New vegetable week 8 - Fiddlehead Ferns! For this week’s Whole Foods “Try one new vegetable every week” challenge, Fiddlehead Ferns!   Fun name - tasty vegetable. We went to a restaurant near us that was serving fried buffalo fiddlehead ferns (think buffalo chicken appetizer) with dipping sauce.  They were blazing hot spicy but got us out of our comfort zone with a new vegetable.  So, we tried them at home as our vegetable of the week. At $7.99 a pound, Oscar made sure I didn’t go overboard.  Above you can see a picture of $1.50 of fiddle head ferns.  Sautéed with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes they are quite delicious.  The texture is diverse with the tiny tender inner leaves contrasting with the meatier outer stalks.  Oscar says he’ll stick with broccoli. (wink) This was an emotional challenge as much as a culinary one.  Success all around though I’m not sure these will enter our regular routine unless the price comes down when they’re in seasons… which is when?? Try one new vegetable every week recap: Week 1: Beets Week 2: Baby kale Week 3: Turnips Week 4: Parsnips Week 5:  Purple varieties Week 6:  Artichoke Week 7:  Chayote squash Week 8:  Fiddlehead Ferns

New vegetable week 8 - Fiddlehead Ferns!

For this week’s Whole Foods “Try one new vegetable every week” challenge, Fiddlehead Ferns!   Fun name - tasty vegetable.

We went to a restaurant near us that was serving fried buffalo fiddlehead ferns (think buffalo chicken appetizer) with dipping sauce.  They were blazing hot spicy but got us out of our comfort zone with a new vegetable.  So, we tried them at home as our vegetable of the week.

At $7.99 a pound, Oscar made sure I didn’t go overboard.  Above you can see a picture of $1.50 of fiddle head ferns.  Sautéed with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes they are quite delicious.  The texture is diverse with the tiny tender inner leaves contrasting with the meatier outer stalks.  Oscar says he’ll stick with broccoli. (wink)

This was an emotional challenge as much as a culinary one.  Success all around though I’m not sure these will enter our regular routine unless the price comes down when they’re in seasons… which is when??

Try one new vegetable every week recap:

Week 1: Beets

Week 2: Baby kale

Week 3: Turnips

Week 4: Parsnips

Week 5:  Purple varieties

Week 6:  Artichoke

Week 7:  Chayote squash

Week 8:  Fiddlehead Ferns

Week 7 - a vegetable so new I had to take a picture of the Whole Foods receipt to remember what it’s called.

This, if you don’t know is a Chayote squash. 

Growing up in Brazil, Oscar ate this often since it grows naturally on trees there.  He was pleased to find it at Whole Foods for an unusually reasonable price…. perhaps they are in season.

The chayote squash, if you do not know what it is, looks like a green pear.  It is shiny and bright green and has thin skin (that you remove before cooking).  I wish I had a better picture to show you the puckered lips it appears to have on its fatter end. 

To prepare, peel, slice in half to remove pit, then chop into small cubes (1/4 inch perhaps) and cook over low heat with just a bit of liquid (and garlic if desired) until translucent.  No salt needed until the end. 

It has a mild flavor that I quite enjoyed.  Other than that, really, I’m not quite sure how to describe it.  You’ll just have to try it for yourself!

Try one new vegetable every week recap:

Week 1: Beets

Week 2: Baby kale

Week 3: Turnips

Week 4: Parsnips

Week 5:  Purple varieties

Week 6:  Artichoke

Week 7:  Chayote squash

New vegetable week 6 - fresh artichokes!

For this week’s Whole Foods “Try one new vegetable every week” challenge, I tackled artichokes.   Best known for being either highly armored or canned, artichokes hold a special place in my childhood memories… perhaps the last time I ate one that wasn’t already processed to only the “heart.”  

I have a distinct memory of playing in the back yard at Lindsay’s house (a classmate down the block) and then her mom calling us inside for a snack.  The extreme pleasure of being presented with a bowl of butter for dipping must have outweighed my apprehension over this unfamiliar and prehistoric looking food (and a vegetable nonetheless!).  

Picking off each leaf and scraping the butter laden goodness with my teeth was amazing and, apparently quite memorable.

So, this week I recreated that recipe with hopeful trepidation - though retrospectively with great ease.  Boiling and steaming are the most popular cooking methods.  I opted for steaming hoping to retain more nutrients.  (Who knows?)

After picking off and enjoying each leaf with butter, (please do not count calories on me!) I did go in for the heart.  As promised, the heart is protected by prickles but a sharp knife is an effective offense and it made a great addition to my lunch salad the next day.

All in all, a great success (though not currently boyfriend Oscar’s favorite).

