Do You Kiss and Tell?

Today Yahoo! featured an article regarding fun/ quirky facts about kissing.  Of course, I had to read it.  It was a simple, quick, 10 point article, but some of the facts were extremely interesting!  Like, for example, did you know passionate kissing using 34 (all) facial muscles, and it can help improve circulation, prevent tooth decay and just help with overall health?  Or, that men who kiss their significant other goodbye prior to leaving for work tend to make more money?  Cool!!  Honey!, Come kiss me before you leave!! :-)

The one thing I found interesting yet odd, was that women tend to kiss 29 different men, on average, before getting married.  Hmm...I know women keep track of a lot of things: how many sexual partners they've had, what they eat in a day, the last time you called her or took her out for dinner, but how many people they've kissed?  That's a new one to me.  But who knows, maybe it's just another statistic, like the one that says 70% of all statistics you read in magazines are made up.  Or maybe its 40%?  Either way, I won't keep you!  Get back to kissing already!

XBox Fans

So yes, I am . . . I never thought this day would come . . . but here I am, at last, discussing video games.  I can't seem to hide from the release of the newest XBox Game:  Call of Duty Black Ops.  I should probably preface, I know absolutely zippo about the game, the history of the game, or why this is such an important sequel.  I do, however, know that I cannot go out of earshot of at least one person who is talking about it:  A parent about the kid's latest craze, the kids talking about the game they played, other kids talking about other kids talking about the game, friends talking about the game for the same reasons previously listed, etc.  It's like Nitrogen in the air:  It's there.  It's inevitable.  You can't escape it, so you might as well just deal with it and figure out some way to know what the heck people are talking about.


So I did.  Yup, I did.  I actually typed the keys in the order required to look up Black Ops and see why this is such a craze.  The intro video however - AWESOME!!!  But, what can I say, I'm 4 and easily persuaded by celebrities, stuff blowing up, the subtle hints of humor, and just videos in general.    It did disturb me that a seemingly 14 year old girl was carrying a gun, but, um......yeah, she's probably 20 in real life and just looks 12.  Just saying.  A little concerning.  Otherwise, cool.  You get to blow shit up.  Also seemingly ironic it was released really close to Veteran's Day, and day a sad few people continue to celebrate considering, well, we're still a free country and that was after 2 really big world wars, a long Vietnam War, and a whole bunch of other wars today's History books forget to mention for more than a passing sentence, but, you know, it's cool.  They tried. (I guess).  


But yes, even after hearing it all, I'm still a little (or a lot) confused.  I guess I just won't ever be that gung-ho fanatic, but, if blowing things up while talking to others and working solo or in teams is your things, this is a good game for that.  (Fine print:  I am not a reliable source for the interworkings, play-mode, or content found in said game.)  And, on that note, have fun.  If you end up blowing stuff up next to Jimmy Kimmel, let me know.

Spice Up Your Health Life

I recently told my boyfriend I would happily cook all day long if I didn't have to do dishes.  I really hate doing dishes, but I absolutely love cooking.  Just like I am obsessed with Project Runway, I thoroughly enjoy watching Top Chef because I love seeing the different ways foods are used.  I've also discovered, in my own cooking endeavors, that I tend to lean towards certain types of cuisine - Italian, Asian, and just overall Healthy.  


I also love my spice rack.  Over the years I've collected different spices and tried to teach myself about how to use them correctly and experimentally, seeing if different combinations bring more pizzaz and life to different dishes.  I love spices so much I don't know what to do with myself when I find myself cooking blindly without them.  So, you can imagine my happiness when Yahoo! put out a news article about different spices and how they can help your health.  Such spices I already love?  GARLIC!  Cinnamon, Fennel seed, Cloves, and Ginger.  Also making the list are Cumin, Curry, Cardamom (think Chai tea!) and Star Anise.  These spices have links to health benefits, just like different vitamins are linked to different health benefits.  The more you use spices, the more likely you are to reap their benefits.


So, for all you cooking gurus out there, keep cooking!  If you're like me and just a fan of cooking, keep trying new spices and combinations, and your food and technique can only improve.  If you're still trying to get into cooking, remember it's like everything else:  the more you practice, the better you get.  However, become familiar with these and other spices.  It's amazing how much life they can bring to your food.  Eat up, and if anyone feels like helping me with the dishes, let me know!

Give Away?

What would you do with $100,000 if you had to spend it and couldn't spend it on yourself?


