Kimala Kohime [kimala] on Plurk and SL and Twitter?

200 unread – Bloomin Plurk! – Kimala Kohime [kimala] on Plurk.

[19:29]  Kimala Kohime: d said i’m overloading the airwaves
[19:29]  Kimala Kohime: i put on my SL plurk hud
[19:29]  Blissie Boucher nods.
[19:29]  Blissie Boucher: I think he might be right.
[19:30]  Kimala Kohime: and plurked from savoy — and my plurk went to twitter and my twitter went to facebook
[19:30]  Kimala Kohime nods
[19:30]  Kimala Kohime: its like a daisychain extention cord scene

[19:30]  Kimala Kohime: overloaded

[19:30]  Blissie Boucher: Oh good lord
[19:30]  Blissie Boucher: LOL
[19:32]  bigd Flanagan: sensory overload

These are the things I find fascinating and challenging.  Why not link all these crazy new tools together and see what happens?

Come on… I double dog dare you!

P.S…. Dare I add… I simply posted this by clicking the “Press This” button from my Firefox bookmarks bar and… wa-la… a post.. was THERE!

Treadmill…

There are just not enough hours in the day…  Phoenix WordCamp yesterday has my mind spinning about all the things I wish I could do with my blog… I wish I could do technically… and then… there is the writing piece.

My 11 year old son, Noah, is actively seeking to finish a novel at the end of National Novel Writing Month… his writing is incredible and it inspires me.  I wake up in the morning with fuzzy thoughts of phrases and paragraphs.  An hour later after a shower and a half a cup of coffee the moment is lost.

These days so much of my writing energy is channeled into grants and proposals.  I put my mind in the zone and just go.  A little start… a few paragraphs from someone else can ease the fear and pain of blank screen or empty white paper… and I”m off.

My blog though… it is so neglected.  I updated my look yesterday because it seems my days leave me feeling hanging like that.  What pieces of the photo you don’t see are the snuggly bunnies and lush tall grasses that are below to rescue me from my dangling position.  My real life is like that too.  When I take the time to savor the moments of bike rides to the park with my 6 year olds, laughs with my oldest now a teenager about the craziness of humanity, and pour over the creative juices of my 11 year old’s novel-to-be, I am reminded that those bunnies and lush grass are there for me in reality too.

Ultimately… I have decided the ultimate goal is to live in the moment of these treadmill paced life experiences.  When we choose to live from big event to big event, or for the short term celebration of Friday, or for the constant pressing feeling of achieve achieve, we lose what can be found in celebrating the big and the small of each moment.  Savor a muffin with extra butter.  Breathe deeply and appreciate the fall air.  Smile over an unexpected YouTube find showing a reunion between a dog and a soldier home from war.  Life is so short.  If I waste it looking down at my feet and worrying about my shoes on the treadmill, am I really enjoying all I should be?

Cheers to the moments that will find you smiling today.

welcome November

How Can We Know How Far
The Long Way Can Be
Looking From Where We Are
It Never Seemed That Long To Me
I’ve Many Miles Behind Me
Maybe Not So Much Ahead
It Seems I Made Good Time
With The Directions I Misread

So I’m Gonna Spend My Time
Like It’s Going Out Of Style
I’m Moving The Bottom Line
Farther Then A Country Mile
I Still Have Hills To Climb
Before I Hit That Wall
No Matter How Much I Buy
I Could Never Spend It All

Funny Thing That Time
We’re Always Running Out
I’m Always Losing Mine
There’s Not Enough Of It About
And Though It’s Always Here
It Will Always Come And Go
The Days Become The Years
That’ll Be Gone Before You Know

So I’m Gonna Spend My Time
Like It’s Going Out Of Style
I’m Moving The Bottom Line
Better Then A Country Mile
I Still Have Hills To Climb
Before I Hit That Wall

I Won’t Go Quietly Into That Dark Night
There’ll Be No More Buring Daylight
I’ll Be Living In
Every Moment That I’m In
Oh I’m Gonna Spend My Time
Like It’s Going Out Of Style
I’ll Only Use What’s Mine
I’ve Been Saving For Awhile
I Still Have Hills To Climb
Before I Hit That Wall
No Matter How Much I Buy
I Could Never Spend It All

No Matter How Much Time We Buy
We Could Never Spend It All

~*~ clint black

Weekends with a purpose

I just jumped out of the shower.  A Sunday night shower before an early Monday morning.  An atypical Monday morning where Dave will make sure all our precious peewees make it to their destined bus rides to start their week, rather than me.