Do you have any special childhood food memories?

Try one new vegetable every week recap:

Week 1: Beets

Week 2: Baby kale

Week 3: Turnips

Week 4: Parsnips

Week 5:  Purple varieties

Week 6:  Artichoke

On Pampering

Thanks to my 2013 Unboring list (and an uber-supportive boyfriend) I had a Memorial Day weekend of maximum rest and relaxation - including my “3+ Spa treatments” unboring list item.  This was well timed and much deserved since at least four people told me that I looked “tired and stressed” recently. Yuck! 

Friday I took a nap to kick things of right and got much needed hair highlights and a cut. 

Saturday a friend and I got mani/pedis on Newbury Street. 

Sunday I went to the spa and got a facial and a seaweed mud wrap and a massage.

Monday was Memorial Day which involved sleeping in, lunch al fresco, hitting golf balls at the driving range, and dinner with my grandmother.

AHHHHH!  Much better!

So, if you want a weekend of pampering, what should you know?

  1. Boyfriend Oscar, who could not have been more supportive after getting over the sticker shock, would like you to know that you (and I) should do this annually.   (It’s in writing on the Internet now!  Yes!)
  2. That’s it… just do it! 
So far so good An inedible mess... Separating curds & whey Success!

Third time’s a charm!

Cheese making – when I tell people that’s what I did this weekend, they’re surprised that it’s even possible.  You should see the look on their faces when I explain that making a batch of mozzarella only takes half an hour!

As you can see from the photos, Batch #1 was an inedible disaster.  Oscar could not have been more supportive and insisted that we jump in the car to go back to the store for more supplies (one gallon of whole milk).  Many things went wrong in Batch #1 – we followed two recipes and I’m terrible about being precise in measurements.  (This is why I prefer cooking to baking!)

Having identified and averted our earlier mistakes, shortly thereafter Batch #2 seemed to be a success at the outset.  The next morning, however, we discovered that the cheese could not hold its shape (balls, twists or whatever else we chose to bend it into) but instead formed a solid puddle in the bottom of its plastic container.  Bafflingly, this cheese ended up looking and tasting like Laughing Cow cheese.  Over time it became soupier and I’m not sure we’re going to eat it all.

Following the Batch #1/#2 evening, I read that lower fat milk should produce a more solid cheese and that turned out to be correct.  Batch #3 I attempted on my own.  I switched to 1% milk and noticed immediately that there is far more whey (the watery stuff) and far less curd (the solid stuff) so you really do pay for water when you buy lower-fat milk.  This cheese made a distinct round ball the size you would buy at the store in the “fancy cheese case.”  Interesting it breaks apart like string cheese.  I added some salt but it doesn’t have much flavor.  I’ll do more reading on the subject of flavored cheeses and who knows what Batch #4  will be like! 

As a personal confession, I’ll admit that the REAL first batch of cheese was cottage cheese.  We were a bit aggressive in separating the curds and whey so it had the consistency of California cottage cheese, but it was delicious and I enjoyed it very much. 

Also, I feel confident enough to branch out from mozzarella, known to be good beginner’s cheese.  Since I bought a “starter” kit online, I have the special ingredients (citric acid, rennet, etc) to make many other types of cheese like feta, gouda, and even wax wrapped aged cheddar. 

Cheese lovers unite… in my kitchen!  Now that’s Unboring!


 

On Ice Fishing

As the first item on Oscar’s Unboring List, we had the opportunity to go ice fishing in the Berkshires.  We were lucky enough to find Paul at Charter the Berkshires through a Living Social deal. 

Paul is a former competitive fisherman and now owns his own charter fishing company for ice fishing in winter and lake or ocean fishing when the weather is warmer.  He is very knowledgeable and kind to answer all of our questions – I’m sure he gets the same ones on each trip.  Here’s what we learned:

