in the midst...

and yet...

2009-03-27T09:07:00.002-05:00

hi, yeah it's me. it's been awhile, eh? i make no excuses for my blogging slumber or promises not to beat a hasty retreat back into blog silence.

but this. this i had to share with you. it is haunting and piercing. and brings me great hope.

the confession of an un/believer

yes we can...

2008-11-05T09:52:00.003-06:00

the enemy of the enemy is my friend...

2008-06-18T10:43:00.004-05:00

interview me...

2008-06-03T15:09:00.011-05:00

so i was reading my friend nate's blog the other day, and he had this little blog game posted. the rules of which were these:

Leave a comment saying, “Interview me.”
I will respond by asking you five questions of a very intimate and creepily personal nature. Or not so creepy/personal.
You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

in an instance of curiosity killing the cat, i thusly commented. and here we are.

my responses to nate's five questions are written as if to him directly.

1. How do you feel about the Spurs getting taken down by the Lakers in only five games?
first of all, you suck.

second of all, i am actually relieved that if we were going to lose, it only lasted five games. if it had dragged out to seven, i would literally have exploded. i have all manner of thoughts and opinions on this series, but this website nails it so well, i'm just going to refer to them.

2. How many Brian McLaren books have you read, and which is your favorite?
um, haven't i already disclosed this information to you before? and if so, this is a totally unfair question. because it forces me to confess the fact that i have read only 2 1/2 of brian's books - ANKOC, more ready than you realize, and 1/3 of secret message. if it counts for anything, i own them all (which it doesn't, because i got them all for free). as far as my favorite, i have a feeling that once i read secret message and generous orthodoxy, those will be my favorites. but the most revolutionary to me was ANKOC, because of where i was in my life at the time - a couple years out of Baptist college and rethinking everything.

3. Missouri or Texas? Why?
i've said it before, and i'll say it again. i'm a horrible texan. i have zero state pride in comparison with other texans - for example, i would never to this to my house at christmas. plus the college team i cheer for is in kansas!

it's difficult to compare the two states because my experience in each has been so different. i've lived in four cities in texas, and only one in missouri. i've lived in texas for 28 of my (almost) 32 years, so i've had a lot more time to nit-pick. and because my recent dallas experience was what it was, texas and i have a bit of making up to do.

Texas (an evaluation of the whole giant lot of it)
PRO: no state income tax (!), two of my three nieces, and (of course) the san antonio spurs. austin has to count for something, as do the big six, central market, and the profusion of truly spectacular tex-mex. lady bird's wildflowers. my fabulous hair stylist, omar. in-state tuition.

CON: it is so damn hot here (and humid, depending on where you are) for so much of the year. summer i can handle. nine months of it is just too much. also, all of our metropolitan areas are all concrete and cars (mostly giant pickups and suburbans).

Missouri (kansas city specific)
PRO: fall and spring. and winter. my yoga studio. the city market. room 39. the fact that it doesn't take me longer than 15 minutes to get anywhere. it's closer to wisconsin, where my other niece lives. the good people i know in KC are all concentrated into one place, whereas in texas they're all sprawled out. loose park. the plaza library.

CON: state and city income tax. and property tax on my car. none of the lights in downtown kansas city are timed correctly. TIF. midwesterners (as a generalization) are too nice - now don't get me wrong, i love friendly people. but i'd rather you be honest with me than tiptoe around an issue, trying not to hurt my feelings. anything out-south.

so mostly it's a draw, but i like the weather better in missouri. adv - MO (sorry, i've been watching a lot of tennis lately).

4. Do you like Pat Green?
not particularly.

5. What do you think about Edward Norton playing the Incredible Hulk?
i was a scaredy-kid, and the incredible hulk freaked the hell out of me. i mean, i still watched it, but the process where he burst through his shirt and got all mean - yikes. so, i have no intention of seeing the incredible hulk - movie version. but ed norton, he's beautiful. and an environmentalist. and while it seems to be a weird fit (don't you think the rock or dwayne johnson or whatever he's going by these days would be a more natural choice?), anytime i have opportunity to see more of ol' ed on the big screen, i'm in.

an update...

2008-05-31T22:54:00.010-05:00

just about this time last week, i described to you my truly hellish moving day. but i neglected to give you any details of WHY i moved, and where i'm going from here.

well, here's the skinny:

dallas and i, we're just not that in to each other. it's okay, we both knew it, and so it was time for us to quit trying to make it work and just move on. but there is this one teeny little thing that keeps me hanging on. oh yeah, that damn thesis.

and, to be fair to dallas, school was fantastic. i have an a-number one new advisor, whom i adore, and who wants to get me the hell out of school ASAP. this right here, friends, is the textbook definition of a good advisor. and believe me, i know the difference. experienced it first-hand.

so in another instance of win-win-win, here's my plan: i'm spending the summer back in kansas city, working with the jellybean conspiracy on their annual fall fundraiser, and doing a bit of temp work. AND WORKING ON MY THESIS. my goal is to be done writing by the end of august. though as it is now june and i haven't actually engaged in much writing, my deadline may have to be extended a bit. but as i live and breathe, by the time i leave for my mountain vacay at the end of september, i will be done.

i have no idea what i'll be doing in october. or november. or december. hopefully, i'll be starting back to school in january, working on a second masters (non-thesis!) in health education.

so, that's the plan. we'll see how it actually shakes out. but i'm hopeful, and eager to see what the summer holds.

but mostly, i'm just eager to finish this damn thesis...

to my friends at TNT...

2008-05-25T22:59:00.002-05:00

it's MANU (mah-nue) not MANO (mah-noe) ginobili. please adjust accordingly.

thankyouverymuch.

go spurs!

there and back again...

2008-05-24T22:07:00.003-05:00

i'm sitting here watching the celtics get absolutely mugged by the pistons (the pistons have cut a twenty-four point lead down to nine), with my feet on the coffee table. i am pooped.

why, you ask? well...

yesterday i drove from dallas to wellington (apx 4.5 hours). here i collected my MVP parents.
we then got up at 5:45 AM and drove back to dallas (another 4.5 hours)
where we picked up a moving truck.
we then loaded said moving truck with the contents of my SECOND floor apartment. it was shockingly hot and humid and we almost died (only a slight exaggeration). (apx 2.5 hours)
we grabbed a quick sandwich from subway (30 mins)
and proceeded to make the return trip to wellington (apx 5.5 hours - frequent stops were required on this trip as my dad and i both were partially comatose)

needless to say, no one was interested in unloading tonight (my stuff's going back into storage). my dad said the only thing he was lifting tonight was a frosty shiner bock. which leaves me here, watching basketball, with my very tired feet up. homeless once again.

i already miss my kitchen.

oh, and the pistons lost by fourteen.

and boy are my arms tired...

