Hygiene and Allergies

Vidhya Nagarajan for NPR

There is a theory out there called the hygiene hypothesis that claims that skyrocketing cases of allergies and autoimmune disorders are attributable to developed societies' obsession with hygiene and eliminating microbes in our environment. I've heard this idea before and it makes perfect sense to me. It relates to the whole immunization discussion happening right now. In the same way that immunizations train a body's immune system to recognize harmful microbes, non-harmful microbes are thought to help train or calibrate our immune systems. Without that calibration the immune system can misbehave.

Recently I heard a news story about a Swedish study that found that children who lived in homes where their families washed their dishes by hand instead of with a dishwasher (i.e., eating surfaces were not as sterile) were 50% less likely to develop allergies.

That is huge.

It gives definite credibility to the hygiene hypothesis, and something we should consider. I plan to keep my dishwasher, but maybe I will lay off bleach mopping and trying to sterilize so much all the time. But then, I probably don't have anything to worry about; in a household with 6 kids (and many other children coming and going on a daily basis), and dog and a cat, kids in the barn with horses...we probably have enough exposure to the kind of microbial life that will train my children's immune systems really well. ha ha...

It's something we should all think about. Read or listen to the news story here. 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/02/23/387553285/kids-allergies-and-a-possible-downside-to-squeaky-clean-dishes?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fb_ref=Default#

Drama Club

Recently Grace rounded up a mob from the neighborhood and produced a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (I think they only had 5 dwarfs to begin with...and by then end of the show only 3....dwarfs have short attention spans).

They performed in our rock wall amphitheater, with parents perched on the rocks.

The cast (L to R): The Huntsman, Five Dwarfs, the Wicked Queen, and Snow White (Grace was Narrator)

The Wicked Queen looking into her mirror (her line: "Mirror, mirror on the table, who's the fairest in this fable?"  -I thought that was super clever of them.) and mixing potions.

Offering Snow White the enchanted apple (she was saying, "Eat it!! Your lips already touched it!" ha ha ha ha)

A very convincing death scene

What was left of the Dwarfs coming to investigate what happened to Snow White. After this they kind of glossed over the story's resolution since there was no Prince Charming in this play. I guess they couldn't convince any of the neighborhood boys to jump in on that.

High quality theater in our own backyard! With concessions on the front porch! Hit me up if you want tickets for the next great performance.

Encouraging Movie Monday

I came across some gems last week (some of you may have already seen these, but we could all do with a review), and thought I would share a couple of make-you-smile-so-you-can-have-a-nice-day videos for your Monday...

...because we all need a pep talk...

Have a good one!

Simple Food: Get Ready for Something Truly Radical

For Christmas Mike's mom gave me  this book. She said she wasn't sure whether I would like it, even though I give 5 stars to this other book by the same author (which, giving credit where it's due, she also introduced me to). Thanks Jacque! I LOVE IT!

Previously, I had read a little about the idea of the benefits of natural, wild yeast strains, in tempering the grains in our diet. They pre-digest gluten, and help in the absorption of nutrients. Apparently, wheat can be a tough nut to crack (literally and metaphorically) for human digestive systems. Which is why some people have a hard time with it, especially whole wheat.  Current levels of gluten intolerance and a host of related gastrointestinal problems coincide with the introduction of fast-rising/instant yeast, developed in the early 1980's. As I read more about wild yeast, I became more excited about the possibilities.

So, feeling inspired, I sent away for a natural yeast start. I waited impatiently for it to arrive (only 3 or 4 days, but it seemed like forever). On Saturday, I spotted the envelope in the mail...and felt a little giddy as I carefully opened it and examined the tiny plastic bag containing my precious yeast. There it was, a little living thing, waiting to be nurtured and fed, in order to feed us in return. I couldn't help feeling attached to it. It was almost spiritual. :)

I wasted no time in designating a canning jar for its new home, and getting to work feeding it.

Such a little thing...

First feeding....crossing my fingers that it will be a success.

Random picture of Mitch-darling ...just because he happened to be standing there in the kitchen  while I started the yeast. (And he looked cute.)

