One Christmas Present So Far

Chris' mom Jan handmade me a pair of mittens from Salvation Army sweaters, I love them! (Mine are the blue/gray) and she's working on loads more in other colors. I wish I had that Martha Stewart gene, but I can't even color within the lines of a coloring book.

What I Did on My Summer (and Fall, and Winter) Vacation

One of the best lessons I've learned my whole life, I learned this year, and that's that down time doesn't have to get you down. Earlier this year when my job was eliminated, I wasn't sure exactly how the coming year would play out, but I had been expecting the news for three months or so, and I knew anything was better than the waiting to hear.

About a month after I was "let go", I emailed Women's Bean Project, a non-profit I've always liked in Denver, to see what kinds of volunteer opportunities they had. I was impressed that for a relatively small-staffed entity, the Bean Project has their volunteer ducks in a row.

They asked me to join the Communications Council, a small group of women who help with media, marketing and communications projects. At most we each dedicate about one day a week of our time. I also have worked at a handful of art fairs on the weekends, selling the WBP products (bean soups, spice packets, dips and salsas, cookie mixes, coffee beans, jelly beans) which is fun and easy. Everything makes a great gift idea, and people (including myself!) are quickly sold after one taste of the chocolate covered espresso beans.
Women's Bean Project's goal is to give women from backgrounds of chronic poverty in Denver job training, life skills and work experience in the food industry, but they also have given me (their mere volunteer!) good work experience while I'm unemployed, and something unusual to speak to interviewers about. I'm beyond grateful that this mutually beneficially opportunity intersected my life at the right time.

I've also met an incredible amount of interesting people throughout my job search, many who when they call to tell me they're proceeding with another candidate, have genuinely and generously offered to keep an eye out for opportunities in their own network for me.

Last week I met with a small group of volunteers that make up a Young Professionals Council for Make-A-Wish Foundation who invited me to join their council next year. This opportunity wouldn't have come into my life if I hadn't interviewed at Make-A-Wish earlier this year. My favorite thing about this org is their mission, that's so eloquently put: "To enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy".

So jobless or not, things are really working out for the best and lately I feel entirely grateful. I wish you all to have as much to be grateful for as I do, both this year and in the new year.

- Lara

I love this

It really pains me that so many companies are coming out with the cutest reusable tote bags now when we all already have too many of the cheap and ugly 99 cent ones from Safeway, etc. Actually I use a couple of LL Bean XL boat totes for my groceries which are an investment up front, but like everything from Bean, guaranteed for life, so sturdy and so practical.

The best totes I've spotted yet, however, turn into a floppy eared rabbit when not in use as a bag! Everything should be this cute. Of course if we lived in Japan, everything would be this cute.

iPod blues

It's kinda funny that I've been unemployed three-quarters of a year and the biggest problem I have is I can't get my iPod under 30 Gigs. I keep adding more music I find at the library and in spite of having oodles of time to delete and shore it up, I'm still about 1,000 songs over what fits. (Sigh).

In realer news, for those of you not reading my twitter or facebook rants, please make sure you read HALF THE SKY. I read a lot about global issues and women's movements but even just the introduction to this book profoundly affected my understanding of the issues at hand threatening women and girls globally. I just had no idea how enormous the gender discrimination still is.

Fallgust, Falltember & Falltober

Yikes, I have been neglecting my blog! Damn you, Facebook, you've got me abbreviating everything and writing in little blurbs. Here's some photos and notes from the last few months. I usually don't talk about weather this much but this year has been an odd ball.

Lessee... in August I flew out to visit two new additions to my college dormmate family, Luba's new twin boys, Caleb and Gideon. This trip was an obvious lesson in how accustomed I am to Colorado's dryness because we were walking around D.C. in 98 degree weather and 98 percent humidity which I couldn't shut up about. I found myself taking a freezing cold shower for a good five minutes at night before I could even begin to cool down. I also learned that if I move to Virginia, my preferred vanity license plate is already taken.