2008-05-22T09:35:00.005-05:00

first of all, i want to say that i think this is total crap:

American Airlines to Charge for Checked Baggage
Starting June 15 most American passengers must pay $15 for checking a single bag. That comes on top of the airline's decision two weeks ago to charge $25 for a second bag.

but obviously it's indicative of something bigger, as noted by richard heinberg

Saying Goodbye to Air Travel
The airline industry has no future. The same is true for airfreight. No air carrier has a viable plan to make a profit with oil at current prices—much less in years to come as the petroleum available to world markets dwindles rapidly.

hornets gone fishing...

2008-05-20T18:42:00.004-05:00

pinched from spursreport.com

this is not the one from TNT (i can't find that one online ANYWHERE), but it'll have to do. go spurs!

dunder mifflin, this is pam...

2008-05-20T11:45:00.017-05:00

i'm playing receptionist this week at my temp job du jour. the phones have been ringing off the hook this morning, but this particular conversation sticks out...

Me: Good Morning, (insert company name here)

Lady on the Line: Yes, Michael Scott please.

Me: places Lady on the Line on hold as quickly as possible to avoid cracking up in her ear.

i don't know what i would have done had she been looking for dwight schrute.

well played, charles barkley...

2008-05-19T22:48:00.005-05:00

even though i yelled at him the other day, i like charles barkley. a lot. seriously, he cracks me up. because of him, kenny smith, and ernie johnson, inside the nba one of my favorite tv shows (that, and the office).

so i was glad to see this interview with e.j. tonight during the spurs/hornets pregame show.

"I like to go into Vegas, it's a fun place, but you know what, I've got to stop gambling. That's the bottom line," Barkley said during TNT's pregame show before Game 7 between San Antonio and New Orleans. "I am not going to gamble anymore. For right now, the next year or two, I'm not going to gamble."

"Just because I can afford to lose money doesn't mean I should do it," he said.

link: barkley vows to stop gambling.

no longer one and done...

2008-05-19T16:31:00.008-05:00

i have a basketball crush on jay bilas.

NBA considers draft plan revisions
With 13 freshmen making themselves available for the NBA Draft, the one-and- done rule is coming under fire. One college basketball expert thinks a baseball-like draft is more practical.

i once heard dick vitale say much the same thing: high school seniors should be eligible for the NBA draft. but should you choose to play college ball, you should have to stay three years.

no doubt my love affair with college basketball colors my thinking on this matter, but for the most part, i think i'd vote for three years. take this year's kansas team, for example. i am completely at peace with brandon rush and even mario chalmers testing the waters of the NBA (rush is in, chalmers is still eligible to return to kansas for his senior campaign). but darrell arthur. i wish he would stay one more year. i felt the same way about julian wright last year. and no doubt, i'll feel the same way about another player next year.

perhaps it's the selfishness of being a fan. and i'm okay with that. this is why those who are invested in the game in a different way than i are charged with making these decisions.

but that jay bilas is one smart cookie. i hope someone listens.

folding money...

2008-05-17T10:28:00.000-05:00

my school has a new rule that once you enroll in thesis hours, you have to enroll every semester (including summers) until you finish your culminating experience (that's what they're calling it these days). as such, yesterday i enrolled for my requisite three credit hours.

my bill (which includes student health insurance) - $890. asking me to pay this is like scavenging for water in the desert - there ain't none...

so when i hear that charles barkley is FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS in the hole to casinos in vegas, i want to BEAT HIM SENSELESS with my tuition bill.

end of rant...

the basketball version of nachos...

2008-05-16T13:49:00.003-05:00

as has been well established here, i am a huge san antonio spurs fan. for those of you who are less informed of the goings on of the NBA playoffs, a quick update: in one of the most bizarre series of basketball i have ever witnessed, the spurs and the new orleans hornets are tied at three games apiece in the western conference semifinals. the home teams have won each game in this series by an average of 18(!) points. the spurs are hoping to change that as the series moves back to new orleans for game seven on monday, winner take all.

as per standard operating procedure round these parts, when my teams are in the headlines, i engage in freakish amounts of article reading on the internets. in my research yesterday, the link trail brought me to the blog of jason friedman, who covers the rockets for the houston press. his blog post, trapped in the closet no more, led me to the most bizarre and thoroughly entertaining piece of comment-ary i have ever read in my whole life.

(ignore the part about shane battier.) (oh, and if you're sensitive to language, beware)

First and foremost, let me say Shane Battier is a total homo.

Second, the Spurs rock the shit. Always have, always will. If God gave birth to another son, but instead of a son it was a basketball team, it would be the Spurs.

One time I had some cancer on my leg and my dad took a dirty wash cloth with Sean Elliot's picture on it and rubbed it on the cancer, and the cancer went away; but only after the dirty wash cloth hit a tip-toed three point over Rasheed Wallace en route to the Spurs first ever title.

You know how delicious and fantastic nachos are? The Spurs are like the basketball version of nachos, except they win a shit load of championships.

Manu Ginobili once fought a tornado.

Tony Parker is smokin' hot and can fly.

Tim Duncan carries around a flask on his hip that's filled with lightning bolts.

Coach Popovich sleeps standing up. With his eyes open. Watching game film.

My cousin got hit by car and died for a brief moment. When the EMT brought him back to life he said Jesus was wearing a David Robinson jersey.

Fabricio Oberto's last name translates literally to "of the cockstrong, greasy-hairred kind." Plus, he has a Pirate-Of-The-Carribean-style gold tooth which is incredible and of itself.

Bruce Bowen doesn't have any kids because he won't even let his wife score.

Not liking the Spurs is the equivalent to campaigning for slavery to make a return.

And when you're a Spurs fan, -a true Spurs fan- each night before you go to sleep, a unicorn flys down from heaven and gives you a tender kiss on the forehead. No shit.

that's billion with a B...

2008-05-09T14:58:00.014-05:00

as most of you know, i grew up in a farming community. my folks still live there, i own land there, and it has profoundly influenced the person i have come to be.

so it is with great interest that i have been following the 2007 iteration of the farm bill. in case you're unfamiliar, the farm bill is a ginormous piece of legislation that dictates policy on a million different things including WIC and food stamps, subsidies, conservation programs, and (at least in the bill that congress is about to send to the president), tax breaks for the depreciation of racehorses.

this whole thing keeps getting more and more interesting. it looks like the farm bill will be placed in front of the president in the next couple of weeks, at which point he will promptly issue a veto.

the washington post has done some really great reporting on this. most recently:

* Negotiators Agree on Farm Bill, but Bush Vows to Veto It
* Plow It Under: A farm bill larded with giveaways deserves President Bush's veto.

in addition, here's a good summary of the latest goings on from grist.

and by chasing the link trail, i found these two websites. they're really good.