And PRESTO! 2 days later, after a second feeding, it is just about ready to go (see those tell-tale bubbles forming against the side of the jar?). I think I will give it a go tomorrow with something simple, like waffles.

I am pretty excited, but also a little nervous. I have never really cooked with natural yeast, and I know there will be a learning curve. In the book (which is sitting conveniently in the background of the picture above), the co-author suggests taking a month just to practice maintaining the yeast start, without trying to coordinated baking days (because with wild yeast you have to time it just right with yeast-feeding days). That's good advise...especially for busy, BUSY moms like me. Otherwise, I could be looking at a giant fail.

I am hoping this will be a nutritional boon to my family, specifically those with digestion probs (I'm looking at you, Mike). I will keep you posted on my baking (mis?)adventures.

Drops in the Bucket

Recently, Mike came across this blog post that someone had shared on FB or something and decided that I needed to hear it. (You should read it too.)

http://www.daringyoungmom.com/2012/12/19/drops-of-awesome/

The author talks about how she tends (as do so many others, including me), to immediately undo every good deed with critical self-talk. This just happens to be one of my very worst vices. If you ask Mike, he might go so far as to call it an OCD neurosis with me. I have a hard time allowing myself to be completely happy.

This weekend I was feeling content and pleased and at peace with my life. I spent time at the temple on Friday with Mike...and enjoyed every minute. I felt the spirit so strongly all day yesterday...not always easy for me...
But then, for some reason today I found myself looking around and noticing that the neighbors' houses are finished so beautifully & comfortably, that a friend of mine has endless patience, offering to have my child come over for hours, and always finds ways to serve people in the neighborhood, other friends' kids practice their instruments willingly, other people have lots of friends that they get together with often, or manage their finances with precision...I could go on.

This is my point (and I am having a hard time making it clearly, because Sully woke Abner up and he is now screaming from his crib in the next room, and the dishes are piled in the sink, and ....you see what I mean?): when I allow my thoughts and self-talk to focus on my failings (past and present) the good I might do becomes just another thing to feel guilt about, because it comes mixed in with all my failings.

"Yes, I am doing this good thing, but who cares when I stunk at that other thing."
-or-
"Took you long enough to get around to THAT..."
-or-
"You might have managed 30 minutes of exercise today...like that's going to make a big difference."
etc.

I recognized myself in the words of that blog post as Mike read it aloud to me. "Wow, that's totally me!"

 I LOVED her point about changing our perspective. EVERY good choice, every selfless act, every small victory remains in the positive column of our eternal balance sheet no matter what we have in the negative column. And recognizing every seemingly insignificant  success gives us more power to do the next good thing.
I am telling you, one of Satan's most potent weapons is the one he uses to get us to discount the good that we do, so that we feel unworthy, that our efforts are futile and pathetic: "Why try? I can't measure up."

So, for the last few days Mike and I have been heard to say, "Drops of Awesome" to each other when we (I) might otherwise start listing caveats.

"We bathed the dog...only took us 5 months...(PAUSE) ...'drop of awesome'."

Jupiter in his "winter quarters" / dog palace. He gets to spend cold winter nights sleeping in his warm kitchen bed...now gated in with Grace's old fold-out doll castle.

"We ate super healthy today...after all the junk we've been eating for the past month....No wait, 'drop of awesome'."

"A hundred neighbor kids felt at home playing/eating dinner/being nurtured at our home today......but then I got maxed-out and overstimulated, sent kids home and banished our own kids for the rest of the night so I could recoup......'drop of awesome'."

Our entry-way  piled with all their shoes and coats, Saturday afternoon/evening.

"We spent some time in the morning snuggled up, reading to the little boys even though we had a million things on the to-do list...'drop of awesome'."

Of course we all need to be working to change the things that we fall short in, but, seriously, I think zeroing in on those things can magnify them beyond their actual importance. It can be a selfish and potential-sapping exercise. Satan wants us to believe that it's useless to try, that it's too late, that we are too weak, that we are not making progress, that no one cares. Sometimes, when we step back and look at ourselves with a fresh and positive-seeking perspective, we notice that the faults/mistakes we thought were insurmountable don't have the power over us that we imagined. That we cannot only overcome, but do so without endless hand-wringing and self-flagellation. Because Christ's grace is sufficient. We can move forward doing GOOD. And that is what it is all about.
Drops of awesome.

