Happy New Years Eve!

Scott and I promised to stay up till midnight - lets see if we can make it! tonight we had winter squash soup. I got the recipe out of my eating well magazine. First i roasted the squash and some garlic in the oven for 40 minutes. Then I cut up an onion and and 1 carrot and sauteed them on the stove. Then I added the squash that I had roasted and the garlic, some salt and some cumin, and a few cups of water, and let that simmer for about 45 minutes. Then I blended it and served it. It was a hair bland, but still good.

46 degrees! Its a heat wave!

well its starting to cloud up a bit, but i had to post that its up a whopping 46 degrees out! So, we broke open the new sidewalk chalk (thanks Davis family) and decorated the driveway.

So last night I made butternut squash raviolis with sage and gorgonzola. We also had asparagus on the side. I guess it falls under the pasta category, but still it felt like a break from the same old. Im not sure what we're going to have to tonight. Im thinking of making perch with some risotto on the side. We have an acorn squash, so maybe that instead of the risotto. I might make kale or broccoli, i havent decided yet.

Its a beautiful sunny day in mid Michigan. Its 43 degrees out and barely a cloud in the sky. The girls and I walked over to hannah center, then the library, then the track. All in all about 1.5 miles, but it felt good to be outdoors and not be too cold! The snow is mainly melted, except for the snow banks. But, the melting snow is causing the red cedar river to crest. Its supposed to be 7.2 feet tonight. Last September it crested at 7.3 feet and the water came up just about as high as the "rock" across from erickson. We will try to get over there to check it out and take some pics.

Merry Christmas!

Im wondering if I really need to report what we've eaten for the last three days... I think lets just say that we've had lots and lots and lots of good food at both of our parents homes! We will post some pictures over the weekend.

What strange weather! Its about 54 degrees this morning here in mid michigan. I thought I would get a run outdoors in a t-shirt and tights until the thunder and lightening started. This breaks our "snow every day" pattern I guess! We had about 20 inches of snow in our yard christmas eve, so its going to mush today. Im going to suggest we all wear fishing waders today.

Yesterday the weather was also crazy. We were driving from Columbus OH to Jackson MI and just south of Toledo we hit freezing rain and almost instantaneously the roads turned into a sheet of ice. Cars were falling off of the road left and right. The highway was shutdown and we all just had to sit in our cars on the highway for about an hour and 15 minutes waiting for the salter to come through and for the highway to be reopened. Scott took this picture of the cars and trucks waiting on the icy road. that beautiful shine on the road is pure ice! he also got out of the car to get something from the back and literally skated all the way around the car. It was amazing we could even drive as we did on that road before they shut it down.

when its super cold and snowy...

When its super cold and snowy do you know what is really yummy to eat? Fish and chips and coleslaw. So, that is what he had for supper last night! Not too exciting I guess but at least we haven't eaten that in the past two weeks.

Its only the second day of winter

this is our fourth winter storm warning in the last two weeks! .....

Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon...

Snow will redevelop Tuesday morning and continue into Wednesday. Some of the snow could be locally heavy at times. There could be some freezing rain or sleet south of Interstate 96 on Wednesday. A break in the precipitation could occur Tuesday night. Storm total accumulations in excess of 8 inches are possible along and north of Interstate 96 with up to 6 further south where a wintry mix could limit amounts.

Pizza and Planetarium

Its forecast to snow every day this week, and that is coming off of a week where I think we also had snow everyday. I guess what is another 6 or 7 inches? We are also forecast for a high of 16 today, and its 16 right now, so Im not sure if that means its going to get colder as the day goes on, or the forecast is off. I sure hope that it means the forecast is off! But by Christmas eve it will be a downright balmy 34!!!! yahoo!

Yesterday we went with our neighbors to the MSU planetarium. We went to the show "holiday of lights" which was fun. Frankie loved seeing the constellations, and Bee's favorite part was the black light that lit her white shirt up super bright! Then we went over our neighbors house to have pizza together. So, i guess that is what we ate for dinner! ha ha!