  1. Jigging is when you actively fish over the hole in the ice with a short pole and catch smaller fish on a hook with mealworms.
  2. Tip-ups are self-fishing units.  The bait, a small living fish, dangles below the hole so that when a big fish eats the bait, the hair trigger activates an orange flag and a bell so that you are alerted to go retrieve the fish.  It’s about a 50/50 chance that you’ll catch the fish since it may not have eaten the bait or the hook or may fall off when you are pulling it up.  Fishing licenses allow for five active fishing hooks per person so our group of six had 24 tip-ups (and a jigging rod each).
  3. The ice is a foot thick.  We were told a 747 aircraft could land on the ice.  Even if that’s an exaggeration, it’s quite safe.  Perhaps because we city slickers don’t know anything about ice fishing, but ice safety was the one thing everyone brought up to me when I mentioned ice fishing.
  4. More on ice.  The ice thickness builds from the bottom up so that long cracks create plates and as they shift up it makes a sound like a drum beat.  As that sound reverberates across the ice it can at times be quite frequent and noticeable.  It’s very cool and, yes, very safe.  The thicker the ice the better!
  5. Winter fish have more flavor.  I’m not sure why, but OK!  We caught eight blue fins and two yellow pickering.  This will be great for my Unboring List item of eat fish more often.  The fish are small so we may get two meals from the fillets.   Thankfully we did not have to take the fish home whole!
  6. It has taken me much restraint not to start with this… your feet get cold standing on the ice all day!  Eek!  Thankfully Paul has a warming hut so I could warm my toes and get back out there for more jigging.  And, sitting in a chair helps keep your feet off the ice and warm longer.
  7. Yep, bring your flask! Please drink responsibly. 
  8. We went for dinner at The Red Lion Inn downstairs pub.  It was a great way to warm up and relax before the drive home.
On books coming to life Living in Boston, the challenge can sometimes be that there are so many wonderful activities and events each night - and you can only do one at a time!  But somehow one thing I had never done was go to an author’s event so it becaming an Unboring list item.  Just throwing the idea out there, I was amazed at how many of my friends were aware of venues that host this type of experience.   There must be thousands each year! I am particularly interested in locally and responsibly grown (whether “officially” organic or not) foods.  So, recently I read Animal Mineral Miracle Barbara Kingsolver by and The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball.  The latter I discovered through the Brookline public library and had the wonderful opportunity to see Kristin Kimball during Brookline’s Climate Week at the Brookline Library (I heart the library!). The room was standing room only with easily 150 people in attendance.  Kimball is not only a wonderful writer, she is also a talented photographer.  So, she shared her story of leaving Manhattan and her life as a travel writer to marry a farmer and begin an innovative CSA model farm.  She was just as surprised at her life as you were in reading that sentence.  Through imagery and narrative she described her life and gave an update of the farm and her family since the book.   The audience was riveted.  There were two opportunities for Q&A and both had to be cut off for time. The one thing that surprised me was that Kimball did not read from her book.  My preconception was that the author would read from the book during the event and then perhaps explain the passage or describe her inspiration.  If you go an author event, here are a few things you may want to know: Read the book in advance.  If the topic of the book is of interest to you, I’m sure you would enjoy learning about the author and the book regardless.  However, I think it’s exciting to have the lead-up of the book and the event as the pinnacle.  Make it a book club event.  Next time you get to pick the book for your book club, consider an author’s event with drinks after to discuss the book and the author! Arrive early.  This event was standing room only so we were in the back of the room.  I don’t mind standing, but there were more than a few people sitting on the floor who probably haven’t done that in 20 years (wink). Bring your copy of the book.  Odds are good that the author will sign your book for you – or you can buy a copy at the event. Find the event calendar. As I said, there are author events in dozens of locations around any city throughout the year.

On books coming to life

Living in Boston, the challenge can sometimes be that there are so many wonderful activities and events each night - and you can only do one at a time!  But somehow one thing I had never done was go to an author’s event so it becaming an Unboring list item.  Just throwing the idea out there, I was amazed at how many of my friends were aware of venues that host this type of experience.   There must be thousands each year!

I am particularly interested in locally and responsibly grown (whether “officially” organic or not) foods.  So, recently I read Animal Mineral Miracle Barbara Kingsolver by and The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball.  The latter I discovered through the Brookline public library and had the wonderful opportunity to see Kristin Kimball during Brookline’s Climate Week at the Brookline Library (I heart the library!).

The room was standing room only with easily 150 people in attendance.  Kimball is not only a wonderful writer, she is also a talented photographer.  So, she shared her story of leaving Manhattan and her life as a travel writer to marry a farmer and begin an innovative CSA model farm.  She was just as surprised at her life as you were in reading that sentence.  Through imagery and narrative she described her life and gave an update of the farm and her family since the book.   The audience was riveted.  There were two opportunities for Q&A and both had to be cut off for time.

The one thing that surprised me was that Kimball did not read from her book.  My preconception was that the author would read from the book during the event and then perhaps explain the passage or describe her inspiration. 

