Category: friends

Spaciousness (or: A Theory of Relativity)

by Karen, posted in book reviews, books, family, friends, health, Midlife Crisis, no fear, relationships, yoga

In the book What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, she talks about the idea of spacious days.

What a concept!!!!

Mostly, my days feel jam-packed to me, without a moment to spare for anything. That’s how I usually think about them, at least. My to-do list is longer than my arm. I suspect that other mothers feel this way as well, since today I heard my friend Donna (also a mother) say those exact words.

In yoga, spaciousness is sought in your body through postures, in your mind through meditation. I’ve been searching for spaciousness through yoga for 4 years now (I’ll let you know when I find it).

🙂

Four years seems like kind of a long time to me…but as a percentage of my age, it’s not that long really. Could it be that all I really need is an adjustment of perspective?

Back to yoga class: this week, our instructor Kristen happened to mention that there was a period of her life that she would gladly relive, which sparked a conversation among the women in the class on this topic. As some of them mentioned ages that they would be interested in repeating, I did a quick review: high school? No way! Early twenties? No thank you!  I soon realized that I couldn’t think of any time period of my life that I would want to live through again, but then I reframed the question: What was a happy memory?

When I asked myself this question, I got a very clear image in my mind. It was in the summer: August 1991. It was in the first apartment that I shared with my husband after we got married.  The sun was streaming in through the large windows in the dining room, shining on my infant son, born just a couple of weeks prior. I remember being in that room, gazing at the baby, standing in the sun, and realizing that I’d never been happier than I was at that moment. Twenty years later, I can still stand in that room in my mind’s eye, and still feel that happiness just as strongly as I did that day.

So, I guess time is relative, just ask Einstein. Or Liane Moriarty.

Or me.

🙂

Working from home, week one

by Karen, posted in family, friends, Life in the cube, Work from Home, writing

At the end of my first week working from home, I thought I’d reflect a little on how it’s all going. There were several things that I knew would be different, but my days are shaping up to be much different from how I envisioned them. One of my friends said that she was worried that she’d be too isolated if she worked from home, since she lived alone. I never thought for a minute that I would feel that way, but it is sort of an isolated feeling to be sitting in your office alone all day, interacting with no one face to face. I mean. there are certainly people in the house sometimes while I’m “at work”, but I’m not a part of their activity, their day. I am APART.

What I thought I’d be doing once I started working from home:

  1. Exercising more, since I would have more time in the morning (you know, that part of the day before you talk yourself out of exercising?).
  2. Writing more. After all, I would be gaining more than 2 hours a day of not commuting and not getting meals packed and unpacked.
  3. Gaining weight. There is actually some walking involved in getting to and from Portland every day, parking the car, walking from the parking garage, taking a few sets of stairs…that would not be part of working from home.
  4. Seeing my husband and kids more.

What I actually am doing now that I am working from home:

  1. Turns out, I actually am exercising more. It will be 4 (maybe even 5!) days that I’ve done some form of excercise (yoga, beach walk, gym) by Saturday, versus the 1 or 2 days in a commuting week.
  2. Turns out, I’ve actually lost 2 lbs. Go figure.
  3. Turns out, I’m actually writing less. I really don’t have much downtime. I’m getting up later in the morning (which will end of course, when my daughter goes back to school in September) and pretty much going to bed shortly after I finish working at 9PM.
  4. I am seeing my family more, which is good. If I could only be right about one thing, I’m glad it was this one. 🙂

I’m missing a few things: seeing my friends at work,  the Wednesday Farmers Market in Monument Square, my audio books, the cupcake stores, Micucci’s pizza…

Pretty much, I’m still working on getting it together here, finding a new rhythm to my days.

The devil you know

by Karen, posted in family, friends, no fear, quest for the best, Someone's gotta say it

While I was busy, out living my life, my cell phone was plotting to thwart my happiness. Now, I never loved it to begin with; it was my only option when my beloved pink Motorola Razr phone gave out after we had three lovely years together. So, I never loved it, but I…relied on it. Using it several times every day made it about as integral to my daily routine as is my toothbrush.

Therefore, you can imagine my distress when I noticed a crack to the left of the hinge, followed by a piece of it breaking off about a month ago. I beat down the panic and continued to use it, looking the other way whenever I opened it as best I could. Then yesterday, when I opened up my cell phone to answer a text from my son, there was a sickening cracking noise, that turned out to be the right side of said hinge which now also had a distinct fault line.