Monterey had the most unbelievably perfect weather while I reunited with bff Stephenie in September. Those of you who know Monterey know a fogless week is practically impossible, but we had one, even all the way down in Pebble Beach. Coincidentally my British cousin Katie who I hadn't seen in 10 years was also in town and readily available to go kayaking where we spotted quite a few otters and just sat there watching them in "aww". Add on the Greek Festival and lots of spare time to walk on the beach and laugh w/ Step, on top of the outrageously warm days, and the trip was one of the highlights of my year.If you click on the otter picture, he's definitely either picking his nose or giving me the finger. He's probably sick of being cute for tourists.
Jacque the shrimp from Finding Nemo is apparently alive and well at MB Aquarium.You might think at first this is seaweed but the two yellow and dark green things in the center of the picture are in fact sea dragons -- similar to sea horses but incognito.sunset after dinner from my parents' balcony
family all together & orangey for the christmas card...My mom and her adorable friend and student, Yu Jin, who she's been tutoring for a couple years.Denver's first dusting of snow around October 1, on some cubist bears at Northfield Stapleton mall. They look alive to me.So many cold days, so many tea choices. I love blueberry tea, ROT's Comfort & Joy (aptly named), and a homemade rose tea which I'm concocting these days from Savory Spice Shop rose petals. I've also been meaning to try Denver's new brand, Teatulia.Mom and her friend Kathy came for a 24 hour visit en route to Aspen for the annual J.D. Festival in October.Chris and I caught up with the critters, including baby mountain goats (kids?), at the Denver Zoo on his birthday, 10/17.On October 29th we were hit with a steady 48 hours of snow coming down which amounted to at least 24 inches in Littleton. The air was just cold enough to freeze, but surfaces were warm enough that snow slipped off in odd drooping shapes which resembled frosted gingerbread houses (at least the sloppy kind that I make).
Our staircase looked like someone draped streamers on it. The air conditioners looked like Mario Brothers characters.The roofs had four, five, six, seven feet of snow at times hanging over the ledge but not falling off. I've never quite seen anything like it.Our trees were pretty and the neighbor's snowman perfect. The two days were lots of fun with the dog, though Chris was out in San Diego for business and missed it all!In mid-October, Kate came to Denver for a visit and we spread the love at a couple art museums, lots of small-end city shopping, and the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins.
outside Denver Public Library, Kate color coordinated well with the civic centery artinside Denver Art Museum, we caught local artists in the process of finishing the latest "Embrace" exhibit.
Our favorite thing was Rex Ray's Discolaria at Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art, a few pictures here.
It's plain to tell Rex Ray's colorful collage technique has huge potential for success in commercial art (and of course, he has already been extremely successful), he was the guest editor of Coppola's Zoetrope magazine this month, he has stationery through Chronicle Books, and if I may suggest, the raindrop pattern below would sell great on just about anything (dresses, placemats, shower curtains, pillow cases) if he were to partner with Target next. Just a thought, Rex.The last day we visited Folly headquarters, New Belgium Brewery, which I swear, every time I visit there nearly convinces me I've got to move up to Ft. Collins. What a cool and unusual place.
Every employee has their own limited edition NB bike.
99 bottles of beer on the ceiling, 99 bottles of beer...Kate doesn't quite have the foot photography down yet, but I give her super snaps for giving it a shot... : ) mine...The tour ends in a helter skelter slide if you're lucky and get one of the cool tour guides.Below, a super sour Belgian beer known as "La Follie" which is brewed in gigantic 2-story wine barrels, that true Beeristas admire but made us pucker... and caused us to laugh uncontrollably, maybe the seven samples were sinking in.The beers on tap vary wildly each time I've been to New Belgium in the past year, including always-different limited time "Lips of Faith" flavors designed by employees at an annual contest. This one was a Dandelion un-hopped beer which after enough sips, Kate took home in a growler!
Last but not least, a few photos of Derby's park in our neighborhood whose colors seemed unusually spectacular this year but maybe it's just my perspective from having a lot of days off this year. As I type this now, Colorado just came off a week of 70 degree days and yet at the moment, it's snowing in white fuzzy clumps like a Christmas card and we're expecting at least six inches by morning. The dog is sitting at my feet eager to go out for some play but mostly he'll do nothing but gulp it down.

