End of Year Quiz

I started this yesterday and gave up on it and then saw it again when I clicked over to read Sundry's site. She's inviting her readers to share, so I figured it was a sign. It would be super great and awesome and fun and rad if you were to post your own answers, either in the comments or on your own blog! As for me, here goes....

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Ate at Topolobampo. Steve and I had one of the chef's tasting menus, and it was deeeeeeelicious. I also inadvertently stared at Rick Bayless for a while, which was fun and not-at-all embarrassing (I was 7 months pregnant! I had come right from a conference! I was tired, and spacing out!). Apparently Topolo (as those in the know say, according to the website, oh aren't I la-de-dah special?) is/was a favorite of the Obamas. They were not there that night though. If they had been, I am sure I would have been staring like a damn fool for real.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't remember any resolutions, so either I didn't make them or I didn't keep them. This year my goal is to exercise more, and to complete the Couch-to-5k program.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Lots of people! I'll probably forget some, but, in no particular order...Jen and Chien, Jessie and Dave, Ron and Kathie, and Chris and Kim all welcomed little ones in 2008. And...hm. Who else? Oh.....yeah. ME!!! Hooray for the arrival of sweet Benjamin Michael, 7/17/08.

4. Did anyone close to you die? We were lucky enough to avoid losing anyone in our immediate family or circle of friends. Sadly, people whom we care about did deal with loss and tragedy this year.

5. What countries did you visit? Um....the United States? I didn't travel much this year, but hope to change that soon!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Ha. Tenure, but since I'm not up for that until 2011, I don't think that will happen. So...more free time.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Benjamin's birth, and I don't think I need to explain why!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Managing to survive! It was a rough one, with adjusting to life with 2 kids, an unexpected (but ultimately good) job change for Steve,

9. What was your biggest failure? This was going to be the year that I achieved some semblance of work/life balance. I am pretty sure I failed in that regard.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? The only think I can really think of was the allergic reaction (reactions?) to something I had after my c-section surgery. An unexplained head-to-toe rash when one is recovering from surgery is not cool. I need to find out if it was an antibiotic allergy or not, because if it is, that's another whole group of antibiotics I can't take. So I'm crossing my fingers that it was something else!! So, all-in-all, I was pretty fortunate, since that's that comes to mind!

11. What was the best thing you bought? The Prius. I love it. And no, I don't get the optimal gas mileage out of it, since I don't drive long enough distances to work and back, but it's better than I would be getting out of any other mid-sized car in my price range. And, hatchback! I never would have guessed that I would love that so much.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Steve's. He's continuing to impress people around the state/country in his profession, and he has been an awesome dad every day to these boys.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Uhhh. Oh boy. I don't think I can really say. Let's just say that some people exhibited a significant lack of self-awareness this year, and I hope that changes in 2009.

14. Where did most of your money go? Hmmm. House/car/food/baby/clothing, probably in that order. Baby would be more, but hand-me-downs are quite helpful.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Baby! And the presidential election.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Heh. Any Justin Timberlake song. Or any song that evokes mullets and spandex. Because to me, 2008 and 1988 are the same thing.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier, for sure.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner, but last year I was pregnant.
c) richer or poorer? Richer, in just about every way.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Traveled/ate out, even if it were just in Madison or Milwaukee. Relaxed. Slowed down and enjoyed the pregnancy, since it will likely be the last!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worried!

20. How did you spend Christmas? Oooh. This was the first Christmas where we got to spend at least some of it on our own. It was SUPER. So. Finals were done early for me this year (and did not get affected by the snow, lucky me!), so I had two days to get my baking/cooking/wrapping/Xmas cards done, and somehow I managed. On Christmas Eve, we watched the snow fall and hung out at home. When the kids went to bed, Steve and I put out snacks and drinks, and just relaxed together. Christmas Day, we opened presents here over breakfast and then went to my hometown to be with my family. The Saturday after Christmas, we went to Steve's hometown to be with his family. We did NOT do the Steve's-extended-family Christmas Eve celebration, which might have caused his family angst (I don't know, they didn't say anything), but saved our sanity and made the holiday better for our

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Oh, I'm so repetitive, but yes, with my little son.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Mad Men! We caught up with the first and second season on iTunes, and managed to watch the 2nd season finale in real time.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Hate...nope.

24. What was the best book you read? Oh man, I can't remember when I read what. They Marched into Sunlight was a really interesting read, but I don't know if it was the BEST book I read...