* blog for rural america

* mulch

by my own admission, i realize these points of view only represent one side of the issue. and obviously there are many sides, or this thing wouldn't have been locked in legistlation for as long as it has.

i went over to bread for the world's website to see if they had offered any kind of response. i would say they give it a half thumbs up. they are pleased with the increases in nutrition assistance programs (2/3 of the farm bill's $300 billion (that's with a B) is allocated to nutrition programs - including WIC and food stamps). but they, too, see it as a major missed opportunity for congress to make substantial change to current farm bill business as usual.

so, we'll see where this goes from here. if nothing else, it promises to further illuminate the tenuous relationship that congress shares with the administration.

how i spent my weekend...

2008-05-05T21:03:00.004-05:00

terrifying images from the grocery store...

2008-05-01T08:30:00.001-05:00

Anthropomorphism - the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to nonhuman beings, inanimate objects, or natural or supernatural phenomena. this "humanification," in my opinion, is often carried out with varying degrees of success. for example...

success: snoopy! on a typewriter!

not so much: a hot dog with frankfurter colored legs and bun colored arms, caressing a similarly limbed bottle of mustard. yikes.

one down...

2008-04-30T15:48:00.005-05:00

my favorite piece of analysis on the suns/spurs series, courtesy of buck harvey at the san antonio express news...

Shaq has always said he makes them when he has to. Memphis’ John Calipari coincidentally said the same this month in San Antonio, and that didn’t work out, either, in the Final Four.

heh.

darkness and light...

2008-04-28T20:09:00.004-05:00

i just spent a lovely extended weekend in kansas city. dallas has been a bit of a cruel mistress this spring, and it was great to spend some time back in the old hood. i ran around from dawn til dusk for four days straight, hitting up some of my favorite places with some of my favorite people. i even ran in to my old landlord, dan, who misses me terribly. it was, on many levels, so good.

however, upon my return, i was greeted with this news. mom said the town is covered up in texas rangers and that the old widow ladies are absolutely terrified.

a sleepy little town in the texas panhandle. where getting stuck in traffic means you got trapped behind a tractor on 15th street. where people wave from their cars, and wear red for the skyrockets. isolated, but not immune.

lord, have mercy.

tasty business...

2008-04-23T12:19:00.003-05:00

since i live by myself and don't mind leftovers, i usually only cook a couple times per week. each time i cook, however, i make enough of whatever i'm making to feed me for a couple of days. this alleviates the two-fold problem of 1) menu planning and 2) coming home hungry in the evening to an empty refrigerator.

i made a big batch of this asian-style spicy coleslaw (mine wasn't near that pretty) on sunday, and just polished it off for lunch today. it combines my recent obsession with coleslaw (weird, i know) with one of my favorite things in the whole world, peanut butter. plus it's a little spicy. win-win-win.

the salad is huge - i halved it. and if you're not planning on eating it all at one sitting, dress it as you go. otherwise, you'll get watery, soggy coleslaw. and who wants that?

again we say, taste-ola.

crowd goes wild...

2008-04-22T20:12:00.010-05:00

so, you don't have to know me very well to know that i LOVE basketball. with a big bright red heart, love it.

when i was growing up, my whole family would spend our evenings watching michael jordan and the bulls play basketball on WGN. now, i know a lot of people who could give a flip about basketball, and the family tv turned to WGN (does that station even exist anymore?) would have sent them to their bedroom with a magazine. but not us scott gals. even at an early age we were lovers of the game, and those seasons we watched the bulls just fanned the flame. this interest has not faded over time, although some of us (ahem...) are a bit nuttier about it than others.

no longer a bulls fan, i've been cheering for the san antonio spurs since college. and a moderate interest in the kansas jayhawks became a full out obsession after living in kansas city for four years.

san antonio has seen some great basketball in the past couple of weeks. to wit:

1. kansas won the championship!
they nearly killed us all in the process, but holy crap, they did it!

as a side note, that steal and shot that sherron made to set up mario chalmers' game winning three? i've heard more than one comparison to miracle at the hands of sean elliott, from the 1999 western conference championships. same court. same corner. same result. swish.

i love the alamodome.

2. tim duncan made a three pointer to send saturday's spurs/suns game into double overtime.
it's already been documented here once, but it deserves a second mention.

the basketball gods are good to me - now that my favorite sporting event of the year is over (with a perfect ending!), at least we have the NBA playoffs to tide us over for the next couple months (which is a bit long, even for me).

so, in summation:
1. rock chalk!
2. go spurs!

p.s. i'm watching game two of the spurs/suns series as we speak, and just want to mention how much i love manu ginobli.

that's what's for dinner?

2008-04-21T16:46:00.003-05:00

seriously, this ad campaign grosses me out. people in haiti are rioting over a cup of rice, and we're selling meat in the form of mountains.

all the way around, it's disgusting.

green thumb...

2008-04-20T18:47:00.004-05:00

two articles from the new york times that have me scheming a way to have a garden this summer...

out of the yard and onto the fork

Kitchen gardens are as old as the first hunter-gatherers who decided to settle down and watch the seeds grow. Walled medieval gardens protected carefully tended herbs, greens and fruit trees from marauders, both human and animal. The American colonists planted gardens as soon as they could, sowing seeds brought from Europe.
Call them survivor gardens.
Now, they are being discovered by a new generation of people who worry about just what is in that bag of spinach and how much fuel was consumed to grow it and to fly it a thousand miles.

why bother?

But the act I want to talk about is growing some — even just a little — of your own food. Rip out your lawn, if you have one, and if you don’t — if you live in a high-rise, or have a yard shrouded in shade — look into getting a plot in a community garden. Measured against the Problem We Face, planting a garden sounds pretty benign, I know, but in fact it’s one of the most powerful things an individual can do — to reduce your carbon footprint, sure, but more important, to reduce your sense of dependence and dividedness: to change the cheap-energy mind.

swish!

2008-04-19T18:11:00.001-05:00

timmy sends the game to double overtime. from the THREE.

go spurs!

laci is...

2008-04-07T12:37:00.004-05:00

currently eating a piece of this bread, lightly toasted, with a bit of peanut butter. it is, in the words of my friend jill, taste-ola. (i have no idea how you would spell that!).

it's a quick bread - no yeast required - so whip up a batch for yourself this evening, and have a slice for dessert. or maybe for breakfast in the morning. i guarantee, it's a great way to start the day.

sometimes goodness comes in the smallest of packages.

fill in the blank...

2008-04-04T08:19:00.004-05:00

when i was in college and found myself in a particularly boring lecture (i'm looking at you, vertebrate biology), i had this little game that i would play to pass the e-v-e-r-l-a-s-t-i-n-g time.

it went like this: i would attempt to list, from memory, all of the states of the united states. and if the lecture were especially long, i would also endeavor to include their capitals. and this would all be written with my left hand.