If you go an author event, here are a few things you may want to know:

  1. Read the book in advance.  If the topic of the book is of interest to you, I’m sure you would enjoy learning about the author and the book regardless.  However, I think it’s exciting to have the lead-up of the book and the event as the pinnacle. 
  2. Make it a book club event.  Next time you get to pick the book for your book club, consider an author’s event with drinks after to discuss the book and the author!
  3. Arrive early.  This event was standing room only so we were in the back of the room.  I don’t mind standing, but there were more than a few people sitting on the floor who probably haven’t done that in 20 years (wink).
  4. Bring your copy of the book.  Odds are good that the author will sign your book for you – or you can buy a copy at the event.
  5. Find the event calendar. As I said, there are author events in dozens of locations around any city throughout the year.
And so it begins! Unboring List 2013 is underway! Today, boyfriend Oscar and I went to the TD Garden to donate blood for the Red Cross. Many people in my life have inspired me to undertake this free, easy and necessary form of altruism. My mother donated often at our local hospital – and probably needed little more than the promise of cookies and juice to get us in the car for a ride. Oscar donates blood regularly to, he says jokingly, even out his cosmic karma. He adds “It’s good to know you can save lives.” (According to America’s Blood Centers one pint of blood can save three lives.) And my family is grateful for the many pints of blood my paternal grandmother received during her fight with cancer. I had a less than ideal experience with donating blood ten years ago that kept me from trying it again. I struggled during and after and gave myself a free pass for a decade. “It’s hard for me” I would say when infrequently the issue would arise in conversation. Everyone else gave me a free pass too. Perhaps sadly, no one tried to convince me, or offer to help me, try again. I’m now dismayed by this since somewhere in the back of all of our minds we know there’s never enough blood to meet the need. No one, that is, until Oscar. He’s not one for pity and in this case, he’s right. So, knowing that Donate Blood is an Unboring List item, the first time he got a reminder call from the Red Cross, he signed us both up. I brought my emotional baggage with me and will admit to shedding a few emotional and irrational tears. But, with the support of a wonderful boyfriend and the help of a fantastic nurse, Karen, who talked with me the whole time I made it through… and I’ll do it again. A few things you should know: 1. Double Red? Platelets? Plasma? There are many ways you can donate blood. News to me! These methods have different, often lesser side effects than whole blood donations. Depending on your blood type you can do a LOT more good in some donation types so it’s worth learning about. 2. The Red Cross offers advice a successful donation (before, during and after). I’ll let the experts tell you more about that. 3. It was reassuring to me to know that everyone who takes your personal information and your blood is a Red Cross employee. The volunteers are the ones who my check you in or offer you snacks. So, you’re in the best of hands no matter what location you choose. 4. You’ve been kind to others…. Be kind to yourself as well. I found that my energy level was low and a good meal and some hot tea perked me back up. I’ve moved my personal training session to later in the week and will go to bed early tonight. 5. Let’s encourage each other to do more. Anyone who wants to join me next time I donate blood, just let me know! As the Red Cross tagline says “The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.”

And so it begins! Unboring List 2013 is underway! Today, boyfriend Oscar and I went to the TD Garden to donate blood for the Red Cross.

Many people in my life have inspired me to undertake this free, easy and necessary form of altruism. My mother donated often at our local hospital – and probably needed little more than the promise of cookies and juice to get us in the car for a ride. Oscar donates blood regularly to, he says jokingly, even out his cosmic karma. He adds “It’s good to know you can save lives.” (According to America’s Blood Centers one pint of blood can save three lives.) And my family is grateful for the many pints of blood my paternal grandmother received during her fight with cancer.

I had a less than ideal experience with donating blood ten years ago that kept me from trying it again. I struggled during and after and gave myself a free pass for a decade. “It’s hard for me” I would say when infrequently the issue would arise in conversation. Everyone else gave me a free pass too. Perhaps sadly, no one tried to convince me, or offer to help me, try again. I’m now dismayed by this since somewhere in the back of all of our minds we know there’s never enough blood to meet the need.

No one, that is, until Oscar. He’s not one for pity and in this case, he’s right. So, knowing that Donate Blood is an Unboring List item, the first time he got a reminder call from the Red Cross, he signed us both up.

I brought my emotional baggage with me and will admit to shedding a few emotional and irrational tears. But, with the support of a wonderful boyfriend and the help of a fantastic nurse, Karen, who talked with me the whole time I made it through… and I’ll do it again.

A few things you should know:

1. Double Red? Platelets? Plasma? There are many ways you can donate blood. News to me! These methods have different, often lesser side effects than whole blood donations. Depending on your blood type you can do a LOT more good in some donation types so it’s worth learning about.

2. The Red Cross offers advice a successful donation (before, during and after). I’ll let the experts tell you more about that.

3. It was reassuring to me to know that everyone who takes your personal information and your blood is a Red Cross employee. The volunteers are the ones who my check you in or offer you snacks. So, you’re in the best of hands no matter what location you choose.

4. You’ve been kind to others…. Be kind to yourself as well. I found that my energy level was low and a good meal and some hot tea perked me back up. I’ve moved my personal training session to later in the week and will go to bed early tonight.

