The More Things Change...The More They Stay The Same

This is just a random musing...call it my Thursday thought.

Why does it seem that there are things, situations, etc. in life that are continually changing but without problem resolution? Here is the example that led to this random thought today.

Today is trash day. So what? "Why is that a big deal", you may be thinking.

In the xx years I have owned a home, I have never had a great experience with trash day. First we had the bags that were set out at the curb the night before. These were often torn into by dogs, cats, cougars....I don't know, but inevitably on trash morning, the trash was strewn all over the street and yard. The answer seemed simple, set out the trash in the morning. Now, I don't know how it works in your neighborhood, but I never know when trash collection will be taking place. Sometimes, the trash will sit until dark...of course in that case the cougars have all day to feast on the contents of my garbage.

Other days, I swear it is the middle of the night, and we begin to hear the rumblings and Beep! Beep! Beep! You know what I mean. DH and I leap from the bed and scramble out through the garage, barely dressed, to lug the bags to the end of the driveway. Sometimes I think the garbage collectors pull this stunt just to see all of us running from our homes half naked with bags in tow. My mother's admonishment about wearing appropriate clothing to bed, "Just in case there is a house fire" runs through my head.

The benefit of the bags were that you could hide anything in them. Now before you judge, I stive to be green as much as anyone. BUT....sometimes you just have to throw things away! McDonalds toys, children's artwork and schoolwork (GASP! Not ALL of it! ), Hubby's "More Cowbell" T-shirt with Will Farrell on the front...you get the picture! I have become more careful since throwing out a pair of muddy old football cleats in the back of DH's closet. Turns out, they were from a particularly stunning high school performance where he claimed the school record for the number of yards rushed...YEP...his nameplate is still up at the school!

Now the bags could be placed in a can, however...Trash Day=Windiest Day of the Week Day! Hence, the flying trash can lid. These lids pose a hazard to cars, windows and small people standing at the school bus stop. If the lid was not properly sealed by the homeowner, the contents of their can could end up a mile away or in the next door neighbor's lawn. "Looks like the Smiths like their Bud Light!" Even if the lid was properly closed when set out, the garbage collectors do not care about order. I have spent mornings watching them pull the lids off, dump the trash, and then throw the lid into the yard, driveway, and even the street. Once, my lid was thrown into the truck by mistake. I happened to be watching, Yes...sometimes I stalk the garbage collectors. He tossed the bags and lid together into the compactor and then, as if realizing his error, he looked around and shrugged! "Not my problem!" he seemed to say. Therefore, trash day became the one day of the week for excercise (chasing the lids and trash) and conversation with neighbors..."Is this your lid?" "Nope...looks like the Smith's" "No, their lid is green. The black one goes to the Martins." "Looks like the Clarks had a big party last night!" You get the idea.

Finally, the city came up with a solution...the fancy cart style can with attached lid that can be lifted by a truck. The issue with this is the letter of rules that came with the cart. The cart may only be lifted by the truck. Therefore, no garbage collector will actually lift a cart, or trash bag. All trash must be placed in the cart. Sounds easy right? In a family of five, three being teenagers, we have a LOT of weekly trash. We tried testing this rule by putting one extra bag of garbage right beside the cart. I lurked with my cup of coffee on trash day. YEP...they were right. Not one "trash collector" will touch a bag of garbage set outside the cart. They have the guy who runs the truck and "lifts" the cart into the back and then they have the guy who stands beside the truck with his arms crossed "supervising" the lifting of the cart. My measly one bag of garbage sitting next to the cart remained exactly as placed.

This has led to a very funny practice in the neighborhood. Sometimes you can see someone look around and then take an extra bag of garbage to their neighbor's cart, furtively lift the lid and dump it in. Well, the Smith's are empty nesters...they don't use all their cart space. What will it hurt if my trash mingles with theirs? I can only imagine at the stroke of midnight the black yoga pants and hoodies come out as my neighbors look for a semi-empty cart in which to stow their extra bags. Now, I live in a neighborhood that has a famously uptight HOA. This practice of cart dumping has actually led to a letter circulated to all homeowners that this practice will not be tolerated. The fact that in a meeting, this issue was discussed and a formal letter circulated makes me chuckle!

