Another song another memory

Taken from a Jun 18, 2008 myspace blog…..

Another song, another memory

Driving into work this afternoon, I heard a song on the radio that brought back a memory of a wonderful time. I started thinking to myself that I really need to document a list of particular songs and the memories they bring. Below is the list of the songs I hear and the memories they trigger when I hear them.

I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash – Jazz Fest 2008. It was a rained out weekend in New Orleans but my friends and I did not give up.We had rain all day but suddenly the sun came out right before the next performer was to appear on at the Acura stage. They played this song. The whole crowd sang along.

Hold on by Wilson Phillips – Heavenly, Lake Tahoe 2005. After a day of skiing we had a drunken hot tub night with a couple bottles of Dom Perigon. Only get a few stations on the radio were able to be accessed from our condo. Wilson Phillip’s Hold on comes on and we sing/scream in unison. It was one of the best drunken nights ever (that I can remember).

With a Little Luck by Paul McCartney and Wings – Sometime in the late 70’s – Sitting in the back of my mom’s big ol car at night while we were driving around the greater Cincinnati area. I remember I was eating a ding dong or a ho ho when this song came on.

These are the Days by 10,000 maniacs – High school graduation 1993 – They played the song after we all received our diplomas. I specificially remember this because that same year, the kids on the show Beverly Hills 90210 graduated and they also had the song play at their graduation. One of many similarities between that show and my high school Dr. Phillips, 32819.

New Age Girl by Dead Eye Dick – Lucy Bluz in Kissimee sometime 1993-1995 – I snuck into Lucy Bluz underage and filled my mug with crap beer for $1.50 (no matter how big the mug was). I remember singing the chorus “She don’t eat meat but she sure like the bone” with my friends there.

Elvira by Oak Ridge Boys & Working My Way Back To You by Four Seasons – My pre-school had a record player that played these two songs repeatedly. I will forever associate them with pre-school.

Jeremy by Pearl Jam – High school prom 1993 – The dance floor was packed. It was the height of the grunge era.

I will add more as I remember more……

Guaco de Mayo

I spent most of my childhood as a picky eater. I would throw temper tantrums when faced with something I thought was disgusting. I distinctly remembering passing broccoli under the table to my friend at dinner who enjoyed eating broccoli.
I have no idea where all my food aversions came from; but I am still amazed when my friend’s kids will eat anything put in front of them.
Today my food aversions are limited, only celery and anise seasoned items are still on the permanent list.
One may think that I regret spending many years missing out on so many good foods but it is quite the opposite.
I was enriched by my experience of having a colorful beet salad for the first time years ago. I was delighted that I discovered that not only did I like pineapple, but that I loved it. Most recently I discovered that I love guacamole, even I after refusing it for so many years because I thought it was “disgusting”.
Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, the US marketing party “holiday”. At our local grocery store, I was able to sample their guacamole. I loved it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. But for some reason I wanted to spend the day at home, relaxing, instead of partying with the masses. I almost gave up that idea at the thought that I could get some more guacamole. Haas avocados were in stock at home and my husband suggested we try to make our own. And I did. I didn’t have to leave the house!

1 ripe Haas avocado
4 cloves garlic minced (use fresh garlic)
1/2 teaspoon each cumin, onion powder, cilantro (add more spices to taste)
1/2 key lime juice (juice it well, include some pulp in there)
1 tomato chopped
1/2 orange bell pepper chopped in small pieces (red bell will work as well)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Mix it up and enjoy.

Note: I would have used fresh onion instead of powder but we had none in the house. I would have used fresh cilantro as well but cilantro is all dead in the garden

My Happiness Project

I have been reading the book The Happiness Project to look for ideas to bring more happiness to my life. While I am not generally unhappy, I do have many moments of unhappiness and most of them are a direct result of my behavior. With that in mind I used the book to come up with a list of some things I would like to work on.

Stop at least one negative statement about a person place or thing.

Most of my unhappiness comes from my mouth. When I get frustrated or annoyed with something, or when I am joking around with a group of friends or co-workers, I will blurt out either one or more negative things about a person, place or thing. This is an incredibly bad habit and 99% of the time I feel terrible after the words have come out of my mouth. This will be a tough one for me but it is one I am determined to stop. For now my goal is to stop at least one negative statement a day. In recent practice I haven’t been able to stop all negative statements but I have stopped quite a few. Practice makes perfect, right?

Wear sunscreen daily.

I have had pre-cancerous cells removed in the past due to sun exposure. I no longer lay out in the sun on purpose but I do many outdoor activities. Despite my warning, I still do not wear sunscreen on a daily basis. Sometimes I even skip it when I know I will be doing outdoor activities. Earlier this month I bought a sunscreen that was rated highly for daily use. Since then I have almost daily applied it to my face (despite the greasy feeling). Some days I will even apply it to my arms. It is a goal of mine to make it daily on my arms and face. In addition I will apply to my entire body when full exposure is expected.

Cut some slack

When someone gives you attitude or is rude to you, cut them some slack. You never know what they are going through – their dog could have recently died. This is a tough one, especially when I am not in my best mood. Why should we hold someone else to a standard that we ourselves cannot uphold? People have bad days….it is nice to cut them some slack.