5. Let’s encourage each other to do more. Anyone who wants to join me next time I donate blood, just let me know! As the Red Cross tagline says “The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.”

Unveiling my 2013 Unboring list!

Well hello 2013! What a good year you will be!

Unveiling my 2013 Unboring list!

  1. Go to a country music concert
  2. Make cheese
  3. Plant a tree
  4. Spa day (3+ treatments)
  5. Make sushi
  6. Attend an author event
  7. Donate blood
  8. Make a piece of jewelry
  9. Cook fish for dinner more often

Also, there are carry-overs from prior years to take care of - “try snowshoeing” and “join a non-profit board” from 2011 as well as “meditate” and “golf in a new state” from 2012.

In addition, I have cajoled my boyfriend into a list as well. It’s going to be a very active year!

  1. F1 Boston
  2. Soccer game at Gillette Stadium
  3. Prudential Tower observation deck
  4. Ice skate on the Frog Pond
  5. Visit the zoo
  6. Ice fishing
  7. Comedy show
  8. A day in Harvard Square
  9. Movie at Coolidge Corner theater
  10. VW show (this is the big one!)

So, check back as we share our adventures! What do you have planned for this new year?

On one hand washing the other

As part of my penchant for Responsible Consumption, I started to get interested in how everyday items are made. Candle making has been a recent adventure and will make for some lovely holiday gifts. Sewing reusable food storage bags with my mother lent itself to some quality time and a few very stylish baggies in my lunch tote. Most recently, soap making made its way into my lexicon.

As I’m sure you do too, I use soap every day. In my house it’s all bar soap (unless it’s for dishes because I haven’t found a good alternative) because I don’t like the liquid stuff in plastic containers that’s mostly water anyway, gets produced in enormous quantities, and is shipped who-knows-how-far to get to me.

Considering my daily use, it is astonishing how little I knew about soap making. Here is my Top Five list of things I learned:

  1. A key ingredient in soap is lye. Lye is also used to make meth (yep, the drug) so it’s hard to find.
  2. The process involves a very carefully crafted recipe and some serious chemistry. ie) water + lye is a exothermic (new word for me!) reaction that gets itself to over 200 degrees!
  3. Two concoctions must come together at EXACTLY the same temperature (97 degrees). This must be so precise that we did a test of our thermometers to be sure they “read”accurately… something I didn’t previously know existed.
  4. Whisking a batch of soap can take up to four hours by hand… or in our case, one hour by hand taking turns until you finally reach your family member on her cell and she says “forget it, break out the immersion blender” and you start looking up the price for replacement sticks just in case we’re all chipping in.
  5. Soap takes 4 to 6 weeks to cure. …so it may or may not be ready for Christmas. What?!

So, I learned a LOT and I will not be trying this on my own. My personality doesn’t tolerate meticulous processes and I don’t know enough about chemistry to feel confident that I could pull this off without burning a chemical hole in my countertop or floor.

Instead, I’ll wait my 4-6 weeks for soap and move on to my next adventure… I do love cheese….

On Floating

As the story goes, when I was – oh let’s say – 9 years old, my father was invited to go on a hot air balloon ride with some buddies and I was his “plus one.”  (My mother HATES heights.)  Unfortunately for me, the wind was on the upper end of what is deemed flying weather.  So, the adults went in the balloon and I went in the chase car.  Not quite the morning I was hoping for.

Fast forward – ah hem – some number of years and I finally got my hot air balloon ride!

You may have noticed that this is not a 2012 Unboring list item.  That’s because it’s a 2011 Unboring list item!!  (pre-blog territory)  In fact, this was one of the founding activities of the Unboring concept overall.  The lead-in story here is a great example of what qualifies an activity as an Unboring list item in my mind.

So!  Back to the balloon!  The morning was gorgeous and we had a lovely ride in New Hampshire over the fall foliage.  The sensation of flying in a hot air balloons is unlike anything else.  Because you are flying with the wind, you don’t feel the weather or your forward progress.  We had the gentlest landing imaginable too!  In the tradition of ballooning, we were served champagne and enjoyed conversing with our fellow flyers afterward. 

So, here’s what you should know if you’re feeling inspired:

1)      Plan ahead.  The weekends especially book-up months in advance. But, you may not know that balloons fly year-round so don’t rule out the winter and beautiful snowy views.  Your options are sunrise and sunset for ballooning because those are the times of least wind.  I was surprised to learn that the wind speed needs to be between 1- 7mph making many days unsuitable for flying.  Many more sunset cruises get cancelled.  So, set your coffee pot for 5am and go at sunrise!