Of course the next logical solution is to pile as many bags on top of the cart as possible. This has become a weekly contest for my DH and DS as the trash duty belongs to them. They push and shove and plot to see how many bags they can fit and still lower the lid on top of the bags (because that is the rule---they have to fit with the lid "on") I think they are up to 6 bags perched precariously on top. The trick here is to be able to stack all of these bags and not have your cart topple with the weight. If it topples, the trash is blown all over the neighborhood again.

Like I said before...the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Now, I have to run, literally. My pizza boxes from last night are headed to the Martins...SIGH!

Morning Mayhem

Mornings are challenging at our household. We are most definitely late night people. Want to start a movie at 11 pm...we are with you. Sleepover parties...not a problem. BUT....try to get us up for school at 6 am and you have a totally different issue. Here is a typical school day in my household.

5:45-my alarm goes off..of course I hit snooze at least twice.

6:05- I yell upstairs "Time to get up!" Not one child stirs or acknowledges that I have spoken. I head for the coffee maker to start my deathly strong brew of life.

6:10-"Really! You all need to get moving!" A few mumbles are heard but no feet hit the floor.

6:20-" I am not joking around here! You need to get up now!" By this time I have taken the dog out, picked up the paper and am pouring my first cup of coffee for the day. I judge my mornings often based upon how many cups are needed to get me going. Is is a 4 cup day? 3? On rare occassions just 1?

6:25-"This is your last call! I am not telling you again!" Generally by this point I begin to hear feet, lights going on and showers beginning to run.

Now mind you the bus comes at 7 am at our house. At this point it becomes a race against the clock to see who can make the bus with lunch bag packed, track and other sports equipment, homework and any miscellaneous items in tow. For anyone who has school aged children you know this list can be endless. It seems like it is always: Crazy Hat Day, Silly Sock Day, Wear School Color Day...need I say more!Breakfast always seems to be the issue. I do not win the award for always feeding my kids a nice hot and healthy breakfast in the morning. They are known to run out the door to catch the bus with a pop tart or granola bar in hand.

Now, before you judge me and offer all kinds of organizational tips, please don't bother! Believe me, I have tried them all. I am extremely organized in most, if not all, other areas of my life. Mornings are just Mayhem! I have tried all the tested and true methods to avoid this chaos. Each night before bed they are supposed to: lay out their clothes, pack their backpacks, put lunch bags together and in the fridge, get athletic bags ready etc. I have purchased loud obnoxious alarms and even threatened to get the one that walks all over the bedroom until you get up and turn it off. They can sleep through them all!

Here is the problem.......MY KIDS ARE ALL TEENAGERS! They thrive off chaos. Of course they do not want me to help in any of the above departments...they have it COVERED! They also do not want suggestions the night before about how to make their morning easier...let the eye rolling commence. If I pack their lunch they will not eat it. If I make a nice breakfast, they just claim they do not have time to eat it. So...I feel trapped in this crazy Morning Mayhem!

This weekend, in one more attempt to push at least a somewhat healthy breakfast, I dusted off an old recipe for 6 week Bran Muffins that I used to make quite frequently. This recipe gets its name from the fact that it makes a large batch of batter that can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.

Here is the recipe:

1 15-20 oz. box of Raisin Bran
3 cups sugar
5 cups flour
5 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
4 eggs
1 qt. buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients in a very large bowl ( I use an old batter bowl from Tupperware). Melt shortening. Cool until room temperature and wisk in eggs. Add to the dry ingredients and thoroughly combine. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use. When ready to bake, fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes approximately 6 dozen.

For the last two days, in between yelling upstairs for them to all get moving, I have made a fresh batch of muffins. Yesterday, they each grabbed one on the way to the bus. After school they wanted to know what those muffins were...they were great! YAY! Today they actually came down a little earlier than usual to get one while it was hot. Check mark for mom!

I don't have any illusions that this will last long. If the past is any indication, it will get old by next week. But for today....my kids have a semi-healthy breakfast!

Oh Brother!

The call came yesterday, right in the middle of an already hectic day. "What are you up to today?" It was my younger brother. He and his wife had come into town to celebrate their anniversary.



Now, I know that some families see each other all the time, but this is not the case with my family. Although I would consider us close, I generally only see my siblings on holidays with the rare exception in between. We all live within a few hours of each other but are busy managing our own families and find it difficult to just catch up with each other.