...then Jessie said, "Mom, I really like being busy..."

...and I looked at her like she had two heads. Because her pleasant sense of busyness is made possible by my never-ending frenetic running. She said this during our conversation about whether she would be permitted to sign up for after school theater again. It went something like this:

Jess: "PLEASE, can  I sign up? Mrs. *** told me she was disappointed that I hadn't signed up. She has a part in mind for me."
Me: (blaming Mrs. *** for this) "Jess, we REALLY don't have time for anything else. We are way too busy already."
Jess: "I really like being busy. I don't know, it's just kind of exciting running from one thing to the next!"
Me: (now looking at her like she has two heads and NO CLUE)            **pause**
 "I'm the one who has to GET everyone to their stuff. You have no idea how hard that is, and keeping everything straight....yada, yada, yada." I went on to list all the things on her schedule alone: 4h, guitar lessons, volleyball, teaching horse riding lessons, school, YW, basketball...  

Unconvinced, she proposed a bargain &  I compromised. I agreed that if she could arrange a car pool, I would let her sign up for the twice-a-week rehearsals for 3 months + performances. What was I thinking? She, of course, found a carpool, but then I felt guilty that someone else was doing all the driving, so I felt obligated to offer to help drive. (I'm still hoping the lady won't ever need me to.) Add one more item to the schedule. On the up side, J. has been walking around the house singing show tunes, rehashing her try-out. And she is so excited about the production. (Good thing 4h and volleyball will be over soon.)

It reminded me of a story that I heard Marjorie Hinckley tell one time, about how one frantic day when their kids were young, she could not find their oldest son to do his chores. Hours later, he came strolling casually through the door and began telling her all about the magical afternoon he'd spent watching ants and basking in the cool shade of a tree, just enjoying himself. She resisted the urge to scold him for leaving her in a lurch, and neglecting his chores.

Many years later, when he came home from college, stressed about his demanding schedule and finals, etc. He reminisced about the carefree days of his childhood. Wistfully, he said something like, "Mom, we had the most wonderful childhood...." and described that magical day again to her. The way she told it, the first thought through her mind at that point was, "I'm glad you enjoyed it..." I couldn't help laughing to myself, remembering Marjorie Hinckley's story, and then thinking about how Jessie naively described  the 'fun' of being busy. I'm with you, Marjorie. ha ha ha.

You know, the point of her story though, was not necessarily to laugh about how oblivious our kids can be, (even though that is pretty funny sometimes). The main thing she expressed, was how glad she was that she had resisted scolding her son - and not ruined the memory of that day for him. She chose instead, in that moment, to reinforce her son's beautiful experience, and it had stayed with him and nourished him throughout his life.

There's a lesson for me in that story.

In the Trenches: Snail Wars

We have a problem with these. Oh man, do we. This past week Mitch-darling recruited the kids & went on the hunt. They came away with 4 grocery bags full. I think Mike hoped that they had hunted them to extinction, but found that they had merely culled the snail population, picking off the weakest and slowest...leaving us with a more resilient, superior breed.

If you've got solutions, I'm listening.


When I was 6 or something I remember my mom buying a six-pack of cheap beer, & laying out open cans in the strawberry patch at our house in Castle Rock. The snails were supposed to crawl into the cans (because, as everyone knows, snails love beer) and then drown in a drunken stupor. My mom gave up on that tactic. Besides the fact that it didn't kill off that many snails, it had the obvious risk involved with lots of open beer cans laying around the yard where about 30 kids came and went every day. I myself had a close call there. Finding an open beer can in the fridge (assuming it was a soda), I had just lifted it to my mouth when my older sister literally knocked it out of my hands. That was a close one. Thanks, Holly. ha ha ha.

Here's your brain teaser for the week. How many snails (or the odd slug) can you find in this picture of my front flower bed?