Stop being judgmental

I like to pretend that I am open to all people but the truth of the matter is that I make snap judgements. This just needs to stop. Many people prove me wrong. Maybe someone who isn’t talking to me is not “snobby” but is just shy. You never know – give people a chance. I have met the best people when I just open myself up to someone randomly.

Breathe and breathe deeply.

It is hard to be angry and anxious when you are concentrating on deep breathing. It is a stress reliever. I tend to be a shallow breather so this is especially important for me.

Stop being a debbie downer.

In discussions someone will present an idea and sometimes I immediately go into discredit mode. This happens mostly in the work environment. I understand the evolutionary need for this. Someone in the pack needs to be able to see all the things that can go wrong with a scenario. (exp: We shouldn’t take that route because lions hang out there and lions will kill us). Sometimes it is helpful, but sometimes it is just a road block or just overall negative. I also find when I am in discredit mode I tend to be thinking and not listening. More listening is needed. There will always be time to think through the scenario later.

Stop being a one upper.

This happens in social gatherings. I am sure my close friends have seen me do this. Someone is having a conversation about some place they went, or something they did, or something they like. I feel the need to either confirm that I did the same thing (find commonality) or express something else to prove that I do stuff too. Sounds really immature but I still have not grown out of this and catch myself doing it constantly. Again the huge issue with this is that I am thinking(or talking) and not listening. I should be listening and validating. Additionally I tend to interrupt the person to get my point across – RUDENESS.

Flossing

I am not going to lie to myself and believe that I will floss every day; even though that is the ultimate goal. A more attainable goal will be to make sure I floss at least 4 days in a week. Not a perfect goal but it just may be enough to prevent me from losing my teeth. I am already at 2 days this week – yea me.
I would ask my friends and family to help me by calling out when I am straying from my “happiness” tasks, but that would prove to be difficult. One additional item that I have not added to the list (yet) is that I don’t take criticism as well as I think I should. If my friends and family starting “correcting” me, I would just setting them up for some Leala attitude. Yes, this needs to be addressed as well. However I would not like to bite off more than I can chew. All in good time.

Somebody has been eating the blueberries

Somebody, or some thing, has been eating our blueberry crop this year. I have only tasted one and even that one was not quite ripe. So it has been a little disappointing this year thus far in blueberry land. I suppose I should get some sort of netting installed. I don’t think I will be motivated enough to do this before blueberry season is over. Perhaps it is a project I can take on next year?

Leaves as mulch
This is our second season of using dead leaves from our oak as mulch in the backyard. I love the multicolor look of the leaves on top of the mulch. Hopefully it will assist keeping the weeds at bay.
Drip irrigation
Drip irrigation helps keep these herbs hydrated so they can be of use culinary wise.

Broccoli is Bolting
We say goodbye to the broccoli for now. It has decided to flower.
Trying to bring spring to the backyard

Palm Fronds
I use newly trimmed palm fronds to help shade fragile plants from the harsh sunny days.

Mimosa strigillosa
Mimosa strigillosa is in bloom again and filling in nicely in the areas where the grass has died. Perhaps one day the whole backyard will be covered in the pink flowers.

Grapes
We will have many grapes this season. I have been working on training the grapes so they will provide shade as well.

My Garden Oasis
My garden retreat is almost complete. It should be a nice shaded area to rest from the hot summer sun once the grape vine has fully grown.

What I love about boutique hotels, guesthouses, and B&Bs

I am a bit of a travel freak. I try to use up ever little hour of vacation I get on an out of town getaway. Mostly I like to leave the country. My last few trips have been in Europe. When I first started traveling for fun (not work trips) I was secure enough in employment that I could afford nicer accommodations but I refused to spend the money. Partially because I thought the money had better use for something else and partially because travel companions would be on a tight budget. I have stayed in a good number of crappy hostels and a surprisingly high number of good and cheap ones.
Now I try to stay in two star hotels, cheap boutique hotels or nicely priced b&bs. At times I will stay in fancy places due to my friends who work in the service industry that can get fantastic deals. Additionally a few of my friends have champagne taste so I end up staying at nice places with them. When I am traveling alone with my husband I pick the cheaper places.
My requirements are location and cleanliness. I feel there is personal attention given at these places. They have character. Often an interesting continental breakfast is included. And usually there is a comfortable room where there are tourist information and a book exchange for those of us who love to read. The hotels are not as new but typically have something different about them. Additionally the people who seem to work at these places tend to be a lot more personable and tend to remember you. I have had staff go out of their way to help me (sometimes that doesn’t even happen in fancy hotels ). The staff seem to enjoy what they do more.
One of my favorite memories was in staying at a B&B in San Jose Costa Rica. The owner offered to drive us to the casino herself. She even stayed and gambled with us. In our trip to Bayeux France we competed with honey bees for our breakfast outdoor. I found it charming. We never see bees in the states.
There have been a couple of bad choices – like the hostel in Amalfi that was moldy and the “boutique” hotel we stayed at in Barcelona that was in a sleepy neighborhood and was not too comfortable. All in all one can usually find a good cheap place if you put in the time to research (tripadvisor) and book far enough in advance (many of my first choices were booked full already in Barcelona because I waited too long).

Cute Hotel In Sevilla