Besides being delicious, you'll see what they have to do with this blog when you watch Brene Brown's fantastic (and wildly popular so you may have already seen it) TED talk entitled "The power of vulnerability". Seriously, it's excellent. I'm not sure why you're still reading - just go watch it.
For those of you still here, wanting to read more about it before you are convinced to watch, she is a qualitative researcher who cleverly discusses shame, fear, vulnerability, courage (which is defined by her as "to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart"), and in this discussion, exposes a lot of her researching self but also her human self - a mom, a student, a patient. And shockingly pulls in a lot of public health issues... so naturally it is excellent and intriguing.
She has many poignant takeaway messages, but in order to not ruin them entirely, here are a few "teasers":
1. We numb vulnerability - we are the most in debt, obese, addicted and medicated adults in US history.
2. We are making the uncertain, certain. Religion, politics, etc - "I'm right. You're wrong. Shut up."
3. Hoping that taking fat from our butts to put in our cheeks is something that our ancestors gawk at 100 years from now.
Turns out I am lucky enough to know a lot of really courageous people.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
Ebb and Flow
I don't typically believe in resolutions of the New Year's variety, mostly because if you want to change something... why wait for one day or time of the year? In fact, I sort of root against people who resolve to work out more since they clog up the usually comfortably full gym. (I know, that's terrible.)
However, I am jumping on the 30 Day Yoga Challenge, and today is Day 3. Amanda read in a very smart book (entitled, I believe, "How to Be and Adult in Relationships") that 30 days is a good bench mark for things. The 30 day lesson is this: If you want to do something (or not) for 30 whole days, you probably actually want it.
I like yoga. I bet I can do it for 30 days. My practice has always had its own ebbs and flows, mostly flowing when I lived above a yoga studio and volunteered there in exchange for free classes ...and ebbing at times like now when it's miserably frigid and I can't be asked to go to a studio.
Also, I decided to take this on because without classes as my weekly "to-do" anchor, I was feeling a bit adrift and lost. "What? I have all five evenings to myself? This hasn't happened since... well, never!" I have been in class(es) all of my working life, with exception of three weeks when I first got my job and summers/other breaks, which were a finite amount of time. Now I am in the abyss of life not being a working student. So far, it's lovely, but a bit daunting.
I am looking forward to seeing what happens with this. People I know who have done it previously saw enormous gains in flexibility, strength, and mindfulness, just to name a few. This morning, I was euphoric about my mittens in a way I don't think I have ever been. These are not new mittens - I have had them for years. Could be a yoga-attributed-increased-mindfulness thing... or a miserably frigid thing.
So, Day 3's challenge is remembering to do yoga prior to my date to Easy Pie (looks good, doesn't it?!) because doing yoga with lots of pizza in one's belly is not good. Yet another lesson ripe for the learnin'.
Either way, I figure this will help get me ready for my 30 days of eating only fruit happening this summer.
However, I am jumping on the 30 Day Yoga Challenge, and today is Day 3. Amanda read in a very smart book (entitled, I believe, "How to Be and Adult in Relationships") that 30 days is a good bench mark for things. The 30 day lesson is this: If you want to do something (or not) for 30 whole days, you probably actually want it.
I like yoga. I bet I can do it for 30 days. My practice has always had its own ebbs and flows, mostly flowing when I lived above a yoga studio and volunteered there in exchange for free classes ...and ebbing at times like now when it's miserably frigid and I can't be asked to go to a studio.
Also, I decided to take this on because without classes as my weekly "to-do" anchor, I was feeling a bit adrift and lost. "What? I have all five evenings to myself? This hasn't happened since... well, never!" I have been in class(es) all of my working life, with exception of three weeks when I first got my job and summers/other breaks, which were a finite amount of time. Now I am in the abyss of life not being a working student. So far, it's lovely, but a bit daunting.
I am looking forward to seeing what happens with this. People I know who have done it previously saw enormous gains in flexibility, strength, and mindfulness, just to name a few. This morning, I was euphoric about my mittens in a way I don't think I have ever been. These are not new mittens - I have had them for years. Could be a yoga-attributed-increased-mindfulness thing... or a miserably frigid thing.
So, Day 3's challenge is remembering to do yoga prior to my date to Easy Pie (looks good, doesn't it?!) because doing yoga with lots of pizza in one's belly is not good. Yet another lesson ripe for the learnin'.
Either way, I figure this will help get me ready for my 30 days of eating only fruit happening this summer.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Happy New Year!