Last night we had pasta y fagioli (or bean soup as we like to say). a family staple. I made it with more onion and tomato than I usually do because i wanted to use those up, but it turned out OK. I just sauteed an onion in olive oil on low for about 15 min, then added two tomatos diced and sauteed that for about 2 more min. then I added water and salt, and a can of pinto beans. Then I let that simmer for 2 hours. Then I added some ditilini at the very end (that we had cooked the other day). A friend from work had given me a loaf of brown bread she baked, so we had it with that. Yummy! Perfect meal between snow storms and the blustery cold.

We had our first official "snow day" of the year! All schools around here were canceled and we ended up with about 9-12 inches of snow. the official report is 9.5 but is seems a little more to me! Now, the scary, sad, or cool thing depending upon how you look at it is that we already have another winter storm warning posted for saturday night. I guess that is what happens when you live in michigan.

I forgot to post on supper last night. We had San Su. I had my usual salmon roll. Scott had eel roll. Its been a hard week to say the least. I lost a dear friend of mine to breast cancer at such a young age. But the world keeps turning I guess.

I took the girls for hair cuts today so we had fun at the salon. I got my haircut too! Pics later!

Vegetable stew

So, Scott's sister, Colleen, offered a recipe on her blog for us to try. So, we gave it whirl last night. We did not have apple cider, so we skipped that. It was delicious, especially served with yummy bread. The recipe was perfect for using up our CSA share, too, and easy to make.

In other news, we are forecast for a major winter storm tonight. If it comes to pass we are supposed to get 8-12 inches of snow. The rain/ice/snow line is supposed to be about a half hour south of us, which should make for a lot of fun in jackson!

Barbara on stage

Here's the view from the balcony of last night's "Marble Muskrats Making Music" concert. Barbara was super-excited to be on stage singing with the kindergarteners.

Here is Bee and her classmates singing (and signing) "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". (If you crank up the sound you may actually hear them.)

The full-size video is here, with more video here and here if you just need to see more.

Did I mention we were in the balcony? Front row in fact. Frankie took advantage of that by losing here shoe over the railing. (No one was hurt as far as we know.) Here's a shot of the actual shoe sitting in an actual lap below us.

Last night we had veggie burritos with an egg on top. I dont know what that is officially called, but we learned it down in texas and have loved it ever since. I drenched mine with salsa, so you might say that I had a bowl of salsa with a burrito and egg on the side. ha ha. Bee preferred an "english muffin pizza" which was fine by us because she had her big performance last night (school concert).

brrrrrrrr

this morning when i got up around 5.30 it was 44 degrees out. its now 10.30 am and its 21!! ouch, its cold! Oh, and by the way, we had pasta last night...

Frankie climbed into bed with us a little after 6 this morning, and we are laying there and she turns to me and says, "Mommy what school do skeletons go to?" Anyhow she was totally serious and I thought that was kind of funny since it came out of the blue. Oh, and we had penne pasta with tomato sauce for supper last night.

All CSA, all the time

that is what we named our supper last night. Honestly, having to blog  what we eat persuaded us to cook last night. Besides we were too tired to go out. So, "all CSA, all the time" turned out pretty well. In fact, I might even make it again.

• 3 med. potatoes, boiled (I used purply-pink potatoes from the CSA)
  
• 1/4 c. milk
  
• 1/2 tsp. salt
  
• 1 onion, chopped (from the CSA!)
  
• 1 tbsp. oil
  
• 1 lb. broccoli (from the CSA!)
  
• 4 med. carrots, diced (from the CSA!)
  
• 1 fresh tomatoes
  
• 2 bunches Swiss chard (from the CSA!)
  