A Book Review: Born to Run

So... I finished reading the book I snatched from Mike.  I have to tell you, it is one of the best reads EVER. A true pleasure to read, just like running should be. The story was absolutely incredible. McDougall is a fantastic writer - his style is so conversational. I felt like I was sitting there casually with him while he wove this amazing story, interlaced with running science, philosophy, anthropology, etc., etc. True, it was also well stocked with swears and tough-talking crassness here and there ...but oh, what a story. He was probably a little overstated from time to time; characaturing real people/cultures to fill dramatic roles (villain, hero...). Just like a good story teller would.  :)
 I felt like the take-away matched up with my own running philosophy so well. I was totally uplifted and inspired. I LOVED it!  This one is staying on my shelf.

Mike and I joked last night about giving a second middle name to our baby boy -- Caballo Blanco -- an honorable reference to the main character in the book. Don't worry Mom, we aren't serious. (Still. Caballo is rad.)

Simple Food: The Co-op

In line at pick-up

There are a lot of food/produce co-ops around. I've never joined one until 4 or 5 months ago, even though I think they are a great idea. Usually they required a weekly commitment and other limitations that scared me off. But we finally heard about this one. You can order week by week depending on if you want it. They encourage everyone to volunteer once in a while at pick up, which scores you some perks, and it's pretty loose. We've loved the produce and bread, we've gotten to know a few new vegetables and fruits, AND it saves us some moolah.

For a while a couple of months ago their website was swamped and it was impossible to get in to order. So I wondered about continuing. Apparently demand went through the roof in a matter of weeks (especially in Utah). They rearranged the offering times and that seemed to fix the problem on their site.

Anyway, I'm not looking for more competition on basket ordering day or anything - but this has been a part of our routine here for a while - and I love the food co-op concept. So I had to share. 

One week's basket offering

The thing is, there is always room for more people - as long as some of them are willing to start up another pick up site. It's a good opportunity for community volunteerism. I should do that. 

Keeping Up with the Joneses' Technology

Let's have a talk. This is one of those posts where I tell you what I think. And you tell me what you think in return.
The ideal role of technology in life has been an evolving topic for thought with me for some time. I would rather have ignored this subject all together, go hide out somewhere in the wilderness or at least just tell everyone I am a technological conscientious objector (cop out) and to live with it...because at some point the race to stay relevant just makes me tired. You know? But here's the little miracle: my children have forced me to consider the issue more deeply and to strike out into the unknown. No other reason would probably compel me.
So, think about this: NO ONE I knew had a cell phone until about 13 or 14 years ago.  The internet has basically happened since I graduated from college.  I learned about email as a junior in college and it seemed utterly magic to me. I could not wrap my brain around the idea of a vast indefinable network of computers integrated and pooling infinite amounts of information all the time. It was/is mind-blowing and awe inspiring. Back then I used the internet out of necessity, on a rudimentary level - because it was so complicated to me. And life went on. I thought a lot about what it all meant. I recognized and still recognize the power and usefulness of it - but more as a curious spectator.
I have used mostly just the technology that was necessary for a reasonably efficient life - because it was intimidating and always changing. As a result, Mike and I have kept things simple. Until pretty recently we've survived without cable or satellite TV (until the world dumped analog signal and forced us to). Our cell phones have usually been basic - because it makes my head hurt to think about the possibilities of so many extra features. I have not been in the habit of texting/messaging people when I want to communicate. I don't even think to check for stuff like that - because I assume that if someone needs something from me they will talk to me. I write stuff that I need to do or remember on paper. I have made some concessions: I did start a blog at Mike's suggestion. And with trepidation I dipped my toes into social networking about a year or so ago (still trying to work out the value of that). This has been my limited world. And it's been kind of nice and quiet.

Still, I've been very aware that I will HAVE to change for a lot of reasons, mainly so that I am available and relatable to our children. Our oldest is turning 13 this year. She yearns to "connect" to the world. A phone, Facebook, to have a presence of her own in the world of information..... we've been justifiably reluctant so far (just like I made her wait to wear make-up). But time is ticking and we've got to figure out what the appropriate time will be for that initiation, the appropriate boundaries, and our own tolerance levels. This has not been an easy exercise. We have no precedent from our own childhoods to draw from. And sometimes the things I see other parents doing around me seem to go against common sense - I'm not jumping on any of those band-wagons just yet. 