For me, buying a new cell phone is on the same par as buying a new car. It gives me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. It makes me sweat. I avoid it at all costs. As bad as my cracked phone was, I (after more than two years with it) know how it works. Getting a new phone means a new learning curve…the stuff of nightmares. Plus, with cell phones (as with cars)…the one thing you do already know for sure is this: It’ll cost ya.

Oh, were you hoping that the car charger that went with your prior cell phone, also a Samsung, would work with your new one? Were you excited when the store clerk told you that he would check to see if there was any trade in value on your old–emphasis on old– cell phone? Ha! Get real! Your new cell phone is worse than a new car in terms of losing retail value…before the monetary transaction has been completed you have already lost money.

NOTE: About that learning curve: got a tween or a teen? They will both already know how to use your new phone, even though they have never laid eyes on it before…amazing but true.

Somethin’ Sweet Bakery in Sanford

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, family, friends, local fun, quest for the best
Jennifer, owner of Somethin' Sweet Bakery in Sanford

Maybe it’s Sunday afternoon and 86 degrees and the last thing in the world you want to do is hang around the house with your cranky kids, since you yourself are very cranky. Here’s an idea: throw…er, put the kids in the car and drive over to Somethin’ Sweet Bakery, 883 Main Street Suite 1 in Sanford, next to Get Fired Up.

Jen opens for business Thursday through Saturday  from 11:00am to 7:00pm and Sundays from 11:00am to 4:00pm.  She may open other days as well; for example last Monday Jen opened for the 4th of July to provide excellent edible support for hungry (for Somethin’ Sweet!) parade go-ers.

Jen has always loved baking and that fact comes through loud and clear to anyone who has been lucky enough to enjoy any of the Whoopie Pies (try the Coffee-filled Chocolate Whoopies! They are amazing!), cookies, brownies, and other treats that you can find at her bakery. She changes up the flavors and items daily but of course, like the ice cream parlors always have vanilla and chocolate on hand, you can always find the old standbys (vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting for instance) represented at Somethin’ Sweet! Jen is working on the new website for her business (somethinsweetmaine.com), but if you need a focal point for your (sweet) meditation today, check out the picture up there now. . . you will have no trouble sitting for 20 minutes if you are focusing on that.

Speaking of Somethin’ Sweet, the decor of the store, as well as the lovely store owner, are exactly that. Jen mentioned that she is working on some new offerings (this week she made caramel blondies..now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!), so keep coming back and check out what’s in the display case. You can also check out the daily flavors which she posts on Facebook.  You may find that, despite the variety of options, your tween will always want the Cookie Dough Cupcake. Let her have it, as long as she stays away from your Chocolate Whoopie Pie with Coffee Filling…

🙂

Jen is taking Somethin’ Sweet on the road tomorrow (Monday, July 11) night. She will be at the Sanford Mainers baseball game at 6:30pm at Goodall Park, Roberts Street in Sanford. Why not eat a light supper then pile the fam in the car for an evening of baseball and baked treats?

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Date night: afternoon movie

by Karen, posted in baking, Date night, family, friends, movies, relationships

We haven’t had a babysitter in a while so we decided to watch a movie at home. Next up in the Netflix Queue was The Company Men. We found out about this movie from the preview of another movie (don’t ask me which one).  I was surprised to know that it was a relatively recent movie starring Ben Affleck (and several other famous, well-liked actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner). I hadn’t heard a thing about it before seeing the preview.

I was very interested to see this movie because it deals with a topic that is all too familiar to many of us: being “downsized” from a job by a company that is “reorganizing”. I’m not a big fan of Ben Affleck but because the topic interested me (and the Q was getting a little lean) we got it.

Around the same time I was also reading Caitlin Shetterly’s memoir: Made for You and Me. Both the movie and the book are very honest (even raw at times) accounts of what it’s like when life as you know it does a 180 degree turn. The movie follows three men who lose their jobs and the effects (for better, for worse) that it has on them, their families, their friendships. The book also talks about how much having, or not having, a job influences all aspects of life.

Both remind you what is important in life, and what is not, and ultimately, what really matters to you may not be what you think.

All things cupcake

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, friends, local fun, Midlife Crisis, quest for the best, restaurants
PB&J cupcake (CFB)

My friend Charlotte asked me a question today: ” Who has the best cupcakes?” On the surface, it seems an easy enough question, right?  Wrong! I tried to apply my “Keep it simple” philosophy to this question but found I was not able to.

I mean, come on!