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Alexi Murdoch

26. What did you want and get? See, all of this ends up repeating itself. A healthy baby, a Prius, a kitchen scale, a real Christmas tree, Steve home more, stuff like that.

27. What did you want and not get? Hmmm. Well, I am sure there was something, there are always minor wishes that go unfulfilled. But I can't really think of anything major. I was pretty blessed this year.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? Oh please. This is even worse than the books, because i'm not even sure I saw a film from this year! Unless King Corn counts..I like that. Hee.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I don't remember what we did to celebrate...went out to dinner, had a quiet time at home, I think. I remember that my students sang Happy Birthday to me in lab though! That was pretty sweet. Oh, and I was 32.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A state budget without a shortfall? An economy not in collapse? Less stress at work, for sure, but that encompasses many things.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Classic Modern. Not trendy, but not stuffy, probably leaning toward preppy, things I can wear year after year.

32. What kept you sane? My friends and family. Wine club!! Coffee.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Fancy? Or admire? Obama is all right with me, for one!

34. What political issue stirred you the most? There are so many! Science and math literacy in the United States, education funding, health care, equality issues, women's rights, environmental pollution...I can't really pick just one.

35. Who did you miss? Some of my friends from grad school, my advisor.

36. Who was the best new person you met? I think 2008 was more about getting closer to people I already knew. I met lots of cool people, of course, but to narrow it down to one best person is really difficult. Of course, the easy answer is Benjamin, but if you read this far you knew that already! One person I met who really made an impression on me is Maria--I am so insipred by her enthusiasm for life and commitment to living her principles.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. You get out of relationships what you invest in them, and sometimes you have to make not just the first effort, but the second, third, and fourth efforts before that effort is returned. But the wait can be worth it! .

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. It's times like these you learn to live again/ it's times like these you give and give again/it's times like these you learn to love again.

why eat local, part 2

Well okay, I was going to write this way back in...June? When I was writing about strawberries and such. Then I wanted to wait until I had time, and, well, yeah. I still don't have time to write the entry that I wanted to write, but a conversation with Steve about our farmer's market haul inspired this short bit.

A few years ago, I had been reading a lot on blogs/magazines about white peaches. They sounded pretty great, so when I saw white peaches in the grocery store, I bought a pound or so. I took them home, and with great anticipation, had one for lunch. It was....pretty blah. Sort of juicy, but not much flavor at all. "Ah," I thought ruefully, "I've been taken in by another trendy food marketing scheme."

On Saturday, I sent Steve and Matthew to the farmers' market for our weekly produce trip. We had really enjoyed the (yellow) peaches from the week before, so he went back to get more peaches, among other things. He came home with a mix of white and yellow peaches.

Today, for lunch, I had my second white peach. I bit in, with some anticipation, as Steve had told me how good they were when he had one, but also with trepidation, as I remembered my last experience. It was...heaven. A distinctive flavor...softer, more rounded, than the yellow peach, perhaps, with maybe just a blush of a wine or champagne-type flavor. I can see why white peaches are specified for the classic Bellini recipe.

So to the skeptics, those who scoff at the locavore movement, I say this: if the environmental arguments don't convince you, if you aren't really into knowing your farmer and being part of your community, if you think those who are at the forefront of the movement are 60's throwbacks, so be it. I disagree, but I will keep my mouth shut for now. You don't have to buy into that to be convinced. Instead, do this. Go to the farmers' market. Buy the white peaches, or whatever you happen to see that strikes your interest. Take it home. Eat it, slowly, savoring every bite. You won't be sorry.

aaaaaaanother meme!

Yay! You were just waiting for the next one, weren't you??

1. My uncle once got hit by a truck while bicycling down a mountain in Switzerland. He's fine! And awesome.

2. Never in my life have I been more sick of the phrase "hockey mom".

3. When I was five I started kindergarten, and was freaked out by lowercase letters. True story. I could write in caps before kindergarten, but the first day we were shown lowercase, I cried.

4. High school was fine. I wasn't popular, but wasn't an outcast. Actually, our school was both big enough, and tracked --advanced, standard, basic classes--that everyone seemed to find their

5. I will never forget the day all our friends and family were together with us, coming to celebrate from as close as our hometowns and as far as Malaysia. I'll never forget our wedding day! note: I just realized that I had left the old entry's line in here. it was much more dramatic than this. i'm just not that dramatic!