• 1 tsp. salt
  

So basically, you mash the potatoes with the milk and some salt. Then in a pan you sautee the onion in the olive oil, then add salt, then when that looks good, you add the carrots and the broccoli and let that sautee for a good 10 minutes. then I added the tomatoe and all
of the swiss chard and let that sit for about 3 minutes. Then I dumped it in a baking dish and covered the top with the potatoes, then baked it in the over for about 15 min to get the potatoes brown on top. Its the CSA version of shepards pie. I think I would add some cooked lentils next time. Scott made due with a sausage on the side.

As for me, i dumped hot sauce on top. Yum!

Also, the mashed potato on top was a pretty light pink, so Bee thought it was princess pie. She ate the broccoli picked out from the middle but otherwise wasn't impressed with much but the color.

Well, last night continued our slide. We had San Su (sushi place).  Scott picked it up, and it was delicious! I just love San Su. But last night was also pick up day at the CSA and we are loaded with swiss chard, potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, brussel sprouts (yuck), parsnip, and rutabega. We also have some mixed greens grown in the hoop house, some fresh eggs, and a few other things. 

So, hopefully we will make something interesting tonight! Then again, it is friday....

off the wagon already!

Ok, I will spill the crap, i mean beans. Well, last night, as is evidenced by Bee's "hat" we broke down and had pizza delivered. But, we did cook up our own eggplant to put on top, if that counts for anything! And we made broccoli on the side. 

OK, we will try to get back on the wagon tonight..... or not.

Quick quiz: What did we have for dinner last night?

Bonus pic: here we are getting cozy with Sparty at the UM-MSU hockey game last Saturday night.

We got to sit in the Dean's box to see the Spartans blow a 3-2 lead with 2 minutes in the 3rd, losing 5-2. We had fun though!

so maybe this isnt a great idea

Im starting to get bored writing about what we eat for dinner, so i
imagine if anyone is reading this then you are bored too. Well last
night we had huevos rancheros. Yummy and easy. I made an egg for
everyone, made some refried beans (from a can), heated up some
tortillas and open a jar of yummy salsa a colleague sent me from
texas. then put out the leftover broccoli from yesterday. I think the
only interesting thing here is part way through dinner Bee says, Hey
mom did you ever notice that beans look like crap? She was totally
serious as she munched away on her tortilla and beans. Well, there
you have it. Dinner time at the calabrese barton household.

close call

We almost ate spaghetti. But we held firm and had lentil bean soup.
It was pretty simple. Chopped up an onion and some garlic (both from
the CSA) and sauteed in olive oil. Added 3 carrots and 1 potato (also
from the CSA) and let that cook for a few minutes. Then I added some
salt, some ginger, and some cumin, and let that cook. Finally, I
added 1.5 cups of dry lentil beans and a ton of water. Let that cook
for a good while. We had some bread on the side and some broccoli.

Bee and Frankie didnt realize what they were getting themselves into
when we made this pact. I think getting out of this rut might be
better for them than for us. They both ate the lentils tonight, so we
were proud of them. We did let them have some leftover spaghetti with
the lentils though.

whats cookin'

I think we are going to start up blogging again after a 5 week
hiatus. We've decided we're in a rut with respect to dinner. We eat
about 3 meals: Pasta, spaghetti, and noodles. Sad thing is, I dont
think Im exaggerating! Well, that is if you dont count the san su or
pizza house orders. So, Scott and I made a pact. We were going to
start making new meals (well, that is, new to us). And, to keep us
honest, we are also going to report what we've had for supper here at
bartobreezy. A little boring i know but, but Im hoping some of you
might have good suggestions or maybe you will find a fun recipe or
maybe you can just laugh at how often we do eat pasta, although we
are honestly trying not to do that. Also we seem to be getting into
the root vegetable season of our CSA and i need to figure out how we
can eat all of those roots. I do think my friend Judy will be getting
her rutabega deliveries from me because we tried on those last year,
but couldnt quite eat them as fast and furious as they came in.

