I've been reading Garrison Keillor's Life among the Lutherans. It's a collection of his weekly Lake Wobegon updates that all have a story about the Lutherans of the town. I came across a paragraph last night that I wanted to share. I was eating my free Punch Pizza and texting with Josh, who, earlier in the day, had wrapped up the financial arbitration portion of his divorce. I thought it was apropos.
Marital Memorial Day
...and then Arlene looked up over her coffee and said, "You know, there ought to be a Memorial Day for marriages."
"A what?" he said.
"A Memorial Day when we honor those who have been divorced. Our noble fallen."
"Well," he said, "I can think of a few divorced people I wouldn't care to honor."
"Oh," she said, "there were plenty of men who got killed in wars who probably had it coming to them, too, but that's not the point. Marriage is noble. It's admirable and brave and very idealistic for anyone to ever imagine they could live with another person all their life - it's much nobler than going to war and more dangerous - and in the course of things some marriages crash, and others, like ours, pull through, and you know it could've been just just as well as them, so why blame people who failed? All you do is encourage young people to imagine they can learn to avoid mistakes, and that's crazy - life happens to everybody, so why shouldn't there be an event where people who believe in monogamy honor those who tried and went down?"
"Where are you going to hold this?" he asked. "At church?"
She looked at him coolly. "Of course. That's where they got the idea to get married in the first place. Of course it should be in a church. Why not?"
They hadn't gotten much sleep that night, so they took naps that day, and she didn't mention the Marital Memorial Day idea to him again, but he thought about it. He thought, "This could be the idea that, if a brought it up at a church board meeting, would cause them to thank me for my many years of service and I wouldn't have to fund-raise anymore."
I like the idea, but my favorite part was the husband's idea that by bringing this up, he could avoid future church functions. :)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Wordless Wednesday
Monday, November 14, 2011
Critters
I sent this email to my landlord this evening with the subject, "Scoreboard."
------------------
Allison: 1
Mouse: 0
He met his demise in the trap under the radiator in the kitchen. I will keep you updated if the score changes...
-------------------
------------------
Allison: 1
Mouse: 0
He met his demise in the trap under the radiator in the kitchen. I will keep you updated if the score changes...
-------------------
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Quest for Greatness
So Rudi told me about her Quest for Greatness Mediocrity and I thought I'd hop on that bandwagon. I'm slowly recovering from a horrific back injury and it's about time that I start adding exercise into my eating routine.
It is officially 1/3 of the way through November and I've worked out every single day (including Oct 31)! There have been a few days when I totally planned on going to the gym, but instead went home. Lucky for us Minnesotans, November has been downright mild and I've been able to take walks around the 'hood. Yesterday's 37-min/500 calorie walk included a hike down and then back up Ramsey Hill. About halfway up the hill I was starting to think that it was a bad idea... But I got to the top and thought that, come spring, that will be a good workout. I may even jog up it! (HA)
Today's workout (and most days' workout) was the elliptical at the gym. 30-40 minutes, Dr. Oz and Kare 11 news, and a Minnesota Monthly help to keep me plodding along. I'm pretty sure I can keep this going through the entire month and it's a good challenge! It's feasible and anyone can do it. Go for a walk, rake some leaves, deep-clean the bathroom - anything to get your heart rate up and burn 200 cals. Do it!
Calories burned November 1-10: 4,524 (an average of 452 cals/day)
It is officially 1/3 of the way through November and I've worked out every single day (including Oct 31)! There have been a few days when I totally planned on going to the gym, but instead went home. Lucky for us Minnesotans, November has been downright mild and I've been able to take walks around the 'hood. Yesterday's 37-min/500 calorie walk included a hike down and then back up Ramsey Hill. About halfway up the hill I was starting to think that it was a bad idea... But I got to the top and thought that, come spring, that will be a good workout. I may even jog up it! (HA)
Today's workout (and most days' workout) was the elliptical at the gym. 30-40 minutes, Dr. Oz and Kare 11 news, and a Minnesota Monthly help to keep me plodding along. I'm pretty sure I can keep this going through the entire month and it's a good challenge! It's feasible and anyone can do it. Go for a walk, rake some leaves, deep-clean the bathroom - anything to get your heart rate up and burn 200 cals. Do it!
Calories burned November 1-10: 4,524 (an average of 452 cals/day)
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Three Things Thursday
Well, it's been awhile. School has been hectic, but now with tennis being over, I'm finding a *tad* more time for myself.
