Category: Uncategorized

This storm covered 30 states! Pretty amazing. Here are 13 random thoughts on the Lee of the Storm:

1. Tuesday night, we made it through Lakeshore Drive just in time, apparently. Michael picked me up at 3:30 P.M., having left his office at 3:00, and we didn’t get to our garage until 6:00 P.M. We were lucky: many, many people got stranded on Lakeshore and had to be rescued.

2. This is the view from our car, with 50 mph winds sweeping west (to the left as you’re looking at the photo), causing whiteout conditions and driving snow and ice before it. Lake Michigan is directly to the east of Chicago, so the storm picked up water off the lake to add to its fury.

3. Here’s an article with pictures about the Drive being back open, and all the stranded cars.

4. Several buses were even stuck, my bus driver this morning told me, and had to come to work the next day anyway!

5. The thermocouple on our furnace gave out. What’s a thermocouple? Here\’s what Google gave me. What happened is that the furnace blew out (it’s gas operated). We re-lit it, and it blew out. We re-lit it, and it blew out again. We built a burm of snow around it, and it blew out – but this time, the flames came several inches out of the opening, missing my face by a breath, and burned all the hairs off my left hand.

Here’s the guys, building the snow wall:

6. The city did a terrific job of plowing everything. The streets are, by and large, open again. They plowed our street in the night, using a dump truck to get the snow out of the way.

7. The ‘problem’ with plowing the streets, is that it creates a burm. A burm is a small mountain of snow, snaking along beside the road from the snow that was pushed out of the way of the plows. The bus stop is on the curb, on the other side of the burm from the bus. This means I had to climb over a wide burm to get to the bus.

8. Our offices were actually closed yesterday, as was most of the city. The Chicago Public School System, CPS, closed for the first time in 12 years. My husband and stepson were home for the day too.

9. I didn’t get to have a traditional snow day, though, due to the wonders of modern technology. Our office has a VPN, or Virtual Private Network, so I can work from home.

10. Cable, however, was out. We use a cable modem. So my internet, wireless, AND television were all out.

11. I piggybacked onto my upstairs neighbors’ wifi, which let me access work files – but very sloooowwwwwlllllyyyyy. I live in a 1925 brick building, whose walls are 12” thick. So the signal, she wasn’t strong.

12. After the drama with the snow, and the fire in the furnace, and the shoveling and cable and working and VPN and food and stuff, I decided to take a moment to myself in my nice, warm bathroom.

And a giant friggin’ spider crawls up the wall and trundles on over to me to say hello.

D00D!

13. I am very grateful that today is a sunny day, and that we have survived Snowpocalypse 2K11! HOORAH!

Stemming from discussions with some friends, my contribution to Thursday 13 today centers around 13 Things About Yogurt. An unusual topic, perhaps, but an interesting one none-the-less:

1. Yogurt can be made from cow’s milk, goat’s milk, even soy milk. One article I saw said “any mammal milk,” which gave me pause – elephant yogurt? o.O…

2. It’s fermented milk. Commercial yogurts have the fermentation added, but you can make it at home with a commercially-available home yogurt maker.

3. I have a commercially-available home yogurt maker.

4. I’m not brave enough to try it yet…

5. The bacteria that make the yogurt are VERY beneficial to the human digestive tract. By now, most folks have heard about “acidophilus” (which my spellcheck tried to make “audiophiles,” but I digress…), but there are a broad spectrum of bacteria that are useful.

6. When you have any kind of intestinal trauma, from simple stomach flu and food poisoning all the way up to intestinal disease, yogurt can help re-populate the healthy flora in the intestines and ease up on painful symptoms.

7. Yogurt is an excellent facial cleanser.

8. No, that’s not a typo – yes, it is a non sequitur (my spellcheck tried to make THAT ‘squirt’). You can simply take yogurt in your hands (use a spoon, don’t just dip your paws in the container, sheesh!) and spread it on your face with gentle, upward sweeps of your fingers. HINT: let it come up to room temperature first. (Ask me how I know.)

9. It is an excellent cure for yeast infection.

10. No, I have not personally tested that theory. I used to get them a lot (infections) and did a LOT of research. Something about the beneficial bacteria eats the yeast in your system, and so applying it directly on the … um, affected area… is how it works. I just couldn’t do that myself, but my herbal instructor confirmed it is effective. (Couldn’t eat yogurt for months when I found out, as a matter of fact…)

11. Now, I eat yogurt pretty much daily. I have intestinal problems that I won’t bore you with, but the yogurt helps a) soothe my stomach and gut and b) helps keep the good flora well-populated. Cuz a flowery colon is your friend. (Um, forget I wrote that last sentence…)

12. Yogurt impersonates sour cream REALLY well, and if you use the 0% fat yogurt, it’s MUCH fewer calories. I put it in my spicy Indian food (which, happily enough, is actually rather authentic – they put yogurt on it too!), Mexican food, my baked potatoes, in soup, all sorts of stuff. Even put cocoa powder and honey in it! (The yogurt, ya goof, not the Indian food…)

13. If you need a quick dip for fresh broccoli florets, put some mild curry powder and a smidge of garlic salt into half a cup of yogurt and stir really well. YUM! And, 0% fat is your friend!!

