Picker

I went blueberry picking today at my favorite farm with some friends. I didn't get any pictures unfortunately as it's hard to hold a baby and pick berries. I also didn't get very many berries, as the baby was eating them out of the container as fast as I could put them in (that's going to be a really fun diaper change later).

So why am I babbling on about spending a morning out in the sun, bugs, and briars? Because that's what berries are all about. Summer berries aren't hard little underripe nuggets picked up at your local market. They're ripe, bright, juicy fruits hanging in bunches from trees and bushes ready for picking. Berries to me are summer mornings spent listening to kids laughing, eating as much as you pick, and chins and fingers sticky with juice. They're about long drives in the country with the windows down and sunroof open, arms in the wind and sun, and children asleep in the back seat.

Or at least that's what they are to me.

Working Girl

So because I have SO much free time, I've taken another job writing for the Kalamazoo Weekly News. It's a free paper, distributed throughout the Kalamazoo county area, and is available by subscription for the cost of the shipping. Please check it out, forward your story suggestions, and offer your comments.

World Breastfeeding Week

World breastfeeding week will be celebrated August 1st to 7th this year. Even if you're not breastfeeding, you can help those who are by encouraging and supporting their breastfeeding journey. Please support this important and lifesaving initiative. I am!

Eye on the Homefront

I don’t want to beat a dead horse here but the economy – yeah well, it sucks. Millions of Americans are feeling the pinch, and though I’ve tried to put it off as long as possible, I’m worried too. I’m concerned for our local economy – the small business struggling to survive in our area and the talented, unemployed folks in our town who will be forced to search for work elsewhere if the status quo doesn’t change.

So what can you do to show your support? Simple. Keep your dollars in your town. Buy local if at all possible, and as directly from the producer as you can. Sure, it’s going to cost you a little more, but I’d rather invest a little more into the health of my hometown then send one more cent overseas.

Breaking News

What's going on with the whole gossip is news phenomenon we've got going on today? A funeral for an accused (and later cleared) child molester is the topic of most note today, while real news like the President's overseas goodwill missions or the end to the terror inflicted by a serial killer gets buried some stories back. Heck, I'm even giving it more press by talking about it!

Wistful thinking

Laurie was right. Snuzzy IS my new favorite site.

Winds of Change

Today I'm proud to be an American; proud to witness this historic moment and excited and thankful my daughter has been born in this amazing era.

Congratulations to our president elect, and congratulations to the people of America - it is you, and only you, who are responsible for this change.

PSA

Get out and vote.

Fall is my favorite season. Not only is it the season of my birthday, fresh donuts and cider, finally cooler temperatures, agricultural bounty, but it's also the start of the holiday season and the time for my favorite annual publications - the thanksgiving editions of the food magazines. Oh there's nothing better - it's food porn and I'm an addict. I love the pictures decorating the shiny pages of perfect food; golden turkeys, fluffy potatoes, browned casseroles, vibrantly colored vegetables.

My addiction to Thanksgiving isn't limited to the food. The seasonal decorations and the table settings are also a focus of my addiction. Autumnal colored linens, elegant holiday china, cornucopias, leaves, pumpkins and gourds, mums; I can't get enough. I hit the store to collect all the Thanksgiving editions of magazines I don't already subscribe to (yes, there are ones that I don't subscribe to thankyouverymuch), then I head to the library to check out all the cookbooks they have too. I plot and plan the menu, the table, the snacks, and the dessert with my mom and sister beginning more than a month in advance - discussing holiday menus past and assigning items for preparation.

This year we have an additional reason to be excited (and thankful) - two new family members trying holiday food for the first time (well, one actually trying it herself, one trying it second hand).

We have favorite dishes that return yearly to grace the holiday table (sausage stuffing, sweet potato casserole) and new items being tested for the first time. What are favorites on your holiday table?

Hi. I'm new here.

Shut up and eat your greens

So the government has decided to allow irradiation of your food. OMG! What should you do?