This question was posed to my sixth graders during their writing extension class.  Every day they are given ten minutes to explore a new prompt, working on enhancing their flow of consciousness and writing abilities.  Today's I found extremely interesting.  What would a sixth grader think to do with $100,000?  


Some of the most common responses included donating to favorite charities - global, local, pet – or giving the money to family members.  Some people even explicitly wrote out the percentages they would give to each family member based on how they perceive those family member's needs.  I found that logic impressive.  Otherwise some students went even further by wanting to donate to schools or universities, build parks and camps, and one person even said he'd give it all to the first random homeless he ran into.  Clearly, the minds of these ten and eleven year olds are hard and working and working in very different ways.


So, that got me thinking.  What would I do with $100,000 I couldn't spend on myself?  Maybe I would help family members pay off bills or put one of them through college.  Maybe I would help a friend start up a company he or she was trying to get off the ground, or, like so many of my other students, I would donate it to a worthy charity.  I would donate it, however, because I would get to write it off on my taxes and probably get some of it back in a refund?  Does that make me somehow less charitable or just more financially savvy?  Who knows.  All I know is one friend, when posed this question, responded with, "I would cry."  How true.  How very very true.  Sorry world, but $100,000 is a lot of money.

The Marriage Reality

There are a couple of things I love talking about:  traveling (Europe!!), food / cooking, movies and comedy, art/music/culture, and sex & relationships.  I love when Yahoo puts out articles relating to these topics too, especially the last one.  I find them fascinating, and I guess coming from a large, loud, loving, always-around-no-matter-what Italian family gives my perspective on relationships and such a slightly different twist, but I still enjoy learning more.  I always feel the more you know about something the better equipped you are to deal with situations you find yourself facing in the future.  


All that said, this article on yahoo highlighted 10 things couples can expect during that famous "first year" of marriage.  Am I married?  Nope.  But a lot of my friends are on that track and / or discussing it, looking down that road, in relationships, etc, so it's definitely pertinent.  I think the article makes a good point on certain topics.  You won't always be happy, ergo you will go to bed mad sometimes.  Your sex life will ebb and flow, but you'll probably be more in tune with each other and find it gets better over time because you know one another.  Couples still find themselves falling into "traditional" roles, even if it wasn't always set up that way in the beginning, and you do not magically become rich just because you're working with two incomes.  All of these are great points, and the article was fun in the way it laid it out for the reader.  I think sometimes today people just want the fairy tale and they're too quick to want to rid themselves of a situation the minute it gets challenging.  You can blame the fast-paced society, or the instant-gratification mentality, or the cultural phenomenon of divorce on a whim, or whatever else you want, but the truth is sometimes people just aren't adequately prepared for what comes down the road, especially in relationships.  Maybe part of it is because when it's happening to us it seems more monumental than when friends discuss what happened to them, but still, the more you know the better prepared you are to deal with life as it hits you.  And who knows, maybe you'll surprise yourself by your reaction to the article.  Happy reading!

Dance Time...

I'm a dancing maniac.  Plain and simple.  I love it; I do it all the time; it's pretty much guaranteed that if there's good music on I'm dancing.  I especially like pop / dance music, so when the song "Numa Numa" hit the European club scene in 2005/2006 when I studied in Spain, I instantly fell in love.  I personally thought it fell off the planet afterwards until I heard it in the Rhianna song "Live Your Life."  The teaser beginning made me a crazy dancing fiend.  Loved it!


So, needless to say, I geeked out again today when I heard the video NUMA NUMA in the background this morning.  I came running out to find that this was not the original video, but a video made by some man back in 2006 doing stupidly funny dance moves and lip-syncing.  Apparently it was extremely popular around then and then totally went viral on You Tube.  How it took me four years to find, I have no idea, but, again, watch the video!!!!!  I guarantee you'll be laughing, and you might even find yourself singing and dancing along.  :-)   


Happy Halloween in the meantime!!

Internet Installation

This morning we recently had Comcast come install internet in the house.  After learning how AT&T U-Verse fails where we are located (location was too far from the hub for it to be worth it), the choice to switch to Comcast was clear.  