Love Your Locals

I love these new posters from Indie Bound, a collaborative of independent bookstores. I've always liked supporting local businesses over the years -- especially my personal weakness, stationery shops and bookstores -- but this year I've noticed a growing number of grass roots efforts are asking people to commit to (or resolve to) buy more things locally, and I'm 100% on board with that.
Acme Coffee in Monterey kind of kicked it off for me. They have free old school "Resist Corporate Coffee" stickers and as soon as I added one to my car, the pressure alone from having that stuck on my butt has prevented me from going to Starbucks for coffee over the last three months. I much prefer Denver's Daz Bog, Ink!, Novo, and Coda coffee brands anyway, but now I seek out their locations or brew my own at home. Additionally when folks ask me to meet for lunch somewhere, I try to always pick local businesses instead of chains (unless the chain has a strong reputation for supporting local communities, as is the case with Target).

To commit to buying more stuff locally (and to learn why), visit http://www.the350project.net or search for "350 project" on Facebook.

Reallly rad

Don't know how I only just now learned about Kickstarter but watch this video and tell me if you are not awe-inspired by the power of entrepreneurialism on the web.

Ever notice that what the hell is always the right decision?

This was my favorite magnet but I lost it! Definitely feeling this way lately:

"We ought not to question whence; there is no whence, no coming or going in place; now it is seen and now not seen. We must not run after it, but fit ourselves for the vision and then wait tranquilly for its appearance, as the eye waits on the rising of the sun, which in its own time appears above the horizon...and gives itself to our sight."
Plotinus

Talkin' Bout a Revolution

My friends will tell you one of my annoying, though helpful characteristics is I'm always praising my favorite brands and ranting about my least favorite. Once you get me started, I can't shut up about, say, In n' Out Burger (and I'm not alone on that one).

This quality makes me a perfect fit for the new consumerism which is word-of-mouth marketing through online forums like Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon. Online word-of-mouth recommendations generally can't be bought. They are genuine and spontaneous and sometimes we don't even realize we're essentially advertising when just observing something is cool enough to tell our friends. A book I read recently on this topic (Groundswell) writes, "Face it. Marketers no longer dictate the path people take, nor do they lead the dialogue. Social technologies have revved up [the] word-of-mouth dynamic, increasing the influence of regular people while diluting the value of traditional marketing." Indeed the term "word-of-mouth" is even outdated, since most of what we share these days comes from a keyboard or mobile keypad.

A recent viral video on YouTube about the Social Media Revolution flashes one jaw-dropping statistic after another, including the statistics that 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations (and the video's footnotes state it's grown to 90% in 2009) and only 14% of consumers trust advertisements.

Not everyone is as particular or verbal a consumer as me, but with the recession bankrupting and laying off Americans of all ages, most people are being more careful with impulse purchasing, using the high school math they thought they'd never use to compare price savings in the grocery store. You'll see folks (including me) staring at price tags for 10 minutes in a daze and counting quietly out loud to themselves "that's 19, carry the 1"... so we tell our friends whenever we see a deal, even a little one.

A few weeks ago when 6 of my friends simultaneously forwarded me a Baja Fresh free burrito coupon that was posted on Facebook on a Tuesday afternoon, and then I witnessed as my neighborhood descended upon the Baja Fresh parking lot, families brought six copies of the coupon for each member of the family to get one, the single line cook could not even keep up with the orders that evening, but no one seemed to mind waiting an hour for a free burrito...I knew Baja Fresh was on to something.