I got to thinking about the weekend.  This weekend was fairly unscheduled.  It was open.  It involved mandatory trips to the store and the usual meal preparation but other than that… it was me and barbies and legos and television candy (the stuff Mom wants to watch, not just the kids) and good friends online. It involved some fun new tools I learned about from Discovery (yes the competition had an online conference).  It involved a bit of cleaning (sadly not a big enough bit).

But… it did involve some BIG pieces of snuggling.  As I write this I gaze down at my two youngest who fell asleep beside me this evening.  It did involve helping and giving back (mostly on the part of my husband who did a round trip to pick up a car a few hours away with my dad).  It did involve a charitable event in which we raised $12,000L (what is that in RL anyway?) for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.  It did also involve good friends in SL.  The conversation this afternoon went something like this…

“if I have had friendships that have lasted almost 3 years and he/she can’t keep one longer than 6 months… then the problem obviously isn’t with me”

chocolate and friends

It got me thinking about the friends I have… the ones in both RL and SL.  It got me thinking about the people I have invested in… months, and years.  Some as many as 15 years… some closer to 8 years… and some just under 3 years… pixelated or not…  I love them all.  They have been with me at the lowest lows and loved me anyway.  They have ridden the highest highs and giggled and enjoyed some craziness.  Some are friends I am just now reacquainting myself with from 15 or more years ago.  The little notes we exchange remind me of how much I valued them in my life long ago and how glad I am they are back.

This weekend was about resting.  Sometimes we need sleep.  Sometimes we need quiet.  Sometimes we need a good long hot shower with yummy smelling bodywash.  Sometimes we just need a long hug and feel safe.

Dave keeps telling me to expect what I can’t even imagine as a solution to so many things troubling me.  I hold tight to that.  I remind myself over and over throughout the journey of a week’s time to imagine supernatural and keep the faith.  I will do that this next week again.  Cheers to all the real things we cherish in our lives — family, children, friends.  Hold tight.  Be kind.  Help someone else feel safe.  Expect surprises.  Have faith.

A place to remember...

Tired of Hot?

At least finding this weather pixie makes the warm weather a bit more fun

The sun sets on Blog Action Day…

Today is Blog Action Day 2009:  Climate Change.  I’ve thought all day long what to write about.  I’ve read the updates as they came through.  I got excited about the worldwide momentum in the blogosphere.  Yet… my post didn’t materialize.  Often when I drive, I find the posts take root.  Today…  I waited and waited.

Was it the start of my day in a low flow shower?  Was it my kids willingly taking out the recycling?  Was it the excitement of my 11 year old over trying out the new “air powered” vacuum attachment to our central vac that uses less energy?  Was it everyone’s decision in the house to turn off the water while brushing teeth? Or turning up the A/C a few degrees before leaving the house?

Maybe it was my commute to work in the HOV lane in my small hybrid car?  Maybe it was the plastic bottle I threw in the blue container instead of the round trash bin on my way out of the parking garage?

Was it my choice to take notes on my laptop rather than paper?  Or my decision to view online rather than print out?

Was it the conscious choice my colleague made to save scraps of foam core board for another project rather than throw away unused portions?

Was it the decision to open the windows and let in the cool evening air and save the air conditioning?  Turn off a few extra lights and unplug a few unnecessary items?