They arrived pretty much right on time this morning.  Having worked with Comcast in the past, I know the set-up time is usually short.  However, it took 2 hours this morning.  Why?  Because they had to sit on hold with their own company for nearly and hour and fifteen minutes.  That's right.  The technicians had to sit on the phone to reach a Comcast representative for over an hour.  That blew our minds, technicians included.  Apparently the other internet companies (i.e. AT&T) have separate lines for technicians to call, but not Comcast.  Comcast puts the technicians through the regular phone lines as though they were any old Joe Schmoe customer.  How ridiculous!  Once they finally did reach a representative, the process was about twenty minutes, like we all assumed it would be.  


Just think about how much more efficient they would be if they had their own technician-line.  They could see more customers, they could service more houses, and they could be more effective.  Period.  So, Mr. Comcast CEO of customer care and technician services, on behalf of your future customers and current technicians, you should be ashamed of yourself for not thinking of this sooner.  Otherwise, you have another set of very happy customers.

Dooms Day Oops?

I, like always, get my news from Yahoo news.  The other day, I came across an extremely interesting article regarding 2012, and the article said the Doomsday Prophecy might actually be wrong.  After initially laughing at the fact that this made news, I read further.


History first.  The Mayan calendar was divided into lots of different sections, and two of those sections included the "Long Count" and the "Short Count".  The Long Count and the Short Count are not explained in the ARTICLE, because, honestly, it's a grueling process to explain the logistics.  Basically the Mayans built a calendar based on a 52 year cycle with smaller measuring points in between . . . and there are LOTS of small measuring pieces.  Every 52 years is a new "Chapter" and when people refer to the Long Count they are usually referring to one of these cycles / chapters.  Additionally, everything is based on the lunar cycles not the solar ones, which is the opposite of how a lot of Western civilization functions, which is why it's complicated.


Ergo, the long and short of it is that "we" may have misinterpreted the Long Count specificity and may therefore be as far as 50 to 100 years off the actual "doomsday" date.  Fun, unless, of course, you're one of those people who has forgone all life savings to build a shelter and stock up for the worst, or one of those people who has run up all credit cards to "maximum" thinking it won't make a difference anyways in 2 years.  Otherwise, the rest of us can figure out if we want to "Party like its 2012" or just go about business as usual.

"Saying AYO, Yo No Puedo"

Okay, if that title makes any sense to you whatsoever, congratulations, you have not only heard of the song "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, but you are also familiar with the plethora of parody videos going viral on You Tube.  My students have particularly found a liking for the ones that quote the following, although you should probably know the real lyrics first.  


Real lyrics:  "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, saying AYO gotta let go"


Some of the top parodies as quoted by students:
"I throw my sandwich in the air sometimes, saying AYO, forgot the mayo"
"I throw my homework in the air sometimes, saying AYO I'll take the zero"
"I throw my xbox in the air sometimes, saying AYO, I'll play Nintendo"
"I throw my Call-4 in the air sometimes, saying AYO, I'll play Halo"
"I throw my Skittles in the air sometimes, saying AYO, taste the rainbow"


Love them!  Here is one video specifically that highlights the above phrases.  Is it the one my students are quoting?  Not per se, but it has the same lines.  


And hey, if they can come up with their own why can't we?  Ergo, my Spanish contribution:  "Tiro tarea en el aire yo digo AYO, yo no puedo".  

Night Cap

Here's something I miss as a child - Honey and Milk for sleepless nights.  Yes, that's right, I said it, honey and milk.  Mmmm.  Memories.


It didn't happen often, but every now and again a plague of sleeplessness would hit my family.  It was almost as if everyone caught the bug at once, like the power went out or the cable stopped working and everyone was affected at exactly the same time.  The only problem was this "plague" was extreme sleepiness with absolutely no possible means of falling asleep.  Our eyes hurt, we were cranky, and we just wanted to go to bed, but we couldn't seem to get over the "I finally fell asleep!" hump.  


On nights like those, Dad would head to the kitchen and put on a pot of milk and honey.  He'd sit over the stove while we stood around and chatted, stirring the milk frequently, which I later learned was to prevent the milk from burning.  I always just figured he was bored or had a supreme calling from the Milk and Honey Gods to always and consistently stir the magic potion.  Needless to say, as soon as it was warm enough he'd pour us each a cup and we'd sit and sip at the sweet nectar of promised sleep inducer.  Eventually we'd make it to bed and, sure enough, sleep would arrive soon thereafter.  


In the end, I have no idea if honey milk is a real remedy for sleeplessness, but it certainly worked as a kid - or, well, at least the placebo affect of watching the making of said honey milk, drinking said honey milk, and then returning to bed did the trick.  Either way, it worked for me.  And, on nights like tonight where sleep seems to elude you no matter how much you wish for it, I would gladly return for a childhood night cap.

