The Goody Two-Shoes Game

I'm not just a goody two-shoes. I'm a goody two-shoes who broadcasts my do-goodery to the world!

Which, at my last count, is about two people. One who is not my mother.

But let's move on. There is an excessive amount of bragging to be done.

I go to the park. I go there every day because there's a free lunch for my kids, and free kids to play with, and free fresh air, and did I mention the free food?

It's a hot spot for the families in our 'hood (*shocker*), and it's not uncommon to see the same faces day after day. And because I am a social sort starving for adult interaction, I talk to the moms and dads around me. Food is the universal conversation-starter.

Well, that and the weather. Which, if you have been following me on Twitter--you know that the Pacific Northwest recently experienced a heat wave unlike anything that's happened in nearly thirty years.

We hit 108 degrees, people. ONE. HUNDRED. AND. EIGHT. DEGREES.

Didn't stop us from going to get that free lunch, though. You see, most people in the Pacific Northwest don't have air conditioning in their homes, as we don't usually need it. So we figured that if we were going to be hot and miserable, we might as well not make it worse by firing up the stove in the process.

Right in the midst of that Heat Wave Of 2009, I said to the kids: "It's time to get our 'game face' on. Project Popsicle is underway."

So at noontime one day, when the the whole of mankind was wilting away, we headed to the park with nearly 100 ice cream-filled popsicles in tow. And we handed out every single one of them til they were gone.

It's important for me to mention that the. entire. time. it took to hand those things out--I felt like the biggest do-gooding uppity nincompoop on the planet. But I did it anyway because I knew what the end result was going to be.

Hope.

Joy.

Peace.

It was a small moment in that day, at that park, where goodness outshone the bad.

Oh...I'm a crotchety old soul no one special and neither were those popsicles. But what always amazes me--and this is why I do these things--and why I brag blog about them here--is that one small act of kindness can transform another human being in a really big way. And if there's one thing I've learned in this game called life, it's this:

Love wins.

In any and all circumstances, love. wins.

And that's the kind of game I like to play.

(Wearing my shiny goody two-shoes and all.)

PS to my friends at the park: You can go ahead and mention the pixie dust and the rainbows and the floating hearts that you saw when we handed out the treats. Don't be shy. Humility is highly overrated. (*cough*)

PPS to my readers who are finally convinced I'm an overbearing jerk: You are right. I am a proud, self-centered, obnoxious gal. But I also know that in my vast readership are people who see past the crust and into my heart--which desires to leave my mark on this world. One blog post and popsicle at a time.

Books I'm Hogging From The Library: The July 25, 2009 Edition

Well, hah-loooow!

As you can see, I'm easing back into the bloggy world after traipsing around the Pacific Northwest for a couple of weeks. I notice the world kept spinning in my absence.

(*Shocker*)

Usually I can devour a book or two while away from home, but this time around my addiction to Lost took precedence. Priorities, people.

So here are the books I left behind, to sit on a shelf while *I* sat on the beach.


Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing a Business and a Family under One Roof :: I work under the assumption that I can easily carry out 837 roles at once. And this book is going to help me do that. Yes. Yes it is.

The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential...in Business and in Life :: The irony is not lost on me that I have this book at home at the same time I'm learning to conquer the world with the book listed above.

How Wikipedia Works: And How You Can Be a Part of It :: I chuckle when my kids see the World Book Encyclopedia stacked up at the library and ask, "Mom? What is that?" And then I rest a bit on my cane and explain how when *I* was a kid, there was no internet and I'd have to get my questions answered via lugging big ol' books back and forth from the shelf. So naturally, with the internet being such a fee-nom-uh-non and all, sites like Wikipedia fascinate me. A regularly updated encyclopedia! Online! And I want to know how it works. Because I read the encyclopedia as a kid am endlessly curious like that.

I'd Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper: Loving Your Marriage after the Baby Carriage :: Nothing tickles me like a great title. And a funny book. The author of this book also wrote I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids, which is a title I quote quite often.

Stargate SG-1: The Ultimate Visual Guide :: When Hubs and I use our walkie talkies, the handles that we use for each other are character's names from this show. ("Carter" and "O'Neill" if you must know.) Oh, sure, it's a cheesey sci-fi show. But it had its moments. And I loved those moments.

You know, normal women read home decorating magazines. Maybe one of them can come to my house and tell me how to creatively display all my geeky honorary-man-card books.

Are you reading anything worth sharing with the class?

Tossed Greek Salad

Those of you who have gardens that are producing something besides lettuce will appreciate this fresh-tasting Greek Salad. While doing a little gawking at the gardens down my street, I saw that many of the needed ingredients are ripening as. we. speak.

I'm hoping one of the neighbors will share a tomato or seven with me.

Enjoy.