I did not know that my brother and his wife were coming to town and they were hoping for some of our time. I must be honest, my first thought was, "This is not a good day for this." I had one child headed to a birthday party and we had not yet purchased the gift, another child was getting ready for prom and I was the designated photographer and another child had been patiently waiting for me to proofread her end of the year research paper. To say I was feeling a little overwhelmed was an understatement.



Of course I immediately ammended that thought and invited them to dinner, a movie and to stay overnight. As he accepted my offer, I began to think of the parts of my house that needed to be cleaned up in preparation of their arrival. That is just my nature. I pushed the thoughts aside and went on with the day. As I checked off one thing at a time, I began to think, "I can do this!" By the time I met up with my brother and sister in-law and sat down in the theatre, I could feel the stress melting away.



We laughed through the movie and stayed up late talking. This morning we slept in and spent the day playing board games and just enjoying each other's company. This became a very special day. This is my "baby" brother. He is several years younger than me and was not even a teenager when I left for college. I often feel that I missed out on so much of his life. I didn't go to his high school events and had my first child before he graduated. I love him dearly, but because of our age difference, I sometimes feel very old next to him. I treasure the moments where it is just us connecting to each other.



Because of this day, I have made a commitment to work harder to keep that connection strong between both my brother, my sister and myself. I have realized that once our children are grown and our parents have passed on, siblings are often the last link.



Thanks bro' for the impromtu call and the great weekend! Love you!

Welcome Spring!

Spring has been slowly emerging over the last few weeks. The end of a long, cold winter and the start of a brand new beautiful season. This year, more than most, I have been eagerly awaiting its arrival and examining the progress almost daily. Which tree will begin to flower first? How long will it take for the forsythia to fill out with brilliant yellow? When will my garden herbs become full and fragrant enough to add to my spring salads?







Spring is a time for new beginnings. I love new beginnings! I think my hobbies reflect this. Every new season brings new experiences and new opportunities. My grocery runs have netted, orzo and couscous for great spring salads. I have begun to bring in fresh spinach, asparagus, tomatoes and chicken for the grill. I am looking for snippets of time to head to the botanical gardens to snap photos of new spring growth.



Here is a great spring recipe for that has become a favorite in our household. Try it this weekend with some grilled chicken or salmon...

ORZO SPINACH SALAD

1 lb. orzo pasta, cooked according to package instructions

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1 handful fresh basil, coarsely chopped

1/2-3/4 package fresh spinach leaves, coarsely torn

1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped

8 oz. crumbled feta cheese

2 cloves garlic, chopped

DRESSING:

3/4 c. fresh lemon juice

1 TB. sugar

1 1/4 c. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate at least 1-2 hours to meld flavors. ENJOY!

I enjoy living in an area where I can enjoy the changing seasons. As beautiful as some warm climates are, I would miss this quarterly change. I welcome the chance to start anew four times a year. Soon, I will be embracing shorts and flip flops. I will spend long, lazy days at the lake and drink in the smell of suncreen. Then the crisp cool evenings of fall will creep in with colorful leaves and the scent of bonfire in the air.




But for now, I am happy to welcome spring pushing forward out of the winter.

What's Your Passion?

Over the last few years I have heard talk show hosts, reporters, and authors encourage us to find our passion. It seems that my life will only be complete if i am living out my passion. Well this admonishment has had me stumped for awhile. See, I have passions. The problem, as I see it, is not a lack of passion. in fact, my problem is that I have too many passions!

So then what? None of these so called experts have been able to resolve my questions about how to incoroporate too many passions into an already crazy life. I have found myself over the years dabbling in a little of this and a little of that without fully committing to any.

I have pursued education and completed two degrees in different fields. I enjoy both careers and have difficulty choosing between the two. i have pursued photography, cooking, and scrapbooking to such a degree that I could make each of them a career.

I am an avid reader and anyone who knows me knows that I always have my Kindle charged with plenty of books to keep me well entertained. I have been even been teased that Amazon should pay me a salary for the number of converts I have made to this handy device. I enjoy writing and have the solid beginnings of a fiction novel in place.

I absolutely love to travel and have planned many trips for the family as well as organized some corporate travel events.

What do I do with all of these varied passions? Why can't I simply choose one path? I struggle to give up one hobby in favor of another. This is when the idea of creating a blog occurred to me. By creating a blog, maybe I can inspire others and gain some inspiration for myself.

So...is there anyone out there who enjoys many hobbies and has difficulty selecting? What's your passion?