1. Rudi and I decided to get back in the exercise/eating well routine on Oct 31. Our goal is to burn at least 200 calories per day in November. So far, so good, but it's only Nov. 3rd. I stepped on the scale and it hasn't budged since last Saturday when I dared step on it for the first time in months. A debilitating back injury and nerve issue has caused me to postpone my tennis-playing until the spring. Halloween was the first day back at the gym since I threw out my back in mid-September. It went really well and my back is holding together nicely (knock on wood). I'm even up to 3 weeks between chiropractor visits. He promised me that one day I'll be back to 3 months. Sure, Tom, sure.
2. I've had Eleanor Roosevelt's autobiography now for a week past when it was due. I needed to write down the quotes that I liked thus far in the book. There aren't as many good quotes as from her Learn By Living book, but it's still a good read. I fear I will have to return it and read the two books I borrowed from the library yesterday - one about the New Deal and another from Garrison Keillor about life among the Lutherans. That should be a quickie - it's pretty short. I'm on chapter 23 in the autobiography, which is a good place to stop and start up again later. I need to start reading every night before I go to bed.
"Somewhere along the line of development we discover what we really are, and then we make our real decision for which we are responsible. Make that decision primarily for yourself because you can never really live anyone else's life, not even your child's. The influence you exert is through your own life and what you become yourself." - Introduction
"I realize now it would have been better to have devoted the time which I gave to hockey to learning to play tennis, which would have been more useful to me later on." - Adolescence, pg. 23
"But the thing he felt most strongly was that there was a vitality in the people that could be slavaged. I believe it was from his faith in the people that he drew the words of his first inaugural address: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - I Learn to Be a President's Wife, pg. 162
"Nothing we learn in this world is ever wasted and I have come to the conclusion that practically nothing we do ever stands by itself. If it is good, it will serve some good purpose in the future. if it is evil it may haunt us and handicap our efforts in unimagined ways." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 180
"Not only his old friends but with various other people my husband had frequent run-ins over the new theory that government had a responsibility to the people. I remember that when Senator Carter Glass insisted that Virginia needed no relief, Franklin suggested that he take a drive with him to see some of the bad spots. The senator never accepted his invitation." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 181
"Soil conservation and forestry work went forward, recreation areas were built, and innumerable bridges, schools, hospitals, and sanitation projects were constructed - lasting monuments to the good work done under these agencies. It is true they cost the people of the country vast sums of money, but they did a collective good and left tangible results which are evident today. They pulled the country out of the depression and made it possible for us to fight the greatest and most expensive war in our history." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 182 (speaking about the PWA, CWA, and CCC)
"Franklin said he thought people had to prepare themselves, that all he could do was to give them the opportunities and see how they worked out." - Second Term: 1939-1940, pg. 214
3. So last night my doorbell started ringing at 6:15 pm. I never answer my doorbell bc if someone's coming to see me and I want to see them, they would have texted or called me. The doorbell rang incessently so I ducked out my back stairwell and walked down the alley, around to the front of the house. It was some middle-aged white guy with glasses and khakis. He had papers in his hands. I thought perhaps that he was wringing the wrong doorbell and he meant to serve papers to the tenants below me. So I walked around a bit and then noticed that he was gone. When I got back to my apartment, there were papers under my door. Turns out the building is being foreclosed. The sheriff's sale is December 1 and they have until the 11th to pay what is owed. If they don't, then the renters are out in six months. At first I was disgruntled that my landlord didn't advise me of this. Then I thought - sweet!! If I get that short sale, this could be my loophole! I emailed my landlord and he apologized for the scare and said that he had just talked with the owners and they are taking care of it. In the meantime, my landlord/his company will continue to fix things, etc. So either I have to finish out my lease or I am allowed to move out in June. I win either way.
1. Rudi and I decided to get back in the exercise/eating well routine on Oct 31. Our goal is to burn at least 200 calories per day in November. So far, so good, but it's only Nov. 3rd. I stepped on the scale and it hasn't budged since last Saturday when I dared step on it for the first time in months. A debilitating back injury and nerve issue has caused me to postpone my tennis-playing until the spring. Halloween was the first day back at the gym since I threw out my back in mid-September. It went really well and my back is holding together nicely (knock on wood). I'm even up to 3 weeks between chiropractor visits. He promised me that one day I'll be back to 3 months. Sure, Tom, sure.