New Year's Day is the best. January 2, back in the office after a lovely break, is not as much fun. As a coping mechanism, I have printed this out to add to my office decor:
To ease the transition for yourself, check out these photos of celebrations around the world!
And, if you want more, this video of the fireworks in London is incredible. Not only did it make me wonder how many people, hours, and British pounds were spent on this show, it made me resolve to travel for New Year's in the future. There is so much to see!
Speaking of lots to see... despite the kilometers/miles/cultures/etc separating us, it seems we are pretty similar (at least, in our photo poses).
Happy resolving and welcome to '13!
And, if you want more, this video of the fireworks in London is incredible. Not only did it make me wonder how many people, hours, and British pounds were spent on this show, it made me resolve to travel for New Year's in the future. There is so much to see!
Speaking of lots to see... despite the kilometers/miles/cultures/etc separating us, it seems we are pretty similar (at least, in our photo poses).
Happy resolving and welcome to '13!
Friday, December 21, 2012
1 and 4,000+
Apparently I'm into numbers as titles recently.
Two big things happened today:
1. I got listed as a co-author on the publication resulting from our time in Kenya. All of the students were listed, so really it would have been more disappointing if I had been excluded. Either way, it's my first official publication (aside from published blogging) - watch out world!
2. This blog surpassed 4,000 viewers in its lifetime! That is a lot of people reading... or just the same loyal few reading a lot of times. Once again, either way, that's awesome.
Merriest and happiest of holidays to all 4,000 of you. I hope 2013 is equally as fun, successful, exciting, and thought-provoking as 2012. Dare I say, even moreso? Cheers!
Two big things happened today:
1. I got listed as a co-author on the publication resulting from our time in Kenya. All of the students were listed, so really it would have been more disappointing if I had been excluded. Either way, it's my first official publication (aside from published blogging) - watch out world!
2. This blog surpassed 4,000 viewers in its lifetime! That is a lot of people reading... or just the same loyal few reading a lot of times. Once again, either way, that's awesome.
Merriest and happiest of holidays to all 4,000 of you. I hope 2013 is equally as fun, successful, exciting, and thought-provoking as 2012. Dare I say, even moreso? Cheers!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
12.12.12 (+1)
It's the last time in our lifetimes that the day, month, and year will be the same. As my brother says, "Enjoy it people." Hope you did!
Seems only appropriate to do 12 days of Christmas, which, on this blog means 12 awesome facts/things you should look at:
1. Yikes! Could it be true? The F-word? Me? (Disclaimer: I don't necessarily agree with all of these, or deem this an exhaustive list. But it's pretty good and at least somewhat entertaining.)
2. Incredible photos of the young and old, overlapping and colliding and coexisting in Tibet.
3. Want to do something fun with those lemon seeds, instead of just throw them in the trash? Here's a good idea!
4. Look back upon 2012 and forward to 2013 with this thought-provoking "Unravelling" exercise. It's quite lengthy but also interesting and useful even if you only answer one of the questions to recognize the passage of time, what you're thankful for in past and present, and/or what you want to do in the year ahead. (See #8 of this list for inspiration!)
5. There are about 20,000 species of bees.
6. The Mayan calendar will simply start over on December 22, 2012. Stop worrying :)
7. On average, people have 200-300 eyelashes per eye.
8.
9. If your looming New Year's Resolution is to save more money, check out one blogger's list of 56 Things To Do Instead of Spend Money.
10. If your heart beats 60 times per minute, it beats 86,400 times every day. Yeesh!
11. Speaking of hearts, this video of a dog waiting while a toddler plays in a puddle has gone viral, and deserves to be watched just a few more times.
12. Shoutout to the young musicians in Brockton tonight (and their good-looking band director) - good luck!
Seems only appropriate to do 12 days of Christmas, which, on this blog means 12 awesome facts/things you should look at:
1. Yikes! Could it be true? The F-word? Me? (Disclaimer: I don't necessarily agree with all of these, or deem this an exhaustive list. But it's pretty good and at least somewhat entertaining.)
2. Incredible photos of the young and old, overlapping and colliding and coexisting in Tibet.
3. Want to do something fun with those lemon seeds, instead of just throw them in the trash? Here's a good idea!
4. Look back upon 2012 and forward to 2013 with this thought-provoking "Unravelling" exercise. It's quite lengthy but also interesting and useful even if you only answer one of the questions to recognize the passage of time, what you're thankful for in past and present, and/or what you want to do in the year ahead. (See #8 of this list for inspiration!)