(you never know when you might need it).

so, you can see why i stayed up until 1:30 this morning playing the games on this website. it's listmaking heaven!!

it's amazing what your brain does to you when faced with a page full of blanks and a timer. for example, it forgets the number 'eleven' in spanish. or the book of lamentations. or mansfield park as a jane austen novel. or aluminum.

also, i'd like to know what it says about me that i came closer to naming all of the major league baseball teams (missed three, including the mets - see above statement about brain freeze) than i did the presidents of the US. i got all of the 20th century ones back as far as woodrow wilson, but still, the period from thomas jefferson to wilson was sparsely populated, with the notable exception of (whew!) abraham lincoln. james van buren, please accept my apologies.

so, if you have some time to kill, and like dorky listmaking games, you are set.

and these dorky listmaking games? they're why you want me on your team in trivial pursuit, or in the cash cab.

homemade...

2008-03-17T18:40:00.001-05:00

this article appeared in yesterday's new york times.

leaving behind the trucker hat
young urbanites, learning that dirt can also be soil, are using their Carhartts as originally intended.

for a while now, i've been frustrated. i'm frustrated that other people get to decide what goes into my meat, onto my vegetables, into my water, etc., etc. it's been years since my life was connected to the land in a meaningful way. this coming from a girl who learned how to drive on that red tractor over there!

so i had a lot of resonance for the farmers who were profiled in that NYT article. i am different from them in that i don't want to make my living at farming. but i am *thisclose* to moving to the country, getting myself a cow and some chickens, and planting a big ole garden.

since i'm only a generation and a half removed from the farm and grew up in a farming community, i have no romantic notions of what it means to grow your own food. it is dirty, stinky, long work. i'd have to learn how to do ALOT of stuff.

and yet, it seems totally doable. there are lots of questions that i don't have the answer to, and there's still stuff to do here before i'm ready to raise my barn.

but one of these days, i'm going to make my own butter. with my kitchenaid, of course.

in case you're looking for a little something a little fancier than a pine box...

2008-03-16T10:51:00.008-05:00

how about a fully customizable major league baseball urn? or if you'd rather spend eternity in one piece, they have caskets too! this way, the MLB can "share" a portion of your life AND death. because they care about their fans.

if you're not a baseball lover (like myself), fear not. according to this morning's sportscenter, licensing deals with other major sports leagues are on the way. and universities too.

i wonder if they'll make customizable resting places? for example, i have a friend who is a st. louis cardinals, san antonio spurs, and florida state seminoles fan. how in the world would he choose just one in which to spend the remainder of his days?

oh, the possibilites.

order yours at eternal image.

oh, and if sports aren't your thing, you can choose from a collection that includes star trek, precious moments, the american kennel club, and the cat fanciers' assocation.

if you're going to go, you might as well go out in style...

i still call them samoas...

2008-03-15T20:56:00.008-05:00

well, it's springtime here in dallas. one of the many things this means is that you can't go anywhere without being accosted by cookie selling girl scouts.

as wholesome as the idea of girl scout cookies may be, a quick read through the ingredient list will probably net at least one or two items not commonly found on your grocer's shelves. i'll pass, thanks.

but all is not lost! right here is where my obsession with food blogs comes in handy. heidi over at 101 cookbooks has developed her very own homemade thin mint recipe. i've made them several times, and while, yes, they do require a bit more work than plunking down $3.50 for a brightly colored box, they are soooooo tasty.

or if tagalongs are more your style, then baking bites will help you satisfy your chocolate/peanut butter needs.

and samoas? here you go. i made these about a month ago and they are messy and gooey and chocolatey and totally scrumptious.

the other good thing about this? no need to hoard boxes and boxes of these things in the freezer so that when september rolls around, you can satisfy your craving. (like the stash in your freezer lasts until fall...) nope, my friends. get you some butter and good chocolate, and you are on your way.

you gotta admit, though, those girl scouts are darn near irresistible.

an open letter to gillian welch...

2008-01-13T20:47:00.000-06:00

dear gillian,

please come out with a new album. 2003 was a long time ago.

sincerely,
laci

today i am thankful for...

2007-11-20T23:12:00.000-06:00

creativity and imagination. (and the fact that i'm done with my grocery shopping...)

source: serious eats

today i am thankful for...

2007-11-20T00:26:00.000-06:00

the birth of my cousin's daughter, peyton grace
a great phone conversation with my friend kimber last night
the coming cold front. i'm thinking soup...
another chance at making pie crust
pictures on the fridge
the giant pile of leaves that sophie and i crunched at the park today
the kansas farmer i saw interviewed today on "martha" who is growing heritage turkeys.
magazines. i love magazines
food blogs. i love them even more than magazines.

today i am thankful for...

2007-11-17T23:27:00.000-06:00

is it against the rules for me to say my friends two days in a row? because seriously, i get to count the most unbelievable people among my people. brunch with the girls this morning, dinner with ruthie tonight, and breakfast with ryan and holly in the morning. it's abundance!
my yoga studio in kansas city. my teachers ashley, gina, sarah, and xi and their beautiful studio in the crossroads. this place became my second home (in more than one sense of the word) this past summer. i miss it every day.
babies hysterically laughing, especially when that hysterical baby happens to be my niece.
the friend of a friend of a friend who let me throw on to her compost pile today. hooray!
the news that the writers and the AMPTP are going back to the bargaining table. i'd really like to see a christmas episode of "the office." call me shallow, i don't care.

today, i am thankful for...

2007-11-17T00:06:00.000-06:00

i seriously know the greatest people. i have friends in every corner of the world, a couple of which are in dallas for the weekend!
the bulk section at central market, which allows me to buy one cup of cake flour.
national public radio
my new resuable grocery bags. they're working out great!
a charlie brown thanksgiving

today, i am thankful for...

2007-11-15T22:14:00.000-06:00

i've been learning alot this year about mindfulness. and intention. these virtues have been growing in me for the past couple of years, but my 2007 summer of yoga really framed them in new ways.

this, combined with the coming of my favorite holiday, has inspired me to count down the days to thanksgiving by...giving thanks. a thanksgiving advent calendar of sorts.

today, i am thankful for

a perfect afternoon for a walk (which i did) - with a warm sun and a cool breeze.
my eldest niece, who serenaded my voicemail earlier this week with a rousing rendition of "jingle bells."
the fact that my job comes with free housing that includes maid service (what?). and vicky, the blessed soul who cleans my toilet.
the team of writers who create the genius that is "the office."
cranberries, apples, pears, and PUMPKIN. yum...

life is about balance, right?

2007-11-06T08:43:00.001-06:00

getting a head start...