So here goes my attempt to answer this question:

  1. Cupcake Fetish Bakery, Main St. in Sanford. which has the best variety and most interesting flavors. Hello, The Elvis? Peanut butter, banana and bacon? Plus Tiramisu, Pink Lemonade, Drop Kick Murphy, Chocolate Kahlua…and I’m barely even getting started here. Plus the store has a little window into the kitchen so you can watch the actual cupcaking process as it happens! And the inside of the shop is decorated with cute cupcake paraphernalia that gives it a very fun atmosphere.
  2. The Village Cupcake, Kennebunk. Owner Kristy Douglas was recently at the Keys to the Kitchen in Kennebunk to giving out cupcake decorating tips. She also brought along some mini cupcakes to sample. SO GOOD! Kristy sells her cupcake wares from her home so if you want to pick up a cupcake on a whim, this will not be your cupcake go-to person…I don’t think. Call her though; maybe she does keep some on hand for when the whimsy hits. Also, they have many interesting flavors (amaretto, hel-LO) and are open to creating new flavors at your request (Green Tea cupcakes? You betcha!).  They also offer gluten-free cupcakes. 🙂
  3. Tulips Cupcakery, Portland. These cupcakes can be purchased at Kamasouptra in Monument Square; check the website for other locations to buy. They describe themselves as  “from farm to cupcake”, since they are inspired by and use local, seasonal ingredients in their recipes. If you are a person who loves strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting but doesn’t want any of those annoying strawberry chunks in the batter–you like ’em smoooooth–then these will be the answer to your strawberry cupcake prayers.

This post covers the above 3 businesses because they are the first 3 that came to mind!  Apparently, I’ve never met a cupcake I didn’t like…

🙂

Of course, cupcakes made at home or by friends are really the best of them all!

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The day I ate whatever I wanted: Part 2 A (the day prior)

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, friends, Life in the cube

Since my actual birthday fell on a day I had to work (and I had no way to get out of it!), my husband and I celebrated the day prior.  The weather forecast called for a bleak, cold, rainy day. Does the weather influence what you eat? It certainly does me, so I had made a pretty extensive list of ideas for meals  (as well as where to go for them!) and decided to see how the day actually turned out weather-wise before making any definite plans.

Well, the weather forecast was (as usual!) completely wrong. It was warm, sunny, beautiful. A day for eating outside, moving around, enjoying the sun. Based on that, here’s what we did.

First, split a bagel with peanut butter (him), almond butter (me), and honey. Went to gym. Ugh. Glad to get that out of the way. Similarly, got a few chores done (laundry, food shopping) so we had the rest of the day for ourselves.

For once, I had a coupon to use when I wanted to use it: we split a large coffee coolata with whipped cream from Dunkin Donuts. Next we went plant shopping for the vegetable garden.  We stopped at Riverside  in North Berwick and Gray’s in Wells. We bought some tomato plants, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, watermelon, peppers.

With lunch in mind, we headed down Route One to Kittery. We decided to have a grazing day: stop at a bunch of places and eat a lot of food. First we went to Terra Cotta (no website) in Kittery. Everything there always looks so good that it’s hard to choose what to order…we settled on a Meatball and Ricotta Stromboli and a pasta salad, with one triple chocolate chunk cookie for dessert and ate it outside on their little patio.

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Next we looped back on Route One to Bob’s Clam Hut for fried clams. We briefly considered whether or not to order them crunchy or Bob’s way with a softer batter. We agreed on crunchy and it was a great decision.  Then we took the long way back along the coast to see the ocean (sigh; love the ocean).

Then we went to When Pigs Fly to buy a loaf of brown sugar cinnamon bread which we had a hunk of for an afternoon snack with some coffee.  Almost as good as my own bread. 🙂

Then home to get the seedlings in the ground. For supper, we decided to go to Big Daddy’s (no website) in Wells and have ice cream cones. I got what I always get, Kahlua Fudge Brownie, and it was as good as it always is. Bill got Coconut and Izzy got Maine Blueberry (in a wafer cone) and we switched cones periodically so we all got to try all 3 flavors.

Ice cream cones: they’re not just for breakfast anymore…

🙂

Brave New Girls

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, friends, local fun, no fear, tweens
Cell phones swaying at the talent show

The other night I went to the Talent Show at my daughter’s junior high school. The cost of $5 per person was a bit off-putting at first, but when I learned that all of the money raised was for charity (to help in Japan, Haiti, and here at home), I didn’t mind. They also held a bake sale consisting of actually appetizing-looking edibles which made the $2 per baggie of chocolate chip cookies worth it.