5. There are about 20,000 species of bees.
6. The Mayan calendar will simply start over on December 22, 2012. Stop worrying :)
7. On average, people have 200-300 eyelashes per eye.
8.
9. If your looming New Year's Resolution is to save more money, check out one blogger's list of 56 Things To Do Instead of Spend Money.
10. If your heart beats 60 times per minute, it beats 86,400 times every day. Yeesh!
11. Speaking of hearts, this video of a dog waiting while a toddler plays in a puddle has gone viral, and deserves to be watched just a few more times.
12. Shoutout to the young musicians in Brockton tonight (and their good-looking band director) - good luck!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
j.a.m.'s jam: spread the love
I'm proud to announce the official establishment of j.a.m.'s jam, my newest culinary adventure!
You see, earlier this year, Kat and I took a jamming and canning class at the Boston Center for Adult Education, and it was phenomenal. They had champagne, wine, cheese/jam/crackers waiting for us upon arrival, and we made three delicious jams and jellies: blackberry, blueberry and tomato. I know - tomato seems weird but it is unreal - think BLT, egg sandwhich or bagel with cream cheese and tomato jam.
Since then, I have made more tomato jam, spiced cranberry jam and branched out a wee bit into the world of pickling. It's all so fun, tasty, and really incredibly useful. This is what people did to preserve food for the winter months when they couldn't waltz into the nearest Super Stop and Shop to get vegetables and fruits from around the world anytime they pleased. If and when the world returns to that way of life, I am ready.
After the class, Dad and I were chatting about what I could call my potential jamming company, and decided that using my initials (J.A.M.) only seemed appropriate... which is especially funny since I loathed having acronym initials as a child and adolescent. Dad suggested "J.A.M.'s Jammin' Jam", but we both liked "j.a.m.'s jam"... so there you have it.
As for our slogan "spread the love", it revealed itself much like the name. Jam is a very comfortable food, often eaten in the presence of loved ones, or given as a token of love... or eliciting feelings of love from its tastiness. This paragraph feels awkward, but I'll work on justifying the slogan while waiting for cans of jam to finish sealing themselves in the boiling water bath.
I am finally announcing j.a.m.'s jam because of positive responses from recent focus group testing (read: debuting a few jams at holiday and family parties) and the very enthusiastic and shameless vocal support of one Miss Amanda, who also happens to be a very successful PR genius.
This is definitely a work in progress (recipe testing - any volunteers?) and lending itself to quite the potential post-MPH graduation project, but I'm very excited to see where it goes.
Please direct any inquiries or orders to our new email address:
spreadthelovewithjam@gmail.com
You see, earlier this year, Kat and I took a jamming and canning class at the Boston Center for Adult Education, and it was phenomenal. They had champagne, wine, cheese/jam/crackers waiting for us upon arrival, and we made three delicious jams and jellies: blackberry, blueberry and tomato. I know - tomato seems weird but it is unreal - think BLT, egg sandwhich or bagel with cream cheese and tomato jam.
Since then, I have made more tomato jam, spiced cranberry jam and branched out a wee bit into the world of pickling. It's all so fun, tasty, and really incredibly useful. This is what people did to preserve food for the winter months when they couldn't waltz into the nearest Super Stop and Shop to get vegetables and fruits from around the world anytime they pleased. If and when the world returns to that way of life, I am ready.
After the class, Dad and I were chatting about what I could call my potential jamming company, and decided that using my initials (J.A.M.) only seemed appropriate... which is especially funny since I loathed having acronym initials as a child and adolescent. Dad suggested "J.A.M.'s Jammin' Jam", but we both liked "j.a.m.'s jam"... so there you have it.
As for our slogan "spread the love", it revealed itself much like the name. Jam is a very comfortable food, often eaten in the presence of loved ones, or given as a token of love... or eliciting feelings of love from its tastiness. This paragraph feels awkward, but I'll work on justifying the slogan while waiting for cans of jam to finish sealing themselves in the boiling water bath.
I am finally announcing j.a.m.'s jam because of positive responses from recent focus group testing (read: debuting a few jams at holiday and family parties) and the very enthusiastic and shameless vocal support of one Miss Amanda, who also happens to be a very successful PR genius.
This is definitely a work in progress (recipe testing - any volunteers?) and lending itself to quite the potential post-MPH graduation project, but I'm very excited to see where it goes.
Please direct any inquiries or orders to our new email address:
spreadthelovewithjam@gmail.com
j.a.m.'s jam: spread the love
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
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