2007-11-05T08:18:00.001-06:00

i have had it. i can no longer abide by the sheer number of paper/plastic bags that i myself partake of on a weekly basis. plastic bags are produced by a petroleum based process, used once, and even if i take them to the grocery store for recycle, i'm not guaranteed that they actually are reduced and reused. paper bags are somewhat better (i collect my recycling in paper bags), but starting today, my answer to the age old question of "paper or plastic" will be neither.

i am, at this moment, placing my order for four reusable grocery bags, made of recycled plastic. in addition, i am ordering two ultra-compact bags that i can keep in my purse, for random errand running. (note: i fully realize the irony of the fact that i am ordering bags to be delivered via UPS in order to reduce my ecological footprint...)

i am going to keep a running tally of the number of times per month i forget to BMOB (bring my own bag). i'll let you know on december 1st how many bags i accumulated over the course of november. of course, my goal number is zero, but we'll see how well i do here at the beginning.

if you're so inclined, i encourage you to join me in this endeavor. mindfulness is a good thing.

i'm just sayin...

2007-10-08T22:04:00.000-05:00

i love candy corn. yum.

2007-09-20T22:16:00.002-05:00

cool as a cucumber...

2007-07-27T09:34:00.001-05:00

all non-menopausal female office drones could benefit from a pair of fingerless mittens. it helps keep you warm when your office temperature is approximately 40 degrees and you look down to find your fingernails turning blue. (i actually used to keep a couple of scarves in the drawer when i worked at the law firm for just such occasions). the benefit to fingerless mitts is fairly obvious. they are sans-fingers. so you can carry on with your Very Important Work unimpeded. typing? check! making phone calls? no problem! giving your coworker the finger? bring it on.

so for the past year, i have been on the hunt for just such a pattern. i thought i'd get in touch with my crafty side and knit myself a pair of fingerless mitts that would inspire fits of jealousy among my fellow i-keep-a-secret-space-heater-under-my-desk office mates. and don't get me wrong, the internets are a vast sea of fingerless mitt patterns. but they're all so...boring. i wanted my mitts to make a statement. to inspire conspiracies of theft among the non-possessors of such a treasure. i did find a pair of cable knit mitts that i liked alot, and they're still on my list. but otherwise, the pickings were slim for someone with such lofty goals as i.

but these. these are the money gloves. and i'm going to make the hat to match.

you know, since i'm moving back to texas, and the winters there are so harsh.

actually, i really like most of the hat patterns on marnie maclean's site. they're so pretty. and interesting. and have just enough going on that i won't gouge my eyes out with a knitting needle out of sheer boredom.

now i just have to dig all of my knitting gear out of storage...

you are what you grow...

2007-07-26T11:13:00.000-05:00

michael pollan has written a great article for the new york times magazine about the farm bill, which goes before congress for renewal today.

kitchen window...

2007-07-26T08:53:00.000-05:00

another reason i love NPR. they did a whole story on lima beans.

you should give them a chance. yum...

oh, in other news:
  * i'm moving to dallas
  * the spurs won the championship
  * tess had a birthday
  * i'm eating watermelon 24/7

happy thursday!

this is national public radio...

2007-06-10T11:24:00.000-05:00

My maiden Aunt Una — universally known to everyone as Nunna — was 75 when I was born. She lived with her youngest sister — my grandmother — for pretty much her entire adult life. They had what you'd call a problematic relationship. They argued over minor, ludicrous things incessantly: Who took the last of the cottage cheese? Is teal more like blue or more like green? When is Hee-Haw on? They bickered over everything. And they swore like longshoremen. I acquired a working knowledge of the most multivariate and polysyllabic foul language imaginable. My mother and father never, ever swore, except on one memorable occasion involving my dad, a carving knife and an especially tough-skinned pumpkin.

you HAVE to listen to this. it had me in stitches...

chickenbutt and other lessons from grandma

i wish i were friends with eva longoria...

2007-06-07T07:36:00.000-05:00

then maybe i could score tickets to tonight's NBA finals game in san antonio...

go spurs!

three!

2007-05-05T11:21:00.000-05:00

every cinco de mayo, we celebrate not only with our favorite mexican goodies (read: margaritas and cerveza) but birthday cake. for today is grace's birthday.

what, you ask, are three year olds into these days? what things do they feel they need to to add to their vast collection of booty from generous friends, family, and (most of all) grandparents?

these are grace's requests to me:
1. storage
2. lobster

god, i love this kid. feliz cumpleanos, my lovely girl...

this changes EVERYTHING...

2007-05-04T13:10:00.000-05:00

warriors finish off mavs with blowout win in game six

go spurs!

bears, beets, battlestar galactica...

2007-04-26T12:13:00.001-05:00

fact: i am currently addicted to the american version of the office.

fact: this is the funniest thing i have ever seen. ever.

fact: if you have watched even one episode of this show, you too might pee your pants.

eek!

2007-04-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

i have a job interview this week at bread for the world. much to my mother's chagrin, it is in washington dc.

they're flying me in and hosting me in their offices for thursday and friday. i'm attending an all staff meeting and meeting with department heads.

after a year of job searching, i consider myself to be officially jaded. but this looks pretty promising...

prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated. i'll let you know how it goes.

one. thousand. words.

2007-03-27T17:46:00.000-05:00

i know that guy!

2007-03-23T10:22:00.000-05:00

barclay was in yesterday's edition of the kansas city star! go have yourself a look-see...

wise words...

2007-03-23T10:11:00.000-05:00

an excerpt from an interview with Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma

AM: If there's one thing that you hope the readers of The Omnivore's Dilemma will take away with them, what would that be?

MP: Eat with consciousness. When you eat with consciousness, and you know what you're eating, and you eat it in full appreciation of what it is, it's enormously satisfying. You also confront certain ethical dilemmas. I think it's important that we do that. One of the most irresponsible things we can do is eat in ignorance, without any awareness of what our eating is doing to the world or to other species. I guess that's what I would leave them with.

good stuff. read the entire interview here.

this creeps me out...

2007-03-02T10:42:00.000-06:00

the newest addition to madame tussaud's house of wax in new york. and that's about all there is to say about that...

dewey decimal...

2007-03-01T14:26:00.000-06:00

the online card catalog at my library has been down for three days.

this is proving endlessly frustrating for me. i mean, there are cookbooks i need to read! i need to reserve the sixth season of sex and the city! i might have books on hold that i need to pick up!

i love the library. don't judge me.

big six at the lake...

2007-02-26T10:33:00.000-06:00

on lent...

2007-02-22T09:05:00.000-06:00

The journey to Easter is not a mournful denial of our humanity. Rather, Lent embraces our humanity – our deepest fears, our doubts, our mistakes and sins, our grief, and our pain. Lent is also about joy, self-discovery, connecting with others, and doing justice. Lent is not morbid church services. It is about being fully human and knowing God’s presence in the crosshairs of blessing and bane. And it is about waiting, waiting in those crosshairs, for resurrection.

author: diana butler bass
source: god's politics blog

manu!

2007-02-22T00:26:00.000-06:00

Manu Ginobili is thriving as the San Antonio Spurs' sixth man

Ginobili scored a season-high 40 points, including 24 straight for San Antonio in the first half, and Tim Duncan had 30 to help the Spurs beat the Atlanta Hawks 103-96 on Wednesday night.