Hysteria!?

Mass pandemonium!?

Riots!?

Hmmm....Too much effort, too little return.

Maybe instead..

Urban homesteading? Buying local? Joining a CSA?

Better...but still requires actual thought and effort. I like to sit on my bum in front of the computer.

Whatever could you do?

How about exercising your constitutional right to do what we do best... Complain! The FDA is currently allowing a 30 day comment period on its new ruling to allow irradiation of commercially grown leafy greens (to begin in September). The information is out there - educate yourself and let the man know what you think.

(Hey, I'm biased, but I'm not against freedom of information. Check out this info too.
Yummy radiation
Shut up and eat your toxic greens
But we promise it's safe (winkwink)
I'm no robot
More shit disturbing

Oh, and BTW, the reason we have to fry our food is because commercial production is in short, nasty. Any wonder why this requirement was suggested by commercial food producers??

Revisiting a basic lesson

With rising gas prices capping now where in sight and well paying jobs moving into the past, many people in my town have turned to a new form of transportation. Their bicycle. Bikes are great. They're small, easy to park, manuverable, free to operate, self cooled (who doesn't like the wind in their hair), and offer an added benefit of providing the operator exercise. Operated according to the applicable laws and with the proper protective equipment (reflectors, lights for riding in the dark, a helmet worn by the operator) bikes are a safe and efficient method of transportation. Well, relatively safe. Unfortunately there seems to be a certain segment of the population who have forgotten that basic Kindergarden lesson called sharing. So let's review sharing as it relates to the road.

1) You do not "own" the road. The road is owned by the city/township/municipality/county and the citizens who reside there. And since we all pay taxes to use the road, whether we're walking, biking, or driving, we have as much right as you to be there.
2) Speed limits are posted for a reason. While you may not care about your safety (and frankly neither do we), we do care about the safety of everyone else on the road, so drive within the speed limits and keep them safe.
2.5) Driving with intoxicated/impaired/flat out drunk is illegal for a reason. Again, while you may not care about your safety, it's usually not the drunkard who gets hurt. If you're drunk, stay off the road.
3) Yelling obsenities is inappropriate, no matter how stressed/angry/tired/much of a jerk you are.

My hubby rides his bike to work, and I've been known pre-pregnancy to ride mine to run errands or to avoid having to find parking. I've had friends that have been hit by cars while riding their bikes, and I'm a daily witness to people harassing/disrespecting/endangering bikers (and everyone else on the road) with their inability to share the road and agressive driving.

A bicyclist was hit early this morning and killed on Sprinkle road by a driver (and alcohol is suspected to be a factor). Please, let's have this be the last one.

How to make your businss warm and fuzzy the Walmart way

I'm not a Walmart shopper so I'm a little behind in their logo rebranding news but here's an interesting article on how their logo change is being analyzed.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10424677/1/small-biz-change-your-logo-like-wal-mart.html

Home Gardening on the rise

Check out this article on the rise in home gardening from GMPro.

http://branchsmith.typepad.com/project_green_industry/2008/07/home-gardens-ga.html

Hear ye, Hear ye

I have a new water softener and I'm excited. Which is kind of sad now that I think about it. I still remember the days (thankfully pregnancy brain hasn't caused me to forget everything) when I was excited for new Barbies, Christmas presents, first dates, and gossip. Now all it takes for me to get worked up is my husband doing chores, new water softeners, and reruns of Law & Order. Oh, and not having to work tomorrow (but who wouldn't find that exciting.)

The hubby will be having a birthday this weekend, which I still think is exciting though he's insisting he doesn't want to celebrate. I don't understand this refusal to have fun on birthdays thing that's come up lately. I mean, think about the alternative. Sound more fun? Didn't think so. So suck it up and have a good time. In my opinion you're lucky to have one.

The only downer to this birthday-shmirthday jazz was the following conversation I had with the hubby (recorded below for your shock and appall).