6. Once I met Michael Moore. I taught him how to say "I like wrestling" in Spanish.

7. There’s this boy I know who got me through.

8. Once, at a bar, I laughed harder than I knew I could.

9. By noon, I've probably been more productive than I will for the rest of the day.

10. Last night I made a so-so dinner

11. If only I had more willpower.

12. Next time I go to church might be at the Unitarian Universalist church in town. Otherwise it will probably be for a family event.

13. What worries me most what the future will be like, for my generation and especially for my kids.

14. When I turn my head left I see pillows, and a peace lily.

15. When I turn my head right I see the wall. it's plain, but nice.

16. You know I’m lying, because I can't keep up with it.

17. What I miss most about the Eighties is ...Steve Perry's mullet and leather pants.

18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be...Mercutio. SparkNotes tells me he's sarcastic. I am kidding about the SparkNotes.

19. By this time next year I'd like to have at least one more publication.

20. A better name for me would be Rainbowbrite Mylittlepony. I'm all about branding.

21. I have a hard time understanding people who are against education.

22. If I ever go back to school, I hope it's for something fun, like cooking/baking classes.

23. You know I like you if I let down my guard around you.

24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be Steve.

25. Take my advice, make time for yourself. Even if you are busy. It's not worth the loss of sanity, otherwise.

26. My ideal breakfast is a leisurely one, shared on the porch of a mountain/lake cabin with my husband, and probably good friends. The air is crisp, and the coffee is hot, and the company is good.

27. A song I love but do not have is "Times Like These" by the Foo Fighters.

28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest walking along the lake at sunset.

29. Why won’t people stop making political decisions based on superficial characterizations?

30. If you spend a night at my house I'll show you a low-key, relaxing time, with plenty of food and the drink of your choice, late night chat, and a relaxed breakfast (see above) the next morning.

31. I’d stop my wedding for a family emergency.

32. The world could do without plastic bags and paper towels (note. I do use them, sometimes, sparingly. I am such a hypocrite.)

33. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than join the FLDS church

34. My favorite blondie is...it's a tie! My two boys. Non-family, has to be my friend J.

35. Paper clips are doomed, if I am either stressed or, strangely, on the phone.

36. If I do anything well it’s make sarcastic comments. I asked my husband, and he said "baby-makin'" I don't know if he's complimenting our kids or being a big perv.

37. I can’t help but be a perfectionist.

38. I usually cry at stories of triumph over tragedy or disappointment.

39. My advice to my nephew/niece is: travel; make sure to get out of Fondy, out of Wisconsin--not just for a visit, but live somewhere else for a while. You can always go back if you want. (heh. my nephew is not even one yet. he's got time, I guess)

40. And by the way, it is time for me to go to bed.

boring political post

I haven't had the chance to watch much of the Democratic Convention this week, since I've been wranglin' the kids. But I have been watching clips online. And I remembered something:

I love Mark Warner (senator from Virginia):

"In 4 months we will have an administration that actually believes...in SCIENCE!"

Yay! I'm even more happy that I got to vote for him for governor of VA in 2001. In fact, I'd like WI's current governor to study how Warner dealt with Virginia's budget woes, but that's another story.

Oh joy, it's a meme! Maybe even 2 memes!

I apologize. It's Sunday night, I've been working on creating a class project all day so my brain is fried, I'm drinking cheap red wine (2...uh, 3 buck Chuck!), and so this is all I can manage.

First, the food meme:
Bold means I et it, italics means it hit my gullet and did a reverso, strikethrough means I'd rather go on Fear Factor and get covered in tarantulas.

1. Venison - I'm from Wisconsin, of course I've had this.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile - it really does taste like chicken.
6. Black pudding -
7. Cheese fondue - Our friends D and A got THREE fondue pots for their wedding. Their solution? Return them? Nah...throw a fondue party! Brilliant!!
8. Carp - Ew. When I was a kid, I'd ride my bike to the library. This required going over a bridge over the Fox River--in the shallow part of the river, you could SEE the carp swimming around. Not appetizing.
9. Borscht -
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart -
16. Epoisses -
17. Black truffle- I think it counts if it is truffle cheese.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns -
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes - from our own garden! awesome.
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras -
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese - my mother in law makes this every year for christmas for one of her sons. I think we get off easy...she only makes fruitcake for us.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - but it wasn't ripe. and it was still hot.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters -
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda -
31. Wasabi peas -
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut - See entry 1. From Wisconsin.
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea -
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O -
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala -
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - .
50. Sea urchin - Presumably they mean the roe.
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal - have never even tried it. Huh.
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV - my husband's own barleywine is the best of the genre. no joke.
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin - Kaolin? Like, Kaopectate? Kaolin is clay.
64. Currywurst
65. Durian -
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake-
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain - LOVE plantains
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong -
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky -
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers -
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab -
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox -
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - in the Blue Mountains, even. I would love some of this coffee...but it's expens
100. Snake