2. I've had Eleanor Roosevelt's autobiography now for a week past when it was due. I needed to write down the quotes that I liked thus far in the book. There aren't as many good quotes as from her Learn By Living book, but it's still a good read. I fear I will have to return it and read the two books I borrowed from the library yesterday - one about the New Deal and another from Garrison Keillor about life among the Lutherans. That should be a quickie - it's pretty short. I'm on chapter 23 in the autobiography, which is a good place to stop and start up again later. I need to start reading every night before I go to bed.
"Somewhere along the line of development we discover what we really are, and then we make our real decision for which we are responsible. Make that decision primarily for yourself because you can never really live anyone else's life, not even your child's. The influence you exert is through your own life and what you become yourself." - Introduction
"I realize now it would have been better to have devoted the time which I gave to hockey to learning to play tennis, which would have been more useful to me later on." - Adolescence, pg. 23
"But the thing he felt most strongly was that there was a vitality in the people that could be slavaged. I believe it was from his faith in the people that he drew the words of his first inaugural address: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - I Learn to Be a President's Wife, pg. 162
"Nothing we learn in this world is ever wasted and I have come to the conclusion that practically nothing we do ever stands by itself. If it is good, it will serve some good purpose in the future. if it is evil it may haunt us and handicap our efforts in unimagined ways." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 180
"Not only his old friends but with various other people my husband had frequent run-ins over the new theory that government had a responsibility to the people. I remember that when Senator Carter Glass insisted that Virginia needed no relief, Franklin suggested that he take a drive with him to see some of the bad spots. The senator never accepted his invitation." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 181
"Soil conservation and forestry work went forward, recreation areas were built, and innumerable bridges, schools, hospitals, and sanitation projects were constructed - lasting monuments to the good work done under these agencies. It is true they cost the people of the country vast sums of money, but they did a collective good and left tangible results which are evident today. They pulled the country out of the depression and made it possible for us to fight the greatest and most expensive war in our history." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 182 (speaking about the PWA, CWA, and CCC)
"Franklin said he thought people had to prepare themselves, that all he could do was to give them the opportunities and see how they worked out." - Second Term: 1939-1940, pg. 214
3. So last night my doorbell started ringing at 6:15 pm. I never answer my doorbell bc if someone's coming to see me and I want to see them, they would have texted or called me. The doorbell rang incessently so I ducked out my back stairwell and walked down the alley, around to the front of the house. It was some middle-aged white guy with glasses and khakis. He had papers in his hands. I thought perhaps that he was wringing the wrong doorbell and he meant to serve papers to the tenants below me. So I walked around a bit and then noticed that he was gone. When I got back to my apartment, there were papers under my door. Turns out the building is being foreclosed. The sheriff's sale is December 1 and they have until the 11th to pay what is owed. If they don't, then the renters are out in six months. At first I was disgruntled that my landlord didn't advise me of this. Then I thought - sweet!! If I get that short sale, this could be my loophole! I emailed my landlord and he apologized for the scare and said that he had just talked with the owners and they are taking care of it. In the meantime, my landlord/his company will continue to fix things, etc. So either I have to finish out my lease or I am allowed to move out in June. I win either way.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Is Tennis Over Yet?, My Birthday, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
We are now in the fourth week of school. Tennis will be done for JV/C tomorrow, after we get annihilated by Centennial. Team sections for varsity are Oct 6, with individuals following that. This is the first time I've had to stay on and help the varsity, as a JV/C coach. I'm about done with tennis. I threw my back out a week ago and my left foot and ankle are still numb, which has never happened before. This makes tennis, standing or coaching, uncomfortable. I'm also starting to get a little sick, most likely bc I have yet to fall into a daily pattern that involves a few Nalgenes of water. Simply put, I need a break. Today was the first rain cancellation that we've had all season and I'm very thankful for it. I have a chiropractor appointment at 3 and then I'm headed home for the first school day all year. I'm planning on snuggling up on the couch with some TiVo.
The four weeks have gone by super fast though. Every weekend has been jam-packed and this weekend will be no different, aside from one slight detail...someone is turning 32! I'm keeping it low-key this year and have just planned a trip to the magic table on the West Side, some cuppycakes, appetizers, a fire, and some beers. For my actual birthday, I'll be working at Lifetime and then maybe I'll watch some football and have a nommy birthday dinner. Not sure, but that sounds like a good plan to me. My birthday present to myself is to try out acupuncture on Saturday morning - fun!