2)      It’s expensive.  This is not a weekly activity but is a fantastic surprise event for a big birthday or anniversary!  Or an Unboring list item, of course.  Some regions and countries are known for their ballooning so perhaps this could become an inspiration for an upcoming vacation.

3)      Wear a hat.  The fire that warms the air to keep you afloat is quite close to the basket – and your head.  So, even in the summer, bring a baseball hat.

4)      The baskets are tiny.  You’ll be up-close and personal with your fellow flyers so don’t plan to bring more than the bare essentials.   I wanted to bring two lenses for my camera but was told it was too much.

5)      Make a day of it!  This is getting to be my favorite piece of advice with Unboring list items.  We went apple picking and for a hike in the woods followed by a casual dinner – and a good night’s rest.  It was a great day.

On Singing for a Crowd Ten down and three to go!  Karaoke takes the number ten slot as my Unboring list items continue to entertain and amuse.  Cousin Karen had a birthday this weekend  (Happy birthday!) and her party was a lovely dinner at Stone’s Public House with Plantation Rum drinks (excellent – seek out this brand!) followed by rousing renditions of many of your favorites and mine at the Corner Pub. Having secured a DD (thank you!) and having been brought a second glass of courage, I sang Chicken Fried by Zac Brown band.  “Hi, my name is Alison.  This is my first karaoke experience… please feel free to sing along!”  And we did.  (See my country music post here) Here’s what you should know if you want to give Karaoke a try… 1) Song selection is critical.  You may want to give it some advance consideration.  Avoid songs that are too slow, too angry, or too challenging.  When presented with a laptop that has thousands of options and no “popular selections” offered as guidance, it can be overwhelming.  I wish I had a song in mind going in… and maybe a backup in case someone else beat me to it. 2) Know your audience.  Something else to consider in advance whether your talent level will be in the acceptable range for the crowd.  Some karaoke singers secretly hope to be discovered by a talent agent –get too many of these in the room and, while you may enjoy their performances, you may not feel comfortable participating.  Corner Bar has its regulars, but was very accepting of my first try.  They reward singers’ enthusiasm and nostalgic song selections as well as ability.  3) Bring a cheering section.  A birthday party is a perfect time for karaoke because you have an automatic standing ovation – your friends! 4) Take the plunge.   One guy did the entire version of PSY’s Gangnam Style – in Korean – and had the crowd dancing!  Others did duet raps from the 90s.  Whatever it takes to get you up on stage –try it.  Ignore suggestions 1 - 3 and get up there!  It’s all in good fun!  

On Singing for a Crowd

Ten down and three to go!  Karaoke takes the number ten slot as my Unboring list items continue to entertain and amuse.  Cousin Karen had a birthday this weekend  (Happy birthday!) and her party was a lovely dinner at Stone’s Public House with Plantation Rum drinks (excellent – seek out this brand!) followed by rousing renditions of many of your favorites and mine at the Corner Pub.

Having secured a DD (thank you!) and having been brought a second glass of courage, I sang Chicken Fried by Zac Brown band.  “Hi, my name is Alison.  This is my first karaoke experience… please feel free to sing along!”  And we did.  (See my country music post here)

Here’s what you should know if you want to give Karaoke a try…

1) Song selection is critical.  You may want to give it some advance consideration.  Avoid songs that are too slow, too angry, or too challenging.  When presented with a laptop that has thousands of options and no “popular selections” offered as guidance, it can be overwhelming.  I wish I had a song in mind going in… and maybe a backup in case someone else beat me to it.

2) Know your audience.  Something else to consider in advance whether your talent level will be in the acceptable range for the crowd.  Some karaoke singers secretly hope to be discovered by a talent agent –get too many of these in the room and, while you may enjoy their performances, you may not feel comfortable participating.  Corner Bar has its regulars, but was very accepting of my first try.  They reward singers’ enthusiasm and nostalgic song selections as well as ability. 

3) Bring a cheering section.  A birthday party is a perfect time for karaoke because you have an automatic standing ovation – your friends!

4) Take the plunge.   One guy did the entire version of PSY’s Gangnam Style – in Korean – and had the crowd dancing!  Others did duet raps from the 90s.  Whatever it takes to get you up on stage –try it.  Ignore suggestions 1 - 3 and get up there!  It’s all in good fun!  

On America’s Best Idea

Our National Parks System holds the honor of America’s Best Idea. Having recently spent nine days in Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons National Parks, I offer my support for this emeritus title. As an ambitious execution of an Unboring List item, a college friend and I enjoyed more than a week of fresh air, sunshine, exercise and education. Here’s my take from earlier this month!