56? I fail! Hm. I'm not as adventurous as I thought, perhaps. But I'm not eating a Big Mac, so there.

Ok, now a book meme.

Bold is I've read it, italics is started but unfinished.....

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - I'm so sorry, J!
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien - never had any desire.
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte - again, sorry!!
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible - well, yeah.
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman - I don't get the fuss. Lyra is annoying.
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - oh god. miss havisham!
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare - complete, no. pieces, yes.
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien - nope, nope.
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks - have I ever mentioned that I hate the word "birdsong?" I know, that is weird. But I hate it.
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger -
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald -
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy - I read the Death of Ivan Ilyich though. Does that count? No?
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams -
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky -the whole damn thing.
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll -
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis -
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis - Er, duh, this is one of the Chronicles of Narnia. Who's in charge of this list? Moron.
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne -
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown -
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery -
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan -
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen - ok, so if you are like me, and never read Austen, you're a freak. I get it. I will remedy this!
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth - HA! Let me tell you all about how I read this book. No, wait, where are you going?
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon -
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - darn library due date.
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac -
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding - .
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville -
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson - not his best, but I liked it!
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray -
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro -
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White -
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom - only because my grandma gave it to me. it is not good.
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection -
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery -
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo - I WILL finish this someday!

51! I fail again!

Well that was....a use of some time. Whee!

I never wanted kids....at least, not once I was old enough for it to be a reality. When I was young, I thought--well, I guess someday I'll have kids, but even then, there was no real certainty about it. And there was never any of that little kid attraction to babies. I never really liked playing with dolls--I preferred stuffed animals. I am an only child and only grandchild, so I was never really even around babies. So, I never thought about it.

When I got a little older, I did babysit, but I preferred kids ages 5+. Anything younger than that was boring.

By the time I got through college and into graduate school, I was pretty sure I didn't want kids. Or, if I *did* have kids, I would adopt. Not because of some Angelina Jolie-type altruism, but again, babies--ugh. And pregnancy? Horrified, terrified me...that must be like having some alien parasite in your body (note from 2008-me: Well, actually, it...kind of is. Really is. But at the same time, not so bad). Plus, I wasn't going to think about kids for a loooong time. I had things to do. First, Ph.D. Then, job...preferably at some small liberal arts college, hopefully in a really cool mid-sized city in a gorgeous location somewhere. And once my career was established, I was going to enjoy life...travel, freedom, money to do things....

...and so that was the plan. Then, in 2004, something changed. I don't really know why. I know when...we were camping with friends, who had a 1 year old at the time. These friends, R and K, were the first among our group to get married (10 years this month!!) and the first to have children. So they were not the norm, and I know this wasn't some sort of "Everyone's doing it, so we have to!" social pressure. But I digress. They had brought their laptop with them--so that they could play music while we were cooking, etc. And they, like most parents, had pictures on them. There was one, of their son in a strawberry patch, and R was kind of staring at it. His wife said, "What are you doing?" and he said, "Looking at my son."

"Looking at my son." Four words. Nothing monumental. Not even directed at me, or trying to expound on the wonders of parenthood. But when he said that, something changed in me. That night, I told S that maybe I wanted to do this thing. Two months later, I got pregnant with M.

So, we had our first, and it was great. Two years later, we started talking about expanding our family. A year before that, I had been SURE I wanted 2 kids. But after a while, I got used to M. as an only child. I still thought, we had agreed on 2, and that's what I want, so we went for it. But even after I got pregnant the second time, I had my doubts. Overall, I thought that it was right. But--how would I handle two? Was I being fair to M? After all, I was an only child, and although I would like to have adult siblings, I had a lot of resources (tangible and non-), that my friends from larger families did not. And what if I didn't love this child as much as M?