So last night we had salmon. I ground up some almonds, coconut,
garlic, salt, and bread, and the rolled the salmon in it. Then I
baked it for 20 minutes at 475. Then I cooked up a squash (I dont
know what kind it was... Bee picked it out from many from the CSA so
we figured it was edible), and then chopped that up, sauteed it with
garlic and olive oil, and then added it to some risotto, water and a
little milk, and cooked that also for about 20 minutes. Then we made
broccoli rabe on the side. So, that marks our getting out of a rut.
How long will it last? Stay tuned!

Congratulations President-elect Obama!

Election Day!

So, we went to vote today as a family, and for the first time in our lives had to wait in line to cast a vote! It was exciting to see so many people out there trying to get their voices heard. In fact when I went running this morning I passed by our polling place at about 5:40 am (which was scheduled to open at 7am) and there were already people in line! So, what is your voting story, if you have one?

interesting science experience!

Each monday I ask my students (seniors at MSU) for any interesting
science experiences from the week. As you can imagine I have my own
to share (including bringing in those super sized mushrooms from a
few weeks ago and asking my students to dissect them!). Anyhow, Well,
here is an interesting science experience I thought I'd share here. I
was driving home from a meeting in Detroit on monday and a wicked
cold front was coming through. Its a long drive, about an hour and
half, most of which is on the highway. We were having bands of "ice
pellets and snow" interspersed with sunshine and wind. it was really
odd. So anyway, I was passing through an ice pellet and snow band and
the sun came out and i saw a rainbow. Im not sure Ive ever seen a
rainbow with ice and snow before so it was cool and reminded me of
the rainbow I saw in hawaii! I would have taken a picture, but i was
trying to drive on the highway and take in the rainbow at the same
time, so couldnt manage the pic.

hawaii x3

so my last post with pics from hawaii (I think!). We saw a rainbow,
which as full and bright and dipped below the clouds into the valley!
it was beautiful and amazing! We also went to Honolulu Harbor and
looked over into the water and saw lots of fish, including the
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. I learned how to pronounce while there, but
havent tried to pronounce it since! This beautiful blue water is
water in the harbor where the ships come in and its still bright
blue! We also took a drive on the Pali parkway and stopped at the
Nuuanu Pali Lookout. It is very windy! In 1795, Kamehameha I and his
army invaded Oahu in an effort to "unite" the hawaiian islands, and
led the Kalanikupule's troops to their deaths by forcing them over
the steep cliffs at the Nuuanu Pali Lookout. And now lets see, the
last picture is the view from our hotel room!

banyan trees

We enjoyed looking at the rich vegetation in Hawaii. I think what the most interesting were the banyan trees. The trees have long vines (which are really aerial roots). It took a few days, but we began to realize that these vines settle into the ground and become part of the tree, like little mini trunks.  This process can allow the trees to get fairly large.  We read about (but did not see) a banyan tree in hawaii that takes up an entire city block! The ones we saw were pretty big too, and as you can see from the post below, great for playing tarzan! (Go Scott!).

When  I looked up banyan trees on the internet I learned that the banyan tree is considered sacred and represents eternal life. I also learned its sap and roots are good for treating external skin inflammations and bruising along with skin ulcers, dysentery, and toothaches, and the bark and seeds are used to treat patients with diabetes.

how could i forget?

the most exciting picture from the falls... scott aka tarzan swinging
on the vine tree in the parking lot!

where to start?

We had a really wonderful trip to Hawaii. it was wonderful to see my friend, tara, and to just have some fun with the family,  when scott wasnt conferencing! I think my favorite part of the whole trip was the walk up Monoa Falls. Its about a 400 ft incline and I am proud to say that both girls made it up and down despite the rain, rocks and mud! We were covered in mud when we were done, but it was nice to be one with mother nature!  At the top was a beautiful waterfall. Manoa Falls tumbles down a near vertical cliff for 150-feet into a small pool. The hike to the falls brings you through through a bamboo forest, rainforest, and base of the Ko'oaus Mountains. There were signs that said to watch for wild pigs, so there you have it!

