work hard (oh, and to get that master's degree!).

A century of caring...

Christmas came early this year. Look what just arrived in the mail...

Yes, that is indeed a beautiful coffee-table book, published in honor of Hallmark's 100th anniversary. I first saw this book about a month ago when I was browsing in a Hallmark store in north Phoenix. I eventually ordered a copy from my favorite online retailer and justified it by the fact that 1) I LOVE Hallmark and have been wanting to know more about the history of the company (and if this book isn't for people like me--who's it for?!), and 2) I had a crazy month with work/classes and decided I needed a treat (plus, I've been better about checking books out from the library, rather than buying every book I want!). And, the seal to the deal was that the book comes with a DVD that includes, appropriately, one of my favorite Hallmark Hall of Fame movies, as well as the story of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. I also found this blog post from the Hallmark site talking about the inception of the book (originally planned solely as a gift for Hallmark employees!).

I've only just scratched the surface of the book which is divided like a timeline. But the forward, by Maya Angelou (who has a line of cards with Hallmark), is especially touching and I wanted to quote a portion of it here:

My mother left California to visit me in North Carolina. I invited her into my office, and there, my mail had been separated into piles of letters and piles of greeting cards. As I sat with my secretary dictating responses to the letters I received, my mother looked at the large basket filled with greeting cards. She interrupted my dictation, asking in a very sweet voice, "Baby, are you saving these cards for later?"

I said, "Yes."

She asked, "Why?"

I said, "Because people who really wanted answers had sat down and written letters, so I respond to them immediately. These cards have simply been bought and the sender did not have to think of what their messages were. They bought them, signed them, and sent them to me, and I will get around to answering them."

My mother's voice became very quiet. She asked me, "Do you realize the pains it takes to send off a card? First the sender must want to communicate with you, but may find it impossible to say what needs to be said in an elegant and direct way. So, the sender goes into a card store in comfortable shoes, because the selection may take half-hour or longer. The sender reads through thirty or forty cards before finding the one which fits the occasion. The sender pays for the card, signs the card and addresses the envelope, goes to the Post Office, puts a stamp on it and sends it off. Don't you think that is enough to warrant your attention?"

This is why I love sending cards--sometimes I just don't have the right words to say, or know the right things to do, but I want to demonstrate that I care--and what folks do with the card after they receive it doesn't really matter. For me, it's a situation where the gift, and personal blessing, is in the giving.