But, he is here. And now we are a family of 4. If I were to meet my college or grad school self, she'd be shocked. What happened to me? All my plans..what happened to them? I suspect she'd be a little disappointed. I do teach at a small school...but what else? I live in a small town, with not much excitement to it. Travel...ha. We've done some traveling in the States, but I haven't been out of the country since 2002.

And yet...and yet. We are a family of 4. It's not at all what I wanted...yet it's all I could ever want.

I know, I swore I wasn't a mommy blogger. And I'm not. But a lot has happened since my last post. Welcome to our world, baby boy.

why the local strawberry? part 1

I'm finally getting around to the post I was going to write yesterday...and I'm happy I waited because I had a little inspiration this afternoon--a wonderful, delicious and beautiful cake made with the first local strawberries of the season by my friend J. We are lucky indeed to have such a talented friend--and one generous enough to share!

J and I have been talking a lot about locally grown food, which is something we both feel passionate about. As the locavore movement gains steam nationally, I've seen several articles questioning the value of eating locally. Most of the questions involve the concept of "food miles" and carbon outputs. I'll add some links to this post if I can find some good online articles, but the most thoughtful articles I've read seem to center around these questions:

1. Are we really reducing overall carbon dioxide outputs by eating locally? In other words, is the locally-grown tomato, or beef, or ornamental plant consuming more than its share of fossil fuels during production?

2. What about the other environmental impacts of locally-grown food? An example here--what is the water cost of a locally grown tomato in, say, Arizona? What about the local milk that comes from a conventional, polluting megadairy? Is that better or worse than the trucked in milk from an organic, pastured farm? (We in Wisconsin don't have to worry too terribly much about that particular example, as there are several options for sustainably raised dairy. Take that, happy California cows!!).

3. What does "locally grown" really mean--how local is local, and how does the means of transportation affect "food miles" calculations? Is a winery in Napa more "local" in terms of environmental impact than one in Bordeaux? (Answer: depends on where you are in the United States, apparently).

4. Where should we place our efforts? After all, major industries and utilities generate an incredibly significant amount of greenhouse gases; much more than our food transportation. So, is this an example of "feel-good" activism that doesn't really have much impact?

I have a lot of thoughts about these questions, and I don't agree at all with the premise of some of these arguments that eating locally is insignificant. I am glad, however, that the questions are being asked, as it forces me to examine my reasons for being pro-local foods. Locavorism does make a positive impact, in several ways and on several things--the environment, economy, and overall quality of life. I'll explain what I mean by this in part 2...coming up soon!

ETA: Linky!

"Big Foot" - The New Yorker article that got me started on this train of thought
Food Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States - peer-reviewed study of, well, see the title. I will try to get a PDF of the full article for locavore committee. Interesting final sentence in the abstract about food choices that I think would be interesting to explore for the upcoming campus theme.

I have a real post for today, but as I was about to start typing it, my son decided to start a chant:

"I'm a gangster. Iiiiiiiii'm a gangster!"

What the? Where did he even hear that term? Strangely, he does not pick up any of the cursing that unfortunately still goes on around here more often than it should...but yet, he's a gangster?

Now I wonder if he's a Sopranos-style gangster, or a local Manty gangster. North sieeeeeeeede represent!

right there by town*

So, according to the Weather Channel, there is a tornado warning here right now. Except there has been nothing issued by the National Weather Service (according to their website) and the sirens are silent.

Oh, I just figured out the problem. The screen says "Manitowoc", but the woman just informed us that the tornado warning is in "Man-i-TOE-wick" county. Totally different place. heh.

I think they may be confusing tornadoes with flash floods. Hm.

*post title courtesy of the Found Footage Festival. If'n you haven't seen it, come on over to my house and we'll watch it. Mullets, chair dancing, and Jack Rebney ("accoutrements?!") abound.


P.S. Oh, ok. now supposedly there is a tornado warning for this area. But no sirens. WTF, Manitoewick County? Get with the program!

P.P.S. Sirens! This would be about the time I normally freak and force everyone into the basement, instead of sitting in my many-windowed living room. Hm. Blogging is oddly calming.

no free lunch, this is america...

So, I recognize that, although I am by no means wealthy, I live a pretty comfortable--and therefore privileged--life. Both S. (husband--) and I work, we live in an area with low cost of living, we have excellent health care benefits, we have retirement savings, we're white middle-class Americans so we don't really deal with discrimination issues, and so on. I really can't say that I know what it is like to be disadvantaged. However, last weekend I had an experience that gave me just a taste--a tiny, tiny taste--of how things might be.