For me, though, a recommendation takes more than just being free or tasting good or delivering on an expectation. I live for my iPod but don't have any kind of devotion to Apple as I do some other companies who have interacted with me, treated me well, and asked for my feedback. There's a good reason consumer surveys always end with..."How likely are you to recommend us to a friend? Very likely? Somewhat likely? Neither likely or unlikely? Somewhat not likely? Not at all likely?" To be a word-of-mouth-worthy brand, it takes some random acts of incredibleness as well as personal interest in your consumers' voices, and I'm very pleased to see many companies are getting this and seizing the opportunity.

Here's a simple example. Last week I went into Whole Foods to pick up a bite to eat for lunch. I noticed one of my favorite brands, Izze had a new flavor called "Birch" which happened to be "two for 6 dollars" and also had a coupon attached to the package. I snooped around the label to see if there was any description of what Birch tastes like, didn't see any description, and decided to ask an employee. Couldn't find an employee. Spent about 30 seconds walking to the checkout, debating whether to risk the $3 on this product or not. At the checkout, I asked the clerk if he knew what Birch was, and while shrugging casually, he answered "No but if you're not sure if you'll like it, you can try it on us," and proceeded to put it into my reusable bags without ringing it up. What impressed me about this act was not even that it was free, but that the employee did it with such ease. He didn't have to ask a manager, didn't need a special coupon, didn't need my email address, didn't have to think twice before offering it. And I'll tell you, that's the kind of customer treatment that makes me remember, talk about it, and go back.

Some of the brands I not only mention in daily conversations, but would give my left arm to support because they are so consistently great include Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Newman's Own and Newman's Own Organics, Pixar, Google, Netflix, Target, Izze (Sparkling Juice), Papa Murphy's, Sunflower Market, Chipotle, Oprah and The Angel Network, Toyota, Costco, In n' Out Burger, Mad Greens (salad lunch spot in Denver)... I'll add to this post as I think of more.

Some of the brands I have had ruinous experiences with, not surprisingly to most of you reading this, include United Airlines (that's another whole post), Ticketmaster, the Post Office, the Unemployment Office, JP Morgan Chase (I called to say I was thinking of leaving their bank, they responded "OK, your account is now closed, is there anything else I can do for you?"), Qwest (it takes a lot for me to hold a grudge but they were so bad in 1999, I swore off ever using them again), Best Buy (numerous employees there have told me they don't bother to carry much selection of cd's anymore -- their logic was, why bother when you can buy them online or download -- which is fine with me, I'll go support Twist & Shout Records instead)!

I'm always listening, what are your favorites and least favorites?

G n' R is back (well, in my life)

I have been totally abandoning my blog for twitter lately, and I feel bad... By the way, a stretch goal / resolution next year is to ban "totally" from my vocab. It's a bad habit, I use it about 40 times a minute. It's filler and probably worse than "um", but I've grown so accustomed to it. I'm thinking most of you wouldn't recognize my voice without it, but it's time for it to take a hike. Totally. (Sigh).

There are some things that are just too long to twitter though, and here's one of them (unless you have a 140 character suggestion):

A few weeks ago I visited Monterey and since rental cars don't usually have iPod adapters, I brought along some cd's, which is always an interesting change of pace. Who listens to full albums all at once anymore? It reminds you of all the tracks you forgot about that your iPod doesn't lean toward frequently.

Since I was visiting high school friends, I brought some cd's that remind me of those olden days (92 - 96) including Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion I & II, which if I had to pick just one album that brings back memories, it would be... well, I still can't pick one. It would be UYI 1 & 2. Alanis Morrissette was the album of my senior year whether anyone liked it or not, but before that, I was hooked on G n' R like any rightful angst-ridden teenager in the 90's, and I can't remember ever being tired of listening to them. I didn't give up appreciating G n' R as road trip music over the years, but for some reason in the transition to iPod-dom, I only uploaded about 3 songs from each UYI cd (possibly the reason was storage space, my 30 Gig iPod nears capacity every time I add something) so listening to the cd's in full in the rental car while doing 90 on the highway (wondering why everyone else was driving so slow) was great, and I was really taken aback by a few things:

1) I still know most of the lyrics by heart, having not heard these songs in at least 10 years, especially the F-laden ones ("Double Talkin' Jive Get the Money Muthafucka 'Cause I Got No More Patience" just comes right back to me like it was "Row, Row, Row your boat").