Wow. Despite my worries, I actually ran out of 13 before I ran out of list! We might have to do this one again!

Happy TT!

I’ve had quite a bit of stress in my life lately, and it’s reminded me of the tools I’ve been given, learned, or, let’s be honest, been forced to incorporate in my life in order to manage the stress. While the obvious best solution is to eliminate the stressors in life, sometimes that’s not an option. When stress rears its ugly head, and we aren’t in a position to slay it outright, here are some of the tools that have worked for me. I hope they help you, too.

1. Breathe. This is one of the most effective, in-the-moment tools in the arsenal. Recently, I learned that breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth can give it an extra stress-busting kick that can help to bring the adrenaline down.

2. Drink lots of water. So what, it makes you go to the bathroom a lot? (Seriously, this is one of the most common complaints in response to this suggestion that I hear.) Water helps to wash toxins out of our bloodstream. Stress releases toxic chemicals into our system (that’s part of why it feels yucky and why, over time, stress is actually damaging to the human body).

3. Learn about stress. There are a lot of good materials out there, from places like the Mayo Clinic or your health provider’s website, to your doctor, books, friends, and the internet. Get good information about what stress is, how it affects the body, and what you can do about it. Knowledge is power.

4. Take your own advice. Many times, we know what we “should” do, we just don’t do it. Take the steps to remove your own blocks to good behavior, and implement what you know will help you in the long term.

5. Don’t be the lone gunman. While that has an echo of ugliness, because sometimes people literally become gunmen when under stress, I mean it more figuratively: don’t suffer in silence. Tell your friends, your pastor or rabbi or other religious counselor, your therapist, or other trusted advisor. Talking about it, even just admitting “I feel stress” is the first step to taking control and reducing the stress in your life.

6. Understand bravery. Being brave isn’t lack of fear. Being brave is doing something even when you’re afraid. Sometimes, the things that are causing the most stress are within our power to change, we’re just afraid to. Practice bravery in the small things so that when big things come up, you have the skills polished and know what to do.

7. Trust yourself. Your own inner guidance, that moral compass inside you, is your best and truest friend. Learn to listen to yourself, so that when you need it, you’re there to advise you.

8. Exercise. Endorphins that are released when you exercise lower stress. It can also boost your ability to handle new stress, so it’s kind of a perpetual-motion machine of goodness that can beat back that stress. Just do it!

9. Eat well. Medicating ourselves with too much sugar or fat is a common response to stress. Be aware of this impulse and make good decisions about food. If you need to get yourself into a program like Weight Watchers or Overeaters Anonymous if food is your drug of choice.

10. Remember, or learn, the Serenity Prayer: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Simple, powerful, liberating.

11. Learn what you can control in a situation. There are always options. When you can hone your ability to see those options, you empower yourself. You may not like the options, but having them can give you, well, options. When you can make decisions, you exercise control. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle.

12. Go easy on the drugs. Understand the effects of your drugs of choice: caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, or others. Know that putting them in your system has consequences, and that when we’re stressed, it’s natural to want to self-medicate. The problem is that doing so can cloud our ability to effectively deal with the stress that caused the urge in the first place, which is why it’s difficult to stop. If you need help doing so, see a therapist or cessation group and get information and support.

13. Massage. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: massage works. It works with the body’s natural healing processes and boosts your ability to manage the stress you’ve already developed as well as prevent further stress from having adverse effects. If you haven’t tried it, make a resolution to find a good massage therapist. Highly worth the money and time you invest.

Above all, remember: you are the architect of your life. If there are things happening on a regular basis in your daily round that you don’t like, you have the power and authority to change them. Be open to the abundance in the universe and trust yourself. You can do it!

So. … This is my list. It has no introduction, on account of I can’t think of one. Suffice it to say, if you’re a manager, and you want to motivate your team members or build trust, don’t do these things:

1. Yell a lot.

2. Don’t apologize.

3. Yell some more.

4. Look confused when confronted about your mood and why you’ve been yelling.

5. Tell the person that confronted you about your mood and why you’ve been yelling that they obviously don’t know what their effect is on others.

6. Yell at your team members about stuff they do outside of work, that has no bearing on work, and when they don’t bring it in to work.

7. Look surprised when they tell you it’s none of your business what they do outside of work. They’re your employees, right??

8. When you do get an inkling you might have gone a teensy bit overboard, apologize and act contrite to everyone EXCEPT the team members you yelled at.

9. Yell some more.

10. Blame your yelling on your own stress and tell people that if they find your yelling stressful, they should consider themselves lucky that’s all the stress they have in their lives.

11. Don’t apologize.

12. Yell about how you’re the boss, because obviously your employees have failed to realize that you are the boss.

13. Pass off 1-12 as “clearing the air.”

There are many good management books out there. Some are even in English. They’re available for free, even, at libraries. Public ones. That are nearby. Even walking distance of some places.

Isn’t society advanced?