Each park has its own personality. For instance, Glacier has only one road that goes through the park - Going to the Sun road. The drive alone is an experience and we took the opportunity to stop to take pictures of the peaks and valleys, waterfalls, snow fields and animals along the way. There is not much development on the park land, a good thing in my opinion, so we ate most of our meals (including boxed lunches) from the restaurant at our cabin. This was the location of our most ambitious hike; 11+ miles 1600 foot elevation gain. We trekked along the side of one of the mountains past four lakes and higher than an enormous water fall and a mountain goat to see one of the few remaining glaciers up close. Estimates are that there won’t be any glaciers left by 2030. At night, Glacier had the best star viewing.

Yellowstone is like Disney World by comparison. Catering to millions of visitors a year, it has many well paved or wooden paths near its most popular sites to keep the human impact to a minimum. There are also food courts and shops in perhaps half a dozen locations. I admire the efficiency of the system but this isn’t the style of vacation I was seeking. Still we found a way to hike 5-7 miles each day – usually spread out between a few locations. Yellowstone is 2.2 million acres of land and boasts some of the most amazing geysers and hot springs in the world. They are impressive and worth the trip alone. We also saw bison herds, elk, a bald eagle, and coyote as well as an enormous canyon, volcanic influence on the land, and waterfalls. Our accommodations, thanks to a Buy With Me coupon my father found, were new, the food was good, and this cabin had one TV on site in the bar.

Grand Tetons is located mere minutes south of Yellowstone. Jackson is a beautiful town for skiing, and also lodges many hikers year round. We enjoyed the get-away-from-it-all hikes during the day and local brewery and shops at night. Here we saw mountains, lakes, streams, and learned about the three kinds of evergreens – Spruce are spikey (the needles’ are round with strong and sharp ends), Firs are friendly (flexible and flat, the needles won’t twist between your fingers), and Pines come in packets (the needles grow two or more needles from one spot on the branch). Thank you park rangers!

It was an amazing trip and I enjoyed the different scenery immensely. Nine days was the right amount of time. And I had a blast trying out my new camera and the zoom lenses. Here’s what else you may want to know if you plan to take a similar trip:

1) Ranger Led Hikes – You can follow the hiking trails with confidence on your own in any of the three parks. They are well marked and well maintained. By taking a Range led hike, you’ll learn about the history, geology, weather patterns, special features, plants, and animals of the area. You can learn about Ranger led hikes at Information Stations.

2) Park Personality – It would be more difficult for someone with limited mobility or a wheelchair to enjoy Grand Tetons but Yellowstone would be a great choice. Also, you may want to decide what you want to see while you are in the planning stages. My goal was to see a glacier, so an obvious choice was Glacier National Park. If you want to see rock features, for instance, you’d be disappointed here. At Yellowstone, you could spend your entire day in the car because it is enormous. If you plan to see the entire park in one visit, consider staying in two different corners of the park.

3) Environment – There was smoke from Idaho fires that affected our views and our lungs. Also, the elevation in these parks ranges from 5,000 – nearly 9,000 feet, which also had impact on our physical abilities. Be sure you measure your health with the trip and plan accordingly. You’ll be spending your entire day outside, so even in the fall, pack your sunscreen!

4) Seasons – Not being a big fan of crowds, circling for parking, or waiting in lines, the off-season was the right time for my visit. We had amazing weather (sunny every day, high 60s – 70s in the day and 30s at night) so we lucked out. We didn’t see as many wild flowers, which I would have greatly enjoyed, and some of the talks, programs, and trails were closed already so there is some give and take.

5) Plan ahead but don’t get too specific – You should have air travel, rental car and hotel accommodations ready before you leave home. Many of the hotels, cabins and campsites in/near the parks sell out well in advance. But, leave your days fairly flexible. The Ranger Stations have ample literature, maps and trail guides to plan your days. Some trails may be closed because of animal activity or weather, which the rangers can offer advice on when you arrive.

On Inspiration and Legacy

My father sent me a Chicago Tribune article in the mail about a young man who had a list of 152 things he wanted to do before he died. Tragically he was hit by a car in Taiwan while riding his bike (#149 on his list) and his list remained unfinished. Unfinished, that is, until his parents started a Facebook page to post an activity each day in their son’s memory and friends and family began to complete and post about their adventures.

An active runner and avid traveler, Andrew Kuebrich listed items like #12 Run the Boston marathon and #139 Visit the Great Wall of China as well at-home activities like #100 Learn how to tie a bowtie and #132 Make my own chili. Our lists even overlap! Andrew’s #63 Go to a NASCAR race was #1 on my 2011 list and Andrew’s #150 Wind surf was #7 on my 2012 list.

