Archives for April 2007

- - - | written by Jason on 4/23/2007 | - - -

Trading the Cracker Jack Prizes for the Peanuts

What good is life if you can't slow down long enough to enjoy it once in a while? Kim and I had a fortunate opportunity come our way last Friday night. We spent the bulk of the day downtown at a café called Cosi, laptops open, writing, thinking, and dreaming. As we packed up to go home, a young woman (and fellow Mac user) sitting nearby offered us two free tickets to the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Face value was over sixty bucks each. She told us she wasn't able to use them and was hoping to find someone who could. What the heck, we thought. …

- - - | written by Kim on 4/21/2007 | - - -

Muting my Inner 5-year-old

Last night we ended up at the Madison Symphony Orchestra. First time ever. Very cool. During the experience my mind was fluttering with thoughts and questions. I felt like I was five again, wondering all sorts of things. Here are a few of the highlights... 1. This is a very long song. Longer than November Rain and Stairway to Heaven combined. 2. The cymbals guy is similar to the kicker in football. You wait and wait and wait and wait, and you better not mess up when your turn finally comes. 3. This hall looks like something out of Star Wars. …

- - - | written by Jason on 4/19/2007 | - - -

EA #18: Fostering a Childlike Faith

In this episode, brought to you from studio 203 in Madison, Wisconsin, we interview Fr. Dave Timmerman, a Catholic priest, about the importance of keeping a childlike faith, and we ask him what was the weirdest thing he ever believed about God. We also discuss differences between being childlike and childish, hot air balloon rides, and ideas on coping with stress. …

- - - | written by Jason on 4/18/2007 | - - -

Go Red, Girlfriend

Yesterday Kim and I had the opportunity to attend a Go Red for Women luncheon in Madison. It was a fundraiser for support the American Heart Association. We had a chance to see our friend Eliz in action, and were reminded of some very sobering statistics... Heart disease is the No. 1 single killer of women over age 25. It claims more lives than the next four most common causes of death combined. One in 2.6 female deaths are from heart disease, compared with one in 30 from breast cancer. Only 13 percent of women view heart disease as a health threat. One of the things Kim and I …

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- - - | written by Kim on 4/13/2007 | - - -

Moms are Good Sports

Let's face it...kids like to tease their moms. It doesn't matter if the "kid" is forty-five years old, the parent-child relationship welcomes some razzing and joking. Sometimes it's how we show affection. When Jason and I were newly dating Jason nicknamed my mom the "curler lady" because she would often have curlers in her hair when he came over. To this day it's still a playful joke between them. Kids razz their moms for their choices in hairstyles, clothing, and even driving habits. I'm sure it has something to do with the 20-40 year generational gap. Thank goodness Moms (in general) have …

- - - | written by Jason on 4/13/2007 | - - -

Kiddie Cocktails Are Like, So Lame

My dad faxed me an article from the local paper. Here's an excerpt: I believe the kids in our generation are growing up too fast and not enjoying what they have left of their carefree fun times. I know there's the spirit of a 7-year-old in all of us, it's just the question of when to put that spirit away, if there really is a right or wrong time to do it. Obviously, this opening caught my eye. YES! There is a 7-year-old in all of as! YES! Kids DO grow up too fast! What high-ranking Adultitis-stricken grown-up has finally "matured" enough to see the value of embracing a childlike spirit and …

- - - | written by Kim on 4/6/2007 | - - -

Listen

It's Good Friday. Jason and I continued our recent tradition of watching The Passion of the Christ this evening. It helps me put all of this in perspective. It's so hard to wrap my bird brain around the reality of this sacrifice most days. I know The Passion is criticized for being too graphic. For me, I need it to be graphic. It's like when a parent has given his child a warning against a certain behavior a couple of times and the child persists. Inevitably the parent needs to take the child, square her shoulders up to his, look her straight in the eyes and say, "Listen, that's …

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- - - | written by Jason on 4/5/2007 | - - -

A Poopy April Fool’s Day

My good friend Eliz Greene (you may remember her from this interview) taught me that when you get stressed out, a chemical builds up in your heart. When that chemical -- cortisol, to be exact -- gets too built-up, it actually attacks the blood vessels in your heart. Ouch. Considering just how stressed-out most people are these days, it's no surprise that heart disease is the biggest killer of both men and women. And Eliz knows something about all this heart stuff. She had a heart attack at the age of 35 when she was pregnant with twins. Double ouch. Eliz also knows something about …

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