More later....

beach

Here are the girls playing in the sand on the beach in honolulu.
Frankie drew herself playing with Bee and Bee wrote her name in
cursive. The water is warm and a bright breen - perfect for playing
in!

MSU rally

Barack Obama visited MSU this past week. I think my favorite picture of all is the one of Bee and Frankie standing by the MSU rock, which was painted for the occasion.

Anyhow, I was asked to volunteer for the event, since Ive been volunteering in the east lansing office. My  "job" for the day was to stand in the stands right behind the stage until they were ready to fill the seats. Since I was right behind the stage, I decided to stand right up next to the stage during Obama's presentation. When he left, he step off of the stage and shook hands, and so I got to shake his hand!  It was a cold day and overcast, but that didnt stop about 20,000 students, faculty, staff, and others from hanging out. Oh and I was standing next to the football team and the secret service - i know you cant really see him, but that is #23 (Javon Ringer) at the end of the row. anyhow, i put the football pic in for those of you who may not be Obama fans but love the spartans! Go Green!

Calvatia gigantea

So, what is that next to the soccer ball? I admit I was completely creeped out to find a gigantic mushroom in my backyard. Actually not just one but 5! So, with a little sleuthing and help from a neighbor, I *think* its a calvatia gigantea.  According to the mushroom expert.com,

"The giant puffball, Calvatia gigantea, is easily recognized by its size and shape. Typical specimens are about the size of a soccer ball, and more or less round. However, it can be much larger (a 5-foot, 50-pound specimen is on record!). Like all puffballs with white interiors, Calvatia gigantea is edible before the flesh begins to darken and turn into spore dust. In fact the giant puffball can be found in farmers' markets across the Midwest in late summer. It is frequently sliced into "steaks" that are then battered and fried in butter. The fact that puffballs are tasteless, and that the resulting morsel tastes more like batter and butter than anything else, does not seem to deter."

So, anyone have some butter and a frying pan?

Ok, Im still creeped out!

A focus on women's issues: VAWA

You know I consider integrity and truth telling along with the major economic crisis we are in to be critical life issues... but lets get to those another day, hopefully soon. I want to to focus on women's issues since i started that research a few weeks ago. I didnt get as much done on this as I wanted. Life is a little out of control for me these days so I will only look at two issues:

1. Violence against women

2. Equal pay for equal work (on the next post, hopefully tomorrow)

For the record, I dont claim objectivity. Yes, the voting records below stand for themselves, but I have only pulled a few instances which I know are politically charged. So I stand guilty on that account. Also, I am not going to take up a woman's right to her own reproductive freedom (which should include a focus  on  health care coverage of birth control, medically accurate sex ed, financial support for pregnant teens or for the reduction in teen pregnancy). I don't want to side track the discussion of these other critical issues because of the often times polemic nature of the debate.

Violence Against Women

25% of all women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. Approximately 1,400 women a year - four every day - die in the United States as a result of domestic violence.  (For an explanation of this and other facts, see the information available at the National Institutes of Health ).

These numbers are surprisingly high -- and yet the topic gets such little air time or resources.  In 1994 The Violence Against Women Act [VAWA] was passed and signed into law. It was reauthorized by Congress in 2000 and 2005. As most people now know, this legislation was drafted and sponsored by Joe Biden. John McCain voted against VAWA in 1994 and 2000.  Biden, as sponsor of the legislation voted in favor.

VAWA created new penalties for gender-related violence and new grant programs encouraging states to address domestic violence and sexual assault such as the  the National Domestic Violence Hotline and grants to battered women's shelters. Since VAWA was passed the number of cases of domestic violence in the US has dropped by 25%.

There are many other issues that are covered in VAWA -- one of which is the requirement that rape victims should not have to pay for their own rape kits.  Rape kits are those kits that provide the items necessary for forensic and medical experts to gather and preserve physical evidence following a sexual assault. They also contain emergency contraceptives to prevent rape induced pregnancy.