So, as a start, this year I made it a resolution to make myself more comfortable with changing technology. We got new phones this week. We've been researching a lot of alternatives to traditional media sources...

And we are trying to build a working philosophy to draw from as our kids dive into all of it. Friday I was listening to my favorite radio program (Does anyone else you know have a favorite radio program? Sheesh...how old-fashioned and lame can a person sound?), Talk of the Nation Science Friday.  They were discussing a book that is now on my list - "Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other". It was not a new discussion. I think people have been talking about how technology is changing the way we interact for a long time. But as I listened, the conversation was particularly relevant to the question of raising kids with it. Well adjusted and face-to-face-socialized children who can still function and benefit from technology. I'm all about that. They talked about the weirdness of the carefully constructed images that kids (and adults) create for themselves in their digital lives. How they can maintain a contrived style, fashion, body-image, even their personality by restricting most of their social interaction to text, Facebook, etc. I mean, if you keep things digital you have so much more control over what is revealed about you, right? It's so much less risky that way. Only posting perfect (retouched) photos of themselves, editing and re-editing what they say before putting it out there, so it comes out sounding perfectly cool/intelligent. Having a "friend" roster longer than anyone else's...

Anyway, this has been on my mind. For myself and for my kids.
I don't deny that understanding current technology is important. Somewhere there is an ideal balance. We are hoping to find it. And to stay unmoved by the pressure to "keep up" with (or exceed) everyone else.

I think we'll go snowshoeing soon. No phones allowed.

On the First Day of Hanukkah

A Hanukkah meal.

I couldn't believe how much energy I had yesterday so I started working on a bunch of projects. A homemade felted advent calendar, a dump truck-load of laundry, mopping the floors... I didn't finish any of it. EXCEPT my last minute plan to make a Hanukkah meal. The kids were pretty excited that there was something festive going on. They overlooked the sad inaccuracy of our pretend menorah and just took it all in. I sat them down at the table and started to tell the story of Hanukkah. No sooner had I begun, but they started chiming in with details of the story that they already knew.  Tillman: "Yeah, Judah Maccabee! I know him. He fought against the Greeks." Jessie: "The Greeks sacrificed a pig on the altar of the temple!" (I don't think anyone ever taught me this stuff in elementary school... or high school for that matter. My kids are either WAY smarter than me or educational opportunities have improved - or both.)

Anyway, I think we'll repeat this next year. Everyone loved the food. Potato latke, Challah (braided egg bread), roasted chicken in a traditional marinade, apple sauce, and apple cookies with ice cream (don't know if that part is very Jewish - but whatever). The kids wanted to know if we could celebrate every night of Hanukkah.

Me: "Um. This is good enough."

Life is good.

When you feel grateful. Grateful comes most intensely when you go through the rough patches in life. You have to be grateful to be happy. So......(and this is the funny part) if you correlate that (like a math problem) - life's difficulties can bring us to a place of greatest happiness, appreciation, and peace. Who would have guessed? Well actually, wise people like our parents know stuff like this. Also, President Monson spoke about this at LDS General Conference a few weeks ago. I needed to hear that.

It's kind of counter-intuitive how difficulties can sharpen to almost super-human levels your appreciating for simple joys, comforts, compassion, goodness...

Like, when a toddler climbs up on your head in the morning as you are trying to sleep. And you have to smile drowsily. Or when that toddler lays there softly singing jabbery 2-year-old songs. How cool is it when thoughtful neighbors think of you and share from their gardens - because they know you didn't have a chance to plant one yourself? Or when an old friend calls out of the blue to say hello. Children who put up with you - and forgive you. Or the sun rising in a fall sky. Today I saw a guy on a motorcycle drive by the Air National Guard and salute the flag as he passed - and I thought, "how cool".

Do we notice all the things around us that are right? Sometimes it takes struggling & suffering a little to refocus on what has been given and not on what is lacking. To feel really grateful and happy.