As you read in the intro, I have 1.9 kids--in other words, I'm just about 35 weeks pregnant. Last weekend, I had been experiencing some pretty severe headaches. Headaches in the third trimester can be a sign of preeclampsia, which is pretty serious. At first, I wasn't too worried, because I had my blood pressure taken on Wednesday, and it was perfect. But, my doctor had told me to call if I ever experienced anything strange, so I called. Turned out my primary care OB was the doctor on call, so I got to talk to her directly--this was nice, because she knows me, knows my mindset, and my medical history.

She said that it was probably not related to my blood pressure, since I had no problems previously, and no other symptoms of preeclampsia, but that I should get it checked out anyway. Since I didn't have any other warning signs, she strongly suggested that I not get admitted, but that I go to the emergency room at my hospital, because they had a 24 hour free blood pressure clinic. These were her words, and you see that I am emphasizing them, right? She repeated herself--do not have them check you into Labor and Delivery, but tell them right away at the desk that you are there for the free blood pressure clinic. If there was a problem, she said, then they could admit me.

Okay! I can do that! So, because my head really hurt, S. said he'd go with me. The three of us went over to the hospital. We walked into the emergency room, and it was completely empty in the waiting room. I went up to the desk, and remembering the doctor's instructions, entered into the following conversation:

Admitting clerk: "Hello, dear! Can I help you?"
Me: "Hi...I am here to get my blood pressure checked in the free blood pressure clinic?"
Admitting clerk: (voice frosty, short laugh, roll of the eyes>: "This is not a free clinic. This is the emergency room."
Me: Oh.....because I've been having these problems (relays conversation I had with my doctor).
Admitting clerk: Weeeeellll....yes. We can have people come up and check your blood pressure for you, but they're really busy back there, and I'm not sure anyone would want to come up right now.
Me: ..... (not sure what to say)
Admitting clerk: Have you taken your blood pressure recently?
Me: No, my doctor just told me to come here...
Admitting clerk: Did you want to go up to labor and delivery? Do you have insurance for that? Or are you just looking for the free check?
Me: I'm just telling you what my doctor told me. She said specifically not to be admitted unless there was a reason.
Admitting clerk: What is your doctor's name? (I tell her, she calls L&D to see if the doctor had called in with any instructions. She had not). Well, I suppose you can sit over there (points to triage) and someone will come up.

And she gets me seated, and leaves with yet another eyeroll. Someone did come in and take my blood pressure, which was fine, so the story ends there. Oh yeah, and the card they gave me with my BP info advertised their 24 hour free blood pressure check service on it.

Now this was just a minor issue--I was not refused medical care in any way, and I certainly wasn't treated as poorly as some have been. At the same time, I felt awful--like I had no right to be there, even though I was acting on advice of my doctor. I wish I could tie this coherently into a discussion of the failings of the health care system, what needs to be fixed, and how to fix it...but I'm not skilled enough to write about that effectively. I do know that in a system where more and more are going without insurance, more and more are going to feel marginalized unless something does change.

well hello

So, this is my third attempt at a blog-that-is-not-Livejournal. The first two were...rather sad. I managed to post once in each, didn't tell anyone about them, and then promptly forgot. I hope to do better this time. So welcome, feel free to read and join in the conversation.

Oh, the title of the blog? The magnolia isn't actually referring to ME. I am not trying to channel any sort of "Steel Magnolia" or "delicate flower" vibe here. The magnolia is actually a tree. Really. I can see it right out my window. I hope it isn't dead from transplant shock, actually.

I suppose I could say a bunch of stuff about myself here--I always hate it when I find a new blog, and have to jump in without an introduction to the author. Then again, I will be very surprised if anyone reads this who doesn't already know me. Well, here are some basics. I'm a professor at a small school in a small "city" (feels more like a small town, with all the good and bad of small-town America) in Wisconsin. I am married, with 1.9 kids--my family is totally rad, and I will talk about them, but I really don't want to be a "mommy-blogger". I feel very strongly that my identity is more than that of mother, and I feel strongly that if that were not true, I would actually be doing a disservice to my kids. I like all sorts of things, which hopefully I'll write about in interesting entries, instead of in this intro. Oh, and I am pretty nervous that this blog is going to suck, and I hope it doesn't.