In the past two months I've been reading a lot of Eleanor Roosevelt. I read My Year With Eleanor and while I didn't care for the author, I've very much enjoyed getting to know ER. I read Learn by Living and liked it so much that I bought it for Josh and highlighted all of my favorite passages. I also requested a copy for myself for my birthday. I'm currently reading her autobiography, but it's quite lengthy and I'm on renewal #3 at the library. I may end up buying that one as well...
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Learn by Living:
I find that life is much more satisfactory when it forms a kind of pattern, though I do not believe in too rigid a pattern. In the first place, you will create a pretty uninteresting and sterile atmosphere if everything is set so rigidly that it cannot be changed. Inflexibility will make your life an unnecessary burden and it will also make it dull. Worst of all, it will make you a burden to other people. (pg. 51)
I think one of the basic things to recognize is that the only valuable development is the development of an individual. If you try to change that individual so that he loses his personality, you have done something that has destroyed the most important thing about a human being, his essential difference from anybody else. Any one of us who tries to make someone over and force him into an image of what we think he should be, rather than encourage him to develop along his own lines, is doing a dangerous thing. (pg. 69)
Not to arrive at a clear understanding of one's own values is a tragic waste. You have missed the whole point of what life is for. (pg. 73)
Unhappiness is an inward, not an outward, thing. It is as independent of circumstances as is happiness. Consider the truly happy people you know. I think it is unlikely that you will find that circumstances have made them happy. They have made themselves happy in spite of circumstances. (pg. 82)
Human relationships, like life itself, can never remain static. They grow or they diminish. But, in either case, they change. Our emotional interests, our intellectual pursuits, our personal preoccupations, all change. So do those of our friends. So the relationship that binds us together must change too; it must be flexible enough to meet the alterations of person and circumstance. (pg. 86)
To respect one's fellow men is perhaps more difficult that to "love" them in a wide, vague sense. In fact, it is possible that to feel respect for mankind is better than to feel love for it. Love can often be misguided and do as much harm as good, but respect can do only good. It assumes that the other person's stature is as large as one's own, his rights as reasonable, his needs as important. (pg. 102)
Your ambition should be to get as much life out of living as you possibly can, as much enjoyment, as much interest, as much experience, as much understanding. Not simply to be what is generally called "a success." (pg. 118)
This is your life, not someone else's. It is your own feeling of what is important, not what people will say. Sooner or later, you are bound to discover that you cannot please all of the people around you all of the time. Some of them will attribute to you motives you never dreamed of. Some of them will misinterpret your words and actions, making them completely alien to you. So you had better learn fairly early that you must not expect to have everyone understand what you say and what you do.
The important thing is to be sure that those who love you, whether family or friends, understand as nearly as you can make them understand. If they believe in you, they will trust your motives. But do not ask or expect to have anyone with you on everything. Do not try for it. To reach such a state of unanimity would mean that you would risk losing your own individuality to attain it.
I never can understand why so many people are afraid to live their own lives as they themselves think is right. You can get rid of your neighbors but you cannot get rid of yourself, so you are the person to be satisfied. (pgs. 124-125)
Why should we shy away with shame from having made a mistake? No human being is all-wise; no human being always lives up to the best that he is capable of. Failure comes to everyone, except when one does nothing at all, which in itself is a failure. All we can do is to be honest with ourselves, be humble and try, as we gain wisdom, to rectify our mistakes and possibly to avoid some of them. (pg. 154)
For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, "It can't be done." (pg. 168)
I think she's a pretty neat lady and I'm excited to read and learn more about her.
The four weeks have gone by super fast though. Every weekend has been jam-packed and this weekend will be no different, aside from one slight detail...someone is turning 32! I'm keeping it low-key this year and have just planned a trip to the magic table on the West Side, some cuppycakes, appetizers, a fire, and some beers. For my actual birthday, I'll be working at Lifetime and then maybe I'll watch some football and have a nommy birthday dinner. Not sure, but that sounds like a good plan to me. My birthday present to myself is to try out acupuncture on Saturday morning - fun!
In the past two months I've been reading a lot of Eleanor Roosevelt. I read My Year With Eleanor and while I didn't care for the author, I've very much enjoyed getting to know ER. I read Learn by Living and liked it so much that I bought it for Josh and highlighted all of my favorite passages. I also requested a copy for myself for my birthday. I'm currently reading her autobiography, but it's quite lengthy and I'm on renewal #3 at the library. I may end up buying that one as well...