2) The songs seem just as good and in fact, as relevant as they were then (I truly expected they would seem lame, dated, and overindulgent now)

3) Axl sure had a hell of a lot of anger built up. Not just one album's worth, but two full albums and 30 total tracks of hatred, bitching, cursing at, and dissing people behind their back? It's a testament to his (now forgone) artistry that he was able to translate that into 30 tracks of decent music, in fact, at least 20 tracks of amazing music instead of buckling down and killing someone.

It's no wonder G n' R will never top these. I personally was not looking forward to Axl's "comeback", Dr. Pepper induced or not, since he was always 4 hours late for concerts. Although Velvet Revolver (Guns n' Roses without Axl) kicked ass, I somehow doubt Axl without Guns n' Roses would be worth waiting 4 hours for.

Anyway that's my non-twitterable musing about music that's probably not seen the light of day, let alone a flash of airwaves, for the past 10 years. In fact it's nearly 20 years since the albums were first released!! Now that, I must say, is the most $#%&*! shocking of all.

College Essay (BU)

I just found my college entrance essay! Totally amusing, especially how cynical I was for a 17 year-old, but I must say I agree with myself and in fact, the state of the TV programming and "news" is much worse 13 years later. This is it, unedited:

As the decade of the nineties has progressed, the American public has consistantly grown obsessed with malice, dishonor and deceit. A little boy growing up in this generation will not eagerly watch the television and dream of flying for NASA or becoming an all-star athlete. Today's little boy is more familiar with VanDamme and Stallone movies than Disney cartoons and if he plans to follow the footsteps of any of his heroes, he will have to wonder how many divorces he will have by the age of 40. Monsters who haunt a little girl's dreams at night aren't fictional anymore, but actual figures and images of whom today's children are constantly warned about--strangers, kidnappers, abductors, rapists, molestors. Most adult awareness has also warped into constant suspicion these days, as many people would have more faith in the Psychic Friends Network than in any politician.

The justification for this lack of trust lies not in the reality of today's world, but in portrayals of reality. Even in strictly news magazines, headlines tend to reek of scandal and covers tend to bear bloody photographs. Television networks are littered with talk shows and many programs considered "journalism" report inaccrate rumors, pollute the public much like tabloids, and accuse and exagerate so excessively that they make the McCarthy trials seem mild. Although the media tends to portray everyday life as a soap opera, they can't be blamed when they are merely appeasing the public's insatiable appetite for violence and scandal.

It would seem the most that can be done for this problem is to encourage awareness in both children and adults. To attack this modern mentality of distrusting and discrediting everything, society would have to begin an almost revolutionary change in what children are exposed to. It is not sheltering that we need to install, but just the opposite. Children need to understand and believe in reality instead of developing confusion and ignorance from false images they are blatently shown all their life. The excessive amount of television viewed by Americans validates the conclusion that what is viewed can filter one's perception of the world to the point of sheer ignorance. Although programs that focus on gossip (such as those titled "My Mother Slept with My Ex-Brother-in-Law's Gay Lover") contribute to common misconceptions, it would not be practical to suggest that the programs be prohibited or ignored.

A feasible approach would be making education of current issues a requirement for children in school and incorporate factual news programs or periodicals as part of homework. Also, news programs should try creative styles of broadcasting or advertising to create an image different from the boring or undesirable reputation a typical couch potato may associate with the news. As a potential journalist, I feel the media is obligated to portray reality accurately, for journalists are the most responsible for creating or at least contributing to public knowledge (and opinion).