Andrew was lucky to have wonderful friends and family who supported him and I hope find support in each other as they near the end of his list. The article describes how Andrew’s father is training for marathons even though he never considered himself a runner (something else I have in common with the Kuebrichs) and his brother is now in Taiwan completing the bike tour that Andrew started.

I have enjoyed my Unboring list tremendously. It is a great source of happiness in my life and I delight in sharing my adventures with friends who join me or those who hear the stories in person or in this blog afterward. It is my sincere hope that you will develop your own list. I feel strongly that the annual nature of the Unboring list is an important attribute since we all can feel the pressures of daily requirements and put off the things that aren’t “necessary” like snowshoeing or hot air balloon rides (the two items I did NOT complete in 2011 – but have not given up on!).

So, as the seasons turn from summer to fall, think about what you wish you had done this year, what you’ve talked about doing but haven’t tried yet, what scares you but you want to do it anyway. Then do nothing more than keep track of these activities on a scrap of paper or the Notes app in your phone. Like a New Year’s Resolution, you don’t have to commit to a list until 1/1/13… but please actually DO commit unlike a Resolution (wink). Your list can be any length and my vary depending on the complexity or expense of the items you choose.

Need help with ideas? I’m sure there are things in life you haven’t done but would enjoy. But, if you need inspiration check out these resources…

Remember Andrew Kuebrich Facebook page

Andrew’s List

Book: 100 Things to do before you Die

My 2012 Unboring List

What would you put on a list? Add a comment here to share ideas with others!

On asking - and answering - tough questions

Who do you want to be?

This is the bonus eleventh question in the book I just finished reading titled “10 Conversations you need to have with Yourself – A Powerful Plan for Spiritual Growth and Self-Improvement” by Shmuley Boteach. I enjoyed the book and suggest you get it from the library. My one caveat is that I was surprised and bit disappointed that so many of the topics were framed for people who are married and have kids; the background of the author but not me. That said, the book resonated with me.

The culminating question that was added in the second publication of the book is “Who do you want to be?” This question is overwhelming and at first I felt more comfortable passing it by. I put the book down until the next day when I was in the right mind-set to accept the challenge of embarking on a life-long contemplation of this notion.

As my friends know, I like to say “break it into smaller more manageable pieces.” Below are my ideas of what those pieces of “who I want to be” are. What do you think?

1. Work

I love marketing and business development. Work consumes many of our waking hours (NPR study) and so makes a big impact on how we live; and who we are. I will offer my talents to employers that acknowledge their opportunity to impact customers, employees, community, and the environment in a positive way through responsible business practices. I will work to live not live to work.

2. Health

“Health is wealth” a professor at BC taught us in the unusual class for a business school student, “Psychobiology of Mental Disorders.” (We meditated to start each class and weren’t allowed to cross our legs.) He was right. I will give attention daily to my Physical Health - active living, quality foods, and maintaining a reasonable stress level – as well as my Emotional Health - physical health plus security, lifelong learning, and a sense of purpose.

3. Family

When asked, most people put Family at or near the top of their list of the important components of life. I am tremendously lucky to have been born into a loving, supportive, generous and, quite frankly, normal family. We support each other’s successes and support each other in the tough moments. Best of all, we enjoy spending time together. I will treasure these relationships and do something to better the lives of these wonderful people.

4. Friends

Friends are family that you can choose! Treasure the good ones and lose the overly-negaive ones. Often our friends have life stories that more closely align with our own that those of our family members (age, gender, living situations, generational issues, etc). This makes them wonderful people to celebrate and commiserate with. I will cherish each moment spent with friends and make them a priority in every day.

5. Spirituality

Born into a Protestant family, I enjoyed church services, Sunday school, youth group programs, and mission trips. I have since been exposed to many more religions and spiritual paths. All have value and I strive to incorporate some aspect of spirituality into every day. This can mean a connection with another human being by offering a shoulder to cry on or a genuine laugh, appreciating a quiet moment or a beautiful scene of nature, or reading religious perspectives of spiritual leaders.

6. Community

Join a Non-profit board is one of the items on my 2011 Unboring list that, unfortunately, did not come to fruition. I continue to work on this goal and am closing in on it! In addition, I strive to shop and eat locally, use the library, and be a good neighbor. I am a citizen of the world. Population - 7 billion. I strive to take only what I need form the world and to give back more.

7. Love

One of my favorite movies is Moulin Rouge (tragic, but stick with me). The ultimate quote in this film is “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” It is so true. Loving someone else empowers them to put more good into the world and being loved allows me to believe in myself and anchors me.

8. Learning

Education is tremendously important to me. Learning is everywhere from formal education like a masters’ degree to informal education like trying a new activity or reading a new book. Most important, I want to learn from others! So, you tell me! What’s missing?