In the US, when an on offense is committed against person or property crime scene investigation is paid for by the city. Why should rape be any different? It is a brutal offense against the individual involved, in most, but not all cases women. It is also notable then that the then Mayor Sarah Palin went against Alaska state law (instituted as part of VAWA) to require rape victims in her city to pay for their own rape kits (about $500 to $1200). Alaska state law made it illegal for any law enforcement agency to bill victims or victims' insurance companies for the costs of examinations to collect evidence of a sexual assault or determine if a sexual assault actually occurred.

This is slightly off topic... but whether you think Palin will make a good VP or not, you've gotta agree that she has been treated in a sexist and chauvinistic manner by John McCain. Its rare that I agree with CNN's analysis on things (they tend to be fairly conservative), CNN's Campbell Brown finally called a spade a spade earlier this week. Free Sarah Palin. Honestly, I want to know what she knows and thinks. Its a bit jarring to me that a candidate for the second highest office in our land has not held a single press conference since accepting the nomination. I think the American people and Sarah deserve better treatment than that!

"Tonight I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment," said Brown. "This woman is from Alaska from crying out loud. She is strong. She is tough. She is competent. And you claim she is ready to be one heart beat away form the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters... Let her have a real news conference with real questions. By treating Sarah Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves. Free Sarah Palin. Free her from the chauvinistic chain you are binding her with. Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has just as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. So let her act like one."

FREE SARAH PALIN!

Since Ive taken so long to post this, Palin has done an interview with Katie Couric (although still doesnt freely Q and A as the other candidates do) to add to her interviews with Gibson and Hannity. Watch that interview here and tell me what you think!

If you are interested in foreign policy you might want to watch this clip.

Watch CBS Videos Online

what do you think?

Im still working on my next post focused on unpacking pro-life, which will cover women's issues, although I probably should focus on the economy given the recent failure of major banking and insurance industries. But I started on my research on women's issues last week, so Im going to get that done before I move on. Im not quite done though. So, in the interim I will post this brief video I found put out by Catholic women:



They take John McCain to task for his unwillingness to truly be pro-life. What do you think?

Also, in the mean time I came across an interesting article by Steven Waldman, "a conservative Reagan administration official and leading pro-life legal scholar." [I found this as I was searching out some more conservative view points]. He chronicles how he was publicly chastised by his parish priest and refused communion in church because he supports Barack Obama.

Waldman focuses primarily on the issue of how pro-life cannot end with birth, and makes the claim that "The irony of ironies was that my motivation for the endorsement [of Obama] was entirely Catholic. No, Obama doesn't share the Catholic faith, but he certainly campaigns like he does. As reflected in his book, the Senator is focused on the human person, on the common good, on the social justice of economic arrangement. All is so very Catholic."

What is also profound about Waldman's argument (and he is a conservative legal scholar on abortion issues) is that he states "Obama's "abortion reduction" agenda will have more impact on abortion in the short run than the traditional battles against Roe v. Wade." This is also a great point because the real issue is "unwanted pregnancies" not "sinful" and "uncompassionate" women who need to be regulated. To actively reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies thereby reducing the want for abortion is a powerful and important step forward. It surprises me that the republican caucus has so consistently voted against legislation that will support medically accurate sex education, teen pregnancy, and access to birth control. Lets not even talk rape kits with emergency contraception.

I wish the pro-life wars would move beyond abortion (and euthanasia) only, although I urge those who are "pro-life" to not unfairly equate "pro-choice" with "pro-abortion". It unfairly caricatures the pro-choice stance and minimizes respect for women.

nature center, part 3!

The girls made bird houses last weekend for our nature center! They
painted them vibrant pinks and greens and blues. Im hoping the birds
will be attracted to them. Oh, and they also put glitter on them!
Does any one have ideas on how to keep squirrels out of the bird
houses???

How do children matter?