Imitation Thai CPK

I don't know if this looks as good as it tasted but I recently had a craving for California Pizza Kitchen's Thai Chicken Pizza, and knowing it's a repeat offender on the "what not to eat" lists, I decided to recreate it at home with shrimp instead of chicken and a lot of veggies.

Here's the recipe if you ever want to attempt it. Perfectionists, take note: I don't list recipes in the standard way with ingredients, then directions. I just like having the directions and I'll highlight the ingredients to buy. I'm also very loosey goosey about interpreting recipes to one's own tastes and preferences. I improvise every time I make something.

1) Defrost a storebought frozen pizza dough. I like Sunflower Market's. If your grocery store doesn't have frozen pizza dough, just ask for a glob of sourdough or french dough at the bakery counter.

2) Defrost 15-20 frozen shrimp, and peel the shells or pinch off the tails. Rinse well and soak in the fridge a half hour in lemon juice.

3) Roll the crust out to some kind of a shape - square, triangle, circle, heart. Use a basting brush to spread a very thin layer of peanut oil (if you don't have it - substitute olive oil) across the dough especially on the edges which will become the crust.

4) For the sauce, use a bottle of Whole Foods' 365 Organic Peanut Sauce and mix about 3/4 cup of the bottled sauce with 1/4 cup sugar. Give or take a little less or more sauce and sugar depending on your personal tastes for a saucy or sugary pizza. I like the sauce thin.

5) Apply the sauce to the pizza crust using a spoon or spatula.

6) Drain the lemon juice from the shrimp. Chop and pile on the toppings: shards of carrots, fresh or frozen chives, green and red pepper, white onion, corn if you like it, and shrimp. Depending on your comfort level with hot spice, sprinkle any hot red peppers, piri piri, or thai hot peppers over the toppings. Top with a layer of mixed shredded cheese. (I like to use a mexican blend). This pizza does not need as much cheese as the average pizza since it's so flavorful already.

7) Cook at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until brown and toasty on the edges.

8) Let cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle the cooling pizza with chopped cashews (or peanuts), sesame seeds, and cilantro (optional).

9 and 10) Dig in and say "Yum".

Cupid don't throw back your bow...

This is the first summer in a while that I have nearly no concerts on my calendar. My only plans to go to Red Rocks are for a Women's Bean Project / Bonnie Raitt show I'm volunteering for in August.

But a few days ago I noticed the Wallflowers were sold out at the unusually quaint Botanic Gardens, so I tracked down a single ticket on Craig's List and headed over there tonight.

The Wallflowers are a contradiction in many ways. They can't seem to shake off the catchy radio tunes and 40-something groupies in the crowd. They seem to want to be successful musicians without wanting the fame and junk that goes with it. When I first heard them in college, I remember my roommate and I immediately put them in the same category as Matchbox 20, as in, "Just kill me and put me out of my misery now if I have to hear that song again". Their singles were insanely overplayed and overrated. It seemed like magazines were obsessed with the band just based for Jakob's anomalous blue eyes.

But over the years I've really gotten into the Wallflowers, especially for their albums that were less played on the radio. And don't say I'm getting old...

It occurred to me tonight how ironic it is that Jakob originally came on to the music scene trying with all his might to not be compared to (or even associated with) his father. First of all, it's a pretty good relative to have. Second of all, it's not like they sound anything alike. Third of all, it's not like anyone is ever going to compare anyone's work to the reach and scope of Bob Dylan. I never even thought they looked alike, but tonight the resemblance was uncanny.

Seeing him in person made me realize, this boy is a bonafide miracle. He has inherited his father's musical talent and originality without inheriting the chip on his shoulder or the lack of a melodic (& piercingly nasal) voice. He is modest and genuine, a great singer and a great songwriter. What could be better than that.

the tide is high but i'm holding on!

No progress with the job hunt so far this month, but frankly, I can't help but to pull up a chair by the pool and enjoy the summer.

don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.

-Christopher Robin

Shimmy Shimmy Go-Go Bop

I love that Tom Hanks can still recite the song from "Big"