Food Matters

I love Netflix.  Yesterday, I watched one of the most interesting documentaries I've seen in a while.  The title?  FOOD MATTERS.  In fact, if, upon reading this snippet you're interested in learning more, there is the FOOD MATTERS website.  


So what is it about?  Well, just like Food Inc. talks about the realities and dangers of GMOs and pesticides in food and hormones in food, which sadly goes unnoticed by a large majority of the population and is often kept quiet by food companies, Food Matters deals with food and it's link to medicine.  For example, they discuss how nutrition should be more of a focus for doctors, but how it is immensely underplayed, not taken seriously, and often not taught in medical school.  Seems like a no brainer to me.  Food supplies nutrients.  Nutrients keep things working properly and keep you healthy.  If you're sick, obviously there is a problem.  


One example specifically, which I enjoyed, was the use of extremely high doses of Vitamin C to cure illnesses.  Vitamin C is that same drug you're told to take in tablet form when you feel a cold coming on.  Logic would lead, therefore, to say that if small doses help small colds, then large IV-fed doses would help larger problems.  It's even cooler, however, that this same idea was discussed in the TV Series:  HOUSE.  YAY!  The other one I thought was cool was how the original founder of AA treated alcoholism and depression with Vitamin B3, until the drug companies overtook the medical field.  Again, pretty cool.  Natural vitamins to fix problems.  (It is also known that 2-3 handfuls of organic cashews daily has the same chemicals effect as Prozac).  


Now, don't get me wrong.  They don't completely knock the importance of modern-day medicine.  If you need a quick 7-14 day antibiotic, they were in full support.  This had more to do with how drug companies and the medical field affect economy, why drug companies don't actually want to "cure" you in the long run, and how today's society has seriously overlooked one of the most fundamental parts of health and life in general:  The importance of good nutrition and the benefit of organic foods.


Check it out for yourself.  Maybe you'll find you learn something, maybe you'll find support for what you already know, or maybe you'll just expose yourself to a different perspective.  It's up to you if you want to believe it or understand it or not.  But I loved it!  

Bongo Room

For those of you who love trying new restaurants, may I suggest one in Chicago.  It's called the Bongo Room, and is located in Wicker Park on Milwaukee Ave near North Ave.  It's a cute little restaurant with about 15 tables and a bar seating six.  And, it always has a wait.  That's now you know it's amazing.


What makes this restaurant so special?  It's signature twist on dishes and ever changing menu.  Oh, yeah, and it's portions exceed the size of your face, so you always have leftovers for home.  But, like I said, the ever changing menu means you can keep uncovering new favorites every time you go.  Their pancakes, for example, are stellar.  Today they had Banana Chocolate, Pumpkin Spice, Cranberry Bliss, and Red Velvet with Chocolate.  Each choice comes with three oversized, fluffy cakes and it's own special array of toppings.  They've also been known to have Lemon Pancakes in the summer - hence the "changing" menu.  They switch up their signatures to ensure every visit is unique.  


I personally had the veggie croissant, which included Muenster Cheese, Alfalfa Sprouts, Fresh Spinach, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Grilled Mushrooms, an Egg, and Basil Mayo (which, was beyond amazing, and I hate mayo, so that's saying a lot!)  It was gigantic and had to be broken down with my knife and fork.  And I'm pretty sure I now have dinner today also.  However, before I had decided on the croissant, I had debated the traditional breakfast burrito and the Sweet Potato Black Bean burrito.  Amazing.  


The pricing?  Decent.  My breakfast, cup of coffee and tip ended up being $17.  For the city, that's not too bad, and for breakfast, it's not too bad either.  Plus, like I said, I ended up with dinner as well, so really it broke down to about $8.50.  Totally doable.  Maybe not every day doable, but for the occasional holiday breakfast, absolutely worth it.  


Happy eating, and I recommend visiting them soon.  They're open until 2pm daily.  Yum!

CPR - Y?

At school today we had "CPR" Training, for all the teachers involved in sponsoring sports and after school activities.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but the 2-2.5 hour class ended up being extremely interesting.  We learned CPR and the "Heimlich" Maneuver.