So much in our world consumes our need to take take and take some more of resources that are finite.  In our rush to move on to the next best and greatest thing on our to do list, we often take the small decisions for granted.  However… at the end of the day… is it the collection of all our decisions… the lump sum… that shows how we can ultimately make a difference with one small decision at a time?

If you choose to not let something begin with you — that is a choice.  If you decide saving the planet is just a cause someone dreamt up to be hip and that it really is all a facade then  this is not the post for you.  If you believe that even the smallest Hoo in Hooville can make a difference… then I challenge you to think through your day… from small to big things and see where you made a difference.

I know change is hard.  It takes 21 days to create a habit.  We have recycled for years but it has just been recently that our kids have really started taking pride in the recycle bin filling faster than the trash.  They are slowly understanding electricity and water usage.  They are the future scientists I help imagine a better world each and every day.  They are the ones who I dream a better world for and I pray each and every one begins to see.. the small differences each of us can make as individuals.

*sigh*

I was surprised to realize it has been a month since I last blogged.  My head spins to think of how fast time has flown… the back to school blur… the 9 weeks that has led us finally to Fall break…  the long work days and many Saturdays that meant time away from family…  we are here… we are in 60 degree mornings and 80 degree afternoons… we made it.

We have moved from the heat into battling the latest bugs that Fall brings.  I wanted to post at least a small something to let you know I haven’t gone away forever… just disappeared for a bit into the busy-ness that is every day.

Cheers to the change of the seasons and the possibilities that Fall brings for all of us!

heartburn, headaches, and happiness?

You really have to be careful what you ask for.  Bottom line: Blessings come in all shapes and sizes.  Most recently I have been blessed with an incredible new career challenge.  I love my job.  If I won the lottery I may answer differently, but until then I do love what I do.  I’m a PBS Kid through and through.  I love the resources online, I love the programming on air, I love sharing things with teachers, I love watching kids recount their favorite characters – even “kids” that aren’t so little any more.

I love the challenge of finding resources that connect one dot to another.  I love putting all sorts of fun things in the hands of teachers and parents and kids – like magnifying tools, and posters, and and and.

I do NOT love stressful Friday afternoons when things you thought were tied up neatly come untied.  But honestly, who does.  I do NOT love imposing on people who work as hard or harder than I do to help retie something up.  I know this comes with the territory.  Bottom line we like to say is in our line of work no one ever died from a mistake made in our jobs.  I think we might need a poster with that line on it.  No one ever died.  Honestly.  Those who find life and death stress in our line of work need to think of that.

I am not on the front line of a combat squad.  I am not flying a plane.  I am not putting bad guys behind bars.  I am providing wonderful, researched, creative resources to kids, parents, students, teachers and the community. Possible death is NOT a disclaimer memo I had to sign when I accepted the job.

But, at the end of the day, I am a mom, a wife, a human ultimately, and I go home.  I try my best to turn off the work side of my brain but some days it becomes harder than others. (no laughing from the peanut gallery who knows me personally, please! )  Friday afternoon when manufactured crisis hit — it became hard to turn off.  I always screw up cliches but not so much that they are unrecognizable.  This Friday afternoon was one of those.  “An emergency on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part” kind of situation.  But… it was.  Not life or death… but one that had to be dealt with.

I wish I had the ultra super secret code to have fixed it myself and not bothered anyone else but fortunately my team was willing to help and understood that I didn’t hold those super secret codes.  I thanked them more than twice.  I probably thanked them so much I made them annoyed.  But… since I couldn’t hand them my bottle of Tums through the phone, it was the best I could do.

So… I return to my regularily scheduled weekend.  The couch has my name on it and the stress that started the weekend subsided and the workshop that filled my Saturday was successful and we have resumed our regularily scheduled programming.

Probably a silly blog post honestly but at least it will help remind me I lived through a so-called crisis with the help of those I appreciate so much.  A little sleep, ok a LOT of sleep, some fancy fixes on the web and life resumes to normal.  Honestly… anyone who thinks they travel through life totally alone and self-reliant is fooling themselves.  It takes a village… really… even if it isn’t life or death.