"I've had some good stretches in my career," Ginobili said. "Today was kind of impressive. In those three or four minutes, or however many they were, maybe, yeah, it was some of the best."

read the full story here. go spurs!

ashes...

2007-02-21T17:24:00.000-06:00

remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return

we like to call her baby tess...

2007-02-20T16:36:00.000-06:00

a fine way to start the day...

2007-02-16T15:45:00.000-06:00

guess whose pipes were frozen this morning?
guess whose upstairs neighbors' pipes were not frozen this morning?
guess who, as a result, had to take a shower at her landlord's house?
go ahead, guess!

i am going to texas next weekend. it will be warm in texas. i cannot wait.

well, hello...

2007-02-15T14:45:00.000-06:00

i've been hibernating. every night when i arrive home from "work", i put on my pajamas, turn on the tv, and huddle up under my electric blanket (thanks, mom!). and save a trip to the bathroom or kitchen for some hot cocoa, there i remain until it's time for bed. it's been like this for over a month. like i said, i've been hibernating. march is just around the corner, though, and i can feel myself ready to awaken from my winter slumber and again engage the world.

so what, you ask, has been the thing to compel me again to blogging? is it my mother, saying that she's given up on me? is it my friends, checking to make sure i'm alive? do i have any particularly good news to report?

nope. none of these.

it is this recipe, my friends, that i must share with you all. that's right. homemade thin mints. i have several people as my witnesses. these are the best. cookies. i've. ever. made.

the ONLY motivation the weather as of late (grr, the weather...) has given me is to bake. so when i stumbled across this gem in my Great Recipe Organization of 2007 (i'll tell you about that later), i knew this was just the thing to soften my winter blues. i was right, and quickly had to remove all of them from my house or my winter blues would be replaced with a mighty stomachache.

i also baked these last weekend. yum.

they tell me that this is the last of winter's cold. you'll understand if i'm skeptical. if you don't hear from me, assume that i'm watching CSI (did you know there are THREE of them???), huddled under my old-lady blanket, plotting goodness in the kitchen.

thoughts for the new year...

2007-01-07T16:59:00.000-06:00

i beg you...to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. and the point is to live everything. live the questions now. perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer... --ranier maria rilke

2006-12-11T09:51:00.000-06:00

i've been sick for a week. it's the weirdest cold i've ever had - SUPER cyclical, with me feeling okay in the mornings, CRAPPY in the afternoon, and okay in the evenings.

because i am a moron whose social calendar is overbooked, and because i feel pretty good at night, i'm staying up far too late. and the internal alarm clock that goes off in my head every morning is precluding any semblance of sleeping in.

fortunately, i don't have anything going on this week. this is good news, as in the last hour i have gone COMPLETELY HOARSE.

this sucks...

big six thanksgiving dinner 2006...

2006-12-08T14:06:00.000-06:00

words from a hobbit who's currently staying at my house...

2006-12-07T08:39:00.001-06:00

so yeah. go watch the lord of the rings with your loved ones this christmas. watch them and think of your own story. and think of someone you love, and someone who loves you.

but take something from em. they're great stories. they say: life is hard. sometimes you have to do some shit that you don't want to. and sometimes those things turn into adventures. or sometimes you want to have adventures and they turn into difficult trials. but either way, it's good to have friends there with you. live well. live fully. be ready for loss. or don't. but know that you have to keep going, even if you're crying as you walk. enjoy the nights by the fire. enjoy the days under the sunshine. enjoy the moments of shelter and kindness from people of all walks of life. live well. live full.

via hooch dupree and the whiskey priest

i'd like to buy a vowel...

2006-12-04T15:47:00.000-06:00

wheel watchers, tonight you can see my friend edye bisagno as a contestant on WHEEL - OF - FORTUNE!!!

this is so random, so fun, and soooo edye...

be sure and watch!

world AIDS daydecember 1, 2006

2006-11-30T10:34:00.000-06:00

In the 25 years since the first case was reported, AIDS has changed the world. It has killed 25 million people, and infected 40 million more. It has become the world’s leading cause of death among both women and men aged 15 to 59. It has inflicted the single greatest reversal in the history of human development. In other words, it has become the greatest challenge of our generation.

For far too long, the world was in denial. But over the past 10 years, attitudes have changed. The world has started to take the fight against AIDS as seriously as it deserves.

Financial resources are being committed like never before, people have access to antiretroviral treatment like never before, and several countries are managing to fight the spread like never before. Now, as the number of infections continues unabated, we need to mobilize political will like never before.

The creation of UNAIDS a decade ago, bringing together the strengths and resources of many different parts of the United Nations family, was a milestone in transforming the way the world responds to AIDS. And five years ago, all UN Member States reached a new milestone by adopting the Declaration of Commitment -- containing a number of specific, far-reaching and time-bound targets for fighting the epidemic.

That same year, as I made HIV/AIDS a personal priority in my work as Secretary-General, I called for the creation of a "war-chest" of an additional seven to ten billion dollars a year. Today, I am deeply proud to be Patron of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which has channelled almost three billion dollars to programmes across the globe. Recently, we have seen significant additional funding from bilateral donors, national treasuries, civil society and other sources. Annual investments in the response to AIDS in low-and middle-income countries now stand at more than eight billion dollars. Of course, much more is needed; by 2010 total needs for a comprehensive AIDS response will exceed 20 billion dollars a year. But we have at least made a start on getting the resources and strategies in place.

Because the response has started to gain real momentum, the stakes are higher now than ever before. We cannot risk letting the advances that have been achieved unravel; we must not jeopardize the heroic efforts of so many. The challenge now is to deliver on all the promises that have been made -- including the Millennium Development Goal, agreed by all the world’s Governments, of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV by 2015. Leaders at every level must recognize that halting the spread of AIDS is also a prerequisite for reaching most of the other Goals, which together form the international community’s agreed blueprint for building a better world in the 21st century. Leaders must hold themselves accountable -- and be held accountable by all of us.

Accountability -- the theme of this World AIDS Day -- requires every President and Prime Minister, every parliamentarian and politician, to decide and declare that "AIDS stops with me". It requires them to strengthen protection for all vulnerable groups -- whether people living with HIV, young people, sex workers, injecting drug users, or men who have sex with men. It requires them to work hand in hand with civil society groups, who are so crucial to the struggle. It requires them to work for real, positive change that will give more power and confidence to women and girls, and transform relations between women and men at all levels of society.

But accountability applies not only to those who hold positions of power. It also applies to all of us. It requires business leaders to work for HIV prevention in the workplace and in the wider community, and to care for affected workers and their families. It requires health workers, community leaders and faith-based groups to listen and care, without passing judgement. It requires fathers, husbands, sons and brothers to support and affirm the rights of women. It requires teachers to nurture the dreams and aspirations of girls. It requires men to help ensure that other men assume their responsibility -- and understand that real manhood means protecting others from risk. And it requires every one of us help bring AIDS out of the shadows, and spread the message that silence is death.