Having never learned CPR, there were a lot of informational tid-bits that I didn't know prior to today.  For example, apparently they change the protocol for CPR every 5-10 years.  No, the actual process doesn't change, but little things can.  Like, for example, it is now customary to use a barrier between your mouth and the other person's mouth if such a barrier is available.  Why?  Simple put, with all the different diseases (think Aids, Hepatitis, etc) having a barrier between your mouths protects both parties.  Now, granted, since most CPR is done within family, you probably already know the ins-and-outs of your family members, so it's not so vital, but, nonetheless, that is one change.  Another, is that the number of pushes on the person chest changes.  Right now it's 30.  30 presses, 2 breaths, repeated 5 times.  According to our fire chief / instructor, they (the CPR Gods) are debating moving the number of chest compressions up from 30 to 50, which would change procedure from 30 compressions / 2 breaths, to 50 compressions / 2 breaths.  Interesting.


I also learned some cool things, like:  How to do the Heimlich maneuver, or that the Heimlich family is suing for royalties, so they have "unofficially" changed the name to something basic like "Choking Procedure", or that if you're doing CPR on a child aged 1-8 that you use only 1 hand instead of 2 during the chest compressions, and finally, the entire reason we do CPR is to keep Grandpa "away from the light," as our instructor so comically explained.  


Honestly, I highly recommend the class for every person.  Apparently in Washington State it is required in school that everyone learn the procedure, so they are the state with the highest number of citizens versed in CPR.  Therefore, should you ever decide to have a heart attack or become unconscious, I highly recommend getting yourself and your heart over to Washington State.  Otherwise, best of luck, and, although I am "trained" now, I would just prefer that you keep breathing on your own.  Thanks!

Investigating Art

I recently had the privilege of having an art related blog recommended to me.  I love art, especially painting and architecture, and the Art Blog By Bob is an exciting gateway into the art world.  He provides background, insight, relays critiques, and just generally brings more awareness to a world that is often remembered as an afterthought.  He highlights sculpture, American and contemporary art, and he also provides references to classic and more referenced art.


If you like art, you'll both fully enjoy and appreciate this website.  I know I do!  I especially like the portrait from fruit by Giuseppi Arcimboldo and the piece Bob previewed on Hong Kong, Art, and Deterritorialization.  Generally my preferences are towards abstract and visually stimulating pieces, like Dali, and impressionistic art, like Monet and Renoir.  I'm also starting to really enjoy more contemporary works, like the ones featured at the MOMA - Museum Of Modern Art, in NYC.  I also visited this really cute art store, the name of which has sadly escaped me, but I loved it because it featured new artists, and I found one particularly exciting.  It was pop art meets portrait, but her portraits were often the negatives and painted with cake decorating tools!  So fun!  And there was a photographer who tore his pieces into strips, encased them in fiberglass, and then warped the strips to make 3-D pieces.  Love it!


Ok, off my art-box for now.  Explore the website, and feel free to share any artist you enjoy!  I know I certainly always love expanding my knowledge base.   

Fall Favorites

Happy Fall everyone!!  Seriously, fall is my favorite time of year.  I love everything about it:  the weather, the changing leaves and vibrant colors, the smells, the food, the fact that it makes you want to snuggle up next to someone with a cup of hot cocoa or apple cider.  Mmm.  Perfect.  Plus, it means Christmas is just around the corner, and I love Christmas!

I re-affirmed today some of the reasons why I absolutely love this season. October is my favorite, not because I love Halloween (in fact, I'm so beyond a huge scaredy-cat that I really don't much care for the holiday or anything scary for that matter), but because fall is in its prime.  I walked the dog two mile, reveling in his desire to jump into piles of leaves,  chase leaves blowing across the ground, and just exist in the same open space as the crisp, cool breeze.  Later, at the store, I found myself totally excited.  Yes, I get excited about grocery shopping in the fall.  I'm a dork.  I admit it.  And I'm totally okay with it.  I love it.  I can't help it.  And Whole Foods does a wonderful job of increasing my love for fall food.  Pumpkin pies were on sale, honeycrisp apples (my fav) were on sale, all of my favorite squashes and sweet potatoes are available, which I couldn't wait to get home and make and drizzle with butter and brown sugar.  Then there was pumpkin and walnut bread with apple butter for morning pick-me-ups, and I even bough cranberries to put in my wild rice dinner and a jug of apple cider and cinnamon sticks with which to make hot apple cider on days like today - just cool enough to make you want to wrap yourself up in a blanket in front of the tv and drink something warm and soothing.  


October is finally here, and life is officially revolving around everything fall.  Find your favorite treat and indulge.  I know I will!