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Learn by Living:
I find that life is much more satisfactory when it forms a kind of pattern, though I do not believe in too rigid a pattern. In the first place, you will create a pretty uninteresting and sterile atmosphere if everything is set so rigidly that it cannot be changed. Inflexibility will make your life an unnecessary burden and it will also make it dull. Worst of all, it will make you a burden to other people. (pg. 51)
I think one of the basic things to recognize is that the only valuable development is the development of an individual. If you try to change that individual so that he loses his personality, you have done something that has destroyed the most important thing about a human being, his essential difference from anybody else. Any one of us who tries to make someone over and force him into an image of what we think he should be, rather than encourage him to develop along his own lines, is doing a dangerous thing. (pg. 69)
Not to arrive at a clear understanding of one's own values is a tragic waste. You have missed the whole point of what life is for. (pg. 73)
Unhappiness is an inward, not an outward, thing. It is as independent of circumstances as is happiness. Consider the truly happy people you know. I think it is unlikely that you will find that circumstances have made them happy. They have made themselves happy in spite of circumstances. (pg. 82)
Human relationships, like life itself, can never remain static. They grow or they diminish. But, in either case, they change. Our emotional interests, our intellectual pursuits, our personal preoccupations, all change. So do those of our friends. So the relationship that binds us together must change too; it must be flexible enough to meet the alterations of person and circumstance. (pg. 86)
To respect one's fellow men is perhaps more difficult that to "love" them in a wide, vague sense. In fact, it is possible that to feel respect for mankind is better than to feel love for it. Love can often be misguided and do as much harm as good, but respect can do only good. It assumes that the other person's stature is as large as one's own, his rights as reasonable, his needs as important. (pg. 102)
Your ambition should be to get as much life out of living as you possibly can, as much enjoyment, as much interest, as much experience, as much understanding. Not simply to be what is generally called "a success." (pg. 118)
This is your life, not someone else's. It is your own feeling of what is important, not what people will say. Sooner or later, you are bound to discover that you cannot please all of the people around you all of the time. Some of them will attribute to you motives you never dreamed of. Some of them will misinterpret your words and actions, making them completely alien to you. So you had better learn fairly early that you must not expect to have everyone understand what you say and what you do.
The important thing is to be sure that those who love you, whether family or friends, understand as nearly as you can make them understand. If they believe in you, they will trust your motives. But do not ask or expect to have anyone with you on everything. Do not try for it. To reach such a state of unanimity would mean that you would risk losing your own individuality to attain it.
I never can understand why so many people are afraid to live their own lives as they themselves think is right. You can get rid of your neighbors but you cannot get rid of yourself, so you are the person to be satisfied. (pgs. 124-125)
Why should we shy away with shame from having made a mistake? No human being is all-wise; no human being always lives up to the best that he is capable of. Failure comes to everyone, except when one does nothing at all, which in itself is a failure. All we can do is to be honest with ourselves, be humble and try, as we gain wisdom, to rectify our mistakes and possibly to avoid some of them. (pg. 154)
For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, "It can't be done." (pg. 168)
I think she's a pretty neat lady and I'm excited to read and learn more about her.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Chilly Weather
Right now it is a chilly 52 degrees in St. Paul. This morning it was in the 40s and I had purposely left all of the windows open overnight. When I woke up my room was nice and chilly. It reminded me of Tutu's bedroom and that made me smile.
Tonight there is a frost advisory, but most likely it won't hit the Cities. The suburbs may feel the freeze though.
Yesterday Comcast installed my cable and high speed internet and I couldn't be happier! TiVo is currently recording and I can now upload all of the State Fair pics to Facebook via reliable internet. All is right with the world.
I'm extremely happy, tired, and content right now with every aspect of my life. Actually, I'm just tired from work. I could use a nice long summer break right about now! I have a bunch of fun things planned this week and I'm looking forward to the Autumn Brew Review with some of my best buddies on Saturday.
So now I'm going to crash on the couch with my comforter, blankies, and some mindless TV. Tired, but content.
Tonight there is a frost advisory, but most likely it won't hit the Cities. The suburbs may feel the freeze though.
Yesterday Comcast installed my cable and high speed internet and I couldn't be happier! TiVo is currently recording and I can now upload all of the State Fair pics to Facebook via reliable internet. All is right with the world.
I'm extremely happy, tired, and content right now with every aspect of my life. Actually, I'm just tired from work. I could use a nice long summer break right about now! I have a bunch of fun things planned this week and I'm looking forward to the Autumn Brew Review with some of my best buddies on Saturday.
So now I'm going to crash on the couch with my comforter, blankies, and some mindless TV. Tired, but content.
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