So I have been compelled by the popular memes in the political campaigns this year to unpack for myself what exactly does it mean to be pro-life? I know some define it as being against abortion. But I defer to the teachings of liberation theologists in the good catholic tradition to think about pro-life as covering "womb to tomb".  With that said, I decided I needed to get some of the facts, and so on this post I thought I would start with, how are children valued in the national agenda? Here is an interesting way to look at it: How are the current senators rated by the non partisan Children's Defense Fund on their efforts to support quality of life for children?

In 2007, the Children's Defense Fund rated every congress person on whether their voting record positively or negatively impacted children.  John McCain scored  last in the Senate: a dismal 10% out of a possible 100%. Barack Obama received a 60%. Now arguably, both Obama's and McCain's scores are a bit lower than they might be otherwise because they both have missed votes while out on the campaign trail (in the CDF's formulation, you miss a vote, you lose the same points as if you voted against). So a more accurate figure might be 2005's rating from the Children's Defense Fund, when neither were on the campaign trail (Sen. Obama: 100 % Sen. McCain: 22 %) and 2006 (Obama: 100 % McCain: 10%).  I think a clear pattern emerges here. On a side note, I was proud of our Michigan delegation (Levin and Stabenow) both of whom scored 100% all three years.

Ratings were based on ten categories:
   1.      Increase minimum wage (H.R. 2)
  2.      Increase funding for children with disabilities (S. Con. Res. 21)
       3.      Protect children from unsafe medications (S. 1082)
      4.      2008 Budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 21)
        5.      SCHIP Reauthorization (H.R. 976)
        6.      College Cost Reduction and Access Act (H.R. 2669)
       7.      SCHIP (H.R. 976 - motion to concur)
     8.      DREAM Act (S. 2205)
     9.      Funding child health and education (H.R. 3043)

        10.      Improving Head Start programs (H.R. 1429)

I was told once by a superintendent in NYC when we were talking about some work we would be doing in her school, that "the children don't have the time". What she meant was she wanted to see immediate outcomes on our research intervention. Her point was well taken then, and it applies now. The children do not have the time. 4, 8, 12 years is a long time in the life of a child.

this one is for the community organizers

This post is for all of the community organizers who have worked tirelessly to build a better, more just, more humane world -- Dorothy Day, MLK, Susan B Anthony, and for the many good folks I know so well -- Carmen, Melinda, Deb and others -- who do their work without recognition, day by day, with youth and their families. Your work matters. Your work is central to supporting a culture of life for all people. Whether its children in need quality education,  families in need of health care, children living in the asthma zones of our biggest cities, or families on the brink of homelessness because of job loss or house foreclosure, you are there working against economic, social, and environmental injustice.

nature center part 2

It only took a month, but we finally got the bench for the nature
center! Bee wants to paint it pink, but Im not sure that we will do
that! I think that next comes the bird feeder. Give us another month.
ha ha. Now, here is an interesting tidbit for you. So you know I
teach seniors at MSU this semester, and yesterday was the first day
of class. I was going over the class list to make sure everyone was
there and to learn their names, and would you believe that 6 of my 25
seniors have the middle name Marie and 5 more have the middle name
Elizabeth? That's practically half the class!

Sen. Obama in Lansing

Senator Obama was in Lansing today to talk about his plan for energy
and the economy! My friend and I were able to get 11 tickets so that
we could take a group of youth from the GET City (Green energy
technologies in the city) to see him speak, which was a perfect
topic, since the kids have been studying energy issues all year! And
a couple of kids from our program were interviewed by CBS news so
that was exciting to see!

The day started off with a bang (literally) as we watched a police
car go up in flames. I guess it overheated and it somehow caused a
fire. It was little freaky because the heat of the fire caused the
ammunition in the car to go off and you could hear the ammunition
popping! I was for sure they were going to cancel the event.

then we watched Sen. Obama give a talk on energy issues, primarily
oil independence, climate change, and the role of new energy
technologies in transforming the economy and in global
sustainability. These are issues you all know I care alot about, and
so it was especially interesting to be able to see Obama speak on
these issues.

The crowd was fairly small - about 2500 people so even though we were
close to the back of the room, we felt like we were close to the stage!