There were many singing acts (encompassing a predominance of Taylor Swift songs), from a capella to karaoke, some singing solo and some (the less confident?) in pairs and groups. All of them were good, and two of them were excellent. Most of the performers were girls, with a few token boys thrown in like afterthoughts.  In addition to singing, other talents showcased were
  1. Hula hooping
  2. Magic tricks
  3. Gymnastics
  4. Flute playing

Initially my daughter was sitting with me but soon enough she was off giggling in the bleachers with her friends (as tweens so often are). While I was waiting for the show to start, I thought back to my own junior high days and they were nothing like what my daughter’s have been like…for which I am endlessly grateful.

These girls were mostly in the twelve to fourteen year old range and they were so talented! The flautist performed an original medley of music she wrote herself, and she played what I knew to be a quite difficult piece beautifully. When I was her age, I played a solo in our band concert: Yellowbird. A medley of original music that she wrote herself? OMG! Saying “times change” is such an understatement in this case I can barely get the words out!  One of the singing acts performed a song in five-part harmony… Hel-lo? Five part harmony? And they nailed it. It was incredible to see all of these tween and barely teen-aged girls trying on all of these different talents on for size, seeing how they fit. How confident they all seemed!

Back when I was in junior high school, the audience was mostly parents and grandparents of the people performing. This audience was made up of parents and grandparents to be sure, but also many of their peers, who came to cheer them on. This was a kind, generous audience that clapped every bit as loudly for the singers who were slightly off-key as the ones who were pitch-perfect. At one point, the audience opened up their cell phones in the darkened room and swayed, holding them over their heads, like we moms and dads used to do back in the day, only with lighters!

I periodically stole glances over at my twelve-year-old daughter with her friends, watching the show, cheering and clapping; a shiny happy person among shiny happy people. My heart was full.

So, I’ll close out with a quote from (who else?) Taylor Swift from her song “Mine“, dedicated to my daughter:

“You’re the best thing that’s ever been mine.”

Spring chicks update, week 5: Teens in transition

by Karen, posted in chicks, family, friends, raising chickens, tweens

The peeps have graduated!!!  They are “teenagers” now…each week in a chicken’s life roughly corresponding to 3 to 4 years in an adult’s life (in my non-expert opinion).

They are big enough to move to the transitional coop where they can see the big chickens and the big chickens can see them. This gives both populations a chance to get used to being together while allowing the teenagers to get a little bigger, enabling them to hold their own when they are assimilated into the larger population in the main coop.

We usually start this transitioning when the chicks get to be about 5-6 weeks old, but how big they’ve gotten, how strong they seem, how (awful) the weather is…all these things are considered when we are timing the move.

They are currently eating up a storm. Bright and active, they are still somewhat skittish as they adjust to their new digs. My son commented that he thought that his batch of chicks was friendlier overall than prior ones; they tolerated our picking them up without much fuss. This comes in handy when friends come to visit and want to hold a chick.

We have about 19 teenagers at the moment (well, 20 counting my son, who will not be one for much longer either, come to think of it), and as they get older we are learning that the breeds may turn out not to be what we ordered. Determining the sex of a chick is not an exact science, and some vendors are better at it than others. The White Leghorns  (might be White Rocks) and the Light Orpingtons (might be Buff Orpingtons) are in question at the moment, but as is true with most things, time will tell.

They should be off the heat lamp by next week. For now, they are adjusting well to their Brave New World.

🙂

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Cakewalk in the cube

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, friends, Life in the cube
Amazing cake baked by Kathy Cyr

The planets somehow aligned last week. That’s the only explanation that I can come up with for this phenomenon that occurred at my place of employment. Are we a restaurant? A cafe? A bakery? No. We are an office full of nurses.

Yet we  had 4 (count ’em) cakes to share during the work week. Birthdays, comings and goings, TGIF days…any of these are good enough reasons to let ’em eat cake. Some are store-bought, some are baked by colleagues…and we have some amazing bakers where I work.

The one in this picture was baked by Kathy (a fellow nurse) and this is just a small sample of the wonderful treats she bakes for us (which include breads, cookies, and whoopie pies, to name just a few things in addition to the cakes!). One bite of this cake and you completely forget that you are eight hours into your ten hour shift, your fourth one that week.  Yep; those are raspberries in the midst of all that chocolate.

The next cake we had was this lovely chocolate cake with vanilla frosting from the Wild Oates Bakery in Brunswick.  Shirley bought this cake for Pauline to celebrate her birthday this week.  It was the best birthday at work ever!

We also had two other supermarket variety purchased cakes, one (you guessed it) chocolate with vanilla frosting and the other (sorry, didn’t get a picture of this one) was marble with vanilla frosting. We were inundated with cakes! Both of these were very good, but were eclipsed by Kathy’s homemade one and the Wild Oates bakery cake.  Really though, it was a win-win situation for us all. Well, except for the people who avoid gluten. Sorry guys.

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