3 days of breathing room

Whoever invented Labor Day?  I believe it was the big union leaders rising up against the big bosses (or arriving at a compromise) in the Industrial Age.  Now in the Technological Age — is there such a thing as a “real” holiday?  I’ll wait for my husband to correct my history on this one

The holiday aspect for me comes with sleeping in (until 6:30 instead of 5:30), being able to find a cozy spot on the couch to snuggle and read with my youngest, cheer on the kids as they battle the world of Lego Star Wars on Wii, and just sit.  The overcast skies and intermittent rain has provided some relief of the persistent sun and relentless heat.  Silly that even though temperatures rise here, the cloudy skies trick us into a sense of relief.

I look around the house and think of all the thousands of projects and chores that need my attention.  I dream of a personal assistant and maybe even an “Alice” from the Brady Bunch to rescue us.  There is so much to do.  When do we decide we deserve a personal Labor Day as well as the professional holiday one?

My oldest stayed up late last night watching movies but tucked me in and told me how much they loved me and rubbed my back while hugging me tight.  Those are the moments you want to just freeze in time.  Those are the times when all the “labor” pays off.  The thoughts of clutter and bills and deadlines melt away and I am reminded why I care so much about these little people in my life (who are not all that little any more).

So 1 day down, 2 to go for the breathing deeply, the not-so -rushed days to just be together.  Maybe we will paint fingernails.  Maybe we will play Barbies or more Lego Star Wars.  Maybe we will just all snuggle and watch another movie.  Even from the comfort of my own couch, with the chaos of children and family all around me, I am more than willing to work a few hours on projects I’m excited about at work.  To that end I suppose I thumb my nose at the traditional labor leaders of days long past.

Most importantly I am reminded I need to structure my calendar to include these breaks, this breathing room, far more frequently than I allow myself.  Deep breaths remind me that laughter and silliness are more important than clutter control and last much longer in memories.  Life passes so quickly.  Are you remembering to breathe?

Life Challenges

Bear with me while I work through some blog growing pains and adjust its look and feel.  The previous was so bold and colorful but the columns were too narrow.  This may be better.  I love how bright and cheery it is.  We’ll see how it feels a few days from now.

~ * ~ *~ * ~ *~ * ~ *~ * ~ *~ * ~ *~ * ~ *~ * ~ *~

A few crazy life changes have taken place since I last blogged. School is well underway as is all the bugs that go with it.  For some reason our house has a giant magnet on it — germs find us first.   And… when they do find us – they find us fast and hard.  Our whole family was down with the stomach flu for 2 full days.  Nothing like having kids as young as 6 fend for themselves because even mommy and daddy are down for the count!

But! Then when you feel death is imminent because you can’t imaging things being worse — you are reminded how fortunate you are, and how fragile life is (minus stomach flu).  My dad called us to tell us my mom had fallen and broken her shoulder and hip.  Fortunately it was only hairline fractures in her hip but full clean breaks in her shoulder.  She fell alone while walking on the side of the road and had to wait for someone to come by and help call 911.  Just the thought of her being alone, waiting for help, made me so thankful for nameless strangers, angels.

This crazy life has such little wiggle room for error.  We have things timed in the morning down to the second to get out the door and on time to our destinations.  We work through the day with precision from event to event, meeting to meeting.  It is only when things come to a screeching hault from flu, from family crisis, that we are reminded how important the big things are in life — and that while the minute to minute living may seem to prevail most days — it is when we finally can enjoy a bite of real food and when we can be thankful for small blessings like fractures instead of breaks that I remember what is important.

I wondered on Sunday how I would make it through this crazy week when I looked at my calendar and my stacked Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were.  I didn’t expect this type of divine intervention. *Laugh*
Cheers to good health.  Cheers to answered prayers.  Cheers to rest and recovery.  Finally, cheers to slowing down and just being.  Sometimes being is just plenty enough.