Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time
I’ve been eyeing the “kids art area” lately. It takes up a good chunk of real estate in this house filled with six people. And now that we have teenagers with homework and laptops, I started picturing a large, comfy chair to lounge in, maybe a cool IKEA desk with space for a printer and a charging station, a cozy rug, and a table with a lamp. A tech center geared toward teens.
Except there’s a nine-year-old still using the art table.
Enjoying the view in Schladming, Austria, as a staff writer at the 1993 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
I wasn’t sure about writing this, thinking I might come across as having delusions of grandeur. My Olympics? I’m not anywhere close to being an Olympic athlete.
But then I thought about Albert Brooks and the horses. The actor (he plays Nemo’s dad, Marlin) once said he’s well aware he’s no Tom Cruise. And if Hollywood is a horse race with twelve horses and Tom Cruise is the number one horse, then he’s number twelve. But who cares? He’s in the race.
I love that.
Maybe fitness is more like a mountain than a horse race. Maybe the super-elite athletes, the ones with the genetic predisposition and the willingness to sacrifice pretty much everything, are up on top of the mountain at 18,000 feet. And the view up there is incredible.
{ image from Prince William Conservation Alliance }
Tim’s New Year’s resolution this year was to join Project FeederWatch, a birdwatcher data-collection project run by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. Project FeederWatch helps scientists collect large amounts of information so they can track bird populations and understand, among other things, why a species is declining and make recommendations for its recovery before it’s too late.
So this weekend Tim dutifully recorded his weekend counts and was happily surprised by the appearance of the majestic pileated woodpecker, which is best described as part woodpecker and part pterodactyl.
The video is super short, but you get an idea of how cool this bird is. To get the full effect, hum the Jurassic Park theme song while you’re watching!
[stream provider=video base=x:/www.amomsyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ flv=pileated-woodpecker.flv img=pileated-woodpecker.jpg embed=false share=true width=580 height=480 dock=true controlbar=bottom bandwidth=low autostart=false /]
Your moment of winter zen: the waning crescent moon and Venus, the morning star. Thank you, Tim!
And thank you all so much for listening to me fuss about my cold yesterday. I talked to a friend last night and was glad to hear I’m not the only one who takes getting sick so personally. Strong women don’t catch colds! Except when we do…(sigh).
Anyway, I’m feeling slightly more human today. Not quite up for joining my family at Ski Club tonight but at least able to shower and get dressed and venture out into the world. I hear it’s supposed to be above zero, so we have that going for us.
Do you have any fun plans for the weekend? Will you be watching the Olympic Games coverage?
+ Speaking of the Olympics: Do you think it’s really as bad as this in Sochi? I saw the tweets and felt so sorry for the staffers and journalists working the Games. My World Games memories (Special Olympics, 1993) are of snuggling under warm duvets in Salzburg, eating lots of delicious cheeses, and skiing in Schladming. Not having to climb out of my hotel window because the door wouldn’t open! I guess they’ll have some great stories?
+ If you’d like to make a party out of your Olympic viewing, this mountain cake would be so fun. And while you’re there, check out how to make cute and clever pop-up box valentines.
+ Valentine’s Day Photo Party Poppers.
+ Date Night Jars. Why not make one for your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day?
+ Buffalo Chicken Wonton Cups. Yum.
+ How experts use salt in their cooking, and why.
+ Have you embraced the world of apps? I have not. Not that I don’t want to―I just keep forgetting! But I keep thinking about this cool app that magically turns regular old photos into beautiful watercolor images.
+ My mom told me this could help a really miserable cough: thickly coat the bottom of your feet with Vicks VapoRub and pull on a pair of warm socks. Have you tried it?
+ The trailer for “The Drop Box” hits close to home. (It’s not about DVD rentals, folks.) Of course it made me cry, but I would have cried harder if I didn’t know that these kids can have happy endings.
I hope you have a wonderful, healthy weekend! Thank you so much for your comments and ideas this week―it always means so much.