Crappy Hubby: "You realize I'm still going to be in my twenties when you're in your thirties?"
Fantastically Irritated Me: "Yes. Thanks for the reminder."
Crappy Hubby: "And you're going to be in your fourties while I'm still in my thirties?"
Fantastically More Irritated Me: "Do you want to see this birthday that's coming up or are you looking to end it right here?"

No one likes to be reminded of their own mortality.

Suckerpunch

Let's get one thing straight. I don't believe that all problems can be solved with violence, nor do I believe it should be a solution even considered in the majority of situations. I do believe that education and appropriate consequences are the best and most effective solution in most situations. However, there are a few situations where I find a straight up punch in the face to be the most effective method for dealing with the offending parties.

1. Animal abuse (see this article)
2. Spousal or child abuse
3. If nothing else works

Seriously though. If you think abusing animals is fun, or you believe in doing it just because you can, you deserve to have everyone you meet punch you in the face until you realize what a j--k a-s you are. And if you don't realize it, well you'll still get what's coming to you.

Question

What does a loving wife get for a husband who claims he wants nothing for his birthday (but Jack's Naturally rising crust pizza and corn)?

Life is beautiful

Not much to report on of late. I enjoyed a fantastic Friday lounging at the beach with my fellow bloghers JoJotheKnitster and Punk Rock HR, as well as my fantastic hubby, who insisted on driving the gas guzzler as the check engine light is once again on in the vdub. A minor irritation however I'll let it slide as long as it continues to get me where I need to go on 28 mpg.

After our beachisode we were desperately in need of snacks and beverages so we headed to the Idler to waste the rest of our day in nothing to do luxury with our much more motivated friends (who had just woken up from a nap after biking the 34 miles from Kalamazoo to South Haven). And I thought waddling my phat pregnant ass around all day was tough.

I just took a glance around and noticed laziness seems to have taken over my household this evening. (And shakiness apparently has overtaken my arm.)

This cracks me up

Let's play a game

First I totally admit this post is stolen from Notes from the Garden Spot of the World.

Next, let's play this game. I love to read - love it- and am always reading something. Last week it was The Bradley Method of Childbirth, over the weekend it was Eat Pray Love and Super Natural Cooking and this week it's Family Dinners.

The following list of books are the top 106 books tagged "unread" at LibraryThing . Let's see how well read we are.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Crime and Punishment
Wuthering Heights
Catch-22
The Silmarillion
Don Quixote
The Odyssey
The Brothers Karamazov
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
War and Peace
A Tale of Two Cities
Jane Eyre
The Name of the Rose
Moby Dick
Emma
The Iliad
Vanity Fair
Love in the Time of Cholera
The Blind Assassin
Pride and Prejudice
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian: A Novel
The Kite Runner
Great Expectations
Life of Pi
The Time Traveler's Wife
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Atlas Shrugged
Foucault's Pendulum
Dracula
The Grapes of Wrath
Frankenstein
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Mrs. Dalloway
Sense and Sensibility
Middlemarch
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
The Count of Monte Cristo
Memoirs of a Geisha
The Sound and the Fury
Brave New World
Quicksilver
American Gods
Middlesex
The Poisonwood Bible
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Dune
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
The Satanic Verses
Mansfield Park
Gulliver's Travels
The Three Musketeers
The Inferno
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Fountainhead
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
To the Lighthouse
A Clockwork Orange
Robinson Crusoe
Persuasion
The Scarlet Letter
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Once and Future King
Anansi Boys
Atonement
The God of Small Things
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Cryptonomicon
Dubliners
Oryx and Crake
Angela's Ashes
Beloved
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
In Cold Blood
Lady Chatterley's Lover
A Confederacy of Dunces
Les Misérables
The Amber Spyglass
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Watership Down
Beowulf
The Aeneid
A Farewell to Arms
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
Sons and Lovers
Possession
The Book Thief
The history of Tom Jones
The Road
Tender is the Night
The War of the Worlds