I will soon be stepping down as Secretary-General of the United Nations. But as long as I have strength, I will keep spreading that message. That is why World AIDS Day will always be special to me. On this World AIDS Day, let us vow to keep the promise -- not only this day, or this year, or next year -- but every day, until the epidemic is conquered.

Kofi A. Annan

source: UNAIDS

rachael ray, i'm talking to you...

2006-11-30T08:40:00.000-06:00

i made this soup for dinner last night. it was pretty tasty. the hen house in fairway didn't have chipotles in adobo (although they did have canned snails), so i settled for some roasted chopped jalapenos. a decent second for sure. the soup was pretty good (could have used more jalapenos), but next time i make it, i won't be finely dicing the zucchini. the texture reminds me too much of raw onions.

anyway, this post is not a commentary on my last night's dinner. it is me, asking rachael ray the question...

are you kidding me? Why-the-Chicken-Crossed-the-Road Santa Fe-Tastic Tortilla Soup?? rachael, ye who are supremely overexposed at the moment, please, PLEASE stop trying so hard.

i was reading some food blog the other day, and the recipe that the woman had listed called for extra virgin olive oil. the woman said, and i quote, "don't call it EVOO"

heh. it seems i'm not the only one who shares this opinion.

but the soup was good. and for that i say, thanks rachael...

early out...

2006-11-29T14:45:00.000-06:00

it's disgusting outside. sleet, ice, twenty eight degrees...

as such, the long arm of justice has determined that we should all go home early! i was campaigning for immediately, but 3:45 will certainly do.

i'm going to make a pot of soup, and pray for snow.

from this, to houston tomorrow. a shock to the system, for sure!

in advance of the front...

2006-11-28T14:04:00.000-06:00

outside, it's as windy as a spring day in texas. the kind of day where, for those of us of the female persuasion, we are careful to avoid wearing skirts.

it only took once for me to learn that lesson.

thank you to the ENTIRE month of march in plainview, texas...

grateful...

2006-11-23T23:07:00.000-06:00

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of allnothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

~ e.e. cummings, XAIPE, 1950

wonder woman!

2006-11-21T10:03:00.000-06:00

sorry, texas...

2006-11-08T07:35:00.000-06:00

rick perry re-elected governor of texas

a great start to the season...

2006-11-03T10:29:00.000-06:00

spurs edge mavs 97-91 to win 10th straight opener

you can't make this stuff up...

2006-11-02T11:30:00.000-06:00

on the menu last night at bar natasha: the barclay martini.

this is good news...

2006-11-01T11:38:00.000-06:00

a new book by wendell berry. arriving on my doorstep november 28, 2006.

hooray!

from my second grade halloween play, miss morgan's class...

2006-10-31T10:25:00.000-06:00

strange things can happen
on a dark halloween
the SPOOOOOKIEST sights
you ever have seen

jill and dave humes...

2006-10-29T14:01:00.000-06:00

here's to you, jill and dave. you know how to throw one hell of a party. my red hat and i had the most lovely time...

oh, and best wishes for your new life together.

good news for your thursday...

2006-10-26T08:52:00.000-05:00

guess who has a new cookbook out?

ina garten is my favorite. FAVORITE.

i must have this cookbook. there are not alot of things in this world that i feel i must have, but friends, this is one of them.

many of you have enjoyed the benefits of my obsession with ina garten and her fabulous recipes - apple crostada, macaroons, sun dried tomato pasta salad, turkey meat loaf, peanut butter cookies, sour cream pancakes...

yum.

i heart you, barefoot contessa...

can't get enough of...

2006-10-17T23:42:00.000-05:00

joe purdy. check out his music.

introducing...

2006-10-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

my new friend, paxton sharp. paxton's mom and dad, ryan and holly, are some of my favorite people. they live in san francisco.

welcome, little one!

category: superfluous things for the kitchen...

2006-09-29T11:09:00.000-05:00

this would fit so nicely in my kitchen. as if i have any extra countertop space...
italian glazed antiqued salt box

tess 3.0...

2006-09-27T12:34:00.000-05:00

handmade...

2006-09-21T15:15:00.000-05:00

the post office has a new set of stamps featuring the quilts of gee's bend. in a word, they're stunning.

have you heard of the women of gee's bend? if not, here's an introduction from their website:

Gee’s Bend is a small rural community nestled into a curve in the Alabama River southwest of Selma, Alabama. Founded in antebellum times, it was the site of cotton plantations, primarily the lands of Joseph Gee and his relative Mark Pettway, who bought the Gee estate in 1850. After the Civil War, the freed slaves took the name Pettway, became tenant farmers for the Pettway family, and founded an all-black community nearly isolated from the surrounding world. During the Great Depression, the federal government stepped in to purchase land and homes for the community, bringing strange renown — as an "Alabama Africa" — to this sleepy hamlet.

The town’s women developed a distinctive, bold, and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional American (and African American) quilts, but with a geometric simplicity reminiscent of Amish quilts and modern art. The women of Gee’s Bend passed their skills and aesthetic down through at least six generations to the present. In 2002, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in partnership with the nonprofit Tinwood Alliance, of Atlanta, presented an exhibition of seventy quilt masterpieces from the Bend.

tania and i saw the second exhibition of the quilts of gee's bend this summer at the museum of fine arts, houston. these works of art emerged by the hands of women who were simply working to keep their family warm by cutting up old work clothes and sewing them in to quilts. they are a living history - a testimony to the tenacity and determination of these women, raising their families in the post civil war south. and generations later, the women of gee's bend are still quilting.

never would they have imagined that their work would wind up on a stamp...

as always, NPR delivers in spectacular fashion. the women of gee's bend are profiled on this episode of all things considered...

another tale from the christian ghetto...

2006-09-20T16:11:00.000-05:00

a gem from the piece, business gets religion, on NPR...

FaithGuard car insurance waives your deductible if you're in an accident on your way to or from a church function, or, as it happened to Pastor Jim Goforth, in an empty church parking lot.

and this isn't even the most unbelievable statement made in this article! you'll know what i'm talking about when you read the transcript, or listen to the entire story here...

everybody's got their thing...

2006-09-19T11:44:00.000-05:00

season six of gilmore girls comes out on dvd today.

this is good news...

sugary sweet...