Tossed Greek Salad

Salad:

12 cups torn romaine
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved and sliced
1/2 medium green pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 medium red onion, cut into rings
1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive or canola oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 whole garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a salad bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the dressing ingredients; shake well. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

More recipes over at Ann's Food on Fridays and the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap!

Lettuce Gloat For A While About THIS

You know, the one thing I do have a knack for growing is weeds. The front of my house showcases not only a Garden of Shame, but a YARD of Shame too.

Fortunately, my green-thumbed neighbor noticed a particularly ugly spot out by the road and had the brilliant idea of transforming my "landscaping" into "leaves."

Lettuce leaves, that is.

And look! We did it!

Of course, there are only so many uses for lettuce. But I rarely cut the happy little leaves off anyway. I gotta show 'em off, forcryingoutloud!

Not only can the bikers and walkers take a nice long gaze at my gardening prowess, but vehicles backing in and out of my driveway can smash the lettuce with their tires!

How! Cool! Is! That?!

Not that that just happened a couple of days back, noooo.

Regardless, my lettuce garden has a starring role in the neighborhood as the "water cooler." We talk about planting and watering, harvesting and eating. But beyond just sharing leaves of lettuce, we share our lives.

And that's why I planted the seeds in the first place. Lettuce all be happy about that.

PS: There is also another tomato plant (still no fruit), a few broccoli plants, and one lonely pea plant it appears I'm "pod whispering" to in that shot. For those who were going to ask.

Garden Of Shame: Part 2

"Anyone can grow tomatoes," my neighbor told me. And so I stuck a plant in a bucket and gave it all the love and attention it deserved.

AND THEN SOME.

It wasn't until the plant started yellowing and wilting that I said to myself, "Self? Maybe I should figure out how to take care of this thing."

And so I went to the Gardening Doctor himself, and found out all sorts of ways that I'd bombed. I'll highlight my successes and failures here:

Put tomato plant in a spot where it will get maximum sunlight

Run the hose at the base of the plants

Do not water tomatoes with an over-head sprinkler

Water thoroughly (!!) when you water, then hold off for several days, before rewatering

Avoid watering your tomato plants in late afternoon or early evening

Water in the early morning

Tying plants to a stake can restrict growth and fruit production

Using tomato cages* or fencing allows the plants to grow more freely

Now, I've no doubt 837 of you will comment to say, "I've done all the wrong things too but *my* plants are thuh-riii-ving!"

Well *pfffffffffbbbbbbtttttttt* on you isn't that great!

Now you can share with me.

Has anyone else smothered their tomato plants with too much love?


*The cage you see in that picture was a recent sympathy gift from the same neighbor who gave me the plant. I suppose she figured that if the plant was gonna die, it should at least go out with some dignity.

Party For The New Neighbors

We had some new folk move in across the street a couple of weeks ago. And in my true, introverted style, I spent a good three days staring at them through my upstairs window.

Creepy! Suuuuuper creepy!

But anyhoo. They looked like the kind of people who needed a meet-n-greet party in their honor, so I finally got the nerve to knock on their door and say something like this:

"Hi-I-live-across-the-street! Wanna-come-to-a-party-to-meet-all-the-neighbors? Tomorrow-at-such-and-such-time? Yeah-okay-great-see-you-then."

And then I ran back home and congratulated myself on my impeccable manners.

So, my neighbor friends and I got our party-gig on, and we had everything set up and ready to go at just the right time. Thankfully, we've done enough foodie things in the 'hood that The Regulars were quick to show up for the impromptu event.

Yet there were a couple people who were missing.

Mmm-hmmm.

The Guests Of Honor.

Oh, peeps. We laughed, and we laughed, and then we laughed some more about our Welcome To The Neighborhood Party That Was Really Just A Bunch Of Us Sitting Outside Staring And Wondering If And When The New Folk Were Going To Come.

And just when it couldn't get any more awkward, one of the New People pulled up in his driveway, and THERE WE WERE, having a party FOR him, you know, WITHOUT HIM. Because by that time, a good hour had passed, and we had moved on to enjoying our strawberry shortcake and drinks.

It's your party and we'll eat if we want to, eat if we want to, EAT IF WE WANT TO!!!

S'anyway.

I finally gave Hubs the evil eye the suggestion of walking across the street to "remind" the new neighbor about the event.

And then he came, and eventually his gal friend made an appearance too. And it was all well and good, and we got to know them, and they got to know us, and they now know they live across the street from a Class A Dork.

But! They at least know I'm a friendly dork, and that was worth the effort and awkwardness (and fun!) of the party.

So if you, too, would like to experience the angst joy of meeting the neighbors, make sure to check out my list of ten ways to help do that.

And for the hermits who just want to sit at home eating strawberry shortcake by themselves, here's the recipe I used:


Strawberry Shortcake

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into one 9x13 greased baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool, cut into squares, and top with vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce.

(The other "cake" you see pictured is brownies. Mmmmm.)