From Pres. Monson:

Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings.

This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways.

We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that "gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others."

:)

Simple Food: School lunch - homestyle

I told you I would post about this - so here it is. I have to tell you, Goodbyn is the best lunch idea EVER. (Kirsten - credit where credit is due---> thanks!)

I LUUUUV these things!

No more baggies, juice boxes, and packaged stuff. A lot less waste. The compartments make it so much easier to send a variety of food - that would be hard with traditional lunch sacks/boxes because you had to have about a million containers. Now I can send cubes of crusty bread with hummus for dipping, yogurt and granola, salads, etc.  Also, the drink bottle is the perfect size for kids.
On the down side, they are a little bit tricky to close tightly, and obviously soup would not work in these...but in general, these lunch boxes have made school lunch healthier, easier and a lot less cluttered. And I can live with that.

Another bonus feature: the bazillion dishwasher safe stickers included so your kid can personalize their Goodbyn.

I highly recommend.

Of Running and Philosophy

With the weather all crispy and lovely I've been really happy about running lately. The truth is, with the move, new neighborhood, etc. I've kind of let myself get out of the habit, only making it out a half-dozen times or so over the past few months. So it's been so nice getting back to it.

Yesterday while I was out THOROUGHLY enjoying my morning run I was thinking about stuff. I guess it was the meditative music I chose on the iPod to change things up, but ... (I started reading The Compleat Angler last night too. I must definitely be in a philosophical mood.)

A long time ago (check out my braces - ha ha ha...)

As some of you might know, I used to run my guts out in high school, seriously. (We can talk privately about some of the physical effects of that...) I dreaded racing like you wouldn't believe and I suffered a lot of anxiety all the way through Cross Country season every year. Anyway, after four years of that I was content to never race again. It's taken some years for me to find a new purpose in running.

I used to run to WIN.
I've learned how to run for meditation, renewal, endorphins,to be outside, to feel good...

I do a race here and there with friends and family (and when I do I have to watch myself to keep that competitive monster in me from rearing up), but running for me is mostly about what it adds to my life from day to day. I think it's cool when people train for something that really challenges them, we all need a challenge. But I'm not planning on the Wasatch 100 anytime soon (my brother did that a few times a few years ago, and it's pretty cool if you've got time for 40-50 mile training runs - that was when he was single). And I don't drive around with a 26.2 sticker on my car (no offense if you have one of those).
I may sound like an old lady in a Tai Chi class... these days I run for the joy of running.

It's all about Pick-Up Ball

Running my errands today I caught a little bit of an interview on the radio about the waning of unstructured play for kids, specifically the loss of sandlot style baseball. This is a subject I've thought a lot on and (ask Mike) have my own opinions about.  When I was a kid in Castle Rock, Colorado (oh my goodness, that sounds like my grandma) my siblings and I spent our summer days from sun-up till mom called us in, with each other and our gang of friends exploring the bluffs above our cul-de-sac, or in at the vacant fields down the road, building jumps for our bikes and challenging each other to death defying stunts. We rode all day on beater bikes, my brother had a battery powered radio duct taped to his handle bars, providing music for the pack of kids.

More than once I've bemoaned the fact that our children have no such creative universe to explore. When I was 13 in South Jordan every kid on the block got together every day for pick-up baseball, basketball, water fights, or other craziness. In the winter we pulled each other on tubes at breakneck speed behind motorcycles, 4-wheelers or whatever motorized vehicle we could get our hands on. I'm not going to say that we all became geniuses because of the freedom we had - but seriously, can you duplicate that kind of imaginative enterprise? The creativity and social development that comes from making it up as you go TOGETHER with other kids. The possibilities were infinite.