2006-09-17T18:53:00.000-05:00

raise your hand if you knew that a can of del monte stewed tomatoes contains HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.

this irritates the heck out of me.

how did i make this discovery, you ask? well, it's okra season, and i love me some okra. i recently ran across a couple of recipes for stewed okra and tomatoes, and picked some okra up at the farmers' market yesterday so i could whip up a batch. one of my recipe calls for canned tomatoes, and another for fresh. today i decided to try the recipe with the canned tomatoes, and as i was opening the can to dump them into the skillet with the okra, i read the ingredients. first ingredient (thank god): tomatoes. second ingredient: high fructose corn syrup. grr...

perhaps it was purely the power of suggestion, but the okra seemed too sweet to me. i mean, it was still tasty in all its slimy loveliness. but still...

so, this experience has led me to a couple of resolutions:

1) try the recipe that calls for fresh tomatoes. it will be interesting to note if, when using non fructose corn syruped tomatoes, the dish is less sweet that what i made today.

2) i am instituting a boycott of del monte stewed tomatoes. or, for that matter, any stewed, diced, or chopped tomato containing anything other than said tomatoes and perhaps a few spices within the auspices of its can. tomatoes, by nature, are tart and sweet at the same time. there is no need for sugar syrup in my stewed tomatoes. soup season is coming up (hooray!) and i go through multiple cans of tomatoes each week. this year, they will not be the tomatoes of del monte.

(mary begemann, i thought of you the entire time i wrote this post...)

not today, popeye...

2006-09-15T09:07:00.000-05:00

E. coli in bagged spinach kills 1, sickens dozens

happy birthday!

2006-09-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

holy crap, i'm running behind...

happy 30th birthday to tania on september 2
happy 30th birthday to lauren TODAY!

another reason to move to portland...

2006-09-12T11:47:00.000-05:00

Realtors in and around Portland, Ore., will soon be able to search more easily for homes that have met national green-building standards. Starting in 2007, houses certified by LEED, Energy Star, and other such programs will be searchable in Portland's authoritative Regional Multiple Listing Service. Added amenities like on-site solar power and high-efficiency furnaces will be searchable individually. "People increasingly want energy efficiency in their homes, indoor air quality, and lower energy bills. This gives them the ability to find those features and a mainstream tool, which is important," says Terry Miller of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development. Advocates hope that the new policy will benefit low- and middle-income buyers; lenders may be willing to give bigger loans for energy-efficient homes, as money saved on electric bills could potentially go toward paying a higher mortgage.

source: grist

according to gram parsons...

2006-09-11T21:11:00.001-05:00

the best thing we can do is learn from the past and live our lives the right way so, in time, when we can do something to change things, we will be real people. not sick or haunted by what life has done to us. we have the advantage of seeing definite examples of what can happen when people permit life to tangle them so badly that there is no escape. for us there is time - life can be real and beautiful if you build it that way honestly so there will be no lies or shadows to be afraid of later...it requires alot of work, knowledge, and love.

FINALLY...

2006-09-10T22:31:00.000-05:00

new pictures of baby tess...

this is national public radio...

2006-09-09T17:09:00.000-05:00

NPR how do i love thee? let me count the ways...

today i love thee especially for introducing me to a new band, the weepies.

listen to their interview from weekend edition here.

and a visit to the NPR website indicates they're going to be in kansas city next month!

NPR, you're so great...

two things...

2006-09-06T23:45:00.000-05:00

1. i SUCK at blogging these days. (clearly)

2. just in case you were wondering, i have fabulous new glasses...

more soon, and thanks for your patience,
laci

ugh...

2006-07-21T14:06:00.000-05:00

so my glasses just broke. in half.

i was on the phone with trenda at the time, and i let out a flurry of expletives such that i asked her to wash out her ears before she touches her baby again.

this is such poor timing...

wal-who?

2006-07-19T15:02:00.000-05:00

Last October, Scott pledged to transform his sprawling company, which employs 1.8 million people worldwide and ranks No. 2 on the Fortune 500 list, into a lean green machine powered exclusively by renewable energy, producing zero waste, and selling sustainable products. Those goals are so lofty they sound downright deluded, but Scott has followed them up with specific, seemingly achievable commitments and timetables. He aims, for example, to reduce Wal-Mart's total greenhouse-gas emissions 20 percent by 2012, and invest $500 million in environmental improvements each year.

read the entire article here

a gift for the person who has everything...

2006-07-18T15:01:00.000-05:00

The problem facing the Asian elephant is simple yet complex. In the age of technology, how does the elephant survive? Man had taken away its way of life when he cut the rain forest indiscriminately until there was little left. Now, the elephant had to find a new way of life or face extinction, or worse yet - degradation at the hands of man. Eventually an idea was formed. The simplicity of the idea (making Elephant Dung Paper) is remarkable. Collect the dung of elephants, turn it into handmade paper and then recycled products. We then sell the dung paper and return profits to feeding and caring for the Thai elephants

more information, plus photos of dung paper production in action, can be found here.

today's heat index...

2006-07-16T17:37:00.000-05:00

is a blistering 107 degrees. a plastic cup melted in my car while amy and i were in the grocery store. MELTED!

raise your hand if you're ready for october...

hot dog, anyone?

2006-07-06T12:03:00.000-05:00

Man Relishes Wonder Dog
by Mike Peters, Greeley Tribune
June 26, 2006

This is the story of an anniversary.

No, not a wedding anniversary or some company's anniversary.

This is likely the strangest and most bizarre anniversary you have ever heard of.

This is the hot dog anniversary for Richard Carroll of Milliken.

Five years ago, on July 4, Carroll was grilling some hot dogs for a family gathering, and he dropped one of them on the ground.

Josh Severin, a family member, quickly picked it up, and instead of merely brushing the hot dog off and putting it back on the grill as most men would do (remember the 5-second rule), he stuck it, lengthwise, on the radio antenna on Carroll's pickup truck.

That hot dog, after five years, after 80,000 miles, after rain and storm and sleet and hail, is still on that antenna.

And it's not a pleasant sight.

It's shrunken, this wonder hot dog, and it has turned black and kind of fuzzy and hard.

"It kind of makes you wonder," Carroll said this week, pausing to look at the shriveled symbol of picnics everywhere. "It kind of makes you wonder about all the hot dogs you've eaten over the years..."

He doesn't remember what brand of hot dog it was. Whatever brand, there must have been enough preservatives in it to prevent it from simply rotting away and falling off.

Instead, it's stayed on the antenna of Carroll's 1992 GMC pickup, stuck right at the top.

"I kept thinking the birds would eat it, or the wind would blow it off on the highway," Carroll said. "But I've been on a lot of hunting trips with it, and it's been brushed against tree limbs and bushes, and it's still there."

Carroll, 52, is a native of Weld County and worked as a heavy equipment operator for the Colorado Department of Transportation for 22 years.

He said he'll leave the wonder dog on the antenna until it finally falls off, but it appears it's become part of the antenna now.

As for the 5-year anniversary of the hot dog, Carroll said there won't be anything special. They'll just have a barbecue like they always do on the Fourth of July.

Cook something on the grill and have a picnic.

But Carroll said he probably won't be serving hot dogs.

the nieces...

2006-07-06T11:06:00.000-05:00