Oh and I forgot to add that today is Obama's birthday so the whole crowd sang happy birthday to him! So while I did not get to shake his hand, I did get to sing happy birthday to him in person!

Go Obama!

Nature Center

We've decided to put in a little nature center in our background.
Well, admittedly, all of our backyard is nature. However, we thought
we would work with a part of the backyard to put in a little path, a
bench, a birdbath or bird feeder, some plants and whatnot. Its sort
of a mix of tranquility and imagination. The kids can play there and
create whatever worlds they want. We can sit there and enjoy the
peacefulness that is east lansing. So, the first picture is what we
started with. Then we cleared the the area. Then, the second picture
is the pathway we put in. We got some new york slate and put in a
pathway, with a sol y la luna step at the beginning and end. The next
step has not yet been determined but stay tuned!!

raspberries

Drum roll please....

from the little twig we planted last summer.... we figure if the
number of berries doubles each year, in 10 years we will have over
1000 raspberries (1024 to be exact)!

Gold Medal

Here is our level 1 swimmer! I think she is ready for Beijing, dont you!

having fun in columbus with mom and dad and...

Obama!! ha ha!!






For those of you familiar with MSU... Bee's summer camp class painted the "rock" near the auditorium on friday! Bee's friends call her Bee Bee, so if you see the "BB" on the right side that is Bee's contribution!

little house on the prairie

We went to the Nokemos Learning Center, sort of close to our house.
Its a recreation of an old farm village with the actual farm house,
school and general store. It was a sunday afternoon so everything was
closed but we still had fun wandering around, looking for frogs in
the lake, and pretending to be laura ingalls wilder!

garden

We put in our garden over Memorial Day weekend. We put in the usuals, including a variety of tomatoes and eggplant. Our strawberries from last year seem to be doing well. We also added broccoli for the first time this year. I have never grown it before so I didnt know what to
expect. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the plant we put into the ground is actually starting to look like the broccoli Im used to eating! Do you see the little floret in the middle???? Ok, you have to look real close, but still!! I sure hope it gets larger!

Will report back in about 25 or so more days when it *should* reach maturity. Ok, I also know we need to weed the garden...

Bike power!!

The one thing that really surprised me but also caused me to reflect upon my own practices was how committed the Dutch were to riding bikes and other forms of alternative transportation! I knew that the Dutch rode their bikes more, and that cars were not as dominant a part of their society, but I was really astounded by how many bike riders I saw of all ages. And the things they could do on their bikes!

First, there were definitely more bike riders than people in cars. Walking down the street I think you have to be more worried about being hit by a bike than a car. In fact, they have special lights at intersections just for the bikes. You can see in this one picture, the bikes lined up at the light.

Second, I saw old people (80s and up!) riding bikes, young people (lets say ages as low as 3) riding 2 wheelers with agility. I saw women of all ages riding bikes with 3 and 4 kids in tow (2 in front and 2 in the back) whilst also carrying groceries and other odds and ends. I saw a woman, I'd say about 65 years old, who was wearing a dark suit with a skirt, high pencil thin heels, cruising down the street. I saw a priest in full dress. I couldnt whip my camera out fast enough to catch these images, but they are certainly indelibly imprinted in my mind.

Now, really, when I think I cant ride my bike to school because I have too much to carry, I will think twice, and try hopping on the bike. I will also say that I think its going to take some practice. We saw lots of adults carrying adults on the back of the bike (like Im trying to do with my colleage, Nancy, in this picture), but lets just say its really hard to keep your balance when you havent done this before!

If the Dutch aren't riding their bikes they are taking the train, the tram or the bus. The public transportation system in both amsterdam and utrecht was enviable. And, packed! People used it! Here in the US people are complaining about $4/gallon price for gas. Some folks even want to lift drilling restrictions to get more oil into the system, despite good evidence that it is harmful to the larger ecosystems we share with other species. I think, as a society, we have a lot to learn from the Dutch!!