I try not to get too involved in overly competitive and specialized sports training for young kids. Which may cost my kids a starting spot on the high school team...but I don't care. Maybe I'm all about mediocrity - but I don't think so.
To me there is something vital about kid-invented play...and variety to make a healthy and correctly-prioritized kid. I'm totally going on gut instinct and common sense here, I'm no expert - except that I was a kid myself and I have about 80 of my own. I don't have anything against a little organized sport for kids...just when it becomes really competitive and driven by the motivator: "If you don't train hard now you'll never be good enough for high school/college - or have a professional athletic career (heaven forbid)."
My parental objective is to provide as much of that freedom and variety as possible in the world we live in now. I guess that's why we've gravitated toward less demanding extra-curricular (county rec karate, baby!) - or less popular (4H). But we encourage stuff like neighborhood night-games, or driveway basketball (by the way, thanks again Jacque and Howard for the sweet hoop!), fort building, sledding, skateboarding, animals, garage bands, art...with the hope that the kids will make up some of that creative and social magic themselves. I'm not quite the hippie mama who doesn't require certain standards in education, music & behavior. Don't get me wrong, structure is good. Too much is stifling.
Read the Sandlot article in the SL Tribune (subject of the radio program). I've thought about starting up a movement...but then that might defeat the spontaneous purpose, right?

Every Kitchen Sink Should Have One

 On my list of my recent favorites:

This honey's hair can tackle your toughest dishes...and she looks sweet doing it. Don't you think washing your dishes would be better with her along?

Heads up to my sistahs - your birthdays are on my calendar.   ;)

Another Book Review: Creating a World Without Poverty

I wrote a little about this on GOodreads...so if we're pals there you've seen this already...
I was kind of disappointed with this book, given that I have a been a huge fan of Muhammad Yunus for a long time, ever since I saw a mini-documentary about him on one of the local PBS stations years ago. His micro-credit movement has been incredibly successful in Bangladesh and has changed the way people think about helping the poor throughout the world. I have been pretty excited by his simple, individualistic approach to fixing the hopeless cycle so many of the world's poorest people find themselves in. This book deals with his evolving ideas in solving the problem of poverty...and the rest of the world's problems while he's at it through something he calls "Social Business".

This newest experiment is a business which exists to provide a solution to some social problem (e.g. malnutrition) while also providing employment in poor communities. There is no profit dividend for investors - who are repaid their principle investment, all profits being returned to the business to expand their efforts for good, a self-sustaining cycle. It reminded me a lot of the LDS Church's Perpetual Education Fund. It's not a bad idea. His book recounts the inspiring example of their first attempt at a social business joint venture with Danone (Dannon yogurt).

I was kind of surprised by the scope of his vision - to eliminate all that is harmful in the world - and I found myself questioning a lot of his underlying assumptions (e.g. that eliminating poverty will put an end to all violence and exploitation, that bad things happen among people and nations primarily because of the imbalance between rich and poor, also that there is never a good reason for something like a big car...because if you don't need the space you're wasteful and if you DO need the space then you're irresponsible [for having that many children]). I couldn't help asking questions about poverty & exploitation also resulting from inadequate legal systems, vice, abuse, fanaticism, etc. not necessarily motivated by profit. That is: money isn't always the answer. A lot of his foundational reasoning is classic finite resource economics: population control, etc. But he's also a believer in abundance through ingenuity...it's a kind of "hit it from both sides" approach.

Overall, it's good thinking, they're doing so much good (check out this talk by LDS apostle Russell Ballard).

I think Muhammad Yunus needs to collaborate with Hernando De Soto and the ILD. (Mike's inspiration for his master's in Econ.) in creating the framework and opportunity for the poor to escape the cycle.

All you'll ever need to know about the economy.

I heard a story about this the other day on NPR while I was picking T. up from school. I had to shush Tillman a bunch of times (not easy to do...he physically CANNOT stop talking sometimes) so I could hear it.

Apparently a TV producer got together with an Econ professor from George Mason U. ,who puts out a weekly podcast, to lay out the fundamentals of modern Economics. The prof. jokingly suggested they make a rap video.

Accurate AND hilarious.

I was laughing pretty hard in the car, and thought: THIS is perfect for Mitch-darling. Economic theory (Keynes vs. Hayek) + RAP = what could be more awesome? Married to an econ/finance boy, I've developed a hobby interest in economics (purely theoretical. I don't understand a thing Mike says about investment mechanics, tools, etc.) One of my favorite documentaries of all time is Commanding Heights. But this is even more sweet. Nerd-rap.